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San Diego County Farm Bureau News
February 2009: Vol. 22. No. 2

MONTHLY COLUMNS

President's Message

We must continue to hold USDA and CDFA to their obligation to fund eradication of the Asian citrus psyllid
by Chuck Badger

Pest exclusion and eradication have, unfortunately, become popular words in Southern California farming circles. For more than two years now, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has been working on an eradication program for the Diaprepes Citrus Root Weevil. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has also recently enacted a quarantine in San Diego and Imperial counties to eradicate the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) and, hopefully, exclude it from the rest of the state. We must learn political lessons from the Diaprepes eradication effort to make sure the ACP radication /exclusion effort works.

San Diego County Farm Bureau (SDCFB) worked tirelessly in 2008 to find money in the state budget to continue the successful efforts at eradicating the Diaprepes. As most of you now know, Governor Schwarzenegger blue-lined these funds, and SDCFB continues to search for ways to continue the eradication effort. CDFA did show that the Diaprepes can be controlled. The question is, can we find the political will and the money to do so? Only time will tell—but, especially for the citrus and nursery industries, the answer must be yes!

We are now a few months into the Asian citrus psyllid quarantine, and all early reports signal the same as the Diaprepes eradication efforts—we can control ACP. Similar to the Diaprepes work, the ACP eradication and exclusion efforts will be expensive. But to fail means to lose California’s citrus industry. Therefore, we must press USDA and CDFA to do everything in their power to make the quarantine successful and continue the funding for the eradication of ACP.

This success will hinge on two items. First we must cooperate with Mexico to spread the eradication efforts to their country. It does us no good to get rid of the ACP here, only to have more psyllids re-infest American groves because the pest is not controlled in Mexico. Secondly, we must insist that USDA do a better job of publicizing the quarantine to the general public. While the agencies have done an admirable job communicating with growers, most San Diegans have no clue what an Asian citrus psyllid is or know that there is a quarantine because of it. How much backyard fruit travels from south of Highway 78 to north of Highway 78 on a daily basis? I don’t know, but I’m sure some does. Until USDA does a better job of public outreach, I fear that the ACP will spread further north. Let’s make sure that USDA does not lose their will or financial commitment to fight the ACP battle. It’s a war we cannot afford to lose.

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From the Executive Director

The fundamentals of water pricing have changed—forever
by Eric Larson

2009 will be a challenging year for water board directors when they have to tell their constituents to use less water and pay more for what they do use. No matter how tight those directors pull their districts’ belts or how well they deliver the message of conservation, they will be overtaken by events not of their making.
Most folks know the fundamentals of supply have changed because of regulatory constraints, low precipitation, and state leadership that ignored the water situation for decades. On the price side, the fundamentals have changed as well—the reasons just aren’t as well known.
Historically, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California drew heavily on less-expensive Colorado River water and covered peak demands with more costly State Water Project water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. That was possible because California was able to draw far more than its allotted share from the Colorado while the other states that draw from the river were under- using their share. That all changed in 2003 when California lost its access to the surplus Colorado River water, and the Delta water—at one-third higher cost—became the base. But that was short-lived.

Just a few years later, in 2007, the first in what is now a series of legal decisions to protect fish in the Delta was handed down and State Water Project water itself went on the endangered list. With far less water flowing south, the wholesale water agencies had to seek out much more expensive market water from willing sellers to meet demands. But even the expensive market water won’t be enough to keep aqueducts and pipes full. That poses another problem for the rate setters.

Now there is less water to sell through the infrastructure that was designed and financed to run full. That means each of the reduced gallons of water that is sold through the system must bear a heavier load to cover maintenance and operational costs. Get less, pay more.

Odds are looking good that you will get more bad news than good from your water board members this year. We expect them to be held accountable for running efficient local districts, but the changes in the fundamentals of the state’s water supply and pricing is beyond their resolution.

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From the Ag Commissioner

AWM introduces its new Detector Dog Team


by Bob Atkins
Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures

This year, San Diego County, along with three others—Contra Costa, Sacramento and San Bernardino—were awarded a “High Risk Pest Surveillance Canine Inspection Team Program” contract by CDFA; otherwise known as a Detector Dog Team. This award is due, in part, to the implementation and operation of the High Risk Pest Exclusion (HRPE) Program by the Plant Health and Pest Prevention Program staff in AWM. Additionally, this award reflects the fact that San Diego County has the sixth highest urban population among counties in the United States and the 12th largest agricultural economy.

The HRPE Program works by conducting inspections at a variety of facilities where high risk shipments are regularly intercepted. These facilities include production nurseries, specialty produce markets, swap meets, air freight, United States Postal Distribution Centers, and parcel terminals such as Federal Express, United Parcel Service, and DHL.

Historically, parcel inspections and resulting interceptions and seizures were limited to an inspector’s ability to recognize suspect packages which often do not list their contents. The addition of a Detector Dog Team to the parcel inspection program will significantly improve AWM’s ability to intercept plant material and produce in unmarked packages and increase the number of pest interceptions.

I am happy to introduce AWM’s new Detector Dog Team, Inspector Jeremy Partch, and his partner, “Friday.” The two recently returned to San Diego after completing 10 weeks of training at USDA’s National Detection Dog Training Center in Orlando, Florida. Friday is a 2½-year old female black Labrador retriever that was rescued from a pound. She is quite special. The USDA tests and rejects hundreds of dogs just to find a single candidate to undergo the rigors of the National Detector Dog Training Center. Friday was the star pupil of her class. She is exceedingly friendly, intelligent, and loves to work.

Friday was trained to detect fruit, such as citrus, mango, guava, apples and stone fruit. She has been trained to walk on conveyor belts and search the shelves inside vans to detect illegal or unmarked incoming high-risk shipments of plant material and produce.

Inspectors Partch and Friday will spend the next month or so getting used to their new routine, which will soon include parcel screenings at Federal Express, United Parcel Service, DHL, and local airfreight terminals. I am thrilled to have Friday as part of our team.

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Ask the Farm & Home Advisor

by Valerie J. Mellano, Ph.D., Acting County Director
UC Cooperative Extension, Farm & Home Advisor Department, San Diego County

Volunteers keep the Farm and Home Advisors running

Q: I know that you have a lot of volunteers in your office. What do they do?

A: Our entire office benefits from the large number of volunteers who assist us in our programs. We have three categories of individuals who are involved in almost all of our programs. The first category is our Master Gardener Volunteers, primarily working with Vince Lazaneo, our Home Horticulture Advisor. The second group is the 4-H volunteers, assisting in making the 4-H program a success, and the third is the group of individuals who cooperate on our programs by allowing us to use their farms and businesses for our research programs.

The Master Gardeners are a busy and well-connected group. Currently we have 250 Master Gardener Volunteers in our program. To become a Master Gardener, you will need to attend a weekly class for approximately five months. The class is a comprehensive training in all aspects of gardening. Those completing the course must provide approximately 30 volunteer hours per year back to the office programs, attend continuing education, and answer home gardening questions on the Master Gardener Hotline, which is available to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. Most Master Gardeners go above and beyond, helping with other office programs and community projects like school gardens. San Diego’s Master Gardener program started in 1983; they will be celebrating their Silver Jubilee in March of this year, and several of the original Master Gardeners are still working in the program.

The 4-H volunteers are another large and active group. We have 350 4-H volunteers who provide leadership for the 4-H clubs, projects, after school activities, fair activities and numerous other 4-H programs such as the 4-H Leadership Conference attended by 4-H youth in the county. The San Diego County 4-H program has 30 clubs, and is one of the largest programs in the State of California.

Grower and business cooperators have been an essential part of our programs here in San Diego. Our nearest UC ag research facilities are at Riverside and Irvine, so having growers that will allow us to use their land, equipment, greenhouses, water and sometimes labor is essential to solving local problems. We have constantly had field trials in avocado and citrus production, nursery management and production, pest management, organic farming, new crop development, and even in marine biology, to name a few.
The generosity of the volunteers is an important aspect of our programs. They provide the community connection that allows us to provide the “University of California in your Backyard”!

Editor’s note: If you have a subject you would like addressed in this Ask the Farm & Home Advisor” column, contact Val Mellano at (760) 752-4717 or vjmellano@ucdavis.edu.Top of Page

Farm Bureau Has Been Working For You . . .

  • Submitted comments on the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s triennial basin plan review
  • Met with Escondido City Council members on water rates
  • Opened the Lakeside Farmers’ Market
  • Made presentation on local farming at the Pacific Seed Association annual meeting
  • Conducted tour for state legislative leaders
  • Presented public comments to Board of Supervisors on Farming Program Plan
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Ag News Bites

2008 Crop Report data collection begins soon

The Department of Ag, Weights & Measures recently mailed out the 2008 Crop Questionnaire to county growers. AWM strongly encourages all growers to complete this form and return it promptly so that they can develop a Crop Report that completely and accurately reflects agricultural production in San Diego County. Every grower plays an important part in painting a complete picture of local agriculture, which benefits the industry as a whole. If you haven’t received your questionnaire by mid-February, please call Colleen Carr at (858) 694-2858.

Farming TV in HD

Catch the television program that brings California farming topics into your home in high definition (HD). California Heartland, a 30-minute program which airs every Monday evening at 7 p.m. on your KPBS channel, is now in its ninth season—but its first in HD—and delivers interesting stories and fantastic photography detailing how the state’s $27 billion ag industry affects our lives. You can even catch archived episodes online at www.CaliforniaHeartland.org.

Flowers have power in the San Diego County economy

A recent study by the California Cut Flower Commission reveals that growers, wholesalers, and retail florists have a significant impact in the state’s economy. In terms of business activity, it is a remarkable $28.2 million per day, 365 days a year. That adds up to $10.3 billion per year. The report also breaks out regional numbers, and in San Diego County, a total annual value in terms of activity from the flower business is $782 million. Top of Page

FFA Ag-tivities

Orange Glen FFA

Chapter Accomplishments:

The Orange Glen FFA chapter took one steer, eight pigs and two goats to the San Diego County Fair in 2008, where all animals placed first or second in their classes.

During this school year, the Orange Glen Agriculture Department has been a single-person department offering Agriculture Science I and II and Agriculture Biology. Every other year, we offer Floriculture. We currently have 153 students enrolled in our agriculture program.

With only a few students going out for our horse judging team, we did pretty well at the Fallbrook Field Day. Later this year, we will be competing at the Norte Vista Field Day and Cal Poly/Mt. SAC Field Day. We are also looking forward to raising fair animals again this spring and competing at the 2009 San Diego County Fair.

 

Orange Glen FFA Wish List:

  • Standard hoes, hula-hoes, garden hoses, pitchforks, E-Z cart buckets
  • Lawn mowers (2)
  • String trimmers (2)
  • Fly traps for the livestock area
  • Clippers for fair animal

If you can help the Orange Glen FFA by providing any of these items, please contact the Farm Bureau at (760) 745-3023 or FFA instructors Marni Moore or Christa Bass at (760) 291-5069.

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The ag crime blotter

Jackie Cruz, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Agriculture Crime Prevention Specialist
Elisabeth Silva, Deputy District Attorney

Uptick in avocado thefts. The declining economy is contributing to an early upswing in avocado thefts. Recent thefts include 2,600 pounds of Hass and 1,000 pounds of Lamb Hass stripped from trees in Bonsall that were soon to be harvested. Other thefts have occurred in Valley Center and San Marcos. Growers sitting on a heavy crop that is nearing harvest should contact Jackie Cruz (760-525-1213) so she can request extra patrols in those areas. You will be asked to provide a 24-hour number where you can be reached.

If its raining, watch your crops for theft. Another recent theft trend is occurring at nursery sites and in avocado groves during rainy weather, when the crooks know law enforcement officers are focused on traffic issues. When it is raining or there are other weather/emergency issues going on locally, be aware that law enforcement will attend primarily to those issues rather than property crimes. During these times, increase your own surveillance of vulnerable targets of theft on your property.

Young trees pulled from ground. Yet another increasing practice among crooks is pulling young trees right out of the ground. A recent occurrence of this in the San Pasqual Valley is not an isolated instance; in the Central Valley, new orchards of bare-root fruit trees have been stripped. This type of crime has been slowly working its way south, so to avoid becoming a victim, devise some methods of theft prevention. This is a situation where the Sheriff’s Department must catch thieves in the act in order to prosecute, because there are no serial numbers or other forms of identification on trees to trace them back to a specific grower. Of course, if the trees are an unusual species or have unusual grafting, that information may help catch the thief and you could get your trees back.

Report all ag crimes! If you have been a victim of ag theft, the first thing to do is REPORT the crime. Call 911 if the crime is in progress, or (858) 565-5200 in non-emergency situations, or—if there are no witnesses or evidence to collect—report the crime through the Sheriff Department’s e-Crime Online Reporting system (www.sdsheriff.net and click on “e-Crime Online Reporting” under the “Contact” list of options). Once a report is filed, the Sheriff’s Department can post the information on their intercounty network to alert other regions of the activity and help prevent crooks from plying their stolen goods in other counties.

Cycad theft. Valuable specimen plants can be especially tempting for thieves. An Oceanside nursery that specializes in the production of palms and cycads has reported the theft of six blue cycads with 6-10-inch diameter caudexes.Top of Page

A Tribute to Agriculture

In celebration of National Agriculture Week March 15-21, 2009

by California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom
You can strengthen agricultural awareness and understanding by attending and/or sponsoring California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom’s Tribute to National Agriculture Week. Special events in Northern and Southern California will commemorate the celebration.

Few of today’s young people will ever have to worry about producing their own food, clothing, or shelter. In just a few generations, our distance from the farms and ranches has resulted in a lack of appreciation for this vital industry. It’s critical that the general public understand the role agriculture plays in providing our food, fiber, shelter, energy and other materials we use on a daily basis.

The Southern California event will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2009 and begins with a 10 a.m. tour of the Mission San Juan Capistrano (26801 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675), followed by a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at the nearby El Adobe Restaurant (31891 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675). Single-ticket admission is $200.

Your support of California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom allows us to teach these life lessons to students at a young age, while they are still forming their perceptions of the world around them. For tickets or sponsorship information, visit www.cfaitc.org/naw or call (800) 700-AITC (2482).

Featured Articles

Irrigated Lands Group signups continue to grow

by Nancy Walery
As growers realize that it is becoming mandatory for them to join a monitoring group or provide for their own runoff monitoring and reporting, signups to join the San Diego Region Irrigated Lands Group (SDRILG) are increasing daily. The SDRILG is offering enrollment at a discounted rate until June 30, 2009.

As of January 7, there were 872 enrollees in the group, with 370 (42 percent) of them new Farm Bureau members who joined to gain access to the monitoring group. More than 32,000 acres are represented by the current number of enrollees. With each new enrollee, the acreage grows larger and each member’s cost gets smaller as the operating costs for the group are spread over a larger base.

“We are very pleased with the response to our outreach to join the Irrigated Lands Group,” said SDCFB President Chuck Badger. “I think people are understanding that they absolutely must join a group, and that Farm Bureau is offering a great member benefit that will help them comply with the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s mandate. And the larger the group size, the less onerous it will be for each of us in the group.”

At the Jan. 8, 2009 SDCFB board meeting, the board approved a motion to move forward and incorporate the SDRILG as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Watch future newsletters for updates in the formation and activities of the SDRILG.

Even if you missed the early (Dec. 31) deadline to join the San Diego Region Irrigated Lands Group at the best discounted rate, Farm Bureau continues to accept new members at the current enrollment fee of $150 per acre up to $750.  If you’re not enrolled, what are you waiting for? To get started, call the Farm Bureau office today at (760) 745-3023 or go to www.sdfarmbureau.org and click on the Irrigated Lands Group menu.

An interview with David Van Ommering

David Van Ommering is a partner with his brother, Robert, at Van Ommering Dairy, a third generation operation on 190 acres in Lakeside. Van Ommering Dairy was established in 1960 by his parents, Gerrit and Gerry Van Ommering, after emigrating from the Netherlands. The dairy produces raw milk, which is sold through a cooperative to processors for cheese, butter, and milk powder products. Van Ommering is immediate past president of the San Diego County Farm Bureau and an active board member serving on several committees. He has also served as a board member of the Lakeside Planning Group, is past president of the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the San Diego Milk Producers Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness Management from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo and has worked on the dairy most of his life. In 2005, the Van Ommering Dairy launched the first methane gas-powered electric generating system in San Diego County in an effort to take advantage of his dairy’s “natural” resources and supply the operation’s energy needs. While the effort was costly and fraught with regulatory and bureaucratic delays, it has been a significant success. Now, Van Ommering and the entire California dairy industry are facing a formidable challenge that threatens their ability to continue working in the dairy business, which is the subject of this interview.

FB: It’s that time of year for “State of” addresses. From what we hear about milk prices, it sounds like the state of the dairy industry is rocky.

Van Ommering: The current state of the dairy industry is miserable for many dairy farmers right now, particularly those who don’t have enough equity in their farms to fall back on. The situation has become something of a “perfect storm”: Milk prices are down; consumer demand for milk and milk products are down; the export market for milk powder, a major export, dried up due to the state of the world economy; the U.S. dollar is not currently competitive in the world market; and feed prices have not fallen as quickly as milk prices. So costs are still high while our income has quickly dropped, and we almost hit the wall in November. Now we’re facing “survival of the fittest”—where those with some equity—or can hold out until good times return—will stay in the industry, while many others will call it quits.

FB: To a layperson, the mechanism for setting milk prices can be con-fusing. Is there an easy explanation?

Van Ommering: Milk pricing is set by a market-driven formula that the government runs. The government operates the pricing system and only gets involved to buy milk powder and cheese at a given price. But the system is truly market driven. First, understand that milk is sold by the 100 pounds, or “per 100-weight”—an antiquated system still in use today. So at about 8.5 pounds per gallon, that’s about 11.5 gallons per 100-weight. In June 2007, dairy farmers were earning about $20 per 100-weight; in June 2008, we received about $17.42 per 100-weight; right now, we are only receiving payments in the range of $10.50 per 100-weight for these products in the market; how-ever, most dairies can only break even at $15.

Rather than weather these ups and downs in the market price, dairy farmers can choose to purchase “milk futures” to protect them from significant price drops in the market—and some banks holding a dairy farmer’s loans may require them to. Like we’ve recently seen with the oil commodity, speculators and commodity brokers who buy on the futures market can cause undue influence in the market with no real market bearing behind their actions. With milk futures, which are for three- or six-month periods, we can minimize our losses by locking in a price. If you decide to lock in at a given price, you protect yourself if the bottom falls out of the market, but you also won’t enjoy any gains if the value rises above your lock-in price. It’s a gamble that works for some, but I would rather take my chances on the market price.

FB: Can you give us a sense of what it costs to produce a gallon of milk and what dairymen receive?

Van Ommering: In November, when the farm price per 100-weight was $12, we calculated our break-even price (which varies for every dairy farmer based on their debt load) at $15 ($1.20 to $1.30 per gallon). In February, when the farm price per 100-weight drops to an estimated $10, our farm price will drop to $.87 per gallon. In short, what is happening is the market is paying 1970s-era prices while we endure 2009 costs. This is a huge loss in equity that will be hard to make up. When my father was running the business, we didn’t experience dramatic price swings because the government was more involved then; now that it’s market driven, it’s far more volatile.

It would be nice if, during our good years, we could save that money for the rainy day years we know lie ahead, but the tax laws won’t allow it. If we put the money into a reserve/rainy day fund, it will be taxed. So it compels us to put any “excess” money earned in those good times into buying/expanding facilities, the herd or more feed so we won’t be taxed on it. It’s a double-edged sword. Now, those producers who have overbuilt—and made good money when prices were good—are in serious trouble and will suffer big losses now that prices are bad.

FB: Are consumers shying away from dairy products? Is it the bad economy? Are there too many cows? Maybe a bit of all three?

Van Ommering: Domestically, it’s really only restaurants and the food service sector that are reducing their demand for dairy products. Because about 60 percent of dairy products are used by food service (such as cheese for pizza), when so many consumers stop dining out, that’s a big reduction in demand. I don’t believe consumers are making different purchasing decisions at the grocery store, but by staying at home, it is hurting the demand for dairy products by the food industry.

Meanwhile, our industry has become more efficient. Dairies have less cows, but they are producing more milk. We had this huge supply of milk on the market when the economy and the food service industry demand tanked; Australia and New Zealand had recovered from a severe two-year drought, so our exports were not in great demand, and there was simply no place for all the product to go, plunging prices rapidly. We are at the mercy of the market.

FB: So, international market issues impact the market for domestically produced milk?

Van Ommering: As just mentioned, Australia and New Zealand have recovered from two years of 100-year-drought-like conditions. During that drought period, their wells were low, and they were importing hay and feed at higher costs than they could produce. From 2006 through 2008, U.S. products were in great demand around the world because Australia and New Zealand were unable to produce their normal export volume. Now that they have recovered, they can produce their own hay and feed at a better price than our imports, and they have resumed exporting their normal volumes, thus reducing world demand for U.S. dairy exports.

FB: The government has been heavily involved in price setting and the purchase of milk surpluses. Are they making the right moves?

Van Ommering: The government had little involvement in purchasing surpluses until November and December 2008. Before that, a market existed for our products. The government started purchasing some milk powder, but if they keep buying it at the current price, dairy farmers will not be able to survive on it and will go out of business. The government doesn’t really set the price, but they are facilitating the price formula. In essence, they are keeping the price from dropping to incredible lows, so, yes, they are doing the right thing, but it remains to be seen how much the government can buy with the current deficit. As an industry, we should not be selling to the government, but that is the situation right now, and farmers will be going out of business because of it. I predict that 10 to 15 percent more dairy farmers will go out of business if the current price doesn’t change by June.

FB: Overproduction must be very difficult for the industry to deal with because the inventory of cows is not easily changed. Is anything being done to reduce the herd size?

Van Ommering: It’s another part of the perfect storm: Usually, dairy farmers can sell their two-year-old cows—which are just starting to produce milk—if they must, to survive. But right now, you can’t recoup the cost of raising that heifer, because no one is even buying animals—even at such low prices. In addition, cooperatives impose a volume base on producers, so if we overproduce, we will actually be charged to pick up that excess milk and will receive no income from it. So no one is adding extra animals to their herd to avoid overproducing their base. We’re getting less for milk, and being charged for excess milk. And the beef price is depressed, so if we send the animals to slaughter, we can’t recover our costs that way, either. It’s a confluence of many negative events happening all at once.

To deal with the industry’s overproduction problem, dairies have formed an organization called CWT (Cooperatives Working Together). Participating dairies pay 10¢ per 100-weight to fund the cooperative, whose mission is two-fold: Help improve exports and retire herds. On the latter, CWT buys a dairy farmer’s cows to remove that supply from the market to hopefully force milk prices to increase.
Last November, a 1,000-cow dairy was losing $100,000 per month. By February, that dairy will be hemorrhaging $150,000 to $200,000 per month. These are desperate times. If we can’t force a price increase to occur in the next few months, the market will take care of that overproduction in the form of dairymen leaving the industry.

FB: The dairy industry is heavily invested in product promotion. In fact, “Happy Cows,” “It’s the Cheese,” and “Got Milk?” are common to most everyone. Is there any discussion about expanding those programs?

Van Ommering: This is an industry sore spot. We are spending 15¢ per 100-weight for these promotions, which have helped a lot. But it’s frustrating in these bad times to be paying this money and getting no price relief in return. We will not be expanding these programs at this time. Some of the things they have tried to promote, like milk and yogurt at fast food restaurants, have only helped the industry a little bit—nowhere near what we need to unload surplus milk. It all comes down to supply and demand.

FB: Now, on your dairy you’ve done such things as generate electricity from methane and open an annual pumpkin patch. Are these kinds of diversifications a key to the future for dairies?

Van Ommering: San Diego County dairymen are pursuing different avenues of diversification to create alternate sources of income. It’s the only way to survive in this business. Frank Konyn is working on green recycling, composting and cow manure. We have opened a pumpkin patch, offer composting, and built a methane digester which, in addition to powering our operation and the housing on our property for my family and our employees, will power the creamery and processing plant we have in our future building plans. Our expanding ag-tourism endeavors will give us the opportunity to market our products directly to the people who visit our farm. Other dairy farmers are trying other ways to make up for the shortfall, but they have to have been working on it for a couple years before it starts generating revenue. Like investing in mutual funds, diversification will be the key to survival for small dairies throughout the state.

FB: San Diego County’s dairy history has seen the number of dairy farms go from more than 100 down to just a handful over the past few decades. Are we stabilized now, or might we see continued decline?

Van Ommering: San Diego County probably has today at its five dairies near the same number of cows as it did when we had 100 dairies. To survive this downturn will depend on price. We cannot sustain losses of $2,000 to $3,000 per day and stay in business. To lose less money, we will have to sell our cows at whatever price we can get and quit the business. In farming, sometimes it’s cheaper to plow the crop under than to nurture and harvest it only to sell it at a loss. That’s where we are now. We have to see how this market plays out.

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SDCFB reviews, approves existing Legislative Platform

The SDCFB Board of Directors re-evaluates its Legislative Platform early each calendar year in order to give the organization the ability to move quickly on proposed legislation. The platform, adopted in October 2003 and modified periodically, was not changed from the 2007 version and currently reads as shown below.

The San Diego County Farm Bureau supports legislative actions that serve the following statements and opposes legislation that works contrary to the statements below.
These recommended policies are not intended to replace debate and discussion, but merely to facilitate quick response when needed. Although the above list is relatively short, it is expected to grow over time. The safeguard of this process is the requirement that letters go out over the signature of the president or a member of the SDCFB Executive Committee.

  • Provides for development of farmworker housing.
  • Eases regulatory compliance.
  • Guarantees secure water supplies at reasonable increase in costs.
  • Protects against the risk of and damage from exotic pest introductions.
  • Gives farmers easier access to markets.
  • Reduces cost of doing business.
  • Protects farmers from unfair trade practices.
  • Provides for customer choice access to energy resources.
  • Promotes efforts to market locally grown agricultural products.
  • Provides for reasonable compliance with state and federal clean water regulations.
  • Facilitates the continued existence of a reliable workforce.
  • Works toward the delivery of disaster assistance to farmers.

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Business Supporting Member Focus

H&H Avocado

by Nancy Walery
Avi Crane has made avocados his livelihood, and his investment has been a labor of love. Crane is founder, CEO and President of Prime Produce International, LLC, which purchased H&H Avocado Company in 2005. The two companies are like two sides of the same coin: H&H is the packinghouse operation that supports California avocado growers, and Prime Produce (PPI) supplies the retail and foodservice industry with those avocados.

The roots of Crane’s avocado career date back to 1973, when he was a college student in Israel and began studying avocado production, later earning his degree there in subtropical fruit production from Ruppein College. He became entrenched in the local avocado industry, running one of the country’s largest avocado groves, and, with water woes similar to Southern California’s, he focused intently on maximizing yields with innovative irrigation techniques. In 1985, he returned to the U.S. to accept a position with the California Avocado Commission (CAC) as Crop Estimator. Today, 16 years after he left CAC, his avocado crop estimating procedure is still used, albeit in a more technology-based format than the original method. Crane was promoted to CAC’s Vice President of Industry Affairs, where, in addition to being in charge of grower relations, he further developed the AMRIC system so that growers had better knowledge of market conditions during their harvest period. After eight years at CAC, Crane was recruited by Chiquita to establish their avocado division, which would lead six years later to joining Calavo Growers as their Vice President of International Sales to market avocados imported from Mexico and Chile. A former member of CAC and the National Hass Avocado Board, Crane has also been a regular attendee and speaker at the quadrennial World Avocado Congress.

With the avocado production and marketing knowledge and experience he amassed over the years, Crane formed PPI in 2004, establishing headquarters in the city of Orange to source, market and sell avocados grown in California, Chile, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and New Zealand to wholesale, foodservice and retail customers. The following year, Crane purchased H&H Avocado, a Yorba Linda packinghouse founded in 1941—and retained all of its employees—to become an active packer and shipper of locally grown as well as imported fruit for his food service customers nationwide.

“We are in the market 12 months of the year, so we can move substantial volumes weekly because our customers rely on us year-round,” Crane said of H&H/PPI’s advantages in the industry. “When it’s time to harvest, we are ready to help growers move that fruit. We have experienced staff who know how to pack their avocados, and we have the customer base ready to buy that fruit. We understand and strive to accommodate the grower’s needs and difficulties, and we don’t have a big bureaucracy, so we can react quickly to market conditions, whatever they may be. As their grower ads say, ‘We are the stewards of the fruits of your labor and will fight for a maximum return on your investment.’”

Crane added that, even though this is the time of year when most of the avocados in our stores are coming from Chile and Mexico (25 and 75 percent, respectively), by this spring, when the California crop takes center stage in the market, California avocado growers will harvest their smallest crop in at least 20 years. This is the result of multiple assaults on agriculture by Mother Nature over the last 15 months, from the 2007 wildfires, to debilitating water restrictions that began in January 2008, to an early heat wave last spring that killed the tree blossoms before they could set fruit. So in 2009, imported fruit will play a stronger role in keeping U.S. consumers supplied with the green delicacy. But Crane’s customers, like most, still prefer the California avocados over imported.

“Because of all the work done by the California Avocado Commission to promote California avocados, all our food service customers prefer them,” said Crane, who moves primarily the Hass variety and some Lamb Hass preferred by the food service industry. “The franchise for the California avocado is unbelievable. However, since import trade restrictions on foreign-grown avocados have been lifted over the past few years, we can’t keep the imports out—and we don’t necessarily want to, because those imports helped fuel consumer demand across the country for avocados,” Crane continued, adding that he represented California avocado growers during the NAFTA negotiations in Washington, D.C. to ensure that phytosanitary standards would be protected in the trade agreements. “Over the last 10 years, demand has skyrocketed, and California can no longer supply the U.S. demand for the fruit. So, overall, imports have been very good at growing domestic demand for avocados because it has allowed retailers and food service to promote Hass avocados year-round. And Peru was recently given the go-ahead to export to the U.S.”

Continually striving to improve on delivering perfectly ripened fruit to customers exactly when they want them, PPI launched its new avocado ripening process, PrimeRipe® in 2006. The patented protocol, which is exclusive to PPI avocados sold in the U.S., uses Xtend® bag technology to ripen avocados directly in the box by temperature and change alone. The process produces a consistently top quality ripened product without injecting ethylene gas and at a lower product cost to PPI’s trade customers.

Crane also understands the value of information that helps growers choose the optimum time to harvest. In order to ensure his growers have access to the most current production market information to make the most profitable business decisions, Crane also publishes a monthly e-newsletter, “The Avocado Primer,” a worldwide avocado market analysis, which discusses both demand and supply trends in the current market and future projections.
“I’ve spent my career doing this, and I believe growers need to have as much information as possible so they can make informed decisions on when to harvest,” said Crane, whose two sons, Yair and Gahl, have joined the family business in recent years. “For too long, growers have not had access to that, putting them at a competitive disadvantage. Communication was one of my key functions at CAC, and I’m a true believer that each individual grower can make the best harvest decisions for their avocados. I like to remind growers that ‘we can only survive if you survive.’”

For more information about H&H Avocado, contact the company’s Grower Relations Manager, Diana Mathias at Diana@prime-produce.com or toll-free at (800) 422-4113, Ext. 202.

San Diego County has a strong roster of Business Supporting members dedicated to serving the local agriculture community. For a complete list of Business Supporting members and the services they provide, visit the San Diego County Farm Bureau Web site at www.sdfarmbureau.org, and click on the Membership Services / Business Supporting Members link.

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Farm Team contributes to legislative successes

Casey Cooley Gudel, CFBF Grassroots Coordinator

More than 3,000 bills were introduced in the State Legislature in 2008, with over 1,100 actually reaching the Governor’s desk. That’s a lot to keep up with! Farm Bureau staff monitors each and every one for impacts on your farming and ranching operations.

Updates on bills are brought to you through the Capitol Alert section of Ag Alert, letting you know which bills were killed, which passed and those we need your action on. And your actions last year paid off! Farm Team members statewide came out in force to voice their opinions, sending nearly 3,000 letters to their elected officials and the Governor.

Your one voice does make a difference, and the accomplishments of the last legislative session prove it when reinforced by Farm Team throughout the state. Of the 11 key bills sent to the Governor, 10 came out in favor of Farm Bureau.

It was you—on your operations—who raised concerns over increasing metal theft and rural crime problems. And with the help of your Farm Bureau staff, AB 844 was authored by Assemblyman Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto) and SB 691 was authored by Senator Ron Calderon (D-Whittier).
Farm Team members should be proud. Whether you sent one of the 650 letters on this subject alone, testified at hearings for the bill or attended press conferences to bring attention to the rising problems with metal theft, you contributed to the Governor signing this important bill into law. In addition, after stopping two bills in 2007 that would have enabled a union to avoid secret-ballot elections to unionize farm employees, Farm Team mobilized once more to spread the word and defeat a similar bill in 2008.

Even with our successes last year, Farm Team members are reminded of the importance of building relationships with our elected officials and telling our stories. Building relationships can be as simple as making an appointment at your legislator’s district office to introduce yourself and your operation. Remember, if you don’t tell your story, someone else will tell their version for you.

On Dec. 1, a new crop of representatives filled 28 Assembly seats and 11 Senate seats. Farm Team members will be again called to action as they play an important role in educating those individuals on the challenges and benefits of farming in California.

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