Delta Fix Affordability San Diego Farm View Eric Larson Executive Director San Diego County Farm Bureau

National Rankings  #16 farm economy among all counties  # 1 in nursery production  # 1 in avocado production  # 1 in number of small farms  #1 in number of organic farms  # 1 in farmers with off-farm income

San Diego’s Top Crops 1.Ornamental Trees and Shrubs 2.Indoor Plants 3.Bedding Plants 4.Avocados 5.Tomatoes 6.Eggs 7.Lemons 8.Cacti & Succulents 9.Herbaceous Perennials 10.Cut Flowers & Foliage

The Crop Profile Nursery & Floral 65% Fruit 21% Vegetables 9% Livestock & Poultry 4% Other <1%

What Farming Means to the Community  Economic  Sales and inputs  Jobs  Environmental  Air quality  Fire suppression  Open space  Wildlife corridors  Community Character  History  Local products  Ambiance

What Farming Means to Water Sales  Regional value as customers  Easy to serve volume buyer  Source of fixed fees  Interruptible customer  Potential for large volume recycled water use

From 2001 to 2011 in San Diego County  Irrigated acreage down 16%  61,000 to 51,000  Crop value up 30%  $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion  Ag’s imported water use down 60%  100,000 af to 40,000af  Water price increased 190%  $450/af to $1300/af

Adjustments Made by Farmers  Investment in conservation  Reduction in planted acres  Crop changes  Increased production per acre  More groundwater use  Capture and reuse of irrigation water

Farm Water Challenges  Efficiency has limits  Crops need a level of irrigation or production falls off precipitously  Poor water quality requires more irrigation  Price of inputs has no relationship to crop sale price  Every crop grown here is easily replaced by production someplace else

Impacts of Rising Water Prices  Significant reduction in water sales  Tree fruit acreage taken out of production  Other crops now at risk  Reluctance to make new investments

Imported Water Price Sensitivity #1 Citrus #2 Avocados #3 Strawberries #4 Vegetables #5 Cut Flowers #6 Nursery

What Farmers Must Do to Afford the Delta Fix  Seek differential pricing  Invest in research  Take full advantage of technology  Change production practices  Casual farmers must go all-in  Consider alternate crops  Diversify