Tell Us All About Your Smart Farming Ideas [Opinion]

By Carol Miller|January 22, 2020

Terranova Ranch groundwater flood system shown by Don Cameron

When the King River floods, a system of pumps and canals will divert the overflow onto Terranova’s fruit and vegetable fields.
Photo courtesy of Terranova Ranch

Let’s be honest. 2019 was a rough year. While the vegetable industry mostly dodged fallout from the tariff wars, weather wreaked havoc for many, labor continued to tighten, and costs continue to rise.

Our philosophy here at American Vegetable Grower is to face these issues head on. Instead of dwelling on what no one can control, we search for constructive answers to these difficult situations. Our job is to track down ideas you can adopt at your operation, ideas that will strengthen your farm and help you move past some of the challenges you face.

So throughout 2020, you will read a series of articles from your peers and industry leaders sharing their own ideas. They’ll tell you about opportunities they are taking advantage of this year.

This month’s cover story is a perfect example. Terranova Ranch’s Don Cameron watched his water table drop by 2 feet a year, threatening the operation’s future. With a lot of research, Terranova attained grants and invested several million dollars itself in a system that will flood thousands of acres of farmland every few years. The floodwaters will percolate to the water table, replenishing it.

Got Ideas? We Want Them

In the coming months, you’ll learn about how you can set up a grower-friendly grocery store model in your area, how knowing your crops’ nutritional content will give you a leg up in sales, and out-of-the-box labor saving ideas.

We’d love to hear from you about what you’ve done to answer the challenges you face. We’re seeking more stories to tell, so we can share these new opportunities with you every month.

I invite you to email me, to tell me your own creative idea. Small ideas are as welcome as mammoth ones like what Terranova has undertaken. Are you using your drip tape in a novel way? Have you changed your labor scheduling so that your crews are happier and more productive? I want to hear from you.

If growers work together, there’s no challenge you cannot overcome. You can help change the future for yourself and the American vegetable industry.

Oh, One More Thing

Cameron’s decision to divert flood water onto his farm in order to recharge the water table made me curious. What is the state of irrigation overall in the U.S.?

All data below comes from the USDA Ag Census.

All U.S. Farms with Irrigation

First, take a look at all farms using irrigation, which includes not only vegetable and fruit operations, but also all other agricultural products. You’ll note that while the number of farms has declined overall since 2002, the number of irrigated acres increased.