Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Ag Today Wednesday, December 12, 2012




Farm bill becomes fodder in 'fiscal cliff' wrangling [NPR]
Among the loose ends that lawmakers would like to tie up before the end of this lame-duck session is the farm bill, which is made up mostly of crop subsidies and food stamps. The last farm bill expired in September. The Senate has passed a new one; the House has not. Farm-state lawmakers are urging leaders to include a farm bill as part of any budget deal to avert year-end tax increases and spending cuts….The SNAP component is the biggest chunk of the farm bill. But it's not only food-stamp recipients and small and midsized farmers who benefit from a farm bill. So, too, will the big farmers who plant crops like corn; they get subsidies in the measure. And that's one reason why Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group says Congress shouldn't toss a farm bill into some kind of giant package aimed at avoiding the fiscal cliff, which would very likely stifle debate and amendments.

Estate tax among those to rise if no deal is reached [New York Times]
Like so many other provisions of the tax code, estate taxes are caught up in the tangle of competing proposals in the rush to a year-end resolution of the nation’s fiscal problems. Absent an agreement before the end of the year, inheritance taxes are set to jump significantly in 2013, potentially drawing in tens of thousands of estates which otherwise would escape taxation….Such a big tax hike may be unlikely, as most Republicans and many Democrats staunchly oppose taxation of family wealth as it passes between generations, and would likely seek at the very least to temporarily extend the current, relatively generous provisions pending a broader review of tax policies. If there is a compromise, it’s impossible to know its terms yet.

San Francisco water sale deal with Oakdale is off [Modesto Bee]
The wet start to the storm season has prompted San Francisco to back off a plan to buy water from the Oakdale Irrigation District for 2013. City and district officials said Tuesday that they will instead work on a contract that would make the water — about 1 percent of the OID's average annual supply — available for 2014. San Francisco was seeking 2,240 acre-feet of water as a dry-year supplement to its Tuolumne River system, which serves about 2.6 million people in four Bay Area counties.

Opinion: San Francisco's environmental hypocrisy exposed [Sacramento Bee]
San Francisco, it could be said, is the nation's capital of trendy environmentalism – as long as it affects someone else. This became very evident a few years ago when it was suggested – in a series of Bee articles, among other places – that San Francisco should give up its exclusive water supply from the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, allowing it to be restored to its natural state.…Last month, San Francisco voters rejected a local ballot measure that would have required a feasibility study for restoring Hetch Hetchy. Virtually every local political leader opposed the measure, including Mayor Ed Lee, who called it "really stupid."…While its politicians were complaining about outsiders meddling in the city's water supply, they were busily pushing legislation aimed at forcing the folks in suburban Solano County to continue receiving San Francisco's garbage.

SoCal water district supports raising of Shasta Dam [Redding Record Searchlight]
The Metropolitan Water District voted Tuesday to make raising Shasta Dam one of its legislative priorities for 2013, a move some state water watchers said is another step by the Southern California agency to go after more north state water. The district's board of directors voted to "support administrative/legislative actions to remove existing prohibitions for state funding to raise Shasta Dam," according to a board report listing its proposed state legislative priorities.…District spokesman Bob Muir said the district backs raising the dam as part of its conceptual support for greater water storage in the state. He said he did not know what the state funding prohibitions were.…The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has for many years considered raising Shasta Dam. The project would cost an estimated $1.07 billion, according to a draft feasibility report that was released in February. The report also says the status of the McCloud River is one of two unresolved issues surrounding the proposal to raise the dam up to 18½ feet.

Most of California's water footprint tied to food production [Los Angeles Times]
…The report, released Tuesday by the Oakland-based think tank, takes a look at the amount of water required to produce the goods Californians consume, whether it’s the food we eat or the things we buy; whether they are produced in state or imported from other states or foreign countries. California's total water footprint is about 64 million acre-feet, or 20 trillion gallons of water, per year, according to the study. More than half of that is used to produce goods that are imported and consumed here.…The biggest piece by far – 93% -- is tied to agricultural production, both food that is imported from out of state or grown, produced and consumed in state. (California’s agricultural exports are not counted.) Thanks to the large amounts of water required to grow animal feed, meat and dairy products have an especially big footprint.

Ag Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for information purposes, by the CFBF Communications/News Division, 916-561-5550; news@cfbf.com. Some story links may require site registration. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this message and please provide your name and e-mail address.

Ag Today Tuesday, December 11, 2012




America's milk business in a 'crisis' [Wall Street Journal]
In an age of vitamin waters and energy drinks, the decadeslong decline in U.S. milk consumption has accelerated, worrying dairy farmers, milk processors and grocery chains. The industry "is coming to recognize this as a crisis," says Tom Gallagher, CEO of Dairy Management Inc., a farmer-funded trade group that promotes milk products. "We cannot simply assume that we will always have a market." Per-capita U.S. milk consumption, which peaked around World War II, has fallen almost 30% since 1975, even as sales of yogurt, cheese and other dairy products have risen, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. The reasons include the rise in popularity of bottled waters and the concern of some consumers that milk is high in calories.
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Ag secretary Vilsack seeks rural revival in north state visit [Redding Record Searchlight]
Continuing his talks on restoring relevance to rural America, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke to hundreds at Weaverville's Veteran's Memorial Hall on Monday night, telling the crowd that most of the country has lost sight of the opportunity and impact of farming. "Do they think about the rural contribution when they look at their food?" Vilsack asked after Monday's gathering. "If they understood it, then rural America would be more politically relevant. ... At what point will it become a wake-up call for the rest of the country?"…Several audience members bashed the land management policies of the U.S. Forest Service, which falls under the Department of Agriculture. With a history of horrific wildfires in the county, a few residents pleaded with Vilsack to revise the Forest Service's policy so they can manage the woods where they grew up.

Growers, county staff differ over how to address oil-ag controversy [Bakersfield Californian]
County staff and local growers differ sharply over what Kern's Board of Supervisors should do at is meeting Tuesday to address a property access dispute between Shafter-area ag producers and oil and gas companies operating there. Bakersfield lawyer George Martin, representing a local growers group, said the county ought to require oil companies to get a conditional use permit in cases where they are unable to reach an agreement with the owner of the surface property….But county Planning Director Lorelei Oviatt, writing in a staff report to be considered at Tuesday's meeting, said a much more rigorous process is required that would call for a full environmental review.…Oviatt's report called Martin's proposal "premature" and said it would "limit the range of possible solutions" to a series of undisclosed "larger issues" the oil industry wants to discuss with her office….While oil companies are trying to tap the area's huge and potentially very lucrative Monterey Shale formation, growers say the industry has swept aside its concerns about compensation and fair access to land. They further allege that high-pressure hydraulic fracturing by oil producers threatens to contaminate their water supplies.

Monterey County water agency makes headway against seawater intrusion [Salinas Californian]
Monterey County water officials are guardedly optimistic that their efforts over the past two years are beginning to pay dividends in halting or at least slowing the advance of seawater into Salinas Valley groundwater basins. It’s critical to find a solution to the problem, because the tainting of wells threatens farms, drinking water and the local economy…. Norm Groot, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, said he was thrilled to read the last batch of test data.…Strawberries can be particularly susceptible to higher chloride content in water, as are many types of row crops grown in the Salinas Valley. High salt levels in irrigation water affects the appearance of produce and brings about smaller crop yields. In some cases, it can even stunt the growth of the plant, Groot said.

US, EU considering world's biggest free trade pact [Associated Press]
After years of battling each other on trade issues, U.S. and European officials are contemplating a dramatic change in direction: joining together in what could be the world's largest free trade pact in an attempt to boost their struggling economies. Discussions are in the most preliminary of stages and there would be significant obstacles to overcome, including sharp differences on agriculture, food safety and climate change legislation. Still, top EU and U.S. officials have said they want to see it happen….Negotiators would face a host of tricky issues that have previously led to trans-Atlantic trade spats. The two sides currently are fighting over the EU's carbon trading scheme that could penalize airlines not meeting EU standards. There are also substantial disagreements over intellectual property enforcement and food safety issues. More broadly, agricultural issues, including EU restrictions on the use of genetically modified foods and pesticides, are likely to challenge negotiators. Tyson Barker, who directs trans-Atlantic relations at the Washington office of Germany's Bertelsmann foundation, said the agricultural issues are particularly sensitive in France.

California bullet train heading for political collision on funding [Sacramento Bee]
California's highly controversial bullet train project is headed for some kind of political collision. While the California High-Speed Rail Authority is trying to quickly spend billions of state and federal dollars on a starter line in the San Joaquin Valley, the tens of billions in federal funds needed to expand the project appear to be entangled in frantic federal budget negotiations….Meanwhile, back in California, opponents of the project along the route of the initial segment in the San Joaquin Valley – farmers and county officials, primarily – are continuing to fight it in court, bucking authorizing legislation enacted this year by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown. While the opponents failed to get a temporary restraining order to block planning for the segment, they are planning full-fledged trials on lawsuits challenging it via the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). An extended court battle could push the project beyond a federal deadline for construction and therefore could open a new front in the Legislature.

Ag Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for information purposes, by the CFBF Communications/News Division, 916-561-5550; news@cfbf.com. Some story links may require site registration. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this message and please provide your name and e-mail address.

Ag Today Monday, December 10, 2012




Salinas Valley hit by farmworker shortage [Gannett News Service]
Farmers from California to New York struggled to find enough people to harvest their crops this season, a shortage they blame on federal bureaucratic requirements and a sharp decline in migrant laborers willing to cross the U.S.-Mexican border….A California Farm Bureau Federation survey released this month showed widespread shortages throughout the state, especially among growers of labor-intensive crops like tree fruits, vegetables and berries.…Norman Groot, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, said about 60 percent of local growers were hit hard by the labor shortage, which was particularly acute this year compared to years past….The American Farm Bureau and other farm groups are working on a plan to present to the new Congress that would allow more migrant laborers to work legally on U.S. farms.

Obama plans push for immigration reform [Los Angeles Times]
As soon as the confrontation over fiscal policy winds down, the Obama administration will begin an all-out drive for comprehensive immigration reform, including seeking a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants, according to officials briefed on the plans. While key tactical decisions are still being made, President Obama wants a catch-all bill that would also bolster border security measures, ratchet up penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants, and make it easier to bring in foreign workers under special visas, among other elements….But Republicans, including some who are in favor of immigration change, are pushing a go-slow approach. Rather than working on one comprehensive bill, Congress should pass a series of bills that help foreign entrepreneurs, technology workers, agricultural workers and those who were brought to the U.S. unlawfully as children, said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is the highest-profile Republican Latino politician and is expected to be an important GOP voice on immigration.

Sinking farmland snags San Joaquin River project [Fresno Bee]
The San Joaquin River restoration has hit a strange snag -- a vast area of swiftly sinking farmland. It means the much-heralded return of salmon runs to the state's second-longest river will wait a little longer. Over the past two years, irrigation pumping near the river has caused a two-foot dip in the landscape across many square miles on the Valley's west side, federal engineers say. Now, just months from the start of major construction in the restoration, the engineers must rethink the $25 million replacement of Sack Dam, which will have special features for salmon passage.

River wrangles unresolved [Salinas Californian]
With the wettest months of winter looming, the Salinas River is poised to flood and once again destroy crops planted adjacent to its banks. It’s an ongoing problem that has stirred heated debate and finger-pointing, and there doesn’t seem to be any immediate solution….Early next month the Water Resources Agency plans to release an environmental study on the effects of the channel maintenance program. The report is highly anticipated by both farmers and environmentalists, and is likely to instantly trigger even more rancor — regardless of its findings….But key to the debate today is the Water Resources Agency’s insistence that the program be conducted “in a manner that is compatible with environmental concerns and resources, including the needs of threatened, endangered, and sensitive species.”…The key question, however, revolves around the level of environmental harm the public and state agencies are willing to accept to protect farmers from a flooding river.

Water piped to Denver could ease stress on river [New York Times]
The federal government has come up with dozens of ways to enhance the diminishing flow of the Colorado River, which has long struggled to keep seven states and roughly 25 million people hydrated. Among the proposals in a report by the Bureau of Reclamation, parts of which leaked out in advance of its expected release this week, are traditional solutions to water shortages, like decreasing demand through conservation and increasing supply through reuse or desalination projects. But also in the mix, and expected to remain in the final draft of the report, is a more extreme and contentious approach. It calls for building a pipeline from the Missouri River to Denver, nearly 600 miles to the west. Water would be doled out as needed along the route in Kansas, with the rest ultimately stored in reservoirs in the Denver area.

Commentary: Water bond needs slimming down [Los Angeles Times]
…The big water decision facing the governor and lawmakers next year will be what to do with a proposed $11.1-billion bond that the Legislature passed in 2009. The measure reeked so badly of rancid pork that the politicians twice wisely pulled it off the state ballot. But there's a consensus that they can't just keep shelving the measure. They either have to fix it or dump the thing and start anew. Put something on the 2014 ballot. There are some very good ingredients in the proposed bond, including $2.3 billion to upgrade the delta and restore its ecology, $3 billion potentially for a dam or two and $1 billion for water recycling and well-water cleanup. But there's at least $2 billion worth of fatback, including $455 million for "drought relief." That drought ended long ago. There's also $100 million — at U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein's insistence — for the Lake Tahoe watershed, which feeds Nevada. There are goodies such as bike trails, open space purchases and "watershed education centers."

Ag Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for information purposes, by the CFBF Communications/News Division, 916-561-5550; news@cfbf.com. Some story links may require site registration. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this message and please provide your name and e-mail address.

Ag Today Friday, December 7, 2012




Editorial: A GOP pivot on immigration [Los Angeles Times]
…A growing chorus of influential Republican voices, including evangelical leaders and, most recently, former President George W. Bush, are calling for swift action on immigration reform….The president must be far more involved than he was during his first term, when he offered flowery rhetoric and little else. He should present a road map for reform that not only calls for enforcing immigration laws at the border and in the workplace, but also provides a realistic plan for dealing with those undocumented immigrants who are already in the country. Obama should also push for a guest-worker program that ensures growers a reliable source of workers while protecting the rights of those foreign farm laborers….Obama has said he can't repair the nation's immigration system alone. It now seems Republicans may offer a much-needed hand.

Sonoma County looks to boost renewable energy at homes, businesses [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
Sonoma County planners are considering whether to relax zoning rules, increase housing densities and reduce parking requirements as ways to encourage more renewable energy generation, such as solar and wind projects….One option would open up non-prime agriculture land to commercial development of facilities such as solar parks, but the intent is to protect prime agriculture land, scenic corridors and sensitive natural resources. "We don't have the same commercial viability as deserts; I don't see us having the huge solar installations they have in the valley," deputy planning director Jennifer Barrett said. Barrett, however, is proposing creation of special renewable energy zoning areas for commercial projects on agricultural and other lands that are near existing power infrastructure such as transmission lines or electrical substations.

Season has changed, but the drought endures [New York Times]
Even as the summer swelter has given way to frost, nearly two-thirds of the country remains in a drought, with forest fires still burning, winter crops choking in parched soil and barges nearly scraping the mucky bottoms of sunken rivers….With the Great Plains — from southern South Dakota to the Texas Panhandle — enduring the most desiccated conditions, the agricultural sector is bracing for the hardest blow….Just over a quarter of the nation’s wheat crop, planted mostly in September and October, was in poor or very poor condition, according to a report released last week by the United States Department of Agriculture. Those are the worst conditions since the department began keeping records in 1986, said Brad Rippey, a meteorologist with the department….The wheat harvest is not until next summer, so there is still time for it to bounce back. But a dry winter would make adequate precipitation in March and April that much more essential for the crop.

Russia may halt US beef, pork imports -USMEF [Reuters]
Russia wants U.S. pork and beef exported to that country to be tested and certified free of the feed additive ractopamine, the U.S. Meat Export Federation said on Friday. USMEF said that since the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not have a testing and certification program in place for ractopamine, the Russian requirement could effectively halt U.S. pork and beef exports to the country by Saturday.
The federation said that more than 210 shipping containers of U.S. pork and beef valued at more than $20 million were currently on their way to Russia.

Rain and time equal more water in Lake Oroville [Chico Enterprise-Record]
How can nine days and 6.36 inches of rain add up to 40.88 feet? The answer is when one is discussing the water elevation at Lake Oroville. On Nov. 27, the surface elevation at the lake was 760.87 feet. The Lake Oroville height is computed based on the lake's surface elevation above sea level. Lake Oroville is full at about 900 feet. As of that November date, five inches of rain had been measured at the dam so far this rain year.

Ag Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for information purposes, by the CFBF Communications/News Division, 916-561-5550; news@cfbf.com. Some story links may require site registration. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this message and please provide your name and e-mail address.