jan-feb-2020

years of diligent planning, effort and investment. “The flood flows come fast and they come hard and you need to capture them fast and spread them around,” said Don Cameron, Vice President and General Manager of Terra Nova Ranch southwest of Fresno. Terra Nova has made tremendous progress in preparing for and implementing recharge, but it hasn’t been easy, Cameron said. He pointed to a $5 million grant the ranch received toward building a pipeline, canal and recharge project that will cost upwards of $12 million when finished. “This takes patience,” he said. “We started in 2012 and we are not going to finish until 2020.” But Cameron and other farmers on the panel said the efforts are not only worth it but essential to the future survival of many farms. Matt Efird, a fifth-generation farmer, advised growers to be ready to cooperate with their irrigation districts, make capital investments in their operations so they can take extra water when it is available, learn which of their soils are right for on-farm recharge and be prepared to adjust their other orchard management practices as needed to accommodate recharge events. “We’ve got to do what we can to keep that water from going to the ocean,” Efird said. Growers can learn more about SGMA at sgma.water.ca.gov/portal. www.davewilson.com 209-874-1821 800-654-5854 Independence ® self-fertile almond ONE shake ONE harvest NO BEES. Discuss the advantages of Independence ® self-fertile almond with your sales rep today! Independence ® blooms with Nonpareil & is harvested 2 to 3 days before Nonpareil. Patent #20295 Blue Diamond Growers does not endorse or verify statements made by advertisers within this publication. 4 9 J A N U A R Y – F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0