-November 7,2019-
San Joaquin Valley Homes buying Hwy 198 land
Visalia-based San Joaquin Valley Homes wants to buy about 11.22 acres near Shirk and Hwy 198 from the City of Visalia to build a new home subdivision. The surplus land is located south of Hillsdale Ave and north of Highway 198 and east of Shirk Ave. The price is set at $1,100,000 that will go into the city Civic Center fund.
In 2006 the city acquired 17 acres north of Highway 198, east of Shirk.The staff report says this property was acquired to help provide a scenic corridor coming into the City of Visalia. The land had lay fallow until 2015 when the City decided to plant the acreage in walnuts. Since that time, the cost of managing and growing the walnuts have far exceeded the original proforma and staff has recommended the removal of the nut trees and the sale of the property. Zoning of the 11 acres does not yet allow residential development but the builder apparently has some assurance that it will be.The purchase leaves 200ft of trees that fronts on the highway.
Building activity stays strong in Visalia
Building activity is staying strong through October in Visalia. New home permits are up 27% through October compared to the same period last year The number of new commercial permits are up 71% and their value is up 188% to $65 million. That includes the new 425,000sf UPS hub complex being built on Plaza Dr in the industrial park and several other industrial projects.The total of all kind of permits are up 23%.
Higher milk prices lift dairy industry here
With cheddar cheese prices at multi-year highs and world demand for our dried milk powder up as well it’s providing some rare good news for California dairymen, the county’s largest industry.
Reports say October was the biggest month for cheddar barrels in more than 15 years as the price jumped from $1.69 to $2.2875 – nearly a 60ȼ increase. As for milk powder Mexico continues to buy our dried product in large volume and even China is buying 30% more skim milk this year compared to 2018. World demand is helping to lift US milk prices. California dairies are receiving an average price of $20 per cwt this November.Tulare County dairies got an average of $15.30 per cwt in 2018 says the ag commissioner.
TeVelde’s Tipton ranch cows & property to be sold off
Things may be looking brighter for those dairymen who made it through the tough times but that did not include GJ TeVelde who has lost a several large dairies to bankruptcy in Oregon and California. That includes two huge ranches in the Central Valley – the GJ TeVelde Ranch in Tipton, and Pacific Rim Dairy in Corcoran with a combined total of 53,382 cattle.
The Tipton ranch cows remaining include 4000 head that will be sold off at auction set for November 15.
Meanwhile,the Tipton property has been court ordered to be sold. The judge in the case has approved the sale of nearly 2,000 acres and the equipment for $28.75 million. The property is being sold to Fresno-based Maricopa Orchards with the closing expected in January 2020.
Maricopa is owned by the Assemi family who has moved big time into the pistachio business and now have a legal spat ongoing with Wonderful Pistachios, California’s largest grower. The family is establishing its own pistachio processing plant to open in August 2020 under the name Touchstone Pistachio Co and no longer market their nuts with Wonderful.
The Corcoran dairy on 2,700 acres has been described as being upgraded with a manure digester to improve its environmental performance and to make it more appealing to potential buyers. It is listed at $56 million.