-June 6,2020-
Valley dairies prepare for nitrate management zones
All California diaries and cattle facilities have received a letter from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board in recent weeks to advise them they are in the early stages of setting up a state nitrate control program flowing the model being used to manage groundwater pumping on a local basis. In this case the zone will manage drinking water quality.
By June 1 some 1650 dairies and more than 200 calf and heifer ranches and beef feedlots were notified they must comply with a new regulation dealing with nitrates in groundwater. Operations have almost year to begin the process to set up management zones in heavily manured parts of California that include Tulare and Kings counties.
Ag exports and imports
U.S. ag exports and imports fell by record amounts in April, dropping 20.5 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively. U.S. exports to China this year through April were well below the pace needed to meet the goal set in Trump’s phase one trade deal with China, says Politico.
But imports of grapes, avocados and berries and other fruits and veggies rose 6% from May 2019 through April says USDA.according to U.S. Department of Agriculture trade statistics.
Orange prices rise
Did it take a pandemic to get consumers to remember how good and healthy oranges are for you? Figures from IRI scan data show oranges at 79 percent higher year-over-year dollar growth and 80 percent on volume growth. But retail prices have not shined.
Produce Bluebook reports that California orange growers are seeing better returns on a FOB basis. “For both Shippers First Grade and Shippers Choice, pricing in 2020 has been consistently higher for the last two months than the same period during 2019. At the end of May 2020, First Grade priced at $25-28 per 7/10 bushel, while in 2019 the price ranged between $21-26. For shippers choice the price differential is more pronounced. While this year the range was $20-23, in 2019 the range was $16-18.”
At the retail level however orange prices are not higher .”At the end of May in 2020, the national price per pound is around $1.10, while it was around $1.30 at the same date last year. We know the pandemic has impacted retail-purchasing patterns and it is likely this is affecting retail prices.”
COVID-19 Continues to Impact Farmer Sentiment; Majority Indicate Economic Assistance Bill Necessary
Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture
Farmer sentiment improved slightly in May after falling sharply in both March and April. The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer reading in May was 103, up 7 points from the April reading of 96. The barometer’s small improvement left the gauge of farmer sentiment nearly 40 percent below its February peak of 168. This month’s survey also indicated that farmer sentiment was virtually unchanged from May 2019 when the index reached its lowest reading of 2019 as U.S. farmers were in the midst of struggling through a historically difficult spring planting season.
California ethanol leader to retire
The CEO of Pacific Ethanol Inc.,Neil Koehler announced he will retire at the end of September. The company has had rough time in recent months with the falloff in demand for ethanol blended with gasoline. California production of ethanol is off two thirds now from a year earlier.