[Kern County] Grand Jury report says the rose industry is wilting, companies say it's simply changing

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A Grand Jury report released Tuesday said the Rose Industry in Wasco is declining.

Two companies, Jackson and Perkins and their sister company Park Seed, went bankrupt in 2010. Now the Jackson and Perkins property looks like a ghost town, with a peeling and sun-bleached sign and several buildings with no one inside.

Efren Prado worked caring for roses on that property for 20 years. He said he loved that work and was sad when the Gardner Family bought the land for almond farming.

The report by the Grand Jury said the decline was partially due to big box stores and the housing collapse.

Director of Field Operations with Weeks Roses, Juan Contreras, says his company has weathered the economic storm. Contreras said roses grown in Wasco are shipped to nurseries all over the country. He said the industry is important for the area as it provides work for agricultural employees from November to January, which is when other crops are dormant.

When you go into town, people, like Jason Mateo who was surveying Wasco streets, say they miss seeing the roses, and that they've disappeared from the side of the road.

Roses were a top twenty commodity for Kern County, but started declining in 2006 and slipped off the list by 2010. Contreras said the remaining companies worked to get the rose industry back on the list, in 2013 it was valued at more than $45 million, but compared to a decade ago, they are still far behind.

Contreras hopes his business can continue growing and will not let the rose industry die in Wasco.

March 25, 2015

KERO Bakersfield, Channel 23

By Cassie Carlisle