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act. The smaller the acre requirement,
the more farmers
can charge for the land. But if
too much development occurs,
farmers worry complaints
about noise, fertilizers and other
common farm operations
will drive them out. Farmers have fought and struggled to maintain their way of life, and most vow to continue struggling. But if farming fails, urban development will likely devour the valley and destroy what agriculturists |
Gary Goldsmith/Daily Republic
Workers burn pulled out grape vines at
Babcock Vineyard on Suisun Valley Road.
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call
one of the most fertile areas in
the United States. The problems Beginning in the 1980s, and increasingly through the 1990s, farmers in Suisun Valley tore up old crops such as tomatoes and pear trees and began planting grape vines as demand for wine soared. They didn’t foresee that increased grape growing in South America, Australia and California would soon drive prices unsustainably low. During the peak of grape prices in the late ’90s, growers were paid two and three times as much as they currently receive for the most popular varieties such as Cabernet and Merlot grapes. Large operations in the Central Valley and around the world have pushed down grape prices. Massive farms in those regions grow grapes as if they were corn – a commodity produced at low cost with little thought for quality. Growers in Suisun Valley, like their neighbors in Napa and Sonoma County, focus on producing highquality grapes, which cost more to cultivate. Even if farmers wanted to replicate the low-cost operations they likely couldn’t. Suisun Valley is too small for massive commercial farming. Another problem for Suisun Valley is wine drinkers in such places as Texas, Alabama, Pennsylvania and even San Francisco don’t know the difference between the San Joaquin Valley – a place where thousands of acres of low-quality grapes can be grown cheaply – and Suisun Valley. |
Therefore a bottle of wine made with Suisun Valley grapes doesn’t mean anything to them, and they aren’t willing to pay more for a bottle of it. Subsequently, grape buyers from wineries aren’t willing to pay more for Suisun grapes because they can’t charge any more for it. Today Suisun Valley growers receive about $600 per ton for common varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet; it costs about $1,000 per ton just to grow them. It’s a significant loss farmers can no longer bear. “(Wineries) don’t give a damn about the quality of the grape. If it’s not $600 a ton, they won’t touch it,” said Roger King, president of the Suisun Valley Grape Growers Association. Napa Valley vineyards haven’t suffered the same fate because consumers recognize that region as having top quality grapes and are willing to pay a premium. Napa growers get paid about two to three times as much as Suisun growers. Suisun Valley simply doesn’t have the name recognition to receive premium prices for its grapes, King said. King, who grows grapes on his land, manages two pieces of land about a mile apart – both grow petite Verdoux grapes. One vineyard is located in Napa County and the other in Suisun Valley. Last year the Napa vineyard received $5,500 a ton for its grapes. The Suisun Valley vineyard only received $2,000, less than half the value of the Napa vineyard simply because of name recognition, King said. Suisun Valley farmers soon discovered if they didn’t lower their prices, often to unsustainable levels, none of the big buyers would purchase their grapes. At $600 a ton, grape growers receive about 72 cents of revenue per bottle – about 50 cents less than what growers need. “We need $1.25 per bottle to survive,” said Ron Lanza, one of four brothers who along with their father own a few hundred acres of grape vines and operate Wooden Valley Winery and Vineyards – one of two wineries in the valley. |
The Lanza family uses about
10 percent of their grapes for
the winery and sells the rest.
They are among farmers who
have pulled out substantial
amounts of vines because they
are losing money on their common
varieties. It costs about $3,000 to farm an acre of common varieties, and at $600 a ton they only recoup about $1,800 to $2,400 an acre. As a result, farmers such as the Lanzas have many acres sitting fallow and have put them up for sale. But county zoning laws are depressing the value of those lands, and lowering demand. The county requires a buyer own 40 acres to build a dream country estate in most of Suisun Valley. That size is often prohibitively big for wealthy urban residents who don’t want to take the risk of owning that much land – they’ll have to pay to maintain 40 acres or take financial losses when crops fail or market prices drop. Grape growers aren’t the only people in Suisun Valley struggling and considering selling land. Farmers such as Derrick Lum, who grows crops such as tomatoes and pears, which his family has farmed for generations, still struggle with the decreased demand for canned fruit and closure of Tri Valley Growers cooperative cannery in 2000. “The canneries are all moving toward the Central Valley. I’m just too far out,” Lum said. “Increased costs are hitting us from all corners. But the prices for our crops haven’t gone up. “At one time farming was very good here. It was a way of life. But now as a career it’s hard to make a living and raise a family.” Click here to continue |
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