Stanislaus County’s young farmers are switching to sustainable practices. Here’s how

Flint McGrath didn’t grow up on a farm, but memories of enjoying fresh eggs and goat milk from his childhood home have sparked a desire to explore farming.

“The excitement of springtime and planting something and seeing it come up, it’s like a living lab,” McGrath, a junior at CSU Stanislaus, said.

While the number of farmers is declining, there remain young individuals interested in pursuing careers in agriculture. And their focus is increasingly directed toward implementing sustainable farming practices.

According to the USDA Agriculture Census for California, Stanislaus County lost 166 farms and 37,401 acres of farmland between 2017 and 2022. The county also had 1,733 new producers and 533 young producers in 2022, with the average age of a producer being 58.

McGrath, who is studying agricultural business, works at the Sustainable Garden at Stanislaus State and has been taking classes on sustainable agriculture. He’s done some gardening and farming projects at his family home in Mariposa, where they raise chickens and goats, and is considering working on a farm someday.

Alie Scott, McGrath’s college professor, teaches sustainable agriculture and tree fruit management and said there’s a great need for more farmers. She’s noticed that the younger generation has more of a willingness to break from traditional farming into more sustainable practices, such as water conservation and crop rotation

Returning to the farm

After working in public relations in Los Angeles, Mark Avilla, 36, felt burned out. His dad recommended he come back to their family farm in Modesto to help out.

He’s been farming walnuts with them now for nine years. He is also the District 13 representative on the California Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers committee, where he communicates ideas and concerns between state and local levels.

Growing up, Avilla didn’t know many farmers. Most of the people his age that he knew were studying for a career in agriculture but not necessarily farming.

He’s also aware that not as many young people are becoming farmers, because they are pursing higher paying jobs or due to the barriers to entry.

“I don’t want to contribute to that statistic of another child that leaves the farm because they think it’s hopeless or they find a better opportunity off the farm,” said Avilla.

Thomas Fantozzi, 30, a fourth-generation farmer from Patterson, who works on Fantozzi Farms, said most of his peers growing up became farmers or remained in agriculture in one way or another.

He’s noticed that the younger generation is more cognizant of the benefits of sustainable agriculture.

More young farmers, for example, are talking to legislators about public policy or sharing their stories on social media.

Transitioning into sustainable practices

Avilla said he’s been using more sustainable practices, such as using less water and no tillage. He said the sprinkler system on his farm uses between 25%-50% of the water of traditional flood irrigation. Drip irrigation uses even less, about 10%.

One strategy, he said, is called precision agriculture and leverages technologies, like drones and self-driving tractors, for the more efficient use of land, water, fuel, fertilizer and pesticides. A bill was passed last year to expedite training for precision agriculture.

Fantozzi also has been cutting back on synthetic fertilizers, planting cover crops and building up organic matter.

In Scott’s class, students learn sustainable farming techniques through hands-on experience in the Sustainable Garden on campus, including methods for weed management without pesticides.

She said the majority of her students are aspiring farmers or intend to pursue careers as pest control advisers, offering guidance on agricultural practices and strategies for pest eradication and prevention.

As farming techniques have evolved over the years, certain methods once deemed OK, such as the use of chemical fertilizers, now are proven to be detrimental to soil health, Scott said.

“It took that time to realize,” Scott said. “Not saying that they were doing it wrong, because we didn’t know.”

Barriers to farming

Scott said one issue with transitioning into sustainable farming is the lack of a proper definition or certification. While farmers can apply for certification that allows them to sell, label and represent their products as organic, there isn’t such an equivalent system for sustainably grown products.

Transitioning into more sustainable farming also can be costly. Sustainable farming isn’t always financially viable, Scott said.

Fantozzi said it’s difficult to be a farmer right now with interest rates and land prices, especially if you don’t have a family that’s already in the business.

As a farmer, you also wear a lot of hats, which makes it hard to keep up with regulations coming out of the state, he added.

“For me, that’s certainly a difficulty but it’s not a deterrent because I’d like to do it as long as I can be doing it,” Fantozzi said.

California has been supportive in incentivizing the transition, by offering grants and loans to farmers looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This can help fund agricultural harvesting equipment, heavy-duty trucks, tractors and other equipment used in agricultural operations.

Still, it takes time to reap the financial benefits of sustainable farming.

“In the realm of agriculture, I mean a lot of that is people trying to make it day to day, pay for the kid’s college,” said McGrath. “They’re gonna do what makes financial sense.”