Sept 15,2022
Millerton keeps rising (320,00af on Sept 30)
Looking for a bit of silver lining to an endless drought? Before the rainy season this winter regulators are storing more water according to the state’s latest reservoir report than they did last year. Despite dry conditions downstream a number of key Sierra reservoirs hold more water than the same time in 2021 that was also a drought year.
Today the state’s largest federal reservoir, Shasta, is hurting with just 1.6 milAF at 35% of capacity as of Sept 5. Still, that is improved over last year at this time when only 1.2 milAF was in storage.
Likewise at the largest California-managed reservoir – Oroville -that sits at 1.3 milAF compared to just 800,000AF as of Sept 5, 2021.
Folsom, above Sacramento, holds 423,000AF. But in September 2021 the lake held just 236,000AF.
A key Valley reservoir near Los Banos -San Luis Reservoir – holds 558,000AF compared to just 265,000AF at this time last year.
Above Fresno, Millerton is storing more with 250,00AF vs 232,000AF last year at this time. That does not include upstream storage that feeds Millerton.
Several reservoirs are not better off in 2022 including Trinity and New Melones.
One big local reservoir that does not show improvement this year – Pine Flat – has just 132,000AF with a capacity of one millionAF. Last year at this time, it held over 200,000AF. Kings River water officials say Valley irrigators drained more of the lake this year because, of course, they needed it. With the low level in the lake now they are not likely to draw it down more this year.
By the way, Kings River watershed did get a pulse of precipitation from that August monsoon storm that hit the Valley adding up to an extra 20,000AF -unusual for summers.
Adding it all up, the latest Department of Water Resources report says California has 17.2 million acre-feet in storage this year compared to 15.4 million acre-feet this time last year.
That is 68 percent of average for this time and 45% of capacity.
This week we are all focusing on the heat- Merced was 116 degrees, which broke the previous all-time record. But there are thunderstorms in the Sierra too.
Speaking of rain,Hanford NWS forecasters are watching moisture from a Baja hurricane moving into So California and Arizona this weekend predicting the Sierra could get some modest precipitation. We’ll take it.
Grow Agave on California’s Westside?
Agriculture in California faces an uncertain future as drought, wildfires and other climate extremes become more commonplace in the West. But a fledgling industry focused on growing and distilling agave plants, which are used to produce tequila and mezcal in Mexico, could be California’s answer to fallowed fields and a lack of water.
Earlier this year a group of growers, distillers and retailers formed the California Agave Council to foster collaboration and offer a chance to share knowledge among members who previously had no formal network.
Now, the University of California, Davis, has established the Stuart & Lisa Woolf Fund for Agave Research to focus on outreach and research into the plants and their viability as a low-water crop in the state.
“The rainfall patterns and growing conditions in California are different from those where tequila is made,” said Ron Runnebaum, an assistant professor of viticulture and enology. “It is exciting to begin to harness the capabilities at UC Davis to determine which agave varieties can be grown commercially in California and what flavors can be captured by distillation to make unique California agave spirits.”
The fund was created with a $100,000 seed gift from Stuart and Lisa Woolf, who are Central Valley farmers and have a test plot of about 900 agave plants on 1.5 acres. They hope this gift will encourage others to also contribute.
The gift is focused primarily on optimizing production in California relative to Mexico, where labor costs are lower, and the farmers rely on rain rather than irrigation for water. Stuart Woolf believes California producers could grow larger plants with higher sugar content.
“I really believe we could be very competitive with Mexico,” he said.
The research also offers a chance to better understand the impact of location on the growth of the plant, which can be a source of fiber and alternative sweetener as well as the distilled spirits it can produce. “As a drought-tolerant plant, agave holds great potential in water-stressed California,” Woolf said. “It’s a crop that could get by with little to no water during periods of extreme drought.
Record butter prices
Kings County dairymen should not complain about high grocery prices considering the hefty price they are getting for a key commodity in preparing meals every day – butter. With the fall baking season coming up, the wholesale price for butter on the commodity market now stands at $3.12 per pound.That is at or above an all time high and almost double what butter costs a year ago.( $1.78) Blame low supply in storage and reduced supply in the hot summer months. Processors have been turning more milk into cheese, say sources. Dairy operators defend themselves facing sky high production costs from feed to labor and fuel.They say processors are pocketing the extra receipts.
Prices for retail butter have outpaced most other goods — up 13% this year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some have said with consumers already facing sticker shock in the grocery store, heightened butter prices may cause consumers to back away from the dairy aisle.