Wildfire update from the California Farm Bureau Federation

» Posted 4 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007 «

With a return of warm Santa Ana winds predicted later this week in Southern California, farmers are working as quickly as they can to repair irrigation systems damaged by last week's wildfires. The weather forecast indicates farmers will need to provide more water to their crops.

That's especially true in avocado orchards where trees were damaged by fire but may still be salvageable.

"The growers need to get water onto their trees," said Guy Witney, director of industry affairs for the California Avocado Commission.

"We've got crews working all over the industry trying to repair irrigation systems," Witney said Tuesday. "We've got irrigation companies bringing in supplies from out of state. Word is that supplies have become very tight in Southern California on piping and PVC and risers, just everything that you need to put an irrigation system back together again. We hope that many of these orchards that need water, that had fire nearby that desiccated the trees, are able to repair their systems."

The commission estimates that farmers lost 10 percent of this year's avocado production to last week's windstorms and wildfires. Witney estimated the crop loss at $35 million but said it's still too early to estimate the value of the avocado trees killed by fire.

While calling the losses "very serious" for avocado farmers and marketers, Witney said it's "anyone's guess" whether they will translate into higher consumer prices for avocados.

"The reality is that Mexico will very likely fill in a good portion of that gap in the market and that there will be other supplies coming into the U.S.," he said, including avocados from Chile and New Zealand.

And, despite the losses, California could still produce an average-sized avocado crop this season. The 10 percent loss comes from what had been predicted as an above-average 2007-08 crop.

In other developments today:

• San Diego County has begun estimating agricultural losses from its numerous wildfires. The county agricultural commissioner's office says damage from the Rice Canyon fire, which struck the Fallbrook and Rainbow areas, totaled approximately $30 million. It will issue separate loss estimates for other fires, including the Poomacha, Witch Creek and Harris fires.
  In the Rice Canyon fire, the most severe agricultural losses affected ornamental nursery plants ($17.6 million), cut flowers ($4.7 million) and avocados ($2.5 million). Other crops damaged included persimmons, lemons and macadamia nuts.
• San Bernardino County appears to have avoided severe agricultural losses from the wildfires. The county Farm Bureau reports "no substantial crop damage" so far. It says the only losses reported to the agricultural commissioner came from small, retail nurseries in mountain communities. Residents and business owners were being allowed back into those communities to salvage any items left behind.
• Allied Insurance and Nationwide reported receiving 510 wildfire claims and 283 wind-damage claims through Monday. The company said its representatives had inspected 96 percent of the properties reported as total losses. Allied is the leading insurer of California farms, but the companies did not say how many of the claims came from farms.

The California Farm Bureau Federation, the state's largest farm organization, works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 92,000 members.

Contact: Dave Kranz
Phone: 916/561-5550
news@cfbf.com

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