05/09/2024
Big thanks to Cindy Carcamo of the LA Times for such a thoughtful and thoroughly researched article on the decline of asparagus. It’s an important story to tell - high California labor costs have driven the acreage outside the country, and other crops are following. It ought to be assigned reading for every new state legislator. Asparagus is a small part of our farming activities from an acreage (and revenue..) POV, but the decline broke a lot of multi-generational family-operated asparagus farms in California, and put a lot of people out of work.
At the turn of the 21st century, California growers were farming more than 36,000 acres of asparagus. Now, fewer than 3,000 acres are in production in the state for commercial sale. These are the last three farms.
