History - Now

Rather than writing about local history that my mother recorded, I decided to write about history in the making – in 2015.

Last week I attended a meeting of the East Kern Economic Development Alliance, a group of East Kern movers and shakers, who meet every other month to discuss how to improve the cities and communities in Eastern Kern. The group’s logo is East Kern – Innovation rising.

Each time the group meets, a different topic is discussed to provide information to those present on how to bring new ideas to their community, and how to attract industry and new businesses.

This month the focus was on agriculture in East Kern. Providing a little insight into agriculture in Kern County was Beatris Espericueta Sanders, Executive Director of the Kern County Farm Bureau.

She touched on the high points of the challenges that Kern County farmers face in Kern.

The most obvious, of course, is water. Although Kern has faced seven droughts before, this one is so serious, that it will take three years of heavy rainfall to replenish ground and surface water.

The drought could cost up to 17,500 jobs, and could reduce the amount of farm land by 20 percent. This, of course, would make produce more difficult to grow and more expensive to consumers.

If farmers depend on groundwater and there is none, it could make it harder to obtain loans, cause defaults on loans, and loss of jobs.

Perhaps a more serious outcome is that farmers are encouraging their children to find another career. This has resulted in having six times more farmers who are 65 or older, than there are farmers 34 or under.

Lastly she mentioned pests in Kern which affect growers, who must now control their usage of pesticides, so as not to affect groundwater and the bee populations.

Tehachapi had a chance to showcase its agribusinesses.

Michele Vance, Community Development representative for the City of Tehachapi, proudly told the group about the Tehachapi Valley’s agritourism. She started with the valley’s vineyards and wine sellers.

Vance mentioned Souza’s Winery, which includes wine tasting and a gift shop, which was the first such business in the valley. The winery produces gold medal winning High Mountain Zinfandel Primitivo.

Triassic Winery was next and produces several wines, including Zinfandel and Syrah along with several whites. Viognier and Chardonnay are served there, along with the reds. The winery is also known for its Demi-Sec Private Cuvee Champagne.

She explained that the red grapes grow so well in the valley that the skins are very thick and are sold to other vintners in Paso Robles after Triassic is done using them. The other newer winery has not produced wine yet, but has become a destination wedding spot. Dorner Winery has become a destination wedding spot. The winery is booked up and is taking reservations for next year.

Several other one-acre vineyards are producing and selling their grapes to wineries and others for production with their grapes.

The valley is also known for its organically grown produce. The growers are not allowed to use pesticides that are not certified organic. Vance said they even use ladybugs to control pests.

Other growers in the area include Grimmway along Highline Road, and Sun Select working with greenhouse technology in Cummings Valley.

Farming is here to stay in Tehachapi, even featuring greenhouse growing by Sun Select.

Kelly Bearden, Director of the Small Business Development Center at CSUB, told the gathering about drones and how they are helping farmers and ranchers. The drones are being used to find lost cattle, and to photograph groves and crops. The drones can produce 3D maps of a crop in the field.

As the meeting progressed, one Mayor asked another city about some technology and how it was used. Others shared about events and growth in their communities. All spoke about their concerns for water, or the lack thereof.

Everyone left with new knowledge, and new a prospective about East Kern. You can bet each of them will go back to their communities and share what they learned . . . and history is made once again.