From the Fields: Ray Yeung, Yolo County farmer

By Ray Yeung
Yolo County farmer

We’re harvesting corn used to make tacos and tortillas. Yields are average to above average. We’re getting ready to harvest tomatoes. We grow fresh tomatoes, which we sell to lots of restaurants. We also do processing tomatoes, and the price is a bit down from last year, but it’s still profitable if you have a decent yield. Our yields are average to above average.

We have safflower, and the price is a little better. Our yields were average to above average. The crop goes to Boswell, an oil maker. We also have alfalfa, and we’re on our sixth or seventh cutting. We’ve had favorable weather, so the crop is pretty good. The price is up a little from last year.

We grew a little bit of zucchini squash, and there’s some kind of mosaic virus that affected them. It made the fruit unmarketable. 

With pistachios, we had hot weather at the wrong time of year. Yields are down on most of our fields, although we had one field where the yield was really good. Maybe it bloomed at the right time and avoided the heat. With the light crop, the pistachio price is really high right now.  

We also grew some watermelons for seed. We harvested that in July. With seed, you don’t know the percentage of germination and quality until you weigh it, dry it and the processor gives you your final numbers. They need to make sure there’s no disease and that the crop didn’t cross with another wild variety. We think we did OK, but we don’t know until we get the check, and sometimes we don’t get paid until the end of the year. 

We’re using a lot of diesel right now, and it’s pretty tough. We try to cut back on the number of people we use, cut down on the amount of overtime, which is a killer. They make all these laws to help the workers, but they hurt the workers because they can’t work as many hours.

Reprint with credit to California Farm Bureau. For image use, email agalert@cfbf.com.

In this edition…

• View full issue
• 2026 Voter Guide
• Advocacy in Action: Legislation, diesel and wolves
• Roadless Rule has kept forests from being managed
• Farm Bureau team seeks solutions in D.C.
• Diesel price spike increases financial stress for farmers
• New date crop hits market as fruit goes 'mainstream'
• From the Fields: Ray Yeung, Yolo County farmer
• From the Fields: Joe Zanger, San Benito County farmer
• From the Fields: Blake Wilbur, Tulare County farmer
• From the Fields: Paul Vermeulen, Stanislaus County almond grower and huller
• Vineyards turn to UV-C light to fight powdery mildew
• Pumpkin growers target trends, Halloween demand
• Calls open for Agricultural Educator of the Year award
• How to effectively manage stored grain fire risks