Early this year, the 2022 Census of Agriculture was released by the USDA. The data was alarming. California lost 7,387 farms in five years. That works out to be 1,477 farms and ranches a year; 28 a week; four a day. More staggering was the land in farms lost. Between 2017 and 2022, 332,197 acres of land was taken out of farms and ranches. That is an area of land about half the size of Rhode Island.
I believe ag and policy are about people. The 7,387 farms and ranches California lost and the 332,197 acres of farmland either taken out of production or put to use in another way are signs of policy that has lost its way. The average farm in California employs 7-8 people annually, statistically speaking. Which means, in five years of farm and ranch losses, at least 49,727 people lost their jobs working in agriculture or took jobs outside of agriculture.
Working in agriculture is certainly about food production but it is also about tending to the land, caring for animals, understanding nature, and having an innate belief that tomorrow will come. These are not ideas that can easily be written into policy but there are ways to incorporate them if policy is driven by a desire to honor people.
A new report surveying ag economists across the nation notes that 56 percent of those economists say ag is in a recession and 81 percent say, if ag is not in a recession, it is on the brink of one. The same report noted 94 percent of ag economists believe the “environment of low commodity prices and high input costs will accelerate consolidation” of farms, meaning smaller farms will be sold to larger corporations. Ultimately, eliminating more farmworker jobs and forcing more of our small, local farms and ranches out of business.
The holidays are a season of hope. My hope is for lawmakers to reevaluate how they choose to view their influence on the farm and ranch community in the coming year. Nothing brings good cheer like a plate piled high with the bounty California has to offer. Let California’s lawmakers find ways to better support providing that bounty by listening to the people directly involved in its growth.
No matter what policy approaches arrive under the tree, my sincerest wish is they are driven by a desire to help every person in the farming and ranching community. It is a community that is as eclectic and varied as a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments from a decades’ worth school projects. Every ornament is important. Every paper ring garland has a story. Every lopsided star has a memory. Individually, they don’t make for much of a display but, together, they make for a beautiful tree.
Similarly, every employer, picker, milker, investor, member of the farming and ranching community is part of a larger whole. Individually, our stories and memories are important and compelling. Together, they make for a beautiful food production community.
From my office on our farm in Eastern Washington to you in California, I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and the bounty our farmers and ranchers provide.
