Midwest drought further hurts financially troubled Central Valley dairies [Visalia Times-Delta]
Most of John Pereira’s life has centered around cows.…That’s why it’s hard for him to look at the family dairy now, with the more than 1,400 head of milking and non-milking cows Pereira once owned gone — taken by his bank after calling in his $1.2 million in loans….Unfortunately, Pereira’s situation is far from unique, as he can easily name 10 other dairymen he knows in the Tulare County area who in recent months have had to shut down or are trying to stay afloat through bankruptcy. And experts on the dairy industry said they expect such situations to become more common. The financial problems dairies have been dealing with since late 2008 — low sale prices they receive for milk along with growing prices for feed, fuel and other costs — are being further exacerbated by even higher feed prices because of losses of corn and other feed crops in the Midwest during the worst U.S. drought since the 1950s.
Dairy farm advocates file lawsuit over low milk prices [Merced Sun-Star]
Dairy farm advocacy groups recently filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Food and Agriculture, claiming the state's milk pricing formula improperly undercompensates milk producers. The legal action is based on the premise that the CDFA violated its legal requirement to calculate milk prices in "reasonable and sound economic relationship" to comparable prices around the country, said Lynne McBride, California Dairy Campaign executive director….While many processors recognize dairy farmers are facing significant challenges, industry groups maintain that processors are paying a fair price for milk, arguing that farmers have driven prices down with overproduction….At the same time, farmers say they need emergency relief and processors can afford to give a little to help struggling dairies weather the tough times.
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/09/04/2516078/dairy-farm-advocates-file-lawsuit.html
U.S. tightens limits on cutting timber in Sequoia Monument [Los Angeles Times]
A new management plan for the Giant Sequoia National Monument places greater limits on timber cutting in and near groves of the world's largest trees, but would still allow logging in nearly a quarter of the monument. The plan, released Tuesday by the U.S. Forest Service, is the agency's latest attempt at devising a blueprint for managing the 328,000-acre monument, which President Clinton created in 2000 to protect 34 groves of giant sequoias scattered on the slopes of the southern Sierra Nevada in the Sequoia National Forest….Although the new plan reduces the size of trees that can be felled, it allows the cutting of some young sequoias, no larger than a foot in diameter, and other trees as big as 20 inches in diameter to reduce fuel loads and promote ecological restoration. Any young sequoia trees that were felled would not be sold, the agency said. But other conifers and trees could be. The diameter limit would also not apply to trees considered a hazard along roads or in public areas.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sequoia-monument-20120905,0,1321175.story
Experts issue a warning as food prices shoot up [New York Times]
With the worst drought in half a century withering corn across the Midwest, agricultural experts on Tuesday urged international action to prevent the global spike in food prices from causing global hunger. The directors of three major United Nations food and agriculture programs sounded the alarm both on the immediate problem of high food prices and the “long-term issue of how we produce, trade and consume food in an age of increasing population, demand and climate change.” Agricultural production has fallen in a number of major crop exporters this summer. Sweltering heat and a severe drought have damaged the corn crop in the United States. Droughts have also hit Russia and Ukraine, hurting the wheat harvest, as well as Brazil, affecting soybean production.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/business/experts-issue-a-warning-as-food-prices-shoot-up.html?_r=1
Market for vineyard acreage heats up [San Francisco Chronicle]
A new era for California's priciest wine regions began Feb. 1, when PlumpJack Winery partners bought 50 acres in Napa Valley's Stags Leap district, home to heralded vintners Shafer Vineyards, Clos du Val and Cliff Lede Vineyards. The purchase kicked off a sales spree for premium properties across the state that's poised to climb to $800 million by year end, the most since the 2007 market peak, according to Demeter Group, a consumer investment bank and advisory firm.…Renewed deal-making follows three years of plunging demand for high-end California wine, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. bottle sales above $20.
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Market-for-vineyard-acreage-heats-up-3839614.php
Editorial: The case for organic food [Los Angeles Times]
…Perhaps the most valuable thing about the study of available research undertaken by Stanford's Center for Health Policy is that it points up how little is yet known about the benefits of organics and the harms done by widespread pesticide use…."There isn't much difference between organic and conventional foods, if you're an adult and making a decision based solely on your health," concluded senior study author Dena Bravata. Not only is that debatable, but it fails to get to the heart of the reason most people spend extra for organics. The Stanford researchers found studies showing that 38% of conventional produce contains pesticide residue (compared with 7% of organic produce), yet shrugged this off because the chemical traces were usually below the levels considered safe for human consumption by the Environmental Protection Agency. But debate rages about whether EPA limits are really safe;
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-organics-20120905,0,5514318.story
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