-July 29,2021-

With most of the rangeland in the Valley dried up, cattlemen are facing “a massive herd liquidation”, says Overland Stockyard auctioneer Dustin Burkhart, based in Hanford. With “no grass from the Sierra to the ocean”, Burkhart says he knows multiple cattlemen who have completely sold off their herds while many others have shipped out 40 to 50% of their growing beef animals.

”With no other option, cattlemen are forced to buy feed – taking supply away from the area’s dairy cows and pushing up corn and hay prices.“ figures Burkhart. “As the drought gets worse – the prices are just going to go higher, if you can get it.” He adds that “It’s a domino effect.”

Overland representative, Tyson Howze, says another factor raising hay prices is that more permanent crops have displaced Valley feed-corn and hay fields from year’s back, reducing local supply and driving up prices that affects dairy operations he works with.

The Hoyt Report says Western states had their lowest May 1 stocks since 2014. States with some of the largest declines include:Arizona: down 56% and California down 48%.

The average price of U.S. alfalfa hay in May jumped $7 per ton after rising $6 the previous month, according to USDA’s Agricultural Prices report. It was the sixth consecutive month that the alfalfa price posted a month-over-month gain. The average price for Supreme and Premium alfalfa hay increased by $15 per ton.

One press report says “This is probably the most serious drought California has seen in my existence,” said Steve Faria, corporate broker at Turlock Livestock Auction Yard in California’s Central Valley. “I’ve been marketing cattle going on 43 years, and I haven’t seen the issues that we’re seeing today.”

Alfalfa hay prices are at record levels at $230 per ton today according to USDA, compared to about $190 this time last year.

Not just here, extremely dry conditions across parts of the country are forcing many cattle producers to make hard culling decisions due to a lack of feed.

The Bakersfield newspaper reports that “Business has been good lately at the Western Stockman’s Market cattle auction in McFarland. Too good.
Local ranchers have brought in so many beef cattle since March that the number of sales this year is up between a quarter and a third. The manager there blames the drought.

“It wasn’t much of a grass year,” CEO Justin Mebane said.
Weather & Drought continues to impact crop production

More reports that California’s crops are being impacted by the weather this year. California Farm Bureau says avocados from California are smaller this year and the seasonal harvest is expected to be down by as much as 30 percent in total pounds.It is the result of low rainfall totals over the last few years. Another factor is Santa Ana winds that struck avocado-growing regions in January.

Meanwhile winter temperature swings damaged walnut groves, they report.Wild temperature swings last fall are believed to be the cause of widespread freeze damage in California’s walnut groves. In early November, temperatures dropped from 80 degrees to below freezing in several areas.

Indeed, it is not just summer temps that are affecting crop yields.A recent University of California assessment found that by the end of the century rising temperatures and related reduced winter chill hours will significantly impact key crops. By 2050, yields are projected to decline by 40 percent for avocados and 20 percent for almonds, table grapes, oranges and walnuts.

This week, press reports suggest a squeeze on tomato prices. “Get ready to pay more for tomatoes, as California growers reel from extreme weather.
Tomato sauce is feeling the squeeze and ketchup can’t catch up. California grows more than 90 percent of Americans’ canned tomatoes and a third of the world’s.”

Kings County acreage is down this year.Kings tomato grower Ernie Costamagna expects production will be down 15 to 20 % this year.”Most of that is related to water.”

If that isn’t enough, raisin growers are worried about smoke-filled skies delaying their harvest like it did last year.Wildfires in late summer in the Central Sierra are getting worse.

AR in January brought half this year’s Sierra snowpack

A single atmospheric river(AR) event in January 2021 provided about half of the snowpack for the year in the Friant service area above Fresno, says the water agency. The upper San Joaquin River is the source of the all important Friant Kern Canal. While we are concerned over the overall precip trends over the winter months, just a few storms,largely unpredictable, seem to make the difference in our water supply. Might as well roll the dice to predict Sierra runoff.

-June 17,2021-

from press reports

U.S. and E.U. Suspend Tariffs in Aerospace Dispute for 5 Years

The U.S. and European Union have reportedly agreed to suspend tariffs related to their long-term dispute over aircraft subsidies for five years. Earlier this year, the two parties had paused the tariffs for four months, but that window was soon set to expire, adding renewed urgency to the situation for companies across multiple industries, including wine and spirits.

The 25 percent tariffs in the long-running aerospace dispute include E.U. levies imposed on U.S. rum, brandy and vodka in November 2020. In addition, the U.S. had imposed 25 percent tariffs on liqueurs and cordials from Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain in October 2019, and on certain Cognacs and other grape brandies from France and Germany in January 2021. The U.S. had also tariffed French, Spanish and German wines.

Speaking at the U.S.-E.U. summit in Brussels, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the deal “really opens a new chapter in our relationship because we move from litigation to cooperation on aircraft—after 17 years of dispute,” Reuters reported.

“Today’s announcement resolves a longstanding trade irritant in the U.S.-Europe relationship,” said U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

This past month Tulare County Board of Supervisors heard a report on progress in cutting dairy cow and cattle emissions that cause particulate pollution and generate greenhouse gases.

Local feed company delivers with renewable fuel

-May 7,2021-

Corn and dry milk powder prices hit 7-year high

Are feed costs pushing up milk prices? The two seem to be rising in tandem.

May corn price hit a seven-year high at $7.40 per bushel- up more than $1.75 this month. The U.S. has exported huge volumes of corn and there is no sign of a slowdown. Brazil’s corn crop is said to be withering with little rain forecast. Corn is the key ingredient in dairy cow feed.

This past week spot nonfat dry milk (NDM) jumped 7.25ȼ to $1.325- the highest spot value since October 2014. The US has a good supply and much of the rest the world does not. Visalia’s California Dairies Inc (CDI) sports the largest milk powder plant in the US.

Nut exports shine

According to Beacon Economics, California’s tree nut exporters have been seeing impressive gains. California is the nation’s top farm exporter, and almonds, pistachios, and walnuts number among the state’s top five agricultural exports (dairy products and wines are the other two). Foreign shipments of almonds in the current crop year (dating back to last fall) are at the highest level ever. Other than an unusually high spike in exports in 2019, pistachio exporters are likewise enjoying their best year to date, while walnut exports are at their highest level since the pre-tariff war era in 2017.

Almond acreage up 6%

California’s 2020 almond acreage is estimated at 1,600,000 acres, 5.3% higher than the 2019 acreage of 1,520,000. Of the total acreage for 2020, 1,250,000 acres were bearing, 5.9% above 2019, and 350,000 acres were non-bearing, up 2.9% from 2019. Preliminary bearing acreage for 2021 is estimated at 1,330,000 acres.

Nonpareil continued to be the leading variety based on bearing acreage, followed by Monterey, Butte, Carmel, and Padre.

Fresno, Kern, Stanislaus, Merced and Madera were the leading counties. These five counties accounted for 73% of the total bearing acreage.

California cherry harvest gets underway


With cherry harvest beginning in the San Joaquin Valley, marketers say they expect a large crop of high quality—and that people who pick and pack cherries will be protected against the pandemic, says California Farm Bureau. The California Cherry Board says farmers and packers have worked to vaccinate their employees, and that safeguards inaugurated last season remain in place. The California cherry harvest is said to be starting earlier than in the past and will continue through mid-June.

Driver shortages worry agricultural truckers


As the California harvest season gains momentum, transportation companies worry there may not be enough truck drivers to move crops to market. People in the trucking and food businesses report they’re already short of drivers to haul carrots and onions from Southern California fields. They say the shortages could worsen as harvests move north. Driver shortages have been a chronic problem that firms say has been amplified by the pandemic, says CFB.

Talks over Farmworker legislation underway

Politico reports that the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, supported by California agriculture is still undergoing negotiations in the Senate after passing the House in March but Republicans are firm that they do not support the House version of the bill and are working to make changes.Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, has stepped forward to lead negotiations with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., on a Senate companion bill to the FWMA. They will need the support of at least 10 GOP Senators to pass.

-May 3,2021-

Almond acreage up 6%

California’s 2020 almond acreage is estimated at 1,600,000 acres, 5.3% higher than the 2019 acreage of 1,520,000. Of the total acreage for 2020, 1,250,000 acres were bearing, 5.9% above 2019, and 350,000 acres were non-bearing, up 2.9% from 2019. Preliminary bearing acreage for 2021 is estimated at 1,330,000 acres.
Nonpareil continued to be the leading variety based on bearing acreage, followed by Monterey, Butte, Carmel, and Padre.
Fresno, Kern, Stanislaus, Merced and Madera were the leading counties. These five counties accounted for 73% of the total bearing acreage.

Corn prices hit 7-year high

May corn are at d a seven-year high at $7.40 per bushel, up more than $1.75 this month. The U.S. has exported huge volumes of corn and there is no sign of a slowdown. Brazil’s corn crop is said to be withering with little rain forecasted.

Dry milk powder price at 7-year high

This past week spot nonfat dry milk (NDM) jumped 7.25ȼ to $1.325- the highest spot value since October 2014. The USA has a good supply and much of the rest the world does not. Visalia’s California Dairies Inc (CDI) sports the largest milk powder plant in the US.

Navel orange prices are good

Talks over Farmworker legislation underway

Politico reports that the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, supported by California agriculture is still undergoing negotiations in the Senate after passing the House in March but Republicans are firm that they do not support the House version of the bill and are working to make changes.Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, has stepped forward to lead negotiations with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., on a Senate companion bill to the FWMA. They will need the support of at least 10 GOP Senators to pass.

-April 2,2021-

A letter from Rob Vandenheuvel, Industry Relations official with California Dairies Inc, based in Visalia, calls out the federal program Farmers to Families Food Box program as well intentioned but fraught with unintended consequences for diary farmers.

“The unintended consequence of the Food Box program was a huge imbalance from one farmer to the next based solely on the type of end product their milk is converted into.”

“For cheesemakers and the farmers that supply their milk, they saw a strong price recovery in 2020 as cheese was required in each Food Box. Cheese that was “stranded” in inventory due to closures in the restaurant and food service sectors suddenly found a home in the boxes. While that was a success story for those farms, their neighbors that supply milk bottlers or butter manufacturers saw no such recovery. This huge competitive disadvantage was not driven by market forces, but based on winners and losers created by the structure of the Food Box program.

Combined with depooling in the Federal Order system – another issue that USDA’s AMS staff is well-aware of – this imbalance resulted in Farmer A receiving as much as 70 percent more than Farmer B received for the same quality and quantity of milk. It was truly a make-or-break difference from farm to farm.”

-April 2,2021-

With customer electricity rates expected to see an annual average increase of 3.7% for PG&E customers and 3.5% for SCE customers California Cotton Grower president Roger Isom is calling on farmers to get off the grid. The proposed increase in cost is layered on top of increased rates since 2013 of 37% in PG&E and 6% in SCE he says. Isom states “Our electricity rates are already too high, and clearly non-competitive  with other areas of the country. We have advised all of our members to get to get off the grid if at all possible.”