A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ® C A L I F O R N I A Trees & Vines ®
Mandarin acreage has grown rapldly in California, a University of California analyst says, due to customer demand for the easy-peel, seedless fruit, combined with effective marketing. UC Riverside professor Bruce Babcock has charted acreage trends for the past 20 years, noting that as mandarin plantings increased, farmers reduced acreage of Valencia oranges and other crops.
Employment costs, HLB challenge citrus farmers ByDennis Pollock
“Elimination of amarketing order in 1994 greatly increased the efficiency of lemonpro- duction,”Babcocksaid, “andafarhigherproportionof thecropmet fresh-market standards.” Babcock added that the citrus business is not “alone on an island” when it comes to changes in California cropping since 1980. Tree nut acreage also rose: 3.2% annually for walnuts, 4.5% for almonds and 7.4% for pistachios. In those20years, therewereother crops that dipped, includinguplandcottondeclining bymore than 600,000 acres; wheat, nearly 400,000 acres; and corn, some 100,000 acres. Babcocksaidthechanges inthecropmixare largelyrelatedtothereiteratedobservation, “Growers choose crops that make them the most money.” He said it’s also important to factor in the potential profit per acre, which is a product of pricemultiplied by the yield, minus costs of production. The hours of labor required to produce and harvest navels, mandarins and lemons is significantly higher than those required for almonds, walnuts and pistachios, which are machine harvested. Employment costs and availability remain significant challenges to theCalifornia citrus business,hesaid,asdoesHLB,whichwasfirstdetectedinCaliforniaresidentialcitrusin2012. Nine years later, therehas beennoconfirmedcaseofHLB incommercial groves. There have been a number HLB detections in residential citrus in the Southern California
Challenges facing the citrus business, the changes farmers andmarketers have expe- rienced the past two decades, and the serious threat posed by the deadly plant disease huanglongbing formed the topics for two economists— one fromCalifornia, another fromFlorida—whodiscussed theprospects for citrus inthe two leadingproductionstates. Thediscussioncameduringawebinar presentedby theUniversityof California,Davis, Department of Agricultural andResource Economics. The speakers included Bruce Babcock, a professor with the School of Public Policy at UCRiverside, andAriel Singerman, anassistant professor andextensioneconomist in the Food andResource Economics Department at theUniversity of Florida. Onmore thanone occasion, Babcock said, “Growers choose crops thatmake themthe mostmoney.” Hemadethatpoint inreferencetoan11%annualgrowthinmandarinacreageintheUnited States andCalifornia since 1980. Anexplosion inproductionand saleof easy-peel, seedless mandarins camebecauseof customerdemand, combinedwitheffectivemarketing. In those same years, Babcock said, Valencia oranges—which are harder to peel—de- clined in demand and acreage. Now, he said, navel oranges appear to be onmuch the same path. He saidCalifornia has increased its share of U.S. lemon acreage.
See CITRUS, Page 8
June 9, 2021 Ag Alert 7
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