EMERGENCY RISK REDUCTION

We take a lot of things for granted in this life, especially in our convenient, 21^st century society. A society where food somehow miraculously appears before our eyes – whether on the grocery shelf, kitchen counter, drive-thru window, or restaurant table. Many of us, mostly the Gen-Xers and younger, are oblivious to where this amazing supply of food – and choices for today’s eating, and tomorrow’s, and the next day. But I am not here to preach on a theme that is all too common. I blogged a couple of months ago on the topic of food waste, and my attempt to re-distribute day-old bread from a nearby bakery that overproduces an obscene number of loaves and buns.

I am writing this during a break from the farm work due to a surprising summer rainstorm. The first days of July were hot, and our berries – strawberries, raspberries, blackberries – have been taking a toll. Most don’t seem as productive as last year. Theories abound. Late spring, warm weather followed by a cold spell, etc. After all, farmers can always point to the weather for a poor crop — and often the culprit is lack of regular rain.

In the last decades, a revolutionary agricultural development has taken over — irrigation.  Many of you have seen the green crop circles from an airplane. That’s the pattern created by a system called center pivot irrigation. The water enters from the middle and radiates to the field while the arm rotates like a clock.  Many other types exist, all with the goal of getting water on the crop effectively and efficiently.

Irrigation is near to my heart because of my graduate work at Texas A&M (go Aggies!) and internship in Nebraska with Valmont Industries – the world’s largest manufacturer of mechanical irrigation systems. I worked specifically in the ‘water application engineering’ unit. We tested the droplet sizes of various sprinklers, which sounds mundane but was fascinating. Simply put, it’s not the quantity of water that reaches the field; it’s the amount that soaks in and is usable by the plant root. In other words, the goal is to optimize water use and keep flooding and soil erosion to a minimum. It’s a bit complex, because other factors weigh in, such as wind (small droplets are blown further) and the type of soil (clay, sand, or loam.)  I did most of the research in the San Juaquin Valley of California, one of America’s fruit and vegetable breadbaskets. A very enjoyable time.

Far from testing irrigation systems and sprinkler arrays on square miles of vegetable fields near Bakersfield, our 5 acre farm does have a watering system. It is a simple one with about 40 sprinklers, sourced from the district’s water supply. The pressure is such that we can only turn on 4 or 5 sprinklers at once, so we rotate throughout the berry rows and orchard.  It’s a bit of a dance, which sometimes means getting out of bed at 4 or 5AM. And there is the cost of water from the district, so we try to be judicious.

But alas, a shower of rain becomes a show-stopper! No more turning valves on and off. No more midnight walks to the field. No more headshaking from berry rows not evenly watered. Suddenly no more thirsty crops anywhere on the farm. As impressive as is today’s mechanical irrigation technology, the real miracle from our Creator remains a simple shower of rain!

Thanks for reading.