BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Kern County leads the nation in agriculture. With the recent SGMA ruling avoiding probation, I wanted to know if it was good news or bad news for local farmers.
Recently, the State Water Board finally accepted a plan by Kern water managers that complies with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Its goal is to halt groundwater overdraft—the condition of withdrawing water faster than it can be replenished.
Now, I wanted to learn what this means for local farmers in Kern County—what’s the benefit, how will it impact the growth of the agriculture industry, and what comes next.
Terry Chicca is a local farmer from Buttonwillow and a member of the Buena Vista GSA. He and his brother run a farming operation their family started in 1906, growing crops like pistachios in Buttonwillow and almonds in Wasco.
He says farming could become more challenging for some farmers in other water districts, saying some districts could face tougher challenges while others may not, since water levels vary across the subbasin. “For instance, I farm in another area in another GSA, and in that GSA, I’m going to have to probably fallow as much as 25% of my acreage just to meet the demand of SGMA to stay in compliance.”
Terry adds that while the plan has been approved, the hard part is now implementing it—and delivering on what was promised.
“It’s good and bad. Farmers that are in a GSA that have a surface water supply plus their groundwater supply, I would say are in fairly good shape. There are areas that have very limited supply of surface water; they make up their balance with more groundwater pumping, they will be more impacted. Then there are those that have no surface water entitlement, and those are going to be severely impacted.” He said.
Terry says those without a reliable water supply may no longer be able to pump groundwater for farming. His land in Buena Vista will be fine, but other areas may force him to cut back to meet SGMA rules.
Terry says he’s hopeful about the future of our farms, but it’s still up in the air how this could impact farming here in Kern County.
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