‘Everything is about humanity.’ Chico-area farm takes new approach to raising pigs [Sacramento Bee]
Factory farms cause ongoing environmental impacts and can create new pandemics. So says hog-farmer Charlie Thieriot, whose Chico-area company is taking a different approach — staying small, selling locally and using ethical and sustainable practices. “What we’re trying to do is raise the pigs the right way and develop direct relationships with chefs and butchers,” said Thieriot, CEO of Llano Seco Meats, the branded arm of Rancho Llano Seco. “It’s a lot more work, but for the most part I know every customer by name.”…According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDAERS), most large-scale hog operations confine pigs indoors. While that maximizes profits and keeps costs low, it also contributes to a trend toward fewer and larger enterprises concentrated in the Midwest and North Carolina. USDAERS statistics indicate the overall number of farms with hogs nationwide has declined by over 70 percent since 1990 and the “trend toward fewer and larger enterprises has brought environmental issues to the forefront of public policy regarding the hog industry.”
https://www.sacbee.com/food-drink/article243721627.html
As Bay Area restaurant business drops, local farms send produce to struggling families [San Francisco Chronicle]
Early every Wednesday morning, trucks loaded with fresh organic produce converge at a farm stand just outside of Pescadero. The produce comes from small farms scattered from the hills across Monterey County to coastal San Mateo County. Usually, the kale, asparagus, strawberries, arugula and countless other delicious fresh ingredients end up at farm-to-table restaurants in affluent neighborhoods from San Francisco to Santa Cruz….Many of the farms that supply the Bay Area’s renowned organic cuisine are struggling to contend with the dramatically shifting marketplace. “Some of the other farmers are having really difficult issues, especially the ones that market their crops mostly to restaurants and farmers’ markets,” said Javier Zamora, of California Certified Organic Farmers, a trade agency and association that certifies farms’ organic status. With many farmers’ markets and most restaurants closed, some farms have lost their main markets. But, said Zamora, who is chapter president of the association’s Central Coast region, which includes San Francisco and San Mateo counties, “We have to stay productive, whether we sell most of our items or not.”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/As-Bay-Area-restaurant-business-drops-local-15369207.php
Amid COVID-19, farmworkers face an impossible choice: Social distance or go to work [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
For Jovita Villarruel, a 55-year-old farmworker from Mexicali, staying home from the fields during the coronavirus pandemic wasn’t an option. She needed the paycheck — even if it meant risking her health. So this spring, as most of California’s 40 million residents sheltered in place to stem the spread of the illness, Villarruel and other farmworkers continued harvesting fruits and vegetables in the Coachella Valley. After about three months of picking peppers and grapes during the day, and sleeping at a shelter for migrant farmworkers in Mecca at night, she contracted COVID-19 in early June — becoming one of three workers to fall ill earlier this month while staying at the Galilee Center’s Our Lady of Guadalupe shelter, and one of many essential workers who have contracted the illness during the pandemic.
State investigates ag’s COVID-19 safeguards [Bakersfield Californian]
The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating whether California agricultural employers are doing enough to protect their workforce from the spread of COVID-19. Letters sent two weeks ago pressing farming companies for details about their health and safety measures have come as ag processors work to contain workplace infections, including an outbreak in Wasco that’s sickened at least 31 employees and led to a worker strike. The Kern County Farm Bureau, whose president called the inquiry “a bit of a fishing expedition,” advised its members June 20 to seek legal counsel before responding to the state’s request, saying in an email it was “unaware of any law or regulation that would compel an answer” to the five-page questionnaire.
State vintners may lose $437M due to COVID-19 [Lodi News-Sentinel]
According to an industry expert, winegrape growers across California stand to lose at least $437 million in sales from this year’s harvest due to COVID-19. An analysis by Jon Moramarco, managing partner of bw166 and editor of the Gomberg-Fredrikson Report, says increased wine sales at grocery stores, liquor stores and wineries will not offset the loss in revenue from sales at restaurants, hotels or stadiums. Moramarco’s report also predicts that the volume of California wine sales over the 12 months from March 2020 to February 2021 is expected to decline by 9.21 million cases from the same period in 2019-2020.
https://www.lodinews.com/news/article_37d91420-b82f-11ea-83a7-6bc45da0bb71.html
Elsie moooves on: Borden dairy sold to private equity firms [Associated Press]
…Borden dairy, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, has been sold to two private equity firms. Dallas-based Borden said Friday it was sold for about $340 million to Capitol Peak Partners and KKR. Colorado-based Capitol Peak will be the majority owner while New York-based KKR will be a minority investor. Borden’s 12 U.S. plants — which produce 500 million gallons of milk per year — will remain open and its 3,300 workers will keep their jobs, the company said. Borden CEO Tony Sarsam will step down when the sale is completed, and Capitol Peak and KKR will appoint a new board of directors.
