Some California entrepreneurs and farmers are betting agave could be a promising crop for the state
Leo Ortega and his wife walk around their property, surrounded by blue agave plants, in Murrieta, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Ortega started growing blue agave plants on the hillsides of his Southern California home because his wife liked the way they looked. Today, his property is littered with what some say could be a promising new crop for water-challenged California. MURRIETA, Calif.
“When we were watering them, they didn’t really grow much, and the ones that weren’t watered were actually growing better,” Ortega said, walking past rows of the succulents. “We seem to have this insatiable thirst for agave, so why not have a domestically grown supply?” Doherty said. “I am kind of bullish on it.”
Agave isn't grown on a large scale in California yet, and it would take years for that to happen. But spirits, made by cooking the plant's core to produce sugars that are fermented, are proving popular, said Ventura Spirits owner Henry Tarmy, who distilled his first batch five years ago.Much like Mexico has, California is taking steps to protect its nascent industry.
After trying out a test plot a few years ago, Woolf went on to plant some 200,000 agave on land he otherwise would have fallowed. Each acre of agave is taking only 3 inches of water a year — a tenth of what row crops demand and even less than pistachio and almond trees, he said.
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