Maybe, just maybe California’s nut business is getting better, Carl Evers III believes. But the wine industry may continue to stagnate for a while. And be patient with California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, he says. It may be tough for some producers short-term, but it will benefit the region, long-term.
He has a mantra for much of the agricultural industry…its challenges, solutions and future.
“Good stewardship is good business,” said Evers, AgIS Capital Director of Sustainability and Vice President of California operations.
AgIS Capital is an agricultural investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts.
Carl Evers III bio
AgIS Capital -- Director of Sustainability and Vice President of California operations
Water Education Foundation – Board member
Water Solutions Network -- Member
Hancock Natural Resource Group – Vice President, Project Manager, Regional Manager
Evers spent most of his life in California and followed his father and grandfather into agriculture. The phrase he used early in our conversation, “Good stewardship is good business,” actually came from his father, Carl Evers II.
As “Evers III” indicates, he is the third but not just in the name.
“All three of us ‘Carls’ have been in California ag,” he explained to American Farmland Owner from his office in San Luis Obispo, California.
“We all went to Cal Poly and got agribusiness degrees. And believe it or not…we even had the same academic advisor!”
Growing up, Evers III tagged along with his dad, who managed farm properties around the region of their Modesto home.
He and his wife now raise two daughters and have their own operation, a lavender farm.
RELATED: Carl Evers III was profiled in this piece for AgISCapital and explained how the outdoors is the central part of his work in agriculture, but also in his personal life and recreational activities. Read that here.
Evers III has experienced the nut industry in his home state of California and also during a two-year stint in Australia (Australian soil isn’t nearly as naturally fertile and requires much more work, he said).
Almond and walnut producers in the U.S. have struggled the past few years when exports couldn’t keep pace with the abundant supply. Evers III sees the situation improving, especially for almond producers.
“I think we’re finding the bottom of that trough,” he said.
RELATED: Farm Progress reported in June about the increased optimism for almond producers because of higher prices and increased demand. There was also more hope for pistachio growers due to higher domestic demand. However, while walnut consumption was up, it was primarily due to increased export purchases rather than from the U.S. Read that story here.
The strong U.S. dollar remains a challenge for American producers, he said, as they look for a rebound in global demand.
For wine grape growers, uncertainty remains.
He’s not so sure what will happen in the wine industry. Consumers are not drinking as much, especially younger consumers. In fact, younger people are drinking less alcohol overall. Is that cyclical? Is it a more permanent change in lifestyle?
RELATED: The Week looked at the declining demand by younger consumers for wine as they found alternative alcoholic options. The article also examined consumers’ choice to eliminate alcohol altogether. Read that here.
For Evers, though, everything comes back to his dad’s saying:
“Good stewardship is good business.”
Dependance on exports, shifting consumer demands, oversupply of product, and elevated interest rates and input costs bring stress to much of the agricultural industry.
But commitment to a farm operation’s sound financial strategy and a long-term view of what is also good for the land and water should serve as the guide, he believes.
He agreed that the word “sustainability” can become cliché, particularly for those who don’t truly believe in its principles. “If I was going to use an alternative word for ‘sustainability,’ Evers said, “I’d use ‘responsibility.’”
“In the business function I serve now, we're fiduciaries for our clients’ money and their investments, right? The sort of dangerous trap people go down is these feel-good things. Or you're doing all this extra reporting or extra effort for the sake of just saying you did it. Or you're doing it for a marketing reason. But really, look at the core of what your business is. And can this business endure?”
But he said that there is then that guidepost underscored by his dad’s lesson. “Can this business do that function with lesser impacts to society and the environment?”
Abuse the land or water, pay the price later. “Especially on a short-term hold, make some short- term decisions, maybe. But really kill the productivity of a soil, and then you're stuck with soils that are going to require high inputs…forever. I mean, once you deplete productivity of a soil, then you're stuck with those high inputs.”
“It’s kind of like doing maintenance on a car or a tractor or a piece of equipment. You can defer for a certain amount of time. Maybe you get away with skipping one oil change,” he said, “If you don't change the oil on your tractor… well, you're gonna be buying a motor.”
Lesson learned…passed down from grandfather to father to son.
