Farmers Already Forced To Abandon Crops As Additional Water Restrictions Loom

By Tom Karst

July 12, 2021

Bringing into focus some of the California crop losses caused by the 2021 drought, Western Growers has released a series of videos called “No Water = No Crops.”  

The videos feature three California farmers who talk about the losses they are suffering this year.

“This is one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in a long time,” Joe Del Bosque of Del Bosque Farms, Firebaugh, Calif., who sacrificed his asparagus field that still had five years’ productivity left, said in one video. “Seventy people are going to lose their jobs here. Next year, there will be no harvest here. Those 70 people lose two months of work. It’s a very difficult hit for them.”

Another video features Ross Franson of Fresno, Calif.-based Woolf Farming.

“Around this time of year, we’d normally be prepping for harvest,” Franson said in the video. 

The farm has started knocking down almond trees in its 400-acre orchard, he said. 

“But due to the dire drought that’s going on in the state of California right now, we made the decision to pull these trees out simply because we didn’t have the water to irrigate them.”

“These trees are all dead, and they shouldn’t be,” Jared Plumlee of Booth Ranches said in one video. The company produces citrus in Orange Cove, Calif., and destroyed 70 acres of trees because of the drought.

“It’s just a shame. This block had probably 20 years of productive life, and we were forced to push it out.”

Western Growers president and CEO Dave Puglia said in a news release that the future of agriculture in California is being compromised by the regulatory uncertainty of water deliveries to farms.

“Is that really what you want? Do you want a bunch of dust blowing through the center of the state interrupted by fields of solar panels, which don’t employ many people?” Puglia said in the release. 

“It is a question that needs to be posed to Californians, generally, and their political leaders. Is that what you want? Because that is the path you are on.”

Lead Photo: Joe Del Bosque of Del Bosque Farms, Firebaugh, Calif. points to a melon field that was plowed under because of the drought.

California Fires: “I’m Not Sure Growers Can Prepare For Something Like This”

Falling Ash Has Blanketed Most of The Salinas Valley

California’s wildfires continue to press on as growers in the region watch and try to assess potential damage.

As of Sunday evening, the state has seen more than 560 fires, two of which are being called the largest in the state’s history according to California Governor Gavin Newsom. The fires have burned more than 1,205 square miles across California.

“The immediate effects have been poor air quality due to smoke and falling ash that has blanketed most of the Salinas Valley and all the crops that grow here,” says John Galvez of Salinas, CA-based Markon. “The smoke makes an already challenging job more difficult for farmworkers, and although grower/shippers are adjusting production hours to minimize exposure, they may be forced to curtail production if conditions become too hazardous.”

Ash covers a farm worker's gloves. Photo: Markon Cooperative

“Ash is everywhere”
He adds that the ash is everywhere and impossible to remove completely. “Leaf lettuce crops that grow open have more substantial amounts that get trapped in between the leaves. It is expected that most field-packed crops will have some ash on them and require thorough rinsing,” says Galvez.

As Galvez says, while wildfires have impacted the Salinas Valley before, this River fire is the closest they’ve seen in proximity to farmland and may end up having the most impact compared to events of the past. “I’m not sure there’s anything growers can do to prepare for something like this,” he says. “But as these events unfold, communication to customers is critical to understand the challenges and how the supply and quality of fresh produce may be affected.”

Over at G.W. Palmer & Co. Inc. in Salinas, CA, Steve Johnston says he hasn’t yet heard of any crops that have been damaged and nor have there been any customer complaints over product that has gone out in the last week. (The situation has been building up following the first lightning strikes that began a week ago Sunday.) “I just don’t know how the poor workers were able to handle it. They had the masks on to help them so that’s a good thing. But the heat and the ash and the air quality have been unbelievable,” says Johnston.

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Ash lands on field-packed lettuce. Photo: Markon Cooperative

Smoke and heat
He adds that while the heat is an issue, the smoke has actually helped somewhat. “The smoke has kept down the temperatures. It could have been a lot warmer had it not been for all the smoke in the sky,” says Johnston.

So for now, growers will continue to watch and wait. As Jeannie Smith of E Foods notes, fire firefighters in the region are acutely aware of stopping the fires prior to hitting the fields. “They know the financial damage a fire-ravaged field would cost. Not only the loss of product but the loss of jobs,” says Smith, noting that this is another challenge on top of COVID-19 related circumstances. “The fire crews are literally moving mountains to protect life and property,” adds Galvez.

That said, the impact could be wide. “Many people who work in the agriculture community live in the neighborhoods with evacuation orders or warnings so there probably isn’t a produce company in the area that hasn’t had at least a couple of people directly impacted,” says Galvez. “It’s made for an extremely stressful and disruptive week.”

For more information:
John Galvez
Markon
Tel: +1 (831) 757-9737
johng@markon.com
www.markon.com

Steve Johnston
G.W. Palmer & Co., Inc.
Tel: +1 (831) 753-6578
sjohnston@gwpalmer.net 
http://www.gwpalmer.net/

Jeannie Smith
E Foods
Tel : +1 (407) 830-9498
jsmith@efoodsinc.com
http://efoodsinc.com/

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Publication date: Mon 24 Aug 2020
Author: Astrid Van Den Broek
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