Buttonwillow: The Heart of California’s Agriculture

 Saturday I had set out of home to see cotton fields. I told my mom we would be back in a couple of hours just in time for lunch. We left home just before 10 am heading out west and north towards the small agricultural town of Buttonwillow which is about 20 miles from my home. 

Barely 4-5 miles into our drive we passed through a large vegetable garden. Further couple of miles began rows of almond groves. As we went past these we saw open fields lush green with some new crop. There was no human activity in this field. Just then I spotted a man with his truck standing alone at one spot next to the field. My husband thought I’m out of my mind when I said I want to meet the guy. He kept driving another mile or more until he realized I was serious about talking to the guy. We turned back and parked on the side of the one lane road. I crossed over the railway line that ran parallel to the road and walked to the end of the grounds where there was a canal separating me from the field where the guy was standing. I could go no further. I called out to him and asked if he spoke English. Unfortunately he didn’t !! He was an immigrant farm worker from Mexico. I asked him what was growing in the field using sign language. He replied it was Trigo. He was able to say the word cereal. I asked if it was corn( maize in Spanish). He nodded no. He wanted to tell me so much but I was understanding nothing out of it. This time I felt like slapping myself hard for not learning Spanish in all these years !! I opened my phone and sought help from Mr Google to understand what Trigo means. Lo and behold ! Trigo is wheat ! In 25 years of living here I wasn’t aware that they grow wheat in Kern county! I felt the same joy as Newton must have felt when he saw the apple fall and discovered gravity 😃.  Acres and acres of wheat were seen there as far as the eyes could see. I thanked the man and we proceeded back on our way to find the cotton fields. 

Another 7-8 miles was where we came across the man in the tractor. By now my husband was convinced I am crazy when I wanted to drive into the small road between the two fields to talk to the guy. He stopped the car and on the main road and I walked alone on the dirt road . I have told you in yesterday’s post about this meeting with Saul, the cotton farmer. Having exchanged phone numbers with him I returned to the car only to notice a different crop growing on the other side of the road. 

I crossed over and this time found a place to jump over the canal to actually go close to the field. I couldn’t recognize what the crop was. So I took a photo and checked it on an app I have ! Amazing technology at our fingertips! The app promptly diagnosed it as Alfalfa. This is a very lucrative crop that is used to make premium hay to feed livestock. We came across huge fields growing alfalfa.

As we kept driving we saw other fields. There was a new plantation with seedlings. This one I could identify without the help of technology. They were tomato seedlings. 

Another place we saw groves of walnut trees. Walnut trees get leaves and blossoms much later than almond trees While almond trees were already laden with young fruit the walnut trees were just about showing young leaves and a few blossoms. 

We drove till the road went past the agricultural area. The road crossed over the California aqueduct ( more about this some other time) after we were outside the west boundaries of Buttonwillow and from that point it was arid desert. Zero agriculture beyond that point. The road was leading up into the Temblor range of mountains. At the foothills were seen clusters of oil wells. Oil is another big resource for economy in this part of the country. We turned back from the foothills. 

All these stops, chatting with strangers, making friends, taking pictures we didn’t realize how over 3 hours had passed ! And we were not done! There are still some places we had passed earlier where I wanted to stop. I called mom to say we will eat lunch out and be home later. 

On the journey back we stopped to take pictures of a couple of ginning facilities we had passed as well as a huge electricity station. By 1 pm we were famished. Temperatures were soaring outside and it was time for food and water. Stopped at a dhaba we had passed earlier and indulged in some authentic Punjabi fare. Another guest at the place walked up to me to say “ that’s such a beautiful saree you are wearing” ! Made my day. The red black and white pasapalli cotton saree had its day in the sun after a long time and had surely proven to be a wiser choice over the white saree I had on earlier. 

The last stop before reaching home was the vegetable patch we had passed by in the morning. It was simply amazing to see the fresh lettuce, broccoli, dill,basil, sweet peas, edamame, onions, tomatoes and many other vegetables and herbs growing there. Some of these plants were growing out through plastic covers shielding their roots to protect from frost. 

What a morning it had been !! 

The saree is a Sambalpuri ikat on fine cotton with the pasapalli checks inspired by dice designs and a sarabandha pallu( multiple flower, animal motifs in ikat).