Steve Mohasci: Local farmers aren’t struggling to make ends meet
Re “ Farm water prices hiked 20% by board” (Page 1A, April 20): Quoted in The Bee, “Board members Nick Blom and Larry Byrd, both irrigation customers, said small farms struggle to make ends meet ...”
Low-income wage earners and many small business owners also struggle to make ends meet.
Farm income data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis indicates average profit per irrigated acre in the Stanislaus County was $2,250 in 2013 and $2,764 in 2014. For comparison, the average farm profit per irrigated acre in all of California was $1,908 in 2013 and $1,822 in 2014. County farm profits exceeded California by $342 and $942 per acre respectively for 2013 and 2104.
Steve Mohasci, Modesto
This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Steve Mohasci: Local farmers aren’t struggling to make ends meet."