Independent farmers are selling out, said Kings County farmer Robert Smith, who grows walnuts, almonds, corn and cotton on about 1,000 acres. So, its going somewhere, Walker said. The canal company sued but couldnt immediately stop the project. Since 2009, the company has transferred or sold 102,000 acre feet of its surface water out of the county, according to records from DWR, Tulare Lake Basin Storage District and the Kern County water agency. We have an exceptional and experienced customer service and quality control team that supports our efforts and assist our customers with any questions they may have about our products. environmental, ethical and socially responsible principles and work with you to achieve the best possible outcomes for all stakeholders during the whole lifetime of our ownership, Promoting food and agribusiness products and systems that contribute to improved health and well-being, We have also made a commitment to meaningfully contribute to and find solutions in our investments to the SDGs. If we had water transfers that we know dont mesh with an approved groundwater sustainability plan, thats going to be a problem for DWRs continued approval of those transfers, Nemeth said, adding that the department will be reevaluating its transfer program to add greater oversight and transparency. California Farming Country Buckles Under COVID-19. In fact, his detractors call him the single greatest threat to Central Valley farming ever to come down the pike. California water war: San Joaquin Valley landowners battle over scarce Through Sandridge, Vidovich owns about 130,000 acres with 38,500 acres in Kern, 82,000 acres in Kings, 9,500 acres in Tulare and 300 acres in Fresno county, per ParcelQuest. There is some uncertainty by El Rico GSA with regard to this request because of the hidden nature of Sandridges operations, Wyrick wrote in the June 2020 letter. California produces 99% of all domestic walnuts. According to legal briefs filed by Tulare Lake, all the floodwater that can be put to beneficial use has been, and theres no leftover water available for Semitropic. Boswell bulldozers allowed to stay put, blocking Kings County pipeline Meanwhile, Smith hopes his young children will one day take his place on the tractor. The Fresno Bee reported the verdict against McCarthy Family Farms and San Francisco Bay Area developer John Vidovich and Sandridge Partners. Heavy equipment blockading a pipeline project from cutting through a canal was ordered removed on Friday and the pipeline project was halted temporarily by a Kings County Superior Court judge. Vidovich is, after all, a powerful landowner in the Central Valley. The fight has spilled out in public comments on the Tulare Lake Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan, which covers most of Kings County. For all its influence and power, Boswell is notoriously tight-lipped. Our stewardship and value creation track-record is unparalleled and our investing, operations and business . Though Boswell and Vidovich both have access to large shares of water, their relationship over this precious resource is downright antagonistic. She also found that Tulare Lake Canal Company did not have the right under its easement to block the pipeline with heavy equipment and ordered the tractors off the canal banks. The line will transfer well water belonging to Sandridge Partners for irrigation purposes, Andrews declaration states. They just do what they want and you have to sue to stop em, Mitchell said. Vidovich has been buying land in the Central Valley for more than 20 years. Or even to the great water bogeyman that haunts so many valley farmers Los Angeles? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); (function() { While he was just starting out, he also enlisted in the Navy and served in the reserves for six or eight years, he cant recall the exact term. Sports, Crime gcse.type = 'text/javascript'; Sunridge Partners provides patient capital, deep industry expertise and a hands-on approach to achieving outsized returns for all stakeholders. In addition to inshell and raw . He specialised in product and growth strategy projects within the consumer and food space. Because, while he does farm thousands of acres of pistachios, almonds and grapes, many believe the only harvest Vidovich is truly interested in is water. But comments made during a hearing Monday on Sandridges restraining order pulled back the curtain on the real concern. Sandridge - Wikipedia Whether those pipes end on Vidovich lands or Resnicks is hard to know. Boswell has refused requests to answer questions about the companys water moves including how much it pumps. The sale is still considered a blow to Kings' water portfolio by other farmers. John Vidovich - President for De Anza Building & Maintenance The boundaries of that service area, however, have yet to be determined. Later, Page would run for and win a seat on the Kern County Water Agency board. Angiola agreed not to pump more than 36,000 acre feet a year, or more than 130,000 acre feet in any consecutive five-year period. He has let large swaths of his 100,000+ acres in Kings County go fallow in order to move groundwater to more productive land, typically fields he owns in the Dudley Ridge Water District, in western Kings County. Less surface water creates a greater need to pump from underground, which lowers the water table for all users. Lukas works across all aspects of the firm from business development to portfolio company operations. LOIS HENRY: Water fight between 2 of Valley's largest growers heads to He was semi-retired living in Clovis when another Kings County farmer, Pat McCarthy not Vidovich called him to do some work for Angiola. Work with nature; dont fight it, Avila said repeatedly. Vidovich, he said, is just the new water baron on the block, thats all. The truth, as always, probably lies somewhere in between. His pumping and movement of groundwater out of its home district has also landed him in a dubious spotlight, according to media reports. - John Vidovich, owner of Sandridge Partners. Michael is seasoned agribusiness investment and business development professional with more than a decade of experience. Attorneys for the Tulare Lake Canal Company, controlled by the giant J.G. Everyone else is leaving.. What is clear is that over the past 12 years, Boswell and Sandridge have moved a combined 239,000 acre feet of State Water Project water out of Kings County all with approval from the states Department of Water Resources (DWR). Local Education The fight between the Tulare Lake Canal Company, controlled by the J.G. But when the Kings does flood, as its doing now, millions of acre feet rush north to join up with the San Joaquin River and empty into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Kings County passes law to keep its groundwater from being sold beyond Local First off, Hurley said, hes not Vidovichs henchman. nor its destination. We welcome you to contact us to discuss how we might partner to create mutually beneficial opportunities in the agribusiness sector. Stephen Vidovich died in 2007, at the age of 81, driving a tractor near one of his remaining vineyards. Karen isnt the only one who feels this way. Nor for the man who runs it, John Vidovich, nor for his current pipeline project that will move water from various places in Kings County to various other undisclosed locations. Im a small guy over here and the big-time guys, well I thought they were big at 10,000 acres, even theyre selling out.. The SDGs where we. Kings County Can Prosecute Woman in Fetus Death Case Over Becerra Objection, Proposed Agreement Could Boost Funds To Fix Friant-Kern Canal. Ultimately, he said, even if Boswell and Sandridge did move all their state water out of Kings County, its a fairly minor loss to the county. Hugues Marchand is an investment professional with more than 15 years of principal investing experience, primarily in the infrastructure sector across Europe, North America and Africa. Most recently, Muriel started and successfully built her own hospitality business. If the State Water Resources Control Board determines that the Kings River Water Association isnt fully using its water rights, it could give those rights away. A trial date has been set for December 2022. Strafford PUD attorney Ray Carlson said during the hearing that the district had been in very preliminary talks with Sandridge about the future possibility of moving its wastewater through the pipeline. Boswell has been woven into the fabric of Kings County since its founder, James Griffin Boswell, first set foot on the old Tulare Lake bed 100 years ago and envisioned a cotton empire. This is privately owned water being moved on private land, Whitney said, warning that requiring an irrigation pipeline to undergo CEQA review could impact irrigation projects on a wide scale throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Where is the water going? - Center for Collaborative Investigative SANCHEZ VS VIDOVICH ET AL - UniCourt Under his leadership, Buena Vista has installed a pipeline system to reduce reliance on canals, which lose a lot of water to seepage and the district has become extremely active in buying up land for water banking. Yeah, hes got a lot of money and hes been buying up land, makes some people nervous, Page said. Kings County judge orders both sides to neutral corners in Boswell The project would consist of a small reservoir, more like short-term storage cells, along the California Aqueduct just north of Kettleman City where floodwater off the south fork of the Kings River would be captured. Hurley, who also serves as general manager of Green Valley, said that basin, which is separate from the Tulare Lake basin, is actually in balance. They have the original 1881 homestead certificate signed by a secretary in the James Garfield administration for 80 acres southeast of Lemoore, where they still live and farm. However, Vidovich has been somewhat of a welcome presence to some in Kings County. })(); Ghana Business News Copyright 2022, All Rights Reserved, Inside the News by Mpakoo All pieces appearing in this column are satire. I did sell water out of Kings County to an urban user and people didnt like it, Vidovich said. Second, Im a farmer, Vidovich says. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Kings and Tulare farmers and water managers want to know. If they pass a law saying I cant sell it, then I cant sell it. Carol provides administrative support to the Team and ensures that the office runs smoothly. His strategy has always been to use about 30% of his land for farming and 70% for its water. 2022 by Sunridge Partners (UK) LLP. All the rest of that stuff its just jealousy and innuendo, jealousy and innuendo, jealousy and innuendo.. Its an unusual letter and I was surprised to see it, Chrissakis added. But this much he knows certain groundwater wells in the county are running practically year round, even in wet years.
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