Commentary

By Annette Jones

“I have run a good race.”  

I heard that in church last week and wondered, what does that mean as I approach retirement after almost 20 years as California state veterinarian?  

I can honestly say that my belief in California agriculture and serving the public has consistently come first for me. I reliably stepped up to the plate when called upon. I never quit even after making mistakes. I learned. But I was also surrounded by opportunity, good mentors and talent in my entire career. I was given the chance to run a very good race.     

In 2001, when I joined the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the United Kingdom was experiencing a devastating outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, or FMD. While our more seasoned veterinarians traveled there to assist, I was paired with one of the most experienced veterinarians in the country to draft the state’s FMD plan. The stories coming back from the UK were devastating and foundational: Outbreaks affect people, not just their animals.  

That was also the year we were shocked and saddened by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We became aware of plots that considered anthrax, FMD and botulism as agroterrorism weapons to destabilize the U.S. We looked at vulnerabilities and hardened targets where we could. While we were worried about intentional introductions of disease, California faced naturally occurring cases of anthrax in cattle, highly pathogenic avian influenza in a turkey breeding flock and tuberculosis in cattle. 

Fortunately, in those early years we had some wins. One of my favorites occurred when industry experts, university veterinarians and CDFA worked together to eradicate low-pathogenic avian influenza from poultry with more stringent biosecurity measures and vaccination. 

My opportunities to serve agriculture and the people of this state continued when I was deployed to Southern California as incident and area commander during the Newcastle disease outbreak in 2002 and 2003. I was mentored in emergency management techniques by some of the best CalFire commanders as we scrambled 1,500 state and federal employees to successfully prevent this deadly virus from getting a foothold in North America.

This was the first large-scale use of the Incident Command System for an animal health event. This outbreak and a similar one that occurred 15 years later required genuine commitment to the correct course of action because the decisions made for the good of all poultry owners in North America were excruciatingly painful to those in the path of the outbreak.    

California’s first detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, sometimes referred to as “mad cow disease,” came in 2012. While it affected just one cow, it brought a particular appreciation for the importance of credible government programs in the face of trade embargoes triggered by high consequence disease. 

When representatives from multiple key trading partners visited to verify our systems, they were consistently satisfied that our brand inspection, or cattle ownership verification, milk and dairy food safety, rendering and animal health monitoring systems were beyond reproach. Interestingly, they also found it important that the state had a cooperative relationship with the federal government. Regardless of politics, at the working program level, we always strive for mutual respect and cooperation because to ultimately succeed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture needs us, and we need them. 

Besides these early experiences, my career at CDFA included many other disease outbreaks in a number of livestock and poultry species; natural disasters; the COVID pandemic; antibiotic resistance; meat, dairy and egg recalls; and other challenges. They all required teamwork, science-driven decision-making, the commitment to do what is best for public health and the future of agriculture, and clear communication. They all required talented and dedicated staff and partners to successfully address.  

The biggest challenge of my career began in 2022 and escalated each year thereafter as we face a new strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The virus exploded through dairies and poultry flocks last winter despite efforts to reduce impacts, testing the resilience of our farmers and staff like no other outbreak has. While the disease impacts are distressing, it is rewarding to wrap up my career with a renewed appreciation for how proactive our producers and processors can be—and how talented the CDFA and USDA teams are.    

Looking forward, my hope is that the spirit of cooperation continues as California farmers and ranchers face new threats and that we keep focusing on getting the job done with mutual respect. I am confident in the excellent staff that will carry on the CDFA Animal Health and Food Safety programs. An early mentor told me that you can survive as state veterinarian through openness to change and by being true, listening to others, making science-based decisions and being respectful—words I have tried to remember in this 20-year race.  

Annette Jones is the state veterinarian for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. She can be reached at annette.jones@cdfa.ca.gov.

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By Andrew Leimgruber
Imperial County Farm Bureau first vice president

I’m a fourth-generation farmer in Holtville, located in the Imperial Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border. My family emigrated from Switzerland in 1918, and we’ve farmed much of the same land for more than 100 years. Today, I’m raising the fifth generation. Our primary crop is alfalfa, but we also grow produce such as onions, carrots and leafy greens and other forage crops such as grass hay, wheat and corn.

Farmers tend to keep to themselves, but we have a great opportunity to tell our story, thanks to the farm-to-fork movement and increased interest in where food comes from. We have to be advocates. I speak up—even if there’s a chance I’ll be misquoted—because no one will tell our story better than we do. If I don’t speak, someone else will, and they may not get it right.

In the U.S., we enjoy the safest, most affordable and readily available food supply in history. The fresh produce that we grow is medicine. If you want a Caesar salad in January, it likely comes from Imperial. During winter, we supply 90% of the nation’s leafy greens. 

Farm Bureau’s Food Check-Out Week highlights how, by early February, the average American has earned enough income to pay for his or her annual grocery bill. In Europe, food costs can be nearly half of a family’s income. 

The dilemma in California is consumers support high standards for labor and food safety, which bring farmers added regulations, yet at the grocery store, they are willing to buy less expensive imported produce that doesn’t have the same standards. 

Anyone who farms in California has dealt with water issues. Farmers must show the value we bring to justify our water use. Imperial Valley farmers hold some of the most senior rights to Colorado River water. My great-grandparents farmed here before Las Vegas existed, yet because our irrigation district is the largest user on the river, we are targeted. 

It is my job to remind people that we are growing the population’s food. People say 40 million use Colorado River water, but in reality, hundreds of millions rely on it for food. If you wipe the region’s farmers off the map to solve a water crisis, in the process, you’re going to create a food crisis. 

I’ve done many media interviews, but this was my first year doing live national TV spots. I was interviewed by Fox News about the Colorado River. A week later, they called me to talk about tariff issues affecting agriculture and another time to talk about Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland. During one segment, an economist spoke on behalf of tariffs affecting big corporations. I followed by saying that many farmers support efforts to level the playing field when it comes to tariffs. Short-term pain can lead to long-term gains.

Short interviews and sound bites don’t always capture the farmer’s story well. Years ago, I gave a Las Vegas TV crew a half-day tour of our conservation efforts—our technology and water efficiency—but only a 2-minute piece aired. Still, the same folks who enjoy the salad bar in a casino are eating what we grow. Getting people to understand this disconnect is a reason I keep advocating. Longer-format coverage, such as podcasts and documentaries, allow farmers more time to talk about the real work we do, the challenges we face and why farming matters.

Much of my advocacy connects back to my Farm Bureau role. I serve as first vice president of the Imperial County Farm Bureau. I’ve chaired our water and political affairs committees. We started a political affairs committee because local elections have massive impacts on farming. When I returned from college more than a decade ago, some on the five-member irrigation district board were anti-agriculture, which made no sense. Our ancestors built this district, so farmers should be represented. We worked to elect directors who advocate for our efficient water delivery. Since we got involved, we no longer have an anti-agriculture board, and we have farmers at the table. 

Our county formed a political action committee, and we produce a voter guide and regularly meet with candidates. Right now, we’re tackling big issues such as solar energy development on farmland. Sometimes getting involved means taking tough stances, even within our community. In small counties, elections can be decided by just 60 votes. Our 550 Farm Bureau members are highly engaged voters—and that makes a real difference. 

To increase Farm Bureau membership, we must show its value. We defend and advocate for agriculture in the Imperial Valley. All the major agricultural boards here share one thing: They are Farm Bureau members. We are the unifying voice, and others want to align with what we’re doing. In Imperial County, Farm Bureau leads the way—and we plan to keep it that way.

Andrew Leimgruber is first vice president of the Imperial County Farm Bureau and a partner and farm manager at Leimgruber Farms in Holtville. He can be reached at media@cfbf.com. 

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By Bryan Little 

California farmers face unprecedented challenges this year, from soft commodity markets to shrinking availability of water for irrigation. Immigration enforcement activities add a new dimension to the familiar challenges of operating a farm or ranch in California. 

Recent activities—and the social and legacy media buzz they generate—have caused concern and stress for the hundreds of thousands of people who work on farms and ranches and in associated agricultural businesses. These people came to California to work in our food and agriculture industries, many of them decades ago, with no real opportunity to first gain legal status and no real opportunity to correct that situation as they built families and lives, paid taxes and participated in our communities. They plant, harvest, prepare and pack California’s agricultural bounty, feeding America and the world; they are an integral part of California’s $61 billion food production sector.

Immigration enforcement, however, is only the latest challenge faced by farm employees and rural communities across California. People in our workforce face other social challenges such as limited literacy, numeracy and technological literacy, which limit opportunities for economic and social participation that would otherwise be open to them. Issues such as their immigration status and limited literacy can challenge their ability to do something as simple as open a bank account, forcing them to rely on dubious and expensive alternative sources of financial services. 

Legal status and financial and literacy challenges play out in other ways to hamper their ability to feed, house and otherwise care for themselves in a state that features some of America’s highest living costs. These issues are exacerbated by health challenges stemming from poor dietary habits, limited access to preventive medical care and the management of chronic diseases such as high blood sugar and diabetes—conditions that significantly affect our workforce. 

The California Farmworker Foundation, headquartered in Delano, was established in 2016 to address a range of pressing community issues, including health care, housing and food insecurity. Focusing on Kern, Tulare, Madera, Fresno, Santa Barbara and Riverside counties, CFF is engaged in critical, innovative farmworker services meeting those challenges for California farmworkers and their families. CFF offers important support through education and services for this community, building alliances with community partners to provide educational, civic and social service support to families in need. 

The foundation’s civil assistance services address needs that have become increasingly apparent in recent months. They support farmworkers by helping them comprehend educational materials regarding their rights, facilitating connections with community partners for immigration-related legal services and providing access to essential services such as locating a reputable public notary—an often challenging task for a predominantly unbanked population. 

California Farm Bureau and its affiliated company Farm Employers Labor Service have featured CFF’s work in resources provided to FELS members. A recent webinar featured and highlighted CFF services, and FELS and Farm Bureau members can access those services for their members and agricultural employees. 

Earlier this summer, a group of farmworkers played an important role in the efforts of agriculture policy advocates by coming to Sacramento to advocate on their own behalf. They sought to convince the California Legislature to help agricultural employers provide more hours of employment by giving a tax credit to defray the cost of overtime premium pay. 

An effort to address farmworkers’ concerns about fewer working hours and less take-home pay, Senate Bill 628, by state Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, was the subject of an unusual hearing where more than 30 farmworkers testified in support of the bill, which was opposed by the California Federation of Labor Unions and self-appointed farmworker advocates. Wearing T-shirts that said “No Horas, No Pago,” or “No Hours, No Pay,” farmworkers explained how their families would have benefited from the tax credit. 

While the effort to pass SB 628 was ultimately unsuccessful, for the first time, workers spoke directly to policymakers about their deep concerns about the impact of California’s 2016 agricultural overtime law, which has had the perverse effect of diminishing their standard of living. CFF’s efforts to bring farmworkers to Sacramento were pivotal in having their voices and stories heard. 

The next step for the foundation is to form the Farmworker Advisory Council, featuring farmworkers who can talk to policymakers and influencers about farmworkers’ needs and the foundation’s efforts to meet those needs and create a safe platform for farmworkers to speak out. In this way, the foundation will facilitate an honest, unfiltered voice for farmworkers to communicate their needs and desires directly to decisionmakers. 

The foundation is in a unique position to support California’s farmworker population, while Farm Bureau members are especially well-placed to provide valuable support to CFF. The California Farm Bureau has already facilitated a key connection between CFF leadership and the California Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators committed to moving beyond partisan gridlock in Sacramento to pursue practical, real-world solutions. 

At the California Farm Bureau and FELS, we look forward to helping CFF with its important work. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to visit californiafarmworkers.org to learn more about the foundation’s initiatives focused on uplifting farmworkers, supporting farmers and ranchers, helping the industry navigate these difficult times and serving as an essential resource for California agriculture.

Bryan Little is senior director of policy advocacy for the California Farm Bureau and chief operating officer for the affiliated Farm Employers Labor Service. He can be reached at blittle@cfbf.com.  

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By Paul Gosselin

Parts of California have experienced subsidence, or the sinking of land, for almost a century, with some areas sinking more than 25 feet. 

Subsidence is a known issue in California caused by various factors, including excessive groundwater pumping. This can lead to damaged homes, roads, bridges, levees, wells and irrigation canals, disrupting water delivery and most of all, costing Californians hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs annually. 

Further, subsidence severely jeopardizes the long-term water supply reliability for agriculture. 

Earlier this summer, the California Department of Water Resources released findings showing that subsidence has restricted State Water Project delivery capability by 3%. The SWP, one of California’s primary water storage and delivery systems, helps supply water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland and businesses throughout the state. By 2043, if no action is taken, the current trajectory of subsidence combined with climate change could reduce deliveries by up to 87%. 

In addition, the Friant-Kern Canal experienced a 60% loss of conveyance capacity and required repairs of roughly $326 million being paid by federal and state tax dollars and local agency contributions.  

The Friant-Kern Canal provides federal Central Valley Project water along the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, extending from Fresno to Bakersfield to more than 1 million acres of some of the nation’s most productive farmland and 250,000 residents. The limited capacity to deliver surface water in turn drives greater groundwater pumping and more subsidence, further reducing canal capacity. This cycle must be broken to ensure that our heavily relied upon infrastructure can continue to function and provide water for farmland and residents.

Avoiding and minimizing subsidence is one of the principal objectives of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. 

In the San Joaquin Valley, where subsidence is most common, groundwater sustainability agencies are already taking steps to address the issue. But in many cases, the approaches are not consistent with the intent of SGMA, and rates of subsidence have not lessened. Additional guidance and assistance are needed for groundwater sustainability agencies to adopt strategies that protect local communities and statewide and local infrastructure.

Recognizing these challenges, DWR released a draft document on best management practices to help local groundwater sustainability agencies address this growing concern and support groundwater-reliant communities. 

The document, which can be found at https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Groundwater-Management/Subsidence/Files/Subsidence_BMP_Public_Draft.pdf,  provides information about the basics of subsidence, how to best manage it and available technical assistance for groundwater managers. 

This document does not replace any existing local, state or federal regulations but serves as a resource that local groundwater sustainability agencies can add to their water management toolkit. 

Implementing strategies to minimize subsidence will be difficult and complex. The specific decisions on how to address subsidence must remain at the local level. Understanding that grower involvement in these decisions is critical and will help frame better outcomes, we encourage the agricultural community to participate in their local groundwater sustainability agency process.   

California has made great strides since passing SGMA in 2014. Thanks to the work of our local partners, the department has reviewed more than 100 custom tailored groundwater sustainability plans designed to protect drinking water supplies and the communities that rely on them. 

These plans, alongside other SGMA efforts such as LandFlex—which helped save more than 100,000 acre-feet of groundwater and reduced the overpumping of groundwater on Central Valley farms—underline the importance of working together to tackle California’s groundwater challenges. In order to continue building off this momentum, local agencies and users must unite to better align and implement strategies throughout their basins to see results in reducing subsidence. 

Regardless of a groundwater basin’s current conditions, the finalized best management practices document, along with support from DWR’s assistance team and regional office staff, will help water managers through their decision-making process to better manage groundwater conditions to avoid or minimize subsidence and achieve their sustainability goals. 

Minimizing subsidence is important to the long-term sustainability of agriculture because many growers rely on water supplies affected by subsidence. 

For more information, visit:

• Sustainable Groundwater Management Act webpage at https://water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management.

• What is Subsidence and How Does it Impact the Ground Beneath Our Feet at https://water.ca.gov/News/Blog/2025/Jun-25/What-is-Subsidence-and-How-Does-it-Impact-the-Ground-Beneath-Our-Feet.

• Subsidence webpage at https://water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management/Subsidence.

• 60-Day Public Comment Period and Meeting Notice at https://water.ca.gov/News/Public-Notices/2025/Jul-25/DWR-Opens-60-Day-Public-Comment-Period-for-Draft-Best-Management-Practices-Document-on-Subsidence.

Paul Gosselin is deputy director of sustainable water management for the California Department of Water Resources. He can be reached at sgmps@water.ca.gov.

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By Shannon Douglass
President
California Farm Bureau

Voters may have hoped for a break from politics in what is usually a nonelection year, but like it or not, a controversial special election is coming to California. This November, Californians will vote on whether to allow politicians to draw a new congressional map. 

Proposition 50, which the California Farm Bureau strongly opposes, would throw out the congressional district maps produced by California’s independent Citizens Redistricting Commission—a voter-approved entity established in 2008 to prevent partisan gerrymandering—and replace it with the Legislature’s handpicked, self-serving maps through 2030. Because California’s constitution guarantees independent redistricting, the governor and Legislature must get voter approval. 

Proposition 50 poses a threat to Farm Bureau members because it will undermine rural representation in Congress. California leads the nation in agricultural production thanks to the hard work our farmers and ranchers put in every day. Protecting the people who supply our food is critical to our state’s future. With countless challenges facing agriculture, this is not the time to weaken our representation and our ability to enact policy solutions. 

Farm Bureau’s opposition to Proposition 50 runs deeper than partisan politics and national headlines. As a nonpartisan organization focused on advocating for farmers and ranchers, we view this measure strictly as an attack on rural representation. We have been consistent on this issue for a long time. In 2010, the California Farm Bureau opposed Proposition 27—a politician-led effort to disband the Citizens Redistricting Commission permanently—and endorsed Proposition 20 to ensure that independent citizens drew California’s congressional districts. 

Urban populations already dominate politics in the state, and rural communities struggle to influence policy on essential issues such as water management, labor regulations and environmental rules. Proposition 50 exacerbates this imbalance by redrawing the map so that rural districts, which currently represent cohesive communities and interests, are carved up and appended to urban-dominated districts whose constituents may have vastly different policy priorities. 

The proposed map is among the most gerrymandered in California’s history. For example, Proposition 50 dismantles congressional District 1, the current North State district that extends from the Sacramento Valley to the Oregon border. The new boundaries divide this region into three districts, one of which uses a coastal panhandle to lump Modoc County in northeastern California with Sausalito, even though the former is closer to Idaho—two states away—than to the Golden Gate Bridge.  

Fresno County, a major agricultural producer, is broken into six districts. San Joaquin County is divided five ways. Splitting communities prevents the formation of districts with concentrated rural interests. The result may be fewer representatives in Congress focused on the unique issues facing agricultural communities. That is undemocratic and unacceptable, and it threatens our ability to continue to be America’s breadbasket. 

The districts proposed by Proposition 50 are temporary, but the ballot measure sets a dangerous precedent. It undermines the critical work of the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and could lay the foundation for eliminating it permanently. Proposition 50 could also embolden future efforts to get rid of independent redistricting not only for federal districts but for state legislative districts, undoing voter-mandated reforms to eliminate self-interested redistricting. If Proposition 50 passes, there is no telling what may come next. 

Given what is at stake, the opposition to Proposition 50 spans a diverse and bipartisan coalition that includes agriculture advocates, good governance groups, local elected officials, taxpayer organizations, social justice and community groups, and businesses. With Californians from all walks of life uniting to protect fair representation, Proposition 50 can be defeated. 

Farm Bureau has a decades-long record of defending agricultural interests in statewide propositions. In addition to our support for the ballot measures that established the Citizens Redistricting Commission, we led efforts to defeat Proposition 15 in 2020, which would have increased property taxes on farmland by eliminating its Proposition 13 protections. When agriculture is threatened, farmers and ranchers must engage in coordinated advocacy to stand up and protect our future.

It is essential that we reject Proposition 50 and affirm that rural communities deserve equitable representation. Defeating this measure will signal to state lawmakers that California should not regress to an era of politically driven redistricting. 

This November, Farm Bureau calls on all farmers and ranchers to vote NO on Prop 50. 

Why get involved?

• The independent Citizens Redistricting Commission was established to take power out of the
hands of politicians who would draw
districts that favored them. An independent commission keeps the process fair and democratic. 

• The commission’s goal was to create
districts with as much similarity as possible. The new districts under Proposition 50 do away with that independent, nonpartisan process.
If passed, Proposition 50 will weaken rural representation.

How can you make a difference?

• Vote NO: Ballots start arriving Oct 6. Vote NO, and make sure you send in your ballot right away.

• Share the message: Share your opposition with friends, coworkers and others in your circle of influence and encourage them to vote.

Sign up here: www.cfbf.com/prop50.

By Jenny Holtermann
California Farm Bureau Rural Health and Safety Committee chair

As a fourth-generation farmer in Kern County, I’ve seen firsthand how the challenges we face in rural California go well beyond the crops we grow. Today, my husband and I farm almonds alongside his family and raise our two kids on our family homestead. 

In agriculture, safety isn’t just about compliance—it’s about family. Many of us work alongside spouses, children and longtime employees who are considered like family. Making sure everyone comes home safe is the top priority. 

That’s why I’m honored to chair the California Farm Bureau Rural Health and Safety Committee. Our mission is to improve the rural way of life by focusing on three essential areas: farm safety, rural health and crime prevention. 

This past year, the committee revamped its approach to be more focused and action driven. We surveyed county Farm Bureau members to learn what safety workshops and resources they provided. In larger operations, in-house safety teams may be more sufficient for members. In others, Farm Bureau can play a role in providing information and hosting training sessions.

To better serve these needs, we created three subcommittees focused on farm safety, rural health and rural crime. We meet quarterly to identify needs and purposeful solutions. These groups bring together a unique range of voices: farmers, healthcare professionals, safety consultants and passionate advocates who want to make a difference. 

To raise awareness about safety and health issues in agriculture, Sept. 22-26 is National Farm Safety and Health Week, promoted by the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety. 

With harvest happening this time of year, slow-moving equipment is out in force, and we ask drivers to be patient and cautious on rural roads. It is time to remind farmers to maintain equipment visibility and ensure employees are trained on roadway protocols. 

With a major rise in the use of UTVs and ATVs on farms and at home, Nationwide has excellent safety and responsible rider resources, and we’re working to get those materials into more hands. Nationwide’s Drive the 5 and Share the Road campaigns, which offer road safety tools for drivers, are also useful resources.

With California’s scorching summers, heat illness prevention can’t be overlooked. Providing water, shade and regular rest breaks is critical, not just to comply with state regulations but to protect lives. We encourage supervisors to check in with their workers. It’s not enough to hand out water; we need to make sure people are actually drinking it and taking care of themselves.

Rural health care is in crisis. Across the state, we’ve seen rural hospitals close, leaving people with 30 to 45 minute drives for basic emergency services. After hearing of the potential for a rural hospital closure in Glenn County, our committee launched a letter-writing campaign to elevate the issue to state and federal leaders. Legislators need to understand that in rural California, 30 miles can be a life-threatening trip or a serious barrier to care.

We’ve heard from rural doctors about the unique challenges they face, including staffing and funding. We’re committed to continuing this conversation and helping communities advocate for accessible, sustainable health care close to home.

Mental health is another pressing concern. Low commodity prices and skyrocketing input costs have placed unbearable stress on many of us. As an almond grower, I know the struggle. We haven’t seen real profit in five years. Whether it’s hotlines, stories or just creating space for honest conversations, we want people to know they’re not alone. Sometimes, being heard is the first step toward healing.

The committee also focuses on rural crime prevention. For many years, farmers have faced a rise in rural crime, including costly property crimes such as theft of equipment, metal theft and theft of crops. We are working with sheriffs’ departments to strengthen communication, awareness and response strategies. We want to help deputies help us by giving them the tools and understanding they need to protect rural areas.

The Rural Health and Safety Committee looks forward to continuing the momentum at Farm Bureau’s annual meeting, which will be held Dec. 6-9 in Anaheim. This is an election year, so we will be welcoming new committee members. To participate in the committee, you must be nominated by your county Farm Bureau. If you’re passionate about any of these issues, we need your voice at the table.

At the end of the day, it is about making sure that the folks who grow our food and sustain our rural economies can do so safely and with the support they deserve. Whether it’s improving road safety, advocating for rural hospitals, addressing mental health or helping prevent crime, our committee is committed to doing the work and making a difference.

Farm safety resources

www.necasag.org/nationalfarmsafetyandhealthweek/

www.fb.org/initiative/farm-state-of-mind

www.nationwide.com/agents/driver-safety/

Kern County farmer Jenny Holtermann serves as an advisory member of the board of the California Farm Bureau and is chair of the organization’s Rural Health and Safety Committee. She can be reached at media@cfbf.com.

By Marwan Khalifa 

Two of the most basic human necessities are access to food and water. Americans owe a debt to our nation’s farmers. 

On average, one U.S. farm feeds 169 people annually in the U.S. and abroad, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Clearly, agricultural producers are doing their part to ensure families have access to nutritious and affordable food supplies. 

Water suppliers such as members of the Association of California Water Agencies, or ACWA, are working hard to ensure families across California have access to reliable water in the home and on the farm. In California, forest health is important to both water providers and agricultural producers. Two-thirds of California’s water originates in our state’s mostly forested mountain regions. Whether it ends up as drinking water or supports growing food for families, its quality and potentially even quantity depend on the health of those headwaters. 

Catastrophic wildfires, burning at temperatures and on scales once unimaginable, threaten that health every year. But we are not without the tools, strategies and innovative drive necessary to combat these disasters. What we need is continued investment and political will to see this vital work through to a successful end.

Ongoing advocacy to secure and expand on that investment is where California water, agriculture and forestry policy intersect. Fortunately, longstanding collaboration between the water and agriculture community has proven effective in this mission. The work continues, and
challenges remain. But the stakes are too high to allow progress to slip into reverse. 

Decades of fire suppression in conjunction with a lack of investment in forest health projects, an emphasis on short-term management priorities, increased occurrence of pests and disease, weather extremes and a warming climate have contributed to the decline in headwaters forest resilience. A major consequence is forest overcrowding. This promotes rapid wildfire growth, creating catastrophic megafires that cause long-term damage to the region’s ecology and infrastructure. 

Overstocked forests result in greater competition for water and increased evapotranspiration, reducing snowpack and water while increasing strain on water supplies during times of drought. At the same time, fragile ecosystems in unhealthy headwaters are at greater risk because of poor water quality, reduced in-stream flows, increased sedimentation of rivers and loss of habitat.

When catastrophic wildfires scorch unhealthy forests, intense heat bakes the ground into barren hardpan where snowpack melts and evaporates faster. Seasonal rains, now beginning earlier in a warming climate, wash ashes off this surface into streams leading to reservoirs that feed water treatment plants. This ash can alter the water’s chemistry and clog filters, making its treatment into drinking water more difficult. And while that primarily affects urban water suppliers, those same massive fires often smother rural ranching and farming communities in smoke, posing a major health risk.

The good news is there are solutions within our reach. Work to achieve those solutions is underway in many parts of the Sierra Nevada and are reversing a hundred years of well-intentioned but ultimately destructive forest management. Strategic forest thinning and use of prescribed fire have shown great promise toward nurturing healthier and more resilient forests. 

One example of work on the ground is ACWA member Placer County Water Agency, which is leading a public-private partnership aiming to treat more than 22,000 acres of forest within the headwaters of the American River, a major source of water for the Sacramento area. 

On the federal level, ACWA and our allies in the agricultural community, including the California Farm Bureau and Family Farm Alliance, among many, are continuing our collaborative advocacy to open pathways toward healthier headwater forests. 

Earlier this year, this collaboration helped secure passage of the Fix Our Forests Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now being considered in the U.S. Senate, this bipartisan legislation would encourage more active management of federal forestlands, improve the regulatory process for forest health projects on federal lands, promote federal, state and local government collaboration, coordinate federal grant programs to better serve communities in high fire-risk areas and expand the use of technologies to address wildfire threats.

In 2014, ACWA and the California Farm Bureau helped found the California Forest Watershed Alliance, and this year we joined the Wildfire Solutions Coalition, which also includes the California Farm Bureau. Organized by The Nature Conservancy, this coalition is dedicated to building support for significant increases in local, state and federal funding to address California’s wildfire crisis. 

Making California forests less vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires will require a long-term financial commitment and determination. However, as with many challenges with California water, collaboration has opened a clear path toward a more resilient future for our state’s headwater forests and the water supply on which our environment, farms, cities and future depend. 

Marwan Khalifa is interim executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. He can be reached at marwank@acwa.com.

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By Shannon Douglass
President
California Farm Bureau

At the California Farm Bureau, we know our members would rather focus on growing food than deal with red tape. That’s why we invest in strong legal advocacy—to stand up for agriculture when laws and regulations create unnecessary hurdles.

Our legal advocacy efforts span a wide range of legal and regulatory issues that affect how agriculture operates in California. From utility rates and water policy to land-use regulations, pesticide rules and species protections, we advocate with one goal in mind: securing better outcomes for our members and county Farm Bureaus across the state.

With decades of combined legal experience and a deep commitment to agriculture, our in-house legal staff—including attorneys and support professionals, each with deep, personal commitments to agriculture and the mission of Farm Bureau—drafts legal briefs, testifies before regulatory bodies, provides legal analysis, attends hearings, and monitors legislative and agency actions. Through this work, we help shape practical, long-term solutions to the challenges farmers face every day.

Energy is one area where this work makes a clear impact. With power costs ranking among the highest operating expenses for farms and ranches, we engage in regulatory proceedings that affect electricity rates, generation and delivery. Farm Bureau’s team has built productive relationships with investor-owned utilities to help resolve issues and advocate for agriculture. By closely monitoring rate changes, we can step in to mitigate rising costs that directly impact the viability of farming operations.

In June, for example, Farm Bureau was the only agricultural advocate that took part in negotiations with Southern California Edison during a recent rate case. This work led to a favorable settlement for agricultural ratepayers, and the agreement—pending approval by the California Public Utilities Commission—resulted in an overall 0.58% decrease for the agricultural rate class. 

Of most significance, large agricultural customers originally faced an increase of almost 10%. Farm Bureau’s sustained efforts on this case resulted in those customers instead seeing a substantially lower 1.13% increase. This outcome changed what would have otherwise been a significant rate hike, delivering a meaningful win for members who rely on affordable, reliable energy.

Water remains the foundation of California agriculture, and we’re engaged on all fronts—availability, supply, rights and quality. Our issue experts work closely together and often join coalitions to defend agricultural water rights and promote sound, workable policy. Our recent legal efforts include litigation tied to the federal “Waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, rule as well as the ongoing implementation of the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

To strengthen our support in this area, we recently increased staff capacity focused specifically on water law, ensuring we remain responsive as state and federal regulations grow increasingly complex.

Our efforts center around providing sustainable business solutions for farmers and ranchers, and we’re doing just that. Farm Bureau’s sustained efforts have helped farmers save money under California’s Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, which governs nitrate levels in groundwater. By advocating for a coalition-based compliance model, we were successful in gaining a framework that significantly reduces costs for growers. Through participation in a local water coalition, a farmer’s administrative fee is now just $1.50 per acre—compared to $37.40 per acre for the first 300 acres and $18.71 per acre thereafter under individual compliance.

Following litigation involving state regulations aimed at improving water quality and managing nitrates, we played a key role in the litigation and the convening of the original agricultural expert panel. A second panel has been reconvened to help ensure that practical solutions reflect on-the-ground realities for farmers.

Because agricultural lands are often subject to state and federal environmental protections, we weigh in on issues that could affect a farmer’s ability to operate. Our team regularly submits comments and legal input on our members’ behalf to ensure agricultural activity is taken into account. Recent examples include our responses to the proposed listings of the monarch butterfly as threatened and the Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee as endangered under the Endangered Species Act—cases where we ensured agricultural activity would be considered in the final decisions.

We also provide direct legal support to county Farm Bureaus. Farm Bureau staff assists with governance and operational matters, including bylaw interpretation, lease agreements, employment issues, contracts, intellectual property concerns, and compliance with campaign finance, tax and lobbying rules.

Our work focuses on these cases that impact large segments of California agriculture—addressing issues that affect entire commodities, counties and regions, instead of individual legal representation.

Through skilled advocacy, trusted relationships and a long-term commitment to agriculture, California Farm Bureau continues to deliver results for farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses across the state. I’m proud to highlight the work we do together to support our members.