County Corner Highlighting county Farm Bureaus working on behalf of California’s agricultural communities Farmers who brave these times deserve our thanks
Two years ago, I was optimistic that potentially brighter days were ahead for our fed- eral water deliveries, with the finalization of the new biological opinions that operate the delta pumps. The updated bio-ops used the latest science and data to move operation and ecosystem decisions from an outdated calendar-based approach to one that looks at the conditions currently existing in the delta. Protections for threatened and endangered species were still of the utmost concern while allowing excess water to be better used for communities and farmers. Unfortunately, the optimism many of us in the valley has been short-lived. Not only is the federal government re-examining the recently released biological opinions, federal and state agencies plan to take us back to the broken calendar-based approach. California is the heart of the world’s technology and data centers, yet, once again, it re- fuses to use the best science and information available when it benefits valley communities and farms. This is maddening in that it again shows this discussion was never about saving fish. It was about the politics of curtailing agriculture. Like water, forest mismanagement is another source of frustration. Summertime has a name here in the valley: wildfire season. In what has become an annual ritual, we continue to see millions of acres of our forests burn. This inundates our valley with unhealthy smoke, typically during our peak harvest period of the year, damaging crops and affecting those working outside. The forests are our watersheds. Natural resources and our water quality are harmed because of mismanagement and political gridlock. My job and hundreds of thousands throughout the valley and state depend on agricul- ture. Our local farmers and ranchers constantly display their resolve and resiliency in the tough economic and regulatory environment of California. But the “death by a thousand cuts” takes its toll. However, I continue to search for optimism through these challenging times. After all, the world has more than 7.9 billion stomachs to feed. California agriculture and the farms and ranches in Fresno County must still play a significant role in accomplishing that feat.
Ryan Jacobsen CEO
Summertime is abuzz with farm activity in Fresno County, the food capital of the nation. July through September is our “go time” in the San Joaquin Valley, when harvest is either taking place or about to take place for most of our crops. While there is always something in season with our 350-plus crops grown or raised here, this time of year hits differently, with seemingly endless hours of work left to do. I have special appreciation during this summer season for our amazing farm workforce, people who show up through heat, smoke, a pandemic and more to help us feed and clothe this nation and world. Their work, deserving our continued gratitude and thanks, is challenging; it takes grit and commitment to get through it at times. This harvest season has a greater sense of uncertainty than those in the recent past. Most of our commodity prices are lower or the same compared to previous years. But with skyrocketing inflationary costs, many farmers and ranchers seem more worried than usual about the future. Nationwide, farm operating loan numbers are significantly increasing compared to last year, as farmers scramble to try to fill the capital void. Inflation is also affecting shoppers, who are seeing price spikes in the grocery aisles. As seen in the recent American Farm Bureau Fourth of July cookout survey, the price in- creased from $59.50 in 2021 to $69.68 in 2022. Yet there isn’t a farmer I know celebrating a 17% windfall. The much talked about supply-chain crisis is swallowing up this increase, passing little to nothing on to farms. Our farmers and ranchers are price takers, not price makers. They compete globally with countries that do not have the regulatory costs and burdens we have in California. The regulations guarantee the highest standards—but without the promise of a return. While farming is often equated to gambling, the rising volatility becomes unsustainable at some point, particularly as water dominates our county’s outlook. “Food grows where water flows” is an appropriate slogan. Yet the spigots seemed to be shut off to the Valley, both from Mother Nature and political and regulatory forces. My backyard in Fresno County, home to a $7.98 billion agriculture economy, has always been the canary in the coal mine when it comes to experiencing immediate impacts of water shortages. We are in the third year of critically less-than-average precipitation seasons but over 15 years into a perpetual regulatory drought. The challenges have piled up for our federal Central Valley Project users, which have been granted either minimal or no water alloca- tions in consecutive years, depriving thousands of farms and ranches in Fresno County of irrigation supplies.
Insurance Continued from Page 9
to schedule an inspection. “The delay in the response from the FAIR Plan can put not just farming opera- tions under stress but can hold up real es- tate transactions, loans and other normal business activity,” Houston said. Houston said finding brokers, schedul- ing inspections and other demands to get coverage take “time away from the farm and the core function of the business.” Then, lapses in coverage can make it im- possible to obtain operating loans and therefore bring a crop to market. “You simply cannot operate a farm,” Houston said, “if you do not have insurance.” (Kevin Hecteman is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)
frustrations continue because some in- surance brokers remain uninformed on the details. “Farm Bureau members have reported that they’ll go and talk to the same broker that has provided them the nonrenewal, but not been able to advise them about the availability of the FAIR Plan or what their FAIR Plan options are,” Houston said. Those who seek FAIR Plan coverage of- ten are met with a delayed response, if they even get one, Houston testified. “Farmers and ranchers state that it takes almost a full business week to receive a response from the FAIR Plan,” Houston said, adding that some people have then been denied coverage while others have
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July 20, 2022 Ag Alert 15
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