Schwarzenegger,
Chrisman Broker Talks On
San Joaquin River
San Joaquin Valley - If Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger can work with both Arabs and Jews for Middle East peace, bring feuding Democrats and Republicans together over a stalemated budget - why not try something really tricky - mediate a truce over the inflamed issue of San Joaquin River restoration?
It’s been exactly a year since the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) and Friant called off a settlement of the 15 year old litigation over the fate of the river. The two sides appeared to move closer together after four years of negotiations only to have it all collapse. Now the matter is back in federal court again with both sides dug in for what will be still more years of battle and appeals.
The vision is to bring back the health of the river by restoring water flows to levels that can sustain an ecosystem without leaving the family farms and the communities that depend on them - including thousands of acres in Tulare County - high and dry.
While the lawyers face off in a Sacramento courtroom, Governor Schwarzenegger’s Secretary for Resources, Visalia’s own Mike Chrisman, confirms that assembling the stakeholders in a room to talk about the river issue “is already happening.”
“We have to see if we can come up with a shared vision of what restoration means,” says Chrisman. He says they are looking at the principles test from the 1988 lawsuit as their guide to move forward but says there is no deadline for the meetings to come to a conclusion.
Metropolitan Water District, who plays a key role in the state’s water politics, has more than a passing interest in what happens on the San Joaquin River.
Representative for MWD Tim Quinn, says they favor more storage in the state’s reservoirs in an effort to provide more water for both farms and fish. Quinn says the governor can play a crucial role in brokering a truce here. “If the governor calls you to a meeting, you pretty well have to come.”
Quinn says Chrisman is playing a role he had played before mediating environmental issues in the state that has gained him respect from both sides. Prior to this appointment Chrisman was chair of the board for California Fish and Game Commission and has been past chair of the Great Valley Center.
Leadership In Place
“This is the right time to address the river issue - with leadership in the right positions,” says Quinn citing the appointment of Lester Snow to the Department of Water Resources as another mediating influence on water issues. Snow guided the state’s Calfed process in recent years.
“It’s a big issue,” says Chrisman, “we are in conversations working with all our partners” looking to come to an understanding of what it would mean to restore the San Joaquin.
Chrisman says they want to make a more “sustainable approach” following some pilot program to restore water flows to dry stretches of the river for several summers when the two sides were working together from 1999 to 2002.
In the end there will be some who don’t want to compromise, says Tim Quinn, pointing to some strident voices from the Bay area. “We also have to convince the farmers that the black helicopters are not coming over the Altamonte Pass to take away the farmers water,” Quinn says. MWD’s position is that through the Calfed process “we put in more infrastructure to better manage water resources in California.”
Interim general manager for Friant Water Users, Ron Jacobsma, says in recent weeks there have been a flurry of meetings with Fish and Game, DWR and the Bureau to try to get a Restoration Strategies Report moving forward - a plan that originally had technical consultants from both Friant and NRDC and other environmental and fishing groups and the government to address key questions. The reconnaissance level (preliminary) work from that study “has already been done” says Jacobsma and “could be released with some data gaps in a matter of weeks” but only if all sides agree “it could move forward based on science,” insists Jacobsma.
He notes that “if the NRDC can agree with that approach we clearly would welcome them.”
Water Temps Key
To complete that Restoration Strategies Report might take another 18 months, he figures, addressing water costs, the need and cost for channel improvements and the temperature needs to restore a salmon fishery during hot summer months.
Jacobsma says salmon need around 55 degree temps to thrive and about 70% water “you end up with poached salmon.”
Studies are needed to see how big a pool of water would be needed to keep that water cool enough during the summer months for salmon as far down stream as the Merced River.
Jacobsma says he would like to see a social and economic impact study of alternative restoration strategies to see if adding 200,000 acre ft. of water to the river what happens to the farmers? Jacobsma says a study needs to look at the impact of salmon on the river would have on other species of interest on the river system. The issue who is to pay for the costs both water and channel improvements needs to be addressed as well, says Jacobsma.
Jacobsma notes another restoration group is moving forward with plans on its own. The San Joaquin River Resource Management Coalition (RMC) made up of local stakeholders wants to see how much restoration it can do by bringing new water to the river in a parallel effort to keep the politics out of the picture.
A related effort to get federal Calfed funding approved this year under the stewardship of Senator Dianne Feinstein may bear fruit with a slimmed down water bill likely to pass the Senate this year that would work toward increasing storage at Shasta and on the upper San Joaquin among others.
Feinstein has sidestepped the hot button Trinity River issue by publically stating she would try to personally mediate the issue that pits Indians and other upper river stakeholders against farmers like Westlands who receive water from the river. In the House, Calfed is expected to taken up in the next few days. Quinn says now there is “a different feeling in Washington about the Calfed bill with more of a bipartisan support.”
How Much Water?
While both Friant Water Users and NRDC agree the river needs more fresh water flows the issue comes down to how much at what times.
NRDC and other seek a return of a salmon fishery to the river, while Friant says a more realistic approach might be to release enough water to sustain a fresh water fishery that is much less dependent on large flows of water they argue would dry up the economy on the eastside of the valley.
Congressman Devin Nunes has been working for more storage on the upper San Joaquin River that would capture enough water to both allow a release from Friant Dam for river health and keeping a million acres of farms green, he suggests.
If the NRDC wins in court it would invalidate water contracts on the Friant system and force the release of water from the dam downstream to return the second longest river in the state back to its pre-1940 condition - prior to the construction of Friant Dam.
Besides the issue of how much water and the timing of releases, the issue of how many more dams and conveyance devices will be needed to come up with a balance is still on the table. Some simply want to let the river flow down even though a civilization has built up around it. Likely the river is in store for some more tinkering and manipulating it seems.
Quinn notes that it appears this is a time of consensus in Washington - along with a break in the water wars between southern and northern California and even in the valley where Westlands and Friant have signed a peace treaty to work together.
Chrisman himself will be in Visalia May 18 to discuss the “agenda” of his agency and this governor speaking at a Tulare County Farm Bureau function.
As the State of California’s Secretary for the Resources Agency, Mike Chrisman oversees policies, activities, and a budget of $4.1 billion and 14,712 employees in 24 departments, commissions, boards and conservancies on conservation, water, fish and game, forestry, parks, energy, coastal, marine and landscape.
San Joaquin Valley -You are soon going to have more than high gas prices to complain about. Already the TV news is full of silhouetted firemen with that eerie red glow, reminding us the fires in California have come early.
A disappointing March and April precipitation total was followed all over California by scorching temps in April setting the stage for what will probably be a long, hot summer this - the 6th dry year in the Central Valley.
Visalia has received a paltry 6.2 inches of rain this season compared to a normal of more like 11 inches.
Local farmers count on the surface water and runoff to make up the difference. But deep well pumps that require paying for power or using diesel fuel will be running longer this summer.
Farmers are watching an ever decreasing estimate of snowpack runoff from the Sierra in recent days.
“It seems like every time we hear a new number, it is lower,” says water consultant Dennis Keller who advises several local water districts.
“Right now we are looking at about 59% of average on the Kaweah and in the low 40s on the Tule.” Snow melt is coming early.
On the San Joaquin River, Friant Water District, who need canal water to stay afloat, will use at least all of their Class 1 and 5% of their extra Class 2 water. Many of the district, like Lindsay, Orange Cove and Strathmore, have little ground water to pump from.
An earlier snow melt and hotter temps in recent years in California have many scientists suggesting that global warming is here and that water management plans will have to adapt to it.
Heat is On
In fact, the World Meteorological Organization reported in December of last year that 2003 was the third hottest year on record since 1861 followed by 1998 and 2002.
Drought and heat coupled with global economics could mean more land retirement in the valley as seen by the loss of 200,000 acres in the Westlands in the next year - another happy thought.
The early dry conditions shows in the rangeland around the state turning brown early in part due to dry conditions and combination of record heat that blanketed the state in recent weeks. The National Weather Service that tracks drought conditions in the West, says those drought boundaries are creeping westward from severe conditions east of the Sierra and over much of the Western US.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the West will experience a 6th year of severe drought. Drought conditions will continue to fuel a beetle infestation on trees all over the West that will take its toll including in our own Sierra, Tahoe and San Bernardino mountains.
The National Weather Service publication, “Drought Monitor”, released late in April, stated that “Some cities in California have recorded all-time record highs for the month of April during this four-day stretch,”said the Monitor. “Along the Sierra Nevada range, summer runoff forecasts continue to look poor for the drainage basins along the east side of the range, and the Lake Tahoe summer inflow forecast is estimated around 58% of normal.”
The extreme heat in central California hurt the berry crop for a few days and may yet have hurt other Central Valley crops, says ag leader Manuel Cunha. “We don’t know yet how much the early heat has affected us.”
Porterville meteorologist John Hibler acknowledged the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center’s forecast for above normal heat in much of California this summer. “It shows a pattern that has developed of a warm dry spring continuing here through July,” says Hibler, who advises ag clients on weather patterns. That pattern shows a shallow marine layer that would otherwise cool interior California as it ebbs and flows. Mostly it will ebb this summer.
Power Problems
If the hot summer plays out it could tax the state’s power plants that have only 1176 megawatts to spare under normal weather conditions and assuming all the plants are operating.
A summer outlook plan by the California Independent System Operators (ISO), who manages the state’s power supply, says that during a hot period demand to run nearly 44,500 mw or 3.6% more than last summer in part because of nearly 200,000 more homes that have hooked up to the grid since then.
Already this year on March 29, hot temps in southern California taxed the power supply when everyone turned on their air conditioners months early forcing the ISO to call a stage one alert thus bringing back memories of the 2000-2001 power crisis in the state. That crisis fueled a big political fallout for Governor Davis as well as substantiated charges that many big power providers ripped off Californians.
But a period of hotter than normal temps across the state could mean we could return to the wonderful days of rolling blackouts, prompting calls for conservation by consumers in California.
Making it worse this summer is the fact that the state counts on imported electricity to make up for a shortfall in in-state supply and this year those other states are facing their own power supply problems. The ISO says that if 3 power units go out in the state, we would use up our cushion of reserve power in California.
Power producers are building fewer megawatts this compared to past years due to a financing crunch. Just 664 mw will be constructed this year compared to 4,830 mw last year, says the ISO. Meanwhile, some older plants are being retired.
Tulare County firefighters got the word out early this past week to be on the watch for fire danger as well as arson this summer. Last year the county experienced an incredible 644 arson fires. That included 273 vehicles that were arson fires of stolen vehicles combining another unholy union of dry conditions with crime.
Despite the forecast, NOAA has a prediction that fire danger in the state will be less severe this year. Last year terrible southern California wildfires devastated nearly 5000 homes in the southland mountains south of the Tehachappis. A series of massive fall wildfires burned over a million acres in 2003 in southern California creating a ghastly gloom in the sky.
Earlier this week southern California forecasters declared a three week early start to the fire season on May 3. Twenty four people died in 14 wildfires last fall.
With predictions that LA will only see 58% of normal rainfall this year, Metropolitan Water District official Tim Quinn notes the big water district has sunk 3 million acre ft. of water in mostly underground storage in the past few years with 2.7 million acre ft. available now.
Adapting to reduced water supply - a government agency is experimenting with land retirement in western Tulare County to see what cover crops they can be grown on lands earmarked for land retirement under the federal Bureau of Reclamation.
The “crop” would not be grown with irrigation, but take advantage of dry land farming techniques used elsewhere that depend only on the rainfall. The cover crop would be there strictly for critter habitat.
Bad Air
If the heat, drought and pestilence won’t get you this summer how about the bad air that will result from weather patterns characterized by high pressure, little movement of air and high electrical power use.
Summer is already the time when high temps help increase the formation of ground level ozone and dust levels in the valley compounding our woes. Visits to the hospital ERs will pick up again with the high incidence of asthma and other respiratory problems.
A report of last year when the valley baked for months on end with temps above 90 degrees had some grim numbers. The valley suffered from the worst smog season in a reported 14 year period. Air pollution officials reported exceeding federal standards for smog in an eight hour period on 128 days.
The headline put pressure for valley residents, farmers and industry to clean up our air, segueing talk of the weather into politics.
City Plans Theater Condemnation
Visalia - The City of Visalia has put out a public notice it would begin condemnation procedures to acquire the Main St. Theatre at Garden and Main - now rented by the children’s theater group - the Enchanted Playhouse.
The group has been working to purchase the old theater from its current owners Martin Properties based in the Bay area. In the meantime Martin has agreed to sell the theater to a church group and the property is in escrow. The church offered more than the children’s theater for the property.
City council member Greg Kirkpatrick, who is on the board of the non-profit Enchanted Playhouse and has been negotiating with Martin for the property, says he plans to recuse himself in any decision in front of the council. “That is an obvious conflict,” he admits.
The Visalia council uses its power of eminent domain to acquire property for public purposes but must fairly compensate the land owner for its market value. The city uses their power in road widening projects often and less frequently in development projects. The city will make the decision as the redevelopment agency when they vote to acquire the theater.
Back in the 1990s the city assembled land and condemned private property to allow the development of the Costco shopping center. The action remains controversial to the general public since there is a potential conflict with private property rights.
The key test in a taking is the public purpose the action fulfills.
Opponents of the use of eminent domain in this type case point out that the Restoration Church who has the property in escrow, plans to use the theater as a performing arts theater and will hold religious services, weddings and Sunday at the site. They note that the church has no plans to modify the outside of the building as well. The Restoration Church wants to seek a permit to use the building but that application is on hold pending this other city action. Some say the city is “discriminating” against a church who wants to be on Main St.
Visalia real estate agent George Ouzounian says he could speak for the property owner on the proposed action. “They just found out about it Monday,” he says.
The city defends its action to secure the site for a public theater in the Downtown stating in their resolution that “the city has recognized the importance of children’s entertainment, live theater entertainment and cultural arts to the community in general and downtown in particular.”
The document says that the theater “is next to a newly developed public courtyard area, in the heart of an expanding area of downtown, a location particularly well-suited for a live theater venue.”
The city already owns or has a stake in a number of community theaters in the downtown area and helped buy the Fox Theater from an out of town owner for a non-profit based group that owns and operates it now.
Advocates say community theaters play a strong part in revitalizing a downtown and that this is a solid public purpose.
Auto Plaza Set For Final City Approval
Visalia - The Visalia Auto Plaza is closer to breaking ground despite an appeal process expected by opponents of the project. City engineer Jim Funk says the city is processing the Mangano Company’s final map drawings of the 72 acre project with city council approval process on the map set tentatively for May 17. “We think we can get the map in front of them by then,” says Funk.
The filing of the map will allow the developer to move forward on sales of lots in the development once the map is recorded.
The map details the public improvement that will be required on the project including road work on the public right-of-way. Council will likely “accept” those improvements May 17 in routine action.
In the past few weeks opponents of the project, Save Our Corridor, have vowed to appeal Judge Vortmann’s April 12 ruling in favor of the city that allows the project to move forward.
The group’s attorney, Richard Harriman told the Voice April 20th that he was going to file a motion for reconsideration by the judge with new information offered.
Harriman says the group still plans to ask the court to vacate the April 12 judgement although he has yet to file anything at our press deadline, May 4th.
Spokesman for Mangano Homes, Bob Dowd, says “we’re already grading the property” in preparation for the project breaking ground this summer with contractor Basil Perch vowing to complete two showrooms for Frank Surroz by November. The showrooms will house BMW, Dodge and Jeep. Dowds says the parcel maps are “a financing mechanism” for the project to be phased.
Corridor group leader, Greg Collins, says the corridor group wants to file an appeal but may not be able to stop the project from moving forward. “They would be able to begin building but at their own peril given the fact there is a legal appeal,” he says.
To stop the project the corridor group would have to file for an injunction that might require a hefty bond be filed with the court.
The final map is expected to include three lots for now on the project site out of 12 possible parcels planned at the Auto Plaza site north of 198 and west of Plaza Dr. It will cover 12 acres.
Besides the appeal, the corridor group held a meeting Thursday, April 22 and agreed to submit a new initiative to voters in Visalia to keep the corridor area largely in ag or ag related uses.
Any future initiative would not effect the western auto mall.
Economy Has Diesel Blues
Tulare County - Trucking rates are heading higher in 2004 reflecting the surge in the cost of diesel fuel this year - 20% higher than January nationwide. In California the price increases have been eye popping with diesel fuel running at $2.10 - 2.49 per gallon compared to 50 cents lower out of state.
The California Energy Commission reports that rack prices have doubled from a year ago in the state with a 60 cent rise in the past month. Independent truckers have walked off the job in Stockton this past week protesting the fact that they are locked into shipping rates that are losing them money. Some have refused to carry goods. In-state truckers have no choice but out of state truckers are fueling up at the border. The California Trucking Association sent Governor Schwarzenegger a letter asking for relief from the higher standard diesel fuel sold in the state and asking for an investigation of “market manipulation” by suppliers. Energy officials say refinery problems are causing much of the problem.
The California Energy Commission says farmers and truckers can expect to see prices for diesel fuel remain 10 to 15 cents a gallon higher than for gasoline. One diesel refinery that had been out of service for repairs is back online and gradually increasing production. But the commission says another diesel refinery has encountered production problems.
The increase in fuel costs is coming at a time of economic recovery for the shipping industry with deliver firms like UPS showing good profits recently and trucking companies like Knight Transportation - who is building a new West Coast hub in Tulare announcing record revenue for the first quarter in late April with net income up 31%, an apparent reflection of an improved business climate in the US and an economy that can sustain higher shipping rates. The company is moving forward on the terminal on 99 with a decision by the city planning commission to allow above ground fuel tanks despite concerns by airport interests that the facility is in the flight path. But the airport itself has above ground fuel tanks, notes city manger Kevin Northcraft.
For California farmers the high price of diesel just as spring comes on is a pattern they’ve seen before. The state’s farmers use more than 1.5 million gallons a day of diesel fuel at the harvest time. This year the price increase is coming at planting time, notes Farm Bureau spokesman Dave Krantz. “The farmer has to absorb this cost like many others, without the ability to pass on the higher margin,” Krantz notes. He says some farmers with storage tanks have taken advantage of lower prices during the winter to fill up their tanks, “but most farmers buy on the open market.” He cautions farmers are concerned about higher fertilizer costs caused by increases in natural gas as well. “Farmers are watching how this trucking work stoppage will play itself out considering that we need to use the trucks for shipping our product to market.”
Anticipating year after year of spiking diesel fuel prices, Nisei Farm League president Manuel Cunha spearheaded a drive to site a 2 million gallon storage tank west of Fresno that supposed to be filled up in the off price season to keep farmers from getting hammered in the spring when prices inevitably go up. Cunha says the state Air Board and other state agencies are responsible for implementing a plan to fill the tank “dropped the ball” this year.
With the diesel fuel shortage in California impacting the local economy the California Attorney General has urged Shell Oil not to close their Bakersfield refinery in October as they have announced. Keeping the refinery, that produces 6% of the diesel fuel sold in the state, open another 3 months should “assure an adequate supply of diesel fuel for the harvest” this year. Shell had said they would not sell the refinery even though they are planning to close it, but later suggested they would entertain a buyer.
Also last week Senator Barbara Boxer weighed in on the Shell Refinery calling on the president of the company to agree to an internal audit of the condition of the refinery and postpone the closure of the facility. Also Shell, in a letter to Lockyear, said they had received four letters of interest from potential buyers, reported the Bakersfield Californian.
New Life For Merryman Station
Train Themed “Orange Blossom Junction” Planned
Exeter - A Visalia investor has purchased a landmark on Highway 198 east of Exeter - the old stop on the Visalia electric railroad - Merryman Station. Remodeled at considerable expense in the 1980s into a busy steakhouse - Merryman Station has been closed more than it has been open in recent memory and was actually foreclosed on by a bank in June of last year. The former operator of a restaurant at the site shut their doors in November of 2002.
Now the place as well as the former Fourth Wall headquarters - some 5 acres of land and a total of 1700 sq. ft. of building space - has been acquired by Visalia’s Doug Long.
Long, a local attorney, says he plans a “train themed” project that includes the rebranding of the complex as “Orange Blossom Junction.”
The tourist stop will feature a 1919 steam locomotive and 12 cars as well as a number of caboose cars along the front of the complex that sprawls along 198 just east of Spruce. “It’s going to look like the train just pulled in,” says Long, somewhat similar to a complex in Calistoga. Inside the train cars would be retail stores.
“This is going to take some time,” says Long, suggesting the first thing we will see is an antique warehouse that will open in the warehouse building just east of the restaurant as soon as this summer. Long says chef George Quility will operate the restaurant that will start out being available for special occasions as well as special events to be launched at Orange Blossom Junction. “We might have blues nite with ribs” for example he says and “we will bring in some talent.”
Long went through a special permit process with the county that is winding up now. Orange Blossom Junction will likely have a B and B, nursery and a candy factory as part of its long term offerings. He speculates it could involve a $2 million investment. “We want to make it a destination for Tulare County,” noting that there is “something about trains that make people want to stop.” For more information on the project or to book an event, call the company at 592-ORANGE.
Handling the transaction for both parties was Laura Walheim of Zeeb Commercial.
Milk Money Comes Home At Land O'Lakes
Tulare - Land O'Lakes reported a huge turn around in sales and earnings for the first quarter of 2004 with a net earning running at $46.5 million compared to a loss of $400,000 during the same period last year.
Sales jumped to $2 billion compared to $1.45 billion in the first quarter of last year.
The cooperative operates the largest single dairy processing plant in the world in Tulare and is building a second phase of its new CPI Cheese and Whey plant currently. That project is scheduled to be complete in June.
One of Tulare's largest employers, the farmer-owned cooperative is one of two major dairy co-ops in the county with a large membership here.
he run up in food prices in the past few months means more milk money will be circulating in Tulare County.
Helping to propel the company's earnings were its dairy food business with dollar sales up over 40%. Sales of the company's branded butter were up 31% and cheese sales up 28%. Food service value increased 38%, the company reported. The dairy food division had nearly a $20 million loss during the first quarter of 2003.
A major component of the higher number - an improved price of milk that for the quarter averaged $13.83 per hundredweight, up $2.46 per cwt from a year before. The higher butter markets meant a 67 cent improvement in that commodity.
But president of the company, John Gherty, sounded a note of caution in a statement that said that "While we all can celebrate the impact of the current strong markets, as a farmer-owned system, we must also keep in mind that ongoing elevated prices do have the potential to dampen customer demand and put downward pressure on volumes."
Gherty noted that the expansion of the CPI plant in Tulare was "on schedule and on budget" and promised to reduce the per volume cost for production at the new facility.
The cooperative also saw gains in feed sales, eggs, swine and its agronomy business.
With these results during the first quarter of 2004 - through March - the second quarter is likely to be even more impressive given the run up in dairy prices this year.
Tulare County Crops Record Modest 3.2% Increase In 2003
Tulare County - Tulare County recorded a 3.2% increase in value of all commodities produced here in 2003 including the return of milk as a $1 billion crop from a decline the year before. For 2003 the county recorded a value of $3.29 billion. That puts us at number two behind Fresno for the year.
Ag Commissioner Gary Kunkel says Tulare County's crop report "pretty well lives or dies on the price of milk" which was up toward the end of the year in 2003. The report has skyrocketed in 2004 fueling expectations that Tulare County could overtake Fresno County this year as the US's most productive ag county. But an impressive 18% increase in Fresno crop report in 2003 may dampen that expectation. (See other article)
Tulare remains the number one dairy county in the US with four times the production of milk of Fresno County. Fresno County farm acreage dwarfs Tulare County ag land. Tulare does more with less with some 1.6 million irrigated acres vs Fresno's at around 2.5 million acres.
Looking ahead, total milk returns for 2004 could be 40% higher or more in Tulare County if the current high price is sustained most of the year as expected.
The good news in the friendly competition - a farm economy in both counties is getting better. Following milk was oranges recording a return of $442 million, down slightly from 2002 on lower per ton prices.
Unlike Fresno County, vegetable crop acreage and returns decreased in 2003. Walnuts were a big winner in 2003 more than doubling in value from 2002. Pistachios had a bad year decreasing in value by about one half. Plums were up for the year. Nursery products were down in 2003.
The 2003 crop report showed an increase in harvested acreage from 1.56 million acres in 2002 to 1.6 million, a sign that more acreage is being added than is being lost to urbanization for example. Kunkel points out that dairies are being sited on land in the southwest portion of the county and improving it with manure from their dairies growing field crops on land that once was scrubland.
More timber was harvested in 2003 - up for a change from 4.8 million board ft. in 2002 to 9.8 million board ft. in 2003 with values nearly tripling.
Tulare County remains the state's number one citrus county producing about half the oranges in the state. Total citrus acreage here is now over 113,000 acres compared to 106,000 in 1999.
Despite reports that farmers have been pulling grape vineyards in the valley, harvest acreage for all grapes in Tulare County is the same as 2003 at 73,000 acres. The same report from olives finds exactly the same acreage of that crop despite a per ton decrease in value in 2002.
Kings County - Kings County raised its crop value by 10% in 2003, up from $1 billion in 2002 to $1.1 billion in 2003. Increases in most categories fueled the higher numbers although field crops were down slightly. Livestock and poultry gained nearly $60 million and livestock and poultry products were up over $420 million in value and the county's vegetable crop acreage increased by nearly a third and increased by $40 million. Milk revenue was up by 7.2%.
The county's acreage was up nearly 50,000 acres mostly in field crops but also in vegetables.
Fresno County - Gross production of farm products from Fresno County was up nearly 18% last year hitting a record $4 billion for 2003.
That number blew away the competition for the top ag county with neighbor Tulare County coming in at $3.29 billion.
A number of top crops increased in both in acreage and price per acre. Powering the number was a nearly $400,000 increase in value of the Fresno vegetable crop which saw a big increase in tomato, onion, broccoli and even fresh garlic - a crop under pressure from Chinese imports. Fresh tomatoes brought triple its value in 2002 boosted by higher per ton rates of $720 per ton vs $401 in 2002.
In key categories of vegetables, fruit and nuts the increased plantings in the nation's number one ag county - up over 50,000 acres - may be a sign farmers are coming out of a multi year slump that has hit many commodities.
In 2003 the total value of all crops produced increased $600,000 reflecting strength in many crops. "The agricultural economy is improving," says Fresno Ag Commissioner Jerry Prieto.
The improved numbers included better prices of watermelon and cantaloupe, a surprising surge in orange returns included an increase in acreage from 27,266 acres in 2002 to 34,392 in 2003 and total returns that nearly doubled from $138 million in 2002 to $215 million in 2003.
In the hard hit grape sector, Fresno's returns were identical to last year on 5000 fewer acres.
Peaches in 2003 went up in both acreage and value, jumping from just 13,000 acres in 2002 to 21,000 acres last year while total returns went from $93 million to $158 million. Cattle and calves were also up, jumping from $90 million to $138 million on high beef prices.
On the negative side, totals for field crops were down slightly from 2003.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
May 5, 2004
