Local farming community ponders change in Legislature

Following a string of legislative defeats in recent years, the local agricultural industry is bracing for what could come next after Democrats strengthened their control of the California Legislature and added key congressional seats during last week’s election.

With political tensions mounting, the inevitability of more Democrats being elected was not surprising. However, some in the farming industry believe that the voice of the many may not have been the voice of reason.

With Democrat Josh Harder unseating Republican Jeff Denham in the 10th Congressional District, many agriculture workers and farmers are curious to know how Harder will represent the farming community.

While some ag-based communities have received strong support from Democratic legislators, including Assemblyman Jim Cooper and Sen. Cathleen Galgiani locally, the question of how the recent changes will affect the industry lingers.

San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner Tim Pelican said it’s too early to speculate what will happen with the new Legislature.

If what has transpired in recent years is any indication, then farmers could be in for a fight.

“Without the proper representation for farmers there are many things that hang in the balance; the increase in minimum wage, the reduction in hours for the workweek, and overtime hours, it hurts our local community,” said Bruce Blodgett, executive director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau.

Local farmer Brad Goehring, who owns and operates Goehring Vineyards, echoed the sentiment expressed by Blodgett, adding that the issue is less about Republicans or Democrats and more about urban legislators and rural legislators.

“Jim Cooper is a great example. He is Democrat that gets the rural farming community,” Goehring said.

Goehring said he has hosted over 30 legislators at his ranch and they have spoken with laborers he employs.

“We want them to understand our industry, and it seems like the Legislature does not want us to employ people,” Goehring said. “We have hosted them and allowed them to speak to our workers privately and they still pass legislation that hurts our workers. The reality is we do not work in an office. If we limit the work week to Monday through Friday and it rains Monday and Tuesday that hurts a person’s paycheck, and we now don’t get that extra day, or overtime to make up the difference.”

With legislation leading to higher costs, many farmers have responded by using more cost-efficient machines to replace workers.

Goehring said he has modernized his vineyards so that 80 percent of the work can be done by machines. A majority of the labored work was leaf pulling, which now gets done by a machine and has completely replaced the need for 30 to 35 laborers.

Goehring said that under the new minimum wage law, leaf pulling by laborers would have cost $100 per acre this year, $110 next year, $120 the next year, and continue to increase whereas the machine cost of $80 remains consistent.

“The lack of reprieve by legislators has forced us to mechanize. In Lodi our industry is wine grapes, and we are competing globally with France, Australia and new Zealand. This isn’t about greedy growers, it’s about preserving our industry” Goehring said.

With farmers dealing with both rising labor costs and the threat of retaliatory tariffs, some feel they are being put at a disadvantage.

The international competition alone has diminished certain agricultural markets.

“The state's walnut business will lose about $600 million due to the retaliatory tariffs,” said Glenn County walnut grower Bill Carriere in an interview with AgAlert.

Galgiani believes that the increase in Democratic seats will help alleviate the tariffs imposed by international markets, and alleviate the struggles most of the agricultural industry is facing,

“With Democratic supermajority in the Legislature, I think it is important to have a Democratic voice in the discussions over public policy. We need more folks in the inside and not outside of the powers that will shape our state in the near future,” Galgiani said.