USD Magazine, Spring 2003

COMBINES FARMING

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Stehly says acreage belonging to 15 of his client growers, and all of his 80 acres, are at the center of the infestation and at the core of the quarantine. Official word is that the quaran- tine, imposed in December 2002, will end in September, but Stehly says it could continue into 2004, because more flies are being found. "It's pretty devas-

sunshine."There are benefits to being self-employed, and I see more people getting into it here." Unlike the rest of the nation, where the trend is away from small farms , Stehly says an increasing number of people in San Diego County choose farm- ing as a second career. Behind the romantic notions of cultivat- ing the land, howev- er, he points out

says the 47-year-old Stehly, who says farming is big business in San Diego County, which has 5,925 farms and is among the nation 's top 20 agricultural producers. Although he intended to be a tax accountant, Stehly fell into farming after college and saw a chance to bring his business acu- men to bear on rows of trees, rather than columns of figures . "I worked for my dad to pay off some of my debt after going to USD,'' says Stehly, who even- tually bought out his father's share of the grove management business."It was supposed to be short term, but it turned into Stehly says farming today is highly technical, but still unpre- dictable. He often sends soil sam- pies to labs for nutrient analysis, he employs an entomologist to look out for pests, and he cur- rently is getting up to speed on genetic engineering. Despite these efforts, his crop is at the mercy of market prices, weather, pests long term."

STEHLY STUDIED 0 BEAN ACCOUNT- ANT, BUTTHEWOULD- BE BEAN COUNTER

NEVER EXPECTED

that oranges, lemons, grapefruits and avocados would someday become the fruits of his labors. "I firmly believe in the jack of all trades, master of none philos- ophy," says Stehly, a 1978 busi- ness graduate who owns an 80- acre avocado and orange farm in Valley Center, Calif."I've learned farming by doing it, reading and sharing information, and I've made every mistake there is at Still, he must be doing some- thing right. Stehly is not only a fa rmer, but also a land steward and an astute financial manager. He and his wife, Lisa, operate a full-service grove management and pest control business.They oversee 500 acres of avocado and citrus groves for 40 other growers in north San Diego County, handling the fertilizing, cultivating, spraying, harvesting "It helps to have an account- ing background to understand the financial component of it,'' least once." - and the bookkeeping.

tating,'' he says. "Will it bankrupt us? No. But we sure don't want it to happen two years in a row." If he is not

that the unexpected can make the job a volatile proposition. These days, his hands are full as the county wrestles

allowed to harvest his crop, Stehly says he's looking at a worst-case scenario of losing 800,000 to 900,000 pounds of avocados valued at $800,000. But for now, he intends to ride out the crisis and hope the situ- ation turns around. "Every day is different, every crop season is different,'' he says. "It's always exciting. If it ceases to challenge me, then I would change." - Cecilia Chan

with a Mexican fruit fly quaran- tine that covers more than I00 square miles and threatens an estimated $75 million in crops. Of the more than 50 host plants, citrus and avocados are the most susceptible to the female flies, which lay eggs inside the fruits and render them inedible. "It affects everything we do,'' says Stehly, past president of the San Diego County Farm Bureau and the organization's 2002 Farmer of the Year. "We can't pick our fruit until the quaran- tine is over."

and rising water costs.

But he has no regrets about

staying in the business.

"It's a desirable thing to do,'' he says, pointing to the bright

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SPR I NG 2003