May 5,2018-
California cherry crop down
The harvest of sweet cherries is happening this week, the first stone fruit of the season. For 2018 it looks like a down year with crop estimates as low as 4.5 million cartons – half of what was harvested last year.
Reports cite lack of chili hours and freeze damage in the Central Valley.
One local ranch is specializing in highly valued organic cherries.The Packer newspaper reports that “Flavor Tree Fruit Co. offers substantial volume of Californias organic cherries, said Maurice Cameron, sales manager for Flavor Tree Fruit Co., Hanford, Calif.
There is not a lot of organic cherries in California, but we are significant portion of them,he said.
Rabobank: demographics key factor in labor shortage
Fewer Mexican workers including those in California are helping to tighten the labor market but demographics in Mexico may have more to do with the problem than has been realized.
A Rabobank study found that the annual growth rate of Mexican youth has been slowing from 1990 to 2018 from about 700,000 to 200,000. By 2030 the number of youth from 15 to 35 will be 100,000 less than today. Rabobank’s Roland Fumasi from Fresno told the Packer newspaper “When I talk to growers in Mexico, the biggest supply side challenge is labor, he said. If labor is a challenge in Mexico, imagine what that means further north.”
California almond acres up 7 percent
California’s 2017 almond acreage is estimated at 1,330,000 acres, up 7 percent from the 2016 acreage of 1,240,000 acceding to an annual report. Of the total acreage for 2017, 1,000,000 acres were bearing and 330,000 acres were non-bearing. Preliminary bearing acreage for 2018 was estimated at 1,070,000 acres.
Nonpareil continued to be the leading variety, followed by Monterey, Butte, Carmel, and Padre.
Kern, Fresno, Stanislaus, Merced and Madera were the leading counties. These five counties had 73 percent of the total bearing acreage.
Water bond makes ballot
Citrus Mutual reports that “The Secretary of State has determined that the California Water Bond has submitted enough valid signatures to officially qualify for the November 2018 Ballot. The Water Bond needed 365,880 signatures to qualify. This bond authorizes $8.877 billion in state general obligation bonds for various infrastructure projects with about $2.24 billion directly benefiting agriculture. These projects include $855 million for improved water conveyance, which would repair the subsidence issues with the Friant-Kern Canal.