California agriculture is transforming how it uses water in exciting new ways. With new legislation like the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and changing climate patterns, farmers are finding innovative solutions to make every drop count. California farms use about 34 million acre-feet of water each year, nearly 40% of the state’s total water use. To put that in perspective, one acre-foot equals roughly 326,000 gallons, enough to cover a football field with one foot of water. This presents a huge opportunity for positive change. Farmers are moving beyond traditional methods and adopting smart, sustainable practices that benefit both their operations and the environment. California’s agricultural community is proving that you can be both productive and environmentally responsible, leading the way toward a more efficient and sustainable future.

As part of this agricultural transformation, Nichols Farms is leading by example with innovative water management practices. All our orchards are irrigated using drip systems, which is the most efficient method available for tree crops. In addition, we recycle the water used during harvest, redirecting it back into irrigation systems to minimize waste. To continue these sustainable practices, we also participate in on-farm recharge, a technique that allows us to earn groundwater pumping credits by diverting and storing excess surface water. These conservation practices not only help the environment, but they also ensure long-term viability in a state where water is as valuable as the crops it sustains.

Conserving water requires more than good intentions, it requires data, automation, and precision. That’s where HotSpot AG comes in. Founded by James Nichols, a third-generation Central Valley farmer and member of the Nichols Family, the company was born from firsthand understanding of California’s water management opportunities. Inspired by the potential to create better tools for monitoring irrigation and energy use, James set out to build solutions that would empower growers like him.

HotSpot AG equips farmers with the ability to monitor and control irrigation remotely from a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Growers can start, stop, and schedule their turbine, lift, and booster pumps without setting foot in the field. The platform provides live and historical logs detailing flow rates, cumulative water use, and energy consumption, eliminating the need for manual logs and guesswork. With drag-and-drop scheduling, flowmeter and pressure monitoring, automated reservoir fill, and fertigation integration, the system transforms how water is applied, measured, and optimized.

One of the most valuable aspects of the platform is its ability to help growers keep up with evapotranspiration, the scientific measure of how much water crops actually need based on weather, soil conditions, and plant growth stages. It’s comparable to knowing how much fuel your car needs for a trip, rather than just filling up the tank at random. This quantified data empowers growers to irrigate based on real need, not habit, conserving resources and maximizing crops.

This type of precision has become essential for farming. By pairing HotSpot AG’s technology with our existing sustainable practices, we have been able to redistribute, not reduce, labor hours. Automation frees up time previously spent checking pumps or filling out paper records, allowing teams to focus on higher-value tasks that improve productivity and crop quality. It’s not about replacing people with technology, it’s about giving people better tools to do their jobs.

Fabian Lemus, our Orchards Manager and user of HotSpot AG, says the difference has been transformational. “HotSpot AG has changed how I manage water. No more guesswork, no more running out to check pumps,” he explains. “With real-time data at my fingertips, I know exactly how much my crops need”. His experience reflects a larger trend across the industry, farming is no longer just about intuition, it’s about information.

Our partnership with HotSpot AG represents more than family ties, it embodies a shared vision for agriculture’s future, where tradition meets innovation and sustainable practices become the foundation for growth. As California leads the way in agricultural water stewardship, partnerships like ours demonstrate how the industry can thrive through smart technology, strategic planning, and an unwavering commitment to environmental responsibility. Nichols Farms is proof that farming for the future means embracing water as both a precious resource and an opportunity for innovation, setting the standard for sustainable agriculture that benefits growers, communities, and the environment alike.