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Category: Conservation & sustainability

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Researchers at CAIL Present Findings on the Economic Implications of California’s Pork Regulations, Proposition 12, at an Academic Conference

US Supreme Court upholds Proposition 12

This was presented at the American Applied and Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas

Hanbin Lee and Dan Sumner, economists at CAIL, along with their colleague Rich
Sexton from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis, have
conducted an analysis of the economic implications of Proposition 12. This proposition will
affect pork products sold in California, which are sourced from hogs raised outside the state, by regulating these products based on the housing conditions of the sows. During the 2021 AAEA Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, Hanbin Lee, one of the co-authors, shared their findings. The research indicates that farrowing operations compliant with Proposition 12 will experience increased costs (about 4%), and processing and distribution operations adhering to these standards will also face higher expenses (about 5%). Consequently, Lee suggested that this could lead to a significant welfare loss for California consumers of pork products, estimated at around $320 million annually.

Please see the following link for detailed information.

URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/313920?ln=en

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Daniel Sumner to testify on November 18 at the State Assembly Committee hearing on the Economic Impact of Wildfires for California Agriculture

The Impact of Wildfires on California Agriculture
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
State Capitol, Room 4202

Panel 1: Overview of the Impact of Wildfires on California Agriculture

  • Chief Nick Schuler, Acting Deputy Director for Communications, CalFire o
    • Overview of California Wildfires
  • Professor Dan Sumner, University of California – Davis
    • Economic Impact of Wildfires on Agriculture
  • Kevin Masuhara, Deputy Secretary Administration and Finance, California Department of Food and Agriculture
    • Emergency Services – Fairgrounds and CA Animal Response Emergency System (C.A.R.E.S)

Panel 2: Examples of Specific Wildfire Impacts on Farms, Farmland, and Farmworkers

  • Jamie Johansson, President, California Farm Bureau
  • Eddie Campos, No Boundaries Farm
  • Dr. Dave Daley, Rancher, California Cattlemen Association
  • Karissa Kruse, President, Sonoma County Winegrowers
  • Cole Mazariegos-Anastassiou, Brisa de Ano Farm
  • Arnulfo Solorio, Director, Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation

Panel 3: Agricultural-based Wildfire Mitigation

  • Dan Macon, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources/California Woolgrowers)
    • Targeted Grazing and Wildfire Fuel Reduction
  • Kara Heckert, American Farmland Trust
    • Agriculture Land Preservation and Wildfire Mitigation

Closing remarks

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Statistical Review of California’s Organic Agriculture, by Wei, Goodhue, Muramoto, and Sumner

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) State Organic Program (SOP) oversees organic agricultural production, milk and dairy food processing, meat and poultry processing, and retail organic production activities. All organic producers, handlers, and processors must complete the organic registration before the first sale of organic products. The registration process collects information on commodity, location, sales value, acreage, and area. Registration by each operation must be annually renewed unless the registration is no longer
needed.

This report uses the data provided by individual operations to provide number of growers, acreage, and farm gate sales revenue for the organic industry in California. Tables are constructed for each commodity, commodity group, county, region, and statewide using the CDFA organic registration data from 2013 to 2016. Registrations are aggregated by the year to which the submission applies.

Click here for the full publication.

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‘We’re in pretty good shape’ | Northern California unlikely to see meat shortage

ABC10 / April 29, 2020

Despite the ad Tyson Foods released over the weekend, saying the food supply chain in America is breaking, UC Davis Professor Daniel Sumner said we could expect to see some higher prices, but he doesn’t expect to see shelves being wiped out anytime soon.

“If you want to have some very specialized meat product, you may find that in short supply in your local market on the day you’re shopping, if you went back the next day, it may be there, but I don’t think anybody has to worry about the supply chain in America, we’re in pretty good shape,” Sumner said.

And he said the only way we will see a shortage is if people panic buy, just like they did with toilet paper.

“As we’ve learned in the past month or two, you could certainly create a shortage in the sense that consumers can altogether if we all ran out and decided to stock up every freezer space that we have with steaks and pork chops,” Summer said.

Click here for the full article.

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Upcoming Event – Savor: Lectures on Food and Wine, May 12

There is as much food as there has ever been in the fields, but it is not making it to grocery store shelves. Join us for a conversation with an expert panel of researchers, policymakers, and food distributors about how our food supply chain works, why it’s faltering during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether changes should be made to make it more resilient.

AIC Director Dan Sumner will be presenting.

Click here for more information.

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California Agriculture in 2050: Still Feeding People, Maybe Fewer Acres and Cows

Public Policy Institute of California / February 18, 2020

It is important to recognize that global markets and climates interact, and so what economists call “comparative advantage” remains crucial to economic success. Let’s say climate change makes table grapes more expensive to grow here or moves the season earlier. But if climate change affects Mexican growing conditions even more, climate change could cause grapes to become more profitable and therefore expand in California. The crucial issue looking forward is what will grow well in California compared to other places and compared to other crops.

Dan Sumner
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Five of the past six years have been the warmest in Bakersfield’s recorded history

Bakersfield.com / January 15, 2020

Daniel Sumner, an ag economist at UC Davis, said researchers across the state are busy studying the changing patterns of California’s Mediterranean climate.

“We don’t look at the average annual temperature,” he said. “It’s not that interesting.”

When it comes to the effect climate change could have on the Central Valley — California’s fruit basket — Sumner said researchers aren’t seeing changes in summertime high temperatures. Instead, they’re seeing increases in wintertime lows.

The warmer nights are a “big deal,” he said.

Not only do warmer nights limit the all-important chilling hours for some of the valley’s most valuable crops, it opens the door to damaging pests.

“Winter cold controls some pests.”

But the “big headline,” Sumner said, is this: “Winter snow might fall as rain. If that happens, we aren’t ever going to have enough reservoir space for it.”

Click here for the full article.

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