Desert-adapted crops \u2013 agave, jojoba, guayule, which can be grown with a few inches of water annually<\/p>\n
A Kern County wheat field turns golden in this 2019 file photo. Lois Henry \/ SJV Water Lois Henry SJVWater <\/p>\n
Low-water summer forages \u2013 Sorghum or sorghum-sudangrass hybrids, which requires 20% less water than corn<\/p>\n
Cover crops \u2013 grown in the winter, cover crops benefits soil health and water retention<\/p>\n
Winter grain and forage \u2013 wheat, barely, oats, rye and triticale<\/p>\n
The financial viability study<\/a> found that farmers in Tulare and Kings counties may profit from growing winter crops with eight inches of irrigation, on top of the region\u2019s annual rainfall.<\/p>\n In those counties, dairies offer the biggest potential demand for winter grains as they dairies usually buy out-of-state grains to feed their cows, the financial study states.<\/p>\n While the financial study found that profits do depend on more water than just rainfall, farmers may prefer modest returns instead of fallowing land.<\/p>\n For landowners looking to improve soil health, winter grain and forage crops can also alleviate high levels of nitrate in the soil, which has been abundant in Tulare<\/a> and Kings<\/a> counties.<\/p>\n Brown, who also sits on the grower advisory committee for the Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) said farming practices have changed drastically over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have the ability to do it exactly as in the past, we have to work around this new (SGMA) framework,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It will be up to the individual farmer to decide, however, what path they choose.<\/p>\n \u201cFarmers with open land will need to decide whether they keep land fallow or try to grow winter forages and try to make an income from a limited use of groundwater on that winter crop and determine its viability each year within their operation,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s just what the PPIC authors want farmers to take away from this study.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think that a key to note is that there is a lot of anxiety over fallowing and what that would mean. We want to avoid that to the extent possible,\u201d Peterson said.<\/p>\n SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, www.sjvwater.org. Email us at sjvwater@sjvwater.org<\/p>\n