February 3,2016-
Citrus Exports Down Under
Tulare County is the number-one ag export county in the state but is having trouble with Australia shipping our citrus down under.That’s because we have a problem with a tiny critter – bean thrips – who bore into the navel of the orange. The county ag commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita wants to treat the oranges with another chemical besides methyl bromide but Australia is balking.Expect some negotiations in coming weeks.
Record Year For Pistachios?
Pistachio growers gathered in Visalia recently to look forward at the 2016 crop year. Bob Klein,Manager of the California Pistachio Research Board is estimating a potential record crop of 700 million pounds,given the improvement this winter in chill hours and the fact that it is a “on-year” for this alternate bearing crop. The production record stands now at 550 mil/lbs. By contrast 2015 was a “disastrous crop year” says Klein with just 270 mil/lbs harvested.Plaguing farmers was a high incidence of blanks – empty shell nuts likely caused by too few chill hours. Even this year we don’t have the number of chill hours we would like to see”he adds. Another blow in 2015 was the issue of ‘bushy top’ pistachio trees – some 25,000 acres planted in the Central Valley that had to be pulled.
Friant Ag Contractors Ready To Give Water To Fresno ‘New Town’
Negotiations that were held a decade ago will mean three Friant ag districts will give up future water they would use for farming to provide water to Millerton New Town in Fresno County, a proposed city of 10,000.
Indeed the districts offering long term water include Lower Tule ID and Terra Bella ID, each of who saw virtually no water delivered to their farmers for the past two years. Tulare ID manager Dan Vink acknowledged the agreement, entered into many years back, dates from “another era” but says that water amounts are small and would basically “backstop” Arvin Edison who would be giving up water before the other 2 Tulare districts would have to. Payments to the district would allow the Tulare districts “other options” defends Vink.
Still it is a strange turn of events for drought-plagued farmers to be giving up CVP water for a Fresno urban development project.