The Weight of Experience
Three days later, I arrived back at the walnut farm near Brentwood. The farm, which had felt so heavy with gloom last time, seemed to have found a bit of vitality. Most of all, there appeared to be a slight sense of relief in the expressions of the workers.
Frederick waved first, and beside him, Brandon stood waiting with his hat pulled low over his eyes.
"Brian, you're right on time."
"Let's take a look around first."
We walked through the south-facing slope area, which had been the worst hit. As I had instructed last time, partial shading nets had been installed over the tops of the fruits, allowing the sunlight to filter through and diffuse softly. Micro-irrigation nozzles were installed at regular intervals beneath the canopy, and they were angled slightly upward to spray a fine mist across the undersides of the leaves.
"I readjusted the nozzle angles yesterday evening," Brandon explained first.
"Good. And the water temperature check?"
"We put a shade cloth over the reservoir and are only drawing water in the morning to let it cool before using it."
"Well done."
I took out an infrared thermometer and measured the temperatures inside the canopy and on the surface of the fruits. Last time, the fruit surface temperature had been 6 to 8 degrees Celsius higher than the inside of the canopy, but today, that difference had narrowed to 2 to 3 degrees. I hung a terminal under the canopy to check the humidity, which read 62%.
"It's hard to call it 'comfortable' just yet, but it feels much better, doesn't it?"
Frederick let out a quiet breath and nodded.
"I didn't pay enough attention, and this is what happened. I thought the workers would naturally teach Brandon what he needed to know... but even though they had been told why I occasionally prepared things according to the temperature, they hadn't remembered the reasons themselves. So, naturally, they had nothing to tell Brandon."
Perhaps feeling embarrassed by that admission, Brandon turned his head away. He knew that while the workers were partly at fault, he was the one most responsible for the current state of affairs.
"...I can see how that would happen. For the workers, they were just following orders, so they wouldn't have felt the need to memorize the 'why'."
"Since this is his first time experiencing something like this, Brandon must be quite flustered."
"That's true. He'll do well. We learn by making mistakes."
It was likely true that Brandon had been feeling impatient. After all, his younger sister, Chloe, had taken over a 70-acre farm while taking on a loan of over a million dollars. He must have wanted to show something for himself, and seeing things go this way must have made him even more anxious.
"I hope Brandon feels the same way, but... well, I've experienced a few things in my life. Some people learn lessons from failure, while others gain nothing at all. How many people do you think started farming around the same time as me?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure?"
"There were four of us, including myself, who started cherry farming in Brentwood. Like you and Chloe's friends, I had friends of my own. One of them was already a cherry farmer, and two others started with government loans and support. But only two of us are still farming today."
"Oh..."
"One friend and I survived, while the other two sold their farms and left. We were all here in Brentwood, experiencing the same heatwaves and pest damage, but the problem was what happened afterward. My friend and I prepared for the crisis, while the others had no plan at all. I hope Brandon doesn't end up like the friends who left this place, but things don't always go the way I want."
The fact that he was saying this while Brandon was standing right next to him showed just how much he wanted his son not to miss the lesson in this experience.
"So that's why you were planning to sell the farm."
"That's right. In a way, yes. I thought it might be better for Brandon to invest his assets in financial products and work a salaried job at a company rather than farming. The same went for Chloe. But Chloe has now become a farmer I can trust. My goodness... have you been to the pear orchard Chloe built?"
"Of course."
Frederick shrugged his shoulders with a proud smile.
"I had no idea my daughter was that diligent and capable. She completely transformed the tomato field and filled all 70 acres with pear saplings; seeing that was truly moving. Ah, enough of my rambling. I must be getting old, I'm becoming quite talkative."
"Haha, not at all."
He waved his hand and started walking toward the east block. It took about 20 minutes of chatting before we arrived, and looking at the trees here, perhaps because it was less sheltered from the wind, the edges of the leaves were still dry, and lesions were spreading like dots on the tips of the fruits. Some of the fruits at the ends of the branches were already beyond saving.
I grabbed a handful of soil and rubbed it. The particles crumbled easily and scattered like dust between my fingers.
"This block shows signs of moisture just sitting on the surface. The soil organic matter content is too low to hold it."
Brandon asked cautiously.
"I thought this would be fine... can we save it?"
"You have to save what you can, and quickly give up on what you can't."
I took a wrench and spanner from the toolbox next to the tractor and went to the micro-irrigation line. I lowered the nozzle positions by two notches and fine-tuned the angles again. I wanted the mist to graze the undersides of the leaves and scatter thinly over the fruits. If the water droplets were too large when sprayed, it would trap more radiant heat, so atomization was crucial.
"Now, run this for only 20 minutes each at 10:15 AM and 3:10 PM. If you run it longer, the roots will be drinking hot water."
"Got it."
Brandon immediately wrote down the notes.
"Next, we need to prepare for foliar application. Foliar application is a method of spraying nutrients directly onto the surface of the leaves for the plant to absorb. If you dilute calcium sulfate (CaSO₄) and magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄) at a low concentration and spray it on the leaves, it helps slow down the transpiration rate of the leaf tissue, which helps the plant cool itself. Above all, calcium firms up the cell walls of the fruit skin, providing resistance against heat and disease stress."
He didn't seem to understand the technical details, but Brandon was quick with his hands, scribbling it all into his notebook.
"Spray this entire block before sunset today, at the concentration I've marked. Tomorrow morning, do the east block, and the day after, the north block, in that order."
"Should I connect the spraying equipment to the tractor?"
"Yes. Do it when the wind is calm. The spraying angle should be 10 degrees above horizontal."
Pest control is best done at dawn. We took out the pheromone traps stacked in the garage and installed them at regular intervals at the height of the tree crowns. The immediate priority was to reduce the number of egg-laying adults; Brandon understood that the chemicals wouldn't reach the larvae that had already burrowed inside.
"Start the insecticide spray at five tomorrow morning. Finish before sunrise. Use the first round of chemicals exactly as listed, and for the second round, you must switch to Alternate Spraying."
"Do you know what Alternate Spraying is?"
When Frederick asked, Brandon hesitated. Seeing this, Frederick felt frustrated but explained it slowly.
"It's a method of alternating between different types of pesticides. If you only spray one type of insecticide, only the individuals with genetic resistance that aren't killed by that chemical will survive and reproduce."
"Ah... I understand."
While Brandon went off to give instructions to the workers, Frederick spoke.
"I think we're going to take a big loss on the walnut harvest this year. But, well, that is farming. We grow various crops precisely to prepare for situations like this."
While corporate farms often grow a single variety on a massive scale, most family-run farms do not. It's a risk management strategy to prepare for unexpected disasters like this.
"Humans have always developed by overcoming crises like this. Think of it positively. You've provided an experience that will help Brandon grow."
"That's how I'm trying to look at it. In that sense..."
Frederick looked at me with expectant eyes. I knew what he was going to ask.
"Are you hoping for my help with the walnut farming as well?"
"When you helped with the cherry farming, some of it I had heard of, but there were methods I had never even imagined. Surely there are things like that for walnut farming, too?"
I nodded.
"There are, yes."
"Really?"
His eyes sparkled.
"But as expected, it requires a lot of investment and changes in many areas. And crucially, while I can maximize profits for cherries by making wine, walnuts have many difficulties in that regard."
"Hmm... that is true. That must be a weakness inherent to the walnut variety itself."
"Exactly. Even if we try something like walnut oil..."
"Walnut oil?"
"Yes. The farm owner has to do the branding themselves, so it would be a heavy burden. I can help, but because of the limitations inherent to walnut farming itself, my help might not be enough to trigger a decisive turnaround."
"Hmm... I see."
If it were almonds, something might be different, but walnuts still had a long way to go. Even if I improved the profitability, if I took 30% of those profits, the actual increase in his net gain wouldn't be that significant, so I drew a line.
Frederick seemed to understand what I left unsaid, nodding with a stiff expression.
"I'll have to think about this deeply."
"Yes."
He had moved from simply passing the farm to his son to now considering the future as well; he clearly had a lot to ponder.
The Annual Grower Meeting hosted by the Sonoma County Winegrowers was similar to previous years. The conference hall was unusually crowded, and farm owners from the Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Green Valley, and elsewhere were seated in rows.
On the screen, the phrase Sustainability in Practice, The Future of Sonoma Pinot Noir was displayed, and items like vineyard sustainability, varietal diversity, contract renewals, and water shortage countermeasures were on the agenda.
Elias Grendel was standing at the table at the back of the hall where coffee and pastries were laid out. He believed that for meetings like this, it shouldn't be an old man like himself, but young farm owners who should be stepping up to take the lead.
Just then, a low, heavy voice came from behind him.
"Mr. Grendel!"
As he turned his head slowly, he saw Mark Harrington in a gray suit with a burgundy tie, wearing a refined smile. As always, he projected an air of dignity and ease.
"Mark, you came too."
"I couldn't miss an event like this. Especially since interest in Pinot Noir has exploded since the movie Sideways, hasn't profitability increased as well? No one could afford to miss this year. Oh, right! I heard that this is the year the contract for the largest block of your farm ends."
Elias offered a wry smile at Mark's words, as if he had just remembered, despite having contacted his farm several times already.
"That is true."
"If it hasn't been contracted yet, how about selling the grapes from that block to us? I will ensure they are showcased with the highest quality so that the reputation of your farm's grapes remains untarnished."
"Hmm..."
"It has pained me that you stopped selling grapes to our winery some time ago. Surely you aren't still holding onto the past, are you? By the way, have you heard any news about Daniel?"
"That boy is probably doing just fine."
Mark nodded at the dry response.
"I see. In any case, if it hasn't been contracted yet..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Elias replied calmly.
"I'm afraid the contract for that block has already been finalized."
"Ah... is that so?"
To the disappointed Mark, Elias said with a faint smile on his lips.
"I decided to hand it over to a winery I'm quite looking forward to."
For a moment, Mark's expression faltered.
"If you don't mind me asking... where?"
"Do you know of Redwood Winery?"
As soon as the name Redwood was mentioned, an undisguised unpleasantness clouded Mark's expression.
"I know of them. Redwood..."