By Faughn Economy • Food Processing 0 Comments

These are the crops that California’s most agricultural counties produce

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — The majority of California’s top 10 agricultural counties are all located in one region: the San Joaquin Valley.

The San Joaquin Valley counties that make up the list are Fresno, Kern, Kings, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties. (The three remaining counties that make up the valley, which didn’t make the list of top agricultural producers, are Inyo, Madera and Mono counties.) Monterey, Imperial and Ventura counties round out the top 10 agricultural list.

According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, in 2020, Fresno was ranked as the top agricultural county, moving up one spot from 2019 and swapping places with Kern County. Ventura County broke into the top 10 list from the number 11 spot. Half of the counties in the top 10 have almonds in their lists of leading commodities. Other crops that appear more than once include grapes, pistachios and lettuce. In order of their rank for 2020, these are the commodities that each county grows and that helped put them ahead of other spots in California.

  • Fresno: almonds, pistachios, poultry (unspecified) and grapes (table).
  • Kern: grapes (table), almonds, pistachios, tangerines, and mandarins
  • Tulare: milk, oranges (navel), cattle and calves and grapes (table)
  • Monterey: strawberries, lettuce (romaine), lettuce (head) and broccoli
  • Merced: milk, almonds, chickens (broilers) and sweet potatoes
  • Stanislaus: almonds, milk, chickens (unspecified), cattle and calves
  • San Joaquin: almonds, milk, grapes (wine) and walnuts
  • Kings: milk, pistachios, cattle and calves, and cotton (pima)
  • Imperial: cattle (heifers and steers), vegetables, alfalfa hay and lettuce (leaf)
  • Ventura: strawberries, lemons, avocados and raspberries

https://www.kget.com/news/state-news/these-are-the-crops-that-californias-most-agricultural-counties-produce/

By Faughn Economy 0 Comments

Coalition involving UC Merced awarded $65 million in Build Back Better Funds

The White House announced today (Sept. 2) a $65.1 million award — the largest federal grant ever awarded to the Central Valley — to the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) Coalition as part of its “Build Back Better” initiative to boost economic recovery after the pandemic. The funding will help launch a state-of-the-art agricultural technology hub that will serve and connect farmers across the San Joaquin Valley to industry and spark a new, more advanced era in agriculture-based technology in an effort to boost productivity, create jobs and build capacity for regional sustainability.

Composed of scholars and researchers from UC Merced and Fresno State, farmers, agricultural organizations, community colleges and manufacturers, the F3 coalition is one of 21 regional groups selected to receive grants from the federal government’s $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge. The coalition’s proposal received the largest pool of funding from the challenge and was among 60 finalists nationwide. In total, the challenge garnered 530 applicants.

The new technology center, dubbed iCREATE, will serve communities across Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties. Ashley Swearengin, president and CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation (CVCF) — the lead agency and coordinator of the grant — describes it as a place that will “bring together the University of California research arm with the engineering capabilities of our state schools, alongside industry and community, all under one roof at a dedicated facility.” “We are thrilled that the Biden administration has recognized the unique potential of our Valley in awarding this grant to the Central Valley Community Foundation,” said UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz. “UC Merced looks forward to working with all our partners shoulder to shoulder to advance this effort and make the San Joaquin corridor the foremost global destination for innovation in the future of food.”

Interim Vice Chancellor for Research Marjorie Zatz called today’s announcement a signature moment for economic development in Central California. “Linking higher education, from the UC and CSU, through our community college partners, to build next generation technologies and train the workforce of the future will continue to build the massive economic impact our faculty and researchers are already having on this region.”

UC Merced professor Joshua Viers, also the director of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, a key research partner of the effort, has been working with the CVCF since the visioning and scoping period of the F3 coalition began back in 2019. As associate dean for research in the School of Engineering, he will be launching iCREATE as its first center director to spur collaboration among the project participants and helping to integrate workforce development at local community colleges and local food producer activity supported by University of California Cooperative Extension offices. “The Build Back Better funding of F3 will not only accelerate research and development solutions for climate smart food systems that benefit local communities in the Valley, but also transform how we produce and process food in the future,” Viers said. “We will continue to lead the nation in producing food but will lead the planet in how to do it in a more technologically advanced and sustainable manner.”

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/coalition-involving-uc-merced-awarded-65-million-build-back-better-funds

By Faughn Back Office • Economy 0 Comments

$6M in small business grant money authorized by Kings County board of supervisors

The Kings County board of supervisors voted 4-0 to authorize the Kings County Economic Development Corporation to execute small business contracts for grant funding through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Lance Lippincott, county Economic and Workforce Development Director, submitted a request to the board for $500,000 in grant funding to be put toward the Small Business Assistance Program his department developed. Thanks to support from county supervisors Doug Verboon and Richard Valle, Lippincott was authorized $6 million in funding, he said. “The board has been proactive in helping small businesses, especially going into the recession,” Lippincott said. The new authorization will help Kings County businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Healthy businesses support a healthy county,” Supervisor Richard Valle said.

According to Valle, the pandemic still generates a financial strain for some local businesses and the money will ease those burdens. Kings County as a whole faced difficulty in 2020 with getting the word out to those business owners needing the support. Some businesses were uncertain if they qualified while others were concerned about too much government overreach and involvement, he said.

While some positive impact came from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) money, the ARPA grant money provides more flexibility for qualifying businesses. The process for the grants is far easier to go through for business owners and Lippincott’s department plans to be as helpful as possible. “If in doubt, apply,” Valle added. There are requirements for businesses to be eligible for the grant money. The business must maintain a current and valid license; must have been in operation prior to March 15, 2020; and have 100 or fewer employees.

There is a fourth requirement specific to the pandemic. The business must have incurred significant financial loss attributed to COVID-19. According to Lippincott, this financial loss must be reflected in a decrease in gross receipts between 2019-20 and 2020-21. Contact the Kings County Economic Development Corporation for more information about Kings County small business grants.

https://hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/6m-in-small-business-grant-money-authorized-by-kings-county-board-of-supervisors/article_b4d645e9-e6c6-55a2-8699-ca17f19fef7e.html

By Faughn Economy • Energy 0 Comments

San Joaquin agency to receive $3.9M for hybrid electric buses

STOCKTON — San Joaquin Regional Transit District was awarded $3.9 million in grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration to expand its hybrid electric bus fleet. The expansion will allow RTD to enhance its service in underserved and marginalized neighborhoods in Stockton, the agency said. RTD is one of 12 local agencies to receive a share of more than $1.175 billion from the FTA’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Program, also known as a Low-No grant, designed to help transit agencies modernize their fleets with advanced technologies to improve air quality by reducing greenhouse gases.

The Low-No grant will assist in purchasing five new Gillig hybrid electric buses allowing RTD to expand and increase the service frequency of routes 525 and 576. These routes currently serve areas identified by the United States Department of Transportation San Joaquin County Census Tract as Historically Disadvantaged Communities.

Investments in these communities align with President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution District’s mission of improving Central Valley residents’ health and quality of life. “It is important we continue to invest not only in cleaner vehicles but also in the infrastructure needed to support them,” Senator Alex Padilla said in Tuesday’s media statement. “That is why I will continue to advocate for more funding to transition to buses that are better for our environment and public health.”

Projects were selected based on several factors including air quality benefits, economic competitiveness, financial leverage, transformational impact, and readiness to implement. “We are grateful to the FTA, Senator (Alex) Padilla, and the California congressional delegation for securing this funding,” RTD CEO Alex Clifford said in a Tuesday media statement. “RTD is committed to providing equitable transportation to the residents of our community while also being good stewards of the environment, and this grant allows us to do both,” he added. “Our goal is to increase service levels and frequency, providing better access to employment, education, healthcare, and shopping offering more opportunities and impacting the lives of many residents.”
By Faughn Distribution • Economy 0 Comments

Patriot Rail to establish rail district in central California

Patriot Rail CEO John E. Fenton is hoping the creation of a new rail district in central California will be a boon not only for his company but also for agricultural producers in the region. Patriot Rail is part of a public-private partnership with local leaders to develop a rail district for central California. Patriot Rail will lease approximately 6,500 feet of track and related property to Merced County, and the company will invest $1.2 million to increase rail capacity there at the Castle Commerce Center. The lease’s term spans 20 years, but it could be renewed in subsequent years. Patriot Rail interchanges with BNSF (NYSE: BRK.B), meaning that agricultural producers will have expanded access to the West Coast ports as well to the domestic market. When local economic developers were pursuing options for a rail district, BNSF brought Patriot Rail to the table, according to Fenton. “We think this is a great opportunity for the state of California to make their farmers even that much more competitive around the world,” Fenton told FreightWaves.

Patriot Rail’s involvement in the rail district was in response to an area shipper’s needs. Tomato products producer Morning Star and its warehousing provider needed to expand their packaging capabilities, and so they were looking for an area to grow, according to Fenton. Locations such as Modesto, Stockton and Sacramento were already at capacity, so expanding production in the San Joaquin Valley was the next natural location, Fenton said. “The San Joaquin Valley is one of the agricultural centers of the world. And there’s a lot of tomatoes that come out of that region,” Fenton said. Fenton hopes to have Patriot Rail’s assets ready by May 1, which is when the pack season starts for Morning Star. The pack season involves 100 days of operations running 24/7. In that time, Morning Star produces about 9,000 cans of tomatoes per minute, Fenton said.

According to the California Tomato Growers Association, tomato producers in the state processed 11.3 million tons of tomatoes in 2020, and that production has a value worth $887 million. Other agricultural products in the region include almonds, wine and cheese. According to the Almond Board of California, the counties of Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin in central California produced 921 million pounds of almonds during the 2020-2021 crop year, representing nearly 30% of overall California almond production.

Although Patriot Rail and others aren’t sure yet how many carloads might come out of the rail district, the rail district provides shippers with the opportunity to build warehouses and expand production. “We are meeting with all the agricultural shippers in the region. We want them to have a say in what kind of services they’re looking for. … The demand is really high, and we’re going to start to piece that together. The first thing is to really understand what the demand will be so we can build the facility and plan the facility in the right way,’ Fenton said. “We’re still scoping that [demand] but over time, we think it will become a very large rail district in the state of California.”

The agreement with Merced County was executed with Patriot Rail subsidiary Foster Townsend Rail Logistics. “Castle Commerce Center has enormous potential and is quickly becoming a site of regional, national and international significance,” Merced County Supervisor Daron McDaniel said in a release last week. McDaniel’s district includes Castle. “Patriot is a major part of our vision for Castle, and we’re looking forward to working with the partners they bring to help expand this growth and spur future job creation.”

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/patriot-rail-to-establish-rail-district-in-central-california

 

By Faughn Economy • New Developments 0 Comments

Madera County Receives $450K Grant From Caltrans

Madera County is pleased to announce the receipt of a Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant award of $450,000 from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The award will be used to develop a Transit Area Specific Plan that will establish a vision for the phased implementation effort to relocate the San Joaquins Madera Station and construct the adjacent future High-Speed Rail (HSR) station.

The plan will lead to the creation of new intermodal transit options and future transit-oriented development along the Avenue 12 corridor in southeastern Madera County. The project is consistent with and supportive of the goals of the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program, Senate Bill 1 requirements, the Madera County General Plan, the Madera State Center Community College Specific Plan (SCCCSP), Federal Railroad Administration(FRA) requirements, as well as the HSR Authority’s programmatic and project environmental documents.

Madera County will do the planning work in partnership with the City of Madera, Madera County Transportation Commission, San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA), California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), and Caltrans. This effort will guide the design and land-use in the vicinity of the station area as well as enable Madera County to promote economic development, encourage station area development and enhance multi-modal access connections between the station, the City of Madera, Madera Community College, and other surrounding communities throughout Madera County and northern Fresno County. “This is an exciting step towards enhancing our current rail connectivity. I believe this is imperative to the success of our cities, our County, Madera Community College, and the residents we serve through smart transit-oriented development,” said Madera County Board of Supervisor Brett Frazier following Monday’s announcement.

https://sierranewsonline.com/madera-county-receives-450k-grant-from-caltrans/

By Faughn Economy • New Developments 0 Comments

California one step closer to establishing high-speed rail with Silicon Valley to Merced line

After years of anticipation and developments, the state is one step closer to establishing a high-speed rail connection between Northern and Southern California. This week, California High-Speed Rail Authority officials approved a 90-mile stretch set to run from San Jose to Merced. This section would begin at San Jose’s Diridon Station and connect to a Central Valley site currently under construction. This connection will cut travel time between the two regions from roughly three hours to one hour.  San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo says he sees the developments as good news for the local economy.  “Completion of this critically important high-speed rail project helps the state expand economic opportunity and affordable housing, two critical goals for all of us,” he said.

Monterey County resident Stefan Mora says he often travels up and down the state for work and believes the high speed rail is a good alternative for people who spend a lot of time behind the wheel.  “It’s a great way to travel,” he said. “You’ll save gas with the prices it’s at right now, and save plenty of time not dealing with traffic.” High-speed rail officials say this development helped achieve environmental clearance for nearly 400 miles of the project’s 500-mile Phase 1 alignment from San Francisco to the Los Angeles and Anaheim area. This includes a stretch from Merced to Palmdale, and Burbank to Los Angeles — a section cleared earlier this year.

The project is also set to “modernize and electrify” an existing rail corridor between San Jose and Gilroy, allowing for high speed rail and Caltrans services. This alignment includes more than 15 miles of tunnels through the Pacheco Pass in the Diablo Range. Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley is calling it “the next most significant transit hub” behind San Jose.  “Gilroy Transit Center is very much ready for this to happen,” Blankley said.   Salinas resident Christian Lopez says he hopes the high speed rail will make for a better traveling experience. “Maybe it can help take vehicles off the freeways and they can lessen how crowded it is at airports,” he said. Construction for the high-speed rail is ongoing along 119 miles in the Central Valley at 35 active job sites. “The authority is poised to make the vision of high-speed rail in the Bay Area a reality,” Authority CEO Brian Kelly said. “We look forward to continued collaboration with our federal, state and local partners to advance the project in Northern California.”

 

https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/2022/04/29/california-closer-high-speed-rail-silicon-valley-to-merced-line-bullet-train-san-jose-sf-to-la-next/9578137002/

By Faughn Economy 0 Comments

VISALIA APARTMENT SALE EMBLEMATIC OF CENTRAL VALLEY RENTAL MARKET

An apartment sale in Visalia depicts the interest outside investors have shown in the Central Valley real estate market — particularly in the multi-family sector. The Mogharebi Group brokered the sale of ReNew, a two-story 128-unit apartment complex at 3315 Lovers Lane. The apartment complex built in 2008 sold for $30.65 million to a private Santa Barbara investment group from FPA Multifamily, according to a press release from the brokerage. There are 16 buildings on 6.76 acres, representing 18.9 units per acre with one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The complex also features a swimming pool, recreation room with wet bar, laundry facilities, clubhouse, spa and reserved parking.

“The Central Valley has long been thought of as strictly an agricultural area, but that is only one part of its economic story,” said Otto Ozen, executive vice president for The Mogharebi Group. “Government and healthcare are large and growing economic drivers, which combined with the region’s lower cost of living has resulted in an in-migration of people from higher-cost coastal cities. Yet new construction has not kept up with demand.  The strong regional economy and steady population growth combined with the high barriers to entry, has not been lost on investors.”

“Not only did we help the seller find ReNew a few years ago, but after 24 months, we were able to sell it for 50% higher price, which is indicative of growing investor interest for properties in the Central Valley,” Ozen said.

From Sacramento to Bakersfield, the region has 1,055 multifamily properties of 50 units or more. Over the last two years, 445 of those properties have traded hands, with The Mogharebi Group brokering 10% of those transactions, according to the release. Over those two years, the average sales price per unit increased 21% from $111,275 to $135,444. High end apartment complexes experienced the highest increases, growing 28% from $228,465 to $292,412.

 

https://thebusinessjournal.com/visalia-apartment-sale-emblematic-of-central-valley-rental-market/

By Faughn Economy • New Developments 0 Comments

High-speed rail between San Jose, Central Valley receives final EIR certification

High-speed rail between San Jose and the Central Valley took a step closer to becoming reality after the final environmental impact report was certified Thursday. In a unanimous vote, the High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors approved the 90-mile section stretching from Diridon Station in San Jose to Merced. “Today’s approval represents another major milestone and brings us one step closer to delivering high-speed rail between the Silicon Valley and the Central Valley,” Authority CEO Brian Kelly said in a statement. “The Authority is poised to make the vision of high-speed rail in the Bay Area a reality.” The approval moves the project closer to being “shovel ready” once funding becomes available, officials said. Currently, construction is underway between Madera County and Bakersfield in the Central Valley.

Once high-speed rail is complete between San Jose and Fresno, officials said the travel time between the two cities would be one hour, compared to three hours by car. “Completion of this critically important high-speed rail project helps the state expand economic opportunity and affordable housing, two critical goals for all of us,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said. In its decision, the board selected “Alternative 4” out of the four alignments studied. As part of the project, the existing rail corridor between San Jose and Gilroy would be electrified, allowing for both high-speed rail and Caltrain service. From Gilroy, the rail line would head east into the Central Valley, with 15 miles of tunnels through the Pacheco Pass in the Diablo Range. “Next to San Jose, Gilroy will be the next most significant transit hub on this stretch,” Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley said, noting the city’s transit center is “very much ready for this to happen.”

Despite years of delays and cost overruns, the project, which aims to connect the Bay Area, Central Valley and Southern California with high-speed trains, continues to have high support. A recent poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found Californians back high-speed rail by a five-to-three margin. According to officials, 400 miles out of the 500 mile alignment of the system have been environmentally cleared. Sections that remain to be cleared include San Francisco to San Jose, Palmdale to Burbank and Los Angeles to Anaheim. The agency’s board of directors said it would consider final EIR certification for the San Francisco to San Jose segment this summer.

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/high-speed-rail-san-jose-central-valley-final-eir-certification/

By Faughn Economy • Top Stories 0 Comments

States with the biggest agriculture industry

Most Americans don’t recognize just how much the agriculture industry affects their everyday lives. The connection is not solely confined to your grocery store, either—industries affected by the agricultural sector include food/beverage service, forestry, and textiles, just to name a few. Less than 2% of the American workforce was directly employed in agriculture in the year 2000, a drastic transition from 40% a century earlier. To improve consumer’s relationships with this industry, organizations like Future Farmers of America and 4-H help to bridge the gap between consumers and farmers and fight agricultural illiteracy from youth.

Stacker ranked each U.S. state by the size of its agriculture industry. To come up with the list, we analyzed USDA data including 2018 state agricultural overview reports and commodity values from 2012 ranked by the total value of agricultural products sold. We also took a look at the economic and environmental impact of the agriculture industry for each state, based on data from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, as well as how the industry affects residents and what aspects about that state make it ideal for agriculture.

States like Alaska and Hawaii generated a wide range of unique agricultural commodities due to climates that differ from the rest of the country. States such as Texas and Wisconsin produced crops and livestock like cotton, cattle, and dairy cows known worldwide for their quality. Of course, there are always the corn belt states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas that provide a majority of the country’s corn supply thanks to level landscapes and nitrogen-rich soil. Keep reading to see where your state’s agriculture industry ranks.

 

https://www.kget.com/news/state-news/states-with-the-biggest-agriculture-industry/