Whether spread on toast or infused in beer, avocados are everywhere. Demand in recent years has soared throughout California and the United States. But California’s crop size in 2017 has been remarkably small. Though the season is not over, avocado buffs expect this year’s harvest to be about half of last year’s 400 million pounds.
The price, therefore, has shot up. In the last year, the Sheriff’s rural crime unit received reports of avocado theft worth tens of thousands of dollars.
“This is really unusual for us,” said Carpinteria farmer Scott Van Der Kar. He explained the five-year drought has “led to the decline we see right now.” In past years, each of his trees yielded bags of avocados. This year, he got far fewer.