Local farmers face serious labor shortage [Valley News]
Regional agriculture businesses have dealt with challenges from thrips, psyllid, and water shortages for decades, but the biggest test to the industry’s future may be a present and looming labor shortage….According to Ben Drake of Drake Enterprises in Temecula, the shortage of labor is not a local or state issue, but a federal one. Drake specializes in harvesting avocados and wine grapes. Drake is a board member for the Riverside Farm Bureau and the California State Board of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). His company is experiencing the labor shortage first-hand in Southwest Riverside County. "We need a guest worker program; Americans don’t want to do farm labor work," said Drake. "We need more minor skilled labor."…Speaking to the need of legal farm labor, Eric Larson, executive director of the Escondido-based San Diego Farm Bureau said, "We are on the brink of a very serious crisis in this area, in the state and in the country as a whole."
http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/66288/
Dairies fight decline in milk consumption [Bakersfield Californian]
Milk consumption, which has been declining for decades, is nearing a disturbing milestone for the dairy industry. Fluid milk sales (as opposed to sales of milk used in butter, cheese and the like) totaled 53.739 billion pounds in 2011, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That translates to 20.04 gallons per person last year, down from 29.8 gallons in 1970. Dairy farmers are pulling out all the stops to prevent that figure from dipping into the too close for comfort teens, but they've got their work cut out for them….The slow but steady decline in milk consumption comes on top of other forces creating a difficult environment for dairy farms….What dairy producers need to do, the Dairy Council's Bligh said, is work harder to highlight the nutritional value of dairy, which is, after all, a food group on the food pyramid.
El Niño is coming, but weakly - sort of [San Francisco Chronicle]
Thanks to a tiny but consistent warming of the Pacific Ocean half a world away, the Bay Area will experience an El Niño season this year, beginning this month….But what will the weather actually be as a result of El Niño? "It's, like, roll the dice," said Jan Null, a former lead forecaster for the National Weather Service and now an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Francisco State University. "Farmers will probably say it'll be wetter than normal, but there's no way to know."…But to Bob Bressler, owner of Bressler Vineyards in St. Helena, any El Niño is El Good News. "In the past, El Niño has provided us with heavier rainfall," he said. "More water is better."
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/El-Ni-o-is-coming-but-weakly-sort-of-3844544.php
Commentary: Collaboration needed to solve water problems [Sacramento Bee]
…Resolving long-term water supply and ecosystem problems in the Delta is not a matter of one region vs. another. It's about recognizing that the status quo is not working for the state as a whole and finding solutions that work for all Californians. In short, we must understand that we are one state. We can't perpetuate the notion that our natural resources "belong" to a particular region, or that one region's economy or quality of life is more deserving of water than another's. We cannot be satisfied with actions that shift the problem from one region to another or that preserve the status quo because it benefits one region in particular….True solutions to our biggest problems come when we act as one state. We have the leaders, the knowledge and the opportunity to come together as a state on water again. It's time to put those ingredients together and move on solutions that improve water supply security for the entire state.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/07/4795607/collaboration-needed-to-solve.html
Commentary: Salinas study to clear the air [Salinas Californian]
…Monterey County has the most intensively-farmed acreage in the state. If we want to know how well pesticide regulation is working in California, there’s no better place than here. This is especially true for fumigants, a focus of the study. Second, there’s no doubt that farm pesticide use — and particularly fumigants — have been a concern in our community for some time. Regardless of philosophical differences about pesticides, we should rely on the best science available to guide our pesticide policies. As agricultural commissioner, I viewed the monitoring program as an opportunity to obtain new information, whatever the study might find….Third, while I’ve kept an open mind on monitoring results, I feel a sense of confidence in our local growers, who are among the most progressive in California.
Editorial: Protection for women farmworkers is needed [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
The Desert Sun applauds a group of Latinas who have banded together to protect their sisters from sexual harassment and exploitation in the fields of the Coachella Valley….Female farmworkers are vulnerable partly because many are undocumented workers who are hesitant to report abuse to authorities. A report released in May by Human Rights Watch concluded that abuse of female farmworkers is a serious problem….It also highlights the need to legitimize a workforce that it vital to the valley's $500 million-a-year agricultural industry. Farmworkers should feel comfortable to seek protection from authorities without fear of deportation….No matter which party dominates in November, we hope our leaders in Washington, D.C., can agree on meaningful immigration reform next year.
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