Episode 31: How Rice Fields may help Salmon Runs

enMarch 12, 2022

Ingrained

About this Episode

Since fundamental changes were made to the way rice straw is managed following harvest in the early 1990s, Sacramento Valley rice country has steadily grown as a vital rest and refuel stop for millions of birds. Local rice fields not only provide habitat for nearly 230 wildlife species, the value of rice fields for the environment is proving to be even greater during drought years, because there is less water on the landscape and fewer habitat options.

What's next for the environmental crop? If promising research by the Rice Commission and UC Davis pays off, Sacramento Valley rice fields may one day help dwindling salmon runs.

The third year of field work for the salmon project has just completed, and the last of the baby salmon raised on Steve Neader’s Sutter County rice farm have been released and are heading out to the ocean. Through sophisticated tagging, their journey will be studied. The ultimate hope is that rice fields specifically managed for this purpose will provide an even greater role in preserving and enhancing the California environment.

“I’m extremely optimistic about it,” remarked Andrew Rypel, one of the study leaders and professors in the Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology at UC Davis. “All of the data we have collected points to the fact these fields are going to be helpful for, not just salmon, but lots of native fishes.”

There were new elements in the latest year of the project that will ultimately help researchers adapt the habitat management strategy and understand prospects for future success.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done the project on full size rice fields, with about 125 acres devoted to testing the practice at scale, “ said Paul Buttner, Environmental Affairs Manager of the California Rice Commission. “One of the things we needed to make sure is that we could allow the fish to move freely through all of the checks in the field and out of the field when they want to, which is called volitional passage. We put in specialized boards with holes and notches to allow the fish to move through the system entirely.”

Buttner stressed the importance of partnerships to make this multi-million dollar project successful, including the scientific research from UC Davis and other technical partners.

“It would not be possible without funding, that comes first and foremost from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service,” he said. “They provided over half of the funding for the project. All of the funding they provide has to be matched with private sector contributions, both financial and in-kind. Syngenta and State Water Contractors have really stepped up with major contributions, and we have a long list of other sustaining contributors as well. The full sponsorship list can be seen at http://salmon.calrice.org/#Sponsors.”

As the salmon left the rice fields to start their journey to the ocean, it was a somewhat emotional time for researcher Alexandra Wampler of UC Davis.

“I’m very excited,” Wampler said. “I can’t wait to track their migration to the ocean. We have a very dense receiver array, so we should be able to track each step they take, and it’s going to be very exciting.”

It will take a while longer to determine the viability of the project, but those involved remain optimistic that, perhaps one day, Sacramento Valley rice fields will add a significant new area to their environmental benefits.

“I think that rice fields have the same opportunities for the salmon as they did for waterfowl,” said Carson Jeffres, research ecologist at UC Davis. “It’s a little bit different. It takes different opportunities because fish can’t fly, so you have to make it available for them, as opposed to having it just available for them to fly to. There’s those same possibilities that we have, and I think that we’ve really turned a big corner in doing that, and we’re starting to see those benefits being realized on the landscape right now.”

Episode Transcript

Jim Morris: The environment holds special importance in California, and salmon represent one of the most beleaguered species in what now is year three of a major drought. There is a ray of hope in the form of a partnership being lived out in the rice fields of the Sacramento Valley.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with the state's farmers and ranchers for more than three decades to help tell their stories. Environmental stewardship among the rice industry is unparalleled. Not only do Sacramento Valley rice fields serve as a vital part of the Pacific flyway migration of millions of ducks, geese, shorebirds, and other species, those same fields offer great promise to help salmon.

Jim Morris: I'm at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, where researchers play a pivotal role in exploring how local rice fields might help salmon. I'm speaking with research ecologist, Carson Jeffres. First of all, Carson, salmon in California have been struggling. What are some of the factors that have led to that decline in their population?

Carson Jeffres: They face multiple threats, both in the freshwater environment where we've experienced drought for multiple years. We're on our second major drought in the last 10 years, which is probably much more of a long term drought. Water and fresh water environments is limited, but also there's other factors from thymine deficiency coming back from the ocean. It's just one thing after another that they've experienced over the last, probably, a hundred years. Now, we're starting to see the culmination of climate change and management really affect the populations.

Jim Morris: Rice fields may help in two different areas. Can you comment on those? Also, your degree of optimism that these two areas may significantly help.

Carson Jeffres: There's two ways that those, what we think of as historic floodplains, which are not rice fields, can benefit the salmon. One of them is that, unlike birds, fish can't get to the dry side of the levee, but we can take the food that grows on the dry side of the levee and the rice fields and pump it into the river for the fish that are out migrating to the ocean. The other way that rice fields are used for salmon during their out migration, is that in the flood bypasses. In particular, is that when we have flood events, many of those habitats are rice fields now, and fish can use them during their out migration. If we manage those habitats well, we can benefit salmon during their out migration on those habitats, and the food that we grow that they consume, and they get big, and then they head out to the ocean.

Jim Morris: In a larger picture, reactivating the floodplains of the Sacramento Valley, do you see multiple benefits from that, not only just for salmon?

Carson Jeffres: Many species rely on these habitats, from waterbirds, the waterfowl, there's the waiting birds, there's fish, there's groundwater recharge. There's lots of benefits from having floodplains activated in the Central Valley. For human uses, for wildlife, it's really a win-win to see those habitats inundated.

Jim Morris: Fish food, and rice fields, how nutrient rich is that, and how optimistic are you that can make a difference?

Carson Jeffres: Fish food is really interesting in that what happens is as the rice double breaks down, when it's flooded, is it's basically carbon that's being released in the water. Carbon is the currency of energy in the floodplain. When carbon is released, microbes eat it, and zooplankton can eat it, and that's creating food for the salmon. It's really that ability to create that carbon out and make it usable for the animals in the system. That's what happens when you flood during the non-growing season.

Jim Morris: How important is it to consider the long term in this process? I imagine the salmon population probably won't rebound immediately, but steps need to be taken to help this important part of our environment.

Carson Jeffres: This is a problem that's been constructed over the last 150 years, since the Gold Rush. We shouldn't expect that we're going to fix it in one, or two, or five years. This is a long term idea that we need to change. The decisions that we're making now are something that will affect the future. Understanding that we have climate changing, being able to be plastic with our decision making, and our management, is really important.

Jim Morris: Rice fields have helped a lot with the Pacific Flyway and are essentially surrogate wetlands in California. Do you feel that they might be able to play a similar role down the road for salmon?

Carson Jeffres: I think that rice fields have the same opportunities for the salmon as they did for the waterfowll. It's a little bit different. It takes different opportunities, because fish can't fly. You have to make it available for them, as opposed to having it just available for them to fly to. There's those same possibilities that we have. I think that we've really turned a big corner in doing that. We're starting to see those benefits being realized on the landscape now.

Jim Morris: Andrew Rypel is a professor and the Peter Moyle and California Trout chair in cold water fish ecology at UC Davis. Andrew, this is year three of field work of the pilot salmon project between UC Davis and the Rice Commission. At first glance, it may sound like a wild concept, but good things are happening. Can you provide an overview on the project?

Andrew Rypel: What we're trying to do this year is to really scale out some of the lessons we've learned from previous years, such that we're working on production scale rice fields, working with growers, using the infrastructure that they already have in place, and trying to do things to help fish, to help salmon, using that infrastructure.

Jim Morris: Let's talk about that infrastructure. How suitable is a rice field to raise salmon?

Andrew Rypel: Well, we think it's very productive habitat. When you look at the river habitat that salmon have been using in recent years, it's functionally equivalent of a food desert. What this is really about is activating the floodplain, activating the food factory that already grows food for people, but now might grow food for fish, and grow salmon to be big and healthy.

Jim Morris: To have this work, you really do need quantifiable data, and of course, good results. How are those achieved?

Andrew Rypel: Using sound science. What we're really trying to do here is get down in the weeds, get down in detail with the kinds of questions that managers and agencies are really interested in here. Trying to understand how well salmon move through the infrastructure, through the modified rice ports that we have, how well they survive in the fields, how well they egress out to the river, out to the bypass, out to the ocean, these sorts of really nitty gritty science questions that are hard to do, but we need to really advance the practice.

Jim Morris: What level of optimism do you have that this will ultimately work and help the salmon population?

Andrew Rypel: I'm extremely optimistic about it. Everything we've collected so far, all the data we've collected, points to the fact that these fields are going to be helpful for not just salmon, but lots of native fishes, but the key is to really do the hard work, do the science, to work with the agencies that manage these fisheries, and these stocks, to address their questions, to do things in a partnership-oriented method, and to move the practice forward.

Jim Morris: When you talk about native fish, I have seen some of your writings on that. That's an area of passion for you. It sounds exciting that maybe salmon are just the first part and there could be other species that could be helped by rice fields. Is that one of your hopes?

Andrew Rypel: Absolutely. Many of the native fishes in the Central Valley are adapted evolutionarily for floodplains. Though we only have 5 percent of the natural floodplains left, we have 500,000 acres of these rice fields. We think they can be used smarter to help lots of native fishes, including salmon, but including a lot of other are kinds of native species, things like Sacramento black fish, and Sacramento perch, and maybe even smelt, who knows, but a lot of these species evolved to exploit the food rich areas of these floodplain areas, which rice fields can still provide.

Jim Morris: Oftentimes, when you have fish and farming, particularly in California, can be rather adversarial. What's different about this arrangement as far as you see?

Andrew Rypel: Fish and farms have been pitted against each other for a really long time in California. But to me, that's becoming somewhat of an old trope, and something that we need to get past. This is a great example of an interesting project where fish conservationists, growers, can work in collaboration to really help the resource, while still helping make food for people. That's the kind of thinking that we need in California. That's the kind of thinking we need in the world. This is just one example of how a project like that can come together.

Jim Morris: Paul Buttner is environmental affairs manager with the California Rice Commission. Paul, it hasn't been easy at all times, but after three years of field work, what are your thoughts about the potential viability of this project?

Paul Buttner: Well, Jim, I'm very encouraged about the possibilities for this project. As you know, what we're really trying to accomplish is to do for fish, what we've done for birds, for many, many years, that is develop habitats that's ideal for them. Of course, there's a lot more challenges with the fish side than the bird side. Of course, the birds fly over the habitat. They see it, they come down, they use it. With fish, it's all about the plumbing. It's how do we get the fish there? How do we get them off of the fields? These are the types of questions that we're really trying to answer.

Jim Morris: What were some of the new areas that you were working in this year?

Paul Buttner: Well, first of all, this is the first time we've ever done the project on full size rice fields, 125 acres or so, with five or six checks. One of the things we needed to make sure is that we could allow the fish to move freely through all of those checks, and out the field when they want to. It's called volitional passage. We put in specialized boards with holes and notches, allowing the fish to move through the system entirely.

Jim Morris: Carrying this out takes a lot of coordination, creativity, and partnerships. Let's talk about the latter. How vital are partnerships to make this effort a success?

Paul Buttner: Yeah, this is a very significant project. We're in phase two. Both phases are pretty expensive. They cost about $1.2 million apiece. Tremendous amount of science being done by UC Davis, and our other technical partners. It's a really significant endeavor and it would not be possible without funding that comes first and foremost from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Services, which has provided over half of the funding for this project. Of course, all of the funding they provide has to be matched with private sector contributions, both financial and in kind, and Syngenta and State Water Contractors have really stepped up with major contributions, and then we have a long list of other sustaining contributors as well.

Jim Morris: We've come to the final day of the third year of field work for the salmon project. Alex Wampler of UC Davis, you've been here through the start. What are your thoughts as the fish are going to head from the rice fields out to the ocean?

Alex Wampler: I'm very excited. I can't wait to track their migration to the ocean. I suspect the fish will make it out in about 14 days. We have a very dense receiver array, so we should be able to track each step they take. It's going to be very exciting.

Jim Morris: Is it at all emotional? You're kind of in a different area. You're working with living things. We sure hope that the salmon will ultimately be helped by all of this.

Alex Wampler: Oh, yes. It's very emotional. I care about these fish deeply. I've hand raised them since they were eggs, in November. I suspect that they will do very well out at sea. It feels great to know that our efforts, and our research, are going immediately to species survival and helping these endemic and endangered species have a great chance while working within human boundaries.

Jim Morris: Hopefully, those same rice fields that provide major benefits for wildlife, especially during drought years, will also play a valuable role in restoring salmon, an icon of the California environment.

Jim Morris: That will wrap up this episode. Thank you to Andrew Rypel, Carson Jeffres, Paul Buttner, and Alex Wampler for their comments about this promising project. You can find out more at podcast.calrice.org. Please subscribe and leave us a review. Thanks for listening.

Recent Episodes from Ingrained

Episode 34: A Year Like No Other

California farmers are no strangers to drought, although the magnitude of this, a third straight dry year, has widespread and significant impacts in Sacramento Valley rice country and nearby communities.

A lack of adequate rain above Shasta Dam has brought historic water cutbacks to growers on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, with a major reduction in rice plantings. This contrasts the east side of the valley, where rice acreage is expected to be normal to potentially above normal. Full rice acreage won’t be known until later this spring.

“We’re down to 25 percent of normal rice acreage,” said grower Kurt Richter, who farms in Colusa County. “For a westside operation, that figure is actually very high this year. I’m the only person I know who is on the west side who is even planting rice at all.”

The sharp reduction in rice planting will have a ripple effect along the west side of the valley, including not only rice mills, dryers, ag pilots, supply companies and truckers, but virtually all people and businesses.

“We have never seen a year like this,” remarked Rick Richter of Richter Aviation. Rick has aerially seeded rice fields since the 1970s. “We’re basically one-seventh of what we normally do.”

Other area businesses echo Richter’s comments and concerns.

“You talk to some of the guys that went through drought in the 1980s and this seems to be even worse,” said Jason Bowen, Pest Control Advisor at Colusa County Farm Supply. “This affects everyone. Every person you talk to. It doesn’t matter where you work at, you’re completely affected.”

Bowen is among those who hope state and federal aid is forthcoming, to help during a time of significant economic hardship.

“Any aid would benefit everyone,” he said. “Whoever the aid does go to, it’s going to trickle down all the way through the local economies in any way, shape or form.”

While faced with cutbacks not seen in decades, there remains a persevering nature that is a hallmark characteristic of this region.

“People here are tough. They are strong and have a way of working together to make this successful ,” said Jim Cook, Director of Research and Technology at Colusa County Farm Supply. “We know we’re in for a tough go. The bottom line is we have no other place to go. This is like the Alamo for us. This is our place where we’re going to make a stand and we are going to survive.”

Jennifer Abel is General Manager of Luis Cairo’s in Williams, a restaurant with a rich history in the valley. She said they, like so many restaurants, have had big challenges in recent years, from COVID-19 restrictions, the economic downturn and large fires in nearby areas. Drought impacts to nearby farms and ranches will likely impact their business, but she remained positive about their future.

“We’re really strong and united,” she said. “We have a solid foundation of families and people that have been here for a long time that have been farming and working in this community. They’re going to come together, make a difference and make something happen.”

Episode Transcript

Jim Morris: This is normally a time of activity far and wide in the Sacramento Valley, rice planting season, including here in Glenn County. There’s a disconcerting lack of tractors and airplanes working on the west side of the valley right now, as a third year of drought is impacting our region in an unprecedented way. With so much farmland idle, impacts will be strongly felt. This year will be a test like no other.

Kurt Richter: There's going to be a lot of people that are not going to be able to find work this year.

Rick Richter: Every person you talk to around the local community has been affected.

Jim Cook: This is really like the Alamo for us. This is our place where we're going to make a stand and we are going to survive.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained: The California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. Simply put, there is no year in memory compared to what's happening this year, especially for those who live and work along the Sacramento River. Pain will be real and widespread. We won't know the total acreage of rice planted in the state until later this spring. For now, it's clear that planting will be dramatically lower on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, and it appears to be normal to perhaps a bit greater on the east side. Kurt Richter, what's happening in your rice fields right now?

Kurt Richter: We are currently wrapping up getting the 2022 crop into the ground. It has been kind of a short season for us because acres are scaled back so significantly. Our workforce is scaled back significantly too, but we're probably a week away from getting the final fields planted and in the ground.

Jim Morris: One of the words that comes up a lot this year is unprecedented. Is that a good adjective to describe what you're seeing? What type of cutbacks are you having?

Kurt Richter: Notable cutbacks, the worst that we've ever seen in our operation, and I'm sure that goes out industry-wide as well. We're down to 25 percent of normal, and for a west side operation like us, that's actually very high. I'm the only person I know on the west side who's even planting rice at all. But we're very fortunate, with some of the leases that we hold, where well water is available, very good river water rights are available. We're able to maximize that. However, 25 percent is still the lowest we've ever been by a large margin.

Jim Morris: The impacts from that reduction extend well beyond your farm I imagine, so let's start with your farm. How does it impact you, your workforce, and then how does it impact the communities around you?

Kurt Richter: Well, we're running a much leaner crew than we typically run. We just don't need the people that we normally need because we don't have the acres to necessitate it. So, a lot of the seasonal people that we typically hire this time of the year are not coming on board with us. We just don't have anything for them to do. We're getting by with our full-time guys for the most part. That's how we're scaled back.

Kurt Richter: I've heard many similar stories from other growers, too. There's going to be a lot of people that are not going to be able to find work this year. And then when you extend that out to the rice dryers, the rice mills, I mean they're all going through budget cuts right now too, layoffs, paring down and trying to figure out how to survive a year where, in some areas, there is no rice at all.

Jim Morris: That sound is Nick Richter seeding a rice field in Colusa County, an all too uncommon sight on the west side of the Sacramento valley this year. Rick Richter is Nick's dad, and he owns Richter Aviation in Maxwell. You've been seeding rice field since the late '70s. Rick, how different is this year compared to all of the past time you worked in rice?

Rick Richter: We have never seen a year like this if you really want to know the truth. Back in the '70s, like '76, '77, I remember we were at 50 percent, and I don't recall any year quite like this.

Jim Morris: For those not directly involved in farming, they may not understand that impacts from not being able to plant crops extend well beyond the farm level. How does this drought and the idled acreage impact businesses like yourself and other businesses on the west side of the Sacramento Valley in particular?

Rick Richter: Well, this year as an example, Jim, last year we did 42,000 acres. This year we'll be lucky to do 6,000 acres. So, we're basically one-seventh of what we normally do. And last year was a 75 percent year, so we were even short at that following a few years of cutbacks. So, this is pretty hard to take.

Jim Morris: You'd much rather be in an airplane right now?

Rick Richter: Most definitely, and I've got four other pilots that aren't here would rather be flying. So, right now we just have Nick, my son, he's out flying and doing the work. And he'll be done. This is his only seeding job for the day.

Jim Morris: You've been at this a long time. I imagine you don't do any of this without the thought that you have to persevere through tough years. Will you and will the region largely come through this okay?

Rick Richter: Well it has to rain, Jim. We're here because of the drought, and we understand that, but we'll persevere.

Jim Morris: Work is well underway to try to help third parties suffering from the drought, businesses like yourself, for the sake of this region. How helpful would that be?

Rick Richter: Oh, Jim, that'd be a Godsend. If there's aid out there, we'll take it. We'd rather be working, granted.

Jim Morris: How concerned are you for allied businesses? Everybody has a different structure and financial situation, but so many are being impacted so seriously this year.

Rick Richter: Oh, the allied industries, I've talked to several of them so far. From the fuel suppliers, to the fertilizer companies, to the trucking companies. Every person you talk to around the local community has been affected. And it's just going to get worse. We're just hoping this is a one-year deal and we'll get some rain and come out of this.

Jim Morris: I'm in the Williams area speaking with Jason Bowen, Pest Control Advisor for more than 20 years at Colusa County Farm Supply, a Chico State graduate just like myself. Jason, tell me about this unfolding year and drought impacts as you see them.

Jason Bowen: Started out the winter with a lot of hope with the storms that we had in December. Progressing through the winter that kept on going down, and down, and down. And we're kind of where we're at right now. Being a PCA, and then also a rice farmer, everything we're seeing that nobody's ever seen. You talk to some of the guys that went through this in the '80s, and this seems to be even worse. On our side of it, it's nothing we've ever seen. Hopefully we'll never see it again.

Jim Morris: I'm going to mention a quote I saw that you stated, and would like you to amplify that a little bit. Several years ago during an earlier time of drought you said, "California rice farmers are a special breed of people, great stewards of the land who create environmentally friendly habitat for migrating waterfowl and other species of birds. I am proud to be part of this industry, not only as a consultant, but as a farmer who instills a love of agriculture to my wife and two sons every chance I get." Awesome quote. I personally share those sentiments. So someone who does not know this Sacramento Valley area, how intertwined are rice growers with the environment and the local business community?

Jason Bowen: Completely. Everything goes hand in hand from starting at the farmer going all the way down, all the businesses in one way or the other are affected. From the aerial applicators, to the ground applicators, to chemical and fertilizer distributors, mills, all the way down, trucking, grocery store. It's a trickle down to everyone. When the farmers are affected, the entire community's affected. I live in Maxwell, right in the heart of rice growing country, and I've never seen anything like it. I mean my house is surrounded by rice fields that are completely dried up, and not an acre around there is being planted besides a few fields here and there. So it affects everyone, every person you talk to. It doesn't matter where you work at, you're completely affected.

Jim Morris: Not too far from Maxwell is Sites, and there is talk and hope to get a reservoir built. I know it's in the future, but how helpful would additional water storage be for the future of the valley down the road?

Jason Bowen: Any additional water obviously would be completely helpful with the world that we live in. Everybody knows when the water projects were built they were managed in a way that it was for flood protection, for environment, for farming, for everything. That's obviously being pulled on a lot harder. Any shape or form where we can store more water when we do have those high water-flow years is a benefit for everybody in the Northern Sacramento Valley.

Jim Morris: And looking at the here and now, it's obviously going to be a tremendously difficult year. If it does come through, how helpful would state and/or federal aid be for this region?

Jason Bowen: Any aid would benefit everyone. Everyone in the communities, it's a trickle down. So whoever the aid does go to it's going to trickle down all the way through the local economies in any way, shape, or form.

Jim Morris: Jim Cook is Director of Research and Technology at Colusa County Farm Supply. Jim, tell me about the drought impacts you're seeing and experiencing.

Jim Cook: Well, one of the main things that we see is, being a support group for a support business like Colusa County Farm Supply, is our capacity to provide information and new products to our growers and fieldmen. The delay or the abbreviation of trying to get trials out, trying to get accurate information, and it has just changed the entire scheduling, our pace, the way our guys operate.

Jim Cook:

But also what it's done for us is, all of our information that we develop from a research standpoint is localized. So you can't take information let's say from the east side of the valley and bring it over here to the west side. So that's why it's important that we get our own information put together. So you have a drought, you have less fields to work with, it delays that information process which our guys need to move forward with new things.

Jim Morris: Those new things will ultimately help the grower and then the consumer. This takes years to develop, so this year is significant in terms of the challenge to get this done. Correct?

Jim Cook: That's absolutely right. You just interviewed with Jason, who is one of the top rice people I've ever worked with. But he has thrown at me more problems than I can shake a stick at. But it gives us an opportunity to test the new materials against the new resistance issues, cultural factors, things that we're operating against. And that is the direction of where his business and the business of our fieldmen are going, so we need to provide that information.

Jim Morris: On the website for this company it says, "This region of California is also a treasured source of year-round natural beauty. We're proud to be a vital part of this area, its communities, and production agriculture. We know a lot of people in this region that are hurting." Comment on how resilient this region is.

Jim Cook: All of us come from farming backgrounds and have been through tough times. One of the main comments my father made to me is, "Don't go into farming," because of these issues. People are tough. They're strong. They have a way of working together to make this successful, but they know they're in for a tough go. We all know with that. Bottom line is, we have no other place to go. We don't have the golden parachute. We don't have anything that's going to bail us out. This is it. So it is up to us to make this happen.

Jim Morris: The dominoes from this year's drought will fall well beyond the obvious farms, mills, ag pilots, equipment, and inputs for crops. Communities with agriculture as our foundation are hurting and they're bracing for a summer like no other. Jennifer Abel is General Manager at Louis Cairo's, a place she's worked at for nearly 30 years. Louis Cairo's is a dining institution in Williams, a short drive off of Interstate 5, about an hour north of Sacramento. Jennifer, please tell me about your perspective and the impacts you're either seeing or fearing regarding the drought.

Jennifer Abel: I feel that it's going to be detrimental to our community. Already, the people that come in at the end of the day, normally the farmers talking about their rice, and their water, and what it looks like, and what the ground looks like as they're sewing it up, and everything like that. You don't see a lot of that going on. You see them coming in and having these meetings, and they're nervous, and they're tense, and things are getting scary. And the west side is, from my understanding, which is where we're at, has the hardest hit compared to the east side. It's going to be a huge impact on not only our community, but the entire north state, the entire state, and nation.

Jim Morris: The Cairo family immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s. They had little money, so the entire family worked in prune orchards. Louis loved Colusa County and opened up a hamburger stand in the 1930s. Louis Cairo's has been in operation for more than 75 years. If you haven't done it, you need to visit, and you have to try their Louie Bread. You won't forget it. Jennifer, how connected is this place, this community, with the farmers whose fields surround all the towns in the Sacramento Valley?

Jennifer Abel: I'd say we're incredibly connected to the point that ... Well for instance, going through COVID and everything. And there was a time when we opened, closed, opened, closed, to-go only, outdoors only. Then we just had to close for a while because we weren't monetarily making it on just being open for to-go. Then we had the wildfires that were up this way and it was literally raining ash, so you couldn't eat outside. It was bad for your health.

Jennifer Abel: All these farmers got together and singled me out and said, "What can we do to get Louis Cairo's open? We are desperate. We will do anything. We will make it work." That's the kind of people that's in this community. That's the kind of people that want to see us thrive. And those are the kind of people that we want to continue to be here for to make a difference in their lives. To have that place for them to come and talk about their rice, and talk about their trees, and talk about their families, and have a great time.

Jim Morris: You made an interesting point, because it's been really tough for restaurants well before the drought, from any factor you can name, from the economy, you mentioned COVID, but what about the resilience not only from the Cairo family that as you've seen, but from these communities? How tough is this region? It's going to need to be tough to get through all of this.

Jennifer Abel: It's going to need to be tough, but I think that we're really strong and united, and there's a really solid foundation of families and people that have been here for a long time that have been farming, that have been working in this community, families that have been here from the ground up that make our community. I think they're going to come together and they're going to make a difference, and they're going to make something happen.

Jim Morris: As I look at my surroundings here in Maxwell at an unplanted rice field, this is a year where adjectives fail. Perseverance will be needed like never before for this unique, wonderful, and productive part of California. I want to thank our interviewees, Kurt Richter, Rick Richter, Jason Bowen, Jim Cook, and Jennifer Abel. I also want to say goodbye. I'm retiring from rice. Our family is following our son off to college elsewhere in the West to start a new chapter, and this is my final podcast.

Jim Morris: It will continue under great direction of Katie Cahill, who is a phenomenal person, and she will do a great job telling the California rice story. So please keep listening, send in your questions and comments, leave a review, and subscribe. I am so grateful to have worked in this wonderful region telling a great story with tremendous people doing it. Thank you to all who've been so kind and supportive. It has been my honor.

enMay 15, 2022

Episode 33: Unprecedented

Many travelers heading north on Interstate 5 or Highway 99 only get a fleeting glimpse of the Sacramento Valley. However, those who know this region understand and appreciate how unique and valuable it is.

The Sacramento Valley is an impressive patchwork of farms and communities, living and working in harmony with the environment.

A worsening drought has led to major water cutbacks. Farmers will grow less and the communities with agriculture as their foundation will be impacted.

Local officials are concerned about how lost farm production will impact their communities.

“Those impacts are actually huge,” remarked Colusa County Supervisor Denise Carter, who farms with her husband, Ben. “You can just measure the magnitude in dollars, revenue to the county, and that revenue to the county and to the growers is there's a trickle-down effect. You have the equipment companies, you have the chemical companies, you have the fuel suppliers. You have also the people. In a drought like this, none of us can afford to hire as many people as we normally hire.”

Colusa County has an annual value of all crops produced of more than $900 million and is America’s top rice growing county. Cutbacks from the Sacramento River this year are unlike anything experienced before.

Concern for drought impacts is pervasive throughout the region.

“Butte County, like many rural counties throughout America and California, is the economy revolves around agriculture,” said county supervisor and farmer, Tod Kimmelshue. “The farmers make money, but also the support services that serve agriculture, also do very well when things are good. Now, if land is going to be fallowed this year in Butte County and Northern California, we're concerned that some of those support services will also not do as well. So it has quite a ripple effect going through the whole county.”

As this season plays out, the Sacramento Valley will be tested. Even with a difficult year ahead, optimism remains for the long haul.

“We care deeply,” remarked Yuba City City Councilmember Grace Espindola. “The diversity of community is in our blood.”

Espindola said building Sites Reservoir would be an excellent step to help California weather future droughts.

Jim Morris: It's late April in the Sacramento Valley and, at least here along Highway 99 in Butte County, things appear somewhat normal. The recent rain is unusual, but unfortunately the lack of rain in the winter months is an all too familiar occurrence. What we're left with is unprecedented drought, which has extended for three years and it's causing uncertainty and concern like never before.

Denise Carter: Quite honestly, no one has ever seen it this bad.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with farmers and ranchers throughout the state for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. During that time, there have been all too many dry years, but what's happening this time has never been experienced in the Sacramento Valley. Concerns are real and rising. Butte County is one of the state leaders in agriculture, with a crop value of well over $600 million a year. Farming is the foundation of this county and of our valley. Tod Kimmelshue is a family farmer and a retired ag finance banking advisor. He's now serving on the Butte County Board of Supervisors. Tod, for someone who isn't familiar with your area, how do you convey to them what farming and ranching mean here?

Tod Kimmelshue: Butte County has always been a very strong farming community and we're very lucky also, to have an agricultural university here, Chico State, which trains farmers and agricultural people. We grow several different crops here, mostly almonds, walnuts and rice, and agriculture has a great deal of impact in this area.

Jim Morris: I think many from afar think California weather is absolutely perfect. And we certainly have some perfect times, but we're in a bit of a rough stretch right now to be sure, not only the winter freeze for almonds, but also the awful drought entering year three now. Prime examples of how this has already been an agonizing year for many. What are your concerns about drought impacts?

Tod Kimmelshue: The drought has had a huge impact on our water supply in this area. Much of Butte County rice is grown with surface water. And, when we have a drought, the reservoirs don't fill up, and so there's not enough water for the rice crops in this area. The other water source we have in Butte County are aquifers. And most of the orchardists in this area use the aquifers. However, those aquifers have been declining as well during the drought.

Jim Morris: When land is idle and crops aren't abundant, what is the effect on non-farmers in your area?

Tod Kimmelshue: Butte County, like many rural counties throughout America and California, is the economy revolves around agriculture. The farmers make money, but also the support services that serve agriculture, also do very well when things are good. Now, if land is going to be fallowed this year in Butte County and Northern California, we're concerned that some of those support services will also not do as well. So it has quite a ripple effect going through the whole county.

Jim Morris: I've lived in Butte County, and I know Butte Strong is more than a slogan, it's a way of life. Looking back to the Camp Fire in Paradise, several years back, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. This region struggled mightily, but came through and rebounded. How much will your area need to rely on its resiliency to whether this latest setback?

Tod Kimmelshue: Well, this is just another setback in many that has affected Butte County, and we consider ourselves very resilient. We've made it through some of these really terrible disasters. Drought is just another disaster that may impact us here in Butte County and probably will impact us economically. So we believe that we will weather this storm, just like farmers weather many different storms and weather conditions, and we will come out of this in the next couple years when we get more rain.

Jim Morris: Colusa County is America's top rice growing county. Its crop values usually exceed $900 million a year. There are legitimate concerns about how this year will play out due to water cut backs. The biggest drought impacts are along the Sacramento River. Denise Carter and her husband, Ben, farm in this county. She's also a county supervisor, a role she served for nearly 15 years. Her background includes an engineering degree from UCLA. Denise, can you convey your concerns about the drought from the perspective as a grower and someone who's working on behalf of your county?

Denise Carter: As a grower, I would say the cutback is significant. For us in our situation, since we are a settlement contractor along the river, with our 18 percent of Sacramento River water that we are going to receive, we are dedicating that to our rice crop. So we will grow basically half of what we normally grow. It's a small quantity and we grow organic rice, and obviously there's a real need in that market. So we're doing our little part with the water we have, to grow a little bit of rice.

Jim Morris: How about your community that you represent and your concerns about those impacts?

Denise Carter: Those impacts are actually huge. You can just measure the magnitude in dollars, revenue to the county, and that revenue to the county and to the growers is there's a trickle-down effect. You have the equipment companies, you have the chemical companies, you have the fuel suppliers. You have also the people. In a drought like this, none of us can afford to hire as many people as we normally hire. So quite frankly, that's my biggest concern is having jobs for people. And if we don't have jobs for people, what are they going to do? Are they going to leave their area? So, eventually maybe we will have more water, hopefully next year, will those people come back? Many of these employees have been in this county for years and have lived here and farmed here for years. And in Colusa County, agriculture is the number one industry. We are an agricultural-based county. So consequently, it's going to have a big hit on our county.

Jim Morris: You mentioned economics, but I caught a bit of emotion, too. People know each other here, they're concerned for each other. So how emotional is this year going to be?

Denise Carter: I think everybody knows each other in this community and there's going to be significant job loss in the county. People in this county do really take care of others in this county. I truly, truly believe that, and I've seen that so many times, but the magnitude of this job loss is going to be significant. And we have farmers who aren't going to be able to afford to hire as many people. And they're also not going to get the hours that they're used to getting. I was actually talking to someone about, at a tomato processing facility and they say, "People aren't going to be working 12 hour days. They'll be working 8 hour days."

Denise Carter: Because again, you can hire more people at 8 hour days or maybe you don't even have enough product, but you can hire more people if they have less hours, and maybe that's enough to keep people, at least, going. I had a conversation a couple days ago at our local paint store. And I asked him how things are going. And he said, "They're going okay. The big projects are still happening, but what I'm not seeing is the walk-in traffic, the people coming in who want to just paint a bedroom." And I think it's because people can't afford to, quite honestly. There are priorities, food, shelter and transportation.

Jim Morris: Agriculture, by nature, is cyclical. Have you seen or heard from other people, anything like what's happening this year?

Denise Carter: No one has ever seen it this bad. And, you couple the lack of surface water with the strain on our groundwater and it's kind of a perfect storm right now. And it's very frightening from a lot of different aspects.

Jim Morris: Grace Espindola legally immigrated at the age of two and has been a trail blazer, including becoming the first Mexican-American elected to the Yuba City, City Council. And Grace, can you tell me a little bit about your background and also the diversity of this area?

Grace Espindola: I came to this country at a very young age. I was two years old, carried by my mother with one luggage and we were destined to come to Colusa. My father was working there in Colusa with Mayfair Packing Company. So he had established a place for us to live. So here we are, I'm now a City Council member.

Jim Morris: That is so awesome. And reading from your biography at the age of 12, you began working in the orchards of Sutter County and your work has evolved into a variety of jobs, including fast food, a waitress, dishwasher, housekeeper, retail, insurance, home health, clerk, secretary, counselor, and many other jobs. So you have seen many different sides of this Sacramento Valley economy. How much is agriculture intertwined with all of the people here?

Grace Espindola: One hundred percent of our community is connected to ag business or ag industry. One of the things that my mom said to me when I was 12 years old, that the reason that she thought I was going to be successful, is because I knew how to pick walnuts faster than any other kid. So having that kind of experience, working out in the orchards and knowing the value of the farm worker, working with the farmers and within the city of our city, who purchase a lot of consumer goods, it is a relationship. It is a community and that's what the value is.

Jim Morris: And the Yuba Sutter area is amazing for agriculture when you look at walnuts, peaches, prunes, of course, rice. And so, what are your concerns specifically for agriculture, as we look at a year that we haven't seen before, a third year of drought?

Grace Espindola: The biggest concern is having enough water for all of us. As a city, as an ag business, as a community, do we have enough water? Well, fortunately we are in a better situation than other parts of our state, that is good. But in the future, what would that look like? So we, as a community, part of my mission, part of my priority, working with farming community, working with local businesses, working with the farm workers and their families is to be able to come up with solutions that we can both live with. And I'm also working with the State Water Board, DWR, for that voice to be heard from local community members.

Jim Morris: How much do people care for each other in this region?

Grace Espindola: We care deeply. The diversity of community is in our blood. That in a farmer when you have, there's a family, and sometimes farm workers in that farming industry become part of the fabric of family. My family, working for Mayfair Packing Company, we had that connection and I have continued to utilize that philosophy in my work as an elected official, but, at the same time, as just another person who is trying to do the right thing for all of us.

Jim Morris: I can feel your positivity and it is a very challenging year. How positive are you that through perseverance, this region is going to make it through?

Grace Espindola: I have everything to believe that we're going to make it through. We have to be much more mindful on how we utilize water. We have to connect all of this, in order to be able to live amongst the needs of how we're going to utilize the water when it becomes less. But, when we have extra water, we also have to know how to store it, how to keep it, to utilize it for those times when we have droughts, like we are in now.

Jim Morris: Sites Reservoir would be an excellent addition to California moving forward.

Grace Espindola: I completely value Sites Reservoir. I went up there and did a tour and seen firsthand, and I see the entire benefit of all of our community. It will offer many jobs, it will bring economic boost, but most of all, what we all need, is we need to reserve water and be prepared for when those moments of drought, like we're living now, so let's get this built.

Jim Morris: That will wrap up this episode, but you can find out more on the drought and on our podcast at calrice.org. We will keep you updated as the year progresses. I appreciate Tod Kimmelshue, Denise Carter and Grace Espindola for their time, comments and concerns for our region. Thanks for listening.

enApril 20, 2022

Episode 32: Momentum Grows for Sites Reservoir

A third straight drought year poses major challenges for California’s environment, cities and farms. While cooperation, collaboration and innovation are needed in the short term, many feel a major part of the long-term water solution is additional storage.

A remote area on the west side of the Sacramento Valley could be a big part of the solution. Sites Reservoir has been debated for decades, and getting this critical addition to water infrastructure appears more likely than ever.

One major development in getting this project completed is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month formally invited the Sites Project Authority to apply for a $2.2 billion low-interest loan through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which would bring the project significantly closer to construction and completion.

Jerry Brown

“This really is a game changer,” said Sites Project Authority General Manager Jerry Brown. “Additive to the other sources of funds that we have, a prior loan from USDA and Proposition 1 funds from the state and federal sources, really rounds out our financing picture to a great extent. This puts us on a to track where we are now in a position to fund construction of the project, which is really exciting!”

Brown said there are several steps needed, including applying for a new water right to the State Water Resources Control Board. There are other permits needed from the state and federal government. If all goes as hoped, ground will be broken in 2024 and the new reservoir will be in place in 2030.

He said if Sites were in place prior to the wet years of 2017 and 2019, it would have been completely full at 1.5 million acre feet to start 2020, and would have been able to provide about 400,000 acre feet of water for the state’s cities, farm and environment.

Brown said while Sites will provide significant benefits for urban and agricultural customers, it’s commitment for environmental water will set it apart from all other projects.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a project like Sites that will provide the kind of assets and benefits for environmental purposes.”

As the drought will provide significant impacts to the Sacramento Valley and state in the months ahead, hopefully getting Sites Reservoir built will provide major help in the future; especially vital considering our volatile climate.

Episode Transcript

Jim Morris: After a promising start to the rainy season, California has gone extremely dry. The lack of water provides serious widespread challenges. As our climate volatility grows, the need for a more reliable water supply is even more vital. For a growing number of people, that's where Sites Reservoir comes into play.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. A lack of rain and snow has extended the drought for a third year, creating the likelihood of widespread pain. One hopeful sign for the future would be carrying out a project that's been discussed and debated for decades, Sites Reservoir. Jerry Brown is general manager of the Sites Project Authority. Jerry, let's start with key updates on the project. First, can you relay the big news from the US Environmental Protection Agency, what happened, and how important is this news?

Jerry Brown: This really is a game changer. What happened was the Environmental Protection Agency is making an invitation to the Sites Reservoir Project to apply for what's called a WIFIA loan, Water Infrastructure And Finance Investment Act. And what that is, is a mechanism by which the federal government makes a loan available to a project like Sites. In this case, it's in an amount of about 49 percent of the project cost, which for Sites is roughly $2.2 billion. So it's a $2.2 billion loan that has been offered to the Sites Reservoir Project, and, additive to the other sources of funds that we have, a prior loan from USDA, the Proposition One money from the state, and the federal sources really rounds out our financing picture to a great extent and puts us on a track to where we are now in a position to fund the construction of the project, so that's pretty exciting.

Jim Morris: Let's talk about that construction. Realistically, and perhaps optimistically, what is your timeframe that you're looking at?

Jerry Brown: The loan doesn't really necessarily accelerate the project. There's still several steps that we have to take to get to the point where we can start construction. Probably most notable is the upcoming application that we're making for our water right. We are going to be seeking a new water right for the Sites Project, and that will be submitted within the next month. And, with that, it will kick off about an 18 to 24 month period that the State Water Resources Control Board takes to evaluate our application and make a final determination as to the water right that will be established for the project.

Beyond that, there are some very critical permits that we need to secure through the Fish and Wildlife Service of both the state and the federal government. Those are under way. We've made an application recently for one of those, and there's a couple more to do, and we expect those to occur within the next 18 to 24 months, as well. So those critical activities will lead up to the point in time when we will be able to have the assets in place to then secure the loan with the federal government through WIFIA. Once that occurs, we'll be able to initiate construction fairly shortly after that. So, hopefully, by mid to late 2024, we'll start construction. And it's about a six-year period, which would put us at operational completion in about 2030.

Jim Morris: If Sites were in place now, how much of a difference would it make?

Jerry Brown: Because largely of the 2017, 2019 wet years, if we would've had Sites in place then, Sites would've started the 2020 year completely full at a million and a half acre feet. We estimated last year, had we had Sites in place, we would've had about a million acre feet of water in the reservoir for the farms and cities and environment. With the use that was projected last year, we would probably have about 400,000 acre feet available this year, which is still a very substantial amount, especially considering the very low conditions at our upstream reservoirs, Shasta, Oroville, Folsom.

Jim Morris: We have three distinct segments in California, and they sometimes intertwine, the environment, cities, and farms. How would each of these benefit if Sites is built?

Jerry Brown: The one piece of this, while I believe the benefits for the cities and farms are very important and necessary to make the project work, is the environmental element. I don't think there's ever been a project like Sites that will provide the kind of assets and benefits for environmental purposes. We're still figuring the final participation by the federal government, but, on a high end, there could be up to around 40 percent of the project, the Sites Project, that would be dedicated for environmental purposes. And that is huge, because never before has the state or the federal government owned and operated an asset like Sites, that will have both storage and water supply for the environment in the driest of years.

And with that, we recently entered into some collaboration with some environmental groups to evaluate how we can optimize the use of this environmental storage to provide the optimum benefit for all the different environmental objectives that are out there. So we're super excited about that. And the board is very committed to this as a component of the project.

I think one other thing to note, one of the criticisms about the Proposition One investment in environmental purposes is that maybe it's going to be somewhat of a bait and switch where we say we're going to do something, and then, when times get tough, it's not going to happen. But I can tell you with a hundred percent confidence that this board and this project is going to seek to have an ironclad contract with the environment, with the State of California, to the point where, as long as there's a California, there will be an environmental component to the Sites Reservoir.

Jim Morris: When you look at rice, we have shown that you can grow a crop that's very helpful for our cuisine and incredible for our economy, but then we also have the Pacific Flyway Benefits, and looks like salmon will be benefiting from rice farming as well. So does it need to be an or conversation, or can Sites be part of a greater and picture that help our water overall in California?

Jerry Brown: I've been involved in California water for decades. And we are at a stage where it seems like we are at odds a lot in terms of what kind of strategy to take to improve our situation. There's the or camp, which seems to be of a mindset that we can extend and optimize what we have. That we don't need to do much of anything, but we just need to conserve and recycle, and that will take care of all of our issues.

That is a strategy, but I believe that what we're seeing today and the stresses that are occurring in our natural and developed systems, which are significant, we're seeing the results of that just an or strategy. There is an element to extending our supplies that we have, but there's also the and part of this, which is we need to build new facilities and find smart ways to extend the resources that we have to provide for the changing climate, the growing population, and all the needs of California, including the environment. And we think Sites Reservoir is a great tool that will allow us to do the and.

Jim Morris: I've lived in the Sacramento Valley my entire life. And, I have to say, it's a big concern when we look at what the drought is doing to our region. So let's talk about some optimism. If not now, when would this ever happen? What kind of momentum do you see for this project, and what kind of optimism do you have at this time that this is going to get done and help our state?

Jerry Brown: We are at a critical juncture where the Sites Reservoir and other storage projects, whether it be groundwater, storage, or surface storage, recycled water, conservation, desalination, all of these things are necessary to secure our future. And with SGMA, with the stresses that our existing resources are under, we have to invest. And I think more and more people are recognizing that. Somebody asked me this the other day, "What is different today than maybe 10 or 20 years ago in terms of the possibilities for Sites Reservoir?"

And I think a big part of it is the recognition of the changing climate and the effect that that's having on the availability of our water supplies. And, I think, people see the sensibilities of essentially providing additional storage of water, so that as we get more of our precipitation in the form of rain instead of snow, that we have someplace that is reserving this supply, diverting it during the wettest periods, when that can be done safely, and saving it for the dry periods when we really need it most, all of us.

Jim Morris: I appreciate Jerry Brown taking time to visit on this key project. As the year progresses, we will keep you updated on developments with Sites Reservoir, as well as drought impacts in the Sacramento Valley. You can find out much more at podcast.calrice.org. We appreciate your comments, questions, and reviews. Thanks for listening.

Ingrained

enMarch 29, 2022