From the Fields - Gino Pedretti III

By Gino Pedretti III, Merced County farmer and dairy farmer 

We planted 70% pima and 30% acala cotton this year. We are a week to 10 days behind from where we would like to be. We got a better stand than I was anticipating, so that’s positive. Now, as the crop is starting to mature, we’re spraying weeds and running cultivators.

The pima price has been higher, and with all the flooding in the Corcoran area, there is talk that a lot of cotton ground may not get planted. Since pima is a niche market, I expect a high price come fall. We might lose a little yield having to plant later because of the cool, wet spring, but we’re hoping the price is high enough to make up for that.

We’re starting our second cutting of alfalfa. We are cutting wheat hay, which is going to take some time to dry. We bale all our wheat. The market is down $75 to $100 a ton compared to the high last year. In the past few weeks, corn and soybean prices have dropped, so I’m hoping that feed costs come down.

The cows love this mild weather and are milking well. Unfortunately, the milk price has come down, so everybody is worried. The price may not go back up until fall. On the processing side, creameries are hurting a little and seem to need more money from their members for cash flow, so margins are tight in dairying right now.

We got a full supply of water this year in the Merced Irrigation District. Our area received floodwaters in January, February and March. The district wants to push as much water as it can to help with groundwater sustainability. We’re fortunate to have this wet year. It seems a lot of farmers are finally starting to understand what we need to do to be sustainable and are taking advantage of the excess water.