{"id":41117,"date":"2025-01-22T10:55:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T10:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/agriculture\/imperial-valley-farmers-embrace-programs-to-reduce-water-use-and-build-soil-health-calcan\/"},"modified":"2025-01-22T10:55:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T10:55:40","slug":"imperial-valley-farmers-embrace-programs-to-reduce-water-use-and-build-soil-health-calcan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=41117","title":{"rendered":"Imperial Valley Farmers Embrace Programs to Reduce Water Use and Build Soil Health &#8211; CalCAN"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CalCAN staff recently spent some time visiting farmers in the Imperial Valley, which produces approximately <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ucanr.edu\/sites\/Farm_Management\/files\/365116.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two-thirds of the nation\u2019s vegetable consumption during the winter months<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and ranks <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdfa.ca.gov\/Statistics\/PDFs\/2022-2023_california_agricultural_statistics_review.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9th in the state<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in terms of value of agricultural production by county. Here, crop choice is driven by climate, geography, and economics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Water in the Imperial Valley comes from the Colorado River through a system of canals that checkerboard the fields. Fields are leveled and slightly graded so that gravity delivers the water along furrows through flood or surface irrigation. Water is \u201cordered\u201d from the irrigation district, and the smallest delivery is 12 hours of continuous flow. Additionally, labor is more expensive in California than in neighboring Arizona and Mexico, which leads the Imperial Valley to focus on producing mainly low-labor, high-water forage crops.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Craig Elmore: Leading Change on Desert Ranch<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first farmer we met with was Craig Elmore, who grows a variety of vegetables and melons. When Craig greets us in his office, he shows us a satellite photo of Desert Ranch in 2003. He points to a small corner of cropland touching the Salton Sea. \u201cRemember that,\u201d he tells us. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19093\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19093\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19093 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3879-Large.png?resize=750%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3879-Large.png?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3879-Large.png?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3879-Large.png?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3879-Large.png?resize=710%2C474&amp;ssl=1 710w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3879-Large.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19093\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Craig Elmore points to the corner of the Desert Ranch that once touched the Salton Sea in a satellite photo taken in 2003. | Photo Credit \u2013 Miriam Bar-Zemer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Craig takes us on a ride through hundreds of acres planted in carrots and romaine hearts to that corner \u2013 the lowest farmed elevation in the Imperial Valley. As we drive along an elevated road that once served as a levee, Craig\u2019s son Stephen points to the sand on the other side of the road. \u201cThe Salton Sea came right up here when I was a kid.\u201d Stephen is in his early forties. A dead tree sticks out of the sand, barnacles still clinging 3 feet up the trunk. The retreating man-made sea leaves behind \u201cplaya dust;\u201d a sediment high in salt, heavy metals, fertilizer, and pesticide compounds. Strong winds whip the toxic dust across the landscape damaging crops in its path. The Elmores have been vegetating and creating windbreaks in the playa adjacent to the property for decades in an effort to mitigate the effects of the dust.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19090\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19090\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19090 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3905-Large.png?resize=750%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3905-Large.png?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3905-Large.png?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3905-Large.png?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3905-Large.png?resize=710%2C474&amp;ssl=1 710w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3905-Large.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19090\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shells from \u201cplaya dust\u201d left by the retreating Salton Sea lie across the road from irrigated cropland on the Elmore Desert Ranch. | Photo Credit \u2013 Miriam Bar-Zemer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe must change the way we\u2019re doing things,\u201d Craig Elmore says adamantly. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41558-022-01290-z\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Persistent drought worsened by climate change<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and sprawling urban development in the southwest has intensified longstanding competition over water flows in the Colorado River. To reduce his water use, Craig has shifted from forage crops like alfalfa to vegetables and transitioned to lower water-use irrigation methods such as sprinkler and drip irrigation. Converting from furrow to drip irrigation systems has been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/33931928\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shown to reduce nitrous oxide emissions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a greenhouse gas nearly 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Craig is also building a reservoir on his property thanks to funding from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdfa.ca.gov\/oefi\/sweep\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) which will allow him to irrigate more precisely, drawing only as much water as he needs and avoiding the inefficiencies associated with the 12-hour deliveries from the irrigation district.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19096\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19096\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19096 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3814-Large-Medium.jpeg?resize=640%2C427&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3814-Large-Medium.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3814-Large-Medium.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19096\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Craig Elmore is building a reservoir with SWEEP funding. The reservoir will allow him to deliver water in precise amounts, rather than the 12-hour minimum delivery sent by the irrigation district. | Photo Credit \u2013 Miriam Bar-Zemer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><b>Innovations at Leimgruber Farms<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the next stop of the tour, we meet up with Andrew Leimgruber just outside of Holtville, who grows alfalfa and vegetables, and newly elected <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ad36.asmrc.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who represents the Imperial Valley and serves on the Agriculture and Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committees in the legislature.\u00a0 Andrew, his father Ronnie, and their team are constantly innovating. \u201cWe have to produce more with less,\u201d Andrew says. He shows us an overhead linear sprinkler that was partially funded by a SWEEP grant. The new system has decreased their water use by 25-30% while increasing their yields. Andrew expects their upfront investment in the new system and infrastructure to support it will be paid back within five to six years.\u00a0 \u201cWhen we got our first linear system, everyone drove by and thought we were crazy. Now we have six so they know something must be working,\u201d he laughs.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19097\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19097\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19097 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3937-Large-Medium.jpeg?resize=640%2C427&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3937-Large-Medium.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3937-Large-Medium.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19097\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A \u201clinear\u201d irrigator that the Leimgrubers purchased with NRCS funding. | Photo Credit \u2013 Miriam Bar-Zemer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Leimgrubers have also received <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdfa.ca.gov\/oefi\/healthysoils\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Healthy Soils Program grants<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to apply compost. Andrew was such a fan, he bought his own compost spreader.\u00a0 \u201cThe Healthy Soils Program is perfect for us in the Imperial Valley \u2013 we have sandy soil that\u2019s low in soil organic matter and cattle operations [to produce compost]. It\u2019s too bad that the last grant cycle wasn\u2019t funded \u2013 there\u2019s a lot of demand in the Imperial Valley.\u201d The production, transport, and application of compost creates jobs in a county with poverty and unemployment rates that hover around 20% and an average per capita income just over $21,000. \u201cI\u2019ve seen entire local businesses jumpstart from the Healthy Soils Program grants,\u201d says Andrew.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19088\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19088\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19088 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3953-Large.png?resize=750%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3953-Large.png?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3953-Large.png?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3953-Large.png?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3953-Large.png?resize=710%2C474&amp;ssl=1 710w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3953-Large.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19088\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Leimgrubers received Health Soils Program (HSP) funding to apply compost. After seeing the benefits, they bought their own spreader. \u201cThis great program is great for the Imperial Valley,\u201d Andrew Leimgruber says, \u201cwe have very low soil organic matter and the cattle ranches to generate compost.\u201d | Photo Credit \u2013 Miriam Bar-Zemer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><b>Cutting-Edge Irrigation Technology: A Desert Pilot Program<\/b><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19089\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19089\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19089\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3893-Large-e1737487481148-682x1024.png?resize=300%2C450&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3893-Large-e1737487481148.png?resize=682%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 682w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3893-Large-e1737487481148.png?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3893-Large-e1737487481148.png?resize=768%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/599A3893-Large-e1737487481148.png?w=853&amp;ssl=1 853w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19089\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peter Moller of Rubicon Water stands next to an automatic canal gate. Moller says that surface irrigation was automated in Australia 20+ years ago. Australia\u2019s \u201cmillennial drought\u201d at the turn of the 21st century lasted over a decade and was the worst on record since European settlement. | Photo Credit \u2013 Miriam Bar-Zemer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For our final stop on the tour, we drive to the southeasternmost corner of the valley to meet with Peter Moller, a representative with the Australian irrigation company Rubicon Water. We meet at some alfalfa fields farmed by the Leimgruber family less than a mile from the Mexico-US border. Peter shows us an automated irrigation system that reduces both labor and water use. This technology is part of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdfa.ca.gov\/oefi\/sweep\/southern_desert.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SWEEP desert pilot<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> being trialed on seven farms in the surrounding area. While most flood gates coming off of the irrigation district canal are opened manually, these gates are automated and can be programmed in conjunction with real-time environmental data and projections including evapotranspiration and soil moisture. Because Australia is no stranger to drought, Peter says this technology has been used there for over 20 years. Many water districts can even predict demand based on real on-farm data showing how \u201cthirsty\u201d the plants are and how much water they need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Collaborating for a Resilient Future<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We ended the tour with a discussion about how farmers, researchers, advocates, and legislators like Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez can work together to continue supporting farmers in experimenting with and adopting innovative systems that improve environmental and economic outcomes in a region on the frontlines of climate impacts. Excitingly, Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez committed to advocating for future funding for the programs we discussed and to sharing the stories he heard with his fellow legislators in Sacramento.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Acknowledgments<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We want to thank Craig Elmore, Andrew and Ronnie Leimgruber, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ucanr.edu\/?facultyid=26637\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Aliasghar Montazar<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (UCCE), and Peter Moller for sharing their valuable time and knowledge with us on the tour. We also want to thank Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez and his staff for joining us on the tour to learn and discuss ways we can work together in Sacramento to continue innovation for the region and across the state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19099\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19099\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19099\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/02BED7C2-D70F-4555-8B1C-E34480FBFFE6-scaled-e1737488055382-300x201.jpeg?resize=500%2C334&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/02BED7C2-D70F-4555-8B1C-E34480FBFFE6-scaled-e1737488055382.jpeg?resize=300%2C201&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/02BED7C2-D70F-4555-8B1C-E34480FBFFE6-scaled-e1737488055382.jpeg?resize=1024%2C685&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/02BED7C2-D70F-4555-8B1C-E34480FBFFE6-scaled-e1737488055382.jpeg?resize=768%2C514&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/02BED7C2-D70F-4555-8B1C-E34480FBFFE6-scaled-e1737488055382.jpeg?resize=710%2C474&amp;ssl=1 710w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calclimateag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/02BED7C2-D70F-4555-8B1C-E34480FBFFE6-scaled-e1737488055382.jpeg?w=1536&amp;ssl=1 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19099\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez speaks with Peter Moller of Rubicon Water. | Photo Credit \u2013 Brian Shobe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CalCAN staff recently spent some time visiting farmers in the Imperial Valley, which produces approximately two-thirds of the nation\u2019s vegetable consumption during the winter months and ranks 9th in the state in terms of value of agricultural production by county. Here, crop choice is driven by climate, geography, and economics.\u00a0 Water in the Imperial Valley [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12026],"tags":[5293,15025,16091,15919,597,10111,11391,9271,14523,4751,638],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-41117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-build","tag-calcan","tag-embrace","tag-farmers","tag-health","tag-imperial","tag-programs","tag-reduce","tag-soil","tag-valley","tag-water"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Imperial Valley Farmers Embrace Programs to Reduce Water Use and Build Soil Health - CalCAN - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=41117\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Imperial Valley Farmers Embrace Programs to Reduce Water Use and Build Soil Health - CalCAN - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CalCAN staff recently spent some time visiting farmers in the Imperial Valley, which produces approximately two-thirds of the nation\u2019s vegetable consumption during the winter months and ranks 9th in the state in terms of value of agricultural production by county. 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