Agriculture
Agriculture
provides the economic foundation on which California has been built, and our continued prosperity is
dependent on maintaining the viability of the state’s farms, ranches, and
forests that provide our food and fiber. Today, farmers are competing in a
global market where local production costs cannot be added to crop prices. As
a result, prices for many of the major commodities raised in California are below levels received 20 years ago, while
production costs have been steadily rising. In this competitive and risky
market environment, state regulatory and tax policies must be designed to
minimize effects on producer costs.
The
current Legislature has knowingly contributed to this problem by adopting
policies that increase workers compensation costs, require water quality waivers
and fees for farm runoff, increase the number and cost of air quality
permits, and intrude on farm labor negotiations. When taken as a whole, one must wonder if
Democrats want to put farmers and
timber producers out of business.
We
must also recognize that processing facilities are a major pathway for
bringing the wealth of the fields to our local communities. Several of the
major processing plants for crops raised in Assembly District 8 have closed
in recent years, which leaves local farmers without a home for their crops
and plant workers unemployed. I have heard it said that if our farmers don’t
grow tomatoes or sugar beets, they can still grow wheat or corn. This may
help the farmer survive, although prices received for these major commodities
are low, but it will never replace the employment and economic opportunities
that processing plants provide to our Valley towns. The state can help in
this situation by adopting tax and regulatory policies that promote the
establishment and success of processing facilities for local crops. The state
can also provide incentives for developing new commodities and opportunities,
such as ethanol production, that can both reduce consumer costs and help the
economies of local communities.
In
addition, it is important to understand that if agriculture does not succeed
as a business, then farms will be replaced by other uses of private land. And
as the state’s urban population grows, it is critical that our
constitutionally guaranteed private property rights be honored by all levels
of government.
|
