We spent the day traveling all over the Central Valley of California. Frick and Frack rode in Sandra's van with Ami, Tina, and Calena. We were joined by Mike Wade and Brandon Souza of the California Farm Water Coalition (farmwater.org / #farmwater). The state is responsible for 2/3 of the fruits and nuts, 1/3 of the vegetables, and 1 out of every 5 gallons of milk produced in the United States.
We toured the Jones Pumping Plant, where Jake Oxenrider explained how the massive pumps work to provide water for agricultural use to sustain this vital part of the California economy. The Sacramento Bee's headline story yesterday was "California's economy rises to 6th globally." Imagine, a state with an economy larger than all but 5 countries (one of those being the United States) in the world!
Cannon Michael of the Bowles Farming Company (http://www.bfarm.com/) took us out to his fields and showed us the canals (top photo) that provided part of the water for his diverse crops, like his tomatoes (bottom photo). More stories on Mr. Michael and his remarkable operations can be found at http://www.cultivatecalifornia.com/bowles-farming/ and http://pimacott.com/?p=169.
This evening, I got to enjoy a carrot, freshly plucked from the ground of Mr. Michael's farm. I haven't been on an actual farm since I was a child, when little Jemmy Madison showed me around his daddy's farm at Montpelier. Boy, how time flies.
Quo Vadimus
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