Farmers in California are trying to plant crops that don't require a lot of water. Some are turning to growing agave as a response to a warming state.
Year-round wildfires, rising sea levels, scorching heat — we’re already experiencing the impacts. How much worse it gets remains to be seen, but there's hope — and a lot we can do.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.Most of the United States' fruits and nuts, like avocados and almonds, come from California.
Rodriguez's two acres of agave are possible in part because of California's climate. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls California the most agriculturally productive state in the country. In past years, though, the state has seen some of its mainstay crops struggle amid historic drought conditions. Agave, however, can withstand hotter and drier conditions.. That number has increased to over 200. Interest also led to the formation of the California Agave Council in 2022.
Agaves, however, can take the heat. They're easy to maintain and don't need a lot of water. Craig Reynolds, founder of the California Agave Council, compares the plant with almonds: While almonds need about 48 inches of water per acre per year, agaves need only 3 inches. Reynolds says this is why he sees great potential in the plant.
Guzmán-Delgado is a researcher with the recently formed UC Davis Agave Center. She is looking specifically at how different species of agave grow throughout California. The goal, she says, is to identify best practices for growing the plant in a place where temperatures can swing from intense heat to extreme cold.
It's work Chavez loves. He grew up in Tonaya, a town in Jalisco that calls itself the Land of Mezcal. Many of the family members he knew growing up were agave farmers, orChavez feels most at peace when he's tending to the agave, he says in Spanish:"That's when you calm down, see the plants, see what needs to be done, and I have a lot of fun with that."on the approximately 8 acres he leases from Muller Ag. It takes around seven years before the crop is ready to be harvested.
"The plan is to see what happens next and, if we see there's a future, dedicate ourselves completely to the agave," says Rodriguez in Spanish."Agave spirits" differentiates California's product from mezcal or tequila, both monikers that are attached to the regions in Mexico where they're produced . "I would say four to five years," Venus says."There's going to be a lot of it available as the farmers that are just getting into it right now are getting mature plants."
Distillers and growers take shots of agave spirit made by a California distiller alongside mounds of piñas laid out on blue tarps by a stone-lined earthen pit.
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