Ingrained

Many travelers heading north on Interstate 5 or Highway 99 only get a fleeting glimpse of the Sacramento Valley. However, those who know this region understand and appreciate how unique and valuable it is.

The Sacramento Valley is an impressive patchwork of farms and communities, living and working in harmony with the environment.

A worsening drought has led to major water cutbacks. Farmers will grow less and the communities with agriculture as their foundation will be impacted.

Local officials are concerned about how lost farm production will impact their communities.

“Those impacts are actually huge,” remarked Colusa County Supervisor Denise Carter, who farms with her husband, Ben. “You can just measure the magnitude in dollars, revenue to the county, and that revenue to the county and to the growers is there's a trickle-down effect. You have the equipment companies, you have the chemical companies, you have the fuel suppliers. You have also the people. In a drought like this, none of us can afford to hire as many people as we normally hire.”

Colusa County has an annual value of all crops produced of more than $900 million and is America’s top rice growing county. Cutbacks from the Sacramento River this year are unlike anything experienced before.

Concern for drought impacts is pervasive throughout the region.

“Butte County, like many rural counties throughout America and California, is the economy revolves around agriculture,” said county supervisor and farmer, Tod Kimmelshue. “The farmers make money, but also the support services that serve agriculture, also do very well when things are good. Now, if land is going to be fallowed this year in Butte County and Northern California, we're concerned that some of those support services will also not do as well. So it has quite a ripple effect going through the whole county.”

As this season plays out, the Sacramento Valley will be tested. Even with a difficult year ahead, optimism remains for the long haul.

“We care deeply,” remarked Yuba City City Councilmember Grace Espindola. “The diversity of community is in our blood.”

Espindola said building Sites Reservoir would be an excellent step to help California weather future droughts.

Jim Morris: It's late April in the Sacramento Valley and, at least here along Highway 99 in Butte County, things appear somewhat normal. The recent rain is unusual, but unfortunately the lack of rain in the winter months is an all too familiar occurrence. What we're left with is unprecedented drought, which has extended for three years and it's causing uncertainty and concern like never before.

Denise Carter: Quite honestly, no one has ever seen it this bad.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with farmers and ranchers throughout the state for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. During that time, there have been all too many dry years, but what's happening this time has never been experienced in the Sacramento Valley. Concerns are real and rising. Butte County is one of the state leaders in agriculture, with a crop value of well over $600 million a year. Farming is the foundation of this county and of our valley. Tod Kimmelshue is a family farmer and a retired ag finance banking advisor. He's now serving on the Butte County Board of Supervisors. Tod, for someone who isn't familiar with your area, how do you convey to them what farming and ranching mean here?

Tod Kimmelshue: Butte County has always been a very strong farming community and we're very lucky also, to have an agricultural university here, Chico State, which trains farmers and agricultural people. We grow several different crops here, mostly almonds, walnuts and rice, and agriculture has a great deal of impact in this area.

Jim Morris: I think many from afar think California weather is absolutely perfect. And we certainly have some perfect times, but we're in a bit of a rough stretch right now to be sure, not only the winter freeze for almonds, but also the awful drought entering year three now. Prime examples of how this has already been an agonizing year for many. What are your concerns about drought impacts?

Tod Kimmelshue: The drought has had a huge impact on our water supply in this area. Much of Butte County rice is grown with surface water. And, when we have a drought, the reservoirs don't fill up, and so there's not enough water for the rice crops in this area. The other water source we have in Butte County are aquifers. And most of the orchardists in this area use the aquifers. However, those aquifers have been declining as well during the drought.

Jim Morris: When land is idle and crops aren't abundant, what is the effect on non-farmers in your area?

Tod Kimmelshue: Butte County, like many rural counties t...

California farmers are no strangers to drought, although the magnitude of this, a third straight dry year, has widespread and significant impacts in Sacramento Valley rice country and nearby communities.

A lack of adequate rain above Shasta Dam has brought historic water cutbacks to growers on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, with a major reduction in rice plantings. This contrasts the east side of the valley, where rice acreage is expected to be normal to potentially above normal. Full rice acreage won’t be known until later this spring.

“We’re down to 25 percent of normal rice acreage,” said grower Kurt Richter, who farms in Colusa County. “For a westside operation, that figure is actually very high this year. I’m the only person I know who is on the west side who is even planting rice at all.”

The sharp reduction in rice planting will have a ripple effect along the west side of the valley, including not only rice mills, dryers, ag pilots, supply companies and truckers, but virtually all people and businesses.

“We have never seen a year like this,” remarked Rick Richter of Richter Aviation. Rick has aerially seeded rice fields since the 1970s. “We’re basically one-seventh of what we normally do.”

Other area businesses echo Richter’s comments and concerns.

“You talk to some of the guys that went through drought in the 1980s and this seems to be even worse,” said Jason Bowen, Pest Control Advisor at Colusa County Farm Supply. “This affects everyone. Every person you talk to. It doesn’t matter where you work at, you’re completely affected.”

Bowen is among those who hope state and federal aid is forthcoming, to help during a time of significant economic hardship.

“Any aid would benefit everyone,” he said. “Whoever the aid does go to, it’s going to trickle down all the way through the local economies in any way, shape or form.”

While faced with cutbacks not seen in decades, there remains a persevering nature that is a hallmark characteristic of this region.

“People here are tough. They are strong and have a way of working together to make this successful ,” said Jim Cook, Director of Research and Technology at Colusa County Farm Supply. “We know we’re in for a tough go. The bottom line is we have no other place to go. This is like the Alamo for us. This is our place where we’re going to make a stand and we are going to survive.”

Jennifer Abel is General Manager of Luis Cairo’s in Williams, a restaurant with a rich history in the valley. She said they, like so many restaurants, have had big challenges in recent years, from COVID-19 restrictions, the economic downturn and large fires in nearby areas. Drought impacts to nearby farms and ranches will likely impact their business, but she remained positive about their future.

“We’re really strong and united,” she said. “We have a solid foundation of families and people that have been here for a long time that have been farming and working in this community. They’re going to come together, make a difference and make something happen.”

Episode Transcript

Jim Morris: This is normally a time of activity far and wide in the Sacramento Valley, rice planting season, including here in Glenn County. There’s a disconcerting lack of tractors and airplanes working on the west side of the valley right now, as a third year of drought is impacting our region in an unprecedented way. With so much farmland idle, impacts will be strongly felt. This year will be a test like no other.

Kurt Richter: There's going to be a lot of people that are not going to be able to find work this year.

Rick Richter: Every person you talk to around the local community has been affected.

Jim Cook: This is really like the Alamo for us. This is our place where we're going to make a stand and we are going to survive.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained: The California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. Simply put, there is no year in memory compared to what's happening this year, especially for those who live and work along the Sacramento River. Pain will be real and widespread. We won't know the total acreage of rice planted in the state until later this spring. For now, it's clear that planting will be dramatically lower on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, and it appears to be normal to perhaps a bit greater on the east side. Kurt Richter, what's happening in your rice fields right now?

Kurt Richter: We are currently wrapping up getting the 2022 crop into the ground. It has been kind of a short season for us because acres are scaled back so signi...

They are one of the world’s iconic birds. They quack and waddle on land, which is a sharp contrast to their grace in the water and air. The Sacramento Valley is home to millions of ducks, and rice fields play a vital role in their lives.

Helping ducks has been the passionate pursuit of Virginia Getz for 20-years. Virginia manages conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited’s Western Region (DU), including California. Keeping rice farming strong is critical to maintaining a healthy Pacific Flyway duck population.

“Ninety-five percent of the wetland habitat that historically occurred in the Central Valley has been lost, and waterfowl populations are now heavily dependent on agricultural lands, primarily rice,” according to Getz.

Sacramento Valley rice fields provide more than 60 percent of the fall and winter diet for the millions of ducks and geese in the Central Valley. DU works with the Rice Commission and growers to help keep rice strong, which, in turn, maintains vital wildlife habitat.

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot recently visited Butte County and had positive remarks about the Sacramento Valley ecosystem and the vital role rice plays for wildlife habitat.

“We are seeing these flooded up rice fields teeming with birds on the Pacific Flyway,” Crowfoot said. “It always reminds me that we can find paths forward in California that protect water for people and nature.”

Ducks are inspirational to many, including artist René C. Reyes. “Ducks are an appealing subject because they are a great mix of awkwardness and beauty. On land, ducks waddle and they quack, but in the air, they are quite amazing. In water, where they are in their element, that’s when their beauty comes out and, in my art, that’s what I try to capture.”

Here's a link to where you can find learn more about waterbirds in the Sacramento Valley and how you can support conservation.

Episode Transcript

René Reyes: When I see thousands or millions of birds flying overhead during their migration, which they've been doing for thousands of years, I see a glimpse of our past.

Jim Morris: Artist, René Reyes, captures incredible detail in his wildlife paintings, including ducks, one of the most popular and beloved birds in the world.

René Reyes: They are a great mix of awkwardness and beauty. On land ducks waddle, and they quack. But in the air, they're quite amazing. They're a sight to see. But in water, where they are in their element, that's when their beauty comes out. And in my art, that's what I try to capture.

Jim Morris: The Sacramento Valley offers vital habitat for ducks. California has changed a lot since its early days, and there's a challenging balance between managing our environment, cities, and farms. Fortunately, with cooperation and creativity, there is a way to make it all work.

[Music Intro]

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris. I'm at the DeWit Rice Farm in Sutter County, one of the places where ducks thrive. With me is Virginia Getz of Ducks Unlimited and one of my colleagues at the California Rice Commission, Luke Matthews, wildlife programs manager. Virginia, you cover the Western region for Ducks Unlimited. What area do you cover?

Virginia Getz: Yes, I'm the manager of conservation programs for DU's Western regional office. I oversee our group of biologists that are responsible for developing and delivering our on the ground conservation work in a four-state area, which includes California, Nevada, Hawaii, and Arizona.

Jim Morris: So when you look at California, specifically, in the effort to preserve the duck population for future generations, what are some of the challenges that are specific here in California?

Virginia Getz: Well, increased competition for water is the major issue that we face and it's growing in importance daily. And a particular concern is the risk of reduction or loss of water for rice straw decomposition.

Ninety-five percent of the wetland habitat that historically occurred in the Central Valley has been lost and waterfowl populations are now heavily dependent on agricultural lands, primarily rice. The economics of growing rice has been good and that's kept a large land base in rice production, but that could change. Population growth and urban encroachment are continued threats, and we also are seeing a conversion of ricelands to trees and vines, crops which are not waterfowl friendly.

Jim Morris: So what can DU do to try to maintain that rice habitat and a healthy duck population here in the Central Valley?

Virginia Getz: DU has an excellent working relationship with the rice industry and rice farmers in the Sacr...

The driest year California has experienced since the 1970s will have wide-ranging impacts in the West.

In the Sacramento Valley, a reduced water supply will lead to about a 20 percent reduction in rice plantings.

The loss of about 100,000 acres of rice fields has implications well beyond the farm level. The reduced plantings will impact rural communities that depend on agriculture as their foundation. It’s also a concern for wildlife, which greatly depend on rice fields for their habitat.

Fortunately, rice growers are collaborating with conservation groups to get the most out of what’s available.

“Over the last 150 years, over 90 percent of the wetlands that used to be in the Central Valley have gone,” remarked Julia Barfield, Project Manager with The Nature Conservancy. “They've been lost to development and agriculture, and there's a shortage of habitat that birds migrating along the Pacific flyway need. And that is wetland habitat, specifically shallow wetlands for migratory shorebirds, which is a group of species that have declined precipitously in the last 50 years. And we are working hard to make sure there's enough habitat, especially in years like this that are really dry -- and there's not going to be much habitat on the landscape when they're migrating this fall.”

The Nature Conservancy has spearheaded two key rice conservation programs, BirdReturns and Bid4Birds, which have helped during past droughts.

“What we've found in the last drought,2013 to 2015, which was a critical period, was that the incentive programs, such as BirdReturns, provided 35 percent of the habitat that was out there on the landscape and up to 60 percent in the fall period during certain days,” said Greg Golet, a scientist at The Nature Conservancy who has spent years working to maintain and enhance shorebird habitat in Sacramento Valley rice fields.

This cooperation wouldn’t be possible without rice growers being willing participants. For decades, rice fields have provided a vital link to the massive Pacific Flyway migration of millions of birds.

“I've been doing this for 40 years now, every farmer that I know is an environmentalist at some level,” said rice grower John Brennan, who works at several places in the valley, including Davis Ranches in Colusa. “We're the ones that are out there in the environment. We're the ones that get to enjoy the birds. We're the ones that get to see habitat and all the excitement that it brings to the landscape. But on the other side of it, we need to make sure that rice stays relevant in the state of California. And so, we're not going to be able to maintain this habitat, as habitat. There's not enough money in the state of California to do that. We need to come up with a farming program that does both, that provides food and provides habitat.”

As summer approaches, the value of rice field habitat – especially during drought -- will grow right along with America’s next crop of sushi rice.

The rice fields, complete with their diverse ecosystem, are a welcome sight to Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who has worked on several fronts to bolster such conservation.

“It makes me feel relieved,” she said. “It makes me feel like there's hope. It makes me feel like there's the beauty that we have all around us in Northern California -- and then to appreciate every single moment of it, and not to take away, but to help enhance what we have and to continue it for our future.”

Episode Transcript

CBS 13 Newscaster 1: The drought impacting much more than how you water your lawn, but the way food is grown in the Sacramento Valley. CBS 13's, Rachel Wulff shows us the changes to a multi-billion-dollar industry that supports 25,000 jobs.

Fritz Durst: Farmers are eternal optimists. You have to be, to risk so much with so many things out of your control.

Rachel Wulff: Fritz Durst, trying to keep his spirits up in a down year.

Jim Morris: The past year plus has been difficult for our world, and now a significant new challenge has hit much of the west. Precious little rain and snow fell during fall and winter, leading to the driest year California has seen in generations.

As a result, there will be less rice grown in the Sacramento Valley this year. That has wide ranging impacts, including to birds that migrate along the Pacific flyway. But as the newly planted rice emerges and more birds arri...

Sushi is often a high culinary art form and its popularity continues to grow. Since the countries first sushi roll was served in Little Tokyo Los Angeles in the 1960s, is has grown into a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Interest in the cuisine is fueled by creative chefs, who push boundaries and take painstaking steps to ensure the best customer experience.

One example is Billy Ngo, founder, chef and partner of Kru Restaurant in Sacramento, whose innovation and emphasis on quality has garnered loyal customers and rave reviews. As Leilani Marie Labong from SacTown Magazine put it, Billy “has fine-tuned an unofficial M.O. to bring as-yet-uncharted experiences to his hometown.”

Billy’s ascendance as one of the region’s top chefs is remarkable, considering his journey.

“We were very lucky to have the life that I had and the opportunities I had growing up here with my parents coming over here,” he remarked. “My parents are Chinese, but they're from Vietnam. Born in Vietnam. They had to flee because of the Vietnam War. And my mom was pregnant with me when they got on the boat, escaped, landed in a refugee camp in Hong Kong, and that's where I was born.”

Billy arrived in Sacramento as a baby, and he admits his early work career was more focused on earning money for stereo equipment than being a top chef. As a teen, he spent many laborious weekends preparing shrimp for later use. Other jobs included busing tables and washing dishes.

However, over time, Billy’s interest in sushi grew. This spark was fueled by his work with high achieving chefs, including Taka Watanabe, Taro Arai and Randall Selland.

Through this experience, he saw changes in how sushi was being presented. From a rigid, predictable menu came food with a flair, and a chance for every chef to roll something amazing and unique.

He founded Kru Restaurant in 2005, putting optimism over a firm foundation of success. As he put it, “it was all done with band-aids and pennies.” Fortunately, Kru has grown, as more people became enchanted with Billy’s groundbreaking cuisine.

Billy cited using great ingredients as a key, and that includes the foundation of sushi – rice. In fact, California rice is used in virtually every roll of sushi made in America. Billy gets his rice from grower Michael Bosworth in Yuba County, and said he’s impressed with the sophistication of farming; the scale and hi-tech nature that one must see to fully appreciate.

He has carried forth this approach of sourcing local ingredients, and forging relationships with the farmers and ranchers that grew them.

“We're so lucky to be in this region in Sacramento with so many things being grown here locally,” he said. “Knowing where it's coming from and having the relationship with the grower or the rancher or the farmer. Any questions you have, it's easy.”

Billy said his current priorities are to keep Kru and his other businesses, including the employees, going as reasonably as possible during the COVID-19 restrictions, although he can’t wait for a better day.

“This is so different,” he commented. “I’m very thankful that we're still able to offer food to-go. But part of the magic and why I fell in love with this industry, is seeing the faces, hearing the sound, hearing the laughs of the dining room and the clang of pans in the kitchen, you miss all that. And I can't wait for that and I think hopefully soon we'll have that energy again, inside the building.”

Episode Transcript

Jim Morris: The first sushi served in America was in the 1960s in little Tokyo, Los Angeles. From its humble beginnings here, it is now a powerhouse generating billions of dollars a year. The Sacramento Valley provides virtually all of America's sushi rice, and this region has some outstanding sushi. Ian Scharg and his family are regular customers at Kru Restaurant.

Ian Scharg: We like the freshness and quality of their food. Everything is very interesting that they make. Sushi is, to us, a form of artwork, fresh fish, and we feel like it's a healthy choice for lunch or dinner that we like to enjoy as a family.

Jim Morris: Time to take a closer look at sushi and a fascinating chef, Billy Ngo. Welcome to Ingrained, The California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris. Proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. And along the way, I've had the good fortune to visit with culinary icons like Julia Child and Thomas Keller.

Jim Morris: I first met Billy Ngo 14 years ago, and continue to be amazed at his work ethic and pushing culinary boundaries. Billy, do you ever get a chance to sleep?

Billy Ngo: I try to as much as I can. I mean, definitely not 24 anymore when I first opened the restaurant.

Jim Morris: Yeah. You have come a long way since then. So, I want to ask you about the very b...