Valley dairy operators to rally at Capitol seeking help [Fresno Bee]
Hundreds of dairy operators, frustrated over high feed prices and low returns, will descend on Sacramento Thursday to try to convince state officials to give them some financial help. The grass-roots effort, led by several San Joaquin Valley dairy operators, is expected to attract 200 to 500 farmers to the state capitol. Chartered buses will leave the Valley early Thursday and a Facebook page was set up -- facebook.com/ProtestingCdfa/ -- telling farmers about the rally.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/09/12/2989558/valley-dairy-operators-converge.html
Federal judge upholds constitutionality of Prop 2 [Associated Press]
A federal court judge in Los Angeles upheld the constitutionality of California's voter initiative that gives more room to egg-laying chickens in cages and other farm animals when he dismissed the case with prejudice on Wednesday.
Farm bill backers rally on Capitol Hill [CNN]
Backers of a comprehensive new farm bill held a campaign-style rally Wednesday on Capitol Hill, cranking up the political heat on House Republican leaders struggling to balance competing election year and ideological pressures. "All of us gathered here today ... share one common and resounding message," said Bob Stallman, head of the American Farm Bureau Federation. "Congress, for our farm and ranch families, their communities and for our nation, pass the farm bill now." Stallman was cheered by a boisterous crowd at the Capitol Reflecting Pool….House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, told CNN the House Republican leadership is still "working with the Senate to see what can be done." He conceded, however, that the "timing is definitely short."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/12/politics/farm-bill-rally/index.html?iref=allsearch
Elephant weevil, a grapevine pest, detected in U.S. for first time [North County Times]
There's a new invasive pest for Southern California growers to worry about: A grapevine-attacking bug called the elephant weevil. A living elephant weevil was detected on a container at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport on Aug. 30, according to U.S. Customs & Border Protection, an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It was the first time the pest had been detected in the U.S., according to a department press release. However, the weevil was found while still in customs, so there's no evidence it has spread to the wild in the United States.
Farmers: QSA may pose unreasonable financial burden [Imperial Valley Press]
Environmental attorney Charles DuMars emphasized the need for a concerted on-farm conservation effort when he spoke to the Imperial County Farm Bureau on Wednesday. “If it’s practical, it works, it makes water and it gets you closer to complying with the QSA — you need to do it,” he said. DuMars was hired by the Imperial Irrigation District to study the Quantification Settlement Agreement and propose a Plan B to the agreement, which makes up the nation’s largest ag-to-urban water transfer.
Pink slime maker sues ABC News for $1.2 billion: Lawsuit accuses network of defamation [Associated Press]
Beef Products Inc. sued ABC News, Inc. for defamation Thursday over its coverage of a meat product that critics dub "pink slime," claiming the network damaged the company by misleading consumers into believing it is unhealthy and unsafe.The Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based meat processor is seeking $1.2 billion in damages for roughly 200 "false and misleading and defamatory" statements about the product officially known as lean, finely textured beef, said Dan Webb, BPI's Chicago-based attorney. The lawsuit filed in a South Dakota state court also names several individuals as defendants, including ABC news anchor Diane Sawyer and the Departure of Agriculture microbiologist who coined the term "pink slime."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/pink-slime-abc-news-lawsuit-defamation_n_1880709.html
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