Citrus growers brace for cold snap [Bakersfield Californian]
…Citrus
freezes are a fairly regular occurrence in the Central Valley, and people in
the business say the one predicted to extend intermittently through Friday or
Saturday morning probably won't be anywhere near as damaging as the freezing
weather that claimed roughly half of Kern's citrus crop in January 2007,
causing an estimated $179 million in damages. Even so, this episode is
considered abnormal because of its arrival so early in the season, when a
relatively large amount of sensitive fruit remains to be harvested….There's a
certain irony at play. In a phenomenon similar to sleep, trees including citrus
require a certain amount of cold weather every year to produce fruit of
consistently high quality. "It's a give and take," said Benjamin McFarland,
executive director of the Kern County Farm Bureau. "Part of the beauty,
part of the reason why we have such growth is because of the deep
freezes."
Intense
lobbying threatens farm bill [Politico]
As
House-Senate talks resume Wednesday, the bad blood among rival commodity groups
is becoming an embarrassment for farm bill advocates and a threat to getting
legislation through Congress this winter. Cotton and rice recently took a shot
at corn and soybeans in a letter about proposed payment limits in both bills.
Corn and beans went directly after House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank
Lucas (R-Okla.) last week — threatening to kill the farm bill and seek a
two-year extension that will run past his tenure as chairman….At one level,
farm bill infighting among rival commodity interests is nothing new. But the
bad blood and distrust now are exceptional.
Editorial: Restricting food
stamps users' menus not useful [San Francisco Chronicle]
…Congress
should stay out of the business of deciding which of the more than 300,000
foods on the market should be off limits to beneficiaries of the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program. To dictate what belongs in a shopping cart of
government-subsidized groceries is not only paternalistic in the extreme, it's
an invitation to a never-ending debate over what constitutes good food….But
this debate is a distraction from the issue at hand: The Republican-controlled
House version of the farm bill would cut $39 billion from the food stamp
program over the next decade. That cut would do more than any candy ban to
undercut nutritional goals by forcing many struggling families to fill their
carts with cheaper, sodium-and-fat-laden processed foods.
Immigration
activists end a fast on the National Mall [New York Times]
A
longtime labor leader and two other advocates of an immigration overhaul ended
their water-only fasts on Tuesday in a tent on the National Mall, the 22nd day
of an effort to press the House to take up legislation on the issue….But they
acknowledged that the protest had not produced any action in the House. They
said Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio had not responded to invitations to meet
with them. Mr. Boehner’s office said Tuesday that the speaker had hired Rebecca
Tallent, the immigration policy director of the Bipartisan Policy Center, to
handle immigration issues. Although House Republican leaders have said there is
not enough time to move forward on immigration before the end of the year, Mr.
Boehner’s choice of Ms. Tallent appeared to signal that he planned House action
in 2014.
IID
approves water-sharing agreement with MWD [Imperial Valley Press]
The
Imperial Irrigation District is one step closer to participating in a historic
water agreement with Mexico. The Board of Directors approved on Tuesday an
agreement with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in which
both agencies will equally share in the costs and benefits of upgrading water
infrastructure in the Mexicali Valley that suffered earthquake damage in
2010….The resolution brought before the board Tuesday has the IID financing
water infrastructure upgrades in Mexico for $2.5 million, in return for 23,750
acre-feet of water storage credit that can be used for municipal or industrial
purposes, or to pay back the district’s water overruns. At a cost of $105.26
per acre-foot, it could save the IID some $450,000 and reduce fallowed acreage
by about 4,500 acres if used for payback purposes, according to the IID.
Commentary: River is wet, but
money has dried up [Fresno Bee]
…The
San Joaquin River Restoration Program is quickly approaching an important
deadline set forth in the settlement that was entered into by the Natural
Resources Defense Council, the Friant Division and the Bureau of
Reclamation….As it turns out, not one of the Phase 1 projects will be completed
by the deadline — not one. No dirt has been turned on any of them. They are all
many years away from completion. Why the lack of progress? Money….The time has
come for an honest evaluation of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program.
Releasing water and fish without doing any of the initial major physical
projects is a waste of water and money. All parties involved must engage in an
honest dialogue if any meaningful progress is to be made.
Ag
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