California's small farms and water laws in a time of drought

We've heard a lot about the unequitable application of groundwater laws at the Sonoma County Food System Alliance. A recent article in Civil Eats has a lot to say about it. 

From the article: 

"[Annie]Main [of Good Humus Farm in Yolo County] also learned that one reason small farmers may have fallen through the cracks since the SGMA passed in 2014 was that while the law requires all who depend on groundwater, including domestic well users and cities, to be considered when making plans, all agricultural interests were lumped into a single group as one large, uniform beneficiary. This is the case despite the vast difference between a small, diversified farm and a massive monocrop operation."

Find the introduction and link to the full report which inspired the article here. 

Bits of good news

In case you missed them

SCHOOL MEALS

"BATTLE CREEK, MICH. – A new national survey commissioned by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) shows that people in the United States overwhelmingly support current efforts to keep school meals healthy. Among the key findings:

• 86 percent support today’s school nutrition standards, which are helping more than 31 million kids get their daily nutrition through healthy school meals;
• 88 percent support government-funded farm to school programs, which help supply school cafeterias with local, fresh produce."

In addition, those surveyed note the improvement in school lunches.

WASTE

French Supermarkets have a year to contract with charities to recover their food waste.

But - the BBC cites stats from the French Ministry of Ecology:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33907737?ocid=socialflow_twitter

67% is wasted by consumers themselves, and another 15% by restaurants, while shops and distributors waste 11% of the total.  

Apparently we in the USA are not alone in our wasteful household ways. And here I thought the French were different.

HUNGER

Food hardship rates are down nationally and in many states, overall the lowest they have been since this data collection effort began in 2008. http://frac.org/pdf/food-hardship-rate-by-state-first-half-2015.pdf

FOOD PRICES

Earlier this week a friend posted on Facebook this stat: egg prices here are up. $3.61 versus $1.45 per dozen a year ago. I pointed out that less than $4 per 1 1/2 pounds of animal protein is still reasonable. The bird flu epidemic in the midwest combined with drought caused higher prices for chicken feed (it's not chicken feed anymore!) and the effects of Prop 2 (anti-CAFOs) have combined in this effect. Personally, I think the chickens are happier, and so am I to be paying what seems like a fair price for their labors. You go girls! 

(Actually, I buy from a neighbor, or Clover organic, so pay a little more.) 

Drought report

Here's a summary of the most recent UC Davis report on the drought.
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10978

Many of the numbers are small percentages, but if one looks through them the impact of many individuals, workers and farmers, could be heartbreaking.

I'm curious about the fact that prices for grapes, nuts and dairy won't be much impacted.  It will be interesting to see if they rise anyway, with the drought as an excuse.

Most shocking - California has not statewide plan for groundwater management.  Who has been snoozing? cowardly about addressing this?

I Love Olive

Here's a story from yesterday's Sac Bee about the growing trend of growing olives in California.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/22/6500375/olive-cultivation-is-on-the-rise.html

I was fascinated that California farmers are planting olives, a drought resistant crop, in intensive ways (for machine harvest) that seem to negate some of the value of drought resistance. Thus more affordable California olive oil is not necessarily the best thing from a sustainability perspective. But who can afford the boutique oil prices?

Perhaps we should grow our own.  Should community gardens be putting in a few olive trees?  Should we bring back the idea of a communal press, where folks can take their back yard olives?

A few interesting statistics:
97% of the olive oil consumed in the USA is imported - and not all of it is what it seems.
98% of olives grown in the USA are grown in California - though other states are growing more.
4% of California olives were destined for oil in the '90s, but in 2012 it was 46%.

Water, water - not everywhere

It's raining here in Sonoma County this morning.  I figure where I live we have had about 12" of rain in February and March - which looks rather normal.  But we are still in the midst of a drought.  News this week from Quarter Acre Farm is that they are planting only crops which can be dry farmed.  That means fewer but tastier tomatoes - but no CSA subscriptions this year.

Locally we do not depend on Sierra Nevada snowpack, of which there is so very little this year.  But much of what America eats does.  The long term future of water in the Central Valley is probably not good, certainly fraught with dilemmas and trade-offs.  This article from farmer and writer David Mas Masumoto in last Sunday's Bee explains.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/03/23/6257213/a-farmers-perspective-on-groundwater.html