Our next edition of Ag today will be distributed on Wednesday, Jan. 2. Happy New Year from the California Farm Bureau Federation!
EPA
chief Lisa Jackson is stepping down [Los Angeles Times]
EPA
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said Thursday she was stepping down from the
Cabinet-level post after four years in which she won new federal regulations
for carbon dioxide emissions but also sparred often with Republican lawmakers
and industry executives.…Reaction was largely muted among industry leaders and
Republican lawmakers, who viewed the opening at the Environmental Protection
Agency as a rare opportunity to push back on regulatory policies they see as
intrusive and harmful to the stumbling economy….Robert Perciasepe, the agency's
deputy administrator, will temporarily run the EPA. In addition to Perciasepe,
others being mentioned as candidates include Gina McCarthy, head of the EPA's
air pollution division, and Mary D. Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air
Resources Board, though she recently disavowed any such suggestion.
California's
budget recovery may be wrecked by fiscal cliff tumble Sacramento Bee
Gov.
Jerry Brown and California lawmakers struck an upbeat tone in recent weeks as
they enjoyed their most positive budget outlook since the economic downturn.
Whether that mood survives the winter depends on Washington….The University of
California system estimates it would lose $335 million in federal research
funding this fiscal year, according to Christopher Harrington, spokesman for
UC's Washington, D.C., office. That represents roughly 8 to 9 percent of UC's
research portfolio from such agencies as the National Institutes of Health,
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of
Energy. "We are urging Congress and the administration to reach agreement
so we don't go over the fiscal cliff and we protect research and
education," Harrington said.
Early
rains help state water deliveries [Fresno Business Journal]
It’s
been a while since farmers have received good news about water availability.
But good news came during Christmas week. On Dec. 21, California’s Department
of Water Resources sent notices to state water project contractors notifying
them that projected water deliveries had been increased. Because of soaking
early rains and a decent Sierra snowpack to kick off the winter season, water
deliveries from the State Water Project will be boosted from 30 percent to 40
percent of requested water deliveries for 2013. Department of Water Resources
officials anticipate that the percentage could go higher as the winter season progresses.
The allocation percentage is vital to farmers in Kings County where State Water
Project water is provided. But increased rains and snowpack are also good news
to Fresno County, which depends on federal Bureau of Reclamation allocations
from the Friant water system. “The early storms help,” said Ryan Jacobsen,
executive director of Fresno County Farm Bureau. “This is good news. We are in
a much better position than were at this time last year.”…Snow levels -- vital
to maintaining good water supplies through summer -- also look good. Electronic
readings showed that statewide, as of Dec. 27, water in the snowpack was at 146
percent of normal for the date. The snowpack normally provides about a third of
the water for California’s households, farms and industries.
Small
farmer calls new El Dorado ordinance a compromise [Sacramento Bee]
An
advocate of grass-roots family farming says a newly adopted El Dorado County
ordinance is a compromise, but it boosts efforts to reduce state and federal
restrictions on small agricultural operations. "The big thing for me is it
has established the family farm as having a valued place," said Pattie
Chelseth, co-owner of the 10-acre My Sisters' Farm in Shingle Springs. "It
needs to be cherished and nurtured." Chelseth earlier this year sought the
Board of Supervisors' backing for a campaign against regulations that hurt
small farmers. Last week, the board adopted a "local food and community
self-governance" ordinance, which prohibits the county from establishing
licensing and inspection requirements on what are termed "family
farms." The county counsel's staff report notes that the definition of
family farms is quite restrictive. It essentially means a farm that maintains
only a one-to-one relationship with its patrons. The definition excludes farms
that have commercial aspects to their operations, or that sell to anyone for
resale.
After
the tornado: Watsonville's Kitayama Bros. nursery repairs damage from wind
storm [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
Crews
scrambled Thursday to repair a greenhouse and save hundreds of gerbera daisy
plants after a tornado ripped through the Kitayama Bros. nursery on San Andreas
Road. Saturday morning, the tornado crushed one greenhouse and left three
others a mess of twisted metal and shredded fiberglass. A fifth greenhouse,
filled with red and yellow gerberas, was heavily damaged, putting the festive
flowers at risk from rain and chilly temperatures. Robert Kitayama, president
of the company, said damages would exceed $100,000. "Every farmer will
tell you, it's always something," Kitayama said, shrugging off the loss.
"It's the well. It's the weather. It's something."…Kitayama said the
greenhouses were hit about 7 a.m. A few minutes later, he said, crews would
have been inside clipping flowers, and the consequences could have been worse.
As it is, the nursery lost as much as 25 percent of its lisianthus, a delicate,
hard-to-grow flower that's a company specialty.
Editorial: Numbers are
disturbing [Stockton Record]
There
is no true reason for celebration when 14 out of every 100 employable adults
are unemployed. The numbers just don't add up. But with the way the local
economy has been the past few years, you look for - and take - progress where
you can get it.…The bad news: that's a tick up from the 13.6 percent rate in
October, likely caused by the seasonal end to many farm jobs. The good news:
It's much stronger than a year ago, when county unemployment was 15.8 percent.
California as a whole dipped below 10 percent for the first time since January
2009. The state's rate was 9.7 percent.
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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