Food And Farm News
March 11, 2026
Farmworkers lament loss of hours and pay
California’s 2016 agricultural overtime law was meant to raise wages for farmworkers. While some have benefited from the law, a growing body of research suggests it has ended up reducing overall earnings for farmworkers as employers shortened the workweek to keep their costs down. By 2022, when the law was partially phased in, farm employees in California were working three to five hours less per week than a decade prior. On average, their weekly income had declined by $80 to $120, according to research by Alexandra Hill, a University of California, Berkeley, professor who researches agricultural economics and farmworker well-being. Since the law was implemented, Colusa County farmworker Araceli Aceves Cortés said she had lost a third of her work hours. “Suddenly, I couldn’t cover the electricity bill,” she said. “I couldn’t pay rent.”
Canneries reduce tomato acreage to lowest in 50 years
After a short-lived increase during the pandemic, California’s processing tomato acreage is set to decline for a third consecutive year. The state’s tomato processors planned to contract for 9.8 million tons from 185,000 acres this year, down about 11% from the 11 million tons processors asked for last year, according to a January report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If processors’ intentions remain unchanged, those figures would make the tonnage contracted from growers this year the lowest since 2005, and it would mark the first time in more than half a century that farmers in California plant fewer than 200,000 acres of processing tomatoes. Falling demand comes as a blow to farmers. In recent years, processing tomatoes were one of the few row crops that were generally profitable for growers. “It hurts us like I think it probably hurts every other tomato grower,” Yolo County farmer Bruce Rominger said.
Delaying harvest has helped blackbird populations
Tricolored blackbirds once thrived in California’s wetlands. But as the state developed, those ecosystems began to disappear, causing the species’ population to decline and seek new breeding grounds. The birds now often gather during the spring to breed in Central Valley grain fields. Because the tricolored blackbird is listed as threatened under California’s Endangered Species Act, farmers are not allowed to disturb the birds. That creates a dilemma for farmers who grow silage, a staple forage on dairies, as they are unable to harvest their crops on time. Since 2015, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program has compensated farmers for yield losses sustained in the course of protecting at-risk colonies. The program has succeeded in helping the species recover. From 2014 to 2025, the statewide tricolored blackbird population increased from a low of about 145,000 to about 229,000.
Farmer says low water allocation complicates planting decisions
Last month, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced a preliminary water allocation of just 15% of their contract total for Central Valley Project water users south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. While the allocation could yet increase, Fresno County farmer Dan Errotabere said the low initial allocation has complicated his spring planting decisions. “We hope the allocation will continue to climb, but there’s no assurance. So, we have to kind of blindly plan out how our spring will completely look when we’re finished,” Errotabere told Ag Alert® in a field report. “That puts in jeopardy going forward how much we can farm. It’s not just surface water delivery that’s lighter. We also have groundwater management. Those two together can cap our supplies without any sense that the number will go higher.” The San Joaquin Valley grower said he was prepping his ground to plant processing tomatoes. He also grows almonds, pistachios, garlic and other crops.
For more information about any story in Food and Farm News, contact the California Farm Bureau Marketing/Communications Division at 916-561-5550 or email news@cfbf.com. Connect with us on Facebook, X, or Instagram: @CAFarmBureau.
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