In one battle, the Kings River Water Association, where Boswell is a major rights holder, is suing Tulare Lake Reclamation District 761 and Sandridge Partners, run by Vidovich, for shipping its Kings River water to lands it owns in western Kings County. Whos Responsible for Farm Towns Multibillion Dollar Sinking? SunnyGem is the one-stop-shop for your almond needs, packing and shipping California varieties worldwide. Now Boswell is. The canal company sued but couldnt immediately stop the project. Our farming company, Sandridge Partners, farms thousands of acres of almonds each year in the central region of California providing an ever-increasing supply of almonds. Home | DMCA | SJV Content Use | Contact, Copyright 2022 SJV Water. No way, according to Vidovich and his longtime associates. His operation is extensive and very smart.. Vidovich made an offer on the land and Page took it. 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. Water is our blood, he said, and theyre stealing it.. Sunridge Partners (UK), LLP (FRN: 821518) is an Appointed Representative of Kroll Securities Limited, (FRN: 466588) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. gcse.src = 'https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=' + cx; Attorneys for Sandridge and Angiola argued the pipeline isnt an Angiola project as it lies outside the districts boundaries. He started buying consistently in Kern, Kings and Tulare counties throughout the early and mid-2000s and continues to add properties sometimes at a blistering pace. It is also tasked with reviewing groundwater plans under the states Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), passed in 2014. Its principals and employees are rarely quoted in the media. Resnick also has lands just south of the Kings/Kern county line in Lost Hills and many of Vidovichs detractors believe thats where a lot of that Angiola groundwater is going. His pumping and movement of groundwater out of its home district has also landed him in a dubious spotlight, according to media reports. None of that has been discussed yet, he stressed. Attorneys for the Tulare Lake Canal Company, controlled by the giant J.G. Ive seen a lot of people come and go out here. Water moves remembered It will likely never be forgotten that Vidovich sold the rights to 14,000 acre-feet of State. Because the urban places would pay a hell of a lot of money for it. Combined, the two companies control close to 90,000 acre feet of the total 140,600 acre feet of contracted state water. In fact, Vidovich frequently moves water by pipeline, Pace said, pointing to a massive line Vidovich installed that appears to take Angiola groundwater through his Dudley Ridge lands. Through Sandridge, Vidovich owns about 130,000 acres with 38,500 acres in Kern, 82,000 acres in Kings, 9,500 acres in Tulare and 300 acres in Fresno county, per ParcelQuest. If we had water transfers that we know dont mesh with an approved groundwater sustainability plan, thats going to be a problem for DWRs continued approval of those transfers, Nemeth said, adding that the department will be reevaluating its transfer program to add greater oversight and transparency. Angiola also doesnt own any water. Four years ago, Dudley sold several thousand acre-feet of its annual State Water Project contract to. Meet the water baron you (likely) haven't heard of - The San Joaquin John Lewis plc, 171 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5NN. That shadow drove him to work hard in an effort to be useful to De Anza. 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. Indeed, as president of the board, Vidovich has a great deal of influence in directing much of the water districts business. Weve all seen it, said walnut farmer Steve Walker. You dont know the purpose of this pipeline, Tulare Lake Canal Company attorney Leonard Herr told the judge. You may have never heard of John Vidovich, but his impact on the day-to-day life of the average southern San Joaquin Valley farmer is difficult to be understated. In fact, his detractors call him the single greatest threat to Central Valley farming ever to come down the pike. SJV Water is a nonprofit, independent online news publication covering water in the San Joaquin Valley. We lose entrepreneurs. Digging a new well can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and as each farmer chases water deeper into the earth, it not only pushes others to go deeper, it undermines expensive efforts to recharge the aquifer. Between March and May of this year, 25 new sales were recorded in Kern alone, according to ParcelQuest, a web service that tracks real estate deals by county. In the meantime, Boswell and Vidovich have brought their concerns to Californias DWR, which oversees transfers involving state water. In addition to inshell and raw natural almonds, a state of the art processing facility provides manufacturing and roasting to your specifications. Not according to Jeoff Wyrick, Chairman of the El Rico GSA, the largest GSA in the Tulare Lake Subbasin. The titans behind the comments are J.G. Water that he will take, critics fear, and eventually sell to Southern California cities. Typically, irrigation pipelines taking water from one portion of a farmers land to another dont require permitting. However, during testimony in the states Kings River proceeding, Boswell employee Mark Unruh said the company irrigates nearly year-round, from late October through the summer. The Water Board began holding hearings on the issue this past summer. Sandridge Partners plans new beef processing plant | John Lindt Mitchell agreed, giving Vidovich credit for seeing where groundwater laws were headed before anyone else. She commenced her career working administratively for a medium sized American oil company until it was bought by BHP Billiton, where she continued as Executive Assistant running the London office of the Chairman & CEO. Boswell bulldozers allowed to stay put, blocking Kings County pipeline Based in Los Altos, California, De Anza Properties is a collaborative, nationwide firm owned and operated by its Principals. In terms of special enforcement to shut things down, thats not what SGMA provides to the department, she said. Welcome to Kings County, where water wars still rage both in and outside the courthouse and often have deeper currents than what appears in legal papers. It just doesnt look very good for us right now, Smith said. At issue? Even if he has access to the California Aqueduct, Vidovich would have to jump through a lot of state hoops to move water independently of Semitropic. Carol provides administrative support to the Team and ensures that the office runs smoothly. David Avila is a talkative 75-year-old of Portuguese ancestry whose family first came to California in the 1840s and has been farming in the Hanford area since around 1900. John Vidovich, ultimately, followed in his fathers footsteps after obtaining a law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. At this point, he said, he uses about 30 percent of his land for farming and 70 percent for water. Their concern is where Vidovich is taking the groundwater. Sandridge filed a restraining order to have the excavators, bulldozers and trucks removed but Kings County Superior Court Judge Valerie Chrissakis denied that request on Thursday. After all, Vidovich, water and pipelines have a history in Kings County. Local Education . They get some water from the Kings River but rely mostly on groundwater. Buttonwillow, California Search Background Check Sandridge Partners, L.P. Business Data 19087 Milan Rd, Buttonwillow, California, 93206 (408) 738-4444 AllBiz Business Profile Background Search FAQ's about John Vidovich Where does John Vidovich work? In 2017, he made news again for his part in a plan to take Kings River flood water out of the county an effort thats still ongoing. . Sandridge Partners, L.P. Company Profile | Los Altos, CA | Competitors Vidovich owns the property in question, and he is well known in Valley circles. 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. You put 20 straws in it, it dont take very long.. strategic advisory firm. Boswell repeatedly declined requests for interviews on this story. Water is a key variable smaller farmers have little to no control over. He often points out that water districts, which oversee water allocations and maintain infrastructure, are public entities, and the public has a right to information, as he told SJV Water in an interview for this story. SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water in the San Joaquin Valley. It now retains about 132,000 acres in Kings as well as 3,700 acres in Tulare County and 23,000 acres in Kern County, according to ParcelQuest, a property information database. Everyone else is just pumping and pumping, he said. Vidovich is the owner of Sandridge Partners, LP - a farmland investment firm that has undertaken more than 100,000 acres of Valley farmland. We have also made a commitment to meaningfully contribute to and find solutions in our investments to the SDGs. When you first meet John Vidovich, everything from his ball cap to his dirty boots tells you hes a farmer. Yes, locals have a bad taste in their mouths from Vidovichs water moves, I was told by several people, many of whom said they were too afraid of retaliation to use their names. Ag Giants Boswell, Vidovich Sling Mud at Each Other Boswell has employed generations of Kings County families, mostly in the small town of Corcoran where a high school stadium and park bear the Boswell name. (See sidebar online.). Secretary - John Vidovich, Sandridge Partners Director - G. Patrick O'Dowd, representing Irvine Ranch Water District Director - Bernard Puget, Wonderful Orchards Management General Manager - Mark A. Gilkey Assistant Manager-Engineer - Dale K. Melville, PE, Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group His law license is inactive, according to the California State Bar Association website. Later, Page would run for and win a seat on the Kern County Water Agency board. Moving well water to irrigate better ground is another Vidovich hallmark. 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. Theres a mythology out there that Angiola is stealing water, he said. That could trigger intervention by the State Water Resources Control Board, SGMAs enforcement arm. And, you know, at some point in time that water is in risk of going to an urban area. Semitropic has paid him $40 million for an easement and Vidovich would also get a cut of the flood water and be allowed to use the facilities to move groundwater, per the project contract. The Boswell comments are ina letter sent from the El Rico GSA, while Vidovichs concerns are outlined ina letter from the Southwest Kings GSA. var cx = '013080029684751512081:kj7d0adj7da'; Previously, Hugues was a principal investment professional at GDF SUEZ, leading transaction in LNG, infrastructure and power projects globally. DWR staffers now have two years to decide if the plans come up to snuff or not. No, he said. Meanwhile, Smith hopes his young children will one day take his place on the tractor. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for credit broking and consumer hire activity (FRN 724309). Hes now the president of that powerful panel. Work with nature; dont fight it, Avila said repeatedly. 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. Latest Though Vidovich didnt feel state water movement would substantially impact Kings County farming, he still predicted farming will shrink there. We lose innovation., Still, Zetland didnt fault Sandridge or Boswell. The Kings River Water Association, including the Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District, where Boswell is the majority landowner, are fighting the plan tooth and nail. Were preparing for SGMA. Where is the water going? - Center for Collaborative Investigative Proposition 1 is a $7 billion bond passed in 2014 that would pay for a host of projects from flood control to water quality. Legally? The line will transfer well water belonging to Sandridge Partners for irrigation purposes, Andrews declaration states. In 2016, the levees had to be built up another four feet. Sandridge owns the property that the canal cuts through, he said. The purpose of the pipeline is irrelevant, said Sandridge Attorney Marshall Whitney. Or even to the great water bogeyman that haunts so many valley farmers Los Angeles? What we do not agree with is the assessment that the (plan) is managing subsidence effectively. Though he doesnt seek out media attention, when asked about water under his control, he rarely refuses to talk. First off, Hurley said, hes not Vidovichs henchman. Hugues holds a BEng in Applied Maths from the Universite Catholique de Louvain, an MSc in Financial Economics from the University of London, a PhD in Operations Research from the Centre for Operations Research and Econometrics (UCL) / Columbia University and attended INSEADs General Management Program.
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