Small Citrus Ranches Fearful Over Survival

Small-scale citrus ranchers who have helped keep Ventura County’s lemon and orange production tops in the state fear they will be unable to survive the demise of an industry quota system that had shielded them from competition.

“We’re cruising for a bruising,” said Richard Pidduck, who farms 42 acres of citrus near Santa Paula. “You bet it’s a threat.”

The threat is the federal government’s decision last week to abolish a Depression-era quota system that let growers prop up citrus prices by withholding fruit from the market.

Under the system, citrus farmers would estimate their groves’ yield at the start of each year. A board dominated by the Sunkist Growers cooperative would then allot each rancher a market share. Finally, federal agriculture officials would approve the quotas, specifying how many fresh lemons, grapefruit and oranges each grower could sell.

In abolishing the system, the U. S. Department of Agriculture called the quotas divisive and ordered the citrus industry to let free enterprise reign.

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The decision was closely watched in Ventura County, where lemons are the No. 1 cash crop and where annual citrus sales top $200 million.

“Our membership is divided between those who favored the system and those opposed,” said Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. “It’s a very hotly debated issue. I know enough not to get in the middle of it.”

Because the quota system has been suspended since December, 1992, the government’s decision is not expected to immediately affect citrus prices or supplies. Theoretically, however, consumers should enjoy lower prices and a more bountiful selection in the long run.

But in that same long run, local growers fear that unregulated competition will drive them out of business. For decades, they have relied on the quota system to keep prices stable and guarantee them a steady revenue stream, if not constant profit.

“You’re going to see the small grower squeezed because we don’t have the ability to sustain long periods of low prices,” said Jim Gill, who farms 40 acres of citrus near Camarillo. “I’m not surviving now. It’s just a matter of time.”

Over the past decade, Gill said, he has watched agribusiness conglomerates drive family farmers out of vegetable production. Given license to romp through the market unfettered, he said, citrus giants could take the same tactic and wipe out vest-pocket lemon groves.

Along with intense competition, citrus farmers fear a never-ending cycle of drastic price swings. Watching the wild fluctuations in celery and avocado prices, they said they have come to appreciate the buffer built into the quota system.

At times, of course, most growers chafed under the tight volume controls. When they produced bumper crops, they would have to sell top-quality fruit to juice makers for a fraction of the price that fresh citrus would fetch.

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Although they grumbled, most abided by the system. And in bad years, they appreciated the quotas, which guaranteed them a share of the market by restraining their competitors.

“The system would help us all get a piece of the pie,” Camarillo citrus rancher Will Gerry said. “We would all sacrifice.”

To keep the industry stable, Gerry said he hoped his fellow ranchers would replace mandatory quotas with voluntary volume control. And indeed, some industry insiders said they expect such self-policing.

“We’re all working for the same people--the growers,” said Maurice Meza, manager of the Santa Paula Orange Assn. packing house.

“If we flood the market, prices will go down and the growers won’t get any money back,” Meza said. “And if we run the growers out of business, we’ll put ourselves out of work too.”