Court upholds California dairy law [Fresno Bee]
An ambivalent appeals court has upheld a law backed by the California dairy industry and authored by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, that forcibly folded a large Arizona dairy into a web of government regulations. In a ruling awaited by industry leaders, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims by influential dairyman Hein Hettinga that the 2006 law violated the Constitution by targeting him in particular. The law did not specifically name Hettinga's company, Sarah Farms, though its provisions governing milk marketing were drawn narrowly enough to have the same effect….Sarah Farms would buy low-cost milk in California, bottle it in Yuma, Ariz., and then ship it back to California, typically for sale to big retailers like Costco or Sam's Club. Because it was characterized as coming from out-of-state, it didn't have to abide by California's milk marketing order governing prices, nor was it subject to separate federal milk-marketing order requirements.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/04/16/2802579/court-upholds-california-dairy.html#storylink=misearch
Jail for caging a hen? Egg farmer asks [Courthouse News Service]
A farmer challenged the constitutionality of a state law that threatens egg farmers with jail if they cage a hen so as to prevent her from "lying down, standing up, and fully extending ... her limbs" and "turning around freely." William Cramer, an egg farmer in Riverside County, claims the law could shut down farms, force egg producers out of state and cause price increases and egg shortages. California voters approved Proposition 2 in November 2008. The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act will become effective in January 2015. Cramer says in his federal complaint that the law threatens egg farmers with up to 180 days in jail for violations.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/04/16/45636.htm
Warning issued about citrus-killing disease [San Diego Union-Tribune]
San Diego County agricultural leaders are asking for the public’s help to protect the region from a potentially devastating citrus disease discovered in the state last month in Los Angeles County. Huanglongbing, which is a bacterial disease also known as citrus greening, is not dangerous to people or animals, but it is considered one of the most serious citrus plant diseases in the world and could ravage San Diego County’s $78 million citrus industry. The disease is spread by tiny Asian citrus psyllid. County Agricultural Commissioner Lisa Leondis said residents can take steps to help ward off, or contain the disease:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/17/tp-warning-issued-about-citrus-killing-disease/
California farmers, residents to get more water [Associated Press]
Water agencies that supply millions of California residents and farmers will be getting more water this year, thanks to a wet spring and high reservoir storage. The state Department of Water Resources said Monday that State Water Project contractors can expect to get 60 percent of their requested water, 10 percent more than earlier estimates. On Friday, the Bureau of Reclamation, which runs the federal Central Valley Project, said its agricultural water contractors on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley should expect to receive 40 percent of the water they requested.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/16/4418882/california-farmers-residents-to.html#storylink=misearch
Local coastal programs safe for now; Coastal Commission staff says bill axing programs is dead [Eureka Times-Standard]
A bill that would have eliminated local coastal programs has been rejected and has little chance of resurrection, according to a California Coastal Commission staff member. Commission Legislative Director Sarah Christie said the trailer budget bill proposed by the Department of Finance as part of the governor's budget has been rejected by budget subcommittees in both houses. This means, unless the governor's office brings the bill back in the May revise, the bill has been stopped dead in its tracks….Christie acknowledged that the bill remains in play until the budget is finalized, but it's unlikely it will get much traction. She said it's not often legislators from both sides, and organizations like the California Farm Bureau and the Sierra Club, see eye to eye, but this bill's opposition was such an occasion.
Yuba County hopes food will draw ag tourists [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]
After seeing thousands flock annually to El Dorado County during apple harvest season, and watching Nevada County's wineries rise in prominence, Yuba County is looking to bring agriculture tourism local. With operators of small businesses from Loma Rica to Dobbins/Oregon House making the push, an overlay zone in the foothills is under discussion. But Randy Fletcher, chairman for the county's economic development advisory committee, where the concept is taking shape, said getting to a point where the county's foothills are true destinations has to come organically, no pun intended.
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/county-115442-foothills-olive.html
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