COVID-19 impacts on ag your daily Yuba-sutter farming in full swing despite pandemic briefing
The Yuba-sutter farming industry is in full swing as much of the rest of the economy has modified its operations due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Locally, the peach harvest is underway and rice has been planted and is starting to grow. Sutter County Agricultural Commissioner Lisa Herbert said all other crops seem to be on schedule without any major issues.
“Agriculture is an essential $1.48 billion industry to the county economy,” Herbert said. “Our office is available to ensure that the needs of the farming community are met. Our hope is that farmers and farm workers stay safe during these trying times.”
Ag offices are having to modify some of their normal operations. Herbert’s office is working on implementing virtual continuing education seminars to help growers get their required hours, which would typically be available during four large annual meetings that will likely be canceled this year due to the pandemic.
Local ag commissioners offices have distributed approximately 150,000 surgical masks during the pandemic to assist with farmworker protection, and they expect to procure another supply of N95 respirators to distribute to ag businesses.
Yuba County Agricultural Commissioner Stephen Scheer said the 2020 grow season has gone reasonably well for local growers so far, largely because the area has had moderate temperatures and avoided extreme weather events earlier this spring.
Scheer said the pandemic is having an impact on farm labor and food processing, with growers and processors going to great lengths to protect their employees.
“We have seen several growers and processors affected but it has not become widespread at this point,” Scheer said. “…COVID-19 has a lot of activities on hold and the budgetary impacts nationally and locally remain unknown. I think like everyone we are hoping to see the pandemic end and things go back to normal.”
Mat Conant, a walnut farmer and Sutter County supervisor, said implementing safety protocol for workers has gone well, with laborers social distancing in the fields. He said workers have put an even greater emphasis on hygiene and his operation is now starting to implement mandatory temperature checks.
The biggest impact his industry has experienced during the pandemic is with sales. He said sales are down from previous years and last year’s crop is not selling as fast and at as high a price as originally expected.
“I know that prices will be even lower than last year, at least that’s the rumor we are hearing. Growing walnuts was a good thing for a long time, but now it doesn’t seem like we are getting the same prices anymore,” Conant said. “So, it’s concerning. As farmers, we know there will be good and bad times, we just have to take it as it is.”
Almonds have also seen market prices decline drastically since the onset of COVID-19, and the industry anticipates a 36 percent reduction in farm gate value, according to the Almond Alliance of California. Congressman John Garamendi sent a letter to the United States secretary of agriculture recently advocating for the department’s support for the California almond industry through a direct purchase program.
“California’s almond industry was already facing hardship from retaliatory tariffs prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Garamendi said in a press release. “COVID-19 has made a hard year even harder for California’s almond growers, and the federal government must take action to help them weather this storm.”
The prune crop yield across the Sacramento Valley this year is also reportedly down compared to recent years, largely due to temperatures reaching into the 80s during the commodity’s bloom in March, which can significantly impact quality, said Franz Niederholzer, a local University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor.
He said the prune market has not grown in recent years, even before COVID-19, and with tariffs and the current economic situation, many of the world markets have dipped a bit.
“It’s been a tough last couple of years for prunes, or for stone fruits in general,” he said.
On the other hand, the rice industry has fared well considering the circumstances. Jim Morris, communications manager for the
California Rice Commission, said planting was done on schedule and the weather has mostly cooperated so far, which could see some fields being harvested in August.
While trade issues vary from market to market, he said the rice industry’s situation has largely progressed as expected.
“Worker safety is our highest priority, and extra protective steps have been taken on farms and mills,” Morris said. “There has been a shift in sources of demand in recent months, with less activity with restaurants and food service and more purchases from retail. Fortunately, we have made the needed changes and have a sufficient rice supply to meet the demand.”