LE GRAND, Calif. — It was a torrid summer morning on a Merced County agave farm, and UC Merced doctoral student Calysta Ownby bored into the dirt with a drill.
“Maybe not its original intended use,” Ownby said, chuckling about the tool.
She collected a core of dry and hard-packed soil in between the rows of agave. Ownby, her professor, and a research assistant have spent hours collecting these so-called “bulk density” samples — and it’s back-breaking work.
They thrust a metal cylinder tool into the ground and claw at the soil. But Ownby said it’s necessary because the team hopes to figure out if agave’s roots loosen up the soil and keep it fertile for crops in the future.
“I think [agriculture is] one of the big issues that society needs an answer to,” she said. “There isn't one simple answer.”
In the San Joaquin Valley, the agriculture industry is big. So it’s no surprise many local colleges and universities offer agriculture-based programs. But now, agave has begun to root in classrooms, too.
Agave is a large, spiky succulent that can be blue, green and yellow, depending on the variety. For centuries, Mexico has distilled its core to make tequila and mezcal. But recently, agave became more popular on California farms because of its resistance and tolerance of drought and heat. So, Valley schools such as UC Merced are trying to answer farmers’ and policymakers’ questions about the crop.
“Testing it out and seeing how it goes probably doesn't sound too great to the farmers,” Ownby said. “If they're like, ‘Here, let's just plant this totally new thing with no research, no trying to see what's going on in the soil at all,’ they could seriously mess up their crop. They could lose the entire crop. That's a lot of money gone. They could hurt the soils. They could degrade them farther than they ever meant to. And then they need answers.”
State water law motivates farmers, education
Srabani Das is part of Ownby’s team. As a faculty member with the University of California’s cooperative extension, it’s her job to help farmers decide whether to make the switch to agave.
“We must make agriculture regenerative and also very economically viable for the farmers,” Das said.
Farmers are dealing with increasing water restrictions, Das said, from a state water law called the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). So many are either going to try a new crop like agave, or not use their land at all.
If farmers don’t use their land though, they don’t make money, which Das said is the priority for all farmers. Agave could help.
Ángel Reyna, the president at Madera Community College, said college officials signed a lease on a winery that they want to turn into an agave distillery.
“This would be a temporary site until we build our own hotel, bar, restaurant, and distillery that our students run and operate, so they can get that hands-on experience,” Reyna said while giving a reporter a tour.
College officials hope this crop produces careers for students, he said. Madera College offers four-week community courses all about growing agave, with subsidies for farmers. Students and officials have even planted their own agave in the back of the campus and throughout it. Reyna said they also plan to offer credited courses and degrees in the future that would coincide with growing, distilling and building a business with agave.
“We get state resources that are funded by the public, and so ultimately, it's their money for us to invest and educate the future workforce, but also to be an economic driver,” Reyna said.
Merced County Office of Education is also working on a plan to help K-12 students learn about agave farming. Camille Fagundes, the science coordinator for the county office, is working with Merced farmer James Hunt to provide outdoor education to Merced students.
“We are at the heart of the country's produce source, so it's very important for our students to learn about where all that food is coming from,” Fagundes said.
Hunt, who planted 14 acres of agave last year, said he hopes students know a little more about what grows in their region.
“We give them an opportunity to come out here, get their hands dirty, see what farming's about,” Hunt said.
“Maybe they don't want to be a farmer per se, but maybe they want to design tractors or autonomous vehicles or implements for farming, or different irrigation systems or new techniques,” Hunt said. “There's so much here that can be learned. Why not share this with the community that lives here?”
More than ‘interesting questions’
Calysta Ownby sees herself someday working at an agency like the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Growing up in Sonoma County, Ownby nurtured an interest in agriculture while working at a mitigation and restoration company to repair crops affected by pesticides on vineyards.
“Agriculture was my first interest, probably with the vineyards and with trying to see the water,” she said. “It’s pulled in all different directions. It's pulled for public use. It's pulled for agriculture. It's pulled for instance, up north for the salmon, for wildlife and the ecosystem. And as that dries up, the needs get stronger.”
Since she just started her Ph.D program, Ownby has read a lot of research on agave and the farming methods associated with it. No matter where she works, she said, her research could help someone in a big or small way.
“Everyone that I've interacted with in those jobs has always been doing their best for their community, and that's what I want – to give back to the community somehow,” Ownby said.
She took the soil samples to the lab and measured the moisture. During her program, she also plans to test how much carbon dioxide agave absorbs, if the plant can survive better than other crops with more salts in the soil, and how much water the plant needs to be viable. The results might inform a Valley farmer or a government leader.
“We're not just testing things because it's an interesting question,” Ownby said. “It's an interesting question because it needs an answer.”
