Ag Today Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Meeting today in Tulare to discuss citrus quarantine [Visalia Times-Delta]

…Farmers, fruit packers, haulers and others involved in Tulare County’s citrus industry will hear today how a planned quarantine on movement of commercial citrus will affect them. The California Department of Food and Agriculture, which is working to enact the quarantine, and the Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office will hold the two seminars on the quarantine plans starting this morning at the International Agri-Center in Tulare….Steve Lyle, a CDFA spokesman, said the quarantine plans were intended to take effect this week, but they were delayed after scientists for his agency confirmed on Nov. 21 that the remains of another Asian citrus psyllid were found in an insect trap in an orange grove about a mile south of Terra Bella….All the insects were too dried out to determine if they were infected with HLB. CDFA inspectors have been checking citrus trees in the south county areas and found no signs that any trees have been infected, nor have they spotted any more psyllids, Lyle said.

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20121128/NEWS01/311280014/Meeting-today-Tulare-discuss-citrus-quarantine?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage&nclick_check=1

Worth noting in business: Farm bureau urges public comments [Bakersfield Californian]

The Kern County Farm Bureau is "strongly" urging every agricultural producer in the county to attend and possibly testify at a hearing Friday in Bakersfield where state water quality officials plan to consider new irrigation discharge regulations. According to email sent Tuesday by the bureau, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board's proposed Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program would force farmers to prepare annual nutrient budgets with certified crop advisers, among other measures. The email likens the proposal to a separate order it says costs farmers $118.55 per acre yearly. "This is a game changer," bureau Executive Director Ben McFarland said in an interview.

http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/business/x59956598/Worth-noting-in-business-Farm-bureau-urges-public-comments

Stanislaus ag water cleanup backed [Modesto Bee]

A farmer-funded effort has helped reduce agricultural pollutants in waterways in and near Stanislaus County, its leaders and a state regulator said Tuesday. The East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition reported that pesticide problems are "few and far between" nearly a decade into its monitoring and grower education. They said this and similar coalitions are showing that this method is preferable to regulation of individual farmers by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

http://www.modbee.com/2012/11/27/2472475/stanislaus-ag-water-cleanup-backed.html#storylink=misearch

River of storms headed for Northern California [Sacramento Bee]

It's shaping up as California's equivalent of a hurricane: A series of warm, wet storms arriving today that will be unlike anything the state has seen in years. By Sunday, weather experts say Sacramento could see 4 to 8 inches of rain, and the mountains of the Northern Sierra Nevada and Shasta regions could be deluged with 12 to 18 inches of rainfall….Forecasters say the second storm will plant its bull's-eye on Shasta, Tehama, Butte and Plumas counties, with lesser rainfall amounts farther south. This is worrisome, because these counties experienced large forest fires over the summer that now create a significant erosion and mudslide risk. Of particular concern is the Battle Creek watershed in Shasta and Tehama counties, where the Ponderosa fire burned more than 27,000 acres in August.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/28/5014591/river-of-storms-headed-for-northern.html

Farm Bureau VP concerned about stability [Colusa County Sun-Herald]

Agriculture was nervous about the election of Gov. Jerry Brown two years ago, and now the Democratic Party has a super majority in both the Assembly and the Senate. "To err is human, but to do it over and over again makes you a California voter," quipped Jamie Johansson, second vice president of the state Farm Bureau Federation, at a farm-city breakfast held Tuesday morning in Colusa County….As it turns out, Johansson said, Brown has been a good governor to work with the past two years. He also noted Brown's veto of the heat illness legislation and other legislative victories, plus the voters' Nov. 6 rejection of Proposition 37, the food labeling initiative….The lesson, Johansson said, is that local farm bureaus and individual farmers and ranchers need to be involved in the political process. Send the message that if the state wants to turn the economy around, it should start on the farm.

http://www.colusa-sun-herald.com/news/farm-9669-johansson-bureau.html

Farm Bureau keeps the wheels turning [Imperial Valley Press]

Laughter filled the air Tuesday morning as Nancy Caywood Robertson led second-graders from Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School through a humorous song about picking hay. The students were learning about agriculture through Farm Smart, a community outreach program offered by the University of California Desert Research and Extension Center.…Unfortunately, educational field trips — even those that are local, like Farm Smart — are endangered. State budget cuts have forced schools to try to save money any way they can, and reducing or eliminating field trips is one way to try to make ends meet. That’s where the Imperial County Farm Bureau comes in. “The Farm Bureau last year established a fund to allow schools to apply for a stipend to supplement transportation expenses,” said Linsey Dale, executive director of the Imperial County Farm Bureau.

http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/ivp-farm-bureau-keeps-the-wheels-turning-20121127,0,5436083.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, November 27, 2012

Supreme Court to hear California raisin growers' case [Sacramento Bee]

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear an appeal from Fresno, Calif., raisin growers Marvin and Laura Horne, who contend that the federal marketing program that can take nearly half their crop is unconstitutional. Their case poses a significant challenge to the New Deal-era farm program that seeks to prop up prices by keeping part of the crop off the market. It also raises questions about the limits of the government's power to regulate commerce, an issue that sharply divided the justices in the major health care overhaul case decided in June.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/22/5004134/supreme-court-to-hear-california.html#storylink=misearch

Supreme Court clears way for grapevine patent suit [Fresno Bee]

The Supreme Court on Monday provided legal juice for growers who want to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Table Grape Commission over grapevine patents. In a decision noteworthy for farmers nationwide, the high court declined to review a lower court's ruling that waived USDA's customary immunity from lawsuits. The decision, issued without comment, effectively upholds the earlier appellate ruling and gives a green light for further legal battle over the "Scarlet Royal" and "Autumn King" grapevine variety patents. "It's part of an effort by growers to curtail the power grab by the table grape commission," Lawrence Hadley, an attorney for the growers who are challenging the patents, said Monday. "Our clients believe the grape commission has overextended its authority, to really insert itself into private industry and become more of a regulatory body instead of a promotions program."

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/11/26/3079706/supreme-court-clears-way-for-grapevine.html

Court upholds groundwater basin rule [Santa Maria Times]

Virtually all of an appeal filed over the 2008 decision in the Santa Maria Valley Groundwater Basin lawsuit has been rejected by the state Court of Appeal. In an opinion issued last Wednesday, the 6th Appellate District court upheld the initial Santa Clara County Superior Court decision. However, the appeals court did send the decision back to the Santa Clara County court for clarification of two points.

http://santamariatimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/court-upholds-groundwater-basin-rule/article_fb089bea-3868-11e2-b927-001a4bcf887a.html

Insect could threaten California orange groves [USA Today]

The discovery of two insects, each the size of a chocolate sprinkle, has set off a wave of fear among California citrus growers. The insects can carry a devastating citrus disease that has already cost Florida growers an estimated $4.5 billion. Now California is waiting to find out how large an area of orange-growing land the state will quarantine to try to stop it from reaching the state's prime growing area. State agriculture officials found two Asian citrus psyllids in traps in Tulare County….The California Department of Food and Agriculture in Sacramento is working with the affected counties to plan a quarantine, which is expected to go into effect this week, Hawkins said.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/27/huanglongbing-citrus-disease-california-orange-groves/1727857/

Fire season 2012 leaves its mark [San Francisco Chronicle]

…From January to November, wildfires burned about 867,500 acres statewide, including state and federal park and forest lands, said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant. About 127,000 acres were burned in the same area in 2011. Cal Fire saw 130,000 acres burn in its jurisdiction in 2012 and 56,000 acres burn in 2011…. While there is no preventing lightning-caused fires such as the Ponderosa blaze, Cal Fire hopes to lessen the damage with off-season controlled burns and other prevention work being paid for by a controversial new fire fee being levied on homeowners living in unincorporated neighborhoods and rural areas of the state.…The fee is set to bring in $89 million by the end of the year. The funds are earmarked for fire-prevention services such as brush clearing and prescribed burns during the winter. Opponents claim the fee is an illegal tax and filed suit against the state in October to fight it.

http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Fire-season-2012-leaves-its-mark-4068587.php

Commentary: It's time for GOP to adopt new stance on immigration [Sacramento Bee]

It's time for Congress and the president to enact comprehensive immigration reform. And it's time for Republicans to shift their position on the issue, indeed not only embracing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, but championing the cause. Doing so is the right thing to do, and it is consistent with the history and core values of the party of Lincoln and Reagan. The Grand Old Party has long stood for opportunity and against tyranny. Republican defense of free markets and limited government has helped create economic opportunities and prosperity unlike any other country in the world.…I am committed to building consensus on the issue here in California. I call on Republicans across the nation to return to the roots of our party and the causes of its founder, Abraham Lincoln, by making liberty and economic opportunity the twin beacons that unite and guide a painfully divided nation.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/27/5011953/its-time-for-gop-to-adopt-new.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.

Ag Today Monday, November 26, 2012

More farmers hand over harvests to machines [Sacramento Bee]

Rumbling through an olive orchard, a machine harvester towers over a row of trees, stripping the small green fruit and shooting them into a rapidly filling container. This may be the future of farming in an era of worsening labor scarcity….The dwindling supply of workers has long been on the horizon, but there's a new urgency for farmers to shift to machines to harvest crops around the region and state. Farmers had significant trouble finding people to tend and pick their crops this year, said Bryan Little, director of labor affairs for California Farm Bureau.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/25/5006680/more-farmers-hand-over-harvests.html#storylink=misearch

Proposed refuge expansion tough sell to S.J. ag interests [Stockton Record]

Expanding the world's largest network of wildlife refuges into San Joaquin County would attract rare and beautiful migratory birds, open up new boating and fishing opportunities, and reduce flood risk in urban areas, federal officials say in a new report. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says enlarging the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge is a "unique" opportunity to restore a major corridor of wildlife habitat along the second largest stream in California, and triple the number of refuge visitors in the process. Its plan, however, has already faced criticism here. San Joaquin County supervisors voted last year to oppose the expansion before it had been formally proposed….Now that proposal is on the streets, and the executive director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation said the federal government does not appear to have addressed local officials' concerns. "You would think they would listen to county supervisors, but they didn't," bureau director Bruce Blodgett said. "It's obvious the public input process isn't what it used to be."

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121126/A_NEWS/211260315

Merced-to-Fresno high-speed rail opponents rethink legal strategy [Fresno Bee]

Stung by a judge's ruling, opponents of California's proposed high-speed rail route between Merced and Fresno are reassessing their legal strategy -- but not their resolve….When Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley refused on Nov. 16 to block the authority from any planning, land-buying or contracting efforts before construction begins in mid- 2013, he also indicated that the plaintiffs suing the agency may be building their legal case on unstable ground….The judge's remarks "were not lost on us," said Anja Raudabaugh, executive director of the Madera County Farm Bureau. "We're looking at it as a positive thing because we have an opportunity to assess our merits, and how often do you get to do that in a lawsuit?" While not tipping her organization's hand, "we will not be pursuing the same strategy going forward," she said. "The Farm Bureau has made a commitment to see the case through because we believe the merits are so strong."…Farmers north of the San Joaquin River aren't the only ones with a keen interest in the lawsuits. High-speed rail opponents from Kings County also are keeping a close eye on developments, and a handful of them traveled to Sacramento for the Nov. 16 hearing and Frawley's ruling.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/11/24/3077882/merced-to-fresno-high-speed-rail.html

Rising electric rates call Modesto, Turlock irrigation pricing into question [Modesto Bee]

An emerging debate over fairness in electricity and irrigation bills might not be getting traction if power hadn't become so expensive. In olden days, power sold by the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts was relatively cheap. Steep rate increases in recent years have erased the local advantage. Now people are questioning the age-old policy of keeping irrigation fees artificially low by making electricity users pay more. And changes in the law have focused more attention on what's fair….The districts say there are important factors behind keeping water rates reasonable. For starters, water applied to crops slowly seeps down, replenishing underground sources. That's an incredible benefit for which farmers get no credit, both districts say. Farmer and hydrologist Vance Kennedy has figured the value at $14 million per year, computed at the rate that San Francisco might have paid MID for water if a controversial proposed sale had not been abandoned. "If you increase the cost to farmers to where they can't afford (irrigation water), they're going to drill more wells and exacerbate the issue," said Wayne Zipser, executive manager of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau.

http://www.modbee.com/2012/11/24/2469038/rising-electric-rates-call-districts.html

Maker of methyl iodide ends US EPA registration [Associated Press]

The maker of the controversial pesticide methyl iodide, used primarily to fumigate strawberries, has agreed to remove all of its products from the U.S. market and end sales permanently. The U.S. EPA announced Wednesday that Arysta had requested voluntarily cancellation of all of the company's product registrations, which means that the suspected carcinogen will no longer be used in this country by the end of the year. The company's decision ends more than five years of legal battles by environmental groups and farmworkers who had fought initial approval of the product during the Bush administration. It comes after an announcement in March that the Japanese company would voluntarily pull methyl iodine from the U.S. market.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/11/21/2303539/maker-of-methyl-iodide-ends-us.html

Editorial: A cornucopia of blessings to be thankful for with California's agricultural bounty [Sacramento Bee]

…As we have become more urbanized, most of us have gotten far away from food production. It is easy to take that bounty for granted….California, from the beginning of the American period, has been about large-scale agriculture (not the small family farm of the Midwest or the Plains). The Sacramento Valley, part of the Great Central Valley, was the state's first significant farming region….Economies of scale have made our food affordable and accessible. Americans spend 9.5 percent of our income on what we eat, compared with 14 percent in 1970….Yet amid this bounty, one in eight Californians does not have enough food to eat and many more do not have healthy diets, contributing to obesity. This breadbasket of the nation can do better, and Thanksgiving Day reminds us of that.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/22/5003516/editorial-a-cornucopia-of-blessings.html

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 Wednesday, November 21, 2012

IID sits on the sidelines of US-Mexico water pact [Imperial Valley Press]

A historic water pact between the United States and Mexico was signed Tuesday, and absent from the proceedings was the entity with the largest allotment of the Colorado River’s water, the Imperial Irrigation District. Minute 319, a five-year pilot program, would tie Mexico’s water deliveries to environmental conditions like surpluses and droughts. The agreement gained momentum after a 2010 earthquake damaged Mexico’s Colorado River conveyances, and Mexico asked the U.S. to store its water while it made repairs to its canals. The Imperial Irrigation District’s Board of Directors unanimously voted on a resolution last year seeking the same considerations that Mexico was requesting from the U.S., namely the ability to store its own entitlement water behind Lake Mead and voiced its concerns about increased salinity and loss of hydroelectric generation, consequences of reduced water flows.

http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/ivp-iid-sits-on-the-sidelines-of-usmexico-water-pact-20121121,0,765504.story

Oakdale district agrees to consider San Francisco water sale [Modesto Bee]

The board of the Oakdale Irrigation District agreed Tuesday to look into a one-year water sale to San Francisco. The length of the sale is less than the city seeks, but a spokesman there said officials "remain open to any potential OID transfer scenarios." Other details, including the amount of water and the price, have yet to be negotiated. They could be discussed at a Dec. 18 public meeting, OID chairman Frank Clark said.

http://www.modbee.com/2012/11/20/2464000/oakdale-district-continues-sf.html

State to impose citrus quarantine in Tulare County [Fresno Bee]

A quarantine will take effect in Tulare County next week to thwart a pest threatening the citrus industry, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said Tuesday. State officials said they're still determining the size of the quarantine area, something they should settle by next week. But Dave Cox of Visalia, chairman of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers, said he expects the quarantine zone to be a 20-mile radius around Strathmore, near where the Asian citrus psyllid was found.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/11/19/3072232/citrus-insect-pest-discovered.html

Supreme Court to hear California raisin growers' case [Los Angeles Times]

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear an appeal from Fresno raisin growers Marvin and Laura Horne, who contend that the federal marketing program that can take nearly half of their crop is unconstitutional. Their case poses a significant challenge to the New Deal-era farm program that seeks to prop up prices by keeping part of the crop off the market. It also raises questions about the limits of the government's power to regulate commerce, an issue that sharply divided the justices in the major healthcare overhaul case decided in June

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-court-raisins-20121121,0,5005023.story

Interior Secretary Salazar to meet on oyster farm controversy in Marin County [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will meet Wednesday in Marin County with stakeholders in the controversy over the federal permit that allows Drakes Bay Oyster Company to operate in the protected waters of Point Reyes National Seashore. Salazar is scheduled to meet with the family-run oyster company, including owner Kevin Lunny, at the farm on the edge of Drakes Estero, a 2,500-acre estuary designated by Congress as potential wilderness. Later, he will meet at Point Reyes Seashore headquarters with wilderness advocates who want Lunny’s permit terminated when it expires on Nov. 30.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121120/ARTICLES/121129986/1350?Title=Salazar-to-visit-site-of-Point-Reyes-oyster-dispute-

Editorial: Just what is 'natural' food? [Los Angeles Times]

The campaign against genetically engineered foods didn't disappear with the defeat of Proposition 37, which would have required the labeling of most foods containing bioengineered ingredients. Instead, it morphed into the GMO Inside campaign, which among other things is behind a Colorado lawsuit that claims Goldfish crackers shouldn't be labeled as "natural" because they contain genetically engineered soybean oil….The real issue here isn't whether GMO Inside believes that different methods of human tinkering make some foods less natural than others, but that the reassuring word "natural" is included on many a product's label while meaning almost nothing. A 2009 study found that shoppers thought "natural" indicated a purer, more regulated substance than "organic." It's the other way around. But the whole point of rules for labeling is to allow people to make informed decisions about their food.…Given how far food science has come in recent years, and the fact that consumers are so confused about what natural means that they are being misled by the wording on labels, the FDA should do the admittedly difficult work of deciding what is and isn't natural — or tell food companies to eliminate the term altogether.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-gmo-natural-food-20121121,0,5380944.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.