Julie Walker SanDiegoCounty nursery operator
flower crop looks good for seed production. It was just a little bit tough at the very begin- ning to get the moisture in the ground for germination, because there were not the many late rains to put the submoisture in the ground, so we had to pre-irrigate a lot. Because of how parched the ground was, that was difficult. But once we got it going, it turned out all right. The triticale wheat turned out really well, even though there weren’t many spring rains to finish it off well. We had enough to finish out a decent crop. The other crops are looking pretty good. Our bean crops, the sweet-corn crop and crops like pumpkins, they all look good right now. Under the current COVID, that’s anoth- er thing. People still have to eat. A lot of restaurants aren’t open, a lot of hotels and businesses aren’t open, but people are still eating at home and purchasing product. I think farmers are doing their due dili- gence in training their staff. Through our ag commissioner, we just had a training for the workers in the field and picking staff, to educate the labor force that we use to pick the vegetables, to get them trained on wear- ing the masks, social distancing in the field, being very hygienic and clean, and washing their hands. We want to be safe. We want to make sure everyone that handles all the products is safe, so we can get the food into people’s hands. We’re just farming in precarious times. Thank God the relief from the government is helping out. We hope we can get more funding in some of these specialty crops.
consistent and then, to our delight, began to increase. We are pleased that our plants had found their way into more homes and in general landscapes. Our liner sales remain robust and have helped push back on our cut-flower losses. The challenge now is the same ques- tion since the beginning: What does the future hold?
peaches early last week. Quality was excel- lent, but the crop was off a bit. As expected, the almond crop seems to be a large one, with load counts up from last year, and I estimate our walnuts and raisins to be on pace with last year’s production. Tom Coleman FresnoCounty pistachio grower In our pista- chios, we are
We specialize
in drought-tol- erant varieties that herald from similar climates in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Our fields are plant-
Matthew Efird FresnoCounty farmer
checking for nut fill and keeping our irrigation going at a pretty steady pace be- cause of the heat and the fact that
ed with varieties that are popular with the cut-flower market. Our original focus was on cut-flower production, but we’ve gradu- ally transitioned to most sales consisting of liners for landscaping and patio pot use. In February, due to COVID-19, cut-flower sales were immediately impacted. As events were canceled, total cut sales plummeted. Our learning curve was huge as we scurried to pivot, look for new ave- nues and try to forecast the viability of our business. COVID spread and we realized that our nation and global communities were also dangerously affected. Pandemic became our collective nightmare. We’ve been knee-deep in quarantining, masks and hand sanitizers, with major concerns for the health and well-being of our family, friends and employees, plus our business. The Payroll Protection Program stepped in at the right time. We were able to float our business, keep our employees and try to focus on a still-blurry future. As the population stayed home, trends turned toward activities such as home landscaping. Our liner sales had remained
The last of our mite sprays has been applied to all of our orchards and vineyards, and should hold through the re- mainder of the year. Almond
we’re nut filling. We’re pretty much done with our fertilization and we’re heavily moni- toring for navel orangeworm. We completed our first sprays last week and we anticipate starting harvest on Sept. 3. We’re anticipating a slightly smaller crop than what the industry thought. They were talking 1.2 billion pounds at one point and now I’m getting some numbers as low as 800 million pounds. I don’t think it’s goi g to be that low, but I think it’s going to be a little above 900 million pounds. Pistachio harvest is a little bit later than last year but overall, it looks pretty good. Pistachio growers just got word that pista- chios are now going to be included as one of the commodities to receive pandemic finan- cial relief, so everybody’s happy to hear that. We haven’t seen the government forms to fill out yet, but I’m sure it will be complicated.
harvest is well underway, with most of the Nonpareil and Independence varieties being shook. With the high temperatures, water management of all of our crops will be critical. The heat will also place additional pressure on sweeping and harvesting, as the maturing of the almond pollinator variet- ies will be accelerated. We should begin to shake those nuts by the end of the week. Sugars are 20 +/- brix in our Fiesta raisin grapes. Cane cutting for mechanized raisin harvest will begin toward the end of the week, with harvest beginning 10 to 12 days later. Our walnuts continue to mature, and I es- timate that we are about a month away from harvesting our early Serrs. We finished the final pick on our cling
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HEMET Al’s Kubota Tractor 687 North Jacinto Street (951) 658-9471 MERCED Garton Tractor, Inc. 700 South Highway 59 (209) 726-4600 (877) TRACTOR MODESTO Garton Tractor, Inc. 5933 McHenry Avenue
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(209) 632-3931 (877) TRACTOR UKIAH Garton Tractor, Inc. 285 Talmage Road (707) 468-5880 (877) TRACTOR
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August 19, 2020 Ag Alert 5
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