Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Big Farmers, Small Farmers
THE COST OF COMPROMISE
he world of agriculture is defined both
practically and aesthetically by two poles: those farmers whose aim is to grow the greatest
possible amount of food at the lowest possible price, and those whose goal is to grow the
greatest quality of food no matter what it costs. Both are necessary. It would be a poor state
of affairs if our grocery stores were filled with nothing but $6-a-pound peaches, no matter
how exquisite they might be. And, of course, the opposite is equally true: what good does
it do you to have all the peaches you can eat if none of them tastes like anything? Most
growers fall somewhere in between, but at their extremes these two schools of thought
operate in almost separate universes - despite the fact that the growers themselves might
be farming right next door to each other.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the stone fruit belt of California's San Joaquin Val-
ley during the middle of summer. Almost all of the nectarines and about 60 percent of the
peaches grown in the United States come from California. And about 90 percent of those
are grown between Fresno and Visalia, a stone fruit belt no more than fifty miles wide en-
compassing the southern half of Fresno County and the northern half of Tulare County.
That's a hefty crop. Peaches alone account for almost $250 million a year, and nectarines
are worth another $200 million. But this is an area almost uniquely suited to the growing
of peaches and nectarines. In the winter, the heavy cold air of the Sierra Madre range slides
downhill to rest along the banks of the Kings River. This phenomenon produces the area's
dense tulle fog, infamous among drivers, but it also gives the trees the chill they need to
go dormant and get their off-season rest. In the summer the hot, dry weather is perfect for
ripening fruit with a minimum risk of spoilage. Small towns - once market centers - are
