Ag Alert is the newspaper of the California Farm Bureau Federation, reaching Farm Bureau agricultural and collegiate members. Agricultural members are owners and decision-makers on California farms and ranches. The California Farm Bureau Federation is a non-governmental, non-profit, voluntary membership organization whose purpose is to protect and promote agricultural interests throughout the state of California and to find solutions to the problems of the farm, the farm home and the rural community. Farm Bureau is California's largest farm organization, comprised of 53 county Farm Bureaus. Farm Bureau strives to protect and improve the ability of farmers and ranchers engaged in production agriculture to provide a reliable supply of food and fiber through responsible stewardship of California's resources.
Fuel pressures New survey highlights impact of rising diesel costs on farms
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By Caleb Hampton A surge in immigration enforcement in the Central Valley during the past two weeks stalled agricultural work in parts of the nation’s top farming region as some workers were detained and others stayed home. “We are certainly seeing a dramatic uptick in activity over the last week or so,” Heather Riden, program director at the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, said last week. “The level of stress in many of our agricultural communities is really high.” Joe Garcia, president of the California Farmworker Foundation and owner of Del- ano-based Jaguar Farm Labor Contracting Inc., which employs about 3,000 people in the Central Valley and Central Coast, was sifting through one possible sighting of im- migration agents after another last week. In some cases, he drove by fields and vine- yards in the San Joaquin Valley to investi- gate conditions for his employees. While he was not aware of federal agents entering any farm properties, Garcia said arrests made at supermarkets and road- sides—and a steady stream of unverified sightings posted online—sent “ripple effects” through the valley, with worker turnout in some of his crews plummeting. “There is heightened fear,” Garcia said. Kevin Herman, owner of Madera-based The Specialty Crop Co., said the raids were causing about half the roughly 100 workers hired to harvest figs in his orchards to miss work for more than a week. As a result, the farm was unable to ship its full volume of fresh-market figs to retailers it supplies across North America. “It’s a little bit of a challenge when you have a sales order for five pallets of fruit and you only pick two or three,” said Her- man, who grows figs and other fruit in Fres- no, Madera and Merced counties. Joe Del Bosque, owner of Fire- baugh-based Del Bosque Farms in Fresno County, said a “handful” of workers did See RAIDS, Page 10 Immigration raids slow farm work in the Central Valley
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Ag program aims to upskill farmworkers Ana Muñoz receives instruction on how to drive a tractor from Merced College professor Karl Montague, who teaches the Agricultural Technology and Education Collaborative, or AgTEC, program, which aims to help farmworkers advance their agricultural skills.
By Manola Secaira On a hot September afternoon, Ana Muñoz drove a tractor for the first time. Following her instructor’s direction, she took a seat in the tractor with some apprehension. She was only a month into Merced College’s Agricultural Technology and Education Collaborative, or AgTEC, program, which aims to help farmworkers
like herself advance their agricultural skill- set to meet the sector’s changing needs. This was her first in-person workshop. But with 12 years of farmworking experi- ence under her belt, Muñoz is no stranger to agriculture. “I’ve always loved working outside on a farm,” she said in Spanish. She’d long been interested in learning
the new skills required to expand into other agricultural work—namely, driving tractors and operating other agricultural equip- ment. She said she’d gotten the gist of how to operate them by watching other people do it over the years. What was missing was the hands-on practice and training. But even with her experience, she said
See AGTEC, Page 11
n e w s p a p e r
Commentary.................................2 Trees & Vines...........................6-7 California Bountiful.............Inside Classifieds........................... 25-27 Inside
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Cal Poly proposal jeopardizes its own farming roots
By Danilu Jelderks Imagine a respected college of agricul- ture proposing to replace about 50 acres of prime farmland on its campus with hous- ing, a hotel, an event center, retail stores and other amenities. The land is used to teach students, giving them hands-on ex- perience with the very resource their future careers depend on. This isn’t hypo-
Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sci- ence, they assured us there would be no net loss of prime farm ground on campus, that all teaching activity occurring on the west campus would be moved to other locations on campus and would be easily accessible by the students and faculty. They also said no development on the proposed site will begin until the farm ground where teaching occurs is up and running and can replace the current ground in question. We take President Armstrong and Dean Horgan at their word. But their proposal does not change the fact that we are per- manently losing prime farmland. This exposes a flaw in how CEQA ad- dresses the loss of prime farmland. Miti- gation may require a developer to protect other prime farmland under a conserva- tion easement to compensate for land lost to development. But this is not a true offset. Prime farm- land cannot be recreated. Protecting farm- land elsewhere does not replace the soil lost to development. Unlike planting five oak trees for every tree removed, there is no way to grow new prime soil. A conser- vation easement may preserve farmland, but it cannot restore what has been lost. Eventually, we run out of prime farmland to protect. In that sense, CEQA’s mitigation requirements do not eliminate the loss of this irreplaceable resource. Please join members of our county Farm Bureau, Cattlemen’s Association, Cattle- Women, alumni, industry donors and oth- er groups to voice your opposition to the west campus proposal. Help us preserve Cal Poly’s agricultural heritage and roots. Sign the online petition at: www.change. org/p/save-cal-poly-slo-farmland?source_ location=homepage_local_section. Danilu Jelderks is second vice president of San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau. She can be reached at agalert@cfbf.com.
thetical. Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, is seriously consid- ering such a pro- posal. How many readers of Ag Alert ® are Cal Poly alum- ni? How many re- member walking from the agricul-
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, is considering a proposal to develop on prime farmland used for farming and educational purposes.
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau, along with San Luis Obispo County Cat- tlemen’s Association and San Luis Obispo County CattleWomen, opposes Cal Poly’s proposed land development. Most mem- bers of the three organizations are alumni. We teach at Cal Poly, guest lecture, volun- teer, coach the rodeo team and assist the Bull Test program. Over the years, we have watched the university encroach on various agricultur- al programs and resources. The dairy unit was reduced in size. The Bull Test facility moved to a location farther from the main campus. Hiking trails pass through active grazing ground. We are aware of the pressures Cal Poly faces to increase enrollment, which in turn requires more housing for students and faculty and additional services for the uni- versity community. We are proud that our alma mater is nationally recognized in many different disciplines. We understand that high en- rollment demand has contributed to a shortage of affordable housing and ser- vices, affecting not only Cal Poly but San Luis Obispo County as a whole. We rec- ognize that while other California State University campuses are experiencing
declining enrollment, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, had to turn away 55,000 applicants in the 2025-26 academic year. By all means, build, build, build—just not on prime farmland. Under the California Environmental Quality Act, converting prime farmland can be a significant environmental impact that must be evaluated in an environmental impact report or addressed in a mitigated negative declaration. According to CEQA guidelines, mitigation for the loss of agricul- tural land may include permanently protect- ing other farmland of comparable quality and size through a conservation easement. Cal Poly was required to do this when it created the 2035 Master Plan, which called for development on 10 acres of prime farmland. The 10 acres in question are on campus but not being used for farming or educational purposes. Cal Poly still had to mitigate the loss. The new proposed project would be built on land used for farming and as a teaching laboratory for the College of Agriculture. When our county Farm Bureau, Cat- tlemen’s and CattleWomen met with Cal Poly President Jeff Armstrong and Brian Horgan, the dean of Cal Poly’s College of
Danilu Jelderks
ture building or crops unit to the campus’ row-crop fields, orchards and vineyards as part of their coursework? I do. I was 18 when I started at Cal Poly as a crop science major. That’s when I began working in the fields, some of which are now in jeop- ardy of being removed. I moved sprinkler pipe. I drove tractors. We did everything from planting and fertilizing to watering and harvesting. The hands-on experience gave me a big advantage when I started working as an agronomist after graduation. Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, was estab- lished in 1901 as the California Polytechnic School. The school’s core disciplines were agriculture, mechanics and home econom- ics. Students had to be at least 15 years old, have an eighth-grade education and pass basic tests in English, history and math. The “learn-by-doing” approach began on Day 1. Many aspects about Cal Poly have changed since the turn of the last century, but agriculture remains a core discipline of the university, and Cal Poly is considered one of the top agricultural colleges in the country.
VOL. 53, NO. 20
October 21, 2026
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2 Ag Alert October 21, 2026
Survey findings: High diesel prices threaten farm viability
Farm Bureau’s survey findings cover more than 1,000 responses received from Oct. 7-10. Of those, 81.3% said high diesel prices have reduced their profit margins. More than 73% reported increased finan- cial stress, and nearly 43% said fuel costs have increased food production costs. The findings underscore how fuel expenses affect farmers’ ability to man- age day-to-day operations and invest in their businesses. “Farmers and ranchers are sending a
defer the 24.4-cent-per-gallon federal die- sel excise tax on that fuel through Dec. 31. However, state law still prohibits dyed diesel on public roads, preventing Cal- ifornia farmers and ranchers from fully benefiting from Trump’s order. California Farm Bureau has urged state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to provide relief. If California suspends its 48-cent-per-gallon diesel excise tax and allows dyed diesel on roads, farmers could save about 73 cents per gallon on fuel used in farm trucks and other on-road vehicles.
High diesel prices continue to squeeze California farmers’ profit margins, adding to financial stress and forcing some to scale back field work, delay equipment mainte- nance and postpone purchases, according to a California Farm Bureau survey. More than half of respondents said cur- rent diesel prices threaten the long-term
viability of their farms, while 57.6% said savings from being able to use red-dyed diesel on public roads would help keep their operations financially viable. The issue has gained urgency follow- ing an Oct. 5 executive order by President Trump to temporarily allow red-dyed diesel to be used on public highways and
See DIESEL, Page 12
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October 21, 2026 Ag Alert 3
On the Record
Expert talks illegal cannabis impacts on agriculture on half an acre. Lots of it is indoors in warehouses or greenhouses. They’re not going to have the same environmental footprint as stuff that you pour on the ground outside. How would you describe what illegal cannabis operations look like in California today? new (for growers switching from illegal to legal businesses).
n Although California legalized recreational cannabis in 2016, il- legal cultivation continues. Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the Uni- fied Cannabis Enforcement Task Force in 2022 to better understand and dismantle illegal operations. State officials have since spent hundreds of millions of dollars to address the problem. But much remains unclear regard- ing the size, scale and impacts from these operations. Ag Alert ® spoke with Dan Sumner, a Univeristy of California agricultural economist and co-author of “Can Legal Weed Win?: The Blunt Realities of Canna- bis Economics,”about the effects of illegal grows on agriculture. The in- terview has been edited for length and clarity.
Some of those growers just said, “To heck with it. I have a buyer who wants to buy my stuff. That buyer doesn’t want to buy it from a legal person because they don’t want to get a license either. And we have consumers.” And the proposition for the consumer (who used to buy illegal cannabis) is: You have the opportunity now to buy from somebody you don’t know, who’s not in your neighborhood, to go out to the mall to the cannabis shop and pay twice as much. There were plenty of consumers that said, “Why would I want to do that?” It was a hard sell. Some farmers are concerned about potential environmental impacts from illegal cannabis operations. What do you know about the effects these operations have on their surrounding environment? The physical footprint of cannabis is tiny. You (can) grow a lot of cannabis
There’s still lots of illegal cannabis out there. The grower doesn’t have a license, the processor doesn’t have a license, the retailer doesn’t have a license. That’s a problem for legal growers, and it’s a problem for politicians, because part of the way legal cannabis was sold was: We’ll take this illegal crop that’s very widely used and we’ll at least make it le- gal and regulated. But the problem for a grower switching from illegal to legal is that this involves a group of people who have been operating a business without government licenses, without necessarily paying minimum wage, without having a porta-potty on the farm that met state regulations, without having pesticide-use inspectors come. If I went down the list of regulations that farm- ers must comply with ... there are a lot of them, and they’re costly. The same with water-use restrictions or filling out forms or paying taxes. All of those things were
Illegal cannabis operations can use pes- ticides that have been banned in California for a long time, and they can use pesticides that have not been approved for cannabis use in California for one reason or another. Certainly, illegal cannabis is using pesti- cides that are banned in California, some of which really do have significant spillover effects in the way they’re used in cannabis. Some of them may not at all. (If) they’re used indoors, it never spills over much, and even though they’re negative, it’s a pretty tiny pesticide impact, and it’s partly because the physical footprint is so small. The big-acre crops or the crops that are more likely to spill into the streams prob- ably are the biggest emphasis for the Cal- ifornia Environmental Protection Agency or our health services. The basic point is environmental im- pacts are a major concern locally in some places. But California cannabis is a small
See SUMNER, Page 5
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4 Ag Alert October 21, 2026
Sumner Continued from Page 4
because it’ll show up in the crops.” Now, is that one of the big issues for agriculture in California? No, for the same reasons (stated before). A lot of the places where there is illegal canna-
under those licenses. We don’t have histor- ical data on cannabis. It’s just recently that we’ve been collecting that data for canna- bis. There is a challenge in just knowing how much cannabis gets produced and marketed through the marketing chain. To be clear, we have detailed data on licenses, and licenses set the maximum square-feet area, not production. But many licenses are not used and often a grower will decide not to produce the maximum area allowed because it would not be profitable. We also have a “track and trace” requirement, where every plant and every gram is entered into the system, but those data are self entered and riddled with errors and complications. I do think for policymaking and regulat- ing and knowing things like environmental footprints, having some real data would help, and we just don’t. Two species to get full protection as CESA candidates The California Fish and Game Com- mission voted unanimously this month to designate the Mount Pinos sooty grouse and veiny monardella as candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act, or CESA. Both species will receive full CESA pro- tections while the California Department of Fish and Wildlife conducts a 12-month review to determine whether listing them as threatened or endangered is warranted. The Mount Pinos sooty grouse is found in mountainous conifer forests across portions of Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Kern and Ventura counties. Its habitat generally in- cludes mature pine-fir forests at elevations between 6,000 and 10,000 feet. The Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch submitted the pe- tition to list the species, identifying hab- itat degradation associated with timber harvesting, fire suppression and livestock grazing practices as primary threats to the Mount Pinos sooty grouse. A separate federal petition for the grouse was filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2024. Farmers and ranchers operating within potential habitat areas are encouraged to contact their local CDFW regional office for guidance on applicable protections and agricultural activities. Veiny monardella is a rare annual plant in the mint family. It occurs in grasslands and oak woodlands with clay-rich soils in Butte, Sutter, Tuolumne and Yuba coun- ties. Only two existing populations are currently known, both on private property. Landowners who encounter the plant should avoid disturbing it, document their observations and contact their local CDFW regional office to determine whether pre- cautions or authorizations may be neces- sary for nearby agricultural activities. Candidate status provides both species with legal protections during the review period, potentially affecting agricultural and land management activities in areas where they occur.
somebody who may be an illegal grow- er—then it’s really annoying and you want to get it stopped. How much do we know about the scale of these environmental impacts? We mostly don’t know. There is no definitive data on illegal, or unlicensed, cannabis production in Cali- fornia. We have rough estimates that illegal pounds produced are likely much higher than licensed production in California, but I have not seen a source of reliable es- timates. Much of the unlicensed cannabis is shipped out of California to the rest of the U.S. Even for local licensed growers, there’s no data collected systematically on prac- tices, for example. We know the licenses, but we really don’t know the production
share of the land, water or chemical use in California agriculture. There are particular concerns related to these operations diverting water. What do you know about that? What we know is that it tends to be local and really annoying, and it’s not just the diversion. It’s also the pollution. If somebody’s using an illegal pesticide, they divert a bunch of water out of a little stream that comes to you. Not only have they diverted most of the water, but the water that’s left is polluted with a pesticide. You simply can’t use that because you don’t want to have that pesticide residue on your crop, whether you think it’s really harmful as a grower or you say, “There’s a law against it. I won’t be able to market my crop if I use this
bis, it’s grown out- doors, and they aren’t in places where there’s big commercial crops. People aren’t growing a bunch of outdoor can- nabis in the mid- dle of the Salinas Valley and spray-
Dan Sumner
ing a bunch of illegal pesticides that are spilling over the celery and lettuce and broccoli. But if you’re a grower in Shasta County and you’re using stream water on your alfalfa crop and somebody’s diverted the stream—and particularly
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October 21, 2026 Ag Alert 5
A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ® CALIFORNIA Trees & Vines
®
Growers harvest short pistachio crop as costs mount By Vicky Boyd Pistachios are harvested at a Madera County orchard. The 2026 pistachio crop was already expected to be smaller because of an “off” year in the trees’ alternate-bearing production cycle. A March heat wave further reduced the crop by sterilizing much of the male-shed pollen and causing increased kernel blanking.
Giannelli manages another 150 acres of the Golden Hills variety, and he said those trees averaged 2,800 pounds per acre, which he considered good this year. He blamed the Kerman variety’s poor set to timing of bloom during the heat wave. Regardless, Giannelli said the farm continues its normal cultural practices this season. “We still have to grow a crop for next year, hoping that the crop is going to be better than this year,” he said. The light crop comes as growers face mounting financial stress from crop inputs, in- cluding diesel, fertilizer and water, said Rich Krebs, a Madera-area pistachio grower who also works as a certified crop adviser and president of Ultra Gro, a fertilizer manufacturer in Madera. “A lot of my growers—and they’re not huge growers—are going to lose a couple million dollars,” he said. In January, pistachio industry members estimated a 1.2-billion-pound crop because 2026 is an “off” year in the trees’ alternate-bearing production cycle. During 2025’s “on” year, growers harvested a record 1.57 billion assessable pounds, according to receipts data from the Administrative Committee for Pistachios. With harvest nearly finished, the 2026 crop appears to be about 655 million pounds, Nichols said, citing industry data. Pistachio quality looks good, with little insect damage or staining, although kernel size is smaller. See PISTACHIOS, Page 7
A March heat wave and the natural tendency of pistachio trees to alternate-bear com- bined for a perfect storm that may reduce the 2026 harvest to less than half the record 2025 crop. While the market has responded with higher grower prices, they may not make up for the short crop, said Jeff Nichols, vice president of supply chain and grower relations with Nichols Farms in Hanford. “It’s a challenge for the industry overall because the crop is half of what was expected, but the (grower) price isn’t going to double,” he said. “Overall, the crop revenue to the grower is going to decrease.” The family-owned Nichols Farms grows conventional and organic pistachios in the southern San Joaquin Valley and runs a hulling and processing facility in Hanford. Describing the crop as “terrible,” Jason Giannelli, director of farming for R&G Fanucchi Inc. in Kern County, said the farm’s 150 acres of the Kerman pistachio variety yielded an average of 200 pounds per acre. Industrywide, yields can range from more than 3,000 pounds per acre during “on” years and about 2,000 pounds per acre during “off” years, according to American Pistachio Growers. Giannelli said the farm shook the trees once compared to the industry standard of two times and plans to file a crop insurance claim. “It’s not ideal, but it’s the only way we can survive,” he said.
6 Ag Alert October 21, 2026
Pistachios Continued from Page 6
in a written statement. “But the impact consumers see at checkout will be much smaller than the impact growers are feeling from the reduced crop.” Krebs, an American Pistachio Growers board member, said the small crop is disap- pointing because the industry has done a great job increasing worldwide demand by promoting the nut’s healthy nutritional pro- file. Iran and Turkey, the world’s second and third largest pistachio producers, respective- ly, also are expected to harvest smaller crops. Retaining customer loyalty will be im- portant because 2027 is expected to be an “on” year for U.S. producers, Nichols said. Depending on bloom and an industry average production of 3,200 pounds per bearing acre, he said growers have the po- tential to produce between 1.76 billion and 1.9 billion pounds next season. Diana Salsa, Wonderful Pistachios vice president of marketing, agreed, saying marketing pistachios is a long-term busi- ness: “And you can’t turn consumer de- mand on and off based on the size of one year’s crop,” she said in a statement. “In fact, it’s especially important that we maintain that visibility now,” she added. “We could be looking at a record crop in 2027, potentially exceeding 1.9 billion pounds, so we need consumers around the world think- ing about pistachios and wanting pistachios when that supply comes to market.” Vicky Boyd is a reporter in Modesto. She can be reached at agalert@cfbf.com.
In response to the reduced crop, agricul- tural commissioners in Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties this past summer requested the state Office of Emergency Services seek a U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster dec- laration for pistachio growers in their areas. Together, the three counties estimated dam- age to more than 337,700 acres, amounting to more than $839 million in losses. If approved, the declaration would also apply to adjacent counties and would al- low pistachio growers to apply for low-in- terest loans and loan deferrals, among other benefits. The industry attributes the short pro- duction to the 10 days of 90-plus-degree temperatures in March that led male pis- tachio trees to bloom early. The heat also sterilized the pollen shed by male trees and caused buds on female trees to drop. This resulted in significant blanking, or missing nut kernels, more unsplit shells and much lighter yields. “These were unprecedented weather conditions this year,” said Jeff Gibbons, director of grower relations with Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella in Tulare County. The heat impacts were widespread throughout Arizona and areas south of Madera in California. Although nut fill was better in areas north of Madera, he said it was still generally weak. In anticipation of increased production in Northern California, Setton Pistachio
Tulare County-based Setton Pistachio, which hulls, dries and stores pistachios, opened its Zamora facility in 2025 in anticipation of increased production in Northern California .
years ago began planning a hulling and drying facility near Zamora north of Wood- land, Gibbons said. Pistachios must be hulled within about 24 hours of harvest to avoid shell staining, and the Zamora facil- ity would help Setton reduce travel time to the huller for the North State crop. Opened before the 2025 season, the facility hulls, dries and stores pistachios. After the first season, Setton Pistachio in Zamora doubled to 20 the number of stain- less-steel storage silos and added a second receiving pit before the start of the 2026 harvest season. Gibbons said it should help handle future production increases. Marketing this year’s small crop will be a balancing act as Nichols said buyers tend not to mind higher prices as much as volatile prices. Nichols Farms plans to
allocate supplies for its longer-term cus- tomers because it won’t be able to meet all the demand. “Obviously, we won’t take on any new customers,” he said. “Some of the de- mand is going to be reduced with the price increases.” In August, Lost Hills-based Wonderful Pistachios announced it was raising pric- es, although the exact amount consumers pay will vary because it is set by individual retailers, said Michael Hohmann, Wonder- ful Pistachios executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We do expect prices to increase be- cause there are simply fewer pistachios coming out of California this year,” he said
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October 21, 2026 Ag Alert 7
The FELS Hotline: How to handle worker terminations By Anna Genasci
provide when employment ends? California has specific requirements regarding final wages and employee sep- aration notices. For an employer-initiated termination, earned wages generally must be paid im- mediately at the time of discharge. This includes applicable overtime and any ac- crued, unused vacation or vested paid time off, or PTO, that must be paid out. For seasonal layoffs, employers should
not assume they can wait until the next regular pay day. The timing depends on the circumstances of the separation and applicable law. Employers should also review required separation notices, unemployment insur- ance information and any applicable health coverage continuation requirements. Every termination situation is different, and what seems to be a straightforward de- cision can quickly raise questions about documentation, final pay, employee rights
and employer responsibilities. That is why FELS members have access to the FELS Employer Hotline at 1-800- 753-9073. Whether you need help review- ing termination requirements, working through a difficult employee situation or simply preparing for a conversation you’ve never had before, FELS is here to help. Anna Genasci is general manager of Farm Employers Labor Service, an affiliat- ed company of the California Farm Bureau. She can be reached at agenasci@cfbf.com.
Terminating an employee is rarely an easy decision. Whether it involves perfor- mance concerns, misconduct or a seasonal reduction in workforce, agricultural em- ployers need to understand their respon- sibilities before having that conversation. During the past two weeks, the FELS Hotline received calls from two growers facing very different employee separation situations. One was preparing for a sea- sonal layoff but also had concerns about an employee’s performance. Another was dealing with an employee who was caught stealing. While the circumstances were differ- ent, both calls highlighted an important point: How an employer handles a termi- nation matters. Is it a layoff or a termination? One grower contacted FELS about an employee who was already approaching a seasonal layoff. However, the employer had also been experiencing performance issues and was considering ending the em- ployment relationship sooner. This raised an important question: Is the employee being separated because seasonal work has ended or because of performance? The distinction matters. Employers should be clear about the actual reason for separation and document it appropriately. A seasonal layoff should not be used to dis- guise a performance-based termination. For performance-related terminations, documentation of previous concerns, con- versations and corrective actions can help support the employer’s decision. What if an employee is caught stealing? Another grower called after discovering an employee had been stealing. Misconduct can warrant immediate ter- mination, but employers should still take time to review the facts, document what occurred and consider whether the deci- sion is consistent with company policies and previous practices. Even when an employee is terminated for serious misconduct, California’s fi- nal-pay requirements still apply. Employ- ers cannot withhold earned wages as pun- ishment or automatically deduct the value of stolen property from a final paycheck. How do you have the termination conversation? For one of these growers, this was the first time he had ever terminated an employee. He wasn’t sure how to deliver the news. FELS helped coach him through the conversation. Our advice was simple: Pre- pare ahead of time. Write down a few bullet points covering what you need to communicate. Practice what you will say so you can remain profes- sional. Keep the conversation brief, direct and respectful. We also encouraged the grower to re- view a termination checklist before the meeting to ensure the required documents and final paycheck were ready. What must an employer
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8 Ag Alert October 21, 2026
Protect your land and crew: Call 811 before any digging
Sponsored by:
tickets are required only for major com- mercial construction or heavy excavation. In reality, California law defines excava- tion broadly. Underground utility lines can be damaged by everyday agricultural ac- tivities, including: • Subsoiling and deep ripping: breaking up hardpan or preparing soil for new or- chards and vineyards. • Installing irrigation systems: trenching for subsurface drip irrigation, mainlines or tile drainage. • Fencing and trellising: driving T-posts, setting wooden fence posts or installing vineyard anchor posts. • Building and landscaping: augering holes for barn posts, installing shade struc- tures or building access roads. • Grading and ditch clearing: regrading field borders, cleaning out irrigation canals or leveling ground. • Stump removal: pulling trees, vines or deep roots near property borders or utility rights of way. If the activity disturbs the soil, it requires a free ticket via 811. How the 811 process works Calling 811 or submitting a locate re- quest online connects you to USA North 811 or Underground Service Alert of Southern California (DigAlert), depending on your region. The process is straightfor- ward, completely free and designed to fit into your pre-operational planning. 1. Outline the dig area: Delineate the perimeter of your proposed work area us- ing white spray paint, flour, stakes or white flags. This helps utility locators quickly identify where you intend to work. 2. Plan ahead: Contact 811 at least two full working days before you plan to begin any soil-disturbing work, excluding week- ends and legal holidays. 3. Submit your request: Provide details about the location, depth and nature of your planned activity. 4. Wait for locators to mark the lines: Professional utility crews such as gas, elec- tric, telecom and water providers will visit your site to mark underground facilities with high-visibility spray paint, flags or stakes at no charge to you. 5. Confirm and dig safely: Check your ticket status online to ensure all mem- ber utility companies have responded or marked their lines. Respect the marks, and use hand tools within the “tolerance zone”—24 inches on either side of the marked line—to expose the line before bringing in heavy machinery. Understanding color codes When utility locators mark your fields, they use a standardized national color code system. Here is a summary: Red: electric power lines, cables, con- duit and lighting cables. Yellow: gas, oil, steam, petroleum or gaseous materials. Orange: communication, alarm or
As spring planting, orchard renovation and infrastructure upgrades get into full swing across California, agricultural oper- ations throughout the state are humming with intense activity. From the Imperial Valley up through the Central Valley and into the North Coast, growers are driving tractors, running deep rippers, installing subsurface drip irrigation lines, driving fence posts and clearing drainage ditches. In the fast-paced world of production agri- culture, where weather windows are tight and operational deadlines are unforgiving, taking shortcuts may seem to be the only way to stay on schedule. However, beneath those fertile fields, or- chards and vineyards lies an unseen net- work of critical infrastructure: high-pres- sure natural gas pipelines, underground electric cables, fiber-optic communica- tions and water delivery mains. Hitting one of these lines with a ripper, auger or backhoe isn’t just an expensive headache; it can be catastrophic. To safeguard agricultural operations, protect farm crews and prevent costly operational disruptions, every California grower and operator should observe one simple rule before breaking ground: Call 811 or visit california811.org at least two working days before you dig. Hidden risks below ground Many farm operators assume that be- cause they own the land—or have farmed the same acreage for decades—they know exactly what is under the soil. But soil con- ditions change over time. Decades of deep tillage, erosion, soil grading and natural settling can drastically alter soil depth above buried utilities. A natural gas line or electric wire that was buried 4 feet deep 30 years ago might now sit just 18 inches below the surface. Furthermore, underground utilities don’t always run in straight lines between markers or utility poles. They curve around subter- ranean obstacles, branch off toward pump houses or follow historical rights of way that may no longer be visible aboveground. Striking an underground utility carries immediate, high-stakes consequences: • Safety hazards: Severe injury or death can result from electrocution, natural gas explosions or high-pressure gas releases. • Financial liabilities: Equipment oper- ators and landowners can be held finan- cially responsible for repair costs, which frequently reach tens or hundreds of thou- sands of dollars, in addition to civil penal- ties under California law. • Operational downtime: Damaging an underground power or gas line can shut down irrigation pumps, cold storage facil- ities, packinghouses and processing lines at the worst possible time. • Community impact: Disrupting fi- ber-optic lines or regional power grids can cut off emergency communications and power for entire rural communities. What qualifies as “digging”? A common misconception among farmers and ranch managers is that 811
Proper trench preparation is key to installing irrigation lines safely. Call 811 before beginning any excavation work to prevent accidental damage to underground pipelines and power cables.
Make safety a daily routine As you manage your daily field oper- ations, make 811 an integral part of your safety checklist. Educate your equipment operators, farm labor contractors and fam- ily members on the importance of check- ing for utility markings before starting any soil-disturbing task. Before you lower the ripper, drive a post or dig a trench this season, remember: Know what’s below. Call 811 before you dig. It’s fast, it’s free, and it’s the law. For more information on safe digging practices, yard and orchard safety guidelines or to submit an online locate request, visit usanorth811.org.
signal lines, cables or conduit. Blue: potable water. Green: sewers and drain lines. Purple: reclaimed water, irrigation and slurry lines. White: proposed excavation area marked by the landowner or farmer. Through public education programs and free 811 utility locating services, our utility providers demonstrate their ongo- ing commitment to agricultural safety, wildfire prevention and reliable energy delivery. By working together, agricultural producers and utility safety teams ensure that California agriculture remains pro- ductive and safe.
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October 21, 2026 Ag Alert 9
Raids Continued from Page 1
adding that higher funding and staffing levels for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had appeared to increase the agency’s ability “to do multiple operations at a time.” Last year, Congress roughly tripled fund- ing for interior immigration enforcement and detention facilities. While the Trump administration in re- cent months mostly shifted away from the high-profile operations that characterized
detention. About 74% of those detained did not have a criminal record—also a record high—while around 25% had been convict- ed of a nonviolent crime and less than 2% had a conviction for a violent crime. For decades, California farmers have ad- vocated for legislation that would create a pathway to U.S. citizenship for longtime farmworkers and have warned that immi- gration raids in the state could threaten national food security. “California
Last year, isolated immigration raids in California farming regions, each of which lasted a few days at most, had a limited impact on production as work- ers generally returned to the fields soon after immigration agents left, according to experts. But growers said a prolonged operation, as has been reported to be taking place in the state through next month, could sig- nificantly disrupt food production. Herman, the fig grower, said he was con- cerned by news reports describing plans by the U.S. Department of Homeland Se- curity to conduct 45 days of ICE raids in California leading up to next month’s mid- term elections. About a tenth of his fig crop is waiting to be picked, and citrus harvest is set to begin this week. “That could be problematic for us if this continues on for another month,” Herman said. DHS declined to answer questions from Ag Alert ® about the objectives or timeframe of the reported immigration enforcement surge in the state. “For operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE will not disclose or dis- cuss law enforcement operations,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. Caleb Hampton is an editor at Ag Alert. He can be reached at champton@cfbf. com. Ag Alert staff writer Manola Secaira contributed reporting.
not report for work harvesting cantaloupe on his farm after immigration agents were seen in the area. “It slowed down our crew,” he said. “You need everyone to fulfill their part.” Del Bosque said melon harvest—which concluded last week—requires about 20 people trained to perform different jobs, such as driving a tractor, identifying ripe melons and picking them, packing the melons into boxes and stacking the boxes with a forklift. “These are skilled positions,” Del Bosque said. “If they don’t show up today, you can’t just go out and look for somebody on the street to replace them.” Immigration enforcement also ramped up this month in parts of South- ern California, the Central Coast and the Sacramento Valley, according to com- munity organizations. “This is absolutely out of the norm,” said Giselle Garcia, program director at Sacra- mento-based NorCal Resist, which oper- ates a rapid response hotline and assists people held in immigration detention in Northern California. Garcia said Friday that since the prior week the organization met or spoke direct- ly with nearly 20 newly detained people or their family members. “That is a huge increase,” she said,
its deportation efforts last year, overall immi- gration arrests climbed steadily this year. In July, the most recent month with data available, ICE arrests hit record highs both nationally and in Califor- nia, due largely to the agency
agriculture de- pends on and values its work- force,” Shan- non Douglass, president of the California Farm Bureau, said in a statement. “Farm employ- ees are not just workers—they are partners in this industry.” The state
“We are certainly seeing a dramatic uptick in activity over the last week or so ... The level of stress in many of our agricultural communities is really high.” —Heather Riden, program director at the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety
detaining more immigrants without crim- inal convictions, according to federal data analyzed by the Deportation Data Project, which is based at the University of Califor- nia, Berkeley, and UCLA. That month, 41,786 people nationwide were arrested and booked into immigration
grows more than a third of the nation’s vegetables and about three-quarters of its fruits and nuts, with much of that produc- tion in the Central Valley. The sector relies on hundreds of thousands of farmworkers, more than half of whom are estimated to be undocumented.
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10 Ag Alert October 21, 2026
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