Blog
Cultivating Innovation: How a California Farmer is Rethinking Agriculture Amid Water Scarcity
“We love the land…what can we do to hold on to it?” Stuart Woolf poses this question as he describes the challenges of farming in California’s San Joaquin Valley in a time of great change and growing water constraints and uncertainty. Whether it’s reduced supply due to historic overpumping of groundwater, limited surface water allocations in dry years, or SGMA-driven regulations, the question of remaining viable and sustainable is on many farmers’ minds in the Valley. What can growers in this region do to keep their business operating and continue their way of life while simultaneously adapting to this new landscape? For those that aren’t as familiar with water laws, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is a law enacted in 2014 that provides a framework for long-term sustainable groundwater management across California, especially in areas heavily dependent upon groundwater aquifers, like those in the San Joaquin Valley and especially from Fresno southward.
Stuart Woolf, a second-generation farmer whose family cultivates thousands of acres of farmland in the Westlands Water District and operates a tomato processing plant just outside the town of Huron, has been grappling with this question long before SGMA came into play. Over the years, he has watched surface water (and groundwater) supplies dwindle, pushing him to consider alternatives to maintain his operations beyond traditional farming. In the Westlands Water District estimates are that up to 40% of the water demand must be reduced and/or land repurposed by 2040, which is an enormous reduction.
Although Stuart’s family has implemented water conservation practices on their lands for many years, they realized that further reducing water usage under SGMA would require a high degree of creativity. Aware of the unique location of his property—adjacent to a large PG&E electrical substation—the Woolf family began collaborating with solar developers interested in using their land due to its proximity to the PG&E facility, leasing some of it for a large-scale solar farm ( ~1,200 acres) while generating a steady income for 25+ years. They also installed a much smaller solar plant on their farm to supply clean, low-cost energy to their wells and other farm operations.
The Path to a Large-scale Solar Farm. The Woolf’s experience repurposing land for solar, however, illustrates the struggles farmers face when attempting to make a change and try new things. It took Stuart’s family over four years to acquire a solar permit from the County, which initially argued that solar projects were a “non-agricultural” use of the land and considered imposing penalties under the Williamson Act—an agricultural land protection program enacted in California in 1965. After a long battle that involved making a case to the County Board, Stuart, along with other growers, eventually convinced the County of the benefits of repurposing land for solar as an agricultural practice that can keep farms in business, paving the way for other farmers looking to develop similar projects. It took even longer for the Woolfs to get approval from the Westlands Water District board to allow the landowners to not lose their surface of ground water allocations if they installed solar on their water-impacted lands. Installing solar can become a reliable source of income for farmers, enabling them to continue their operations or at least provide the financial cushion needed to explore other ideas.
Intriguing New Crop Opportunities. Stuart shares how his family continues to grow conventional crops found in the Valley, such as tomatoes, almonds, pistachios, and garlic, but the crop he is most excited to talk about is agave. “I’m very optimistic about this plant,” Stuart shares. “I think it’s a fun alternative.” This species of succulent, long grown in Mexico as the key ingredient in tequila and mezcal, could be a promising low-water crop alternative in the region. In a recent interview with the LA Times, Stuart explains how agave uses about 3 inches per acre per year, a meager amount compared to the 50 and 40 inches per acre per year that almonds and pistachios use, respectively. So far, Stuart has planted roughly 400,000 agave plants, and he and his wife are sponsoring research on agave production at UC Davis and encouraging production and market development. He and other growers are encouraged by the results thus far, but he admits they are still on the learning curve.
Still, he acknowledges how uneven the playing field can be for smaller growers. “It’s becoming tougher and tougher for small-scale farmers to operate in California,” Stuart explains, noting that smaller farmers often lack the capital needed to experiment with new crops that may take years to yield or to drastically change their farming operations to adapt to water scarcity challenges. This is where state programs, such as the Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program (MLRP), can support growers by funding projects that reduce groundwater use while contributing to the well-being of the economy, the environment, and surrounding communities. The MLRP initiative provides farmers with the financial and technical support needed to repurpose land—such as repurposing land to solar—adopt sustainable practices, and decrease water demand.
Multiple Recharge Basins. Perhaps the most notable part of Stuart’s effort to balance long-term water sustainability with the viability of his family’s farm has been the installation of ten groundwater recharge basins on his land, spanning over 320 acres across the Westlands Water District. By setting up these basins next to a district water outlet, the Woolf family has been able to bank water. “We had excess water from our allocations with the District, and we started putting it in the ground,” Stuart recounts. This allowed them to develop water credits with Westlands’ Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA). The District had incentivized farmers to put water back into the ground by offering $100 per acre-foot to install water basins in areas most suitable for recharge. Although many initially believed recharge was nearly impossible in the district—over 95% of it exists on top of a Corcoran clay layer that greatly restricts water infiltration—growers collectively managed to recharge an impressive 300,000 acre-feet of water. While this is a story of success, Stuart cautions against relying too heavily on the District to solve water supply issues. He believes that everyone has a role to play if farmers want to continue what they have been doing for generations. Perhaps the silver lining of the droughts and policies like SGMA and the local Groundwater Sustainability Plans–in addition to incentives and programs to fund repurposing land–, says Stuart, is that they have, in some cases, created “a trading structure for credits” that incentivizes farmers to reduce water demand and help recharge groundwater supplies in collaboration with water districts. Stuart also emphasizes the value of sharing best practices among farmers and remains committed to exploring new approaches to adapt and thrive. He declares that, as long as he can continue farming in the Valley, he will never cease to ask himself, “What else can I do?”.
Sources: This story is based on Ag Innovations’ interview with Stuart Woolf on September 25, 2024. Content from the LA Times article “Can agave help solve California’s agricultural dilemma? Some farmers are betting big” (Sept 17, 2024) and Stuart Woolf’s website, Woolf Farming, were also used in developing this story.
For more information on agave cultivation in California, please visit the following: