Soup
plant closure not expected to spill over into Yolo County [Woodland Daily
Democrat]
The
pending closure of Campbell's Soup plant in Sacramento is not expected to
affect Yolo County tomato processors. Campbell Soup Co. announced Thursday that
it was shutting down two U.S. plants and cutting more than 700 jobs as it looks
to trim costs amid declining consumption of its canned soups. The world's
largest soup maker said it will close its long-time operation in Sacramento,
that has about 700 full-time workers…. Frank Muller, chairman of the board for
Pacific Coast Producers in Woodland, said it was "unfortunate to see
another plant close in California as a result of the high cost of
business." He didn't expect to see any operational changes at the Woodland
operation which processes raw tomato products. Unlike facilities such as PCP,
the Campbell plant in Sacramento is focused on manufacturing, which means using
already processed tomatoes to create juices and other food stuffs. Campbell's
also has a processing plant in Dixon, but it most likely won't be affected,
some reports have indicated.
Editorial: Campbell's closure
should pose questions [Sacramento Bee]
The
news Thursday that Campbell Soup Co. is shutting its Sacramento plant and will
lay off 700 workers by July is a bad blow at what should be a time of guarded
optimism locally….It's imperative that state and local leaders delve more
closely to find out why it was more costly for Campbell to operate in
California than in other parts of the country. What caused Campbell to close
its Sacramento plant and keep its Texas and Ohio facilities running? Was it the
higher cost of energy? Taxes? Environmental regulations? Along with examining
those questions, the state and region must seek to spur a new generation of
food manufacturing. UC Davis this month landed a $1 million challenge grant
from the U.S. Department of Commerce, which it will use to create the Clean AgTech
Innovation Center. California grows much of the world's food, yet it's far from
being a leader in packaging, processing and marketing that food – an important
source of future jobs. Thursday's announcement should refocus attention on that
economic development challenge – and opportunity.
Higher
temperatures bring new struggles in Calif. wine country [Center for
Investigative Reporting]
Farmers
have always been gamblers, long accustomed to betting on the probabilities of
the weather. But for the Napa Valley, where the temperatures have been ideal
for the wine industry, the changes could be significant….Alterations in the
California climate have prompted the insurance industry to start assessing the
potential damage and its financial exposure….Although it’s difficult to
distinguish how many extreme events would have occurred without the atmospheric
concentration of CO2, the Risk Management Agency now has identified climate
change as one of the major risk factors for U.S. agriculture….The agency even
suggested an adaptation strategy that sounds very much like the breeding
efforts already under way at nurseries across the Central Valley: more research
into “drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant, and other crop varieties better suited
to the changing conditions.” The California office of the Risk Management
Agency is considering whether year-round farming is a reasonable risk for the
agency to assume in the Central and Imperial valleys, where water stresses are
intensifying….Ultimately, said Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm
Bureau Federation, farmers are “dealing with the changing climate every day.”
Wenger raises almonds in the Central Valley.
Asian
Citrus Psyllid threatens Coachella Valley citrus [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
The
Asian Citrus Psyllid — a tiny but mighty pest that has devastated portions of
the citrus industry in Florida, Texas and Mexico — has made its way to the
Coachella Valley and has growers, agriculture officials and homeowners worried.
On Aug. 16, the psyllid was detected in Desert Hot Springs — the first time
it’s been found in the valley, though the pest made its first entry into
Riverside County back in April when psyllids were found in Jurupa Valley.
Psyllids have since been located in residential areas in La Quinta, Cathedral
City, Bermuda Dunes, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert and Indio….“One bite of a young
piece of fruit and your tree is dead,” said John Gless of Gless Farms, a
family-owned business with citrus groves in Coachella and the Riverside and
Hemet areas. “It’s absolutely threatening the industry.”
Wire
theft up in Visalia, recyclers say they're turning thieves away [Visalia
Times-Delta]
Stealing
metal wire is on the rise, and for thieves in a largely rural area of Tulare
County, getting their hands on copper, brass and iron can mean big money.
Police, though, are doing whatever they can to stop the influx of metal theft,
but with a spike in construction and a plethora of dairies and farms in the
area, it’s not easy. Law enforcement throughout the county is putting pressure
on metal recyclers such as The Recycling Depot in Visalia and SA Recycling in
Tulare to report suspected metal thieves. While most scrap metal recyclers say
they’re checking identifications and withholding payment for the state-mandated
three days, there’s another reason they’re turning thieves away.
Op-Ed: Pro & Con:
Prop. 37 is a costly, deceptive scheme [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
The
issue: Proposition 37 is an initiative to require food manufacturers and
retailers to label fresh produce and processed foods that contain genetically
modified ingredients. At first blush, Proposition 37 appears to be a simple
ballot measure about labeling the foods we buy and eat. But this flawed measure
is far from simple: It will lead to cartloads of hidden costs and to a tangle
of new bureaucracy, and it includes special-interest exemptions and has the
potential for floods of shakedown lawsuits. That is why the San Luis Obispo
County Farm Bureau urges you to vote against Proposition 37, a deceptive
food-labeling scheme that will heap new costs on farmers and add up to $400 a
year to consumers’ grocery bills. All with no proven health or safety benefits.
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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