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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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