U.S. Supreme Court Hears Kerman Raisin Farmer’s Case that Could Impact Industry

A Central Valley farmer has taken his case to the highest court in the nation fighting what he calls an unconstitutional law forcing him to hand over his raisins without getting paid.

The law dates back to1937 and is part of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act, which requires raisin farmers to contribute to a reserve to be used at a later time. 

Raisin farmers who support the order say it helps the industry by stabilizing supply and demand and market prices. 

But for about the last 12 years, Kerman raisin farmer Marvin Horne has been opposing the order, saying it violates this Fifth Amendment right to just compensation for the taking of his property.

"And that’s why I wasn’t going to go down that path," Horne said. "That’s why I stopped. I said no, you can’t have my raisins."

He spoke over the phone from Washington, D.C., as his case is now being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Horne said the stakes are high.

"Probably lose everything we got, everything we stood for, everything we worked for," Horne said.

Fresno County raisin grower Dwayne Cardoza is on the board of directors for the California Raisin Bargaining Association, and he sees the situation differently.

Cardoza explained, when there’s an oversupply of raisins, like there was a few years ago, the order helps stabilize the market to benefit the entire industry.

"We were in oversupply. The world itself is in oversupply. Everybody is trying to sell raisins, and everybody is dumping it on the marketplace and nobody makes any money," Cardoza said.

Horne is now fighting a USDA fine of almost $ 700,000 for not contributing to the reserve pool.   

"Sometimes you have to give a little bit, but Marvin Horne didn’t want to give anything, so he basically stole from all of the raisin industry," Cardoza said. 

He said by not complying, Horne and his association of about 60 growers went into the market with a 10 to 15 percent advantage. Horne says otherwise.

"How could we have really affected the marketing order? They lose more in their packing process to put sweepings on the ground than what we were selling," Horne said. 

Horne plans to return home Thursday. He and the entire raisin industry await the justices’ ruling.