tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80146847106866492962024-02-08T01:55:14.114-08:00Borrego Farm CornerBorrego Farm Corner is a paid column appearing in the Borrego Sun, published in Borrego Springs, California dedicated to informing the public about the role that agriculture plays in American life.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-37310817380892737712008-08-12T11:34:00.001-07:002008-08-12T11:36:24.565-07:00The Failures of RegulationAnyone who has monitored the goings-on at the Borrego Water District (BWD) knows that the District has been trying for years to deploy strong arm, regulatory tactics against local farmers. <br /><br />It has tried to levy a pump tax; it has tried to turn itself into a Community Facilities District with confiscatory assessment powers; it has expressed interest in becoming a Special Act District with similar powers; it has looked into enacting a water sustainability ordinance designed to limit farmers’ access to water; it has meddled in farmers’ permit applications to the county; and it has moved to consolidate its authority by merging with a local Community Services District (CSD). <br /><br />At the last BWD meeting I attended, one director sounded almost gleeful about the possibility that the District might gain “latent” regulatory powers through the legal status of the CSD. <br /><br />At the very least, the BWD has a clear eight or nine year track record of trying to gain strong arm enforcement powers over agriculture. The goal seems to be to coerce farmers to “voluntarily” give up their water rights, most recently through a dubious system of “water credits.” Voluntarily…right. <br /><br />Fortunately, so far all of these schemes have failed, in part because the BWD has been unable to persuade fair-minded people that it should have the kinds of strong arm powers it seeks. <br /><br />The kind of regulation the BWD has been pursuing will never work because it is designed to limit and control the local economy. William McDonough, one of the founders of the sustainability movement, has rightly pointed out that true sustainability must be based on growth and profitability. <br /><br />Regulation represents a failure to find solutions. We need new ideas, market-based ideas. What are yours?Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-78355264864779866792008-08-12T11:25:00.000-07:002008-08-12T11:42:57.733-07:00An Idea of How Water Leasing Might be Done<strong>Water Conservation Leasing in Borrego</strong><br /><br />The Borrego Water District is currently pursuing a plan to offer local farmers “water credits” in exchange for fallowing their land. This plan is economically and practically infeasible for farmers and therefore ineffective. It also locks up Borrego’s excellent agricultural land by creating permanent legal impediments to farming at a time when most experts agree the nation and the world face a growing food crisis. Instead of all that, why doesn’t the BWD just lease water from farmers? Here’s how that alternative might look.<br /><br /><strong>Goals<br /></strong><br />The goal of a Water Conservation Leasing (WCL) plan is: (1) to reduce agricultural water use in the Borrego valley; (2) to preserve agricultural and open space lands by discouraging premature and unnecessary conversion to residential and other urban uses; and (3) to preserve water rights for valley farmers so that they retain the versatility to farm their lands if they so desire and if that farming serves an economic and more general social value.<br /><br /><strong>Basic Provisions<br /></strong><br />WCL represents an arrangement whereby private property owners contract with a local water distribution entity, the Borrego Water District (BWD) and the County of San Diego to voluntarily restrict their use of water on all or part of their agricultural land. The vehicle for these agreements is a rolling term contract (minimum 10 years) through which the BWD would annually lease the water that a property owner would otherwise use for agricultural irrigation on a contracted parcel of land. Because the leased water is no longer available for agricultural use by the property owner, contracted land is fallowed for the term of the contract, except for infrastructure plantings like landscaping that might be stipulated in the contract. This represents a lease of water only. No sale or permanent transfer of water rights occurs. No system of water-crediting is employed. Property owners retain the water rights associated with contracted parcels of land. A WCL contract is a legal document that obligates the property owner, and any successors of interest, to the contract's enforceable restrictions and obligates the BWD to compensate the property owner for lost income from agricultural use of the contracted water on a fixed schedule of payments. A WCL contract secures an enforceable restriction and creates an easement that gives both parties certain rights of access and use as stipulated in the contract. For example, while fallowed, contracted land in all other ways remains under the control of the landowner. Failure to meet the conditions of the contract may be considered a breach of the contract. In the case of a breach of a contract, either party may seek a court injunction to enforce the terms of the contract. A WCL contract would explicitly disallow any claim to prescriptive rights to receive water on the part of the BWD based on a long-term lease of contracted water.<br /><br /><strong>Compensation</strong><br /><br />The amount of payment is determined through market negotiation between the property owner and the BWD, and may be based on a per acre water use, either actual or estimated, agreed upon by both parties. A schedule of accelerated and additional restart payments will be payable to the property owner if the buyer does not renew the contract after its first term.<br /><br /><strong>Limited Term Trades<br /></strong><br />A WCL contract includes the option of a Limited Term Trade (LTT) provision, which would allow the property owner to temporarily suspend the agricultural non-use of water for a fixed period of time not to exceed 4 years. This would allow the property owner to use water for agricultural purposes for a fixed period of time if doing so serves an economic or general social value as determined solely by the property owner. The suspended time period of an LTT is added to the end of the original contracted time. No more than 2 LTTs are allowed during each 10-year period.<br /><br /><strong>Damages Caused by Reduced Agricultural Practice<br /></strong><br />As part of the WCL process, the BWD must develop a plan and/or formula of compensation to address any negative socio-economic third party impacts that the reduction of active farming would produce, for example the impact of the loss of farm labor and disposable income in the community. The WCL indemnifies the property owner from any liability in this regard.<br /><br /><strong>Retention of Water Rights/Ability to Resume Agricultural Use<br /></strong><br />As part of the WCL contract, the County of San Diego guarantees that the property owner’s water rights associated with the contracted parcel will not be considered abandoned at any phase of the process or at the close of the contract period. No impediments will exist for the property owner to reclaim water use rights associated with the contracted parcel. The County further guarantees that it would waive its 5-year cap on clearing permits and resumed agricultural use on fallowed land.<br /><br /><strong>Allowable Water Uses<br /></strong><br />The primary goal of WCL as part of an integrated water management plan is to conserve water and help water use in Borrego attain sustainable safe yield. The WCL contract requires the BWD, as the designated water distribution entity in Borrego, to store all leased water in the aquifer for the purpose of water conservation. No leased water may be used for other purposes, such as for current domestic or commercial supply, for additional development, or for any other local use, nor may it be transferred out the Borrego basin, either physically or as part of a water trade with another water management or distribution entity.<br /><br /><strong>Nonrenewal and Cancellation<br /></strong><br />Unless either party files a "notice of nonrenewal," the contract is automatically renewed for an additional year at the end of the 10-year term, a period of time during which a new contract can be negotiated or agricultural water use by the property owner can be phased back in proportionally over the course of the 1-year period based on the per acre water use stipulated in the contract. Either the BWD or the property owner can initiate a nonrenewal process. A "notice of nonrenewal" starts a 1-year nonrenewal period. During the nonrenewal process, agricultural water use by the property owner can be phased back in proportionally over the course of a 1-year term based on the per acre water use stipulated in the contract. At the end of the 1-year nonrenewal period, the contract is terminated. Only the landowner can petition to cancel a contract. To approve a tentative contract cancellation, the BWD must make specific findings that are supported by substantial evidence. The existence of an opportunity for another use of the property is not sufficient reason for cancellation. In addition, the uneconomic character of an existing agricultural use shall not, by itself, be a sufficient reason to cancel a contract. The landowner must pay a cancellation fee as stipulated in the contract.<br /><br /><strong>Outcomes<br /></strong><br />Although WCL provisions afford a great deal of flexibility to property owners in retaining their options for the resumption of agricultural practice, the nature of agricultural business planning, the climatic restrictions of the Borrego valley, and the fact that most crops grown in the Borrego valley are semi-permanent/long term perennial crops would in practice create a situation in which agricultural water use in the valley would be reduced long-term. Used in conjunction with other measures, such as water importation, conservation, conjunctive use, and reductions by residential and recreational users, WCL represents a useful means of addressing concerns about the sustainability of the Borrego aquifer without necessarily producing permanent legal impediments to farming. When the immense costs and other practical limitations of water importation are taken into consideration, WCL is cost-effective and relatively simple.<br /><br />It’s time that the BWD actually starts talking to farmers. That’s how communities should address their challenges. Water transfers like the leasing plan described above are now new. They can work. For more information please contact Reuben Ellis of Ellis Farms at ellisfarms@earthlink.netReuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-31453918471855377522008-08-12T11:23:00.000-07:002008-08-12T11:25:24.361-07:00Water LeasingIt has seemed strange to me for a long time that the Borrego Water District (BWD) has never really tried to sit down and meet with local farmers in an effort to address concerns about the sustainability of Borrego’s aquifer. Wouldn’t that be the very first thing you would do if you wanted to be taken seriously as an effective conservation-oriented agency?<br /><br />Instead, of any attempt at dialogue, there has been a steady stream of invective from the BWD and a handful of disgruntled “activists” who claim to know what’s right for everybody. At a public meeting a month or so ago, a BWD board member went completely over the top and compared local farmers to crack dealers. I hope that’s not the kind of careful analysis and consensus building for which the community elected this person. <br /><br />The point is this. The Borrego Water District is currently pursuing a plan to strong arm local farmers into taking “water credits” in exchange for giving up their water rights. This plan is economically and practically infeasible. It will enable development and sprawl, not water conservation. It also locks up Borrego’s excellent agricultural land by creating permanent legal impediments to farming at a time when most experts agree the nation and the world face a growing food crisis. It’s a bad idea.<br /><br />Instead of all that, why doesn’t the BWD just lease water from farmers? Leased water could be retained in the aquifer and farm land would be fallowed. In another ad elsewhere in this issue of the Sun, I lay out what a leasing plan like that could look like. <br /><br />It’s time the BWD actually starts trying to communicate in good faith with farmers. That’s how healthy communities address their challenges. Water transfers like the leasing plan I mention here are not new. They are used all over the west. They can work. <br /><br />I encourage you to ask the BWD why it isn’t pursuing all creative options in addressing concerns about Borrego’s water.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-62653985442310804002008-08-12T11:11:00.000-07:002008-08-12T11:23:16.500-07:00Global Food ShortagesThe alarming news I’ve been reading lately about global food shortages reiterates for me the vital importance of sustaining our productive American farms. <br /><br />Riots caused by food shortages in Haiti and protests in Mexico have been the most conspicuous, but this kind of unrest has also been occurring in the Philippines, Indonesia, and parts of Africa. The World Bank estimates that 33 countries are facing these problems as prices for rice have risen 75% and for wheat 120% within the last year. Closer to home, we’ve all felt the pinch at the grocery store these past months. Food inflation in 2007 was the worst in 17 years.<br /><br />Climate change could be one cause of global food shortages. Increased energy costs certainly are, as are the use of food crops for bio-fuels and the sky-rocketing demand for food by the vast populations of India and China. The point is the results--human tragedy and political destabilization.<br /><br />Let’s bring this context to our thinking about Borrego. Granted, not all farms in Borrego grow food, but they all could if the demand and market were there. Most of the anti-farming schemes I’ve heard, touted ostensibly to save water, would undermine or destroy that productive capacity. Converting farms to four acre “mini-estates,” imposing prohibitive pumping charges, or using “cap and trade” mechanisms that would outlaw farming would all do their part to whittle away at our agricultural resources.<br /><br />A better approach would conserve agricultural water over the long run, but keep water ownership in the hands of farmers so it would always be available practically and economically for agricultural use. More on this later.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-85861931081121353802008-08-12T11:09:00.000-07:002008-08-12T11:11:27.721-07:00The "Regulation Clique" is at it AgainThe “government regulation clique” in Borrego is at it again. Apparently not satisfied with the Borrego Water District’s (BWD) efforts to impose on its customers an exorbitant rate increase ostensibly in the name of water conservation, a couple of these folks are proposing even bigger and better government control for Borrego.<br /><br />One scheme recently suggested to the BWD is that the district could acquire status as something called a “Special Act District,” which would give it power to regulate all water use in the valley, even by people who are not BWD customers. That’s a little like the cable company telling you you’re watching too much television…even when you don’t have cable. Acquiring that kind of power would require an act of the California Legislature. The BWD’s attorney has suggested that the district’s lobbyist could help with that. Great.<br /><br />And then there is this. One local resident, who anonymously publishes an angry and alarmist website devoted to scaring people about an alleged “water crisis,” seems to be mounting his own campaign to invite state regulatory agencies into Borrego to take control of the valley’s water, or as he puts it, to make Borrego “subject to the state’s regulatory and enforcement powers.” While disguising his identity online, this web-poster compares Borrego managing its own groundwater to “leaving a hog to guard a cabbage patch.” That is colorful language, of course, but not very community-spirited to my way of thinking, and certainly off the mark in every other way.<br /><br />So this seems to be what the “government regulation clique” has in store for us next—more restrictions and ridicule for anyone who dares to object. If you like the sound of that, you’ll be happy when these schemes are under way. Personally, I don’t believe that either giving the BWD enforcement power over water use by non-customers or giving the state direct control of Borrego’s water has merit or is either necessary or desirable.<br /><br />If you agree with me, I urge you to watch carefully for early signs these schemes are being put into motion.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-92080818823913234752008-08-12T11:07:00.000-07:002008-08-12T11:09:23.424-07:00Misconceptions about Borrego's FarmsI appreciated the opportunity to attend the Borrego Water District’s (BWD) “Town Hall Meeting” on March 19. In spite of the tortuously manipulated format that discouraged the expression of public opinion, I felt the meeting had value. Quite a few Borrego farmers attended the meeting. It was a chance to listen and learn about other people’s perspectives.<br /><br />I do want to point out, however, that a couple of people made remarks about Borrego farms that simply are not true. I’d like to set the record straight.<br /><br />First of all, one gentleman asserted that Borrego farmers “get their water for free,” implying that that is not fair when BWD residential customers have to pay for the water run through their meters. In point of fact, access to agricultural water in Borrego is far from free, or even cheap.<br /><br />A typical Borrego farmer pays tens of thousands of dollars each year in pumping costs, and that’s on top of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he or she has invested in capital costs like wells, pumps, tanks, and irrigation lines. Like some other water users in Borrego, we conserve our water, in part because of the bottom line. No one should be using water carelessly.<br /><br />Second, one person suggested that Borrego farms are just “corporate agri-business,” implying that our interests are somehow impersonal and unethical. There’s nothing true about that. In point of fact, most farms in Borrego are family owned. Three generations of my family, for example, have worked at Ellis Farms. I’ve pointed this out before, so when people persist in denying it, I tend to take the “agri-biz” remarks as a kind of prejudiced or self-interested slur against farmers.<br /><br />Finally, one person speaking at the meeting implied that Borrego farms do not contribute to the local economy. This too is wrong. Local farm payrolls exceeded $3.1 million the last time I checked a couple of years ago, and most of this money is spent locally. Many local merchants know how important that is, particularly during the summer. Local farms employ over 120 full time and over 200 part time workers.<br /><br />We are your neighbors.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-71337754764496759662008-08-12T11:03:00.000-07:002008-08-12T11:06:18.371-07:00Better Science?It’s great to be back writing Borrego Farm Corner again after a brief absence. Thanks to those of you who told me you missed seeing it.<br /><br />Let me begin by saying that I’m glad the Borrego Water District partnered with the state Department of Water Resources to charge a panel of groundwater scientists to develop a plan for continued study of the Borrego aquifer. Last fall Representative Duncan Hunter asked BWD lobbyists how they knew there was a problem with the aquifer. The fact that no one was able to provide a convincing answer clearly highlighted to the BWD Board the need for more research.<br /><br />So the BWD’s project is a positive step, and while the results may never be more than theoretical—that’s the nature of science—we may eventually gain a fuller understanding of the aquifer on which to base better water management decisions in the decades to come.<br /><br />Here’s the problem. Even without the convincing evidence we are told we now need, a small clique of folks in Borrego who either have vested interests in controlling Borrego’s water or who have apparently never met a government regulation they didn’t like have already been busy for several years trying to incite alarm about a so-called water crisis in Borrego allegedly caused by local farmers. They have engaged in a campaign of half truths and sometimes personal attacks against farmers.<br /><br />I believe that it has been unconscionably dishonest of the “government regulation clique” to scheme to undermine the integrity of local farmers and their right to pursue their livelihood in the valley without having adequate evidence that damage has been caused. Trying to use regulation to force someone from their property is not a trivial matter, and it should concern the entire community, not just farmers.<br /><br />At the September 26, 2007 meeting of the BWD Board, Tim Ross of the Department of Water Resources (and a member of the BWD’s panel of scientists) argued persuasively that Borrego “produces some of the finest of California agriculture” and that farms have a legitimate long-term role in the valley. I agree.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-91806983976346629012007-12-06T12:43:00.000-08:002007-12-06T12:54:05.677-08:00Mulching with Palm Fronds<div align="justify">As part of our long range, voluntary water use reduction plan at Ellis Farms, this spring we introduced the use of an agricultural shredder to our field nursery operations.<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">While in the past dead fronds pruned from our palms were removed from the fields, now we dispose of the fronds between the rows and use a Balzer pull-type end drive chopper-shredder to shred the fronds in place immediately adjacent to the palms from which they were pruned. This type of implement has found broad application in orchard, vineyard, and nursery operations around the country.<br /></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Shredding palm fronds produces a number of important benefits. In addition to reducing labor costs, the shredded material left between the rows acts as an effective mulch, reducing the loss of irrigation water through evaporation. Studies have shown that mulch can reduce evaporation from the soil surface by up to 70 % compared to bare soil.<br /><br />Finally, I hope that shredding palm fronds may be the first step toward finding a fully integrated method for disposing of these materials that uses this potentially valuable biomass in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner.<br /><br />For example, biomass from palm fronds may yet prove to be an important source of fuel. In addition, a process has already been patented to produce a growing medium using fiber from shredded palm fronds combined with other agricultural materials. Controlled growing tests suggest that this recycled growing medium may have remarkable water retention properties that will further serve to reduce water use. </div>Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-37260617812065590552007-11-04T16:26:00.000-08:002007-11-04T16:27:30.497-08:00The Poomacha FireOn the afternoon of the October 23rd. the Poomacha Fire burned through a canyon on the north edge of Ellis Farms on Highway 76 below Mt. Palomar. Flames burned a vehicle, some 140 avocado trees, and some nursery material. Our only colleague on the farm when the fire hit thankfully was able to evacuate safely. Compared to the devastating losses suffered by so many others, our scrape with the fire was minor. <br /><br />As of this writing, the Poomacha Fire has burned some 50,000 acres and is now 95 percent contained. As most of us know by now, this fire was one front of the great firestorm that raged across southern California during the last three weeks. The Poomacha fire alone burned 138 homes, 1 commercial property, and 77 outbuildings—just a portion of the thousands of homes and businesses lost to the fires. Unlike in other areas, no lives were lost to the Poomacha. Fifteen of the some 1500 firefighters who fought the blaze were injured. The cost of this fire alone has been estimated at $15.8 million.<br /><br />The overall impact of the recent fires on agriculture will not be sorted out for months. Some 5000 acres of avocados have probably been lost, in addition to citrus groves, egg farms, and plant and tree nurseries. The number of jobs lost has not, to my knowledge, been calculated. <br /><br />On behalf of Ellis Farms, I would like to express my gratitude to the firefighters and other emergency workers who battled the recent fires, including the volunteers who helped in the shelter at the high school here in Borrego. I send my condolences to all those who suffered loss during the disaster. At Ellis Farms, we are both very thankful and humbled by the fires.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-69203988658561026842007-10-09T11:57:00.000-07:002007-10-09T11:59:23.362-07:00Our Green Infrastructure<div align="left">I had the opportunity this month to attend part of the annual meeting of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in San Francisco. The theme of this year’s meeting was “Designing with Nature: The Art of Balance.”<br /><br />According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, landscape architecture is the fastest growing design profession in this country. The demand for landscape design services is expected to grow 18-26% by 2014.<br /><br />Part of this growth comes from the fact that the industry has increasingly been responding to the need for more environmentally responsible, sustainable landscapes. Borrowing principles from landscape ecology and conservation biology, environmental scientists working within landscape design firms have been making landscape more than just “green decoration” and have instead been taking site-specific approaches to using nursery-grown plant materials. These approaches are instrumental in landscape projects that address environmental restoration, sustainable soil practices, even wildfire and flood preparedness and mitigation.<br /><br />Ellis Farms is proud when the trees it grows in its Borrego nursery are used in projects like these. Planned landscapes can be innovative, aesthetically exciting, and environmentally sensitive. Plants are truly our “green infrastructure.”<br /><br />Oh, here’s some other news. Beginning this week, Borrego Farm Corner will also be published as its own weblog or “blog” on the internet. All previous installments of Borrego Farm Corner are also available on this site. Please visit:<br /></div><div align="center">www.farmcorner.blogspot.com</div>Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-49832743050290998062007-09-29T14:30:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:31:25.794-07:00More on Community Supported AgricultureI’ve been talking to people I know here in the valley and beyond this week about what might be done to connect Borrego Valley residents more closely to where their food comes from, how it is processed and handled, and how Borrego Valley farms might fit into that.<br /><br />Specifically, I’ve been wondering if a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program might work in Borrego. <br /><br />I’ve mentioned CSAs in previous columns. A CSA is an organized group of consumers whose members buy their produce and other farm products directly from local farmers. Members pay a pre-agreed subscription amount per growing season and in return receive a weekly harvest of fresh, locally-grown food. Farmers have a local market and a dependable income. <br /><br />For more information about CSAs, see the U.S. Department of Agriculture website at: www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml<br /><br />As a way to get more information about whether a CSA would work in Borrego, let me ask you a few questions. Please take a minute and email me with your answers.<br /><br />What do you know about where your food comes from, who grows it, and how it gets to you?<br /><br />Would you buy at least some of your food from local farmers on a regular basis if it were available?<br /><br />What else would you be willing to do to support the growing of food locally?Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-43823310624125396252007-09-29T14:27:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:30:38.512-07:00Replacing Farms with HousesI encourage everyone to read Alison Williams’ August 11, 2007 Los Angeles Times article about water in the Borrego Valley, “A Resort Town Thirsts for Solutions.” Granted, Williams’ article has its shortcomings, but it makes one very important point.<br /><br />Williams unfortunately perpetuates recycled and misleading information about the health of Borrego’s aquifer, for example the myth that the aquifer only has a useful life of 30 years. Furthermore, Williams’ article places an alarmist emphasis on a recent speculative remark made by the Department of Water Resources’ Tim Ross about the MW-5 monitoring well on the southern edge of the Borrego groundwater basin. The Borrego Sun made this same mistake a couple of months ago in an article Steven Smiley has rightly called “sensationalized” and “misleading.” <br /><br />Finally, while falling into the familiar trap of blaming valley farms for a water crisis that in fact cannot be convincingly shown to exist, Williams only quotes one of Borrego’s farmers. Most of the other people quoted are committed antagonists of valley farms. The article is not adequately balanced. <br /><br />Williams is dead right on one point however, and this is primarily why her article has merit. For the first time, to my knowledge, a journalist has finally recognized and acknowledged what is really going on behind the effort to run Borrego’s farmers out of the valley. The goal is not primarily to save water at all, but rather to transfer ownership and control of water from valley farms to residential developers and to the Borrego Water District. It’s about money and power, not conservation, “merely replacing farmland with houses,” as Williams’ article puts it. That’s just not a good idea.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-57826755249980910252007-09-29T14:26:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:27:10.595-07:00Farming is Part of the Borrego EcologyAs the sun comes up over the Borrego Valley, I feel fortunate to be able to walk through the shaded fields of native Washingtonia filifera palms and their close cousins Washingtonia robusta here at the farm. Near my feet I hear the quiet hiss of drip irrigation emitters releasing carefully measured water into the soil. Above me I think I catch a glimpse of a Vermilion Flycatcher seeking a high vantage point among the deep green fronds. This is the good part of the day, the timeless part--before summer heat makes us count the minutes until break time or lunch. <br /><br />There is another sense in which these fields seem timeless to me. There are folks out there who will tell you that agriculture began in Borrego early in the 20th. century when the first homesteaders ran Fresno scrapers across the desert floor or perhaps later when the Di Giorgio Corporation tried to grow early season grapes. But of course the story is much older than that. <br /><br />Some anthropologists believe the Cahuilla Indians may have planted and maintained palm groves in the Borrego area for perhaps thousands of years before their traditional way of life came under assault from the Spanish and later the Americans. The Cahuilla and the Kumeyaay also most likely tended stands of mesquite and oak not far from Borrego, domesticated grasslands, and transplanted and hybridized species of plants in a complex managed landscape the legacy of which we mistake today for “natural.”<br /><br />This older story is important to remember. Farming is simply an integral part of the very old, highly dynamic, and ongoing ecology of Borrego. This morning in the fields, the link that joins farmers to this remarkable system seems clear to me.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-22143776249317621382007-09-29T14:24:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:26:03.979-07:00American Farming and Safe ProductsIn spite of recent safety scares in the media, Americans enjoy the safest, most abundant and most affordable food supply in the world, due in large part to the productivity and responsibility of American farmers. Recent stories about disturbingly inadequate safety and purity standards for food and other consumable products originating in other countries should remind us how important it is to maintain vigorous and competitive agricultural operations here at home where quality and safety can be better monitored. <br /><br />Food is only part of the story. Many non-food products we use in our everyday lives come from plant and animal products produced by American Farmers. Health care products like many pharmaceuticals, surgical sutures, latex gloves, even x-ray film include farm-produced materials. The same is true for personal care products like shampoo, soap, cosmetics, and toothpaste. The ink in many newspapers, perhaps this one, most likely originated on a farm. Schools could not operate as they do without farm-produced materials in crayons, textbooks, chalk, pencils, and paper. Manufacturing depends on adhesives, lubricants, solvents, and detergents based on farm-produced crops. <br /><br />Yes, even the palm trees that shade our homes and do their part to reduce greenhouse gases in our neighborhoods are grown on farms, several here in Borrego.<br /><br />We rightly associate American farms with outstanding and abundant food. But food is only part of the story. Farming is simply too important to “outsource” to other countries.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-40294644144397485052007-09-29T14:22:00.000-07:002007-11-04T16:30:16.878-08:00Thanks to Our Loyal WorkersA man from a cooler part of the country had just returned home from a July vacation in Borrego Springs.<br /><br />“How did you find the hot desert weather?” a friend asked the tourist.<br /><br />“It was easy,” the tourist replied. “I just went outside, and there it was.”<br /><br />Well, when the mercury goes up in Borrego, we have to keep laughing somehow… The extreme heat of a Borrego summer is part of our valley’s signature identity, a source of good stories, even a matter of stoic, or perhaps ironic, pride for local people who weather the May-October dog days.<br /><br />Of course, air conditioning and swamp coolers have made Borrego a much more habitable place during the summers, but I often imagine what it must have been like during indigenous times and later during the early ranching and farming days when very little came between people and the heat.<br /><br />On Borrego’s farms, of course, not everything has changed. Farming, like all outdoor work, is still a challenging undertaking during the summer. We start the day early to avoid the heat as long as possible, and as the heat index goes through the roof, we look out for each other, limiting exposure to the sun, making sure everyone stays hydrated, and watching for any early signs of heat illness.<br /><br />American farm workers have to adapt to some pretty harsh conditions in order to provide us with food and maintain the health of our nation’s agricultural economy. This is a good time of year to remember these folks with appreciation.<br /><br />Ellis Farms says thanks to our employees and all farm workers for the great work they do, especially during the long hot summer months.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-77135825144541318752007-09-29T14:21:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:22:29.015-07:00Self-styled "Planners" Decide Farms are in the WayAs many of you know, the so-called Desert Area Initiative (DIA) was approved by the Borrego Springs Community Sponsor Group (BSCSG) on June 5 and now must be accepted by the County Board of Supervisors to be implemented.<br /><br />The DIA proposal shows how a few good ideas can be used to disguise a radical agenda. In this case it is a comprehensive no-growth agenda combined oddly with an aggressive, intentional assault on family farming in Borrego. But the DIA contains too much snake oil medicine for the sugar to cover up.<br /><br />While the DIA proposal talks a lot about “community values,” it forgets that farmers have been a part of the community since Borrego’s founding. Instead, the anti-farming agenda of the DIA is clear throughout and is epitomized by Recommendation 4.1.1.2, which calls for “economic, political, and/or legal means” to be implemented against farming. <br /><br />I’m afraid the DIA would also be a disaster for the entire community, not just farmers. Its extreme and intrusive level of regulation would impact everyone. Layered among several constructive suggestions and a clever scheme to force out farmers is a morass of new permitting requirements, ordinances, mandates, review processes, bureaucracies, districts, and trusts that would effectively lock down property rights in Borrego. <br /><br />The DIA proposal claims to include “only those recommendations that are supported by the entire community.” That’s not true. The DIA proposal fosters an illusion of consensus. There can be no true dialogue when a handful of “planners” have already made up their minds what’s good for us. <br /><br />Please contact County Supervisor Bill Horn and ask him to reject this ill-conceived “Desert Area” idea:<br /><br />Bill Horn, Supervisor, 5th. District<br />San Diego County<br />1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335<br />San Diego CA 92101Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-75198613247325161072007-09-29T14:19:00.002-07:002007-09-29T14:20:59.319-07:00Community Supported Agriculture“I know of no pursuit in which more real and important service can be rendered to any country,” George Washington wrote in 1789,” than by improving its agriculture.”<br /><br />While we tend to associate progress with technological advancement and large-scale innovation, one of the most exciting changes on the agricultural scene these days is the growing number of small Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. A CSA is an organized group of consumers whose members buy their produce and other farm products directly from local farmers. Members pay a pre-agreed subscription amount per growing season and in return receive a weekly harvest of fresh, locally-grown food. <br /><br />Typically, a CSA supports several small farms within a close radius of where the food is distributed. In contrast, produce in the grocery store is trucked an average of 1,500 miles from, well…most of us don’t know where. Buying produce directly from farmers, CSA members pay less than retail for the freshest food possible. Many CSAs feature food that is grown organically, without pesticides, and using sustainable farming practices.<br /><br />It’s the proverbial win-win situation. Communities gain satisfaction from reconnecting to the land and participating in the production of the food they eat. Small farmers receive fair and stable prices and better financial security. <br /><br />Learn more about community supported agriculture on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website at: www.nal.usda.gov.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-22776337180469000632007-09-29T14:19:00.001-07:002007-09-29T14:19:51.241-07:00Friends Visit the FarmWe had a nice visit at Ellis Farms a couple of weeks ago from an old friend of mine. <br /><br />Isabel and her husband Chuck have been farming and ranching their entire lives. When I first started farming on my own, back in 1977, they took me under their wing and taught me a great deal about caretaking the most precious resource America has, productive farm land. <br /><br />Chuck and Isabel taught me the kinds of practical skills you can’t learn from books. With characteristically good humor, they burst the bubble of some of my naive and dogmatic environmentalist ideas. Perhaps most importantly, they demonstrated what it means to be good neighbors. That kind of mentoring is why talking about the “farming community” is far more than a cliché.<br /><br />Through careful management over the course of decades, Chuck and Isabel have left their farm in better shape than when they started on it. Theirs is an example of true conservation conducted by individuals, and done according to the constraints and opportunities of the marketplace not the bureaucrat’s regulatory manual. <br /><br />As we all know, the amount of farmland in this country is declining as farms are converted into housing developments. When farmland disappears, it doesn’t come back. These two friends have done their part to stand in the way of that kind of “progress.”Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-48805815978004264172007-09-29T14:17:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:18:43.122-07:00Desert Area Initiative--Heavy Handed RegulationUnnecessary government regulation is one of the most serious challenges facing the farming community in the United States. <br /><br />Federal agencies alone enforce over 144,000 pages of rules affecting agriculture. In addition to that, state and county agencies add their own pervasive layers of bureaucracy and mandatory regulatory compliance. Of course some of these regulations benefit farmers and society as a whole, but much of this regulatory maze does not and serves only the interests of the $3.5 billion a year environmental lobby and other activists who seem dead set on enforcing their often unscientifically supportable and radical political agendas on society. <br /><br />Then comes the Borrego Springs Community Sponsor Group’s “Desert Area” initiative. This plan will impose strict new permitting requirements, create new bureaucracies of subcommittees, districts, and trusts, and lock down property rights in Borrego in the name of dubious values like keeping the sky dark, changing productive farms to “habitat,” and requiring houses to be built in “mid century” modern style.<br /><br />The “Desert Area” initiative is a prime example of how uncurbed regulation can impact everyone, farmers and non-farmers alike. <br /><br />Please contact County Supervisor Bill Horn and ask him to reject this ill-conceived “Desert Area” idea. Several people have asked that I include his contact information. Here it is: <br /><br />Bill Horn<br />San Diego County Supervisor<br />1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335<br />San Diego CA 92101<br />1.800.852.7335<br />Bill.Horn@sdcounty.ca.govReuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-88533883002757292832007-09-29T14:15:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:17:20.166-07:00The Desert Area InitiativeFor farmers, the land is everything. That’s one reason farmers are characteristically so concerned about property rights. When bureaucrats take control of your prerogatives over the property you own, they put at jeopardy your livelihood and way of life. Actually, it’s an issue that should worry all citizens, not just farmers.<br /> <br />I am very concerned about the proposal made by the Borrego Springs Community Sponsor Group for a “Desert Area Initiative.” On the face of it, some of their ideas sound constructive and community oriented. The larger agenda, however, seems outrageously negative. The draconian scope of the intrusive regulation proposed by the Sponsor Group would compromise the property rights of everyone in Borrego, mandating everything from what kind of driveway you could install, to the lights you use, to how close you could live to the state park. The way I read it, the proposal would make it almost impossible for anyone to conduct business in Borrego. It would be a disaster. <br /><br />If you don’t believe me, ask the Sponsor Group for a copy of the proposed regulations—it’s a 13 page long, single spaced agenda.<br /><br />The Sponsor Group began working on this initiative in May of 2006. They didn’t ask for public comment until January 2007, as a final step before submitting the proposal to the county. I hate to say it, but it seems they just want us to sign on to a plan they have already decided is best for everyone. This is a no growth initiative in sheep’s clothing. It will hurt everyone in Borrego. <br /><br />I urge you to directly contact San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn and express your opposition to this proposal.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-78043165511581673382007-09-29T14:12:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:14:25.385-07:00Farming's Contribution to SocietyIn a 1999 poll commissioned by the American Farm Bureau Federation, 85 percent of respondents said that farmers make a “great deal of contribution to society.” That was only 1 percent behind teachers and firefighters. <br /><br />When it comes to providing healthy food, the survey gave farmers excellent to very good marks. When it comes to conserving resources and caring for the environment, Americans rated farmers ahead of environmentalists, scientists, and government regulators.<br /><br />By comparison, only 13 percent of respondents said that politicians make a “great deal of contribution to society.”<br /><br />That’s what Americans say. Not surprisingly, politicians say something else altogether. <br /><br />Today only 3.4 percent of federal spending goes to agriculture. That represents a steady decrease since 1960, when a still very modest 5.3 percent of the budget went to supporting agriculture. To put it into perspective in another way, the federal government spends twice as much on servicing the national debt as it does to ensure the long term health of America’s farms. <br /><br />Everybody has their priorities. I guess the bureaucrats are just not on the same page with the rest of America.<br /><br />Oh well, I guess teachers aren’t getting rich quick either.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-3554442043492234652007-09-29T14:11:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:12:31.346-07:00Family Farms or "Corporate Agribusiness"?Have you noticed that people who defend farming often use the expression “family farms” while people who attack farming prefer to talk about “corporate agribusiness”?<br /><br />The first term suggests an image of an old fashioned way of life in some kind of small-scale rural paradise. The second term implies that farms are rapidly slipping into the hands of large, soulless corporations driven by Gordon Gekko’s mantra “Greed is Good.” <br /><br />The truth about family farming lies in the middle, of course, and is much more complicated. In reality, the overwhelming majority of America’s 2 million farms are still owned and operated by families. The size of the farm has very little to do with a real definition of family farming. Some family farms are very small, while some families farm thousands of acres. Some family farmers do all the work themselves. Some employ large numbers of workers. More than half of all American farmers work off the farm, and of those, 80 percent have full-time jobs. Many family farms have incorporated. It’s a financial decision, not going over to the dark side.<br /><br />There is no doubt that family farming is in danger from corporate mergers and acquisitions, from historically low prices, from residential development and sprawl, and other factors. A first step in understanding that danger is recognizing what a family farm is. What links together all family farms is a lot of hard work and a personal stake in both the financial and environmental health of the farm.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014684710686649296.post-63837254941172198652007-09-29T14:09:00.000-07:002007-09-29T14:11:06.709-07:00Welcome to the Farm CornerJoe F. Combs was well known in east Texas for many years as a columnist for the Beaumont Enterprise. Combs’ rural roots and farming background gave him a real love for local places and the natural world, and his column “Farm Corner” was a favorite among several generations of readers. <br /><br />In 1963, Combs’ columns were collected in a book, Farm Corner: A Collection of Little Essays on Nature. Combs was a friend of my great grandfather and my grandmother. I keep a worn copy of Farm Corner on my desk. As the title suggests, Combs’ writing embodied the simple and unpretentious claim that just about every place in this country has a connection to farming and the farming way of life. <br /><br />Borrego, of course, is no exception. <br /><br />With this nod to Combs then, I plan to use our Ellis Farms ad to do a series of very short articles about farming. I’d like to call this “Borrego Farm Corner.” <br /><br />Combs was often sentimental about farming. You get a taste of that in lines like this: “In the stillness and crisp air of the countryside the sounds of home life over on the hill at the neighbor's farm were easily heard.” I, on the other hand, don’t feel sentimental about farming at all. I simply believe that family farming and soundly managed agricultural production are vitally important to America and that we are all connected to farming in one way or another.<br /><br />So please look for “Borrego Farm Corner” in upcoming issues of the Sun.Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10355108457690102202noreply@blogger.com0