FIREBAUGH, Calif. (AP) — With California’s agricultural
heartland entrenched in drought, almond farmers are letting orchards dry
up and in some cases making the tough call to have their trees torn out
of the ground, leaving behind empty fields.
In California’s
Central Valley, Barry Baker is one of many who hired a crew that brought
in large rumbling equipment to perform the grim task in a cloud of
dust.
A tractor operator drove heavy steel shanks into the ground
to loosen the roots and knock the trees over. Another operator, driving a
brush loader equipped with a fork-like implement on the front, scooped
up the trees and root balls and pushed them into a pile, where an
excavator driver grabbed them up in clusters with a clawing grapple. The
trees were fed into a grinder that spit wood chips into piles to be
hauled away by the truckload and burned as fuel in a power plant.
Baker,
54, of Baker Farming Company, has decided to remove 20 percent of his
trees before they have passed their prime. There’s simply not enough
water to satisfy all 5,000 acres of almonds, he said. "Hopefully, I
don’t have to pull out another 20 percent," Baker said, adding that
sooner or later neighboring farmers will come to the same conclusion.
"They’re hoping for the best. I don’t think it’s going to come."
There
are no figures yet available to show an exact number of orchards being
removed, but the economic stakes and risks facing growers are clear.
Almonds and other nuts are among the most high-value crops in the
Central Valley — the biggest producer of such crops in the country. In
2012, California’s almond crop had an annual value of $5 billion. This
year farmers say the dry conditions are forcing them to make difficult
decisions.
Gov. Jerry Brown last month declared a drought emergency after the state’s driest year in recorded
history.
The
thirst for water has sparked political battles in Washington, D.C.,
over use of the state’s rivers and reservoirs. This month President
Barack Obama visited the Central Valley, announcing millions of dollars
in relief aid that in part will help the state’s ranchers and farmers
better conserve and manage water.
Baker, who favors farming over
politics, explained the math leading to his decision. Between now and
the summer almond harvest, he would need to irrigate his orchards with
scarce, expensive water and pay to have the trees pruned and sprayed.
Bringing in bee hives to pollinate the blossoms costs nearly $500 an
acre.
That all would amount to a $2.5 million gamble, without
knowing if the next couple of months will bring significant rain to the
valley floor and snow to the mountains. "You’d have wrapped a lot of
money up in those trees to see what happens," he said.
Removing
old trees is common practice. Almond trees remain productive for about
25 years, growers said. The state’s almond farmers removed over 10,000
acres of trees in 2012, according to a report by the California
Department of Food and Agriculture. Most were past their prime. No
figures are available on how many orchards farmers are removing today,
said department spokesman Steve Lyle.
But Alan Thompson of G&F
Agri Service LLC, who leads the crew ripping out Baker’s orchards, said
the drought spiked his business by 75 percent. This time of year is
typically slow, but Thompson, 31, said his heavy equipment operators
start at dawn each day and works until sundown, removing orchards in
short order.
"We don’t even mess around with cutting them up with chain saws," he said. "That grinder
is the way to do it right there."
Ryan
Jacobsen, executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, said he
expects that almond growers will be removing trees through the spring
and summer because of the drought. "I have no doubt permanent crops will
be taken out because of this," he added.
Tim Lynch of Agra
Marketing Group said power plants in the state nearly have more wood
chips from almond trees than they can handle. Lynch’s firm acts as the
middle man between growers getting rid of their trees and the power
plants that need bio fuel to burn. The dry weather this winter has
allowed growers to work in their orchards that are typically soggy, and
the drought pushed them to take out trees earlier than normal, he said.
The
high value of almonds has caught the eye of investors in recent years,
who paid top-dollar for land to plant almond orchards and cash in on the
bonanza. Their value remains strong, making the decision for farmers to
remove orchards difficult.
William Bourdeau, executive vice
president of Harris Farms in Coalinga, said he and his colleagues within
the next 30 days will have to confront the hard decision about scaling
back their almond orchards. They’ve already decided not to plant 9,000
acres of vegetables — including 3,000 acres of lettuce that would have
produced 72 million heads and generated 700,000 hours of work.
Next, they may rip out 1,000 acres of almonds, a permanent crop, Bourdeau said.
"I
hesitate to use a number that big. Unfortunately, it’s going to that
big or bigger," he said, still holding out hope the season will turn
wet. "We’re trying to limp along as long as we can."
Leaving the
orchards un-watered and expecting they’ll somehow survive the drought is
no option, Bourdeau said, because insects infest the dying trees and
multiply, spreading to other orchards.
Drawing well water is a bad
option, he said. Their wells sink 2,400 feet below ground in his region
of the Central Valley, providing water that’s unhealthy and compromises
the crops for years, if the trees survive at all, he said.
They
have considered blending well and surface water to minimize the harm. Or
they can remove some almonds to direct their limited water to fewer
orchards.
"There’s a lot of what-ifs," Bourdeau said. "There’s no good decision. It’s what’s the
least worse option."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
FIREBAUGH, Calif. (AP) — With California’s agricultural
heartland entrenched in drought, almond farmers are letting orchards dry
up and in some cases making the tough call to have their trees torn out
of the ground, leaving behind empty fields.
In California’s
Central Valley, Barry Baker is one of many who hired a crew that brought
in large rumbling equipment to perform the grim task in a cloud of
dust.
A tractor operator drove heavy steel shanks into the ground
to loosen the roots and knock the trees over. Another operator, driving a
brush loader equipped with a fork-like implement on the front, scooped
up the trees and root balls and pushed them into a pile, where an
excavator driver grabbed them up in clusters with a clawing grapple. The
trees were fed into a grinder that spit wood chips into piles to be
hauled away by the truckload and burned as fuel in a power plant.
Baker,
54, of Baker Farming Company, has decided to remove 20 percent of his
trees before they have passed their prime. There’s simply not enough
water to satisfy all 5,000 acres of almonds, he said. "Hopefully, I
don’t have to pull out another 20 percent," Baker said, adding that
sooner or later neighboring farmers will come to the same conclusion.
"They’re hoping for the best. I don’t think it’s going to come."
There
are no figures yet available to show an exact number of orchards being
removed, but the economic stakes and risks facing growers are clear.
Almonds and other nuts are among the most high-value crops in the
Central Valley — the biggest producer of such crops in the country. In
2012, California’s almond crop had an annual value of $5 billion. This
year farmers say the dry conditions are forcing them to make difficult
decisions.
Gov. Jerry Brown last month declared a drought emergency after the state’s driest year in recorded
history.
The
thirst for water has sparked political battles in Washington, D.C.,
over use of the state’s rivers and reservoirs. This month President
Barack Obama visited the Central Valley, announcing millions of dollars
in relief aid that in part will help the state’s ranchers and farmers
better conserve and manage water.
Baker, who favors farming over
politics, explained the math leading to his decision. Between now and
the summer almond harvest, he would need to irrigate his orchards with
scarce, expensive water and pay to have the trees pruned and sprayed.
Bringing in bee hives to pollinate the blossoms costs nearly $500 an
acre.
That all would amount to a $2.5 million gamble, without
knowing if the next couple of months will bring significant rain to the
valley floor and snow to the mountains. "You’d have wrapped a lot of
money up in those trees to see what happens," he said.
Removing
old trees is common practice. Almond trees remain productive for about
25 years, growers said. The state’s almond farmers removed over 10,000
acres of trees in 2012, according to a report by the California
Department of Food and Agriculture. Most were past their prime. No
figures are available on how many orchards farmers are removing today,
said department spokesman Steve Lyle.
But Alan Thompson of G&F
Agri Service LLC, who leads the crew ripping out Baker’s orchards, said
the drought spiked his business by 75 percent. This time of year is
typically slow, but Thompson, 31, said his heavy equipment operators
start at dawn each day and works until sundown, removing orchards in
short order.
"We don’t even mess around with cutting them up with chain saws," he said. "That grinder
is the way to do it right there."
Ryan
Jacobsen, executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, said he
expects that almond growers will be removing trees through the spring
and summer because of the drought. "I have no doubt permanent crops will
be taken out because of this," he added.
Tim Lynch of Agra
Marketing Group said power plants in the state nearly have more wood
chips from almond trees than they can handle. Lynch’s firm acts as the
middle man between growers getting rid of their trees and the power
plants that need bio fuel to burn. The dry weather this winter has
allowed growers to work in their orchards that are typically soggy, and
the drought pushed them to take out trees earlier than normal, he said.
The
high value of almonds has caught the eye of investors in recent years,
who paid top-dollar for land to plant almond orchards and cash in on the
bonanza. Their value remains strong, making the decision for farmers to
remove orchards difficult.
William Bourdeau, executive vice
president of Harris Farms in Coalinga, said he and his colleagues within
the next 30 days will have to confront the hard decision about scaling
back their almond orchards. They’ve already decided not to plant 9,000
acres of vegetables — including 3,000 acres of lettuce that would have
produced 72 million heads and generated 700,000 hours of work.
Next, they may rip out 1,000 acres of almonds, a permanent crop, Bourdeau said.
"I
hesitate to use a number that big. Unfortunately, it’s going to that
big or bigger," he said, still holding out hope the season will turn
wet. "We’re trying to limp along as long as we can."
Leaving the
orchards un-watered and expecting they’ll somehow survive the drought is
no option, Bourdeau said, because insects infest the dying trees and
multiply, spreading to other orchards.
Drawing well water is a bad
option, he said. Their wells sink 2,400 feet below ground in his region
of the Central Valley, providing water that’s unhealthy and compromises
the crops for years, if the trees survive at all, he said.
They
have considered blending well and surface water to minimize the harm. Or
they can remove some almonds to direct their limited water to fewer
orchards.
"There’s a lot of what-ifs," Bourdeau said. "There’s no good decision. It’s what’s the
least worse option."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.