Remember the millions of emergency aid? Looks like things are humming along this year and the citrus growers are FULLY STAFFED:

Back from the freezeIt's been a year since frigid conditions devastated the Valley's citrus crop. But a recovery appears to be taking root.
By Tim Sheehan, Robert Rodriguez and Susie Pakoua Vang / The Fresno Bee01/11/08 23:14:36



A year after the freeze of '07 ravaged the Valley's multimillion-dollar citrus industry, growers and packers in the fertile orange belt say they're enjoying a recovery with few lingering effects from the icy disaster.

But while many agricultural workers also are back on their feet, some -- particularly those who immigrated without papers -- are still feeling the economic effects.

The freeze, which began Jan. 11, 2007, and lasted six nights, destroyed oranges, lemons and other crops as they hung on the trees awaiting harvest. Agriculture losses statewide were estimated at $1.4 billion. Thousands of farmworkers and packinghouse workers were thrown out of work for months.

But a new year brings new hope, painting a far brighter picture than the region faced on Jan. 12, 2007, the day Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency because of the freeze.

To citrus grower Keith Nilmeier, last year's devastating crop freeze is a distant memory. Nilmeier is about two weeks into picking this year's crop of oranges and he is pleased with their size and taste.

"We have come a long way since last year," said Nilmeier, who farms 70 acres of navel oranges in Fresno County. "If we can get through the end of January, we know we probably won't get taken out by a killer freeze."

So far, 28% of the state's orange crop has been picked. And industry officials expect a much larger crop, up 41% over the previous freeze-plagued season.

State agriculture officials estimate the crop at 96 million cartons, with 84 million expected to be harvested in the San Joaquin Valley. "We are going to see a significant increase in fruit this year," said Bob Blakely, director of grower services for Exeter-based California Citrus Mutual.

At Bee Sweet Citrus in Fowler, the hum of packing equipment can be heard once again. In March, about 150 of 500 Bee Sweet workers were laid off. The cavernous plant was reduced to processing about 1,500 bins a week, down from the normal 1,500 bins a day.

That's all changed. Bee Sweet President Jim Marderosian said his packinghouse is up and running and fully staffed.

"We have people who have been through more than one freeze, and they are still coming back," he said. "They understand the conditions that agriculture faces and that freezes happen. And they know there will be work again."

Bee Sweet is operating five to six days a week and will continue packing oranges and other citrus through November.

After a year in which the state Employment Development Department reported about 5,200 freeze-related unemployment claims filed in Tulare and Fresno counties, the renewed activity in citrus groves and packinghouses is a welcome sight.

The freeze nearly crippled Orange Cove, a town of 10,000 along the Fresno-Tulare county line that is home to eight nearby packing plants.

"All the way around, we were totally devastated," Orange Cove Mayor Victor Lopez said Friday. "Everybody was affected."

Many residents lost their jobs, as packers either slowed or ceased their operations, with no income for everyday living expenses.

"It really hits the business community, and then the city takes a hit because they can't pay their water or sewer bills," Lopez said. "We were totally out of business; I could hear the cries of people asking, 'What are we going to do now?' "

Orange Cove survived only because of state and federal financial aid and donations of food, clothes and other necessities from churches and nonprofit organizations, Lopez said. "I believe if it wasn't for Gov. Schwarzenegger -- he came through with money for rent, mortgage, medicine," the mayor said. "Orange Cove was one of the lucky ones -- we had millions of dollars that came into our community."

Now, people are back at work, and what was once a $250,000 hole in the city's treasury from unpaid utility bills has been refilled. What's more, Lopez said he doesn't know of any local businesses that succumbed as a result of the freeze. "Things are looking great," he said. "Everybody came together as a family of human beings to help; everybody came together with a common agenda."

Tulare County Supervisor Allen Ishida -- a citrus farmer himself -- agreed that government assistance was crucial.

"I'm very thankful the state and federal governments stepped up for freeze relief," Ishida said. "Some communities were hit harder than others, but in most I think the numbers were very low."

For some displaced workers, however, help has been elusive. "I imagine the people who suffered the most were undocumented workers who were afraid to seek help," Ishida said.

That's the case for Magdalena Luna, 47, of Visalia, who worked seasonally for two years in an Orange Cove packinghouse sorting oranges and tangerines. Luna waited for her bosses to call her back to work last winter, but the call never came.

"When I called, they said, 'There's no job because of the freeze. Work is slow, slow, slow,' " she recalled Friday.

The single mother of six children went from agency to agency for help. The Visalia Emergency Aid Council offered her a month's worth of rent. But Luna said she was denied other help because she is undocumented.

"I tell them I work hard for my family and right now I need help, but that door is closed," she said. "They say, 'No, I cannot help you.' "

The Luna family gets $625 a month in government aid for the children; their rent is $675 for rent. Every month, she must decide which bills not to pay. She couldn't afford a piñata for her 8-year-old's birthday, but the family did have a holiday meal thanks to food from Visalia Emergency Aid.

Finally, after nearly a year, Luna got a call to return for work in June at a Cutler fruit packinghouse.

"I am happy," she said.

Proteus Inc., a Visalia-based nonprofit assistance and job-training agency, was kept busy helping freeze victims throughout the Valley pay utilities, rent and house payments.

John Delmatier, who served as Proteus' freeze coordinator, said some displaced by the freeze left for other parts of California and states like Idaho and Washington to harvest fruits and vegetables.

"You can just about work year-round in the citrus field, but when you're getting laid off, you're essentially laid off from a full-time job," Delmatier said.

Most freeze victims have returned to work, he added, but not all in the fields and packinghouses. Some found other types of work, including a Dinuba man who entered a Proteus class after the freeze to learn English, Delmatier said; he enrolled in a truck-driving program and now works as a driver.

In larger communities with more diversified economies, officials are thankful the ripples from the freeze were far smaller than feared.

"When you have something potentially that devastating to people, we thought we would see a shortfall in sales taxes," said Gus Aiello, a financial analyst for the city of Visalia. "That really didn't happen here."

Instead, sales tax revenue actually grew in Visalia last year.

The effects were less than expected for Tulare County, too, where citrus crop losses were estimated at about $418 million.

"The freeze didn't have the negative impact we thought we'd have," Ishida said Friday. "Our county spending was up. I'm sure the freeze hurt some of our sales tax, but not as much as we thought."

The bigger impact on the county, Ishida added, was in the staff time devoted to immediately responding during and after the freeze. Dozens of county employees fanned out to communities to assess needs and direct relief resources.

"The difference between last year and this year," Ishida said, "is this year we're getting more of our day-to-day business done."
The reporters can be reached at tsheehan@fresnobee.com, brodriguez@fresnobee.com,

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