The highs and lows of California - Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal (2024)

By Don “Doc” Sanders

Early in my career, I attended several veterinary conferences in California.

During those these conferences, I was given the opportunity to visit dairies that were on the cutting edge of the industry. They appeared visionary in terms of production, size, but especially visionary to this down-home farm boy that went off to become a veterinarian.

At that time, when Dr. Judy’s and my veterinary practice was growing, the herds we worked with ranged from 50 to 125 cows. In comparison, typical California herds ranged contained 500 to 1,500 cows. Today, they are often over 5,000 cow herds.

The genetics being bred into California cows at that time impressed me. But a few years later, I observed that some of the resulting traits being bred into those cows shortened their productive lives. For instance, California dairymen recognized after several years, it was those cows with the wide hips and level toplines that these anatomical traits delayed these cows’ return to fertility after calving. I won’t go into the anatomy and biology of that this, but it truly was the case.

Gradually, the California dairymen recognized that breeding selection strategy was faulty and “righted the ship.” Nonetheless, California was and still is the top state in milk production in the U.S. California leads also in several aspects of cropland agriculture but those are stories for another day.

Today, California has the fifth largest economy in the world and is home to a number of prestigious universities. These include UC-Davis’s College of Veterinary Medicine, which is ranked first in the U.S., second in the world, and UC-Davis’s College of Agriculture, which is also world-ranked renowned for their research.

This includes research by Frank Mitloehner of UC-Davis reported by the Clarity and Leadership for Environmental Awareness and Research (CLEAR) Center. Frank Mitloehner’s work is measuring livestock’s contribution to methane, global warming and strategies to mitigate these issues.

Allison van Eenennaam is another standout from UC-Davis. She is with the Agriculture Extension Service and is a noted expert on animal genomics. These two individuals are internationally known for their research as Mitloehner is originally from Germany and van Eenennaam is from Australia.

Space prevents me from writing about a number of other renowned individuals associated with UC-Davis. There are many. But no matter how impressed I am about the state of agricultural science in California, about a year and a half ago I was dismayed by what I saw during that trip to the state.

I couldn’t believe my eyes and the reports I read on what is really happening. I believe that the state is being wrecked by the radical leftist policies of California’s Governor Gavin Newsom.

The state government spends $10 million annually on homelessness, but you wouldn’t ever guess it from the tent cities that have mushroomed and popped up all over the state. Take it from me: Watch your step when walking the sidewalks of downtown in San Francisco, you have to avoid the tents, wear your boots, or if you are without boots watch that you don’t step in human “unga.”

If you’re looking for a place or a tourist seeking to shop at in the Bay Area stores, AT&T and a myriad of other stores are closed. The downtown Westfield Mall is for sale. Interviews of these stores managers’ report that doing business there “is untenable.”

California has always been known for its love of cars, especially fancy ones. But cars will soon be a thing of the past. The state’s new green energy schemes have led to a ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars sales by 2035. And get this, simple tools used for everyday living is being targeted such as new gas stoves and new gas appliances are facing a similar fate. Will these soon be banned? It has been reported the law to ban gas stoves and appliances is already written and is scheduled to take effect soon.

You won’t be able to afford to eat out either. New high minimum wage laws of $20 per hour has forced chains like McDonald’s and Chipotle to jack up the prices of fast food sky-high. I have must confess, however, that I occasionally hire a teenager or two to help with the yard work. I pay $16 an hour here in Urbana, Ohio, to get teenagers motivated to show up. But that’s just between you and me, Shh-h-h! Don’t tell anyone.

My message also is you don’t want to retire in California. The state has an incredible pension crisis. They have enormous unfunded pension liabilities that are reported to be unfixable. You know part of the solution just might already be in place. Retirees won’t need a big pension if they are living in a tent with no electricity, nor water and or sewer bill.

I am glad that we don’t live there. Governor Gavin Newsom is the man calling the shots, and he thinks he should be President of the United States!