Dismal Harvest Dries Up Hope for Yuba City's Fruit Farmers
India West, News Feature, Sunita Sohrabji, Posted: Jan 12, 2005
YUBA CITY, Calif. - Prune growers in California's Central Valley, which stretches from Fresno north to the Yuba City-Marysville area, are facing their worst harvest on record, following an extremely hot spring, which left little time for pollination.
Jaswant Bains, one of the area's largest growers, said this year's harvest has been "just about the worst crop ever." Hot and dry weather during pollination resulted in a lack of fruit setting, he explained to India-West. Additionally, he said, high winds during the summer contributed to a heavy fruit drop during the picking season.
The Yuba City-Marysville area produces 99 percent of the nation's prune orchards and about 70 percent of the world's supply of prunes. Sikhs - many farming the land of ancestors who migrated here in the late 19th century - account for roughly 30 percent of prune farmers in the United States. Overall, the "dried plum" industry, as it is now known, could lose more than $100 million this year, as farmers said they harvested from 25 percent to 45 percent of a normal year's crop.
Greg Thompson, general manager of the Prune Bargaining Association, said this year's shortage of fruit has dramatically driven up the price per ton. Over the past decade, prices for prunes have ranged between $700-$900 a ton - low because of oversupply and competition from foreign markets. This year, the association negotiated prices at $1,500 per ton. While the price was higher, it offered little relief to farmers with a low yield of fruit.
"It would have taken $2,300 a ton for the average farmer just to break even this year," said Thompson, adding that years of oversupply led to farmers getting into "very difficult financial situations."
Many prune farmers are allowing fields to go fallow or trying other tree crops, such as walnuts and almonds, even though this area is not the best for those crops, he said. Thompson estimated this year's crop at 45,000 tons, compared to last year's 175,000 tons.
Khan A. Khan, who farms about 120 acres of prunes in Yuba County, said he pulled in five percent of a normal year's crop. "The hot weather dried out the fruit blossom so that fruit did not set," said Khan, who has been farming in the area for more than 30 years.
Like many other farmers in the Central Valley, Khan is originally from Punjab. His family immigrated to the U.S. when he was just 12. "With the will of God, next year's crop will be halfway decent," he told India-West, adding, however, that he is seeking alternatives to farming.
The California Prune Board estimates the annual cost of farming prunes at roughly $1,300 per acre. Ranvir Singh, who farms 200 acres of prunes, said he reaped two tons per acre this year, where he would normally get 16. He said crop insurance, for those who carry it, would offset some losses. A
resident of Marysville, Singh serves on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sustainability Committee. He hopes Congress will pass a huge emergency disaster relief bill for California farmers.
Recently, Congress passed a relief bill for farmers who suffered losses during the 2002 season, but it did not include any provision for the current year. Singh said U.S. Congressman Wally Herger, R-Calif., has proposed an emergency bill for farmers who suffered losses this year.
Singh also wants to see farmers getting subsidies, along the lines of those farmers receive in the European Union. "Farmers in the EU are getting about $2,000 a ton for their crops via subsidies, where we average about $640 a ton," said Singh. European farmers are also allowed to use cheaper pesticides, many of which have been banned in the U.S. for more than 20 years, he added.
Singh, who has lived in the Yuba City area since he was five years old when he migrated from a village near Jullunder with his parents, said farmers have not been able to maintain their fields and are using their savings to keep up with the rising costs of workers' compensation and health insurance. "We
are losing farmers every year," he added.
Many local farmers are selling out to developers, said Singh, who has already sold 70 acres. "Any developer that knocks on my door, I'll be willing to listen," he told India-West. "A whole way of life is slowly being eliminated."
Singh said Indian American growers "lack a voice" and have been taken advantage of by local packers, many of whom have not paid the growers for their fruit in more than three years. "The East Indian community - especially the older farmers - need to understand that there are resources for them, but they need to belong to an association to exercise that voice."
Paul Singh, who farms 100 acres of prunes, said he had no crop at all this year. "Temperatures got up to 101-102 degrees, which meant the bloom dropped," said Singh, who made an unsuccessful bid for the Live Oak City Council earlier this year. Singh, who grows organic, usually gets $2,000 a ton for
dried fruit, but this year's dismal harvest, coupled with the threat of foreign imports, has made him rethink the future of his business.
"People out here have this lucid dream that it's going to get better soon: well, I've been farming all my life and I'll tell you, it's not. Growers are going to have to look to something else, because the farming life is just about dead here. Any farmer that tells you they're making money is lying," added the outspoken Singh, who was born and raised in Live Oak. His family migrated to the area from Punjab in 1910.
Gary and Shinde Thiara, who jointly farm acreage that was developed by their father, Gurdev, and his brother, Kuldeep, in 1964 - said they are still waiting to tally up their losses for this year. The Thiaras are the seventh-largest stone fruit growers in the district and Sunsweet Growers' second-largest supplier. Gary Thiara is chairman of the board of Sunsweet Growers, which packages 99 percent of the nation's prunes and 70 percent of the world's supply.
This year's harvest yielded the Thiaras an average .6 tons per acre. "We took a pretty significant hit this year," said Gary Thiara.
The low harvest may affect local employment. The Prune Bargaining Association said the prune industry produces 500 full-time and 4,765 part-time jobs in this area, and Sunsweet Growers is the second largest employer in Yuba City with 600 annual employees.
Thiara, however, said he does not anticipate layoffs, as the plant will rely on surpluses from previous years to maintain employment and keep supplies steady.
The California Prune Board has targeted India as a buyer of prunes, saying sales there will reach more than 5,000 tons over the next five years, making India among the top five importers of prunes. The California Prune Board went to New Delhi last May to drum up interest in prunes.
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