California Remains a Great Place to Grow Food

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

Despite recent rains, California still has a lot of challenges for farmers including water storage, availability, and regulation. Bowles Farming Company President and CEO Cannon Michael says California is still a prime location to produce food.

Michael: Clip 2 “Ultimately I think in general there’s going to be enough water for there to be agricultural production in the Central Valley for decades to come. I mean, we’re at the table trying to work on collaborative solutions. I think everybody’s acknowledged there’s going to be a certain amount of land that is only reliant on groundwater that’s going to probably go out of production, but I think, you know, there’s a lot of us who have a long history of a certain amount of access to surface water and kind of in some more sustainable basins. You know, even if you look at the amount of water per drop what we produce, you know, is a lot more than any other irrigated agricultural place, and you know, the rain-fed places don’t produce the quality that we can produce. So, you know, you give me a drop of water and anything I’m going to do with it is going to be more productive than the drop of water that’s landing somewhere else just because of this amazing Mediterranean climate that we have, so we’re the right place to grow with the right regulations and the right attitude that I think of the people who are left doing this work.”

Along with overseeing operations at Bowles Farming Company, MichaelCannon is highly active in the water community, holding multiple leadership positions.