Additionally, diesel fuel prices have put California farmers at a disadvantage since prices in the state are significantly higher than the national average. Such increased costs affect truck, tractor, and harvesting equipment used by the agricultural industry. The fresh cut flower industry has already experienced considerable job and revenue loss resulting from natural gas costs five and six times higher than previous winters, and many flower producers missed their projections on Valentine s Day sales because of prohibitive costs of maintaining normal operations. Facilities located in Southern California are in jeopardy of closing if alternative energy sources cannot be found. These events would result in an enormous animal and food waste disposal problem for the state.
Food dehydration is essential for many California crops.
Crop loss has historically been associated with weather or pest disasters, but today California s chronic shortages of electricity generation, natural gas, diesel and other energy sources are already claiming agricultural businesses and related jobs. The Farm Credit System was established by Congress specifically to fill a void in farm real estate credit and has evolved over the years with the agricultural industry it serves. It now serves all phases of production agriculture and agricultural processing. Further, Farm Credit institutions are regulated by the Farm Credit Administration, an independent regulatory agency of the federal government. Farm Credit institutions such as AgCredit of California, are positioned to help distressed borrowers through times of economic crisis.