Kings property values climb 10.45%
Kings County Assessor Kristine Lee announced the annual Assessment Roll reached $15.7 billion in countywide property values. This is the largest increase since 2008 with a growth of almost $1.5 billion or 10.45% over the previous year.
Hanford
Several factors contributed to this year’s increase. “We have seen fewer transfers of properties, but overall housing prices have increased 8% in Kings County,” Lee stated. “Agricultural properties that received a disaster reduction last year have been added back to the roll and commodity prices continue to bolster Williamson Act assessments throughout the county.”
The money generated by this year’s property tax will be distributed with approximately $80 million going to schools, $41 million going to cities, special districts and redevelopment agencies, and $35 million going to county government to fund safety, fire, libraries, roads, parks and general government.
The year-over-year assessment percentage increases by city are as follows: Avenal: 8.89%, Corcoran 7.05%, Hanford 7.81%,Lemoore 5.92%, Unincorporated area 9.57%.
Corn & cotton prices take a dive together
Ample supply of the world’s biggest and most important field crops caused the market price of both to plunge last week setting the table for lower food, transportation and clothing costs for consumers in the future.
Cotton plantings both in the SJ Valley and across the US are up.Likewise for corn, the most significant feed commodity for the huge local livestock industry.
U.S. cotton futures traded down to 63 cents per pound, the lowest since November 2020, pressured by the strength of the dollar and prospects of increased supplies. Favorable weather conditions persist throughout the entire US cotton belt, with beneficial rainfall observed in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, alongside anticipated future precipitation, contributing to downward price pressure.
Cotton is the most widespread profitable non-food crop in the world. Its production provides income for more than 250 million people worldwide and employs almost 7% of all labor in developing countries. Approximately half of all textiles are made of cotton.
The timing in the drop in futures prices came as result of a USDA report issued July 28 that projected almost a million acres more cotton has been planted than estimated in March.
In its June acreage report, USDA estimated 2024-25 U.S.cotton plantings at 11.67 million acres, up 14.1% from 2023.
Farmers are planting more cotton this year.
Upland planted area is estimated to have increased 13.9% to 11.49 million acres. ELS cotton producers planted 182,000 acres, up 23.8%.
Good news for tortillas
The future price of corn also took a dive Friday after another USDA report on corn plantings.The much-anticipated acreage report showed that farmers sowed 91.5 million acres of corn, 1.5 million acres more than they had planned to plant, according to the early-spring Planting Intentions survey. USDA also reported that June 1 corn inventories were sharply higher than anticipated,
The combination of a larger stockpile and greater corn acres pushed September corn futures down 32ȼ to $4.085 per bushel.That is half the cost it was in the spring of 2022 that drove up feed costs for the American livestock, poultry and dairy industries and increased the price of corn-made fuel blended with gasoline.
For now feed costs are low and likely to stay that way and lower corn prices like lower cotton prices should be passed on to consumers on all products they impact.Feed costs are more than half the cost of making milk. How about tortillas, carnitas, queso y pollo and your Jarrito too – all should be mas barato. Que no?
Tachi tribe gets 600 acre-feet water transfer
Working together to support local tribal farmers, the Department of Water Resources and Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe have expedited two water transfers to meet immediate water supply needs and to address long-term demands north of the Tulare Lake area. Working with the Tulare Lake Irrigation District, DWR and the Tachi Yokut Tribe entered into a contractual agreement to institute both a temporary and permanent transfer of water resulting in over 600-acre feet of additional water for the area.
“California remains committed to getting water to communities that need it most. This successful effort is a direct result of meaningful consultation and communication with our Tribal partners and the hard work of our staff to ensure we can move water to places in critical need,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth.
Tachi Yokut Tribal Council Chairman Leo Sisco stated “This transfer represents a historic moment as it is believed to be one of the few, if not only, times a Tribe has acquired contractual water rights such as those from Tulare Lake. In acquiring these rights, the Tribe further solidifies its inherent status as a sovereign nation and enhances intergovernmental relationships with the State of California. Securing water rights is not only integral for the continued agricultural and economic growth of the Tribe, but also in the continued growth and support of our community and Tribal membership. We hope that leading the way in this exercise of Tribal Sovereignty will impact not only our Tribe, but all Tribes, in reaching equality with state and local governments through meaningful negotiation and cooperation,” Chairman Sisco said.
In addition to providing a reliable water supply, the water transfer will also help stimulate the economy of the tribe by enhancing its business undertakings and prospects, developing and managing farming and agricultural operations, and working with other business entities to fulfill business goals.
CVP increases South of Delta allocation to 50%
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation late last month provided an updated water allocation for Central Valley Project (CVP) South of Delta agricultural water contractors, increasing the allocation for this contract year by 10% from 40% to 50%.
“This announcement provides much-needed- relief and is good news for our growers,” says Westlands Water District General Manager Allison Febbo. “Even so, the low water supply allocations announced earlier in this contract year, after a relatively wet winter that filled the reservoirs and lifted the state officially out of drought conditions, single-handedly demonstrate the critical and urgent need to improve water management transparency and accountability in the state of California.”
More melons imported
USDA says the import share of domestic availability for all melons reached 41.4 percent in 2023, the highest on record.Melons are an important crop in the Westside of the Valley.