San Diego Magazine / March 2006 / Flower Power

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Flower Power

THE BRIGGS TREE COMPANY recently purchased a 20-acre lemon grove in Bonsall. Then promptly cut down the trees. The nursery had no intention of growing lemons. Instead, the grove was replaced by large planter boxes sprouting ornamental trees and shrubs, Briggs’ specialty.

The Vista-based operation reflects a fundamental trend in San Diego County agriculture: Nurseries are replacing citrus groves as citrus crops decline and the nursery business expands. But this trend has the agriculture community and county officials fearing San Diego–area farmers may become an endangered species. To prevent such an outcome, they’re working together to develop a plan that will keep farmers on their farms and sustain the region’s fifth-largest industry. The county’s nearly 5,500 farms make an estimated $5.1 billion annual contribution to the regional economy.

When city folk think of agriculture in San Diego County, what typically comes to mind are the citrus and avocado groves, the sprawling fields of tomatoes and strawberries, maybe the fabled flower fields of Carlsbad. Certainly, these crops dominated local agriculture for much of the 20th century—but non-food nursery crops now play the leading role.

Food crops, even when combined with poultry and livestock products, account for only a third of the county’s $1.5 billion total crop value. Today, the number-one crop is indoor flowering and foliage plants, followed by ornamental trees and shrubs. Bedding plants round out the top three. These are the decorative and landscaping plants sold at Home Depot, Lowe’s and other outlets to homeowners, businesses and municipal park departments, not only in the San Diego region but throughout California, Arizona and Nevada.

Together, the value of these three horticultural crops totaled $795 million in 2004—more than half the value of the county’s agricultural output, according to the 2004 Crop Statistics and Annual Report from the San Diego County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures. And that doesn’t include the $36.5 million poinsettia business. Avocadoes remain viable— San Diego County is the top producer in the country—but with a $175 million crop value in 2004, the fruit ranks fourth overall behind the nursery crops.

The dominance of nursery crops, making San Diego the number-one horticultural county in the nation, is a matter of simple math. “Nursery plants are a much higher value crop,” says Donnie Dabbs, the grandson of a Carlsbad vegetable grower. The 43-year-old married into the Briggs family and now runs the third-generation nursery business.

In 2004, indoor flowering and foliage plants had the highest value per acre at $608,999. In comparison, avocadoes, the top food crop, had a production value of $6,700 per acre, while citrus crops were valued at $2,791 per acre.

In the past decade, the value of nursery and flower crops has grown 66 percent to nearly $1 billion a year, while the value of food crops grew 11 percent. Meanwhile, fruit, once the county’s top crop, makes up just 17 percent of the total production value. Lemon growers are struggling, orange growers are getting less today for their crops than they did 20 years ago, and the grapefruit market has all but disappeared.

Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, says competition from the San Joaquin Valley— where water is a 10th its cost in San Diego County—combined with increases in other production costs and competition from South American countries have reduced the viability of citrus crops, particularly oranges. Valued at $33 million in 1994, the Valencia orange crop fell to $14.8 million in 2004.

“We don’t highly value food crops in this country,” Larson says. “We have a cheap-food policy, so the citrus growers just haven’t seen an increase [in crop value], while their expenses continue to rise. It just doesn’t pencil out in this county any longer.”

Similarly, Christmas tree production has declined, and cut flowers—carnations, roses and chrysanthemums were once the county’s top horticultural crops—are only a fraction of what they were, due to competition from growers in Mexico and South America, where labor costs are lower.

This makes the potted-plant business a blessing to the agriculture community, Larson says. Nurseries are not only economically viable, they create a hedge against urban expansion. “When that citrus, Christmas tree or cut-flower grower goes out of business, he’s looking for the best value for his land,” Larson says. “We’re fortunate nurseries are a viable buyer. Otherwise, the only buyers would be developers.”

BUT THERE’S MORE to the chopping down of citrus trees than just crop value. Although the amount of acreage devoted to nurseries increased 11 percent in 2004, the total acreage being farmed in the county remained virtually unchanged. The reality local farmers face is that, as a practical matter, their only viable option for growing their businesses is cannibalizing land that’s already being farmed. Due to state and federal laws regulating impacts on habitat for rare and endangered species, expansion on nonfarm and grazing land—if it’s allowed at all—is cost-prohibitive because of mitigation requirements. And San Diego County, because of its island-like geography, has one of the longest lists of rare and endangered species, county officials say.

With the high price of housing here, developers can afford to pay mitigation costs, but farmers can’t, Dabbs explains. “Any farmer who failed to clear the brush on his property [before the Endangered Species Act took effect] is out of luck.”

Nonetheless, the region’s near-perfect climate and reliable supply of imported water fuel continued growth in the nursery business. But when the protection of endangered species is combined with rising production costs, possible labor shortages due to immigration reform, and compliance with a laundry list of state and federal regulations, farming in San Diego County has become more challenging.

“Farmers risk becoming an endangered species themselves,” says Eric Anderson, who operates Escondido-based Anderson’s Seed Company, a business his grandfather started in his garage 50 years ago. Anderson and others say unless steps are taken by local, state and federal agencies to entice farmers and their families to continue farming, their only option is selling their land to developers.

But of all the challenges farmers face, the biggest this year is immigration reform and its potential impact on the labor-intensive industry. “If we can’t get a guest-worker program where they can cross [from Mexico] into our country legally, it will cripple agriculture,” says Dabbs, who has 140 employees. Not only will it drive up the cost of food and nursery plants, “it will be the quickest way to put California into a depression,” he says.

In an effort to keep farmers on their farms, the county is developing a Farming Program Plan, expected to be adopted by the county Board of Supervisors before the end of the year. It will be implemented in conjunction with the county’s General Plan 2020 update and its Multiple Species Conservation Program. Working with the American Farmland Trust and the University of California Cooperative Extension/Farm and Home Advisors, county officials want to provide a “framework for an economically and environmentally sustainable farming industry.” But there are competing interests, particularly when it comes to habitat preservation.

A key element of the program is an “equity mechanism” to compensate farmers whose land is devalued by reduced-density zoning or habitat conservation easements. This would allow them to continue farming, rather than sell the land to developers, says Ivan Holler, deputy director of planning and land use for the county.

Farmers are receptive to the program but concerned it limits their future options. They and their heirs may be prohibited from selling their land for anything but agricultural use, even if farming is no longer economically viable.

They point to Ecke Ranch, the renowned poinsettia grower in Encinitas. In exchange for participating in the 850-acre Encinitas Ranch housing and retail development in 1994, Ecke agreed to keep its remaining land in agriculture. But when competition from growers in Colorado and Europe increased, Ecke said it needed to sell more land to developers to raise the cash needed to modernize its operation. An advisory measure on last November’s ballot to allow the grower to proceed was defeated by a sizable majority.

To paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield, farmers just want more respect. They want acknowledgment for the valuable contribution they make to the county’s economy, and to have elected officials ensure there’s a reliable labor force and water supply, along with practical zoning, regulations and land-use policies.

“The economic impact of agriculture in San Diego County is the equivalent of six Super Bowls every year, not just once every four years,” Anderson says. “So it’s an interesting perspective, the way [civic leaders] work to bring the Super Bowl here compared to the way they treat us.”