1. Farming and Its Challenges in San Diego County Eric Larson Executive Director San Diego County Farm Bureau

2. National Rankings #19 farm economy among all counties
# 1 in nursery production
# 2 in avocado production
# 1 in number of small farms
#1 in number of organic farms
# 1 in farmers with off-farm income

3. $1.7 Billion in Crops Nursery & Floral 65% Fruit 21% Vegetables 9%
Livestock & Poultry 4%
Nursery &
Floral
65%
Other
<1%

4. 251,000 Acres Livestock 75% Other 5% Fruit 13% Nursery & Floral 3%
Vegetables 2%

5. Farming Has Done Well Here
Climate
Imported water
Transportation
Labor supply
Local markets

6. Today’s Challenges Water Pricing Labor Pest Exclusion Competition
Succession

7. Water Pricing New sources are expensive System fixes are expensive
Transfers
Desalination
System fixes are expensive
Sacramento Delta
Storage
Less water delivered by system means each gallon sold carries more costs
Tripling of price in 11 years

8. Labor Farmers are dependent on foreign-born workers
Substantial number are working with forged documents
Obama administration failed on reform
President Trump has only spoken of enforcement

9. Labor Current workforce is aging out Replacement workers are scarce
Impacting farm operations
Mechanization is limited answer here
State of California making situation worse
Minimum wage
Agricultural overtime

10. Pests and Pest Exclusion
Traveling public introducing exotic pests
Increased volume of travelers and packages
Agency budgets are an issue
Fewer tools available to combat pests

11. Impact from New Pests Shipping restrictions for growers
Additional use of pesticides
Threat to organic growers

12. Asian citrus psyllid Kuroshio shot hole borer
Fruit flies Light brown apple moth
Asian citrus psyllid Kuroshio shot hole borer

13. Competition Agriculture a borderless world market
U.S. has greatest regulatory burdens
Foreign operations have significantly lower production costs
Cut flowers
Avocado
Strawberries

14. Succession Average farmer age exceeds 60 Not a popular career pursuit
Generational transfers declining
Barriers to entry
Cost of land
Financing
Lack of working knowledge

15. The Bottom Line Farming is a business and
profitability will dictate above all else