California Wildfire Worries and Gas Prices Fall Again
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Generous rainfall may have erased drought conditions for most of California, but it’s not necessarily eased concerns for a potentially aggressive fire season.
Todd Lando, wildfire mitigation specialist for the Central
Marin Fire Department, says he expects the extra rain and snow will promote additional vegetation growth which, as it dries, becomes easy to ignite.
In 2017, a then-record 1.5 million acres burned in California after a wet winter.
**For the third consecutive week, the nation's average gas price has fallen, down 7.5 cents from a week ago to $3.50 per gallon.
That’s down 7.5 cents from a month ago and 80.7 cents lower than a year ago.
The average diesel price declined 6.3 cents in the past week to $4.01 per gallon, $1.51 lower than one year ago, and could drop below $4 per gallon in the days ahead.
**After reaching recent highs in 2021 and 22, the average net cash income of U.S. farm businesses is expected to decline by 18% in 2023 compared with 2022.
Farm businesses across the country are forecast to see higher production expenses, lower cash receipts, and lower Government payments in 2023, resulting in lower expected average net cash farm income.
However, this overall decline will vary considerably across the country.
