Prunes get no respect I tell you. The Pacific News Service reports on the woes of Sikh prune farmers in central California. Yeah, I had no idea either.

Prune growers in California’s Central Valley, which stretches from Fresno north to the Yuba City-Marysville area, are facing their worst harvest on record, following an extremely hot spring, which left little time for pollination.

Jaswant Bains, one of the area’s largest growers, said this year’s harvest has been “just about the worst crop ever.” Hot and dry weather during pollination resulted in a lack of fruit setting, he explained to India-West. Additionally, he said, high winds during the summer contributed to a heavy fruit drop during the picking season.

The Yuba City-Marysville area produces 99 percent of the nation’s prune orchards and about 70 percent of the world’s supply of prunes. Sikhs – many farming the land of ancestors who migrated here in the late 19th century – account for roughly 30 percent of prune farmers in the United States. Overall, the “dried plum” industry, as it is now known, could lose more than $100 million this year, as farmers said they harvested from 25 percent to 45 percent of a normal year’s crop.

I wish I had known all these years that so many Indian farmers harvested prunes. I would have totally drank more prune juice in solidarity. Prune juice has many benefits. Anyways, is there any relief in sight for these farmers?

Recently, Congress passed a relief bill for farmers who suffered losses during the 2002 season, but it did not include any provision for the current year. Singh said U.S. Congressman Wally Herger, R-Calif., has proposed an emergency bill for farmers who suffered losses this year.

Singh also wants to see farmers getting subsidies, along the lines of those farmers receive in the European Union. “Farmers in the EU are getting about $2,000 a ton for their crops via subsidies, where we average about $640 a ton,” said Singh. European farmers are also allowed to use cheaper pesticides, many of which have been banned in the U.S. for more than 20 years, he added.

Singh, who has lived in the Yuba City area since he was five years old when he migrated from a village near Jullunder with his parents, said farmers have not been able to maintain their fields and are using their savings to keep up with the rising costs of workers’ compensation and health insurance. “We are losing farmers every year,” he added.

Many local farmers are selling out to developers, said Singh, who has already sold 70 acres. “Any developer that knocks on my door, I’ll be willing to listen,” he told India-West. “A whole way of life is slowly being eliminated.”

Singh said Indian American growers “lack a voice” and have been taken advantage of by local packers, many of whom have not paid the growers for their fruit in more than three years. “The East Indian community – especially the older farmers – need to understand that there are resources for them, but they need to belong to an association to exercise that voice.”

Subsidies are always a touchy issue so I am not going to get into that, however the next time I go to the grocery store I am going to show my support and get me some of that…

…prune juice. I’m talkin new prune juice, I think I need to cut her loose…