Neil Nagata, San Diego County farmer

By Neil Nagata, San Diego County farmer

We’re getting ready to plant strawberries in the next two or three weeks. Cherimoya harvest is going to start in late November to beginning of December and should go through April. Fruit is on the vine, as long as the heat doesn’t do too much damage. There was that heat spell, and it is still warm now. Even though the fruit was set, that could cause some issues with the quality or outcome of the fruit. Blueberries finished in May. Pretty soon, we’ll go in and prune them, and they’ll come back about February. We also do specialty vegetables for local markets—broccoli or beans or something that fills the gap.

Everything is tough, just like up and down the state. In San Diego County, we have water, but it’s expensive. State mandates could affect us. They shouldn’t affect us because we have plenty of supply, but by popular demand, agriculture can be drawn into the whole chaos of the drought. Our water authority says we have plenty of water until 2024, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be reduced.

We are not short of employees now because we’re not really doing too much, but the supply has been short. Even though you hear of all the immigration going on, they really aren’t showing up to work. We’re preparing for planting, so right now we’re doing OK, but when it comes to harvesttime, we’ll have to see. Ancillary costs are going up. Fuel is probably the biggest one, but everything adds to the bottom line. At any one time, there’s always a possibility of supply-chain issues, especially if we bring in things from China or overseas. Pallets were one of those big issues, but I think everything’s calmed down. It’s always a constant threat, and until we figure out the global economy and supply chain, we’re always just cautious.