Doug McGeoghegan
Colusa County

It's the holiday season and there is, as usual, much to be thankful for. Imagine: great yields and quality and improving commodity prices all in the same year. Veterans around the rice industry will no doubt have gotten a kick out of the junior members noting that they have "never seen a fall harvest like this one." To be sure, things have changed around the rice industry in the last couple decades. We've been blessed with many warm and dry Indian summers that have resulted in a relatively leisurely harvest and post-harvest period. We've been able to harvest the grain, deal with the crop residue in various ways and even get a good bit of groundwork done. Not so in 2007.

The cool weather and rain events we experienced this growing season and at the outset of harvest (which were pretty much a regular occurrence in the '70s and '80s) not only delayed the maturity of the rice crop but sidelined a number of the new generation of monster combines, which despite their huge grain-eating appetites, were shod with rubber and not steel. In our operations, we were grateful to be all on tracks, which allowed us to comply with Dad's advice to "make hay while the sun shines."

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Ron Macedo
Stanislaus County

For the almonds we've been working on orchard management--pruning almonds like crazy, brush shredding and applying a winter weed spray.

The Almond Board of California just held its annual conference where it was reported that California growers will continue to experience a favorable almond market. Shipments are up across the board both domestically and internationally and just doing really well.

Almond plantings have leveled off or might even be decreasing due to the lack of water. Growers that have water or access to water are going to look to plant new orchards and others are not so sure of the water situation. The market may have even strengthened a little bit due to the fact that growers can see that plantings are going to decrease. A lot of these older orchards that have been hanging on because the market has been so good, they are just going to have to start coming out. What bank is going to loan you money if you don't have a reliable water source? And you can't put a permanent crop in unless you are sure that you are going to have 25 years worth of water.

Otherwise, we are planting winter alfalfa and are concerned about the extremely low rainfall and low chilling hours. We are definitely behind the curve on chilling hours and need more hours for almonds and the stone fruit.

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Doug Beretta
Sonoma County

The recent rain allowed us to move cows that were still on pasture. We have seen a lot of frost and wind. It does not seem like a normal winter. Usually this time of the year we are getting the good rains, and when the sun comes out we get good growth in our pastures--nothing that is real nutritious for the producing cattle but it helps it get by. We are having to feed hay to all of the animals right now. The big concern for our operation is that if we do not get the rain, then the prices of hay are going to continue to go up. Then what are we going to have for next year? If we continue to have a shortage of water, then we are going to continue to be short on hay for next year.

On the farm we have all of our fields planted. Right now we are working in the dry lots and working on manure management, testing our run-off areas diligently making sure that we do not have any nutrient levels leaving the dairy. We are watching all of our gutters and making sure that our manure-management procedures are in place in preparation for any rains. We will continue to monitor and make that a priority throughout the winter months.

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Benny Jefferson
Monterey County

The recent frost conditions have caused delays with the last weeks of the winter harvest. Growers in my area as well as myself are working on preparing the soil and completing testing for soil conditions and any amendments needs. Many are also in the process of irrigating to make sure that the proper amount of moisture is met for a successful planting. We have received very little rain so far this season.

We will begin planting cauliflower and broccoli that will come out of the fields in late March. The market for vegetables grown in California was not stable this year. It was very unpredictable, making the choices of what to plant or how much to gamble. The days of working and planning for the seasons are gone. The current market conditions are driven by brokers and shippers who want the best unblemished product at a price that can often not reflect the constraints that the grower is facing. A good example is the red and green leaf lettuce industry.

Our market seemed to never recover this past year after food safety awareness became a public issue. We continued to grow the product only to find no market. With a large supply to offer we often came up short in terms of what we received as our income as compared to the cost that is reflected in the grocery store outlet. The chains also seem to be leaving many consumers with the idea that the supplies are low in terms of empty shelf space when in fact the supply is there but is left with no takers. The ramifications of those that have also opted to contract with large wholesalers and warehouse stores have been that many of these growers are under the constraints to produce a superior product and do so only to find that they are part of the "loss leader" lines that are offered and realize little profit despite moving the units.

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Elia Vasquez
Santa Cruz County

We're all done putting in our strawberry transplants and the weather has been very good for that. It was dry and then we had a little rain. It was perfect. Now we need more rain.

I've been out driving around looking at the fields and everything looks good. We'll just have to play the wait-and-see game. We'll have a better idea about the crop at the end of February or early March.

Although strawberry planting has been going pretty well, we have had some challenges in Santa Cruz County--for example, the light brown apple moth. With the first treatments over, people are a little more relaxed about it.

Before they sprayed, we were actually seeing the moths all over. But now we don't see too many of them. I don't know if that's because the spraying has worked or if it's because of the cold. Hopefully farmers can get back to work on other things and start to catch up.

There is a quarantine in place and that's affecting our nurseries. It's not affecting strawberries so far, thank God.

Right now, with harvesting done and the next crop planted, the labor situation is good. One of the things that eased our labor problem was the freeze in citrus. Many workers who normally work in the citrus came here to find work. Again, we'll have to wait until spring to see what happens with labor.

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Paul Sanguinetti
San Joaquin County

We're really up in the air right now. We normally grow cannery tomatoes, but they haven't come out with the field price yet. I've got ground bedded up for tomatoes, but it's still a tossup over whether I'll grow them or corn or silage. We'll grow some corn, but the fields can go with other crops.

Tomato prices were better last year, but you've got to look at costs. All our inputs--fuel, fertilizer, water, labor--all we're trying to do is stay ahead of the game, but these increases prevent that. We're not making any more than we were a few years ago.

There are a lot more variables these days. There isn't enough money in the tomatoes, compared with the risks you have to take. Corn is easier; it's more forgiving and doesn't require as much to grow.

There are so many factors that come into play these days. About four years ago, I was paying 55 cents a gallon for diesel. Today diesel cost me about $3 a gallon. Fertilizer and seed prices have gone up. New tractors cost $200,000 and tomato harvesters cost $400,000.

We can prepare the ground for planting and switch pretty easily when it's time to go. But, it all comes down to what we think will make money. Unfortunately, there aren't any crystal balls. You need a sharp pencil and you need to know true costs--realistically what kind of return you need to stay in business.