(See sidebar online.). We are driven by agribusiness experts, with hands-on sector specific investment, operations, and business development expertise. However, state and water district records indicate the Boswell and Sandridge water is largely staying in the valley. To do that, the state requires each area to form Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) to account for whats going in and coming out of the aquifer. His nephew spun the company into a $2.5 billion international farming and development powerhouse. After Vidovich sold his Dudley Ridge state water, Pace said he drilled several wells in Green Valley, built a pipeline across I-5 and took the valleys groundwater to keep his Dudley Ridge trees alive. 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. The fight between the Tulare Lake Canal Company, controlled by the J.G. Water from Angiola Water District will also be moved in the line, according to a declaration by Angiola General Manager Mark Grewal. The 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno has overturned a $73.4 million verdict against McCarthy Family Farms and Bay Area developer John Vidovich and Sandridge Partners involving a land. The judge made a partial ruling in June that long standing river agreements do allow river owners to move water within the service area. When asked if he applies the skills he learned in his military intelligence training to his life today, he answers that we all use the things we learn through life. For his part, Vidovich said the issue isnt about water transfers, its about over-pumping. It just doesnt look very good for us right now, Smith said. SunnyGem is the one-stop-shop for your almond needs, packing and shipping California varieties worldwide. The title Baron Sandridge was given to Churchill by James II in 1685, and was his first English peerage title (his earlier title, Baron Eyemouth, had been created in 1682 by James . The titans behind the comments are J.G. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Its happened before, he said, up in Green Valley, which is west of Interstate 5 and a few miles north of the Kern County line. There are often laws binding it to a basin. He was previously also a consultant for Bayer Crop Science and BASF Agriculture in Seeds and Traits with a focus on Wheat. And Kings County doesnt have an ordinance against moving groundwater outside its borders. And its that groundwater part of Semitropics agreement with Vidovich that is raising hackles along with eyebrows. Our accomplished team, with decades of agricultural investing, development and operating expertise across the globe, helps companies achieve their fullest potential. Theres so many canals and ways it can move; its hard to track, he said. Both letters, andone submitted by the Angiola Water District, also controlled by Vidovich, stop short of asking DWR to find the plan inadequate. Will this pipeline move water out of Kings County to farmers in Kern County? Those are just some of the indirect costs attached to moving large amounts of water out of a region, Zetland said. Both entities are large growers in Kern County as well. Those figures dont include recent land purchases hes made in the Kern Delta Water District and Fresno Irrigation District both areas Sandridge is targeting for even more land purchases because of its solid rights to the Kern and San Joaquin rivers. The Kings River Water Association, including the Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District, where Boswell is the majority landowner, are fighting the plan saying all available water is already being used. California produces 99% of all domestic walnuts. He Toppled Vince McMahon. Muriel started her career in the US as a personal assistant and then, 14 years was an Executive Assistant working with a large team at Eurostar International. It wanted an operating agreement and hefty insurance coverage. So, its going somewhere, Walker said. Theyve (Vidovich and Hurley) been way out front on SGMA, Mitchell said. But the service area boundaries have yet to be determined. Everyone else is just pumping and pumping, he said. First off, Hurley said, hes not Vidovichs henchman. 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. 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. 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). Groundwater agencies up and down the San Joaquin Valley had to file plans with the Department of Water Resources earlier this year showing how they will bring the areas seriously depleted aquifers into balance by 2040 per the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Our unique focus on food and agriculture, allows us to better understand particular agribusiness needs faster and have in-depth sector and sub-sector expertise bringing solutions to your business. Hes a 61-year-old developer who grew up on a farm in Sunnyvale in the heart of what would become the Silicon Valley. Previously, Ben spent three years working with Boston Consulting Group as a Senior Associate in London and Melbourne. Mitchell agreed, giving Vidovich credit for seeing where groundwater laws were headed before anyone else. Vidovich says the animus against him goes back to his 2009 sale of State Water Project (SWP) contract rights tied to land he owned in the Dudley Ridge Water District in Kings County. Philipp holds a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.. Not a chance. Most recently, Muriel started and successfully built her own hospitality business. The elder Vidovich built a regional real estate powerhouse, which the younger Vidovich grew into a statewide empire. Hes now the president of that powerful panel. A trial date has been set for December 2022. 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At face value, the Tulare Lake Canal Company is simply making sure a construction project doesnt harm its current or future operations. In addition to inshell and raw natural almonds, a state of the art processing facility provides manufacturing and roasting to your specifications. My dad said it from day one, hed rather own all the water than all the gold in the ground, Smith said. Farmers in Giant Game of SGMA Dodgeball, Groundwater Plan Could Give Corcoran More of a Sinking Feeling, one submitted by the Angiola Water District, previous story about the Tulare Lake Subbasin groundwater plan, Westlands Again Is Eyeing San Joaquin River Water. The Tulare Lake Subbasin groundwater plan references the subsidence and recognizes its a problem, Southwest Kings GSAs letter states. Not one acre foot, he insisted. There is some uncertainty by El Rico GSA with regard to this request because of the hidden nature of Sandridges operations. Both GSAs, along with three others in the Tulare Lake subbasin, submitted a single joint groundwater plan. A trial date has been set for December 2022. This article published earlier by our partners Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ) is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), California Health Report, CCIJ, Circle of Blue, Colorado Public Radio, Columbia Insight, The Counter, High Country News, New Mexico In Depth and SJV Water. Sandridge filed for a restraining order. Attorneys for Sandridge and Angiola argued the pipeline isnt an Angiola project as it lies outside the districts boundaries. But the size of farms increased 14.5% from an average 559 acres to 640 acres. nor its destination. It shows something about the thought process that we dont usually get to see, she said, wondering if the letter is a kind of smoking gun that exposes the true intent of the pipeline as a public project thats being hidden.. When contacted in December by SJV Water about this new pipeline, Vidovich wouldnt say what type of water it would carry (groundwater? The purpose of the pipeline is irrelevant, said Sandridge Attorney Marshall Whitney. Vidovich, meanwhile, is accusing Boswell-backed groundwater agencies of dragging their feet on pumping reductions to the point their actions could sink the small, rural town of Corcoran up to another 11 feet. The difference, according to Vidovich, is Sandridge is letting some of its Kings County lands go fallow, while, he says, Boswell is pumping additional groundwater to continue farming its Kings County acreage. Ben holds a BComm in Economics and Finance with first class honours (Deans list) from the University of Melbourne and a BCompSc in Computer Science with first class honours from Monash University. Zakaria: These Revolutions May Help India Really Take off at Last, Future of California at Risk if CEQA Environmental Law Remains Unchanged, NBA Playoffs: Star-Studded Round 2 Has Big Names, Intense Rivalries. His operation is extensive and very smart.. The line will transfer well water belonging to Sandridge Partners for irrigation purposes, Andrews declaration states. SunnyGem is the one-stop-shop for your almond needs, packing and shipping California varieties worldwide. The association contends that even though those lands are in the county, they are beyond whats considered the rivers service area. And river water cannot be taken outside that service area, according to the lawsuit. Legally? We are at the forefront of investing in and operating food and agricultural companies in a way that is truly sustainable, or ideally even regenerative. But he did pass and was admitted to the bar in 1980 at the age of 24. Levees were built in 1983 to protect Corcoran from Kings River floodwater. Vidovich says his quote was clipped and sewn back together to make it sound bad. Farming runs deep in the blood of growers like Jeff and Karen Gilcrease. Combined, the two companies control close to 90,000 acre feet of the total 140,600 acre feet of contracted state water. While at Sunridge Partners, Philipp was also the interim CEO for one of its portfolio businesses. A judge found this past March that the initiative was flawed because Vidovich used his own project description instead of the neutral description by the Cupertino city attorney. It doesnt make economic sense. Independent farmers are selling out, said Kings County farmer Robert Smith, who grows walnuts, almonds, corn and cotton on about 1,000 acres. Related Story: Westlands Again Is Eyeing San Joaquin River Water. Its a decimal point, Vidovich said of state water amounts compared to what farmers use from rivers and groundwater. He became more involved with De Anza, working with his dad, whom he describes as bigger than life.. Our goal is to supply the highest quality almonds, at competitive prices, to customers worldwide. The SDGs where we. We are a specialist agribusiness investment group, with deep industry expertise and hands-on operating experience, helping mid-sized food and agriculture companies grow to become clear industry leaders. Vidovich, he said, is just the new water baron on the block, thats all. As far as Walker knows, no agency, city or county board is trying to figure out whats really happening. The district has already paid him $40 million for an easement, or right of way, on that land and signed an agreement with him for how the project would operate. The sprawling Semitropic Water Storage District in Kern County wants Kings River flood water that it says current rights holders are letting flow to the ocean in heavy precipitation years. At Sunridge Partners, Hugues has also been CFO of a portfolio business. Gianquinto and Vidovich have repeatedly said that it would be nearly impossible for an individual to use state facilities to create a private water market using any water, let alone groundwater. All rights reserved. Page said Vidovich is a tough businessman but thats all. From that perspective, it becomes massively economically inefficient, said Zetland. Vidovich says he uses that Angiola groundwater to farm in Dudley Ridge, so the groundwater isnt leaving its home basin. Though Vidovich didnt feel state water movement would substantially impact Kings County farming, he still predicted farming will shrink there. Philipp Saumweber is an experienced principal investor and operator in the agriculture sector, which he has worked in for over a decade and has deployed capital across the agricultural value chain in Europe, North America and Australasia. Vidovich is, after all, a powerful landowner in the Central Valley. Often an equal amount of water splits south, wreaking havoc on farmland in the old Tulare Lake bottom, about 60 miles northwest of Bakersfield. For the portions that can be tracked through state and other water district records, the water is mostly flowing south to Kern County, much of it from Kings Countys two largest and most powerful farming operations J.G.
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