Central Valley wine grape growers are complaining that the state’s biggest bulk wine processors like Gallo continue to import cheap foreign grapes even as small Valley grape growers are struggling. Lodi Winegrape Commission member Stuart Spencer writes that according to the Gomberg Fredrikson Report, nearly 68 million gallons of foreign bulk wine was imported by California wineries in 2022. “And no one is talking about it.”
“Over the past couple of months, countless industry presentations have discussed the slowing wine market, the anti-alcohol movement, how young people aren’t drinking wine, and the excess inventory of California-grown wine. We’ve been told that potentially 400,000 tons of grapes were left on the vine last harvest. Growers have been told they need to remove thousands of vineyard acres to balance supply with demand. But no one is mentioning that California’s largest grape buyers also imported the equivalent of 400,000 tons of grapes in 2022.
The importation of foreign bulk wine began in the late 1990s when a rapidly growing wine market looked overseas to fill demand. That trend slowed significantly in the early 2000s as California vineyard plantings exceeded demand, but began to pick back up around 2006 and has grown steadily ever since.
Where is all this imported bulk wine ending up? Much of it is in plain sight on the grocery store shelves, labeled as “American” wine. Federal TTB (Tax & Trade Bureau) regulations allow for up to 25% foreign (non-US) wine to be blended with California wine and legally labeled “American.”
Lodi farmers would like this rule to change so consumers can know if they are buying 100 percent home grown.
Alfalfa acreage drops
California and Tulare County alfalfa acreage has seen a major decline in recent decades. Tulare County farmers in 1999 planted 103,0090 acres of alfalfa but by 2010 it was down to 90,000 acres and the latest figures in 2022 saw only 28,900 acres in the ground. A similar pattern was seen in Kings County, another big dairy county.
Since the 1920s, the alfalfa hay acreage in California has fluctuated but has trend down from nearly 1.2 million acres as recently as 2001. It was down to 450,000 acres as of 2022. The acreage is influenced by profitability of alternative crops, the demand for alfalfa hay by the state’s dairy herd, which consumes about 70 percent of the supply, and by water constraints.
A Lot more cows, a lot less alfalfa
If dairy cows are the biggest customers, the Kings County herd in the county was 130,000 in 2000 climbing to 170,000 as of 2022.
In Tulare County the number of cattle and calves has grown from 500,000 in 2020 to 720,000 as of 2022 according to the crop reports.
While many dairy farmers have traditionally grown alfalfa nearby, much of alfalfa these days is imported from other states rather than home grown. More dairy farmers have become nut farmers in the past five years
As of 2023, statewide figures show California counted about 500,000 acres of this premium hay, less than half its high in previous years. Lack of water to grow this thirsty crop is considered key.Still much of California-grown alfalfa hay is exported to Japan and China rather than used by the state’s dairy farms.
Alfalfa was introduced to California in the 1850s from Chile. The varieties imported were well adapted to California’s climate and alfalfa soon became a major crop, especially on irrigated land.
Alfalfa prices have taken a wild ride according to USDA, rising to $290 a ton in 2023 but now costing about $195 a ton today. Alfalfa is considered valuable for fiber, energy, protein, minerals/vitamins, as a rumen buffer, and for improved animal health.
Utah university photo of alfalfa
Central Valley farmers getting less for their wine than 10 years ago
After decades of substantial U.S. agricultural trade surpluses, the U.S. is forecast to experience a record trade deficit for the second year in a row. American Farm Bureau Federation economists analyzed the factors contributing to the deficit in their latest Market Intel report.
According to the analysis, the forecast $32 billion deficit is caused by a multitude of factors, one of which is rising imports of fresh fruits and vegetables. American produce farmers face significant challenges in competing with less expensive foreign-grown produce, most notably a lack of affordable and available farm labor.
“Production of many fresh fruits and vegetables is extremely labor intensive,” AFBF economist Betty Resnick writes in the Market Intel. “For U.S. agricultural production broadly, labor accounts for about 10% of expenses. For fruit and vegetable production – labor costs account for 38.5% and 28.8% of input costs, respectively.”
Factors contributing to decreased agricultural export values include falling commodity prices for American crops and a strong U.S. dollar.
“The strong U.S. dollar is making U.S. products less competitive on currency exchange alone,” Resnick explains. “For instance, Japan is consistently a top-5 market for U.S. agricultural products. The Japanese yen is the lowest it has been against the U.S. dollar since 1990 and half of its value from only 12 years ago, in 2012. While this exchange rate is great for U.S. tourists visiting Japan, it is very difficult for Japanese consumers seeking to purchase quality U.S. products.”
Further complicating matters, the U.S. has not entered into trade agreements with new countries since 2012 while other countries have signed agreements of their own.
“This is a difficult time to be a farmer, and looking ahead at another year with a record ag trade deficit proves that,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Our farmers are facing high labor costs — if they can hire help at all, competition from growers in other countries and stagnant, outdated trade agreements. I hope Congress and the administration see this historic deficit as a wake-up call and work to implement policy changes to address these challenges.”
This is the fourth time in six years the U.S. has faced an agricultural trade deficit. Prior to fiscal year 2019, the U.S. had not experienced an agricultural trade deficit since at least 1967, and possibly not in its entire history.
State protection of groundwater proceeds with third subbasin hearing
May 6, 2024 SACRAMENTO – To ensure the long-term viability of groundwater supplies in portions of Tulare and Kings counties, the State Water Resources Control Board today released a public notice for a Nov. 5, 2024, hearing to determine if the Kaweah Groundwater Subbasin should be placed on probationary status under the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
This is the third probationary notice the State Water Board has issued to groundwater basins since last October as it continues to carry out its state intervention responsibilities under SGMA. The previous notices were issued to the Tulare Lake and Tule basins, respectively. At the Kaweah basin hearing, the board will decide if a probationary designation is warranted after a robust public input process. Such a designation could, after at least one year, lead to temporary state oversight of the basin’s groundwater supplies until its sustainability plan is improved, as required under SGMA. Alternatively, groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) could update their groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) to address deficiencies, exit state intervention and be returned to oversight by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). This could occur before or after any probationary designation. If the basin is designated as probationary, board staff collect groundwater extraction information and work with GSAs to improve GSPs so that intervention is no longer needed. To help inform the hearing, the board also released a draft staff report that describes the basin’s conditions and makes recommendations for addressing key deficiencies in the Kaweah subbasin groundwater sustainability plan that continue to negatively impact infrastructure and communities. “With this third notice, we are establishing a consistent pace for the intervention process while still ensuring space for thoughtful deliberation,” said Eric Oppenheimer, the board’s executive director. “We will continue to work closely with groundwater sustainability agencies to improve their plans so they can exit state intervention, while also taking necessary steps to protect supplies.” In 2023, DWR determined that the GSAs for six basins, including the Kaweah subbasin, had inadequate plans for meeting SGMA’s requirement of balanced levels of groundwater pumping and recharge by 2040. DWR deemed the GSP for the Kaweah subbasin inadequate in several crucial categories, including the potential for continued water level declines that could cause wells to go dry, along with the threat of continued land subsidence, a phenomenon in which chronic overpumping leaves underground aquifers and the land above them susceptible to collapse. An analysis completed with DWR indicates that, based on past water level trends, approximately 872 domestic wells, nearly 1,545 domestic wells and 53 public supply wells could go dry during drought at thresholds proposed by the 2022 GSP. Release of the draft report begins a 60-day comment period for the board to gather input from stakeholders and others and finalize the document prior to the November hearing at the CalEPA Building in downtown Sacramento. Public input at the hearing is also welcome before the board makes a decision. The public can participate in person or remotely, or watch online. The State Water Board’s mission is to preserve, enhance and restore the quality of California’s water resources and drinking water for the protection of the environment, public health and all beneficial uses, and to ensure proper resource allocation and efficient use for present and future generations.
California’s groundwater reservoirs got a major boost during last year’s record wet season, offering a glimmer of hope for the depleted underground aquifer’s that remain in a long-term deficit. The 2023 water year, which was marked by above average rainfall and a concerted effort to recharge reservoirs, led to the addition of at least 4.1 million acre-feet of water underground, according to data released by the California Department of Water Resources. Much of that recharge took place in the San Joaquin Valley, where aquifers have been heavily taxed by pumping for agriculture. Glen and Colusa counties north of Sacramento saw major groundwater gains, as did Ventura and Santa Clara counties. This groundwater boost was driven in part by deliberate efforts to recharge the state’s vast underground reservoirs, which accounts for about 40% of California’s total water supply and is relied on more heavily during periods of drought. Most recharge is done by allowing water to pool on a piece of land, sometimes in specific recharge basins, and then slowly soak into the ground. Reduced groundwater pumping and enhanced conservation measures also played a role in stashing supplies underground.
This latest groundwater data comes from water agencies, which were required to file reports with the state last month, and captures the last “water year” from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The data is a product of the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, passed in 2014 as the state’s first effort to regulate groundwater. It requires local water agencies to manage their aquifers sustainable levels by 2040. Local and regional water agencies such as the Westlands Water District, one of the state’s largest irrigation agencies that serves Fresno and Kings counties, last year bolstered new programs that encourage groundwater recharge. Westlands spokesperson Elizabeth Jonasson said the agency recharged record amounts of water, nearly 162,000 acre-feet during the 2023 water year and around 200,000 acre-feet since then.
CALIFORNIA’S GROUNDWATER DEFICIT REMAINS
After decades of over-pumping to irrigate California’s agricultural heartland, the state’s groundwater reserves remain in a long-term deficit. In some parts, so much water has been pumped from the ground that wells have run dry and the land has sank. While no one knows the exact amount of water that can be stored within California’s 515 groundwater basins, DWR estimates the total storage capacity at somewhere between 850 million and 1.3 billion acre-feet. Between 2022 and 2023, according to the new data, the nearly 100 groundwater basins and sub-basins tracked by the state logged 8.7 million acre-feet of total additional water. During the previous three years, however, those basins experienced losses of almost twice that amount, the data show. Experts like Dr. Pablo Ortiz-Partida, water and climate researcher at the Union of Concerned Scientists, are celebrating the good news of increased recharged but keeping it in context within the bigger problem that will take many more years to solve. From Sacramento Bee
Don’t call it sour grapes but an April Allied Grapes Growers forum suggested the California wine industry needs to pull up to 50,000 acres to right-size plantings with demand.
“The California wine industry continues to be structurally oversupplied (too many acres), but unusually weak wine shipment performance since 2022 has magnified our issue. • We are not “over-planting”; we are “under-removing”. • Plantings in 2024 and 2025 are expected to moderate significantly, but that doesn’t help us today; we need to adjust bearing acreage. • +/-50,000 acres need to be removed to reduce our bearing acres by 30,000 (almost 20,000 acres are newly bearing in 2024).”
The latests USDA grape acreage report does show a downturn in bearing acres in California for all types of grapes. Wine grapes are down about 15,000 acres between 2022 and 2023.
California’s cotton crop is mostly in the ground now and estimated to be about 170,000 acres – much better than last year when planting was under 100,000 acres, lowest ever.
California Cotton Growers Director Roger Isom expects most of the acreage to be Pima with only 23,000 acres planted to the upland variety.
Planting of the lakebed is widespread this year now that the lake has been drained and not expected to return anytime soon.
Upland cotton price now below 80 cents
As for prices, Isom says they” are not great” with Pima between $1.60 and $1.70 per pound this year and the export market hurt by the very strong US dollar.
Marijuana growers People’s Farm, based in Lemoore,have appealed a March 4 approval by the county planning commission of the proposed Sandridge beef harvest plant just outside of the city limits. People’s attended the Planning Commission meeting and protested the project, citing concerns about pests, odors and cross pollination of their marijuana crop.The major product here is cannabis oil.
The Commission heard the concerns, but said they believed the CEQA process was working and was sufficient. County planner Victor Hernandez said the two sides tried to negotiate, but did not come to terms. Hernandez says the appeal will go to the Kings County Board of Supervisors, likely in May.
Sources say the marijuana company feels strong enough to appeal the matter to court if the Board of Supervisors approves the project.
Sandridge Partners has been trying to build the beef plant for several years, downsizing the scale of the operation after some protest from City of Lemoore residents and the nearby college.
Ultimately supported by the city manager at the time citing the economic benefits of the project and the jobs (around 70) allowing the project to move forward without more controversy until now.
The proposed project will total approximately 135 acres and will include approximately 72,000 sf. of building space consisting of livestock loading areas, a kill floor, coolers, cold storage, dry storage, a cut room, offices, employee facilities and 1,900 sf. of retail space. This facility will be used to slaughter, butcher, process, and distribute bulk beef products using kosher and halal slaughter techniques. At capacity the beef harvesting plant would harvest a maximum of 210 cattle per day. The project site is to be located at 19868 Jackson Avenue.
Pot vs beef
It may be considered ironic that cattle farming in Kings County goes back 150 years while marijuana farming goes back about five years. Marijuana farming in this county is still controversial and not allowed in unincorporated areas (governed by the Board of Supervisors) but now the marijuana farmers are appealing to the BOS to rule against the beef guys.
USDA and farm economists are predicting lower prices for many important farm commodities from corn to cattle, milk and even eggs in this new year.While these lower prices may be bad news for farmers, it could help decrease inflationary prices at the grocery store for consumers.
On February 7 the USDA reported that US farm sector income is forecast to continue to fall in 2024 after reaching record highs in 2022. Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, reached $185.5 billion in 2022 After decreasing by $29.7 billion (16.0 percent) from 2022 to a forecast $155.9 billion in 2023, net farm income in 2024 is forecast to decrease further from the 2023 level by $39.8 billion (25.5 percent) to $116.1 billion. That would be a two-year decline of around 40% in farm profits although farm income climbed to highest level in history in 2022.Farm income was $94 billion in 2020 and 2022 at $185 billion was highest ever and double that 2020 number. So volatility is the by-word.
In 2024, corn receipts are expected to fall by $11.3 billion (14.3 percent), as lower forecasted prices should outweigh higher quantities sold in 2024.
A year ago corn was trading near $700 a bushel – but as of February 12,2024 the key food and feed commodity is down to $429 and according to forecasters,expected to continue this downward price trend.
Here is the outlook from market watcher Trading Economics.
Outlook for corn? Heading lower
Corn decreased 41.73 USd/BU or 8.85% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity.
Corn is expected to trade at 418.70 USd/BU by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, they estimate it to trade at 385.47 in 12 months time.
Most of the US corn crop is used domestically as the main energy ingredient in livestock feed, and for fuel ethanol production mixed with gasoline at your local fueling station.Corn is also processed into a multitude of food and industrial products including starch, sweeteners, corn oil, and beverage and industrial alcohols.
Most other grains are also expected to fall this year says this month’s USDA report.
Lower prices in 2024 should also outweigh growth in quantities sold for soybean receipts, which are forecast to decrease by $6.0 billion (10.3 percent). Cotton receipts are projected to increase by $0.1 billion (1.6 percent) due to higher quantities sold. Wheat receipts are forecast to decrease $0.1 billion (0.5 percent), as lower prices will outweigh higher quantities sold.
Receipts for hay are projected to fall by $0.8 billion (8.3 percent).
Vegetable and melon cash receipts are expected to fall $30 million (0.1 percent) in 2024 while receipts for fruits and nuts are expected to increase $0.8 billion (2.8 percent) during the year.
Total animal/animal product receipts are projected to decrease by $4.6 billion (1.9 percent) to $239.8 billion in 2024. Receipts for eggs, turkeys, cattle/calves and milk are forecast to fall relative to 2023.
While receipts for most major animal/animal products are projected to fall, receipts for hogs and broilers are expected to remain relatively unchanged.
Still profits in the pork industry are down says a story in the Wall St Journal the month.”We’re Not Eating Enough Bacon, and That’s a Problem for the Economy.” Farmers lost an average of $30 a pig last year according to estimates from Iowa State University “the American pork industry has a problem: it makes more tenderloin, ham, sausage, and bacon than anybody wants to eat. “
From giant processors to the farmers who supply them, they are in a predicament largely of their own making. They made production so efficient that demand can’t keep up with supply.”
Lower milk receipts
USDA also has bad news for dairymen too.Milk receipts are expected to decrease $0.9 billion (2.0 percent) in 2024 due to lower prices.
Cash receipts from cattle and calves are expected to decrease $1.6 billion (1.6 percent), as falling quantities sold should outpace growth in prices.
Turkey prices set to fall
Broiler receipts are expected to increase $0.7 billion (1.6 percent) in 2024, due to higher prices and quantities sold. This nominal increase is a decrease in real terms. Falling prices should drive receipts for turkeys $1.4 billion (21.0 percent) lower during the year.
Lower egg prices too
Cash receipts for chicken eggs are expected to decrease $1.7 billion (12.0 percent) in 2024, also due to a lower price forecast. California egg prices are dropping right now, following the trend line seen last year going into spring.
Inflation preview
We got a preview this week with release of January inflation data.For a while food prices increased by more than 10% a year but now prices for food purchased at grocery stores is about 1.2% higher than a year ago. Food purchased at restaurants is 5.1% more expensive than this time in 2023.
Some common grocery staples – milk, coffee, seafood and butter were cheaper this January compared to last January.
Energy costs also were 4.6% less to start 2024 than at the start of 2023 and gasoline is 6.6% cheaper than a year ago.
A Congressional report suggested legislators must work on a new Farm Bill to help the ag economy highlighting the volatility inherent in income and high production costs. They noted that the potential decline in income in 2024 may be the largest on record in nominal terms, and third largest all time when adjusted for inflation.
Farmers used to complain that SGMA – the law that limits groundwater pumping in California- would cut food production for the world. Turns out California farmers produce too much fruit and nuts already and over-planting is a key factor in hurting profitability down on the farm. Now some state ag leaders are urging growers to remove trees and vines to try to right size their industry after prices for tree nuts, table and wine grapes, raisins and some tree fruit have plunged in the past few years.
Water or lack of it has been key factor in farm acreage reduction.Then there is increasingly volatile weather impacting production including the flooding of farmland and damage to conveyance infrastructure in these parts. How about the trend to higher temps?
Besides water and weather there are 3 good reasons farmers may want to shrink their footprint aside from the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.That would be price, price, and price.
Westlands want to repurpose farmland to clean energy production
Nuts: California farmers had been going in the other direction in new plantings – replacing vineyards and tree fruit orchards with tree nuts, especially almonds and pistachios. The bearing acreage of almonds rose from about 300,000 acres in the early 1980s to almost 1.5 million acres today, pistachio acreage rose from 30,000 acres to almost 450,000 acres, and walnut acreage doubled from 200,000 to 400,000 acres.
Revenue per acre peaked in 2013-15 at $8,000 an acre for almonds and pistachios and $6,500 for walnuts. Since then, revenue per acre has fallen by half or more as tree nut production increased faster than demand.USDA reported farmers harvested $0.25 per pound for walnuts,14 percent of the high observed in 2013 ($1.82 per pound). The value of US almonds exceeded $7 billion in 2014-15 but declined to $3.6 billion in 2022-23. Info from Migration News.
Recently California’s total almond acreage dropped now for two years in a row by about 74,000 acres, something that has not happened since at least 1995 according to a report from Land IQ under contract to the Almond Board of California (ABC)
“The latest Land IQ California almond acreage analysis continues to point to a reduction in total acreage driven by fewer new plantings and an increase in orchard removals,” said Richard Waycott, ABC president and CEO. “The 1.37 million bearing acreage in 2023 established a new record, reflecting plantings in 2020 or earlier, but going forward, the analysis points to a lowering of bearing acreage in 2024.”
Orchard removals increased again in 2023 to about 83,000 acres as of Aug. 31, compared with 60,400 acres removed in 2022 and continuing a trend of an increasing pace of removals that started in 2021, says the report.
Stone Fruit: The largest US producer of tree fruit with 13,000 acres of peaches in Fresno and Tulare County, was bought in 2018 by Paine Schwartz Partners and filed for bankruptcy October 13, 2023. 5,400 positions -3400 seasonal farm workers are being lost and it is not clear who will end up with these orchards with spring just around the corner.
Grapes: Allied Grape Growers are urging California growers to take out 50,000 bearing acres of grapes noting that an oversupply is hurting prices.
The publication Farm Progress reports “Jeff Bitter, president of the Fresno-based Allied Grape Growers, warned a wine conference audience recently that nearly 20,000 acres of newly planted grapes are coming online this year, which will add to the glut of fruit.
He recommended that 30,000 acres of older vines be razed in California’s interior regions, including the Central Valley, and another 20,000 acres be removed from the coast, including 5,000 combined in Napa and Sonoma counties. If realized, these removals would result in a net reduction of 30,000 bearing acres, he noted.
But in California, growers are still planting vineyards at a brisk pace. Last year, enough vines were sold by nurseries to plant 19,000 new acres, and plantings of red varieties grew again, Bitter said.
“Quite honestly, we don’t need more red grapes,” he said, adding that removals should occur across varieties. “This is everything, really. We’re not going to just take out one or two varieties and set everything right.”
The industry is planting at the right pace but not removing enough, he said. It’ll likely take several years of pullouts to put supply and demand back into balance, he said.
“The pain doesn’t go away,” he said, “until grapes go away.”
Wine: Brager Beverage Alcohol Consulting says the industry faces tough challenges today related to demand. Here is his list.
-Consumer demand for wine – and alcohol in general is declining.
-Wine remains underdeveloped among consumers of legal drinking age, many of whom are multicultural. Baby boomers and their preceding generation are still important, but will age out.
-Social moderation is on the rise.
-There is intense competition from other alcoholic, non-alcoholic and even cannabis-infused drinks.
-Premiumization is still evident, but not as much as it was during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New purpose for farmland?
Look what’s happening in Westlands Water District. This week the state’s largest water district posted a long range plan that will designate much of the district for renewable energy production by taking more land out of crop production.The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan (VCIP) provides a blueprint for the development of clean energy facilities and supporting infrastructure with an overall generating and delivery capacity of up to 20,000 MW (10 Diablo Canyons) on approximately 130,000 acres of repurposed farmland.
The plan goes from the Avenal Cutoff north to Nees, past Mendota along I-5, maybe a 60-mile stretch.It does not include all the solar activity south of Avenal Cutoff in Kings county.
The District’s main objectives for VCIP are to repurpose drainage-impaired and other agricultural land for clean energy generation in order to promote enhanced agricultural productivity within the District by: 1) constructively addressing the chronic shortage of surface water deliveries by facilitating redirection of scarce surface water allocations to other productive agricultural land; 2) facilitating SGMA implementation by contributing to the re-allocation of groundwater for irrigation on other productive agricultural land and mitigating risk of subsidence along the San Luis Canal/California Aqueduct; which in combination will result in increased reliability and resilience of agricultural water supply in the Westside Subbasin; and 3) providing for orderly development and decommissioning of clean energy facilities to promote preservation of agricultural land within the District.
The bottom line: fewer acres of land planted to crops should save enough water for those still farming to survive and keep commodity prices high enough to make some money.
Crop yields: Offsetting worries about acreage retirement is the long term trend of rising crop yields Take processing tomatoes- In the 1920s the yield for processing tomatoes averaged some 6 tons/acre in California. Today that same piece of dirt produces closer to 50 tons per acre. And that dramatically increased production is using dramatically less water.
The adoption of drip irrigation has been impressive. While only 2% of the acreage was under drip irrigation in 2001, this percentage was 19% in 2003, 33% in 2007 and 78% in 2012 says a UC Davis study.
Likewise for the Valley’s biggest crop – milk. Today fewer cows are producing more milk with less water use and less pollution.In the 1950s there were more than double the number of dairy cows in the United States as today but now they produce almost twice as much milk.
Back at that big Westside water district, they are looking to repurpose some of their lands but also experimenting with the water they have that could be put to use to grow cattle feed.
A new environmental notice posted this week says Westlands Water District is proposing a Desalination and On-Farm Recycling Pilot Project which will use an existing groundwater well to supply a reverse osmosis treatment facility. Using proprietary vegetation specifically engineered to uptake salts and other constituents, Westlands will apply the mineralized water to irrigate salt-tolerant crops, which will remove the salts and store in the plants. Due to this uptake of salts and minerals such as boron and selenium, the crop will be rich in nutrients, making a valuable source of bio-nutrients for livestock once harvested. The long-term average annual water supply benefit could be up to 1,460 acre-feet per year.
Valley land fallowing could reach 500,000 acres it has been estimated. Consider that some of that land could be used to recharge the aquifer but not grow a crop that competes with our farms.
Des Moines Iowa-based Ruan Transportation has closed their two logistics offices in Tulare and Turlock, according to a State of California WARN notice.
Ruan Transport Corporation at 754 S Blackstone St. in Tulare CA laid off 92 employees and 47 employees at their 830 W. Glenwood St., Turlock CA location according to a January 8, 2024 notice.
According to City of Tulare officials, the company will be exiting their milk hauling business in California after serving Central Valley dairies for decades.
The company had advised patrons for some time that they were planning this exit although” the news set off quite a scramble”, says one dairy industry source. Everyone has found alternative transportation however, says our source.
Both Tulare and Turlock have multiple dairy processors that receive milk daily from dairies in the region.
Ruan Trucking was founded in 1932 by John Ruan with just one truck. The small business grew into Ruan Transportation Management Systems – now one of the nation’s largest trucking operations. The company says it sports 300+ operations and has 5000 employees – 4000 of them are truck drivers. The firm also has 1.5 mil sf of dedicated warehouse space.
Cost issue
The spokesperson for the company was not available for comment. Speculation, however, relates to the cost of tightening air quality rules in California that would require major fleets to upgrade from diesel to zero emission trucks. Litigation over reporting mandates on existing trucks has recently led to a temporary postponement of pending deadlines.Still, major investment in new trucks will be required in California.
Ruan Transport Corporation at 754 S Blackstone St. in Tulare CA laid off 92 employees and 47 employees at their 830 W. Glenwood St., Turlock CA location according to a January 8, 2024 notice.