Editorial: A GOP pivot on
immigration [Los Angeles Times]
…A
growing chorus of influential Republican voices, including evangelical leaders
and, most recently, former President George W. Bush, are calling for swift
action on immigration reform….The president must be far more involved than he
was during his first term, when he offered flowery rhetoric and little else. He
should present a road map for reform that not only calls for enforcing
immigration laws at the border and in the workplace, but also provides a
realistic plan for dealing with those undocumented immigrants who are already
in the country. Obama should also push for a guest-worker program that ensures
growers a reliable source of workers while protecting the rights of those
foreign farm laborers….Obama has said he can't repair the nation's immigration
system alone. It now seems Republicans may offer a much-needed hand.
Sonoma
County looks to boost renewable energy at homes, businesses [Santa Rosa Press
Democrat]
Sonoma
County planners are considering whether to relax zoning rules, increase housing
densities and reduce parking requirements as ways to encourage more renewable
energy generation, such as solar and wind projects….One option would open up
non-prime agriculture land to commercial development of facilities such as
solar parks, but the intent is to protect prime agriculture land, scenic corridors
and sensitive natural resources. "We don't have the same commercial
viability as deserts; I don't see us having the huge solar installations they
have in the valley," deputy planning director Jennifer Barrett said.
Barrett, however, is proposing creation of special renewable energy zoning
areas for commercial projects on agricultural and other lands that are near
existing power infrastructure such as transmission lines or electrical
substations.
Season
has changed, but the drought endures [New York Times]
Even
as the summer swelter has given way to frost, nearly two-thirds of the country
remains in a drought, with forest fires still burning, winter crops choking in
parched soil and barges nearly scraping the mucky bottoms of sunken
rivers….With the Great Plains — from southern South Dakota to the Texas
Panhandle — enduring the most desiccated conditions, the agricultural sector is
bracing for the hardest blow….Just over a quarter of the nation’s wheat crop,
planted mostly in September and October, was in poor or very poor condition,
according to a report released last week by the United States Department of
Agriculture. Those are the worst conditions since the department began keeping
records in 1986, said Brad Rippey, a meteorologist with the department….The
wheat harvest is not until next summer, so there is still time for it to bounce
back. But a dry winter would make adequate precipitation in March and April
that much more essential for the crop.
Russia
may halt US beef, pork imports -USMEF [Reuters]
Russia
wants U.S. pork and beef exported to that country to be tested and certified
free of the feed additive ractopamine, the U.S. Meat Export Federation said on
Friday. USMEF said that since the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not have a
testing and certification program in place for ractopamine, the Russian
requirement could effectively halt U.S. pork and beef exports to the country by
Saturday.
The
federation said that more than 210 shipping containers of U.S. pork and beef
valued at more than $20 million were currently on their way to Russia.
Rain
and time equal more water in Lake Oroville [Chico Enterprise-Record]
How
can nine days and 6.36 inches of rain add up to 40.88 feet? The answer is when
one is discussing the water elevation at Lake Oroville. On Nov. 27, the surface
elevation at the lake was 760.87 feet. The Lake Oroville height is computed
based on the lake's surface elevation above sea level. Lake Oroville is full at
about 900 feet. As of that November date, five inches of rain had been measured
at the dam so far this rain year.
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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