Justin Garewal

Alfalfa Farmer/Custom Harvester

Imperial, CA

November 12th, 2025

Alfalfa, and those who farm it have been a relatively consistent topic over the course of the Westies’ travels due to its large consumption of water, but as of November 12th, we had not yet had the opportunity to interact with anybody in the business (the business of growing alfalfa of course). That was until we met with Justin Garwon. Justin co runs a "custom harvesting” operation with his brother, focusing on harvesting around six thousand acres of alfalfa fields for different customers. In addition to custom harvesting, Justin works his own thousand acres of alfalfa. Justin tells us that the business has been in his family for generations, since his great grandfather acquired the farm. He explains how a unique situation led to his great grandfather (an Indian immigrant) coming into the business despite the discriminatory laws that made it illegal for Asian people to own land at all. Specifically, the California Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited Asian immigrants from owning agricultural land. This history of resistance in the world of agriculture is something that Justin takes pride in to this day. This land has been how Justin’s family has made a living in the central valley for generations, something that is only possible due to the abundance of cheap irrigated water from the Colorado river (via the Imperial Irrigation District. As climate change and drought have dwindled supplies of Colorado River Water, fingers are often pointed at alfalfa due the water intensive practices needed to grow the crop. Additionally, much of the alfalfa is destined to feed the cattle of America (a large emitter of the greenhouse gas methane). Our meeting with Justin brought to light many of the reasons alfalfa is farmed on a large scale as well as some of the motivations of individual farmers like Justin. He’s not in it for the love of alfalfa, but simply trying to grow what people will buy.

by Noah Pody