Deborah Reitz: Conserving water while protecting our family farm

Deborah Reitz, a fourth-generation farmer, leads Davis Diversified Farms in California. Facing California’s agricultural challenges head-on, Deborah is innovating her land use and other practices to secure the farm’s future for her nephews and family generations to come. Confronting water scarcity and climate change, Deborah has integrated technology, such as solar energy, into the farm’s operations. She has installed three agricultural solar systems, and is leasing a 30-acre block, traditionally used for grapevines, for a community solar project with Dimension Energy.

“My family purchased land where I live now in 1945, during World War 2. And we’ve been here since then.

I actually live in the home my parents bought in 1945 and remodeled. I’m a 4th generation California farmer. And I have nephews that are fifth generation farmers.

I intend to keep the land in the family. My hope is that we work through this water situation and are able to keep farming.

Grapes are one of the lower water using crops, but I can take 30 acres of grapes out of production and spread my water allotment among my other fields. So that’s a real bonus to me.

Near Dimension’s solar project, we have 60 acres of pistachios, and as you may or may not know, they take a little more water than grapes, but not as much as almonds.

There’s also a block of almonds all together there and the way I have it figured, taking out 30 acres of grape production for the solar we’ll make that block self-sustaining over the next few years, if not decades. So, I think it’s a very good move for my family.

Water is driving a lot of decisions and lowering water use is one of the hot buttons right now. Utilizing farmland for solar can be beneficial because it takes land out of production and reduces the water demand in the region.

In Madera there is a program called land repurposing, and solar is one of the preferred repurposing methods.

I’m a believer in solar, I think it is a great resource that we can provide here in the valley. I actually have solar systems on my farms already, so I was an early adopter and I do believe in it. It’s a great use for the land.

Over time, it will be more useful, and as water gets more scarce I think projects like this are a super good opportunity for farmers like me to diversify.

Mother Nature has dished it all out lately. We’ve had everything from drought and excessive heat to floods; last year Cottonwood Creek broke and flooded some of my property a foot deep. We’ve had hail, so I think that covers everything but snow.

We’ve really had it all and farmers are just busy staying ahead of Mother Nature.

Most farmers don’t want to sell out. They don’t want to sell to a utility. We just want to share in this.

Leasing for solar is not as much money as we might make off a good producing block of farmland, but I think it fits with the mix of uses and that will be beneficial over the long term. That’s why I’m willing to make the move now.

I liked dealing with Robert [Hatton, Dimension Energy] from the very beginning. I liked the company, his approach. I trust in it. It’s a long-term decision – we’re going into at least a 15 year partnership or longer, and so you want to be in business with people that you enjoy working with for a very long time.

Honestly, I don’t know how some of the people that live in the valley pay their utilities with the heat and running air conditioning and running pumps for water. Our valley really does need community assistance, so community solar is a great program for everyone concerned.”

Deborah Reitz | Davis Diversified Farm

Madera County, California