January 5,2019-
Visalia permits mixed in 2018
Visalia permitted 4% more new homes in 2018 vs 2017 but valuation was down 6% as more homes were built for less.
Visalia permitted 504 new homes in 2018 with an avenge dwelling cost of $245,000, lowest since 2012. San Joaquin Valley Homes was the busiest builder countywide, constructing 292 new homes.
Some 34 new commercial projects were permitted in 2018 compared to 37 the year before but valuation was up 22%. Overall the total value of all permits was down 5% in2018.
Alfalfa plantings drop
California continues to plant more nut orchards and less alfalfa for dairies.California had 1.1 million acres of alfalfa in 2006 compared to 2018, when the total was about 650,000.The state has fewer cows while nut acreage ahas more than doubled. Dairymen has are choosing to feed more nut hulls to their cows vs alfalfa says hay market analyst Seth Hoyt. We have more than 100,000 fewer dairy cows than we counted in 2009 but milk volume has gone down only slightly.We produce about 40 million pounds milk annually. Production per cow is now up around 12% from a decade earlier. Meanwhile farmers are happy with their nuts. “In areas such as Central California there is not the incentive to plant alfalfa,” says Hoyt. “
Milk prices looking up in 2019
Dairymen have new hope that 2019 will be better than 2018. A Milk Producers Council report says “Class III milk will average $15.90 this new year, with Class IV at $16.47. That’s a decided improvement from $14.63 Class III and $14.23 Class IV in 2018. The dairy industry has undergone some painful pruning in 2018, but those producers who managed to survive
could enjoy a more prosperous new year.”
Large Tulare Co dairy selling out
Better milk prices might be welcome but one large local dairy will be calling it quits in the next month. Bosma Milk Co of Tipton will be holding a complete dairy dispersal of their 7000 Jersey cows on Feb 15. The Bosma family has been in Tipton for 30 years and in Ontario 20 years before that. The real estate broker for the farm says the 634 acre property is pending a sale.
Government shutdown may hurt farmers
Milk Producers Council says that “The partial government shutdown, which began on December 22, 2018, is cause for concern for producers who need to apply for the second round of trade mitigation payments through USDA’s Market Facilitation Program. Local USDA Farm Service Agency centers are closed and USDA appropriations have lapsed due to the shutdown. If the situation doesn’t change before the January 15, 2019 application deadline, producers may be in jeopardy of not receiving trade mitigation payments.”