FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — A growing problem of abandoned farmland throughout the Central Valley is increasing as some farmers feel the squeeze.
“There’s a multitude of perfect factors that are all coming together right now to make farmers walk away from what they have,” Ryan Jacobsen with the Fresno County Farm Bureau said.
Jacobsen says tumbling commodity prices, water policy and new laws are to blame.
“The elimination of open burn and requiring chipping has made it much more costly to be able to take these orchards or vineyards out,” Jacobsen said.
What used to cost between $500 – $700 an acre to burn could now be nearly $3,000.
“You need to physically, with manpower, remove the stakes. You’ve got to remove the wires,” Jacobsen said. “You’re bringing huge equipment in that’s just very costly.”
In many cases, the abandoned fields are bringing other costs to farmers like Jake Barcellos next door.
“So, they’re just sitting there hosting these pests all season,” he said
Barcellos at A-Bar Ag Enterprises in Los Banos and Firebaugh says those pests eventually migrate from abandoned orchards to his.
“It just creates more pressure for us or the neighboring fields around the area that, you know, creates these huge numbers of N-O-W, the navel orangeworm, and other pests that can affect our upcoming yields,” Barcellos said.
Those already tight margins are felt across the industry and are becoming even thinner.
“It means more strict pesticide applications or really staying on top of your applications. In the end, it costs more dollars,” Barcellos said.
Farmers are now pushing for changes, and it’s a Valley lawmaker with a possible solution.
Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo from Tulare is proposing a fine for landowners who fail to make a good-faith effort to remove pests.
“We’re supportive of that, not that we want additional regulations, but we think that collaboration – there could be a way to help reduce some of these pest issues,” Jacobsen said. “Because right now, like I said, the status quo is causing those issues for the neighboring farmers.”
Macedo’s proposed legislation for pest control is currently making its way through the Statehouse. Some farmers also hope changes to the burn laws will follow.
