In a move set to transform regional agriculture, the Regional CropSWAP program, originally initiated by the Rancho California Water District, announced its expansion into neighboring counties with the partnership of Fallbrook Public Utility District, Rainbow Municipal Water District, city of Oceanside, Valley Center Municipal Water District and city of Escondido.
The Rainbow Municipal Water District Board of Directors announced the appointment of Cari Dale to the Division 3 vacancy. Dale, a resident of Fallbrook since 2001 with 30 years of management experience in water and wastewater utilities, was sworn into office at the Tuesday, Feb. 27, board meeting.
Oceanside residents will see a trifecta of utility rate hikes in 2024 under water, sewer and trash fee increases approved unanimously Wednesday by the Oceanside City Council.
Water rates will go up 6 percent on Jan. 1, 2024, and another 6 percent in January 2025. The hike reflects higher rates passed along by the Metropolitan Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority, who import the supply to Oceanside, and higher costs for labor, materials, supplies and utilities.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded the City of Oceanside $201,000 for the City’s Water Recycling and Desalination Planning Project. The City received the award after applying for WaterSMART funding to investigate expanding water reuse and increasing water recharge.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded Oceanside $201,000 for the city’s Water Recycling and Desalination Planning Project, it was announced Wednesday.
Oceanside received the award after applying for WaterSMART funding to investigate expanding water reuse and increasing water recharge, according to the city’s water utilities department.
The federal funding will be used to evaluate the expanded use of treated effluent at the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility to produce recycled water, and expansion of the Advanced Water Purification Facility for groundwater recharge and higher quality recycled water and seawater desalination, according to the city.
Oceanside’s water rates could climb 6 percent in 2024 and another 6 percent in 2025 under a proposal outlined this week by the city’s water utilities director.
The increases are the result of rate hikes by the Metropolitan Water District, Southern California’s biggest water wholesaler, and the San Diego County Water Authority, which buys water from Metropolitan and sells it to local agencies.
“We are directly passing through those rates,” Oceanside Water Utilities Director Lindsay Leahy said Tuesday in a presentation to the city’s Water Utilities Commission. The proposal is scheduled to go to the Oceanside City Council for approval Nov. 15.
The San Diego County Farm Bureau named Mary Matava as its 2022 Farmer of the Year. Matava, involved in the region’s agriculture industry for 45 years, was recognized for her achievement at an awards dinner September 7 at the Bernardo Winery in Rancho Bernardo.
The Farmer of the Year award is presented to an active or retired farmer who has had a positive impact on the agriculture industry, is active in the community beyond agriculture, and has represented the agricultural industry publicly on behalf of farming interests.
Matava is a trained agronomist with 40 years of experience and a leading expert in soil assessment and amendments, green waste recycling, facility management, and avocado farming.
According to the Farm Bureau, Matava’s work involves “assessing the agronomic suitability of Southern California soils.” For the last 25 years, Matava’s company has manufactured organic soil amendments used by farmers throughout Southern California.
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation, soil management, and crop production.
Matava has spent much of her career studying local soils to determine what kind of nutrients are present and beneficial for crops while also finding more efficient ways to use water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The California Air Resources Board reports 20% of the methane emissions in California come from landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency cites methane from landfills as the third largest overall source of methane in the U.S.
Matava is the owner and operator of Agri Service, based in Oceanside, and employs 30 people. Agri Service operates compost facilities in Southern California, including the El Corazon Compost Facility in Oceanside.
Since 1995, the City of Oceanside has partnered with Agri Service, Inc. to develop an innovative public-private recycling program, reducing its landfill waste while creating beneficial soil amendments, and sharing the most up-to-date industry standards. Since its inception, the compost facility has processed over two million tons of green waste into high-quality soil amendments, mulch, and potting mixes while reducing methane emissions.
Agri Service also operates a compost facility in Otay Mesa, open to the public. Since it opened, Agri Service has processed more than 2.5 million tons of green waste products.
Matava uses her own compost products on her family’s avocado farm in South Morro Hills, where she grows six varieties of avocados.
Her focus for the future is continuing to find ways to mitigate the effects of climate change and pollution, while also producing high-quality farming products. She previously served as president of the San Diego County Farm Bureau and in a variety of roles on the Farm Bureau’s board of directors.
Matava is the second straight Farmer of the Year Winner from Oceanside. Strawberry farmer Neil Nagata, the 2021 Farmer of the Year, is also from Oceanside.
The San Diego County Farm Bureau is a nonprofit organization supporting the more than 5,700 farms within the county. The mission of the Farm Bureau is to foster San Diego agriculture through education, public relations, and public policy advocacy in order to promote the economic viability, sustainability, and community building of agriculture.
(Editor’s note: The City of Oceanside is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.)
Thousands of visitors descend on the beautiful city of Oceanside every week. They are in town to hit the beach, swim or surf, go boating or fishing, and visit the historic Mission San Luis Rey. They come in such numbers that Oceanside’s population can swell from just over 170,000 to nearly 200,000.
All these visitors bring a huge benefit to the local economy. Beautifying the local landscape makes sense for both the well-being of local residents and the increased attractiveness for visitors.
More than $63 million in proposed federal funding was announced Tuesday to support nearly two dozen projects across the San Diego region.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, said in a statement that the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations package that will deliver funding for 22 projects slated for the San Diego region will head next to both chambers of Congress for final passage.
Among the projects expected to receive funding in the package are:
— $3.45 million for the City of Oceanside‘s Loma Alta Creek Sewer Relocation, which will move a sewer main from a creek bed to a roadway to minimize environmental damage in the event of a sanitary sewer overflow.
— $3.45 million for the Smuggler’s Gulch Dredging Project, which will clear trash and sediment to protect downstream communities, and protect human and environmental health in the Tijuana River Watershed and coastal waters.
— $3.39 million for Borrego Water District‘s Borrego Spring Transmission Main, which will update the water distribution system and reduce water pipeline breaks.
— $3.06 million for the Valley Center Municipal Water District‘s Lilac Road Pipeline Replacement, which is aimed at reducing water loss and improving water conservation, among other benefits of the 60-year-old pipeline’s replacement.
The San Diego County Farm Bureau named third-generation Oceanside farmer Neil Nagata its 2021 Farmer of the Year. The Farmer of the Year award is presented to an active or retired farmer who has had a positive impact on the agriculture industry, is active in the community beyond agriculture, and has represented the agricultural industry publicly on behalf of farming interests.
Nagata is the President of Nagata Brothers Farms. In 1902, Nagata’s grandfather immigrated to California from Japan and began farming strawberries in 1920. Nagata’s father George and his brothers formed Nagata Brothers Farms, and his son Neil took on the business 34 years ago. “From that point on, I’ve been farming strawberries – so three generations of California strawberry growers.”
Nagata joined the California Strawberry Commission in 1991 and served as a board member and past chairman of their organization. In a video produced by the California Strawberry Commission, Nagata talked about his life as a farmer alongside his 98-year-old father George, who retired just a few years ago and who still lives on the farm in Oceanside.
Throughout his three decades in farming, Nagata says water management has always been a significant challenge.
“We’ve had to become very efficient and very conservative with our water. When I first started, (irrigation) technology was more rudimentary,” said Nagata.
Now, advances are helping California’s family farms survive.
“Electronic controls and electronic monitoring offer efficiency,” he said. “There is greater ease of application for field use. Costs have come down. The quality of materials has improved with advances in technology and materials. Things have become more efficient. We’re still here.”
In addition to his growing experience, Nagata is an expert in many aspects of agriculture and biological science, including field and commercial research and production. He says it takes a scientific mind and a lot of passion to be a good strawberry grower. Nagata says his father made a strong impression with his care of the land.
Neil Nagata says he still loves strawberries, especially when they are fresh from the fields. Photo: California Strawberry Commission
“All the strawberry farmers that I know including myself, really care about the land, the fruit that we produce, and the people that work for us,” said Nagata. “It’s really all-encompassing. We try to do what’s right for everybody.
“At the end of the day, we want to present something that is beneficial to our consumers and healthy and good for you, and tastes good. I still eat strawberries, and my favorite way is right out of the field,” he said. “My favorite thing about strawberry growing is being able to have people enjoy what I produce. It’s really rewarding when people just say, “You have the best strawberries.”’
Neil Nagata served as San Diego County Farm Bureau President from 2017 – 2019, and has been a board member since 2008. He works with regulators and legislators to support fruit and vegetable production in the U.S. and Internationally. Nagata has also been involved with many other agricultural associations.
Nagata is the founding president of the non-profit California Strawberry Growers Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships for children of California strawberry farmworkers. During the past 26 years, over $2 million has been raised and gifted to farmworkers’ children.
Nagata will be the guest of honor at the County Farm Bureau’s annual Farmer of the Year event in October and celebrate his recognition among the agriculture community with family and friends.
(Editor’s note: The San Diego County Farm Bureau is a non-profit organization supporting the more than 5,700 farms within the county. The mission of the Farm Bureau is to foster San Diego agriculture through education, public relations, and public policy advocacy in order to promote the economic viability, sustainability, and community building of agriculture. For more information: www.sdfarmbureau.org.)
