Agriculture Commissioner Paul Matulich will be working closely
with San Benito County Supervisors to rid the county of unsightly
abandoned orchards and force delinquent property owners to pay for
leaving the clean-up costs to the county.
Hollister – Agriculture Commissioner Paul Matulich will be working closely with San Benito County Supervisors to rid the county of unsightly abandoned orchards and force delinquent property owners to pay for leaving the clean-up costs to the county.
Orchards can be big business, but when they stop making money some property owners choose to cut their losses and abandon the trees.
The problem is unprecedented in San Benito County.
“This is new,” Matulich said. “In the past few years because of the financial situation of the agriculture business – the money just isn’t there for small farmers.”
San Benito County is home to 4,256 acres of orchards, which grow apples, apricots, cherries and walnuts. These orchards produced $6.7 million in revenue last year, according to the 2004 San Benito County Crop Report.
Matulich knows of six orchards in San Benito County that have been abandoned, but said the county will only remove trees from orchards that create problems.
“Unless we get a complaint, we don’t do anything,” Matulich said. “People don’t like being around (the abandoned orchards) and I don’t blame them.”
Dead or dying trees in neglected orchards can become sanctuaries for insects and harmful diseases which can put neighboring farms or orchards at risk.
“It’s expensive to pull up an orchard and if you don’t have any land use plans, you might not be motivated to deal with the issue,” County Supervisor and orchard owner Anthony Botelho said. “But hopefully these individuals will take care of the issue before we have to step in.”
Property owners will be responsible for the clean-up costs and the county would likely put a lien on the property before beginning any tree removal work, Botelho said.
“We’ll put them on notice that they need to deal with the issue,” he said. “If they don’t, then the county will, but the property owners will be responsible for the bill.”
Matulich’s office will be responsible for inspecting offending orchards and informing property owners about what they have to do in order to avoid having the trees being torn out by the county.
Two weeks ago the San Benito County Board of Supervisors gave Interim County Counsel Claude Biddle the legal authority to clean up the pest-ridden orchards. Such issues would normally be under the jurisdiction of the district attorney, but Botelho said the supervisors we’re concerned the D.A. would not have enough time or resources to deal with the problem.
Although some orchards have been abandoned, the problem is not widespread, Bothelho said.
“Agriculture will always be profitable in San Benito County, but you have to adjust to the changing times and be flexible,” he said.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected]
