Processors are offering a better price this season for processing tomatoes, a major crop in Kings County. Offers to the grower association released around Thanksgiving range from $120 to 145 per ton with a base price of $130 per ton. Growers got $105 per ton last year.
Smaller raisin crop
Raisin farmers hope they can still muster a 200,000 ton crop this year after September heat shrunk the crop. Prices are in the $1700 per ton range.
Foster Farms plans local ranch reopening
Valley-based Foster Farms new owners are moving forward on reopening a broiler farm near Kent Ave in Kings County. The Community Development agency is processing an application for a 387,652 unit chicken ranch or a smaller number of turkeys. The existing facility is closed as of now.
Egg prices down
After the holiday peak, egg prices are trending downward. Wholesale egg prices are down more than $1 a dozen since hitting a record daily average price in the week before Christmas, said USDA economists. California egg prices are down 11% from mid January to $5.97 a dozen. They were as high as $7.37 on January 3 on an egg shortage in part due to the Avian Flu.
Milk prices fall – good news or bad?
Milk prices are down from 2022 when Kings dairymen got the highest prices for their milk since 2014.But like many other commodities right now, prices are heading lower into the new year. Dairy operators saw $25 milk last spring but now USDA is projecting the Class 111 price this spring of around $18.85.
Local processors produce a lot of non-fat dry milk powder and the price for that commodity is now around $1.17 per cwt compared to $1.86 last summer. NFDM is mostly exported and China looks to import far less this year. Consumers will no doubt welcome lower prices for all their breakfast items from milk to bacon. Of course everyone wants inflation to ease. But farmers wants to see a decrease in their input costs as they get less for their product.
At least it looks like a good water year for a change and cattlemen are celebrating too.Corn prices are down from last spring at $8 to $6.80. There has been big drop in fertilizer prices after hitting records in 2022 as nat gas costs are down.The price is half what it was last spring.But labor costs are not likely to fall much.Now voters will decide if California fast food workers should be paid more
Fast Food Vote
A California law seeking to increase wages and improve working conditions for fast-food workers has been put on the back burner after California certified a petition drive organized by by restaurants that will try to overturn it in a ballot measure next year.
Kings County to withdraw from Cal Vans
Kings County Association of Governments has voted this week to withdraw from the California Vanpool Authority – or CalVans this summer. CalVans would like to stay says a letter from the agency noting that they spend most of their $15 million budget in Kings County and 75% of its staff lives here. The have 26 van pools operating here. But KCAG member Doug Verboon says there are better van operators offering service in the county.