Tulare, Fresno, Kings Crop Values Fall
San Joaquin Valley - Tulare County's crop value for 2000 fell for the first time since 1991 but remained above the $3 billion mark. The decrease was $9.5 million as a result of a decline in market price for milk - down nearly $2 per hundredweight. Lenord Craft, County Ag Commissioner said the decline in milk prices was offset in part by an increase in milk volume and higher cattle prices. Milk remained the top crop for 2000.
Kings County's total values also were lower but details won't be released until next week.
Fresno County farmers produced $3.4 billion's worth of crop last year but that is a 4% decline from the year before. Revenues fell for commodities such as tomatoes, poultry and milk.
Back in Tulare County oranges took over the number two place of grapes in 2000 as grape farmers struggled with low commodity prices even as oranges rebounded from the 98/99 freeze.
Lower crop values were predicted back in March by Craft in a Valley Voice article. Lower crop values are expected in surrounding counties as the entire Valley suffered in the past year.
In other statistics released in the report, harvested acreage for field crops was up, vegetables down with fruit and nut crop acreage declining by some 12,000 acres. Nursery produced increased in value led by the large operations in the county and livestock and poultry increased in value. But the number and value of pigs and cattle both increased for 2000. Total harvest acreage was down to 1,567,908 acres from 1,578,952 in 1999 - a decrease of 11 thousand acres.
Milk volume increased over 6 million cwt as dairymen added more cows and the average cow produced more. Total volume was up about 9% reminding some of the adage that dairymen clearly produce more milk when prices rise of fall.
Cotton acreage increased for the first time in years up 12,000 acres even as the value decreased because farmers received only $64 per bale down from $81 per bale a year before. Farmers made up the difference with federal subsidies. Alfalfa acreage fell in 2000 as production fell 10% forcing more imports.
Valencia orange acreage declined over 1000 acres as more growers pulled their trees due to low prices. Farmers pulled over 3000 acres of grapes in the county and losses for olives were more than 1000 acres along with plums.
Farmers were in Sacramento this week protesting high input costs and record low commodity prices.
Nearly 1,000 farmers and ranchers from around California gathered on the steps of the state Capitol April 16th to draw attention to the economic crisis plaguing agriculture. They brought their message to elected officials on more than 100 pieces of farm equipment, rumbling down Capitol Mall during the busy noon hour.
Farmers came from as far away as Tulelake and Imperial County. Tractors and farm equipment ranged from antique relics to the latest models.
Organized by the California Farm Bureau Federation, Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, the Far West Equipment Dealers Association and nearly a dozen other major agricultural organizations, the roar of tractors punctuated the call for relief in a business environment beset with depressed crop prices, scarce energy and water supplies and intense foreign competition.
Some of the associations participating in the event included the Agricultural Council of California, California Cattlemen's Association, California Cotton Ginners & Growers Association, California Rice Industry Association, Western Growers Association and Western United Dairymen, among others.
California Farm Bureau President Bill Pauli said farmers need support from lawmakers and the public to weather the current farm crisis.
"On days like this, we should be out trying to make a living on our farms and ranches. Today, we're fighting to stay alive in agriculture," Pauli said. "Tractors that should be running up and down fields and vineyards are running up and down Capitol Mall."
Pauli, a Mendocino County winegrape and pear grower, said farmers face one of the most difficult and challenging times in the state's history. He said most people are unaware of the pain being felt on farms across the state.
"Many lawmakers and the public would be surprised to learn that farmers are in trouble," Pauli said. "There's plenty of food on store shelves at reasonable prices. There's no evidence of a farm crisis in the supermarket. The farm crisis is real. Just look at the face of a farmer."
Pauli praised Cardoza, not only for organizing the event, but also for authoring Assembly Bill 7 to eliminate the state sales-and-use tax on farm machinery.
Pauli said Farm Bureau supports policies that promote fair trade and address trade-distorting barriers and quotas that block California exports. He said several countries flood the U.S. market with heavily subsidized products that undercut domestic producers.
"Our market is virtually open to imports," Pauli said. "Trade is a two-way street. When heavily subsidized Greek canned peaches, Australian lamb and Chinese garlic flood the U.S. market at prices well below production costs, we need to stand up and fight for fair trade. Enough is enough."
The farm leader sounded the alarm about energy and water supplies. Blackouts this summer could "add insult to the injury of rate increases that are coming soon" to agricultural electric users. Pauli said dwindling water supplies will force farmers to reduce planted acreage and pump more expensive underground water. Farmers are reporting that the economic crisis is making bankers wary of making farm loans, further hampering some farmers' ability to operate.
"This state faces a water crisis that will make the energy crisis look like a walk through Capitol Park," Pauli said. "When we can't plant, it means less food, fewer jobs and reduced benefits for wildlife and the environment."
"Agriculture is woven into the fabric of our state's towns and cities. When agriculture suffers, Main Street suffers, too."
By Kate Campbell Farm Bureau News
Visalia - Being lobbied recently to look at selling their key 30 acre parcel at Akers and 198 to Kaweah Delta, members of the Visalia City Council questioned the idea. "I told them that if that land is going to come back to the city I want to put it out for bid. It has more value to the city as a shopping center where we can get the sales tax," says Bob Link.
The land is under a sales contract to Westland Development for a shopping center. The developer, Craig Mangano, and principals have put down a non refundable $100,000 to purchase the land and have gone through more than a year of negotiations with the city and prospective tenants to make it happen. But its been a tough project to put together. Now the developer, too, is being lobbied by Kaweah Delta who is looking for land to expand that depending on size could be used for various health care options.
Kaweah Delta is underway on a major facility study to be completed in the next few months and have hired an Arizona consultant firm to help them sort out their options. The options include expanding the main campus downtown as well as new "clean dirt" sites along west 198.
Council members Harbottle, Gamboa and Landers have expressed concerns as well based on whether the district would end up expanding away from Downtown while the downtown campus losses out some year down the line as the district's main facility. Landers told the Voice that "moving the hospital to the site could mean the city would have to change their general plan." On the other hand, he says they want to work with the hospital and "see what the consultant comes up with."
Sounding more upbeat about some sort of land deal is Wendy Thomason who says KDDH officials have told her they would not move the hospital to the site but establish various new speciality care centers - particularly their new Cancer Care Center. But she says she is concerned that some of that land along freeway 198 had been set aside for use as a Family Entertainment Center - a project that is a top priority for her.
The hospital finds the 30 acre site attractive - the last remaining corner along the busy 198/Akers axis yet to be developed. Unlike other sites along west 198, including Shirk and 198, the land is already scheduled to be developed and is in the city limits. The hospital and city are "partners" in the facility study which puts one partner, the city, in the uncomfortable position of having to decide whether to accommodate the hospital on their request.
Council has said unanimously that they would prefer the hospital expand downtown with most fearing that offering an additional 30 acres across from the hospital's Lifestyle Center would mean eventual relocation of the main hospital facility out to the westside of town. In their talks with council members, hospital officials have tried to suggest that the health care district would likely establish new facility sites as well as expand downtown.
esus Gamboa told the Voice that selling all the 30 acres to the hospital would be hard for him to understand but a sale of some of the land might be possible.
To encourage expansion downtown the city has applied for federal funds to build a new $6 million parking garage next to the campus to accommodate the space crunch. The city and hospital district own blocks of land right next to each other west of the big hospital and some sort of real estate swap to help the hospital expand downtown has long been talked of.
The council was eager to approve the Westland project a plan a few years ago, when it appeared it would include a 6 acre fun park for kids. But now that too is doubtful because the cost of the fun center per square foot may be too high, says Basil Perch of Westland Development. Because the fun park is a top priority of the city, the issue came up at a recent city retreat talking of "alternative locations" for the fun park that includes batting cages and miniature golf, if it were not located at the Akers/198 site.
Already a busy corner, word that Cigna would add another 50,000 sq. ft. (and 400 jobs) adjacent the 30 acre parcel means that hundreds more cars will clog this corner of Visalia in coming years. Once on the outskirts of town, the land is in city hands because it was the home for the city sewer farm decades ago.
If the hospital is unable to get city cooperation to sell them the entire parcel, they might select the Shirk/198 area that will take longer to develop since it is not in the city limits and may require modifications to the city's general plan.
Other sources say the hospital might take only part of the Westlands land if the council offers its blessing, while the developer keeps some key retail/restaurant tenants and works to help KDDH acquire other land nearby.
Still city council members speaking privately say they are still hope the hospital looks at building a multi story downtown with the help of the city and funds it has at its disposal.
The hospital could always go back to its original plan when they bought 100 acres at Caldwell and Lovers Lane only to have the county and city complain they had violated growth boundaries. The city has told them if they did open a new campus in the countryside they might have to pay for their own infrastructure and that police and fire protection would be problematic. Since that however, the large hospital has said they want to work with the city's growth policy and asked for help to find alternative locations. This led to current facilities study that is being paid for by both the city and the hospital.
More Local Power Proposed
Kaweah Hydro To Increase Power To 25 Megawatts
With the upcoming raising of the dam spillway in the next few years the hydroelectric plant at Terminus Dam will be able to produce more power says the plant general manager. "We already put over $300,000 into refitting our equipment to handle the higher head," says Roger Ray.
"In fact we're working on a way to increase the power the plant puts out as soon as this summer," says Ray, increasing the output when it runs from 17 megawatts to 19 megawatts. The plant runs only during peak run time from May through August.
Ray says once the higher spillway is in place and new machinery is installed, the plant could up its capacity to 25 megawatts - enough power to light 25,000 homes.
The plant is owned by Kaweah River Power Authority a joint venture between Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District and Tulare Irrigation District. Before than can happen however, the grid tie-in Edison owns (soon the State of California) must be upgraded. The plant went into operation in 1984.
The power from the plant is sold to Edison. But the increase in capacity - the extra 8 megawatts is not yet under contract, he says. Concern that Edison would not be able to pay for the power was relieved when the California Public Utilities ruled that the big utilities had to pay for power produced by smaller "qualified facilities" (QF) as of April. But with the bankruptcy filing by PG&E the QFs. with contracts with that utility are still up in the air. This has not resolved the past payment to those facilities, however. The hydro plant at Friant Dam is in that situation
Mega Energy Files Plans For Two 48 mw "Peaker Plants"
Fort Collins, Colorado based Mega Energy Inc. has filed plans with the County for two 48 megawatt peaker plants to be built near Visalia and near Tipton.
The plants could be operational as soon as October 1, according to a City of Visalia staff presentation on the issue given to council this week. Council members were disappointed to hear the peaker plant would tie into Edison's electric grid rather than insure the power stays in the area. But Edison regional manager Mike Chrisman says SCE was working with some 40 such small power projects in the service area that could help meet peak hour power needs later this year.
One 7 acre site Mega Energy wants is just west of 198 at Rd. 60 - a site picked because of its proximity to a SCE sub station and large natural gas lines. The company filed for parcel maps and permits at the county last week.
Council had encouraged staff to negotiate with power producers who might site power plants in the city's industrial park to help industries there and encourage more industries to come. But the staff report this week pointed out that the power plant in this case had to tie into the grid. "You could chose to organize a municipal utility in the future," says Bob Nance, the city redevelopment director, but that would involve buying the grid system in town.
Council members said they were concerned about the pollution the peaker plants could bring. But Chrisman pointed out the natural gas technology today is far cleaner than other fuels and much cleaner than older technology.
The plant layout calls for 18 natural gas power caterpillar engines crammed into an industrial size building that sits on 7 acres each.
Local generating plants avoid high line bottlenecks that keep part of California from getting the power they need imported from long distances. A scattered approach to the power need helps each area meet their own demand. However, Chrisman noted that within a few years large plants under construction could eclipse such temporary power solutions.
While 100 megawatts is enough power for 100,000 homes and that sounds like lots, it is enough power for just one - 1 million sq. ft. manufacturing company. Edison's grid load is about 12,000 megawatts for their entire service area during the winter months.
The bigger issue from Visalia is whether they follow through on a city council consensus that a dedicated power plant for the Visalia Industrial Park might make sense. Nance says the city has talked to three power producers recently.
Mega Energy had looked at four 25 megawatt plants but now have consolidated at two locations in the county. The Tipton plant would be located at Poplar and Callison.
News that new power plants might come on line brought this reaction on the city website's "Discussion" page:
From: Brian - "I just read an article in the Valley Voice about the possibility of four new powerplants in the Visalia Industrial Park. I really hope the city takes this seriously. I am very proud of Visalia for being so proactive in this regard. So many cities in California, San Jose for instance, make it very difficult to get these things done. Should Visalia go through with these plans it would better the City and the local economy for years. Keep up the Good Work!!!"
Another reaction - "I totally agree. Bring on the powerplants. The air in Visalia is not nearly polluted enough. I say we step up the use of pesticides and start burning coal. When the air is thick enough to chew, then and only then should we start talking about Visalia citizen's health.
Please, please, please someone living in Visalia tell me you, too, worry about the fact that Visalia has the most polluted air in the nation and that more Visalians die each year from respiratory illnesses than in anywhere else in the country. I just want to know that someone else here thinks about the long term, quality of life consequences of the ways we live. It seems like folks here care only about making a buck."
From: Amused in Visalia - "I was just curious...its ok for some other city to produce energy to meet "OUR" needs (and in the process create all those negative side affects you so aptly pointed out) but are we so self centered and narrow minded to think that we "deserve" for our energy needs to be met by others and not do our part for our fellow Californians???"
You can visit the website at www.ci.visalia.ca.us/ then click on Discussion.
Ideas, Projects Mushroom
The high cost and reliability problems with energy is prompting companies, agencies and jurisdictions up and down the valley to put the energy crisis at the top of their list. Projects are mushrooming. "We figure our energy bill for the new budget year will be $500,000 more than we had budgeted for" says Visalia Unified spokesman Anthony Escobar. That is why the school district has it's engineers scrambling to come up with ways to save energy and perhaps to make it. Here is a short list of other initiatives.
• Valley Energy Summit: Fresno County will host a five county regional energy summit April 27th at the Fresno Fairgrounds to explore ways the Central Valley can overcome the energy crisis. That includes a possible joint powers authority says Tulare County Supervisor Bill Maze to set up our own utility district.
• American Public Power Association Will hold a two day workshop in Sacramento April 23-24 inviting cities to come hear how they can set up their own utility district. The City of Delano is working on that idea (see Gas story).
• Dinuba Energy will crank up their 12 megawatt cogen in May. The mothballed wood-fired plant will come back on line after being idle for over five years with the operation profits going to Fresno State. Dinuba Energy is waiting for state legislation that as a biomass plant will help them get credits for burning ag waste.
• Corcoran Peaking Plant; besides a new Hanford peaking plant at GWF the city of Corcoran and JG Boswell are working on siting a peaker plant near town sources say. GWF operates one coke fires plant in Hanford and is building a new 99 megawatt facility next door. Also the big Avenal Duke Energy plant (two phases totaling 1200 megawatts) continues local permitting efforts. West Fresno County has also seen two peaker plants surface.
• Cow Power. Microgy Inc. continues working to open 5 dairy methane fired cogens in Kings and Tulare counties where it can sign up as many as 50 dairies, says Kings supervisor Tony Oliviera - a dairyman who has signed up himself. A bill by Senator Jim Costa would provide incentive to dairymen who produce their own power helping to clean the environment.
• Kern County Power. There are seven new powerplants in oil rich Kern County on the drawing board and four more under construction that together will light another 2 million homes.
• Farmers Add Power. AS we told you back in February, both Land O'Lakes and California Dairies are adding onsite power plants - each nearly 6 megawatts to insure the milk processing goes on and cut their power bills. The generators aren't "backup" but would provide steam and electricity to the facilities all the time. Meanwhile, many companies are installing diesel generators to insure the power stays on this summer. That includes Tulare's huge US Cold Storage. Tulare is looking at possibly courting with a power provider for other industries, says Bob Reynolds of the Tulare Chamber. Farmers are installing emergency generation to insure their packing houses and poultry ranches don't lose their crop. Rolling blackouts have already tripped chicken and turkey farmers expenses but the heat could kill their flock.
• Visalia Waste Treatment Plant. The Visalia City Council approved a one third megawatt engine at the treatment plant that will cover about half the plant's electricity needs and pay for itself in two years.
• Cool Incentives To Conserve. The California Energy Commission is looking for businesses who would convert their roofs using light colored roofing material that can save up to 40% on air conditioning costs. A cool roof can lower the temperature up to 50 to 60 degrees and eventually save California thousands of megawatts. A dark roof in the Valley can reach 170 degrees on a summer afternoon. Planting trees in our town does the same thing for the sidewalks.
• Snake Oil? In an unusually candid expression, Governor Gray Davis called the out of state generators and marketers who have raised prices in the state so severely "the biggest snakes on the planet Earth." What's the antidote? Tulare civil engineer Mike Lane says more supply in a free market - hopefully produced locally - will go a long way. The Tulare chamber is trying to get this word out.
Is Delano Sitting On A Gas Gusher?
Delano - Caesar Chavez's former body guard, Gilbert Flores now a Delano city councilman, doubts that the UFW will start digging up their historic Forty Acres property west of Delano despite the fact the union hall may be sitting on top of what could be California's largest underground pool of natural gas along with much of the west side of Delano.
But like the rest of the city council in this farmworker community, he's happy about the prospect of all the tax money that could come to the community if the natural gas field is as big as they say. "We'd probably be able to pave the streets and pay our employees better," says Flores.
Mayor Art Armendariz says Bakersfield based Tri-Valley Corp. - a publically traded oil and gas driller - came to the city drilling for oil about 2 years ago and "low and behold, they found natural gas instead."
"The Sunrise/McClure interval could be the biggest onshore dry gas find in 65 years since the discovery of the giant Rio Vista Field in 1936," said Paul Hacker, a Bakersfield-based geologist consulting for Tri-Valley.
"They are drilling 10 wells at various locations in and around a 10 square mile area," says Armendariz and may be in production in as soon as a year. The company is working with potential "partners" says Armendariz including at least one big oil company that could join the exploration.
The state of California produces only 13% of its own natural gas supply. The February 21 Valley Voice reported on the South Valley potential to expand the state's production by at least double.
Tri Valley announced the find in an April 11 news release that three independent sources agreed with company findings that an estimated 72 billion cubic feet of natural gas in place per 160 acres on over 6600 acres the company has mapped. In total the company estimates there is some 3 trillion cubic ft. of dry natural gas.
"At this critical time in California's need for new gas supply, Tri-Valley may have doubled the state's resources," said Joseph R. Kandle, TVOG president. While stressing that the discovery is not yet confirmed as a producible reserve, TVC President and Chief Executive Officer F. Lynn Blystone sought to put the potential into perspective by noting that 40 wells producing a steady 2 million cubic feet per day each would take more than 85 years to drain the formation's estimated 2.4 trillion cubic feet using 80 percent recoverability. Such a production level could generate on the order of 1000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 1 million homes.
The City of Delano owns mineral rights on some of the land to be drilled on and has an agreement with Tri-Valley says Armendariz. Also Tri-Valley has leased 800 acres of federal land where the Voice of America towers stand.
The value of the find could generate a cash flow of $7 billion estimates Tri-Valley who's stock price that had been falling on the Over the Counter market in the past year jumped in recent days.
Armendariz says much of the gas under Delano is some 6600 ft. down.
Besides this project, dubbed the Sunrise Natural Gas Project, the company is drilling for natural gas down over 19,000 ft. at EKHO No. 1 on Kern County's westside that joins other deep gas "plays" as deep as 20,000 ft. The US consumes about 25 trillion cubic feet of gas a year. These deep gas wells could produce several trillion cubic ft. of gas added to the possible Delano fields.
More than 100,000 wells have been drilled in Kern County but less than 70 have penetrated below 15,000 feet. However, deep well drilling can cost millions per well compared to $100,000 to $500,000 for more shallow wells.
With skyrocketing prices for natural gas and the state's dependance on out of state supplies, Kern County producers are motivated to begin production - and soon - to help provide power to the megawatt starving state. Natural gas is the clean burning fuel choice that supplies about half the power produced in the state along with its key role in heating and cooling. The price of the fuel spiked in California this winter - a catalyst in the electricity crisis in the Golden State this past year. Critics blame out of state suppliers who manipulated the market along with a lack of local supply and limited pipeline capacity.
In a related development the City of Delano is working hard to organize itself into a municipal power authority - perhaps in a joint power authority with other Kern County towns, says Mayor Armendariz. "With a biomass plant in town already and this supply of gas we think we ought to buy the local electric line and do this ourselves," he says. A statewide meeting of communities who are looking into organizing a municipal district will be held in Sacramento late in April organized by the American Power Association. Delano officials say they are eager to attend.
In town, Sears, already one of the city's largest employers, could soon expand another 1 million sq. ft. requiring more megawatts. "We have companies coming to us asking if they move here can you guarantee the lights will stay on, " says Armendariz.
That means Delano, like other municipalities, will have to arm wrestle with the State of California over the power lines since they may be buying it from Edison.
"All I can tell is that we sure have our fingers crossed," mayor Armendariz says. "It's not costing us anything to find out about the gas field's potential."
Kern County produces about three times as much oil per day as the entire state of Oklahoma and huge exploration targets remain. Oil and gas fields often co-mingle.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
