Report on SARE-SSWAG Trip
California visit February 6-11, 1999

Participants: Specialists, County agents, and producers from several areas, including: Erath, Comanche, Hopkins and Wood Counties

Reported by: Nancy Roe and Bob Whitney

This trip was organized by the Dairy Science group to observe and learn about dairy production in central California, with an emphasis on waste management; and to visit the Tulare Farm Show. This is the largest farm equipment show in the country and is a good place to learn about the latest equipment, methods, and products for agriculture.

University of California Waste Management Specialist DeAnn Myers spoke to us about the situation in California, both in that area and others. In some areas, high nitrates in wells have resulted in strict controls on agriculture and closing of dairies. She took us to visit some dairies in the San Joaquin valley. Manure separators are present on many of the dairies there, but the opinions of the producers on their effectiveness vary. Other management systems include using two levels of settling basins.

Due to our proximity to other agricultural enterprises, some of us visited some horticultural operations. Some toured fruit and nut farms and observed new plantings on raised beds, use of subsurface drip irrigation, and testing of mulches on fruit trees. We also visited the Sun Maid Raisin Co-op processing plant. Many small family growers are members of the coop-it is surrounded by miles of vineyards owned by individual families. We stopped and visited with one grower. She said that they had recently changed to selling to a winery. This seems to be related to the costs of and problems with labor: raisins traditionally require a lot of manual labor for cutting and drying. The winery will come to harvest the grapes, usually mechanically.

Others in the group visited intensive vegetable growing operations to the south. They toured the Headstart Nursery, Inc. in Thermal, California. They visited the greenhouses and discussed growing transplants for melon growers. They next toured fields already planted with seedless watermelons. On the trip down and back they saw and learned about California Agriculture including problems in dealing with agricultural wastes and chemicals. California producers are facing some struggles in the future as they deal with more people and stiffer regulations.

Producers in the group have already put into place several ideas, one saving over $10,000 in vegetable cooling costs.