-March 10,2020-
Olam’s Lemoore tomato plant not likely to operate this season
Singapore-based Olam is expected attempt to sell off its California tomato processing plants this year and is not likely to operate their big Lemoore facility this season.Some 250 employees work at the plant.
That is the estimate of the President of the California Tomato Growers Mike Montna. “They have no growers signed up for contracts this season. “I would say it they will process product this year.” This is confirmed by a rep from the Olam plant who says the facility will be permanently shut down by October but not operate this year. Kings EDC is working to sell the plant.
The company announced last November they would close out operations in Lemoore and shut their Woodland and Williams facilities. Montna says growers are suffering from higher costs,low prices due to a surplus of product and the high value of the dollar.He says an export battle wth the EU is affecting a hoped for increase in shipments.
Olam plants in the state are among the largest with a capacity of 1.57 million metric tons annually using 2018 figures. According to Tomato News the US has 12 companies that rank in the Top 40 biggest tomato processing companies in 2017/2018 (virtually all of the Californian processors), with an annual capacity in excess of 14.2 million mT.
Three Californian groups rank among the 10 biggest companies in the world for this sector: The Morning Star Company (n°1), Olam (n°7) and JG Boswell (n°8).
California dominates the world production of processed tomato products. With current industry capacity of over 12 million tons, the state processes 1/3 of the world’s supply of tomato products.
Fifteen primary processors operate thirty plants located throughout the central valley of California.Fresno County remains the top California County in contracted planted acreage for 2018 with 75,200 acres. Yolo, Kings, Merced, and San Joaquin make up the remaining top five counties, accounting for 76 percent of the 2018 total contracted planted acreage for California.
Olam’s Hanford garlic facility is unaffected.
Bath & Body Works opening store in Hanford
Bath and Body Works will open a new store in Hanford to occupy 3227sf in the former Payless Shoes space between Target and Michaels.
Interest in hemp ramping up
Grower signs Hanford deal
Lemoore/Corcoran/Huron hemp projects underway
The City of Hanford is leasing 950 acres in the industrial park for farmland to a company who wants to grow hemp on the land. The firm plans to lease an additional 650 acres if the market stays strong. The city completed a lease agreement recently with a company called City-Farms Industries. This firm is just one of several looking to grow and process hemp in Kings and western Fresno County.
Titan Farms is opening a processing plant in both Corcoran ( in the old luggage plant- and in Huron. Another Bakersfield-based firm, General Agriculture- has leased a city warehouse in Huron. Still another in Lemoore is working on a general plan amendment at 1357 Ioana Ave to rezone the property from Regional Commercial to light industry.The applicant purchased McCann Hay Co and plans to mix fertilizer in a building that used to be the Chevy dealer and build a new hemp processing facility on land to the west of it, says City Manager Nate Olson..
State expected to award $5.3 million to Sun-Maid
The California Energy Commission is expected to award $5.3 million grant to Sun-Maid Growers to install a state of the art electric dryer at their Fresno County processing plant.The commission will meet March 11 to award several food processor grants designed to cut air emissions.Today raisin dyer tunnels run on natural gas or propane.
Kings solar project gets contract
Kings County’s Westland’s Solar Park has announced its Aquamarine 250-megawatt solar photovoltaic project will break ground near Lemoore now that there is a signed a power purchase agreement with Valley Clean Energy Alliance. The Alliance is a locally-governed electricity provider for the California cities of Davis and Woodland and unincorporated portions of Yolo County, for 50-megawatts of capacity, with initial delivery anticipated to occur in late 2021.
Parent firm of Westland’s – CIM, says Valley Clean Energy’s decision to select Aquamarine from a competitive solicitation process was based on its board adopting criteria designed to select cost effective California-based renewable projects that minimize impacts on prime farmland, environmentally protected species, and habitat. Westlands SolarPark has the support of numerous environmental groups since it minimizes impact on endanger spaces as wells prime farmland.
Tiny Home builder expanding
A Valley-based tiny home builder is expanding in Corcoran. Pacifica Tiny Homes already has a small operation in Corcoran but withe help of the EDC has leased 4.5 acres in the Corcoran industrial park where it can ramp up production of the small size homes.Models come fully furnished with the essentials: sofa bed, ac/heater unit, cooktop, refrigerator, shower, toilet, sink, television, water heater, fold down table, stairs that serve as closet storage, humidity sensor, and RV connections. The smallest homes is 18 ft.with a trailer that costs $37,900 – 211 sq ft. with loft.
Hanford cannabis dispensary in works
San Jose-based Caliva will open a marijuana dispensary in Hanford at 6th and Douty in the Downtown now that all approvals are in place to sell cannabis in a retail setting.