Valley Agribusiness 2018

2 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

- Photo by Bill Gates

Publishers’ Message

W

elcome to the first edition of Valley Agribusiness & Desert Growing Digest, the first of what will be an annual publication for the Imperial Valley and surrounding areas’ growing industry.

We at Reliance Public Relations are excited to be growing, too. With Valley Agribusiness we are expanding our relatively young stable of publications to include a professionally written, designed and photographed, full-color, glossy magazine full of informative, insightful and interesting articles geared to the local agricultural industry.

You can pick up the print version of the magazine from any of our advertisers or on racks in high-traffic locations throughout the Valley. The magazine also is being mailed to many Valley growers and all current subscribers of Imperial Valley Alive!

The idea for Valley Agribusiness grew out of our longheld belief that the region’s bedrock industry deserves more than routine, perfunctory media coverage.

Throughout our long careers in journalism and public relations, we have always found the many facets and features of local agriculture to be fascinating. That is probably why we have regularly included some articles about agriculture in our regional lifestyle magazine, Imperial Valley Alive!, to the delight of readers.

We have a hunch that articles, images and data of interest to agribusiness also will be captivating to many in the region. After all, how can you travel through the verdant fields of the Imperial Valley without being curious, inspired – and more than a little awed?

To reinforce the impressive impact agriculture has on the region, check out the recently released Imperial County “Crop Report Plus,” which is included in its entirety in both the printed and online versions of this edition. The report concludes the value of local agriculture is $4.5 billion when employment and indirect costs are factored in. That figure is more than double the value listed in the traditional report issued.

Including the report in total is part of this magazine’s commitment to provide articles, data and information important to the agricultural industry and important to all of us who live and work here. One conclusion of the “Crop Report Plus” that deserves special mention is

the fact that Valley agriculture is more diverse than any other California county similarly studied.

The economists who developed the report noted the local crop diversity bodes well for the economic vitality of the region, which is great news for the community and a key marketing tool for the agriculture industry and regional economic development efforts.

In a way, Valley Agribusiness offers proof that it takes a village to create and cultivate a community magazine.

We owe a debt of gratitude to many growers and others in the field of agriculture whose wealth of knowledge and willingness to share it with us add to the depth, perspective and insight of the articles within. In fact there was so much information that not all could fit within the space limits of this magazine. Check out the magazine website, www. valleyagribiz.com for quotes, snippets, images and other ag-related information. You will also be able to upload notices, press releases and calendar events.

We owe special thanks to the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association (IVVGA), which has been a part of all our publications and contributed information, ideas and a column for this edition. And those contributions came during the busiest season for vegetable growers.

Of course, the generosity of growers should not surprise us. Rarely is a community event held without growers contributing in a major way. For the recent county annual Senior Appreciation Day, for instance, local growers responded to a request by donating 65 boxes of fresh-from-the-field goodies for the event.

Since we started publishing an award-winning quarterly regional magazine in 2016, we’ve known we wanted to capture the vitality, color and spirit of agriculture in a local magazine.

As we talked about the idea, so many people eagerly offered ideas, suggestions and recommendations that we cannot name them all. Their enthusiasm added the spark that resulted in Valley Agribusiness & Desert Growing Guide.

Please enjoy Valley Agribusiness. We look forward to getting your thoughts as we go back to work on the next edition of what we expect to be a growing magazine. 

Bill Gay

Susan Giller

Peggy Dale

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 3

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INDEX Water Conservation, Growers Step Up Produce Results

VOLUME 1 EDITORS & PUBLISHERS Bill Gay Susan Giller Peggy Dale

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CONTRIBUTORS Antoine Abou-Diwan Darren Simon Nate Dorsey Kay Day Pricola Carlos Ortiz

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COVER PHOTO Dane Knight

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Marketing as Vital as the Crops Farmers Grow

Careers in Agriculture, Dozens of Choices Available

Alejandra Noriega

WEB DESIGNER Sergio Uriarte

SALES

Bill Amidon Sue Gay John Lovecchio

SOCIAL MEDIA Marissa Bowers

ADVERTISING

bill.amidon@reliancepr.com 760-693-5330

SUBSCRIPTIONS

(Includes Valley Agribusiness and quarterly Imperial Valley Alive!)

Send name address and email address with $21.70, includes tax, to:

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Publishers’ message Excitement builds over data-driven farming Results seen in water conservation Valley ranks high in forage exports Marketing as vital as crops farmers grow Organic shed for organic citrus One World Beef is major player Measures insure food safety Collaboration, planning key to industry progress

22 Silverdale makes strides in world of cheese 24 Next generation makes its mark 26 Produce contest raises funds for charity 33 CROP REPORT PLUS 43 What grows here?

COLUMN S 15 50 years of Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association 19 Agricultural Commissioner explains value of crop report

Reliance Public Relations, Inc. P.O. Box 1944 • El Centro, CA 92244 www.ValleyAgriBiz.com Valley Agribusiness is published annually by Reliance Public Relations, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical for any purpose without the written permission of Reliance Public Relations, Inc.

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COVER PHOTO: A tractor sits in a field near Mount Signal in west Imperial County. - Photo by Dane Knight

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 5

A drone hovers above an agricultural experimental field in 2017 at UC Desert Research & Extension Center in Holtville. A drone is also called a small unmanned aerial system. - Photo by Joselito N. Villero

Farm Tech Revolution Innovations Are Ramping Up

By Antoine Abou-Diwan

N

orthend farmer Carson Kalin says he can’t recall the exact date he installed Hortau System’s soil tensionometers, but it has helped him grow a better crop with less water.

“We tried it out and it works,” he said. “We conserve water while optimizing yields.”

Hortau’s system measures soil water tension—how hard a plant has to work to absorb water through its roots—and combines that data with satellite images and weather information to help farmers grow a better

Sean Hogan, academic coordinator at University of California -Agricultural and Natural Resources in Davis, checks images on a monitor transmitted by a DJI Inspire 1 Pro drone that is equipped with an infrared camera at a 2017 field day at UC Desert Research & Extension Center in Holtville.

- Photo by Joselito N. Villero

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crop and conserve water. Hortau’s customers routinely reduce water use by 20 to 35 percent, according to the company’s CEO. Data-driven farming promises even higher levels of agricultural production and efficiency, both of which are increasingly crucial as the global population continues to grow. The United Nations estimates that the world’s population is growing by about 83 million each year, and is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, and 9.8 billion by 2050.

Investors, looking for opportunities, have taken note. They plowed more than $700 million in agriculture tech companies in 2017, with funding on track to beat the previous two years, according to research firm CB Insights.

Hortau is just one of many tech companies working to disrupt the way agriculture is done. But there is a learning curve.

“The information (it gives you) is only as good as you use it,” Kalin cautioned. “If you don’t pay attention to what it’s telling you, it’s no good.”

Kalin grows on 2,000 acres in the Brawley-Westmorland area. He and his brother Al are second-generation farmers on their father’s side, and thirdgeneration farmers on their mother’s side.

They adopted a number of innovations over the years to help them grow better crops, like drip irrigation and tile drainage lines.

Farmers make crop management decisions based on information collected in their fields. The goal is to grow a bigger and better crop while keeping a lid on costs, such as water, fertilizer or labor.

Innovations throughout history, such as mechanized harvesting and ammonia-based fertilizers, helped farmers realize better yields.

The foundations for data-driven farming were laid in the 1990s, when farmers began to access Global Position System satellite data. GPScontrolled tractors, for instance, helped farmers work their fields more accurately and efficiently.

Low-cost, high-speed Internet access, coupled with the widespread adoption of smartphones in the first decade of the 2000s inspired numerous startups to create apps for ag.

But it is data generated by the Internet of Things—interconnected devices such as soil sensors and weather stations—that has Hortau’s co-

founder and CEO, Jocelyn Boudreau, excited.

“This could be just as big as the green revolution of the 1960s,” he said, referring to a series of agricultural innovations beginning in the 1930s, such as high-yield varieties of cereals, chemical fertilizers and mechanized harvesting that boosted production worldwide.

“In the next 10 years we’re going to see an extension of what we’re seeing now,” Boudreau continued. “All the technologies are there, but they’re not very well adopted.”

SWIIM (Sustainable Water & Innovative Irrigation Management) takes a different approach. SWIIM’s system helps farmers account for their water use by measuring water flows on and off the fields as well as evapotranspiration. The company also uses data from sensors in the field, augmented with publicly-available weather data.

“Our tool points out where there is opportunity to conserve,” said Harry Ferdon, regional sales manager.

The Imperial Irrigation District’s On-Farm Water Conservation Program was the company’s foot in the door in the Imperial Valley, where “a blend of produce growers and handful of forage” growers were using the SWIIM System, Ferdon added.

As beneficial as it is to have massive amounts of data from the field, understanding what it means and how to act on it is a challenge. Raw data needs to be crunched.

“With artificial intelligence you can start forecasting and optimizing,” Boudreau said. “We can tell farmers ‘you’re going to need to irrigate in 17 hours.’ We like to say real time is too late. You have to be able to anticipate and act.”

But all that data is useless if farmers don’t understand their crops.

“If we have moisture below 12 inches below dehy (dehydrated) onions, it’s wasted water,” Kalin said. “With sugar beets it’s 18 inches to 3 feet.

Sugar beets have a taproot that goes down. I need to know what it is at 6 inches, 18 inches, 3 feet.”

Plastic covers rows in a field. - Photo by Marcia Jennings Kalin is also experimenting with a drone and multi-spectrum cameras to monitor his fields’ health. Near infrared cameras give him images that show a field’s health in shades of color. Healthier areas are dark, less healthy areas are white. He can see if a drip line is not working.

The information is interesting and useful, but most of it would be obvious by just walking the field, he said.

Regardless, Kalin said he likes to experiment with innovation. Every bit helps, even if it’s sometimes difficult to pin a dollar amount on a specific tool.

“It’s hard to be able to say: ‘That actually made money for me,’’’ Kalin said. n

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 7

Sprinklers irrigate a field near Mount Signal. - Photo by Apolos de la Garza

An irrigation line sits next to rows of Italian dandelion. - Photo by Darren Simon

Water Conservation Growers Step Up, Produce Results

By Susan Giller

I

mperial Valley growers and the Imperial Irrigation District rarely shy away from a challenge. That may explain why Valley growers are currently generating more water for transfer through voluntary onfarm conservation than is now called for in the Quantification System Agreement (QSA).

Then again, the increased water conservation

An Imperial Irrigation District canal delivers water to local fields. - Photo By Joe McCormack

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may be due to grower ingenuity or the flexibility of IID’s on-farm program or the funds growers can receive from the program for conserving water.

Whatever the reason, IID Water Manager Tina Shields said, “It’s been a process to finally get to the on-farm efficiency-based conservation program, and to see this level of grower participation is very satisfying.”

The increase in water generated through onfarm efficiency conservation comes at a critical juncture. The amount needed for transfer to the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) ramps up at the same time the temporary QSA fallowing to generate water ends.

In the 15 years since the QSA was implemented, much work has been done to increase the delivery flexibility of IID’s water system, to collaborate with growers through the Water Conservation Advisory Board (WCAB) and run pilot projects to test-drive on-farm conservation approaches.

“We’ve seen strong participation from growers in the conservation program and to date the (IID) board has agreed to accept all the on-farm proposals to keep the momentum going despite these volumes exceeding the current scheduled obligations,” Shields said.

This year, the QSA calls for Valley growers to generate 130,000 acre-feet (AF) of on-farm conservation water for transfer, which Shields estimates growers in the program are on track to exceed by as much as 30,000 AF.

The amount of conserved water to be transferred ramps up to 303,000 AF a year in 2026, of which up to 200,000 AF is envisioned to come from on-farm efficiency conservation.

For the use of the transferred IID water, San Diego provides annual funding based on the amount of conservation, and IID in turn pays growers who participate in the on-farm program to improve their water use efficiency at a current rate of $285 per AF of conserved water.

IID’s on-farm water conservation program gives growers considerable leeway in selecting the conservation method they think is right for their soil and crop.

“The goal (of on-farm conservation) is to improve the utilization of the water, not to stress the plant,” Ben Brock, Water Department senior program manager, said.

Growers submitted 2,930 proposals for fields they want included in the 2017-18 on-farm program. The crop types and conservation methods in the proposals vary widely. Growers have to apply annually to be eligible for the water conservation program. IID develops a baseline level of water use for each field and crop in the program and then measures the actual usage to calculate and generate a payment.

“It’s a results-based program,” Brock said.

Some growers are big fans of efficiency water conservation.

For Brawley area grower Alex Jack, it is a source

CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

IVVGA’s Roots in Advocacy Dig Deep T

oday, as in its infancy 50 years ago, the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association (IVVGA) is a strong advocate for produce growers about an array of key concerns such as water, food safety, lettuce mosaic disease and labor, the number one cost in food production.

The organization and industry have come a long way since the 1960s when IVVGA formed to cope with a widening farm labor shortage that reached crisis level for the produce industry.

Ed McGrew was fresh out of college and starting a career in farming at the time when he recalls being contacted to become one of the founders of what would become IVVGA. Though details of the early formation of the organization have faded in the ensuing years, McGrew recalls vividly the tumultuous time that pushed vegetable growers to confront the increasingly problematic labor supply.

“I probably wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have to the news and politics then because I was so busy farming,” McGrew said. “Then I was contacted to get involved, probably because they were looking for a young guy with the energy to get involved.”

The late ’60s were rife with controversy and mounting social and labor unrest throughout the state and nation. There was uncertainty about federal labor and immigration policy, strikes and labor unrest were becoming common through the state, and a shortage of farm labor was critical.

For local agriculture, what had been a relatively stable labor supply came to an abrupt end when the federal bracero program wasn’t renewed in 1964.

During the 20 years of the bracero program, McGrew said, local growers formed the Imperial Valley Farmers Association, to operate a labor camp in El Centro and process the workers for local growers.

By 1968, the association became inactive and the labor shortage had become untenable. Growers realized they would need political/legal focus rather than the old brick and mortar approach.

McGrew said some of the produce luminaries of the time, such as Herb Lee, Danny Danenberg, Matt LaBrucherie and others, decided to revitalize the old farm association and to call it Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association. Another founder of the new organization was the late county Agricultural Commissioner Claude Finnell.

Through the volatility and strife of the ’60s, IVVGA and the produce industry developed solutions and grew even stronger.

“Young guys today, some were not even born then, they never faced strikes, they don’t know any of this stuff,” McGrew said. “They don’t realize how important IVVGA is.”

McGrew is still on the IVVGA Advisory Board.

And today IVVGA is still involved in labor issues with a major focus on immigration reform. n

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 9

Forage Exporting Valley Crops Account for 30% Sent Overseas

By Bill Gay

I

n 2005, Imperial Valley hay exporters Bill Plourd and Greg Braun, along with a colleague from a Pacific Northwest hay exporter, put together the concept of the U.S. Forage Export Council (USFEC).

Drawing up the plans on a cocktail napkin during a social event, the three founded what today is an important organization that works to keep crucial international markets open for U.S. origin hay and straw products.

It is only natural that Braun and Plourd would be leaders in this organization. Imperial County exporters are responsible for about 30 percent of forage crops that are sent from the U.S. to China, Korea, Japan and Middle East.

Forage crops are grown specifically as feed for dairy cows and cattle. Over the years, alfalfa hay and cubes and other products such as Sudangrass, Bermuda hay and Kleingrass all have become major exports.

USFEC is a subcommittee of the National Hay Association. While the cocktail napkin is long gone, the organization has grown to 33 export members from the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and

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California, representing over $1 billion in forage exports from the western United States.

Braun is president of Border Valley Trading Ltd. in Brawley and Plourd is president of El Toro Export LLC in El Centro. They are among the seven Imperial Valley hay exporters active with the USFEC. Others include Eight Star Commodities, Kuhn Hay, Superior Export, Triple I Press and the Wilbur Ellis Co. The Valley also has a few exporters that do not belong to the USFEC. Since its founding, the USFEC has helped open new markets, such as China, and has become known as the “go to” organization that represents the interests of U.S. Forage exporters. Members spend a great deal of time in Washington, D.C., meeting with legislators, the Department of Agriculture and U.S. trade representatives. They also spend time working with foreign government agencies to ensure trade flows smoothly. As global market opportunities for forage hay exports present themselves, it is USFEC that leads the way.

“Greg Braun was our George Washington,” said John Szczepanski, USFEC executive director.

Plourd became the second president.

According to Braun, the USFEC assists exporters in responding to challenges that are inherent in

today’s forage export industry.

“Political and regulatory issues make it difficult to open up new markets and to keep them open,” he said. “Our job is to help all exporters overcome these challenges so that markets flow without interruption.”

The importance of forage exports to the Imperial County economy is evident in recent crop reports and other studies. In December 2017, the Imperial County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office released its “Crop Report Plus,” which evaluated economic contributions of agriculture to the Valley’s economy, noted that there was $205.5 million of direct economic impact from hay exporters. That amount grew by more than $61 million when indirect “multiplier” benefits are factored in. Plourd and Braun say that number is probably low.

The report shows there are 730 direct jobs created in the Valley’s food-processing sector, which includes forage crops, and that number expands to 2,273 indirect and induced jobs.

However, the two exporters contend there is approximately one direct employee per 1,000 tons of forage crops in the Valley. That figure includes truck drivers. In 2016, more than 600,000 tons of

hay shipped from Valley exporters, which using that formula, would equate to 600 direct jobs.

A recent forage council study found that the job multiplier of forage exporters is almost double the typical job multiplier in this region. Applying the USFEC’s 5.25 multiplier to the 600 direct jobs in the Imperial Valley, export forage-related employment would expand to more than 3,000 jobs.

Braun also noted there are major economic impacts to both the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles where forage is shipped.

He said more than 25,000 containers of hay originate annually from the Imperial Valley and get loaded on container ships. This volume creates an economic benefit for the ports and the port communities that is not calculated in the “Crop Report Plus” numbers.

Szczepanski, of the U.S. Forage Export Council, cited another economic driver for the Valley from hay exporters.

“Every summer, the Imperial Valley is visited by dozens of international hay buyers from Japan, Korea and China, who visit suppliers and check products. It underscores the level of scrutiny that ‘plain ole’ hay is subject to internationally,” Szczepanski said.

“Japanese hay buyers want to personally inspect The Imperial Valley is a leading exporter of forage the baled product to insure they are receiving the crops such as the wheat field shown above. - Photo quality they need. They want to tell their buyers in

By Bill Gates Japan that they personally inspected the hay,” said

Szczepanski. “It is firmly rooted in the Japanese business culture that if you represent a product, you have to have skin in the game.”

That need brings other economic benefits to the Valley not currently measured in reports: business tourism. Szczepanski estimates Japanese buyers spend about 250 nights per year in Imperial Valley.

“These visits are predominantly in the summer.

That’s 250 rooms during the hot, low-tourist summer, with a lot of extra spending associated with their travel.”

Szczepanski added that he is planning to add that aspect to future export council economic surveys.

Looking to the future, the end of fallowing in the Imperial Irrigation District could have a positive impact on forage crops from the Valley. Until this year, about 8 percent of the Valley’s farmland has been out of production due to the temporary fallowing provisions of the water transfer agreement with the San Diego County Water Authority.

“While fallowing hurt employment, the lack of fallowing will help employment,” said Plourd. He noted “formerly fallowed ground will go mainly back into forage crops.”

An expansion of acreage back into forage crops would certainly help exporters move more product while bringing an even greater economic impact to the Valley. n

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 11

Alex Jack of Jack Bros., at a Romaine hearts lettuce field south of Brawley. - Photo By Joselito N. Villero

Marketing as Vital as the Crops Farmers Grow

By Darren Simon

T

oday it takes more than a green thumb for Imperial Valley growers to get their renowned winter vegetables from the field and into stores, restaurants and on dinner tables around the nation and the world.

The skills and techniques growers need to get their harvest to market are as varied and diverse as the crops they plant.

“Marketing is probably as important as the crops you grow,” said Alex Jack, owner of Jack Bros. based in Brawley. “… A lot of the times that is the difference of staying in business for years and not staying in business.”

Added Larry Cox, of Lawrence Cox Ranches in Brawley, “Marketing has become a bigger piece of the puzzle.”

The challenge for growers is the produce market is notoriously volatile and unpredictable.

With Valley vegetable and melon crops valued at more than $1 billion in 2016,

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Bill Colace (left) and Joe Colace at their office in Brawley. - Photo By Joselito N. Villero the most recent year for which figures are available, growers have developed a variety of approaches to minimize market risks and maximize distribution.

One approach some growers take is to pre-

sell much of a crop through a major distributor.

Jack, who grows about 4,000 acres of produce in the Valley, said his ranch pre-sells much of its harvest through partnerships with major distributors, including Growers Express,

which sells under the Green Giant label. What isn’t pre-sold is then distributed on the open market through the partnership agreement.

“In the winter, Jack Bros. is the biggest grower for Green Giant,” said Jack.

He has another partnership with Ocean Mist, the largest artichoke shipper in the country, for the 1,500 acres of artichokes he grows in Coachella and Oxnard. And he pre-sells his onion crop though a partnership with Gills Onions, one of the largest fresh-cut onion companies in the country.

Jack also partners with Church Bros., which markets fresh-bagged lettuce under the Church Bros. Farms label, and packaged spring mix under the True Leaf label.

Altogether, about 50 percent of Jack Bros.’ winter leafy greens is presold through partnerships with major distributors and is sold in big box stores such as Target and Walmart and in major grocery chains across the country.

Jack said major distributors have very strict requirements for growers.

Costs must be in line consistently, and growers must have a history of producing a top-quality crop and have a strong reputation.

“That is what Jack Bros. has been able to do over our history,” Jack said.

Larry Cox goes a different route. Cox and his family developed their own distribution and marketing company in Salinas that now ships 25 vegetable products year-round. Founded in 1991, Coastline Family Farms is now owned by Cox, his wife and two sons.

Cox grows about 6,500 acres of crops in the Imperial Valley. He also grows in Salinas and Mexico. His operations extend into Yuma, San Joaquin Valley, Oxnard, and Lancaster through partnerships with other growers. In total, through his own crops and partnerships, he produces 10,000 acres of vegetables and citrus.

Altogether, Coastline ships about 120,000 boxes a week year-round with a marketing focus on regional sales to restaurants and grocery chains. When broccoli is harvested and packed in a Cox field north of Brawley it is already earmarked by Coastline for next-day delivery to Panda Express. Wendy’s and Kroger grocery stores and another 40 to 60 mid-size retailers and food service customers also are among Coastline customers.

Cox said taking on shipping and marketing was a big step, but it was necessary to become a year-round supplier of leafy greens.

“I felt that you needed to supply customers year-round on leafy greens in order to compete,” he said.

Cox added there is a great deal involved in managing the marketing and shipping side of farming.

“You have to have full-time quality control staff, full-time food safety, full-time IT people and full-time sales,” Cox said. “It is fairly complicated.”

The extra work, responsibility and travel are worth it, he said.

Larry Cox, owner of Coastline Family Farms, holds a watermelon seedling at his farm in Brawley. - Photo By Joselito N. Villero “The customers we have expect a lot from our name,” Cox said.

“To grow vegetables is very expensive and it is risky,” he said. “It’s all teamwork and you are only as good as your weakest link.”

The Colace family farming operation has evolved to focus largely on marketing and distributing because brothers Joe and Bill realized the importance of maintaining a good reputation and building relationships with national and international customers.

Five Crowns Marketing, which the Colace brothers founded in 1985, markets produce grown through partnerships with farmers on approximately 18,000 acres in the Imperial Valley, San Joaquin Valley, Coachella, Arizona and Mexico. About 7,000 acres are grown in the Imperial Valley, 3,000 of which the Colaces farm themselves.

Through Five Crowns, the Colaces manage the marketing for their Majesty, GloriAnn and Crown Citrus labels with a focus on melons, asparagus, citrus and sweet corn. They also provide marketing and shipping services to farmers in Mexico who grow for their labels.

The family farming operation was started in 1958 by their father, Joseph Sr., and uncle, Tony Colace, under the Colace Bros. label. Joe and

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 13

Organic-only Citrus Packed at Doc’s

By Peggy Dale

D

oc’s Organics, located just east of Westmorland, is the only packing shed of its kind in the Imperial Valley, the only one certified locally to pack and ship organic citrus across the continent and to Canada and Japan.

“We are only packing organic,” said Gina Dockstader, who is co-owner of the shed with her husband, Dusty, and his uncle, Pat Dockstader.

“Right now we are packing our own fruit, but the goal is to expand it to include organic farmers from out of the Imperial Valley. The hope is that our fruit comes off quicker than in surrounding areas so we can pack their fruit, too.”

As with growing organically, sheds that pack organic produce must follow strict regulations. Doc’s is Primus certified, “which is a big deal in the organic world,” Gina Dockstader said. Gaining Primus certification means growers and packers have completed a rigorous benchmarking process designed to ensure food safety.

Doc’s Organics had its grand opening on July 27, 2017, and, while it deals solely in citrus – for now – its roots began with hay.

Pat Dockstader, whose family has farmed in the Imperial Valley’s Northend for decades, took over his father’s Golden Eagle Hay Co. and later added farming -- through P&T Enterprises -- to supplement it, said Gina Dockstader.

Founded in 1995, P&T initially grew, sold and exported alfalfa, Bermuda grass and Sudangrass hay, Gina said. Then Pat Dockstader added a niche crop: organic citrus. Since 2000, P&T has been growing and expanding its organic citrus acreage in Calipatria and Niland. Later it added organic Medjool dates.

Two years ago, Pat Dockstader formed a partnership with Dusty and

14 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

Gina. Together they created Doc’s Organics and located the packing shed on Boarts Road between Brawley and Westmorland. Before the shed opened, P&T sent its organic fruit elsewhere to be packed.

“That’s (food processing) a tax base the Valley is losing,” Gina Dockstader said, “and one of the reasons we decided to open a packing shed here.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

TOP: Gina Dockstader and her son, Tanner Dockstader, 14, stand beside a conveyor belt as lemons drop into a bin at Doc’s Organics.

ABOVE: Ernesto Gonzalez arranges lemons inside a bin at Doc’s Organics.

- Photos By Joselito N. Villero

Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association

50TH ANNIVERSARY

Creativity, adaptability result in changes

By Kay Day Pricola, Executive Director

This year, Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association (IVVGA) will celebrate its 50th anniversary. In 1968, as today, agriculture was the major economic driver in Imperial Valley. As I reflect on the changes here and in the agricultural industry in the last 50 years, I am amazed with creativity and adaptability of our growers and the ancillary service providers.

The most obvious change is the crops that are no longer produced here. Tomatoes and asparagus are no longer major crops in the Valley.

While many reasons can be cited, the major reason is that both of these crops are labor intensive. With the continuing increase in labor cost, our source of tomatoes and asparagus is now from our neighbors in Mexico.

To replace these two crops, and in line with the consumer demand for more vegetables, broccoli, romaine lettuce and spinach were added to the crop mix. They are now in the top 10 commodities for Imperial County. They were not even listed in the Agricultural Commissioner’s Crop Report in 1968.

These and other changes in crops necessitate the adaptability of the growers and ancillary service providers to the current conditions. New integrated pest management, new harvest equipment, new safety rules for both farm workers and the crop, from planting through harvest and

continued through the distribution cycle, must be used.

Labor issues, pesticide regulations, food safety concerns, changes to irrigation practices, and marketplace trends necessitate this creativity.

The growers, the ancillary suppliers, the farm workers, the irrigation district and the requisite regulator have worked together as a team to ensure that agriculture, with our fertile soil and adequate supply of water and labor, continues to be a viable economic component of the community. If they do not work together, we could be impacted.

To accentuate the value in Imperial County with actual data, Carlos Ortiz, Imperial County’s Agricultural Commissioner, was able to fund, and within budget, the recently unveiled Crop Plus Report 2016. The economists captured a better indicator of the value of agriculture, which includes the indirect employment for the ancillary suppliers such as Veg Cool, RDO Equipment, Sun Valley Applicators, Rockwood Chemical and Crop Protection Services. That inclusion raised our 2016 value based just on harvested crops from $2 billion to over $4.5 billion.

Independent of this new report, the publishers of Imperial Valley Alive! magazine at the end of their first year decided to produce a magazine for local agriculture. The result is this very valuable annual publication to educate, as well as celebrate, the agricultural industry here in Imperial Valley. IVVGA understood the value of a quality publication from the very beginnings of Alive! and we were an early advertiser. We hope you enjoyed the stories published in 2017 about our growers and their efforts to provide quality food for you, your families and friends. We also hope you enjoy this special issue solely devoted to agriculture.

Our growers, shippers, and associate membership made up of the allimportant ancillary suppliers look forward to another 50 years to provide safe, nutritional food. We also encourage you to follow your physician’s orders to eat more vegetables. Not only are they good, they are good for you. n

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 15

Cattle at an Imperial Valley feedlot. - Photo By Bill Gates

One World Beef ‘Imperial Valley is the Napa of Beef’

By Susan Giller

O

ne World Beef (OWB) Packers in Brawley blends time-honored tradition, meticulous craftsmanship and the latest in technology to produce topquality beef with the same care a winery uses to turn good grapes into a premier vintage.

Why? Because, said One World Beef President and CEO Eric Brandt, “Imperial Valley is the Napa of beef.”

OWB Packers is grounded on a culture of quality because, he said, “It always takes extra steps, extra care to create the finest.”

So Brandt opened OWB Packers in late 2016

Beef is processed at One World Beef Packers in Brawley. - Photo By Joselito N. Villero

16 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

to breathe new life and a new artisanal focus into the 337,000 square foot Brawley beef packing plant that was shuttered by National Beef in 2014.

Though small in comparison to the National Beef operation, OWB Packers’ extra effort is paying off. From a startup staff of just 32, the operation continues to grow. At the end of its first year, there are more than 260 employees.

And its exports to the world market continue to increase with weekly deliveries now to more than seven Asian countries.

OWB Packers also is one of the first five domestic processing facilities to be allowed to export to the enormous China market, which had stopped accepting U.S. beef 14 years ago.

The fact that OWB Packers is open and operating is of major importance to the cattle industry, which is the Valley’s single-largest dollar volume commodity. In 2016, the most recent year for which figures are available, the 337,286 head of cattle in Valley feedlots were valued at $400.6 million, which is down from what it was in 2014 when National Beef closed the facility.

Brandt expects OWB Packers to expand gradually from 700 head a day to about 1,200 depending on market demands over the next few years. That cannot happen soon enough for the local cattle industry.

Steve Snow with Phillips Cattle Co. in El

Centro said, “We need local processing for the cattle industry to get back to anywhere like it was.”

Brandt estimated every job at OWB Packers actually creates another six or seven in the local community helping to grow the economy as well as the cattle industry.

Rather than focus on building numbers, Brandt said the goal of the USDA-certified custom, or toll, processing facility is to enhance local beef and build its brand.

“We work with beef just like a winery works with each varietal to enhance the wine’s unique attributes,” he said.

In the Imperial Valley, he added, We have learned to grow Holstein cattle really well. They thrive here because of the way we feed them, care for them.˝ “We celebrate that heritage in the way we process it, work with it to enhance the beef and label it to market its attributes.”

Yet not all beef is the same. For that reason OWB processes and markets under a variety of labels. For instance, premium Brandt Beef, The True Natural, certified all hormone- and antibiotic-free and 100 percent sourceverified natural beef, is processed under its own label.

It processes premium natural beef from local feeding operations other than Brandt under the Imperial Valley Ranches label. Local beef not in a natural beef program is processed under the Brawley Beef label. And Baja native, or Angus crossbred, carcasses from Mexicali are packed in the Baja Beef label.

As a third-generation Valley cattle feeder, Brandt built his reputation on understanding what it takes to develop top-quality beef and marketing it around the world. His experience also fueled his passion for operating a niche craft processing facility.

He said the key to making the beef processing facility work is having a strong ethical standard.

“Our core value is respect,” Brandt said. “Respect for each other, for the animals we are sacrificing, for our community, our environment and our customers. You can sense it in all of the team members’ eyes.”

The importance of respect is reinforced with signs placed throughout the state-of-the-art facility and with features including a Dr. Temple Grandin design to uphold responsible treatment of animals.

“Our employees are our greatest asset and we work hard on building our culture,” Brandt said. “We want to make sure that when we produce something, it is the best it can possibly be. And without our team we would not be where we are today.”

In a sense, opening OWB Packers brought Brandt back to his roots. His father, Bill, was one of the eight cattle feeders who in 2001 opened the beef plant initially called Brawley Beef to realize a long-held dream of having a local facility.

It is a vision that Eric Brandt thinks will pair beautifully with the Valley’s cattle business and economy well into the future. n

Terri Hall is the new vice president and facility manager at OWB Packers.

E

ric Brandt, president and CEO of the One World Beef, isn’t shy about bucking the status quo if so doing enhances quality. And he did just that when he appointed Terri Hall to be vice president and facility manager at OWB Packers early this year.

“One World Beef is challenging industry standards and excited to be a part of history by promoting a woman to lead a 337,000 square-feet major beef processing facility,” Brandt said.

Hall, who has 30 years of industry experience, has been with One World Beef for more than a decade.

Brandt said Hall has deep industry knowledge and experience in running quality assurance and food safety intervention programs.

“Ms. Hall is a perfectionist and OWB Packers is excited to be part of her history-making promotion,” said Brandt. “Her wealth of industry knowledge in quality assurance, working with the USDA and other food safety regulatory bodies was critical in securing numerous certifications, including the impressive recognition as one of a small number of beef plants in the United States to be actively shipping to China.”

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 17

Cabbage grows in an Imperial Valley field.. - Photo By Dane Knight

Measures Insure Food Safety

By Susan Giller

A

n outbreak of E. coli initially reported in Canada in November and later reported in scattered parts of the U.S. sent shudders through the produce industry in the Imperial Valley and Arizona, where winter vegetable crops were not yet being harvested.

Even when health officials in the U.S. and

18 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

Canada declared the danger ended on Jan. 25, a common source of contamination in the outbreak had yet to be identified.

So, it was somber representatives of the California and Arizona Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA) organizations that met in El Centro on Feb. 1 to, among other things, do a post mortem on the outbreak with an eye to lessons learned.

The timing of the outbreak, initially linked to romaine lettuce, was especially troubling to growers in the Imperial and Yuma valleys, often called the nation’s winter salad bowl. In Imperial Valley, the romaine crop was valued at $70 million in 2016, the most recent year for which statistics are available.

Of the outbreak, Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer of the CALGMA, concluded, “It was a perfect storm of what we don’t want to see happen.”

Especially concerning was that the public’s confidence had been badly shaken by media and social media reports fueling consumer confusion and distrust.

Initially, there was limited media coverage of the outbreak, but that changed radically on Jan. 5, according to a monitoring report presented

by April Ward, CALGMA marketing director. On that day Consumer Reports magazine ventured beyond what health authorities had stated and issued its own warning that recommended consumers avoid eating romaine. It was quickly picked up and rebroadcast by many media outlets including the New York Times and CNN. CNN alone retweeted the report on Twitter to its 54 million followers.

CALGMA continues to study the outbreak and its response. What is learned won’t restore losses suffered from romaine and leafy green crops, but it will help in the future to “preserve the credibility of the LGMA and faith in the produce grown here,” said Horsfall.

With 94.7 percent of the leafy greens grown in the U.S. coming from California and Arizona, according to CALGMA, maintaining the public confidence is as vital today as it was in 2007 when California growers first created the LGMA. Jack Vessey of Holtville and Larry Cox of Brawley were among the growers appointed to the statewide initial CALGMA advisory board that oversaw development of the science-based food safety protocols including mandatory training and government on farm audits now in use.

Growers took the lead in the development, Vessey said, “because we knew we needed a pragmatic, workable program.”

The LGMA protocols and metrics were developed in collaboration with university and industry scientists, food safety experts and government officials. Today, the CALGMA collaborations continue and include consumer food safety groups.

“We knew we had to take safety to the next level,” Vessey said. “We adopted metrics to minimize the risk of contamination in every aspect of farming.”

In contrast, the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law

CONTINUED ON PAGE 31

Imperial County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office

CROP DATA

What and how valuable is a crop report?

By Carlos Ortiz, Imperial County Agricultural Commissioner

I

n simple terms, a crop report is the compilation of crop data such as: harvested acres, yield per acre, total units, unit, value per unit, and gross value.

In terms of cattle, you have head, unit gain, total gain, unit, value per unit, and gross value. In terms of honey, you have hives, yield per hive, total units, unit, value per unit and gross value. Once you total all the gross values of the various categories of the crop report, you have the gross production value of your county.

This sounds like a simple task, but there is much more to it than obtaining the figures and making the calculations. The crop report is the result of a team effort consisting of growers, processors, industry groups and agencies who make the time from their busy schedule to provide information and statistics for this report.

At the beginning of each year, several types of surveys are mailed to industry for information to compile our report. Even though we use some of the data accessible to us such as the restricted materials permit and operator identification systems to compare and fine-tune some of the numbers obtained via our surveys, we consider the data obtained through our surveys very valuable since it is first-hand information from the producers themselves.

Phone calls are made in cases in which we did not receive enough surveys back in a particular crop and we feel that the numbers are not representative. This person-to-person communication usually has positive results and we are thankful to those that have a positive

attitude and provide us with the needed information.

Specialty surveys are mailed related to specialty items of our reports.

It is important to point out that all individual information received through our surveys is kept confidential and only compiled crop information is released. When there are three or fewer producers of a specific crop, their information is all included in a miscellaneous section along with other crops that fall under this concept.

Other valuable information such as the exportation of commodities to other countries and states is included in the crop report.

Also, the various programs that the Office of the Agricultural Commissioner performs that help sustain agriculture are important to include in the crop report. Pest exclusion inspections are geared toward detecting serious pests at the moment they enter our county hitchhiking in shipments. Pest detection trapping and surveys are geared to detect serious pests that have entered our county. The prompt detection of serious and exotic pests will make our emergency response more efficient and less costly.

The value of the crop report is very important. It is a report that is used by the California Department of Agriculture to compile and produce the California County Agricultural Commissioners’ reports. It is also used by the National Agricultural Statistics Service to compile and produce national data. Industry and financial institutions use it for economic information. The information is also used in calculations related to disaster declarations.

Our office uses the crop report for educational purposes.

Throughout the year, our office participates in events, where the printed report is shared with the public. People that are not normally exposed to agriculture have the opportunity to see all the different kinds of crops grown in the county and what kind of production value they have.

Finally, the 2016 Imperial County Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report served as the foundation of data used by Agricultural Impacts Associates in the production of the Crop Report Plus Series, outlining economic contributions of Imperial County Agriculture that was well received by media, the community and industry. n

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 19

While the Imperial Valley is fortunate to have the Colorado River in its backyard, it is not immune to water issues, and the state has been rolling out stricter regulations. - Photo Courtesy of RDO

Industry Progress Lies

in Collaboration and Looking Ahead Story by Nate Dorsey Reprinted with permission by RDO

W

ater is essential for agriculture. While this may seem obvious, nowhere is it more apparent than the Sonoran Desert of Southern California and Arizona, where the average annual rainfall is only 2.9 inches per year. It may come as news to some, then, that this area is one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the country. In fact, nearly all lettuce, spinach, and several other produce crops are supplied almost entirely by this area in the winter months because of its ideal (winter) climate.

The area is fortunate to have a fairly dependable source of water, namely the Colorado River, which is diverted, canalled, and flows to the fields.

After the most recent drought that ended last spring, the state of California has been rolling out stricter water and environmental regulations. In many areas, all water and nutrient applications need to be accounted for and reported to the state. Anyone who fails to report or misuses water or nitrogen fertilizers can be subject to large fines.

While the region surrounding Imperial, California and Yuma, Arizona, is fortunate to have the Colorado River in its backyard, it is not immune to water issues. The Colorado River is dependent on snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, specifically the Uintas in Utah.

With Utah and surrounding states experiencing an unusually mild winter and low snowpack this year, it’s likely that the river and the many reservoirs that it feeds will be low this season. This could be a

20 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

troubling sign of things ahead for the Southwestern US. To address these concerns, the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology (WGCIT) held a unique event this February in Brawley. The Innovation in the Imperial Valley event brought together local farmers and representatives from technology companies to have open discussions about how technology could advance agriculture in the region, especially around water use and irrigation.

When thinking about problems technology can solve, George Kellerman of Yamaha Corporation mentioned, “If you just automate today’s practices, you’re not going to survive. We need to collaborate and find something that will work tomorrow.” Collaboration can be difficult. With so many technology start-ups trying to get into the agriculture sector, it can be hard to know who to partner with or what products will make a difference in farming.

With the global population and associated food demand increasing, there is a lot of opportunity for technology companies in the agriculture industry. As a result, there have been a lot of technology start-ups in the last few years aimed at solving some of agriculture’s most difficult challenges. However, employees of these companies often lack agriculture experience, and rely on farm partnerships for real-world testing and insight.

Sebastien Boyer, co-founder of Farmwise, mentioned one of their biggest challenges was finding growers who were willing to work with them. While growers might not hesitate to work with a large organization such as Yamaha Corporation or John Deere Company, smaller start-ups are often disregarded. The benefit of

these smaller companies is that they are often able to come to market with new technology faster, create more customized tools, and have highly innovative products and ideas. If given the opportunity through collaboration, they could push the industry further and faster than it ever has before.

In order to progress the industry, there needs to be additional collaboration between technology companies and food producers. Both sides can contribute, with technology employees leaving the city and seeing what true challenges and opportunities exist in agriculture. By gaining a better understanding of how farmers actually grow crops, they will be able to see how their products may or may not be suited to the market. Additionally, farmers need to be open to allowing select companies that interest them to have an inside look at their operation, try a new product, and provide feedback for further development.

When thinking about precision agriculture technology, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest advancements and their specifications and features. And while adopting new technology is important so to not be left behind in an everchanging industry, it’s imperative to think

Growers, technology companies, and local businesses came together for discussions and collaboration at the Innovation in Imperial Valley event. - Photo Courtesy of RDO

of the future as well. This includes asking questions like, “Where do I want to be in 5, 10, 20, or 30 years?” “What are the problems that could be fixed in an operation that would increase efficiency and profitability?”

“If these technologies are not on the market today, is there someone I can partner with to develop the tools needed?”

In the end, no matter in what area of the country or world we do business, we should

all remember the overarching theme that came out of the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology event.

While there are many technologies on the market today that can help address issues in agriculture, what about tomorrow?

About the Author: Nate Dorsey is an Agronomist for RDO Equipment Co. in Yuma. Connect with him on Twitter @RDONateDorsey. n

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 21

Alejandro Contreras uses a wire to cut a 640-pound block of Monterey Jack cheese at Silverdale Cheese processing plant in El Centro.

- Photo By Joselito N. Villero

Silverdale Cheese Plant is Making Strides

By Peggy Dale

S

ilverdale Cheese has been making strides in the cheese-processing world since opening its doors in rural El Centro in Fall 2017.

Silverdale, the only facility of its kind in Southern California, is

located on Jeffrey Road between Ocotillo and Seeley. It cuts and packs cheeses from dairies throughout California, to the tune of about 300 tons of cheese each month.

“In the past year, we have been driven by domestic business through supermarkets,” said Silverdale founder and CEO Sandra Tung.

Silverdale cheese currently is distributed in Mexico and the United States, with a delivery vehicle taking the product to businesses in San Diego, Imperial and San Bernardino counties. Bearing the Silverdale logo, which represents Tung’s native Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, each package states it’s packed in Imperial County, a source of pride for Tung.

Silverdale also offers cheese for sale locally, both at its plant at 1870 Jeffery Road and at farmers’ markets throughout the region.

“We are test-marketing the area through farmers’ markets from San Diego to San Bernardino,” including Imperial County, College of the Desert in Coachella and in the Palm Springs area, Tung said.

In addition, the company recently received approval to be distributed through WIC, the federal supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Safety is paramount at Silverdale, in the lab as well as throughout the Silverdale founder and CEO Sandra Tung speaks during a field day in March 2018 for students in the Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program.

Behind her is the Silverdale Cheese logo. - Photo By Joselito N. Villero

22 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

plant. Three of Tung’s staff of 15 employees have become accredited technicians in PCR, or Polymerese Chain Reaction, a genetic test for the presence of microorganisms harmful to humans. Having the ability to run the tests at the plant reduces the turnaround time between production, cutting and packing, and delivery. Her team continues to undergo extensive training to ensure food safety, she said.

“I am most proud of our lab technicians, as well as other staff who have qualified in OSHA, an intensive course requiring knowledge of all disciples related to safety,” Tung said.

“Others have qualified as trainers, in areas of activity such as forklift trucks and warehouse systems.”

Tung’s plans for the plant extend beyond cutting and packing. In the future, the plant will process milk produced on local dairies, creating new jobs and securing current ones.

“We have beautiful cheese here in California,” said Tung. No newcomer to dairies and dairy products, she managed the Isle of Man Creamery for nearly 20 years before moving first to Canada and then to the United States.

In opening Silverdale, she hopes to see a dream come true, to both provide food safety, traceability of dairy products,

Brianna Contreras (left) and Maria Roman stand inside a cheese storage area at Silverdale Cheese processing plant in El Centro. Each of the containers holds a 600-plus pound block of cheese.

- Photo By Joselito N. Villero and accountability as well as to shorten turnaround time between production and delivery.

Tung’s vision for the Imperial Valley, the place she now calls home, is to see its own dairy industry thrive. With Silverdale, she and her team hope to help reach that goal, but the

community can help as well.

“What we need is for people in Imperial County and beyond to ask at all stores they shop at, deli counters and cheese areas, ask for Silverdale Cheese packed in Imperial County,” Tung said. “We need to encourage local big box stores to stock local products.” n

Experience from the ground up Our business is agriculture.

In fact, many of our staff have direct experience in farming or ranching: living – and working – testaments to our timeless commitment to the future of agriculture.

IMPERIAL VALLEY 760.355.0291 www.fcssw.com

Committed. Experienced. Trusted.

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 23

Members of the Imperial County Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers have their photo taken during a YF&R event in February at Top Notch Seeds in Brawley. - Photo Provided by Joe Claverie

Young Farmers & Ranchers The Next Generation Makes Its Mark

By Peggy Dale

I

nnovation and hardiness have long been what keep farmers in business as changes come, and the younger generation is no exception. Like those who came before them, today’s young farmers and ranchers are taking those attributes to the next level.

Technology has made it easier to build relationships in the global economy, said Joe Claverie, chairman of the Imperial County Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R).

“Globally, we’ve been exporting for a while,” Claverie said, “but interconnectedness is still increasing.”

Claverie, who comes from a long line of Imperial Valley farmers, is the head of China sales for Kuhn Hay/Ametza LLC headquartered in Holtville. The company has customers around the globe, from the U.S. to China to the Middle East. To communicate with its clients, the company uses web-based programs like WhatsApp and WeChat for teleconferences, along with good old-fashioned telephone calls.

The Young Farmers and Ranchers, a subgroup of the California Farm Bureau Federation and American Farm Bureau Federation, connects those between 18 and 35 years of age with others in the agribusiness industry.

In Imperial County, the group has about 110 members and a sixperson board.

“We are developing young leaders in ag,” said the 27-year-old Claverie. “We do a lot of things that develop relationships and give back to the community.”

Activities include networking opportunities to meet others in the ag industry and offering tours to help people learn about local agriculture. One of the most popular tours, he said, is of the

24 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

Spreckels Sugar Co. plant north of Imperial. Other popular tours include visits to Don Barioni Jr.’s olive orchards and olive oil press, Bullfrog and Schaffner dairies, and Oasis Organics, owned by fellow YF&R member Sutton Morgan.

“There are a lot of cool things going on in our Valley,” Claverie said.

Asked about the main concerns for his generation, Claverie named increases in state and federal regulations as well as changes in weather patterns.

New regulations, such as the Food Safety Modernization Act, a sweeping reform of safety regulations signed into law by President Obama in 2011, have added layers of paperwork and more government involvement in day-to-day farming operations. While food safety is a top priority for growers, these newest regulations are but the tip of the iceberg, said Claverie.

“It’s pretty hard on small farmers,” he said, “and they’ll keep increasing regulations.”

Changes in weather in recent years mean farmers are forced to alter growing and harvesting patterns, impacting businesses throughout the agribusiness industry.

“Our winters aren’t as cold,” he said. “In January (2018) we had spring temperatures in the 80s and 90s.” With changes in weather, we’ll have to plan for that.”

The January “heat wave” has produce ready for harvest before anticipated schedules, created stress on seedlings, and has growers eyeing ways to cope with and profit from anticipated warmer winters.

“We just adapt and innovate and move forward,” he said. “That’s what farmers have always done. We have to be conscientious of that.” n

Careers in Agriculture Dozens of Choices Available

C

olleges in Imperial and Yuma counties are offering dozens of courses to prepare students for some of the thousands of agriculture-related careers.

The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Purdue University projects that more than 22,000 jobs in agriculture-related fields may go unfilled every year through at least 2020, opening the door for students looking for “careers in a field that addresses some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” according to the goagnow.com website based in Yuma. The website, which promotes agricultural studies available at the University of Arizona-Yuma, Arizona Western College, and Imperial Valley College, lists a median starting income of more than $65,000 for a “typical food scientist graduating with a bachelor’s degree,” attributing that information to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

IVC alone offers dozens of agriculture degree and certificate programs, as well as an Agriculture Business for Transfer degree, Agriculture Plant Science for transfer certificate and degree, and Agriculture Business management certificate.

Among IVC’s ag-related course studies are: Agriculture Business Management

 Ranch Managers  Field Crop Managers  Ag Communication Managers  Ag Commodity Brokers  Community Development  Agriculture Business Consultancy  Ag produce Retailers  Ag Salesmanship  Post-Harvest/ Ag store managers

Agriculture Plant Science Careers  Agronomists  Entomologists  High School Agriculture Teachers  Plant Genetics  Plant breeding  Soil Scientists  Irrigation and Drainage Technicians  Seed, Chemical and Fertilizer Consultants  Fertilizer Specialist  College Instructor  Cooperative Extension Agent  Cooperative Manager

Antonio Perez, quality manager for Silverdale Cheese, demonstrates how to use a grading tester tool on a block of cheese as high school students participating in a Youth Ag Summit in March 2018 look on at the cheese plant near Seeley. - Photo by Joselito N. Villero  Crop Production Consultancy  4-H Association Youth Specialist  Genetic Engineering Scientist  Land Reclamation Specialist  Land-Use Planners  Organic Certification Specialist  Field Research Technician  Seed Production Specialist  Soil Conservation Specialist  Youth Development Specialist  Environmental Scientists

Transfer Outlet:

IVC is developing a strong Agricultural partnership with the University of Arizona South (Yuma Campus), which offers bachelor’s degrees in: 1. Sustainable Plant Systems: Fresh Produce Food Safety 2. Agriculture Technology and Management: Ag Systems n

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 25

I

Shanna Abatti works the Young Farmers and Ranchers Booth at the Saladero Contest. - Photo By Susan Giller

Saladero Contest

mperial Valley produce was front and center at the Produce Gala and Saladero Contest Feb. 16 at the Imperial Palms Resort in Holtville. The event is sponsored annually by the Boys and Girls Club of Imperial. Guests tasted salad entries and bid on silent auction items to support the Boys and Girls Club.

First place was taken by Young Farmers and Ranchers, followed

by Team Spa Fusion in second place and the California Highway Patrol in third, with Vessey & Co. placing fourth. n

Ye Olde Farmers & Ranchers

With a little something to wet your whistle…

chopped (Fresh from the UC DREC Farm Smart Garden)  1 1/2 cups shredded carrots (Fresh from the UC DREC Farm Smart Garden)  1 /2 cup red onion, finely chopped (Representing Imperial County red onions)  1 cup Ranch Dressing

W ith a little something to wet your whistle… M elon Sangria  1 bottle Pearson Wine (Using locally sourced Honey)  1 /2 bottle Watermelon Vodka  1 Watermelon (Representing Imperial County Melons)  1 bottle White grape juice (Serves 15)

Down on the BBQ RANCH Salad  6 slices bacon, diced  4 cups kale, chopped (Provided by Boys & Girls Club)  4 cups broccoli florets, chopped (Fresh from the UC DREC Farm Smart Garden, harvested by willing 4-Hers)  3 cups cauliflower florets,

(Buttermilk representing Imperial County dairies)  1 /2 cup BBQ sauce (Representing onions and garlic in Imperial County)  1 /8 tsp. fresh ground pepper  d ash of cayenne pepper (8 servings)

Melon Sangria

Team Spa Fusion

Apple and Fennel Spring Salad with Herbed Pork Tenderloin and Honeyed Lavender Balsamic Dressing Served with Lavender and Honey Sweet Tea

Dressing

Salad  6 cups Spring Mix - Courtesy of donors to Boys and Girls Club  2 cups Spinach - Courtesy of donors to Boys and Girls Club  1 Large Fennel Bunch (save tops) Courtesy of Sandy Loam Farm  3 Medium Green Apples – out of season  3 Radishes - Courtesy of Sandy Loam

Farm  1/2 Red Onion – out of season  1 Large Cucumber – Courtesy of Sandy Loam Farms  4 Nasturtiums – Courtesy of Sandy Loam Farms Begin by preparing pork (See below).

While pork cooks, thinly slice fennel,

green apples, radishes, red onion, and cucumber. Toss with spring mix and spinach. Garnish salad with sliced Herbed Pork Tenderloin (cold or hot), additional apple slices, nasturtiums, and fennel tops. Toss with Honeyed Lavender Balsamic Dressing to taste.

Serves 8-10

Herbed Pork Tenderloin  1 Medium Pork Tenderloin - Courtesy of Kienan Huber’s Smoking Expertise  3 Tbs Olive Oil - Courtesy of Desert Olive Oil  1/4 cup Spa Fusion’s Herb de

Provence - Courtesy of Cindy Elmore (Lavender)  Salt and Pepper Rinse pork and pat dry. Brush with olive oil and cover with herb blend, salt and

pepper. Cook at 320 for about 1 hour on a pellet fed smoker with fruit wood pellets until meat reaches 145 degrees.

(Optional: Roast in oven at 350 for 1 hour until meat reaches 145 degrees).

Serves 8-10

Lavender and Honey Sweet Tea  4 Quarts Water  8 Black Tea Bags  8 Earl Grey Tea Bags  2 Cups Honey - Courtesy of Ashurst Honey  1 Oz Dried Lavender - Courtesy of Cindy Elmore  1-2 drops Lavender Essential Oil

26 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

Steep tea bags and lavender in 2 quarts boiling water for 10 minutes. Strain and add honey. Allow to cool completely. Add remaining water and 1 drop of lavender essential at a time to taste. Serve over ice.

Serves 8-10

 1 Cup Olive Oil - Courtesy of Desert Olive Oil  4 Tbs Aged Balsamic Vinegar - Courtesy of Desert Olive Oil  2 Tbs Lemon Juice – Courtesy of Crown Citrus  3 Tbs Minced Sweet Onion - out of season  2 Cloves Minced Garlic Courtesy of Sandy Loam Farm  2 tsp Course Grain Mustard  1/2 Cup Raw Honey Courtesy of Ashurst Honey  2 tbs Fresh Lavender (2 tsp dried) - Courtesy of Cindy Elmore  1/2 tsp Poppy Seed  Salt and Pepper Prepare 2-3 days ahead if possible. Mix all ingredients together, and refrigerate. Allow to stand at room temperature a few minutes prior to serving and toss with salad.

Serves 8-10

WATER... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 of pride that Jack Brothers ranch is considered by many to be one of the most water-efficient farms in the Valley. He concedes learning wasn’t easy.

He said his interest in water conservation was piqued when he was in high school. His father, Neal, put him to work programming and monitoring the farm’s first drip system.

“We went through a huge learning curve,” Alex Jack said.

Now he said, “I am a better farmer and grow better crops because of the way I conserve water.”

Today, there are a host of high-tech innovations on the market to help farmers conserve water.

Brawley area grower Carson Kalin last year tried out a cloud-based Hortau irrigation management system that monitors soil tension to determine a crop’s water needs and use.

“Watching how the crop uses water using the Hortau tool changed how we irrigated completely,” he said in a video on Hortau’s website.

With the system, he said, he reduced water use on his onion field by 25 to 30 percent.

“With the (system) we’re able to save water and optimize the crop,” he said.

As the IID on-farm water conservation program continues to expand it also is evolving to address rough spots. Uncertainty about the amount of payments and the length of time it

takes growers to receive payment for conserved water led to the creation this year of a voluntary one-year pilot program that offers an alternative process to determine the contract payment.

The process quantifies the contractual payments for alfalfa, Bermuda and Kleingrass field participants, based on average conservation yields for those crops and certain conservation methods.

Brock said the pilot was proposed for field crops, which make up more than 50 percent of the fields in the on-farm program. Growers had voiced concern about the timing and uncertainty over the amount of payments.

Even before the on-farm conservation program began, IID was at work improving the existing delivery infrastructure and adding new features to conserve water. Those initiatives included targeted spill reductions, upgraded communications systems and structural improvements to both conserve water for transfer and to help growers achieve the onfarm conservation goals.

The integrated group of delivery system improvements is designed to save water by reducing spills that can occur when a grower wants to shorten or reduce his water order.

A pilot program equipped two laterals with automated headings that could be controlled by zanjeros using laptops remotely from their trucks. Adding technology to improve manual

operations was a huge change for the 107-yearold district, but it was embraced expanded district-wide to more than 80 laterals.

Vince Brooke, Water Department superintendent, said, “Now the zanjeros have a wide array of automated water management at their fingertips (on the laptops) to monitor what’s going on in real time, which allows them to make quicker operational decisions to minimize spills.”

Other projects include installation of extensive seepage recovery projects along the East Highline Canal, with additional main canal sites being developed. Projects in the planning stage include the development of a large-scale operational reservoir, located where the AllAmerican Canal enters the water service area, to help provide the water delivery flexibility. IID also is working with its growers to site smaller mid-lateral reservoirs to improve localized water delivery service.

The end of the QSA temporary fallowing program and the transition to all efficiencybased conservation measures bode well for Valley agriculture and for improved water use efficiencies, according to Water Manager Shields.

She expects the amount and value of Valley agricultural output to increase as the land goes back into production with more crops that will be eligible to participate in the on-farm water conservation program. n

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VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 27

MARKETING... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

Alex Jack of Jack Bros., at a Romaine hearts lettuce field south of Brawley. - Photo By Joselito N. Villero

28 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

Bill Colace started the Majesty label, with the support of their father, in 1985, and Five Crowns became the means to market their brand.

As Five Crowns’ reputation spread, growth occurred and partnerships with other growers followed.

Most of the produce grown under the Majesty label is distributed throughout North America, Europe and Pacific Rim countries.

The GloriAnn label, which they co-own with the Bacchetti family of the San Joaquin Valley, focuses on packaged sweet corn with sales primarily in the U.S., specifically west of the Rockies. They have been co-owners in the GloriAnn label since 2010.

The Colace brothers, as part of their management of marketing, packaging and shipping, have their own cooling and shipping plant in Brawley—Crown Cooling—from which the GloriAnn sweet corn is processed seven months of the year. The rest of the year GloriAnn sweet corn is packaged in Tracy.

Crops grown under the Majesty label in the Valley, Coachella and Mexico are also processed and shipped from their Brawley cooling facility while crops grown in the San Joaquin Valley and Arizona are packaged and shipped at other facilities through their partnerships with growers and shippers.

The Crown Cooling facility runs 5 million cartons through the facility each year, from asparagus produced in Mexico in the winter to Majesty melons and GloriAnn corn during the summer and fall.

For the Crown Citrus label, the brothers have their packaging and shipping facility in Calipatria.

All that takes a lot of marketing.

“On a weekly basis, someone (from our company) is traveling across North America,” said Bill Colace, who manages the marketing side of the business while his older brother, Joe, manages the growing and processing side.

“We have seven full-time people for sales,” he said.

The Majesty, GloriAnn and Crown Citrus labels are sold at major “big box” retailers throughout the country as well as major grocery chains—along with their international customers. They also market to smaller independent retailers. Some 50 percent of their commodities are pre-contracted. The remainder of their crops are sold on the open market, which emphasizes the importance of building relationships with customers as Five Crowns and ensuring a strong reputation for their labels.

“We’ve been very fortunate with seeing growth almost every year,” Bill said. “It’s

Bill Colace (left) and Joe Colace hold boxes of asparagus in a warehouse in Brawley.

- Photo By Joselito N. Villero through performance, through relationships.

It’s through having high integrity.”

Joe said one reason the company has been successful under their labels is the respect they show to all involved in the process. He credits

their father and uncle with teaching them how to conduct business.

“They gave the gift of respect for others and that has been the foundation for the company,” Joe said. n

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 29

ORGANIC-ONLY... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 About Doc’s Organics:

Miriam Legorreta (right) checks the quality of lemons prior to storing them in boxes at Doc’s Organics west of Brawley. - Photo By Joselito N. Villero

30 VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST

 The packing shed is built on 29 acres, has five buildings that include the office/scale house, and a total of just over 40,000 square feet.  Eureka or Lisbon lemons, grapefruit, Minneola tangelos and sweet limes are packed at Doc’s from the 630 acres of citrus trees at the Dockstader’s farm  Packing capacity is 300-350 bins a day and between 400,000 and 450,000 annually  The packing season is from August to May  Doc’s uses the “most modern methods of washing, sorting, sizing and packing to ensure consistent quality and organic integrity of the product,” according to Gina Dockstader  Fruit is shipped to New York City, the Bronx, San Francisco, Florida, Canada, and Japan. It’s sold to companies such as Safeway and Kroger, and sweet limes packed at the plant were found at the 99 Cent Only store near Target in El Centro  Each of the boxes clearly states the fruit is grown and packed in the Imperial Valley  The logo was created by Graffik Graffiti in Brawley. It includes the Scripture verse John 15:5 and depicts the farm and the sun rising over the nearby Chocolate Mountain range  Plans are to build a packing shed for organic Medjool dates and incorporate solar panels for power n

MEASURES... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 in 2011 to shift the emphasis nationwide to preventing contamination rather than responding to it. The FSMA guidelines, finalized in 2016, are now being rolled out. That process was reviewed at the El Centro LGMA meeting.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has created a new division within its inspection unit to educate produce farmers about FSMA regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act and ultimately to conduct routine on-farm inspections in 2019 to verify they are in compliance.

In anticipation of the new FSMA rules, Horsfall said LGMA had already modified its metrics to match the federal language.

Basically this year, Horsfall said, “compliance with LGMA means you’re in compliance with FSMA.” LGMA food safety practices touch on every aspect of farming and the area surrounding fields on which leafy greens grow. They are updated and modified as research and new information requires. Growers are required to have food safety compliance plans detailing how their operation will meet the rigorous metrics, including a trace-back program so produce can be traced back to the field in which it was grown.

For instance, LGMA requires leafy green fields to be at least 400 feet from any feedlot. Growers must do pre-season and pre-harvest testing to ensure there was no potential contamination threat from animal intrusion. Water must be tested repeatedly and records kept proving there was no upstream potential contamination.

Now, more than 10 years after LGMA was put into practice, Vessey said, it works so well because “it really changed the culture on-farm. Now everyone on the farm thinks food safety first. I see that everyday.”

Each farm may incorporate a variety of techniques but they all must carry out the litany of LGMA protocols. In the Imperial Valley techniques include air cannons to discourage bird and rodent intrusions and droppings; daily washing of farm implements to prevent the possible

Harvesting equipment sits in a field in western Imperial County - Photo By Dane Knight introduction of pathogens into fields; mesh barriers laid across irrigation ditches; and limits on entry into fields or requiring field inspectors to be gloved.

“LGMA pretty much transformed how we do everything,” said J.P. LaBrucherie of El Centro. “It really put food safety at the forefront.”

For LaBrucherie Produce, implementing the LGMA practices, keeping training current and keeping up with changes is such a priority that the farm created a food safety department with about six employees who now work year-round.

While LGMA protocols are specific to leafy greens, LaBrucherie said he and many other Valley produce growers now follow the same rules for all their vegetable crops.

“It just makes sense,” he said.

While there is considerable concern about the impact of FSMA onfarm, Vessey said he believes it will harmonize with LGMA and “extend the focus on safety throughout the whole food chain.” n

VALLEY AGRIBUSINESS & DESERT GROWING DIGEST 31

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“Crop Report PLUS” Series

Table of Contents Agricultural Commissioner’s Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Chairman of the Board of Supervisor’s Letter. . . . . . . A3 Imperial County Agriculture . . A3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Our Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 “Direct Effects” of Imperial County Farm Production . . . A5

Figure 1. Distribution of Imperial County Farm Production

“Multiplier Effects” of Imperial County Farm Production. . A5 Figure 2. Economic Effect of Farm Production

Locally Sourced, Value-added Food Processing . . . . . . . . . A6 Figure 3. Economic Effect of Locally

Sourced, Value-added Food Processing

Total Economic Contribution of Imperial County Agriculture . . . .A7 Figure 4. Overall Economic Effect of Imperial County Agriculture

AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Carlos Ortiz Agricultural Commissioner Sealer of Weights and Measures Jolene Dessert Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Asst. Sealer of Weights and Measures

Sincerely,

Toward the Future. . . . . . . A10

A2

Acknowledgments . . . . . . A10

E-mail: agcom@co.imperial.ca.us

I am pleased to share the “Crop Report Plus” Series that shows the Economic Contributions of Imperial County Agriculture. This report takes an important step beyond the annual Imperial County Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report that we publish every year. Instead of stopping at crop production values and acreage, it quantifies agriculture’s total economic contribution through food production, local food processing, employment, and economic “multiplier effects.” In short, the report documents agriculture’s broader role in sustaining a thriving local economy.

Section 2279 of the California Food and Agricultural Code requires all county agricultural commissioners to report the annual “value” of agriculture. This typically occurs via our yearly Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report. Using twenty-first century economic tools, we can now fulfill this mandate better than ever. We can also explore additional topics that clarify agriculture’s role in sustaining a healthy local economy.

For 2016, agriculture contributed a total of $4.50 billion to the county economy. This far exceeds the $2.06 billion figure from our 2016 Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report.

Agriculture also supported 12,916 direct employees, or about one out of every six jobs in the county. When we add multiplier effects, total employment rises to 24,429 jobs.

Agriculture has a long tradition in Imperial County. For more than a century, it has been the foundation of our economy and culture. With this report, we renew our commitment to sustaining that tradition that our pioneers envisioned well into the future.

County Agriculture?

Additional Questions to Answer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10

(442) 265-1500 Fax: (760) 353-9420

The Honorable Board of Supervisors, County of Imperial Supervisor Michael W. Kelley, Chairman, District 3 Supervisor John R. Renison, District 1 Supervisor Luis A. Plancarte, District 2 Supervisor Ryan E. Kelley, District 4 Supervisor Raymond “Ray” Castillo, District 5

The Value of Agricultural Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A8

Figure 5. Agricultural Economic Diversity is More Than Just the Number of Crops Figure 6. How Economically Diverse is Imperial

852 Broadway El Centro, CA 92243

Carlos Ortiz Agricultural Commissioner Sealer of Weights and Measures

COUNTY ADMINISTRATION CENTER 940 MAIN STREET, SUITE 209 EL CENTRO, CA, 92243-2871 TELEPHONE: (760) 482-4220 FAX: (760) 482-4215

A

“Crop Report PLUS” Series

DISTRICT 1 JOHN RENISON DISTRICT 2 LUIS A. PLANCARTE DISTRICT 3 MICHAEL W. KELLEY DISTRICT 4 RYAN E. KELLEY DISTRICT 5 RAYMOND R. CASTILLO

griculture is the backbone of Imperial County’s rich history and bright future. Agricultural production, innovations to improve on-farm efficiencies and supportive businesses contribute billions of dollars into our local economy each year.

Farm dollars provide tax revenue used to improve our roads, build parks and create jobs. Our farmers and ranchers produce fruits, vegetables, forage and beef for the nation and world’s population consistently ranking Imperial in the top ten agricultural producing counties in California. With an abundance of open space and reliable water supply, agriculture in Imperial County will remain strong for generations to come.

Michael W. Kelley Chairman, Supervisor District 3

Economic Contributions of Imperial County Agriculture For 2016, Imperial County Agriculture: …contributed a total of $4.50 billion to the local economy, including:  $2.94 billion in direct economic output, representing 25.9% of the county’s total economic output.  $1.56 billion in additional economic output in the form of expenditures by agriculture companies and their employees.  This equates to over half a million dollars per hour and $12.3 million per day. …provided 24,429 jobs, including:  12,916 direct employees, or about one out of every six jobs in the county.  11,513 additional jobs attributable to expenditures by agriculture companies and their employees. …maintained exceptional diversity of agricultural commodities, providing stability within the agricultural and broader county economy.  The Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index measures economic diversity. Imperial County agriculture’s score for 2016 is 3.23.

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“Crop Report PLUS” Series A4

Introduction Residents and visitors alike know and value the contributions agriculture makes to Imperial County. Well-tended fields stretch for miles. Onions, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, and dozens of other crops grow in deep, fertile soils and help feed the world. Alfalfa colors the landscape while cattle, sheep, and other livestock thrive in local fields and feedlots.

Clearly, agriculture plays a vital role in sustaining a healthy local economy. What is not so clear, however, is the true size of that role. How much money does agriculture pump into the local economy? How many jobs does agriculture support? In other words, just how important is agriculture as a driver of

Imperial County’s economic health?

This report sheds light on these and related questions. Using multiple data sources and advanced economic modeling techniques, it analyzes agriculture’s total contribution to the Imperial County economy. The report also examines agricultural diversity and its role in supporting economic resiliency, including a first-ever quantitative measure. On the whole, the findings offer important information for policy makers, the public, and anyone who values a thriving local economy.

Our Approach When it comes to economic analysis, it is important to examine the fullest possible range of economic contributions.

This report does that by focusing not just on direct economic effects such as farm production and employment, but also on multiplier effects. Multiplier effects are ripples through the economy. These ripples include inter-industry “business to business” supplier purchases as well as “consumption spending” by employees. The Multiplier Effects section on page A5 explains this further.

It is appropriate to calculate multiplier effects when analyzing what economists call a basic industry. A basic industry is one that sells most of its products beyond the local area and thus brings outside money into local communities.

Agriculture easily qualifies as a basic industry in Imperial County. Therefore, this report includes multiplier effects when describing agriculture’s total economic contribution.

Our analysis only examines agriculture’s economic

contributions. To understand agriculture’s full economic impact, one would also need to assess agricultural-related costs to society, for example net impacts on water and other natural resources. While important, these impacts lie beyond the scope of this study.

Our calculations draw from local and national data sources.

The local sources include industry experts and the annual Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report produced by the office of the Agricultural Commissioner Sealer of Weights and Measures. The main national data source is IMPLAN®, a widely used economic modeling program (see www.implan.com).

IMPLAN® uses econometric modeling to convert data from more than a dozen federal government sources into local values for every U.S. county and zip code across 536 industry sectors. Except where otherwise noted, all figures are from the year 2016, the most recent IMPLAN® dataset available. Please contact the authors for additional details on the methods used.

This section focuses on the simplest measures of economic activity: production and employment. It describes total farm production and the number of agriculture jobs.

Figure 1 shows the various categories that made up Imperial County farm production value. Vegetable & Melon Crops were the single largest production category by dollar value ($1.01 billion), comprising 48.8% of the county total. Three products dominated this category: leaf lettuce ($133.2 million), broccoli ($120.6 million), and head lettuce ($119.3 million).

At 22.7%, Livestock represented the second largest category ($468.2 million) and consisted mostly of feedlot cattle ($400.6 million). Field Crops ranked third with $381.2 million and 18.5%.

Together, these three super categories accounted for 89.9% of the county’s direct farm production values.

The combined, total dollar value for all products rose 50.7% over the past decade, from $1.37 billion in 2007 to $2.06 billion in 2016. Inflation totaled 19.5% during this period, averaging just under 2% per year. Thus, agricultural production grew an impressive 31.2% even after adjusting for inflation. Total values do not reflect net profit or loss experienced by individual growers or by the industry as a whole. Interested readers are encouraged to consult the annual Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report for additional details on specific products and their value.

Figure 1: Distribution of Imperial County Farm Production Source: 2016 Imperial County Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report

“Crop Report PLUS” Series

“Direct Effects” of Imperial County Farm Production

Employment. How many people work in agricultural production? For 2016, agricultural production directly employed 12,186 people in Imperial County. The figure encompasses a wide range of production-related jobs, including not just growing and harvesting, but also sales, marketing and many other roles. It does not include food processing jobs, which we discuss below.

“Multiplier Effects” of Imperial County Farm Production This section quantifies the economic “ripples” that farm production creates in the local economy. These ripples take two forms: indirect effects and induced effects. The first consist of “business to business” supplier purchases. For example, when a grower buys farm equipment, fertilizer, seed, insurance, banking services, and other inputs, the grower creates indirect effects.

The second ripple type, induced effects, consist of “consumption spending” by owners and employees of agriculture businesses and their suppliers. They buy housing, healthcare, leisure activities, and other things for their

households. All of this spending creates ripples in the economy.

Although agricultural companies and their employees certainly spend money in Yuma, AZ, Mexicali, Mexico and many other locations outside Imperial County, this study only reflects those expenditures that occur within the county. Quantifying expenditures outside the county would be an expensive, complex effort that lies well beyond our scope here.

Figure 2 shows agriculture’s direct, indirect, and induced economic effects within the county, for major production categories. The numbers use IMPLAN multipliers for each

A5

“Crop Report PLUS” Series

sector, which are rooted in U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis production data and other sources.

For example, “Beef cattle ranching & farming” in Imperial County has an indirect effects multiplier of 0.7219 and an induced effects multiplier of 0.1256. This means that for 2016, each dollar’s worth of direct output generated an extra 72 cents in supplier purchases, plus approximately 12 cents extra in consumption spending by agriculture owners and employees.

Every sector has its own unique multipliers reflecting where companies and employees spent their money.

Each sector also has its own unique multipliers for employment. For example, “Vegetable & Melon farming” supported 3,097 direct jobs, plus an additional 2,494 jobs from indirect effects and 1,134 jobs from induced effects. The bottom row of Figure 3 shows combined employment figures across sectors.

Figure 2: Economic Effect of Imperial County Farm Production FARM PRODUCTION SECTOR

DIRECT

Vegetable and Melon Farming Livestock and Animal Products All Other Crop Farming Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry Sugarcane and Sugar Beet Farming Fruit Farming Grain Farming Forestry, Forest Products, and Timber Production Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production Cotton Farming Tree Nut Farming

$874.7 $479.9 $513.3 $385.4 $49.2 $42.5 $22.8 $4.3 $5.0 $2.8 $1.5

TOTAL ECONOMIC OUTPUT: TOTAL EMPLOYMENT:

INDIRECT INDUCED Output Effect ($ Millions) $211.5 $323.9 $165.4 $20.5 $15.9 $11.9 $9.5 $2.1 $0.9 $0.7 $0.4

$2,381.4 $762.9 Employment Effect (# Jobs) 12,186 6,549

$141.9 $62.1 $89.8 $111.2 $10.3 $7.9 $2.5 $1.3 $0.8 $0.5 $0.3

TOTAL $1,228.1 $866.0 $768.5 $517.1 $75.4 $62.3 $34.8 $7.8 $6.6 $4.0 $2.2

$428.5

$3,572.8

3,421

22,156

Dollar values are in $ millions. Figures are for 2016 and come from IMPLAN® and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Not all columns and rows add due to rounding.

Note that category names and production data in Figure 3 differ from the Imperial County’s annual Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report. They follow a standard classification system used nationwide called the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS).

Each NAICS category has an explicit definition. For example, “Support activities for agricultural production” refers to soil preparation, planting, cultivating, harvesting, labor contracting, post-harvest crop activities and other farm management services.

Agricultural production created $3.57 billion in total economic output within Imperial County, of which $1.19 billion were multiplier effects.

Agricultural production also supported 12,186 direct jobs, plus another 9,970 through multiplier effects, for a total of 22,156 jobs.

Because the data reflect production activities that the county’s Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report is not designed to capture, the 2016 direct production value ($2.38 billion) is higher than the $2.06 billion reported in the Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report.

Locally Sourced, Value-added Food Processing

A6

Farm production tells only part of the story. Imperial County is home to several food processors that play a key role in the local economy. This section captures the economic value of local food processing. It is neither an exact science nor a full assessment, but rather gives the reader a basic overview of the topic.

To avoid overstating the numbers, we only include food manufacturers and sectors that fit two strict criteria: 1) they use mostly local agricultural inputs; and 2) they are unlikely to exist here without the presence of the associated agricultural sector. Many processing facilities would not exist in Imperial County were it not for the abundant supply of vegetables, livestock, and other raw agricultural products.

Based on our strict criteria, we did not include the county’s $14.9

million bread and bakery products manufacturing sector because most raw ingredients such as flour and yeast come from outside the county. The county produced $31.0 million in wheat for 2016, but it went to Texas, Missouri and Illinois for processing into wheat flour. The county’s nascent beer manufacturing sector ($2.3 million) sometimes flavors beer with local lemons, melons, honey, and carrots, but depends on outside grains such as hops grown in the Pacific Northwest or Germany.

Figure 3 shows the economic effects of locally sourced, valueadded food processing. Like the previous section, category names follow a standard classification system used nationwide called the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). Each NAICS category has an explicit definition. For example, the NAICS category

beet pulp and beet molasses. The sugar plant only uses beets grown in Imperial County.

The “All other food manufacturing” category reflects light processing of leafy greens and other vegetables into bagged and other ready to eat products. Estimates of local processing range from 50% for Romaine lettuce, head lettuce, and cabbage, to 60% for leaf lettuce, to 100% for Romaine hearts.

Vegetables go mostly to the fresh market or to other counties for processing. For example, an estimated 50% of the county’s $61.4 million onion crop was processed, but it occurred outside the county.

Similarly, $51.3 million of the county’s carrot production went to processors, but nearly all of it in Kern County.

Most citrus is for the fresh market. Depending on the quality of the fruit, an estimated 20% to 40% of tangerines, tangelos, oranges, lemons, and grapefruit are processed into juices and related products. Based on consultations with several growers, all of this processing occurs outside the county.

Imperial County’s $12.3 million Aquatic Products sector plays an interesting and important role nationally and internationally. The county is a major fish supplier to California and Asia, but only sells live fish. Algae is a different story: the county has become the world’s largest manufacturer of spirulina and spirulina-based products, with exports to more than 20 countries.

Consultations with local experts revealed other, small-scale processing. For example, a portion of the county’s $19.1 million date crop was processed into date nut bread, date butter, and related products. A portion of the olive crop was processed into olive oil. At least one producer used local figs to make jams.

“Crop Report PLUS” Series

“All other food manufacturing” includes processed leafy greens, peeled or cut vegetables, and other perishable prepared foods. We selected and validated the categories and numbers in consultation with local experts, and slightly adjusted two sector names for clarity.

The “Beef & other animal processing” sector consists mostly of one facility that handles about 30% of the county’s cattle production.

Most cattle go to other counties for processing (Los Angeles, Fresno), or to other states (Arizona, Utah). Sheep only spend the winter in Imperial County, going elsewhere for processing. Boutique-scale processing of goats, rabbits, poultry, swine, and lambs occurs in conjunction with the California Mid-Winter Fair & Fiesta, with show animals sold by auction or barn sales. With respect to dairy products, Imperial County has a few remaining dairies and was home to California’s last remaining producer of Swiss and Muenster cheeses until it closed in late 2013.

“Compressed hay & other animal food manufacturing” in Figure 3 captures the estimated 25% to 30% of the county’s $148 million alfalfa hay production that growers compress into small, dense squares, rather than sell for direct consumption in feedlots. Several alfalfa compressing facilities operate within the county. These facilities export most of their product to Asian markets such as China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. A similar percentage of county’s $154 million Bermuda Grass production (20%) also goes to Asia in compressed form.

“Beet sugar manufacturing” is especially interesting given the ongoing decline of beet processing in California. Imperial County is home to California’s last remaining beet processing facility. The operation produces beet sugar as well as co-products such as dried

Figure 3: Economic Effect of Locally Sourced, Value-added Food Processing FARM PRODUCTION SECTOR

DIRECT

Beef & Other Animal Processing Compressed Hay and Other Animal Feed Beet Sugar Manufacturing All Other Food Manufacturing

$307.4 $205.5 $27.4 $15.5

TOTAL ECONOMIC OUTPUT: TOTAL EMPLOYMENT:

INDIRECT INDUCED Output Effect ($ Millions) $252.2 $52.2 $19.8 $4.1

$555.7 $328.3 Employment Effect (# Jobs) 730 1,213

$28.0 $8.7 $3.9 $0.8

TOTAL $587.6 $266.3 $51.1 $20.4

$41.4

$925.4

330

2,273

Sources: IMPLAN® and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data, with input by local industry experts. Not all columns and rows add due to rounding.

Total Economic Contribution of Imperial County Agriculture The previous sections have provided key pieces to an economic puzzle. This section combines those puzzle pieces into a final picture showing the overall economic effect of Imperial County agriculture.

As Figure 4 shows, the total 2016 economic contribution of Imperial County agriculture was $4.50 billion. This consisted of $2.94 billion in combined direct output from production and processing, plus $1.56 billion in multiplier effects.

For perspective, agriculture pumped over half a million dollars per hour into the county economy during 2016 ($513,494, to be exact).

The $2.94 billion in direct output represented 25.9% of the county’s total economic output of $11.36 billion, about one out of every four dollars. This made agriculture the largest economic sector in Imperial

County, followed by government, at $2.68 billion. Among other things, government includes public safety, public education, military, social services, and even agricultural agencies. Real Estate ranked third, at $849.7 million.

Total employment was 24,429. This included 12,916 jobs directly in agriculture and another 11,513 attributable to multiplier effects. For perspective, the 12,916 direct agriculture jobs represented 16.5% of Imperial County’s total employment of 78,395, or about one out of every six jobs. Only government created greater direct employment (18,505 jobs). Health & Social Services ranked third with 9,879 jobs and includes things such as doctors, dentists, hospitals, and day care services.

A7

“Crop Report PLUS” Series

Figure 4: Economic Effect of Imperial County Farm Production TYPE OF EFFECT

DIRECT INDIRECT FARM PRODUCTION SECTOR

Output Effect ($ Millions) Employment Effect (# Jobs)

$2,381.4 12,186

$762.9 6,549

INDUCED

TOTAL

$428.5 3,421

$3,572.8 22,156

$41.4 330

$925.4 2,273

$469.9 3,751

$4,498.2 24,429

LOCALLY SOURCED, VALUE-ADDED PROCESSING SECTOR Output Effect ($ Millions) Employment Effect (# Jobs)

$555.7 730

$328.3 1,213

TOTAL VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL SECTOR Output Effect ($ Millions) Employment Effect (# Jobs)

$2,937.2 12,916

$1,091.1 7,762

The Value of Agricultural Diversity Economists may disagree on some things, but there’s one thing they all can agree on: a diverse economy is a resilient economy.

Any region that depends on a large number of economic sectors reduces risk of catastrophic shocks.

This important economic principle applies to agricultural diversity, too. For example, a county with just one or two main crops faces higher vulnerability to shocks in the form of price drops, disease outbreaks, new regulations, new competitors, spikes in the cost of key inputs, and other unpleasant surprises.

Meanwhile, a county with a diverse agricultural industry can withstand shocks to certain crops without unraveling the entire agricultural economy.

Unfortunately, robust measures of Imperial County agricultural diversity do not exist, let alone the total economic value of such diversity. People see assorted crops growing in well-tended fields.

They see lambs grazing and feedlots full of cattle. But no one has

attempted to quantify that diversity or its economic value.

Part of the reason is that measuring diversity is a complex job.

It requires more than just counting the different things for sale at a farmers’ market or listed in the Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report. Measuring diversity entails combining the number of different crops grown and their economic abundance or evenness.

For example, imagine two California counties where the annual farm production value is $100 million each. Both counties grow ten different kinds of crops. In County “A,” a single crop contributes 91% of the revenue and the nine other crops make up 1% each (see Figure 5 below). In County “B” the ten crop types all contribute equally, at 10% each. Both counties have the same number of crops and total revenues, but County “B” has much higher economic diversity. Thus, we could expect County “B” to be much more resilient to economic shocks than County “A”.

Figure 5. Agricultural Economic Diversity is More Than Just the Number of Crops “COUNTY A”

10 Crops, $100 millon MINIMUM Diversity

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“COUNTY B”

10 Crops, $100 millon MAXIMUM Diversity

The lowest possible index score is 0.00. Zero represents an extreme case where all economic output occurs in only one sector. In ecology, this would be a rain forest with only one species. In agriculture, it would be a county with just one commercial crop. The other extreme, an open system where potential diversity is unlimited, would have a much higher score.

The higher the score, the greater the diversity.

To measure agricultural diversity in Imperial County, we started by creating a list of specific crops mentioned in the Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report over the past decade. We only used crops for which production values were provided for all ten years, even though the total number of commercial crops grown is certainly much larger. For example, we tracked onions from their 2016 total ($128.5 million) all the way back to 2007 ($39.6 million).

Careful lumping and splitting resulted in 57 different crop categories consistently reported over the past decade. Next, we applied the list of crops and production values to the formula above. This resulted in a 2016 Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index score of 3.23.

By itself, the index score says little. Where it comes in handy is making internal and external comparisons over time. Internally, the agricultural community can track the score across years to

ensure that overall agricultural economic diversity remains high.

Maintaining high economic diversity in agriculture will minimize the risk of significant economic shocks. It’s an insurance policy against economic earthquakes.

Speaking of earthquakes, note that equation above includes a logarithmic function (“ln”), similar to the Richter Scale for measuring earthquakes. Many Californians understand that a 7.4 earthquake releases twice the energy of a 7.2 earthquake even though the numbers are not far apart. The same principle applies to Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index scores: a tiny numeric difference represents a big change.

Figure 6 shows how the Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index score has fluctuated over time. The 2016 score of 3.23 marks a new high. Scores have changed little over time, in contrast to the downward trend we have seen in other California counties.

When slight dips did occur, for example the 2013 drop to 3.11, the decrease was small. The dip did not mean that fewer crop types were grown in the county during that year, but rather that a small number of crops represented larger pieces of the economic pie.

Externally, the index score can allow useful comparisons to other industries within Imperial County, for example real estate, tourism, and mineral development. It also allows comparisons between Imperial County agriculture and agriculture in other California counties and beyond. Although the number of external comparisons remains limited at this time, we have produced diversity index scores for agricultural commissioners in several other California counties. Examples include: Monterey (3.09), Solano (3.00), San Luis Obispo (2.92), Santa Barbara (2.49), San Diego (2.43), Santa Cruz (2.01), and Inyo/Mono (1.73).

Potential comparisons will no doubt grow over time as more counties adopt this innovative and important measurement.

In the meantime, Imperial County residents can take pride in having one of the most economically diverse agricultural industries anywhere, with numbers to prove it.

“Crop Report PLUS” Series

Because economic diversity is so important, economists have developed sophisticated tools for measuring it. The most popular one is a summary statistic called the Shannon-Weaver Index. The index stems from the Shannon-Weaver entropy function, which was created in 1949 and is widely used in both ecology and economics. Economists and ecologists alike use the formula to calculate the Shannon-Weaver Index, which we share here and can explain further to interested readers:

Figure 6. How Economically Diverse is Imperial County Agriculture?

The Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index score combines the number of different crops grown and their relative economic value.

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“Crop Report PLUS” Series

Toward the Future This report has documented the role that Imperial County agriculture plays as a local economic driver. Including local food processing and multiplier effects, agriculture contributed $4.50 billion to the county economy. Agriculture also played an important role in county employment, directly or indirectly supporting 24,429 jobs. Finally, agriculture’s impressive diversity continues to provide critical economic stability to the county. The economic value of this stability is certainly high, albeit hard to quantify.

Agriculture is an important pillar of the Imperial County economy and represents a vital link to both the county’s cultural past and competitive future. Although this report has presented many facts and figures, it has barely begun to fill key information gaps about agriculture’s role. The process of developing this report has raised several additional questions that lie beyond the scope of this report but may warrant future research (Box 1). In the meantime, the findings herein provide the clearest picture yet of Imperial County agriculture’s important economic role.

Box 1: Additional Questions to Answer Processing. As this report has shown, processing of Imperial County’s raw agricultural products occurs mostly outside the county. What new policies, programs, and other initiatives could expand locally sourced, value-added food processing within Imperial County?

Water. Imperial County’s abundant food production depends on Colorado River water delivered via the All-American Canal.

What risks does this water supply face? What measures, if implemented, could best safeguard this vital resource well into the future?

Ecosystem services. What is the annual dollar value of wildlife habitat, scenic beauty, carbon sequestration, pollination, and more than 20 other “ecosystem services” that Imperial County’s

agricultural lands provide to society?

Diversity. How diverse is Imperial County agriculture not just in terms of economic production across crop types, but also across farm sizes, geographical markets, and organic/conventional?

Economic shocks. How would potential “shocks” affect agriculture’s economic results, for example significant new regulations, labor policies, water issues, or changes in the price of key inputs?

Cannabis. Experts predict an explosion of cannabis cultivation in response to California’s legalization of recreational marijuana use. What economic opportunities and risks does this change present for Imperial County growers?

Acknowledgments This report was produced by Dr. Jeff Langholz (jeff@ag-impact. com) and Dr. Fernando DePaolis (fernando@ag-impact.com) under contract to the Imperial County Office of the Agricultural Commissioner & Sealer of Weights and Measures. Sandra Mendivil,

Special Projects Coordinator, supervised the project on behalf of the County. We would like to thank all agency staff who provided key input, as well as growers and other local industry experts who graciously contributed information about their operations.

Imperial County

Agricultural Commissioner Sealer of Weights & Measures 852 Broadway, El Centro, CA 92243 442.265.1500 www.co.imperial.ca.us/ag

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2016 Crop Rank & acreage

RANK CROP CROP TYPE * DESCRIPTION

ACRES

%

CUMULATIVE CUMULATIVE ACRES %

45 G SWISS CHARD 116 0.0% 449,640 99.7% 46 F SORGHUM GRAIN 115 0.0% 449,755 99.7% 47 G PARSLEY 112 0.0% 449,867 99.7% 48 G BEANS 111 0.0% 449,978 99.8% 49 F SPIRULINA ALGAE 87 0.0% 450,065 99.8% SESBANIA 76 0.0% 450,141 99.8% RANK CROP CROP ACRES % CUMULATIVE CUMULATIVE 50 F TYPE * DESCRIPTION ACRES % 51 F SAFFLOWER 75 0.0% 450,216 99.8% 52 G SWEET BASIL 72 0.0% 450,288 99.8% 1 F ALFALFA (all) 148,642 33.0% 148,642 33.0% 53 F TRITICALE GRAIN 62 0.0% 450,350 99.9% BERMUDAGRASS (all) 49,822 11.0% 198,464 44.0% 2 F 54 P JUJUBE 57 0.0% 450,407 99.9% 3 F SUDANGRASS (all) 38,379 8.5% 236,843 52.5% 55 G RADISHES 56 0.0% 450,463 99.9% 4 G LETTUCE (all) 31,382 7.0% 268,225 59.5% 56 G CUCUMBERS 54 0.0% 450,517 99.9% 5 F WHEAT 27,308 6.1% 295,533 65.5% 57 G ARTICHOKE (all) 53 0.0% 450,570 99.9% 6 F SUGARBEETS 25,756 5.7% 321,289 71.2% 58 G PEAS 52 0.0% 450,622 99.9% 7 G CARROTS (all) 15,590 3.5% 336,879 74.7% 59 P ORNAMENTAL TREES 43 0.0% 450,665 99.9% 8 F KLEINGRASS 14,590 3.2% 351,469 77.9% 60 F CORN, SILAGE 40 0.0% 450,705 99.9% 9 G ONIONS (all) 13,863 3.1% 365,332 81.0% 61 G ALOE VERA 38 0.0% 450,743 99.9% 10 G BROCCOLI (all) 12,145 2.7% 377,477 83.7% 62 G SQUASH 33 0.0% 450,776 99.9% 11 P DUCK PONDS 10,114 2.2% 387,591 85.9% 63 G HERBS, MIXED 28 0.0% 450,804 100.0% 12 G SPINACH 9,495 2.1% 397,086 88.0% BRUSSELS SPROUTS 26 0.0% 450,830 100.0% 64 G 13 P CITRUS (all) 7,623 1.7% 404,709 89.7% 65 P ASPARAGUS 23 0.0% 450,853 100.0% 14 G CORN, SWEET 7,407 1.6% 412,116 91.4% 66 P MANGOS 20 0.0% 450,873 100.0% 15 G VEGETABLES, MIXED 6,270 1.4% 418,386 92.8% 67 G TOMATOES, SPRING 20 0.0% 450,893 100.0% 16 G MELONS, SPRING (all) 6,162 1.4% 424,548 94.1% 68 G PEPPERS, BELL 18 0.0% 450,911 100.0% 17 F CORN, FIELD 3,723 0.8% 428,271 95.0% 69 G PEPPERS, HOT 14 0.0% 450,925 100.0% 18 G CAULIFLOWER 3,129 0.7% 431,400 95.7% 70 G RUTABAGAS 13 0.0% 450,938 100.0% 19 G POTATOES 1,877 0.4% 433,277 96.1% 71 G COLLARDS 12 0.0% 450,950 100.0% 20 F RYEGRASS (all) 1,745 0.4% 435,022 96.5% 72 F QUINOA 12 0.0% 450,962 100.0% 21 G CABBAGE 1,623 0.4% 436,645 96.8% 73 G DILL 11 0.0% 450,973 100.0% 22 G CILANTRO 1,565 0.3% 438,210 97.2% 74 F BARLEY 10 0.0% 450,983 100.0% 23 G RAPINI 1,558 0.3% 439,768 97.5% 75 F RAPESEED 10 0.0% 450,993 100.0% 24 P DATES 995 0.2% 440,763 97.7% 76 P EUCALYPTUS 8 0.0% 451,001 100.0% 25 F OATS 935 0.2% 441,698 97.9% 77 P FRUIT, MIXED 7 0.0% 451,008 100.0% 26 G WATERMELONS 773 0.2% 442,471 98.1% 78 G CABBAGE, CHINESE 4 0.0% 451,012 100.0% 27 G CELERY 750 0.2% 443,221 98.3% 79 P PECANS 2 0.0% 451,014 100.0% 28 P OLIVES 693 0.2% 443,914 98.4% 80 F BAMBOO 1 0.0% 451,015 100.0% 29 G MUSTARD (all) 588 0.1% 444,502 98.6% Total Acres of Crops 451,015 30 F GRASS, MIXED 573 0.1% 445,075 98.7% * Crop Types: F = Field G = Garden P = Permanent 31 P FISH FARMS 482 0.1% 445,557 98.8% Source: www.iid.com 32 G SUNFLOWERS (SEED) 436 0.1% 445,993 98.9% 33 F SORGHUM SILAGE 423 0.1% 446,416 99.0% 34 P PASTURE, PERMANENT 407 0.1% 446,823 99.1% 35 F RED BEETS 369 0.1% 447,192 99.2% 36 G OKRA 347 0.1% 447,539 99.2% 37 G GARBANZO BEANS 324 0.1% 447,863 99.3% 38 F SUGARCANE 316 0.1% 448,179 99.4% 39 P PALMS 280 0.1% 448,459 99.4% 40 G FLOWERS 278 0.1% 448,737 99.5% 41 G KALE 255 0.1% 448,992 99.6% 42 P NURSERY 240 0.1% 449,232 99.6% Packers-Shippers 43 P FIGS 150 0.0% 449,382 99.6% 551 West Main St. | Suite 2 Brawley, CA 92227 | Phone: 760-344-1930 44 G FENNEL 142 0.0% 449,524 99.7%

Imperial Irrigation District Water Department

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