March 19 - moving to Mexico

Today was all about travelling to our next destination Obregon in Mexico. Our day started at 3.15am in order for us to catch the first of 3 flights. We arrived at our hotel in Obregon at 11.15pm.
Flying over Mexico City at night and looking at the city lights was incredible. I had no idea how populated this place is!! A population of around 21.2 million people.

March 18 - Yosemite National Park

After 34 days of travel, had our first full day off away from a hectic schedule. Decided to go sight seeing and skiing in the Californian snow at Yosemite National Park. I was very surprised to discover we were in snow country only 30 minutes drive from our hotel in Fresno.

Had 3 foot of snow fall overnight before we made the 2 hour drive to central Yosemite - so very difficult driving with icy, slippery roads through heavy snowfall. Needed to put chains on the rear tyres for traction.

Snow ploughs were going up and down the road. For us guys unfamiliar with snow, we certainly had an amazing experience. Driving through the alpine country of Yosemite is incredible - massive trees, mountains, waterfalls and running water is really spectacular.

We had so much fun with an all-in snowball fight. The other scholars went skiing but I opted out and just watched instead. Didn't want to risk breaking any bones!

Fantastic day! Back to our hotel for final night in California.

California was full of surprises for me. I guess I had a pre-conceived notion about good beaches and some agriculture. I didn't know how magnificent Yosemite National Park and ski resort would be, along with the Sierra mountains, coastal mountain ranges and the massive irrigation valley with such a wide variety of crop types. A very interesting and attractive landscape.

Farewell California!!
I'm looking forward to returning with Anita & Jonte when we travel south into date growing regions.

I'm happy to see a few more date palms even if they are for landscaping purposes!

march 17 - California

Today started with a meeting at the Westland Water District head office.Had a power point presentation by C.E.O. on water supply issues affecting the San Joaquin Valley(California). I found this session really interesting and concluded that there are very similar pressures on this water resource as with our own Murray\Darling River system. Some of the main issues surrounding the San Joaquin water resource include: uncertainty on long-term water allocations for irrigators, over extraction in some districts - more so with the underground water extraction which is still unmetered, increasing demand from urban usage and huge environmental pressure to share more of this water resource to keep a healthy environment. In fact there are 2 native fish populations which have been in steep decline over the last few years. The environmental argument is that over-extraction is the cause and then the irrigation lobby groups are suggesting a range of other causes for the decrease in fish numbers.This is currently being fought out in the courts but irrigators are bracing for further water allocation restrictions.

The affects of further water allocation restritions within the San Joaquin Valley will have a knock on effect around the world. This food producing district is amazingly huge. It is known as the food basket of the world as it feeds the USA and beyond. Any regulation introduced which causes a decrease in food production may push the price of food up and effect global food security. This will be interesting to follow.

We then had a discussion with Harris Woolf California Almonds. As we have been driving around the huge irrigated districts we have noticed massive Almond plantations - both of mature trees but also lots of newly planted patches. My first impression was that this large growth is possibly going to result in an over-supply of almonds. It was interesting to hear from the almond sales division on their outlook. The USA produce 75% of world supply of almonds. This year their sales volume is expected to be in excess of 2 billion pounds of almond product (that's 900,000,000 metric tonne). Demand for product has been increasing by 7-13% every year and the price of almonds is very favourable against competing nuts like cashews, walnuts, pecans etc. So there is a lot optimism about the future of the Almond industry.

In the afternoon we visited a very large beef feed lot. It has the capacity of 120,000 head. All the beef produced is processed by the same company .100% of the product in sold branded and supplied to the restaurant trade in the USA. Approx. 10% is exported. This feed lot is very professional and employs 200 locals.

Heading back to town we drove past a solar power farm which had 100 acres of solar panels.

Spent the night at same motel in Fresno.

March 16 - Fresno, California

We left Salinas early for a hard 4 hour drive through winding coastal hills/mountains in rainy conditions. Attractive grazing country with a few oil fields. Drove into the massive irrigation area of the San Joaquin Valley. This valley irrigates an incredible 4 million hectares which is hard to compare against the Riverland which is about 30,000ha.

Dairy is really big with large areas under lucerne and cereals for silage. Also beef cattle and some sheep. Lots of stonefruit and nut crops, some grapevines but they are really big on tomatoes. Water is supplied mostly from the snow melt. There is also some groundwater extraction.

We met with the Rabobank manager to get an insight into grower financials, risk factors and opportunities in the valley. Land values are generally $13,000 - $15,000 US per acre (not hectare).

We were then hosted by the manager of the JG Boswell Company of Corcoran. This is the largest family owned irrigation farm in the world with approx 40,000ha. They grow about 200,000 bales of cotton (500 pound bales) per annum.

This photo shows some of the cotton harvesters.

JG Boswell also produce amazing quantities of tomatos - approx 110,000 truckloads p.a. These are mostly value-added in their own massive tomato paste processing plant, producing approx 200 million pounds of tomato paste - making them a significant player in world paste production. This company also presses cotton seed for oil, grows hard wheat and Safflower. They also have major cotton growing interests in New South Wales, Australia.

This photo is of a water harvester which can pump 7500 gallons per minute.

We drove around their irrigated areas and its absolutely massive. Paddocks are being prepared for planting new tomato plants and are irrigated by sub-surface dripline. The scale is massive by any stndards and approx 60% of the nearby town of Corcoran is employed at the farm. Very impressive. Headed to a motel in Fresno for the night.

Later in the day we had some free time to enjoy Monterey Harbour. This is a colourful wharf and marina, lots of anchored yachts, shops and restaurants catering for a large tourist population. Vendors on the wharf giving out free clam chowder to entice you in for a meal. Fantastic atmosphere. Headed to a motel in Salinas for the night.

March 15 - California

Toured with local Los Banos sheep producer to look at his flock of sheep. They had just finished grazing an organic almond orchard and were being droved to another orchard by shepherds and dogs.

The breed of dog is Maremma which is a guardian dog breed. The owner informed us he nolonger has coyote attacks since using these dogs.

Visited San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery. This is where military service men and women (mostly returned) are buried amongst tranquil surroundings.















Stopped for a look at San Luis Dam.

Had briefing and tour of Monterey Water Treatment and Water Recycling Facility. This is a world leading treatment plant which treats 21 million gallons of residential black/grey water per day. Once treated in this sophisticated processing plant, it is delivered to horticuluralists who use it to grow many crops - mainly strawberries, artichoke, tomatoes and celery. This waste water re-use is highly valued as the underground water resource has been over extracted. This facility also generates its own power through transforming methane gas and using solar panels.

March 14 - Sacramento

We awoke to a rainy Sacramento morning. Apparently it has been particularly dry this winter however it is now forecast to rain for the next 4 days in California. We began with an inspection of Superior Farms, a sheep abbatoir operating since the 1960's with 700,000-800,000 lambs processed per annum. It was very interesting to see how many product lines they have - nothing is wasted. Apart from the obvious meat for human consumption, there is meat for medical purposes, pet food and lamb skins for Ugg boots, jackets etc.

Another interesting feature of this business is that it's owned by the employees through share options accummulated through years of service to the company. This ensures good staff retention rates and minimizes compensation claims. Carcass weight of lambs is substantially larger than what we are used to with weights upto 50kg compared to the Australian average of 24kg.

This photo shows bales of lamb skins

We then went to UC Davis (University of California, Davis campus) where we were briefed on agricultural/horticultural activities in California. This university is huge with 31,000 students and 21,000 employees. It has a total budget of $2.5US billion per annum. We drove from Sacramento to Los Banos, a 3 hour drive with the Sierra Mountians to the west and vast tracts of horticulture - growing many crops like lucerne, grapes, stonefruit, almonds and citrus. It was very attractive and highly productive land.