Rural Laws: April, 2001 - Number #3

California had 33.9 million residents in April 2000, and for the first time, non-Hispanic whites were not a majority of the state's residents; whites were 47 to 49 percent of the state's residents. One-third of the 35 million US Latinos live in California. California's population rose by 4.1 million in the 1990s; half of this net population growth was Latinos, so that in 2000, some 43 percent of Californians under 18 are Latino.

The composition of the state's 34 million residents in 2000 was: white, 47 percent (57 percent in 1990); Hispanics, 32 percent (26 percent); Black, six percent (seven percent); and Asian, 11 percent (nine percent).

A February 2001 survey of the Central Valley, the five-million resident, 400-mile heartland of California anchored by the cities of Sacramento and Fresno, found significant regional differences between three areas: the southern and northern San Joaquin Valley, the Sacramento area and the North Valley.

In the North Valley -- roughly Yuba City northward to Redding -- residents said the electricity crisis and water were the most important issues facing the region, while in the Sacramento metro area and the northern San Joaquin Valley that includes San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties, the number one issue was coping with population growth. In the South Valley area, including Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties, the top concerns were jobs and the economy.

An analysis of the poll results concluded that "there is as much diversity within the Central Valley as there is between the Valley and other regions of the state…[including] an important political tension between more economic development and concern about the impact on the environment."

Jobs. California employment rose by 526,700 or three percent in 2000, double the US employment growth rate of 1.5 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment at the end of 2000 was 14.7 million. There are about 250 work days a year, meaning that California added an average 2,000 jobs a day in 2000.

In January 2001, the California unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent, the lowest rate since December 1969, the height of the Vietnam war, when the rate was 4.4 percent. However, the unemployment rate in agricultural counties remained high- 15.5 percent in Fresno and Madera counties. In 2000, these counties added 38,600 jobs, almost all in agriculture- nonfarm job growth was 8,600, as services and government added jobs, and manufacturing lost 1,000 jobs.

A Sierra Pacific Industries lumber mill closed in Loyalton, a city of 1,100 about one hour north of Lake Tahoe. Three-quarters of the land surrounding the town is federally owned, and a new forest management plan in January 2001 reduces the amount of lumber that can be cut on federal land. The Sierra Business Council says some of the declining lumber towns can turn themselves into retirement havens.

Tulare/ACS. The Census may replace the long census form that collects income and other data on one in six US households with the ongoing American Community Survey. The ACS would interview a sample of three million of the 120 million US households each year in all 3,100 US counties, beginning in 2003. Over a decade, this means that there would be 30 million "long-form equivalents" collected by the ACS, compared to 20 million census long forms.

The goal is to generate demographic, housing, social and economic characteristics every year for all states, as well as for all cities, counties, metropolitan areas, and population groups of 65,000 people or more; data will be averaged over several years to provide profiles of smaller areas. The ACS has been done on a pilot basis since the mid-1990s (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index_a.htm).

Both the ACS and the Census must grapple with what data to collect. All potential questions for the census long form are classified in one of three categories: mandatory, required and programmatic. Mandatory means that legislation specifically requires the information from the census. Required means that federal laws explicitly demand the data, and the census is the best or only way to obtain them. Programmatic items -- such as data on health insurance or home schooling -- are to be used for federal program planning and implementation; none were included on the 2000 census long form. The 2000 census long form had 53 questions, four fewer than in 1990.

Tulare county, the second leading US farm county, with 1999 farm sales of $3.1 billion, was included in the ACS. The ACS portrays the county as half Hispanic, 20 percent immigrant, and poor-one-fourth of adults did not complete 9th grade, and one-third received welfare benefits.

Tulare had an estimated 358,000 residents in 1999, including 169,000 Hispanics- 89 percent of the Hispanics were of Mexican ancestry. There were 109,000 households and occupied housing units- 60 percent were owner occupied. Median household income was $30,300 in 1999, and 37,000 households- 34 percent of the county's households- received means-tested assistance, including 11,300 households that received cash assistance (AFDC/TANF) payments that averaged $4,600 in 1999 and 14,600 households that received an average $1,500 in food stamp benefits. About 21 percent of families-18,000 of 86,000- had incomes below the poverty line.

Among persons 25 and older, 37 percent did not complete high school- at the other end of the education spectrum, 12 percent had at least a BA degree. About 72,000 residents- 20 percent of Tulare county residents- were born abroad, and 41 percent of those five and older spoke a language other than English, including 36 percent who said they spoke English less than "very well."

Tulare county had 246,000 residents 16 and older in 1999, and 150,000 were in the labor force, including 133,000 who were employed- the unemployment rate was 11 percent. Occupations are grouped into six categories, and the largest number of employed persons, 33,000, were in support occupations, such as sales clerks, followed by 25,000 professionals and managers, and 24,000 in farming occupations. There are 10 industry categories, led by services in Tulare, with 41,000 employed persons, and followed by agriculture, with 24,000. About 96,000 of those employed in Tulare were private sector wage and salary workers, 21,000 were government workers, and 15,000 were self-employed.

Many believe that the Census missed farm workers and their families. For example, Poplar and Cotton Center near Porterville in Tulare county had 1,500 residents, according to the 2000 Census, down from 1900 in 1990. Local leaders, who have endorsed new homes built for farm workers by Self-Help Enterprises, say the Census missed many residents, and that the total is about 2,500. Two other towns in the San Joaquin Valley had population declines in the 1990s-- Del Rey fell from 1,150 to 950, and Laton fell from 1,415 to 1,236.

The history of Poplar and Cotton Center echoes that of many small towns and cities that are now largely Hispanic. Both gained residents as a result of Dust Bowl migration to California in the 1930s, and then had populations that rose during the summer months as migrants arrived from Mexico. Many of the Mexican migrants settled, and today there is relatively little migration to or from these towns.

Agribusiness. In California, the number of farm workers employed directly by farmers has been decreasing, while the number employed indirectly through FLCs has been increasing. Dole Fresh Fruit Co. in February 2001 announced plans to sell 5,000 acres of grape and tree-fruit land as well as packing operations in Tulare and Kern counties, saying that fresh fruit production in California was only marginally profitable. Dole sold its California and Arizona citrus properties to Paramount Citrus in 2000.

The Dole sale will eliminate the jobs of 1,200 seasonal workers who had been hired directly by Dole. Dole said that it would continue farming the land after it is sold, but hire workers through FLCs, eliminating their access to Dole's health insurance and other benefits. Dole Food Co., founded in Hawaii in 1851, is the world's largest producer and marketer of fresh fruit and vegetables, with sales of $4.8 billion in 2000 and 60,000 full-time employees. Dole will keep its fresh vegetable operations in California.

Premier Valley Foods in Fresno announced that it would close a dried fruit-packing operation and eliminate 265 jobs; Spencer Fruit Co. closed its Reedley packinghouse and fruit division to concentrate on its asparagus business. Teamsters Local 616 represented the Premier Valley workers.

Tri Valley Growers co-op went bankrupt in 2000, leaving some peaches and tomatoes unharvested because farmers could not find anyone to can or process them. Nine of Tri Valley's 10 canning plants are expected to be bought by John Hancock Insurance Co. to create the new Signature Fruit Co.

Congress approved $20 million in federal disaster aid for the 500 growers hurt by "the insolvency of an agriculture cooperative in the state of California." The aid payments, equivalent to $40,000 a grower, will be calculated from base prices set by USDA: $330 a ton for lost apricots; $233 for yellow cling peaches; $243 for pears; and $48.50 for tomatoes.

One of the San Joaquin Valley's success stories is Ruiz Food Products, which employed 1,000 people and had sales of $100 million in 2000. Ric Alvarez, president and CEO of Ruiz, was one of 17 CEOs selected to serve on a newly formed roundtable for "Fortune Minority companies."

Westlands. The federal government may spend $500 million to acquire 200,000 acres of farmland on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that is threatened because irrigation water does not drain off the land properly. If approved, land owners would receive $2,500 an acre for land now planted in cotton, tomatoes and tree nuts, and the 605,000-acre Westlands Water District, the largest federal water district in the country, would shrink by one-third.

Westlands currently produces farm commodities worth $1 billion a year; if land is taken out of production, the remaining land may include more labor intensive commodities. Cities such as Mendota, Kerman, Firebaugh, Tranquillity, Huron and Stratford might shrink, or maintain their populations if labor-intensive crop production requires more workers.

Mendota, with 8,000 residents, provides an example of the challenges. Mendota is among the five poorest California cities- the median annual income is $17,000, compared to $42,000 statewide, and unemployment fluctuates between 25 and 35 percent. Fresno County Supervisor Deran Koligian predicts that, with more water available for fewer acres, there will be a shift toward labor-intensive crops: "If you have 40 acres of onions, you're going to employ more people than you would with 40 acres of cotton or crops that can be handled with mechanization."

Firebaugh in western Fresno County is completing a series of public improvements aimed at creating additional amenities to attract people looking to move to low-cost areas to live. Firebaugh was founded in the 1850s as a ferry crossing over the San Joaquin River, and had 6,000 residents in 2000.

Sanger in eastern Fresno county is a city of 20,000 that fired its city manager and elected a new city council in 2000. It had a 24 percent unemployment rate in January 2001, above the Fresno county rate of 15 percent.

Michael Doyle, "Growers may apply for federal aid," Fresno Bee, March 14, 2001. Jim Steinberg, "Dole to sell S. Valley fruit, grape interests," Fresno Bee, February 28, 2001. Mark Grossi and Kerri Ginis, "Proposed Westlands deal to retire acres could shake, remake farm economy," Fresno Bee, February 26, 2001. Robert Rodriguez, "Conference tackles issues of economic development," Fresno Bee, February 24, 2001.