Mendocino
County judge tosses out state's frost-protection rules [Santa Rosa Press
Democrat]
A
Mendocino County judge on Wednesday overturned controversial state water rules
designed to regulate how grape growers in Sonoma and Mendocino counties divert
water from the Russian River. Superior Court Judge Ann Moorman declared the law
to be “constitutionally void” and “invalid.”…The regulations were aimed at
preventing endangered and threatened fish from becoming stranded and dying when
farmers take water from the river to protect their crops from frost….Moorman
said the state Water Resources Control Board failed to do its homework before
adopting the regulations. They lacked scientific basis, infringed on water
rights and wrongly required farmers to gather information and create
regulations themselves at great expense….Dave Koball, a member of the Mendocino
County Farm Bureau and manager of Fetzer/Bonterra vineyards, said he hopes
water regulators will be more willing now to work with farmers to improve
fisheries rather than subject them to regulations. “We'll have more success
working together,” he said.
Six
Central Coast farms fined for not complying with new ag runoff rules [San Luis
Obispo Tribune]
Six
Central Coast farms - including one in San Luis Obispo County - have been fined
nearly $36,000 for failing to comply with the state’s new agricultural runoff
rules. The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board filed liability
complaints against the six farms for failing to submit either cooperative
monitoring fees or individual monitoring reports, the agency said in a news
release. Farmers have the choice of participating in a cooperative monitoring
program for a fee or doing the monitoring themselves. Monitoring is a key
component in the new rules which are intended to reduce polluted runoff from
irrigated agricultural operations. The water board will hear the complaints
when it meets in San Luis Obispo on Oct. 12.
Judge
will high-speed rail injunction request [Fresno Bee]
A
Sacramento judge will consider a motion for a preliminary injunction that could
derail California's high-speed rail project in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Judge Timothy Frawley ordered Friday that three separate lawsuits against the
California High-Speed Rail Authority will be combined for future hearings in
Sacramento Superior Court. The cases are challenging the rail authority's final
approval of environmental reports and a route between Merced and Fresno -- one
of the first sections of tracks that the authority hopes to begin building next
year….A hearing on the suits' requests for injunctions has been set for Nov. 16
in Sacramento. A preliminary injunction, if granted by the judge, would prevent
the rail authority from moving forward with the work until a trial on the
lawsuits is completed….Anja Raudabaugh, executive director of the Madera County
Farm Bureau, said an injunction represented the only avenue available to
"prevent permanent damage and irreparable harm" to agriculture from
construction and operation of the train system.
Stanislaus
cities must protect farmland if they pursue annexations [Modesto Bee]
Stanislaus
County on Wednesday became the valley's first to require that cities do
something to protect dwindling farmland when requesting annexations. Its
growth-regulating agency voted 4-1 in favor of the rules, which were opposed by
most of the county's nine cities, a property rights group and some business
advocates. "Agriculture is a big deal," said Jim DeMartini, a grower,
county supervisor and member of the Stanislaus Local Agency Formation
Commission. "We have to take some steps to preserve some of it."
Commissioners brushed aside objections of some cities, whose representatives
said the policy will give county leaders an unfair advantage and unjustly
enrich select farmers…."If there were farmland mitigation policies in San
Jose and (Los Angeles), there would still be some farmland left (there),"
said Wayne Zipser of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau.
Valley
farmers examine climate change issues [Fresno Bee]
New
science and research has San Joaquin Valley farmers taking a harder look at the
effect that climate change may have on their industry. If researcher's
predictions hold true, the Valley's multi-billion dollar agriculture industry
will be hit with longer stretches of hot temperatures, fewer colder days and
shrinking water supplies. What that means for agriculture is potentially lower
yields, a loss of revenue and fewer acres being farmed. Farmers and industry
leaders say that while there is still skepticism among their ranks, they are
doing what they can to stay ahead of the issue, including educating themselves,
testing new fruit varieties or investing in water-saving technologies….Along
with the potential for rising temperatures, the possibility of drought
exists….To maximize what little water they had, many farmers turned to
irrigation equipment that was more efficient and conserved water. West-side
farmer Dan Errotabere was among those who installed a system that waters his
processing tomatoes below the surface of the soil, reducing the loss of water
through evaporation…."We hear all kinds of interpretations of what is
going on," Errotabere said. "But what it tells me is that we need to
take a serious look at our water infrastructure. If we are going to be dealing
with less water then we are going to have to improve our water storage
systems."
Farm
City Day gives city kids a peek at rural life [Redding Record Searchlight]
There
are some things you just can't do in the city. For Aja Selk, 9, a
self-described animal lover, getting the experience she needs with critters for
a future career is one of them. "You usually see a raccoon maybe once in a
while, but that's not much," the Monarch Learning Center student said.
"I'm new to animals besides fish." Enter the Shasta County Farm
Bureau's Farm City Day, where around 430 fourth-graders like Aja learned how
agriculture plays into their daily lives through hands-on demonstrations at the
Shasta County Fair grounds in Anderson on Wednesday. Kids from about 15 schools
moved from one station to another as they learned about everything from
trapping and beekeeping to how the ecosystem works. They also learned where
different cuts of meat are found on an animal, with real livestock, like a calf
named Butterscotch and a horse named Bugs, to make the lesson plans come alive.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment