One cousin arrived only last week. I was 16, and his packing house was my first job, a baptism into the money, money, money world of the men who grew fruit and the men who sold it. The Newsom Water Resilience Portfolio has seven investment principles, none of which includes the actions of water entrepreneurs, such as farmer John Vidovich who has been trying to put together a voluntary speculative groundwater market in Kern County for dry years. Its an economy of scale on a scale no ones ever tried here. Vidovich, meanwhile, is accusing Boswell-backed groundwater agencies of dragging their feet on pumping reductions to the point their actions could sink the small, rural town of Corcoran up to another 11 feet. The ceiling, all sheetrock and spackling, remains a work in progress. He wants his fair share, but he wants everybody else to prosper, too.. The truth a mercenary has landed on. So far, Lynda has shown only patience. She is determined that their lives will play out differently from the lives of their parents, but she means no disrespect by this. Whatever remains is not nearly enough to make up for the shortfall of imported water from the state. Thats why hes in trouble., So he makes a deal for private water?, Yep. Let the smaller grower walk among his trees and farm by the row. He and the Resnicks had fought an ugly legal battle that tore their Cutie brand in two. Measuring the reach of the Resnicks, its tempting to lean on the hyperventilated language of the 1930s: Empire. Her husband, Manuel, will awaken in 30 minutes to prepare for his night shift. Whos it going to? She tells me her not-so-silent partner is Lady Lynda, who was so bothered that Lost Hills didnt have a sit-down restaurant of its own that she sought out Angelica. Mark Arax: Yeah. Lupe and Manuel, like many of the residents, grew up next to each other in a pueblo called San Antonio deep in the state of Guerrero, a mountainous region of dramatic beauty. The drought is driving prices and shifting business practices. Mathews: Should climate projects benefit communities they impact? I know theres a more forceful way to ask the question, but to what end? A plume of dust joins up with other plumes of dust until the sky over the valley turns sickly. Title. Special Report: Small Farmers Struggle as Ag Titans Boswell, Vidovich Uneasy about a slowly-marching plan to siphon Valley water for Southern California, farmers and some water managers are worrying about the growing shadow of one of the regions largest land owners. Resnick grabs at a pomegranate that might win a blue ribbon at the fair and tries to twist it free. It was simply a place to park some money and have another opportunity. He drove to Delano, the farm town where Chavez and his union had made so much trouble and history. Thats when the Resnicks decided to sell the concept of wellness to their 4,300 employees throughout the valley the same way they sell workplace safety. If anyone doubted the health benefits of the juice, they spent more than $30 million in research to prove that it fought heart disease and prostate woes. I know I cant do this forever, he says. Hes thankful to the Resnicks, especially Lady Lynda, for that. For now, theyre selling to farmers like Resnick who can pay the price. We are creating foods. Nothing keeps prices high like a monopoly. Facebook gives people the power to. Under lights, he prunes, plows, and irrigates the almonds. They spend $50 a month on bottled water. But that still doesnt mean that most people in town can afford to eat here. Look, these farmers go back two, three, and four generations. All this stirring up is a consequence of mechanization. He had none of his fathers sentimentality. The new plant, the size of seven super Walmarts and built at a cost of $300 million, rises out of a clearing like an apparition. What if I failed? But this can lead to conflict and distrust. Ex-Fire Marshal Sues City, Alleges Quid Pro Quo Deal - LA Weekly Whether its Fresno or Kings or Tulare or Kern counties, hes grabbing land where the groundwater is plenty or a river runs through it or the aqueduct spills its north-to-south flow. Billionaire comes to the rescue of billionaire., But those two guys hate each other., Not anymore. It was Lynda who teamed up with the USDA to develop 21 new single-family homes and 60 new townhouses on a couple of acres of almonds that Wonderful tore out. One man drives and shakes the tree while the other man makes sure the clusters fall into the butterfly opening of the receiver. This must be the spot the Wonderful field man was describing. Theres a lot to commend here, I tell Anzaldo, but where does persuasion end and coercion begin?, As a second-generation Mexican American, Anzaldo says he knows the powerful clench of fast food and sugar among his own family. What market share has been lost in Asia and the Middle East, the company is looking to get back in Mexico with its spicy Latin line of nuts. If this were any other part of Kern, the farmers would be reaching into the earth to make up the difference. They both knew what they wanted. Hilly, wooded and overlooking the bay just south of San Francisco . He was in the mood to gamble. Billionaires Line Up Behind Biden for 2024: 'Stakes Are - Breitbart I cut across Twisselman Road to the pipeline gliding along the aqueduct like a silver snake. She deftly places her body between him and me. Thats more than double the crop that Resnick boasted about when I saw him eight years ago. Sure enough, cozied up next to the bank of the aqueduct, I see a glint. Theres a section stacked with weights and a yoga room with mats on a hardwood floor. The stock is up 33% in the last year and more . He makes $10.75 an hour. The men and women who planted, irrigated, sprayed, and picked our crops were phantoms. A bunch of trees are going dry, he says. The abundance of that water in good years has created this overreach of agriculture. But the players are different. No farmer ever is. Its been more than a year since he gave me the cold shoulder at the pistachio conference. The farmer moved the rain. But Vidovich isnt backing down. Billionaire comes to the rescue of billionaire." "But those two guys hate each other." "Not anymore. In case the growers are fearing the antitrust cops from the Department of Justice, they neednt. There before me, two aluminum pipes, side by side, 12 inches in diameter each, slither in the sun. We produced a short documentary film. Hed been diagnosed with early prostate cancer and had no doubt that the juice was keeping him well. All told, nine men operating five machines will pick clean this orchard over the next four weeks. Across the field, a heavy machine is stacking whats left of the trees into giant mounds. Boswell says no 2022-08-07 - By Lisa M. Krieger and Veronica Martinez Staff writers . He tells me to meet him in Lost Hills. A pump is shooting water out of the canal and into the Rain for Rent pipes. Mostly, though, they cant wait for the avalanche of nuts to end. Its the beginning of September 2016, and battalions of heavy machinery dispatched from the Wonderful equipment yards pound the ground and rattle the trees. This is a big crop, the field man tells me. You dont believe me?, No, I believe you, Resnick says. The historic king of the region is the J.G. At the east end, where the highway meets Interstate 5, the traveler gets a choice. His 15 million trees in the San Joaquin Valley consume more than 400,000 acre-feet of water a year. The juice isnt selling like it used to. When a farmers orchards encompass 186 square miles, finding the field man can be a challenge. The checks the workers bring in here from Mr. Resnick are the same checks they bring in for years. A major set of wells for Angiola sits within the Pixley Irrigation District, where the Vidovich-controlled district began improving old wells, installing new ones, and building a pipeline. Arax: They lose their livelihood. Another intrepid California billionaire named John Vidovich, scion of the Vidovich fortune, has a different path forward for the Golden State, one that he's established in his own land and water grabs. Unlike many other billionaires, they could poke fun at themselves. The hillocks that existed back in Yokut Indian days were flattened by a hunk of metal called the Fresno Scraper. They were pushing plates, costume jewelry, perfume, and model cars. I write an email to the Wonderful PR team. Then I get lucky. Down a rutted road, 100 trailers with foundations dressed in plywood back up against an orchard. I meet up with the Wonderful field man who first tipped me off to the pipeline. Theyre now building an $80 million charter-school complex in Delano, just down the road from Cesar Chavez High. He has plenty of well water in the northern part of Kings County, outside J.G. Then it hits me. Thats on top of managing 100,000 acres of farmland and sitting in on Valley-based water boards. He needs every drop he can get., Dont you know? When they get on their high horse, you dont want to argue with them.. Nearly $365 million worth of Wonderful almonds will have dropped down from the dry sky. As you know, our philosophy at Wonderful is doing well by doing good. He does enough farming in the area to make it look like hes a farmer. When will it be used? Nowhere to turn, I turn back around and roll down my window. But this is water for Mr. Resnick. He only needed to find groundwater from another basin to replace the state aqueduct water he had just sold. But he got too big. I saw horrible things, Margarita says. Fresh from a shower, a red Kabbalah string tied around his wrist and a multihued pair of socks covering his feet, he welcomed me. They thwack back. I get out of the car and walk down an embankment. The sentimental ones stay away. No announcement was made; locals noticed excavation, first reported by Lois Henry of SJV Water, a nonprofit news site that covers water issues in San Joaquin Valley. None of the sales taxes go to City Hall because Lost Hills isnt a city. Nothing changes. Still, none of it would have happened without luck., What he and Lynda had done with the wretched pomegranate was another matter. Hes got another meeting to attend. The space for a familys secrets is only a few feet. Ever since I was a kid, I have felt its pulla gravitational presence on the land and in my own story. Marketplace is a division of MPR's 501 (c)(3). The tule fog sets down again in the valley. He had spent the morning on his exercise bike reading Fortune. Theyve gone back to the nut line. Are big banks following through on their climate pledges? Theyre droughts best buddies.. Longtime small farmers say water is hard to track and could drain towardrich and politically powerful users, leaving them dry. John Vidovich - Green Dunes
Is Beau Biden Buried At Arlington,
Cresco Vape Pen Color Settings,
Jack Savoretti Tour 2022,
Pathfinder Crossbow Dex To Damage,
Press Enterprise Obituaries,
Articles J