{"id":15371,"date":"2021-11-17T14:19:43","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T22:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calcanstaging.kinsta.cloud\/?p=15371"},"modified":"2025-10-03T06:00:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T13:00:20","slug":"calcan-in-the-field-a-vision-for-san-joaquin-valley-agriculture-in-the-face-of-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calclimateag.org\/es\/calcan-in-the-field-a-vision-for-san-joaquin-valley-agriculture-in-the-face-of-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"CalCAN in the Field: A Vision for San Joaquin Valley Agriculture in the Face of Climate Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Vision for San Joaquin Valley Agriculture in the Face of Climate Change<\/h2>\n

During the last week of October, 45 agriculture and food systems experts and stakeholders came together for a two-day discussion on \u201c<\/span>The Future of San Joaquin Valley Agriculture in the Face of Climate Change<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Participants included farmers, researchers, technical assistance providers and advocates, most of whom live and work in the San Joaquin Valley.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The intention of the gathering was to explore creative ways that San Joaquin Valley farmers, ranchers and agricultural communities can bounce back, adapt and thrive in the face of drought, worsening air quality, and other accelerating effects of climate change. Discussion ranged over topics such as water scarcity, land use, climate smart agriculture, farmworker health and safety, soil fertility, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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At CalCAN Advisor Steven Cardoza’s organic raisin operation on the first day of farm tours<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Participants shared two general outlooks throughout the gathering: <\/span>(1) a belief that crisis can create opportunity and innovation; and, (2) the importance of taking an integrated systems approach that begins by identifying common ground and seeking solutions that benefit farmers, farmworkers, rural communities and the environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We grounded the dialogue by spending the first day visiting three farms in the Easton\/Parlier area representing a spectrum of Central Valley crops, farm sizes and practices to see and hear firsthand from farmers\u2014an 1,800-head conventional dairy, a diversified 20-acre farm growing Asian and western fruits and vegetables for direct market, and a second-generation organic raisin operation. The recurring themes that surfaced during the day were carried forward on the second day with a series of short presentations and breakout sessions. Some of the takeaways are summarized below.<\/span><\/p>\n

Water scarcity<\/h3>\n

To no one\u2019s surprise, water is on the minds of growers who have varied challenges depending on their access to groundwater and surface water. A question asked of farmers throughout the day was \u201cHow deep is your groundwater, and how deep was it 10 years ago?\u201d Amel\u00ede Gaudin, a <\/span>UC Davis agroecologist,<\/span><\/a> noted that in 30 years, California is predicted to have the climate of Arizona, and that we need to brace for impact and plan for resilience. Nayamin Martinez from the <\/span>Central California Environmental Justice Network<\/span><\/a> pointed out that this issue not only affects food production but also residents who lack access to safe and affordable drinking water. All three farmers on the tours shared strategies they use to improve soil health as one way to hold water and facilitate groundwater recharge. These practices include compost application and cover cropping on all of the farms and reduced tillage with no-till seed planting on the dairy feed crops.<\/span><\/p>\n

Land access<\/h3>\n
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A hoop house at GT Florist & Herbs. Owners Gianina and Teng Thaoxaochay own their land, unique in Fresno where many other farmers, particularly Southeast Asian farmers, lease their land.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many people warned of a transition in land ownership that is underway in the Valley as family farmers struggle to stay in business, and there were stories shared about investors outbidding local farmers, some motivated by the potential of selling groundwater. The average age of farmers continues to rise, some land is expected to be fallowed (left unplanted) in order to achieve groundwater sustainability, and the barriers to land ownership are daunting for younger and newer farmers. Brian Shobe from CalCAN shared that about <\/span>45 percent of all agricultural land in California is leased<\/span><\/a>, which can be an insecure position and can limit farmers\u2019 ability to make soil health improvements or other stewardship practices that have longer returns on investment. Farmers of color experience even higher rates of insecure land tenure \u2014for example, <\/span>80 percent of the approximately 1,300+ Southeast Asian farmers in Fresno and Tulare counties rent their land<\/span><\/a>. It was noted that these issues have major consequences for individual farmers, and that systemic solutions are needed on a landscape and community scale to address them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tensions around regulation<\/h3>\n

A struggle common to all types of farmers is the time-consuming and costly job of complying with regulations. The farmers who attended all had stories of unintended consequences of regulations limiting innovation and creating disproportionate burdens for smaller farms with less administrative capacity yet the same or even larger (e.g., due to diversified crops) amount of paperwork to navigate. <\/span>There were a few examples shared of how grant programs can incentivize the very same practice that another agency’s regulation discourages. <\/span>Some of these challenges also play out with some grant programs that have inflexible rules and burdensome paperwork that disproportionately affect smaller, diversified operations and non-English proficient farmers. We also discussed that many regulations exist for important reasons\u2014to protect human and environmental health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cultural and social shift<\/h3>\n

Several farmers talked about the social cost of innovating at the risk of being judged by neighbors, and also about the importance of farmer-to-farmer networks. Tom Willey of T&D Farms noted that there are financial incentives for conventional farm advisors to sell products, and that what is needed is a shift to finding ways to compensate advisors for knowledge-based approaches. Nicole Celaya from FoodLink for Tulare County shared a description of an agroecology and cultural learning center at <\/span>Quaker Oaks Farm<\/span><\/a> near Visalia that fosters an appreciation of local cultures and <\/span>shared land stewardship. This was echoed by Kassandra Hishida, <\/span>Community Alliance for Agroecology<\/span><\/a>, who noted the i<\/span>mportance of local knowledge in indigenous and farmworker communities. <\/span>The main barriers to the success of new farmers were identified to be lack of access to land and capital, as well as insufficient support for business development and agroecological practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Strategies for on-farm resilience<\/h2>\n
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Touring the organic moringa demo plot at the Kearney Research Station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Throughout the two days, the farms we visited and the stories shared highlighted management approaches to coping with climate change, especially when used in combination and modified as needed to respond to changing conditions. Here are some of the most frequently shared resilience strategies:<\/span><\/p>\n