Hans Herkert - Rice Fields for Wildlife in California's Central Valley

Hans Herkert, a first-generation rice farmer in California’s Central Valley, and I talk quite a bit about the ways rice fields serve vital ecological functions – including raising salmon and providing temporary shorebird habitat during migration. There is an emerging awareness or recognition that ecosystem services are crucial to maintain a hospitable planet for human life, and we find ourselves in a position where we must use preservation, restoration, and biomimicry on working lands.

Coming from a small town heavily dependent on agriculture, and with extended family in the farming industry, Hans got his career started serving in a support role and then took the plunge in 2011 by acquiring a lease on a 154-acre field. The bird and wildlife benefits from rice field management were always at the top of mind for Hans, and I learned quite a bit about the evolution in California from burning rice straw after the harvest to now flooding the fields to decompose it instead. By recreating floodplains that used to exist naturally, rice farmers like Hans are providing critical wildlife habitat and building climate resiliency.

Hans and I talk about the emerging research and pilot programs attempting to value these kinds of ecosystem services, including a recent study by University of California and the California Rangeland Trust. We talk about a few conservation programs that incentivize farming practices that maximize benefits to wildlife, the potential challenges scaling up these programs, and one of the biggest challenges facing California: the demands for water. Hans is a thoughtful steward of the land and I hope you learn as much as I have from our conversation.

--- FULL EPISODE NOTES WITH LINKS @ https://truestewards.com/hans-herkert ---

--- TOPICS DISCUSSED ---

1:39 – The path from growing up in Colusa to that first lease

4:12 – Not your grandfather’s rice field – how is rice farmed today?

6:45 – The ecological impact of flooding rice fields after the harvest

7:57 – Water in the context of rice production plus the benefits in recreating floodplains that used to exist naturally

11:02 – Recent studies attempting to value these ecosystem services

12:05 – Incentive programs to increase economic feasibility of synching farming practices with benefits to wildlife

14:38 – Is there enough funding for every farmer to participate if they want to?

16:52 – Resources for people interested in these types of programs

17:37 – How Hans stays on top of current farming trends and best practices

18:17 – The demands for water in California, increasing supply through storage and conservation

22:37 – Agriculture practices not only coexist with wildlife but can allow wildlife to thrive

24:00 – Steep learning curve starting out and the importance of the business management side of things

25:44 – Failure is an opportunity to learn

27:16 – Hans suggests actions to take to learn more about these conservation efforts

28:06 – Birding in the Sacramento Valley in the winter time, after the harvest