Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
adapted to this weather pattern. Wetlands are dependent on the nutrients that floods deposit, and many an-
imal species require floods for various lifecycle stages, like reproduction and hatching.”
Lloyd Carter, a former UPI and Fresno Bee reporter, has been writing about California water issues for
more than thirty-five years. Reporting on water in California means stepping on many powerful toes when
you refuse to compromise the truth, and Carter has made his share of enemies. His reporting on the dev-
astating effects of selenium-contaminated irrigation water on wildlife garnered several journalism awards.
Carter charges: “The decision to irrigate the selenium-laced, alkali desert of the western San Joaquin Valley
is one of the great mistakes of America's environmental history. Despite more than sixty years of searching
for a salt disposal solution for this godforsaken desert, and the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dol-
lars of taxpayer money, no economical, safe disposal solution is in sight, and the western valley continues
to slowly march toward the same fate as Mesopotamia: a salted-up, lifeless desert.”
Referring to a University of California study, Carter notes that the San Joaquin Valley may be home
to some of the nation's richest agricultural resources, but half of the people who live and work there face
elevated levels of air and water pollution, coupled with poverty, limited education, language barriers, and
racial and ethnic segregation.
The Central Valley is ranked as the most polluted air basin in the country; children residing there have a
35 percent higher chance of suffering from asthma. The area's geography—a valley with tall mountains on
three sides—creates a pool for the pollution created by agriculture, including emissions from the barrage
of large diesel trucks hauling produce. Allowing the agricultural industry to operate in a way that pollutes
the air reduces its costs and is an indirect subsidy.
Carter adds that this is also true of the low-wage work, which is done under harsh conditions by undoc-
umented workers. He explains, “A few dozen farming dynasties benefit the most from the huge numbers
of low-paid, seasonal harvest workers that live in grinding poverty.”
Kathy Ozer, executive director of the National Family Farm Coalition, agrees. She notes, “Large indus-
trial vegetable and fruit growers also benefit from the use of low-wage labor, often undocumented. Some
would label illegal labor a 'subsidy' as well.”
While the issues around farm labor are complicated and beyond the scope of this topic, it is fair to say
that without migrant labor the produce industry would not exist. Unquestionably, a handful of giant pro-
duce companies are growing very rich on the structure of the industry in California; however, small and
midsize growers are being squeezed out. In spite of low-wage labor, the profitability of produce produc-
tion has diminished for all but the very largest growers, driving many smaller and midsize producers out
of business.
Growing produce, an extremely perishable commodity, is a risky business; achieving a fair price is even
more daunting. Over the past fifteen years, the economic clout of Walmart and other large grocery retailers
has restructured production and distribution, as suppliers have had to consolidate to match the scale of their
largest buyers. In this environment, even with all of California's advantages, it is becoming increasingly
difficult for small and midsize produce growers to be profitable.
Roberta Cook, an agricultural economist at the University of California-Davis, says: “Growers and
shippers are price takers; they typically are not large enough to set prices. Produce is generally harvested
and shipped daily, and changes in weather can affect both supply and demand, making markets very volat-
ile. This, combined with high production costs, makes produce a risky business, and prices may not always
cover total costs. It requires substantial capitalization to withstand low prices.”
She goes on: “Growers receive the market price minus charges for harvesting, packaging, and marketing
and in some cases cooling, along with other handling charges and mandated-marketing or other institution-
al fees.” 3
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