Gilroy
– Farmers and ranchers wanting to learn more about protecting
water quality on their land soon might see additional opportunities
to do just that.
Watsonville-based Agri-Culture Inc. applied in May for a $25,000
grant from the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Gilroy – Farmers and ranchers wanting to learn more about protecting water quality on their land soon might see additional opportunities to do just that.
Watsonville-based Agri-Culture Inc. applied in May for a $25,000 grant from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. If awarded the monies, the organization will add more class dates to its Agricultural Water Quality Program, a short-course that helps farmers design an individualized water quality protection plan for their farms and watersheds. The water district will announce grant recipients next week.
During the five-day, 15-hour series of classes, farmers and ranchers in San Benito and Santa Clara counties receive a wealth of information on topics including irrigation efficiency, fertilization techniques and permit regulations. The ultimate goal is for each participant to walk out of the classroom with a thoroughly specific plan complete with photos and ideas for future planning.
“Our goal with the grant is to get 75 percent of farmers to complete their plans,” said MaryEllen Dick, program manager. “The grant would be so beneficial, because this is hard work for the farmers to create these plans. The last thing they need is to spend 15 hours in a classroom when it’s harvest season, but they’re working with us really well because they know this is important. They’re eager.”
The short courses are followed up by workshops that provide extra help to farmers whose water plans might change over time. For example, farmers installing a field-by-field drip irrigation system need to continually update their water plans to reflect which fields have been irrigated.
The grant also would lower the per-course fee from $175 to about $60, Dick said. Since its inception, the program has received support from Regional Water Quality Board grants that have helped keep course fees down. The most recent of those grants expired in March.
Agri-Culture applied for the water district grant’s maximum per-applicant amount. The remainder of the program’s total $45,000 will be matched by Agri-Culture if awarded the grant.
Dave Vanni, owner of Solis Winery, said the short course helped him realize a number of ideas both big and small that would help protect the quality of water flowing into a creek near his winery.
“We need know what’s expected of us, and we were able to get that information,” Vanni said. “There were so many little things you wouldn’t normally think of that you can do to make it easier to comply with the law, and (the course) was inexpensive for as much time and material as we got.”
Jeannie Lopez, office manager at Uesugi Farms, took the course in November 2002. She said she came away from the course with answers about water quality that she didn’t know where to find elsewhere.
“Before going through the course, we had no information on what would be required from us as farmers and what necessary water permits we’d need,” she said. “There’s not a whole lot of places out there for us to get that information.”
After a delay in the award process, originally scheduled for July, Dick said she’s still crossing her fingers and excited to get more classes going. The next two courses, scheduled for October, will take place irrespective of the grant decision, and Agri-Culture will use up-front money to fund them.
Launched in 2001, the program coordinates two irrigated agricultural courses and one range land class per year. Thirty-eight farmers attended the most recent short course held in March, Dick said.
The grant is part of the water district’s Watershed Stewardship Grant, which awards up to $300,000 to local nonprofit groups working to protect the county’s watersheds. Agri-Culture Inc. is the only south county applicant, and this is its first year to apply for the grant.
Farmers from San Benito and Santa Clara counties are encouraged to join the Agricultural Water Quality Program.
