Growers experienced unusually early warm temperatures this year throughout the state that was followed by a severe freeze that lasted long enough to do some damage to various crops in California. Although it will take some time to determine exactly how much damage the freeze caused, watch this brief interview with Alexander Ott from the California Blueberry & Apple Commissions as he shares some initial results.
Sacramento, Calif., (March 1, 2018) – We have a stretch of unusually cold weather, including freezing temperatures at night, underway currently on the Central Coast, and it has attracted a lot of attention.
Being originally from Wisconsin, it always slays me what people here think of as cold. I was up in Cupertino this morning, and overheard a women exclaiming into her phone that it was so cold that she was wearing two jackets!! Ever hear of a snowmobile suit, longjohns or a ski mask? I used to go running in -10 degree weather, and fished through the ice all day long in temperatures even colder. Naah, 25 degrees above zero isn’t cold my friends.
Regardless, I should provide some insight to you here concerning these upcoming freezing temperatures and what they could do, particularly in the case of strawberries, which in most places around the Bay have started to really grow and in some case produce a lot of fruit already.
Strawberries come from temperate regions of the world and can handle freezing temperatures in due course. However, once the plants are actively growing like they are here now, that does present some difficulties which growers and managers can take some steps to address.
Once the strawberry plant has broken dormancy, cold temperatures no longer offer any enhancement in the way of cold conditioning (what many of us refer to as chill), and therefore we shouldn’t be seeing any extra plant vigor or fruiting from these freezes.
To the contrary, while these early spring freezes will normally not kill strawberry plants here on the Central Coast they nevertheless present a setback to fruiting because of the danger they present to sensitive plant parts. The core of the strawberry plant, which is the crown and is a thick, fleshy organ full of water and if correctly planted is mostly submerged below the surface of the soil, is well protected. Not so with flowers and on occasion younger leaves, which are fully exposed to the cold and can die back in a hard freeze. Even if a flower is not killed outright by below freezing temperatures, pollination has a good probability of being affected and subsequent fruit will be misshapen.
Growers can take measures to mitigate the damage of freezes to strawberries. If one is concerned about an upcoming freeze, taking the step to saturate the bed full of water via the drip irrigation before the frost is expected can do a lot. Having the bed full of water accomplishes two things; the first is that the irrigation water being well above freezing will insulate the bed, and second the cells of plant in a well watered condition will become turgid with liquid and this to some measure protects them as well against freezing.
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You can read the PDF version of the January/February Issue of California Fresh Fruit Magazine HERE!
Davis, Calif., (January 23, 2018) – Can plants typically grown for hedgerows also be a source of income? That’s the question guiding a new UC study on the potential for farmers to grow elderberries as a commercial crop.
Blue elderberry, a California native plant with clusters of small bluish-black berries and a sweet-tart flavor, have long been eaten by Native Americans in the western states and are used today in jam, syrups, wines and liqueurs. And while elderberry orchards are popping up in parts of the Midwest, California’s elderberries are usually just grown on field edges, and elderberry products sold retail rely mostly on foraged crops or imports.
Farmers at The Cloverleaf Farm near Davis are already selling elderberry products from plants grown on their farm, alongside their blackberries and stone fruits. And they find that customers love them. The farmers want to understand the viability of growing elderberries for market beyond their nascent effort, bringing some of the out-of-state production home.
The UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP) launched a project in collaboration with the Cloverleaf Farm, the UC Agriculture Issues Center, UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology, and four Central Valley farmers to assess the farm management practices, nutritional content, and market potential for elderberry and elderberry products in California.
“I think a lot about the long-term systems sustainability of our food system,” said Katie Fyhrie, one of the farmers at the Cloverleaf. “I keep thinking about how much we focus on production of blackberries and blueberries, when the elderberry also achieves that dark berry color and flavor people like with much fewer resources.”
Elderberries are typically grown on farms as hedgerows for their ability to attract beneficial insects, act as a windbreak, and sequester carbon, benefiting the overall health of the farm, but not providing direct benefit to a farmer’s bottom line. Despite long-running federal cost-share programs for planting hedgerows, the number planted in California is still quite small relative to the large expanses of farmland in the state. Adding a financial incentive to planting elderberries may help increase the popularity of hedgerows amongst farmers.
“When we think about building sustainable farming practices, we can think about the whole farm as being a site of both conservation and profitability,” said Sonja Brodt, the project’s principal researcher at UC SAREP. “Elderberries may have the potential to combine crop production with environmental conservation functions in a way not typically seen on California farms. This model would enable small- and medium-scale farmers to receive a direct income from a farm practice that benefits the ecosystem as well.”
As climate change impacts California with heat and unpredictable water availability, some studies suggest farmers may need to consider diversifying the crops they grow to adapt to changing local climates.
Elderberries, which grow in arid California regions along the coast and into the mountains, have the potential to grow in a range of climates and adapt to changing California ecosystems in the future.
It is unlikely that farmers would plant entire orchards of elderberries, in part because of restrictions on pruning elderberries that may be home to the Valley elderberry longhorn beetle, a federally threatened species. But for small- and medium-scale growers looking to diversify their income sources, elderberries may provide a boost.
The two-year elderberry project now underway will conclude with a growers’ production guide, cost of production study, an assessment of market demand and nutritional contents, and workshops to help link growers with buyers interested in elderberry products. The project will also address issues related to the Valley elderberry longhorn beetle and generating income from hedgerows.
“Elderberry juice is already in so many products,” Fyrhie said, “so building a market for locally grown elderberries seems like a no-lose situation.”
For farmers interested in learning more about incorporating perennials into annual crop farms and similar agroforestry practices, join a webinar hosted by UC SAREP on the topic. More information can be found here.
Charitable Contributions for Farmers
It is common for businesses to receive tax deductions for cash donations, but did you know that the agriculture community can donate fresh foods for a similar benefit? California farmers and agriculture businesses have the opportunity to donate fresh fruits and vegetables in return for some pretty hefty tax breaks.
How much is the deduction? 
In order to calculate the federal deduction and the California credit, your accountant will need to know the cost basis of the donated fruit as well as the fair market value (FMV) of that fruit as of the date it was contributed.
Normally, the federal deduction for inventory contributions is limited to the FMV on the date of contribution or the cost basis of the inventory, whichever is lower. However, there is an enhanced deduction allowed for the contribution of food inventory to a qualified organization that allows for an “above-basis” deduction. This deduction equals the lesser of: (1) the basis of the contributed inventory plus one-half of the ordinary income that would have been recognized if the inventory had been sold for FMV on the contribution date, or (2) twice the basis of the property. As is often the case, there are special rules for certain taxpayers. If you are not using full absorption to account for your inventories, consult with your accountant as special rules will apply.
For farm partnerships, the result of the above calculation would be passed through to the individual partners within the partnership. The deduction is then limited to 15% of their net income from all businesses that made food contributions. This means that their deduction would be limited to 15% of their net income from the farm entity that made the donation. If individual farmers who are also partners in farm partnerships made food contributions to qualified organizations, then the net income of both activities would be added together in determining the 15% limitation. Any unused deduction can be carried over and used in the five succeeding tax years.
California law
Under California tax law, a qualified taxpayer 
who donates fresh fruits or fresh vegetables to a food bank located in California is allowed a tax credit equal to 10% of the cost that would otherwise be included in inventory costs. In the case of farm partnerships, the credit would be passed through and used by the individual partners. Any unused credits may be carried forward for seven years. It’s important to note that this credit has expired, however, there is a possibility of extension, so speak with your accountant to learn more.
Here’s an example
Partnership A owns a farm that grows fruit. The partnership donates unsold fruit to the local food bank. A determines that the basis of the contributed property is $180,000. A also determines that one-half of the ordinary income that would have been recognized if the inventory had been sold for FMV on the contribution date is $40,000. The deduction would consist of the lesser of: (1) the basis of the property contributed plus one-half the profit = $180,000+$40,000 = $220,000, or (2) twice the basis of $180,000 = $360,000. In this case, the lesser figure of $220,000 would be the enhanced deduction for the food inventory contributed. That deduction would be passed along to the partners of the partnership. The charitable deduction on the partner’s tax returns would be limited to 15% of the income from the partnership that made the food donation.
Please note that if the donated inventory was not included in the opening inventory, but rather was produced during the current year,the donated inventory would be considered
to have zero basis. This means that the enhanced deduction for food inventory would only be $40,000 in the example above, as the $180,000 cost of that fruit would instead be included as part of the cost of goods sold deduction in the current year.
If you have questions about charitable food donations or want to learn more about how to claim the deduction, please contact Sensiba San Filippo Partner, John Slater, at 559.437.0700 or at jslater@ssfllp.com.
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You can read the PDF version of the November/December Issue of California Fresh Fruit Magazine HERE!
Sacramento, Calif., (August 1, 2017) – The weather last week was hot and dry across the State. The summer monsoon across the southwest desert helped trigger some showers across the deserts last week, while additional pockets of moisture found their way into the Sierras and managed to produce a few scattered showers throughout the week. Rainfall was limited to Monday through Thursday across the interior deserts and parts of the central and northern Sierras. A few monsoon showers and thunderstorms dropped up to half an inch of rain in places across the desert, with most areas receiving around a tenth of an inch. A stray thunderstorm near Alturas in the northeastern corner of the State dropped nearly half an inch of rain. Snow cover continued to dissipate across the State; however, some areas of the Lassen Volcanic National Park still had nearly ten feet of snow in some areas.
Temperature highs were in the 60s to 80s along the coast, 70s to 90s in the mountains, 90s to 100s, in the valley, and 90s to 110s in the desert. Temperature lows were in the 30s to 50s in the mountains, 50s to 60s along the coast, 60s to 70s in the valley, and 60s to 80s in the desert.
Wheat was harvested for grain and shaft baled for straw. Alfalfa fields were being irrigated, cut, and baled. Corn and sorghum for silage were cultivated and irrigated. The corn silage crop was in various stages of development, from already tasseling to developing ears. Cotton continued to be irrigated, cultivated, and was growing well. Cotton was blooming and forming bolls. Black-eyed beans continued to be irrigated and cultivated.
Mid-season peach, nectarine, pluot, and plum harvest continued. Some harvested stone fruit orchards were pruned and topped. Table grapes were harvested and vineyards irrigated. Wine grapes were maturing well. Valencia orange harvest continued but was winding down due to high temperatures and fruit availability.
Walnut, almond, and pistachio orchards continued to be irrigated. Mechanical and chemical weed control continued in orchards. Harvest preparation was underway in almond orchards. Almond harvest began in the warmer regions of Kern County. Pistachios were beginning to split. Navel Orange Worm sprays and fertilizers were applied to pistachios. Walnuts were sizing well.
In Colusa County, triple digit heat impacted the harvest of vegetables, including processing tomatoes and honeydew melons. The processing tomato harvest was somewhat erratic, interrupting the smooth flow of ripe tomatoes to the canneries. The melon packing sheds were affected by the inconsistent flow of fruit. In San Joaquin County, harvest was ongoing for honeydew melons, watermelons, cantaloupes, onions, and fresh vegetable crops. Farmers’ Market vegetables continued to be harvested and offered for sale. In Monterey County, mid-year harvest and production slowed for two weeks. It was expected to pick back up with more harvesting and preparation for the third or last rotation of the year. All commodities, lettuces, brassicas, and spinach were in production. Asparagus was finished and artichokes will pick up again in August. In Fresno County, harvest continued for both organic and conventional tomatoes with lower yields than expected. Quality was reported as very good. Onions, carrots, and lettuce seed were harvested. Soil was prepared for yellow peppers. In Tulare County, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and peppers were picked by certified producers and sold at the local Farmers’ Markets. Yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, Bell peppers, green chili peppers, and cucumbers were harvested and shipped domestically. Sweet corn harvest continued and was sold at roadside stands and local Farmers’ Markets. Melons were irrigated and prepared for the upcoming harvest. In Kings County, the tomato harvest continued with a decent harvest reported. Tomatoes were sprayed with fungicide and pesticide.
The decline in nutritional quality of rangeland grasses and forbs continued. Range and dryland pasture conditions across the state were reported as fair to very poor. Wildland fires burned some north state pastures and ranges. Elevated temperatures continued to impact milk production. Bees were active in melon and sunflower fields.
Washington, D. C., (June 28, 2017) – A modernized North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) must build upon market gains for U.S. agriculture and settle remaining challenges for our nation’s farmers and ranchers in our neighboring markets, Don Shawcroft, Colorado Farm Bureau president, stated in a hearing before the U.S. Trade Representative today.
“NAFTA has been overwhelmingly beneficial for the vast majority of farmers and ranchers across the U.S. for decades,” said Shawcroft in testimony on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation. U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have quadrupled, from $8.9 billion in 1993 to $38.1 billion in 2016. Although the benefits from NAFTA are clear and many, there are reasons to reform and update the agreement, Shawcroft said.
NAFTA renegotiations present a prime opportunity to address challenges fruit and vegetable farmers have faced with Mexico, as well as a chance for dairy, row crop and wheat farmers to settle issues with Canada.
“A modernized NAFTA should at best eliminate, at worst reduce, barriers to trade that keep our farmers and ranchers from having a level playing field with our neighbors,” Shawcroft said.
Farm Bureau priorities for a modernized NAFTA include:
“A modernized NAFTA will not only help expand market opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers in the near term,” said Shawcroft. “It would also set a foundation for future trade agreements by establishing market-driven and science-based terms of trade and dispute resolution that will directly benefit the U.S. food and agriculture industry.”
Source: AFBF, Newsroom, June 27, 2017