A trade war launched in the past year has taken a toll on the agriculture industry, an advocacy group’s leader told a crowd in Santa Maria on Wednesday while also detailing a still-stalled proposal for immigration reform to help solve labor woes.
Dave Puglia, president and chief executive officer of the Western Growers Association, spoke Wednesday at the seventh annual Growing Possibilities Ag Forum, hosted by the EconAlliance, at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge.
President Donald Trump’s imposition of global tariffs mostly spared fresh U.S. produce exported to Canada and Mexico, but the unpredictable public policy climate has hurt the market, Puglia added.
“The problem is that Canadian consumers and Canadian retailers have a lack of confidence in America’s trade posture towards them, and it’s been made worse by the president’s rhetoric,” Puglia said.
He works with similar organizations in Canada and said research data show that consumers and retailers remain in a pivotal mode.
“They don’t want to buy American. They don’t want to see American products on the shelves,” he said.
That has spurred innovation in Canada to advance technology for growing crops in greenhouses.
“That is now on warp drive,” Puglia said, adding that Canada is looking for other partners, including Mexico.
“So, we have a long-term concern about how our industry will be affected, not just by the tariff numbers and the rulings that come down from the courts, but from a consumer acceptance standpoint,” Puglia said, adding that the industry will have to rebuild relationships.
He wasn’t the only one to cite concerns about tariffs.
“As it relates to the wine industry, the tariffs are devastating,” A.J. Fairbanks, estate director for Crown Point Vineyards, said during a panel discussion.
Labor Remains Industry Challenge
Labor continues to be another challenge, Puglia said, noting the volatility of the past year because of immigration enforcement efforts.
However, the agriculture industry has experienced a labor shortage for years, prompting a push for immigration reform, especially as the workforce age now averages 48 years old, up from 39 years old about 20 years ago.
“As my predecessor used to say, farmworkers don’t raise their kids to be farmworkers,” Puglia said.
The ag industry has pursued a solution for some time, including providing a path to legal status for undocumented workers without a criminal history. The proposal would give them a visa for five years with options for renewals.
“Provide those folks legal status. Get them out of the shadows,” he said.
They also sought fixes for the federal temporary seasonal ag worker program known as H-2A.
“It’s a mess,” Puglia said, adding that the current program is bureaucratic and expensive with a 10-month time limit that doesn’t make sense for areas with year-round growing seasons.
Phil Adam, chief executive officer for Innovative Produce and a sixth-generation farmer in the Santa Maria Valley, said the H-2A program has helped stabilize the area’s workforce.
Recent changes that mean growers don’t have to completely cover workers’ housing costs will serve as a step in the right direction, Adam added.
“Does that mean we don’t need some meaningful immigration reform at the federal level? We absolutely still need that,” Adam said.
County Grows Diversity
Santa Barbara County Agriculture Commissioner Jose Chang spoke about Santa Barbara County’s $2 billion industry, noting the diversity in crops.
Strawberries continue to reign at No. 1, with nursery products at No. 2 for the 2024 Crop Report. Lettuces took the sixth and seventh spots only because of requirements to separate leaf and head lettuces. Together, those two categories would account for second place, Chang said.
Avocados grown on the South Coast place the county among the top three in the state for that fruit.
Overall, the county boasts 95 different crops spanning from artichokes to zucchini, a diversity that makes the region unique, Chang added.
“I think that is very hopeful for the future of ag in Santa Barbara County,” Chang said.
The diversity protects against economic shocks and risks, Chang said, noting the challenges brought by pests, weather, labor and more.
The county’s top five trading partners are Canada, Mexico, United Arab Emerites, Japan and Kuwait.
“Agriculture is vital to economic stability and employment in Santa Barbara County,” Chang said. “The continued support and investment in ag benefits the entire community.”
Rural Counties Unite for Strength
The ag forum also included a presentation by Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson, who serves as the first vice president of the Rural Counties Representatives of California.
“When we work together, we have a more amplified voice for the issues we all care about,” Nelson said of the organization representing 40 of the state’s 58 counties.
“Because we have this organization, we’re able to be the economic arm for counties,” he added. “For projects and for causes that are too big for any county to do by itself, we’re able to leverage resources, whether it’s broadband, health care, housing or other things that might impact rural counties differently than urban areas.”