Ag Today Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Feinstein warns about effects of 'fiscal cliff' [Associated Press]

Sen. Dianne Feinstein said on Tuesday that pending federal spending cuts could cost thousands of jobs in California. During an address before the Maddy Institute in Fresno, the veteran Democratic lawmaker warned that the so-called "fiscal cliff" of deep federal spending cuts and tax increases looming at the end of the year would "hurt California very badly." Citing a George Mason University study, Feinstein said California would lose 225,000 jobs in the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years, including 135,000 defense jobs….During her speech in Fresno, Feinstein reiterated her support for Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to build two large tunnels to move water beneath the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin delta. She also advocated for building more storage for water - including expanding existing dams and improving groundwater storage - and planning for dry years. "Water is vital in our state," she said. "You can't have a state that has grown to 37 million people have the same water infrastructure" that it had years ago.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/30/4949661/feinstein-warns-about-effects.html#storylink=misearch

Experts explore fertilizer complexities at Modesto conference [Modesto Bee]

Experts in fertilizing crops said Tuesday that the industry has done much to clean up its practices but could do more. About 250 people attending a conference at Modesto Centre Plaza heard about efforts to apply fertilizer with increased precision, saving money for farmers and reducing pollution. "We need to let people know that this is something the industry is supporting, that we are behind good nutrient management," said Robert Mikkelsen of Merced, director for western North America at the International Plant Nutrition Institute.…Karen Ross, food and agriculture secretary for Gov. Jerry Brown, said the issue is not simple in a state with about 400 farm products. "So many people fail to understand the complexity of plant nutrient management, and what works for almonds does not work for strawberries," she said.

http://www.modbee.com/2012/10/30/2435853/experts-explore-fertilizer-complexities.html#storylink=misearch

Backers aim to take farmland annexation to Watsonville voters [Santa Cruz Sentinel]

A proposal to push city limits onto 80 acres of farmland appears headed to a vote. On Tuesday, Councilman Daniel Dodge, who wants to annex what's known as the Sakata-Kett property for development into a big-box shopping center, turned in 2,206 signatures in favor of putting the issue to a vote -- 702 more than the required number to put the question on a ballot….Dodge needed 2,256 signatures of registered voters to require a special election in 2013, but the City Council can opt to place the question before voters next year. Dodge said he'll push the council to do so. Watsonville residents want action, he said….Even if voters in Watsonville approve, significant hurdles remain. The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau is opposed to paving over more farmland and has pledged to fight any attempt to annex the property. The city also would have to win approval from the Santa Cruz Local Agency Formation Commission, the government body that oversees annexations. The commission turned down a city attempt at annexing the property in the 1990s, and historically has frowned on farmland conversion.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/watsonville/ci_21892357/backers-aim-take-farmland-annexation-watsonville-voters

Safety of genetically modified foods is debated in California [Sacramento Bee]

Susan Lang doesn't know for certain if her son's itchy skin and upset stomach were caused by eating food made from crops whose genes were altered in a lab.…The Fair Oaks woman concedes, however, that her evidence is not scientific, saying she has "more than a hunch, but I don't have proof."…Proposition 37 supporters offer little scientific evidence that genetically modified food is dangerous to human health….Opponents are making the case that labeling the food implies health dangers that haven't been proved…."There is no evidence that there is any health issue with any of the products on the market. And there is nothing particular to the technology itself that makes it dangerous," said Kent Bradford, director of the Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis, which uses genetic engineering to develop agricultural seeds.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/31/4950605/safety-of-genetically-modified.html#storylink=misearch

Proposition 37 losing in late Business Roundtable-Pepperdine poll [Los Angeles Times]

Backing for Proposition 37, the genetically engineered food labeling initiative, is falling, fast. A new poll by the California Business Roundtable and the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy showed 39.1% of likely voters support the measure, while 50.5% oppose the labeling requirement. Undecided voters represented 10.5% of respondents. The results released Tuesday show a a drop in support of nine percentage points since a similar survey just over two weeks ago. "It seems voters have been influenced by both the No campaign and a barrage of negative editorials" in newspapers around the state, said Chris Condon of M4 Strategies, which conducted the poll of all 11 initiatives on the Nov. 6 ballot. The Internet-based poll of 2,115 likely Califonria general election voters was conducted from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28 and had a margin of error of 3%.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-37-losing-in-poll-20121030,0,2539777.story

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, October 30, 2012

Drilling for Delta tunnel studies blocked in court [Stockton Record]

Test drilling for Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed twin tunnels must wait until next spring, despite state officials' warning in court documents that any delay could drive up the cost of the now $14 billion project, or even render it infeasible. Judges in San Joaquin, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties denied requests by the state Department of Water Resources to expedite the work so it could be done before the rainy season. And the state confirmed Monday that it will withdraw a similar request in Yolo County…Water Resources is seeking access to those private lands under eminent domain law, and asked judges in each county to speed up the process. The judges refused to do so.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121030/A_NEWS/210300322

Federal plan to save steelhead trout could cost $560 million [San Luis Obispo Tribune]

It’s likely to take 80 to 100 years and cost $560 million, but by reducing man-made hazards such as dams and groundwater pumping and restoring creek habitat, federal officials hope to revive steelhead trout populations along the Central Coast. The National Marine Fisheries Service’s draft recovery plan deals with fish populations from the Pajaro River in Monterey County to Arroyo Grande Creek. The plan was the subject of a workshop Monday in San Luis Obispo.…In San Luis Obispo County, the main man-made threats to steelhead are dams, groundwater pumping, creek channelization and agricultural development..…The main strategy for recovering these fish populations is to reduce the man-made hazards and restore creek habitat to the point that steelhead will not go extinct in the event of a prolonged drought or other natural disaster.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/10/29/2279073/federal-plan-to-save-steelhead.html#storylink=omni_popular#wgt=pop

Commentary: The rarely noticed clause in Proposition 37 [Los Angeles Times]

Much has been made of the wording in Proposition 37 about processed foods and the word “natural.”…But there’s another phrase in Proposition 37, which would require labeling of bioengineered food, that has received almost no attention even though it strikes more closely at whether the initiative would achieve its objectives should it pass next week…. "In the case of any processed food, in clear and conspicuous language on the front or back of the package of such food, with the words 'Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering' or 'May be Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering.' " If food companies can cover themselves by using the latter wording — that the food may have been partially produced with genetic engineering — the consumer is still left to guess whether there are bioengineered ingredients. There’s no rule that foods without such ingredients have to say so; it would probably be easier and cheaper for food companies to label all their products that way. But if that happened, the main argument for Proposition 37 — that it’s the consumer’s right to know — would be undermined. Think it wouldn’t happen? How many signs have you seen warning of possible carcinogens somewhere on the premises of a business? Like … everywhere?

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-proposition-37-20121029,0,3893112.story

Almonds now No. 2 California commodity [Merced Sun-Star]

Almonds were the second-most valuable commodity in California in 2011, surpassing grapes for the first time ever, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. In 2011, almonds generated $3.87 billion of economic activity, according to agriculture department data, and grapes were valued at $3.86 billion. That's a switch from 2010 when California grapes were in second place with a value of about $3.2 billion and the state's almond crop was third at about $2.84 billion.

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/10/30/2621159/almonds-now-no-2-california-commodity.html

More than 80,000 lbs. of walnuts stolen [Redding Record Searchlight]

Two companies who recently bought walnuts from Tehama County each reported around 40,000 pounds of the processed nuts stolen in the last two weeks, and deputies are searching for a suspicious delivery driver with a Russian accent who they say is behind it all. The mystery started Oct. 26, when the Tehama County Sheriff's Office got a call from a freight brokerage firm in Southern California reporting that a truckload of walnuts never got to Miami like it should have two days earlier, deputies said. Employees told sheriff's deputies that the driver of a white semi with a Russian accent picked up the load on Oct. 19. The walnuts were purchased by F.C. Bloxom and Co., a Seattle-based company, and to be delivered to Miami.

http://www.redding.com/news/2012/oct/29/more-80000-lbs-walnuts-stolen-tehama-deputies-say/

Learning to live with urban coyotes [New York Times]

…Coyotes now inhabit every state in the country except Hawaii, eating mostly rodents, rabbits, and fruit while making their homes between apartment buildings and in industrial parks and popular recreation areas in metropolitan areas from New York City to Chicago to San Francisco.…"There's a number of things that coyotes really find to their liking in suburban communities, more than adjacent wild areas," said Robert Timm, a wildlife specialist and the director of the University of California's Hopland Research and Extension Center.…"It may only take one person feeding coyotes to develop a really aggressive one," Mr. Timm said in a phone interview. "If some people are just ignoring them and coyotes are finding a lot of resources, they can start to think, 'Oh, this is a really good place to be. I own this neighborhood now.'"

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/learning-to-live-with-urban-coyotes/

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, October 29, 2012

Silos loom as death traps on American farms [New York Times]

…Even as the rate of serious injury and fatalities on American farms has fallen, the number of workers dying by entrapment in grain bins and silos has remained stubbornly steady….That the deaths persist reveals continuing flaws in the enforcement of worker safety laws and weaknesses in rules meant to protect the youngest farmworkers. Nearly 20 percent of all serious grain bin accidents involve workers under the age of 20. Last year, the Labor Department proposed new regulations aimed at tightening protections for children doing farm work. The proposed federal regulations would have prohibited children under 18 from working in large commercial grain bins, silos or other enclosed spaces. But the Obama administration, sensitive to Republican charges that it was choking the economy with expensive regulations, pulled back the proposed rules this year in the face of furious farm-state objections.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/29/us/on-us-farms-deaths-in-silos-persist.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

U.S. food movement seeks election-year vault to political force [Reuters]

The U.S. food movement, which groups a kaleidoscope of causes from inner-city gardens to hunger prevention and no-biotech crops, plans to link the farmers market to the ballot box as it challenges large-scale agriculture this year. It is the first attempt to turn a largely unorganized social movement into a political force. The most important initiative for the movement is a November 6 referendum in California to require labels on genetically engineered food sold in grocery stores. Under a new umbrella group, Food Policy Action, the movement issued its first voter scorecard for congressional races this week…."We do welcome them (Food Policy Action) to the agriculture community," said Dale Moore, an executive at the 6 million-member American Farm Bureau Federation. Moore said he hoped the scorecard would take into account the economic welfare of farmers, adding: "That's not always readily apparent."…"Foodies" criticize large-scale mechanized farming, a profitable model since the 1950s, for using biotech seeds and synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and for confinement feeding of livestock. "Production agriculture" regards foodies as dilettantes in love with outmoded, high-labor methods common when farmers were the perennial poor cousins of city dwellers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/26/us-usa-food-power-idUSBRE89P16020121026

Commentary: Why this health-conscious foodie won't vote for Prop. 37 [Los Angeles Times]

I thought I’d be first in line to vote yes on Proposition 37, which would require labels on (most) food that contains genetically modified ingredients. But the closer we get to election day, the more conflicted I feel….But if we’re going to start putting warning labels on food -- and let’s face it, GMO labels would be warnings, not just advisories -- then let’s focus on drawing attention to the poisons. Is it the corn and soy that have been genetically engineered to withstand pesticides that are the problem, or is it the pesticides?...As it stands, there are no known health risks associated with GMOs….So, when it comes to food, it matters to me deeply that I can trust what I’m eating and that it won’t make me sick. Proposition 37 won’t help me accomplish that. And, while I understand the argument that you have to start somewhere (and that was initially my position too), I worry that a vote for Proposition 37 would be a vote for junk science -- and that passing it would thwart further (and valid) scientific studies. I’d be no better than the climate deniers out there. And I don’t want that; I want real answers, and real reform.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-why-im-not-voting-for-proposition-37-20121026,0,6955441.story

California egg farmers frustrated by unclear mandate over chicken cage size [Sacramento Bee]

California voters sent a clear message four years ago when they overwhelmingly approved Proposition 2, a ballot measure banning the "cruel confinement" of certain types of farm animals. What's followed has been nothing but confusion, complain commercial egg farmers. They're seeking certainty on what kind of enclosures for the state's 20 million laying hens will be considered legal under the law….The 2015 deadline to comply or face possible criminal prosecution is in the wings. "The clock is ticking," said Sacramento attorney Dale Stern, who represents the Association of California Egg Farmers. "We're still back to the question, 'How much space do we need to provide each hen?' No statute has defined that yet."

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/28/4941821/california-egg-farmers-frustrated.html#storylink=misearch

Growers may get help from USDA [Visalia Times-Delta]

Valley citrus growers could get welcome news next week: The federal government may plan to continue to help pay for the fight against the spread of a potentially devastating citrus disease. At least that’s what Joel Nelsen, president of Exeter-based California Citrus Mutual, expects to hear Thursday evening during the group’s annual meeting and dinner, during which the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rebecca Bech is scheduled to give the keynote speech…. The USDA had committed about $45 million a year to fighting the spread of HLB nationally, with about $11.5 million going to California with the rest going to other large citrus-producing states, including Florida, Arizona and Texas. The money the USDA has earmarked for California has been combined with about $15 million that the state’s citrus growers collect annually through self-assessment fees. That combined money has paid for programs here that have included trapping insects to see where the psyllids are migrating, educating the public, and testing trees and captured insects for the disease.

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012310290004

In dairy industry consolidation, lush paydays [New York Times]

THERE was a time not long ago when Gregg L. Engles was considered a genius in the dairy industry, a shrewd C.E.O. who had cobbled together a string of local businesses to create the nation’s largest milk bottler, Dean Foods….A long-running antitrust lawsuit in a federal courthouse in Greeneville, Tenn., offered one possible explanation for his early success, by contending he engaged in a conspiracy more than a decade ago that helped expedite dairy industry consolidation and make himself a bundle. Filed by a group of dairy farmers in 2007, the lawsuit said Mr. Engles cut a deal with the head of the nation’s largest dairy cooperative, the Dairy Farmers of America, to eliminate competition in the Southeast. Another lawsuit was filed in Vermont in 2009, involving allegations of a similar scheme in the Northeast. Dean Foods, whose brands include Garelick Farms, Land O Lakes and Horizon Organic, has settled both lawsuits, without admitting wrongdoing; the suits continue against the D.F.A….Dairy farmers say they didn’t share in the riches. Instead, they say that they were paid suppressed prices for raw milk, and that the fallout continues. They are seeking more than $1 billion, including penalties, in the Southeast; the damage estimate for Northeast farmers remains under seal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/business/in-dairy-industry-consolidation-lush-paydays.html?hpw

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, October 26, 2012

Distant air pollution might bite Butte County farmers [Chico Enterprise-Record]

Local farmers might have to replace their tractors and other diesel equipment in a few years, because of how bad the air pollution is in the San Joaquin Valley and Los Angles basin. The Butte County Air Quality Management District board got that news today, at the end of a board-requested review of the history of air pollution controls imposed on farmers. County Air Pollution Control Officer Jim Wagoner told the board the so-called "tractor rules" were the newest and final piece of a series of regulations being developed by the state Air Resources Board to reduce diesel emissions, which have been ruled to be toxic. The "In-Use, Off-Road Mobile Ag Equipment Regulation" has been in development since this summer, and the current timeline would see them being approved in December 2013….At the end, the board voted unanimously to have Wagoner bring back a letter for approval at the December meeting asking the ARB to allow Butte County to opt out of the regulation.

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_21855212/distant-air-pollution-might-bite-butte-county-farmers

Plan to save Central California Coast coho salmon mapped out [San Jose Mercury News]

…To combat this decline, the National Marine Fisheries Service spent five years compiling an encyclopedic recovery plan for the Central Coast coho….The plan, a roughly 2,000-page tome that lays out specific recommendations for 28 watersheds on the Central Coast, was released in September. Now comes the hard part: making it happen….Along San Gregorio Creek, for instance, 98 percent of the land is in private hands. Brussels sprouts farmers and homeowners along the creek have the right to take water from it using metered pumps….One key method for improving coho habitat involves persuading landowners to use less water from local creeks or amend their water-diversion permits so they can store the water, rather than use it right away….And while some landowners may be amenable to pitching in for the coho, others will be harder to persuade. Ambrose acknowledged that distrust of government is common among rural landowners, who sometimes chafe at what they perceive as intrusive and burdensome regulations. One way to deal with that issue is to involve third parties, such as resource conservation districts and farm bureaus, to work with the landowners.

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_21855542/plan-save-central-california-coast-coho-salmon-mapped?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

Science group opposes labeling of genetically modified foods [Los Angeles Times]

As California and other states consider ballot initiatives that would require the labeling of genetically modified foods, the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science has released a statement opposing any such labeling. "Consuming foods containing ingredients from GM crops is no riskier than consuming the same foods containing ingredients from crop plants modified by conventional plant improvement techniques," wrote the group's executive board. Legally mandating the labeling of foods would therefore "mislead and falsely alarm consumers," the group said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-genetically-modified-foods-20121025,0,1697958.story

In battle over Prop. 37, a tale of two farms [San Jose Mercury News]

Two farmers. Two opposites points of view on genetically engineered food. The incendiary issue is at the heart of Proposition 37, a highly contentious ballot initiative that would require labeling of genetically engineered foods. If it passes, California would become the first state in the nation to require such labeling on a host of food products found on grocery store shelves -- from breakfast cereals to sodas to tofu….The No on 37 campaign claims that the "overwhelming majority of farmers and agricultural organizations" oppose Proposition 37. But farmers are notoriously opinionated, particularly when it comes to state policy. Several organic farms, including Pie Ranch Farm in Pescadero and Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, support Proposition 37. The California Farm Bureau Federation, the Almond Hullers and Processors Association and most of the state's non-organic farmers are opposed to it.

http://www.mercurynews.com/elections/ci_21858570/battle-over-prop-37-tale-two-farms?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

Congresswoman moves to crack down on children in fields [NBC Bay Area]

An NBC Bay Area investigation into child labor has prompted a renewed push to change the law governing children working in American fields. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-East Los Angeles) is calling for new protections for kids who work in agriculture, specifically large corporate farms across the United States. She is re-introducing a bill called the "Care Act," to ensure that labor laws are the same for children in all industries, including agriculture….But even supporters of that proposed law say that nothing is likely to happen quickly. They admit that any changes to current U.S. labor law face a tough political battle from the opposition.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/series/children-in-the-field/Congress-Focuses-on-Child-Labor-Law--175675301.html

Modesto ag breakfast served with a side: Good Egg award [Modesto Bee]

Paul Wenger thought his sons were harvesting walnuts Thursday morning. Instead, they were in on a surprise for their father, a Modesto-area nut grower and president of the California Farm Bureau Federation. Wenger received the 50th annual Good Egg Award, presented by the state's egg industry to a supporter of agriculture….Wenger said he felt humbled to be among the other Good Egg winners over the past half-century. "I truly have not arrived there yet," he said. "There's truly a lot more to do."

http://www.modbee.com/2012/10/25/2429317/breakfast-served-with-a-side-ag.html#storylink=misearch

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.