Efficient water use crucial for Valley farmers

Published online on Monday, Jun. 08, 2009

From the sky, John Diener's farm looks like a swath of Kansas grafted onto the rugged flatlands of the San Joaquin Valley's west side.

Hundreds of acres of crops grow in a circular patches on Diener's land. The idea is to save water with an irrigation system that rotates around a pivot in the center of each field.

The automated system is common in the Midwest, where farm labor is scarce -- but it's gaining traction here as growers adapt to the new reality of farming.

Three consecutive dry years along with restrictions on pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta -- the main source for the Valley's irrigation water -- have put west-side family farms at risk.

Many are furiously pumping salty water from deep wells to keep their nut trees and vineyards alive. Others are searching for more efficient ways to use their limited water supply. At least one farmer has created his own underground reservoir.

All the while, farm lenders are keeping a close eye on how their clients will bring in their crops -- if they have any.

Diener is among the growers who are doing whatever they can to adjust.

On his west side ranch, tomatoes, peas, alfalfa, wheat and sugar beets are among the crops that now grow in circles.

Diener estimates the pivot system is 10% to 20% more efficient than furrow irrigation, which can be labor intensive. Generally, furrow irrigation on the west side involves workers moving aluminum pipe from field to field.

The pivot-irrigation system also applies water more evenly, resulting in less waste.

"One of our challenges is how to water more efficiently and in a way where you can get a comparable or better yield from a conventional system," Diener said. "That is what we are after."

Growers searching for similar answers have packed meetings held by private companies, Fresno State and University of California researchers.

Farmers who can afford it are drilling new wells at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars, said David Zoldoske, who heads the Center for Irrigation Technology at California State University, Fresno. Others are trying to buy water from the California Department of Water Resources' Drought Water Bank -- but that can be expensive, and the water isn't delivered until late summer.

Many farmers who haven't already switched to drip irrigation for their permanent crops are doing so, or looking at better irrigation-management systems.

"I think part of this new reality is that we may never go back to the way it was and the amount of water we had to grow any crop," Zoldoske said. "But this new reality may also send us into areas where we are going to push the envelope, such as using genetically modified crops."

Over the past several years, growers have begun experimenting with crops that require less water or can tolerate salty water pumped from wells. But not all provide the high-value returns of other row crops.

Among the water-saving crops being grown on the west side are safflower, sorghum, garbanzo beans and dryland wheat.

Third-generation farmer Ryan Ferguson is growing 300 acres of garbanzo beans along with pistachios, processing tomatoes and cantaloupes on his family's 1,700-acre farm. The beans, a lower-value crop, are sold for use in salad bars or to be made into hummus.

In Kings County, farmers are turning to sorghum. Last year, 4,500 acres in Kings County were devoted to sorghum, compared with 45 acres in 2003.

Lemoore-area farmer Craig Pedersen planted about 300 acres of sorghum because it requires less water than corn and can be used as feed supply for the poultry and dairy industries.