Sinking
land makes Valley levees unreliable [Fresno Bee]
In
the spring seven years ago, the San Joaquin River filled with snowmelt after a
big winter and threatened destruction across western Madera and Merced
counties. Miles of earthen walls -- levees -- kept the river from ripping
through millions of dollars worth of farmland, crops, barns and roads. But
since that perilous spring, some of those earthen walls have sunk along with a
swath of the west San Joaquin Valley landscape, due to farm water pumping. The
levees probably won't stop a big flow of water now….The sinking landscape has
been accelerated by farmers who are supporting crop expansions, water leaders
say. The farmers, who are east of the river in Madera County, have no other
source of water. They did not realize their deep-water pumping was creating a
problem….Area farmers and water districts are working together to help those
who have no access to river water for irrigation.
Studies
will help assess Tuolumne River's future [Modesto Bee]
All
sides of a high-stakes struggle over Tuolumne River water got tons of new
ammunition Thursday with the partial release of critical studies. Thousands of
pages of technical documents will be parsed by many interest groups heading
into key Jan. 30-31 public meetings that could help decide whether more should
be done for fish, perhaps at the expense of irrigation….The multiyear process,
expected to cost more than $50 million, requires 35 studies, with almost half
dedicated to fish. Twenty-three are complete; they and progress reports on the
others were unveiled Thursday. The Stanislaus County Farm Bureau is highly
interested in a section focusing on economic value provided by the dam,
including water consumed by orchards, crops and people….California water officials
recently proposed that dams release more water to help fish in the Tuolumne and
Merced rivers. The State Water Resources Control Board could take action in
August. Irrigators face even more scrutiny from other agencies, said Tom Orvis,
governmental affairs director for the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau. "It's
a flipping spider web and they all have individual goals," Orvis said.
Local
farmers say they already comply with FDA proposals [Ventura County Star]
New
food safety rules aiming to overhaul the nation's food supply chain are not scaring
Ventura County's larger growers. Rather, many say they are already following
the regulations and are actually in favor of them…."Many companies are
already essentially compliant and doing more than the expectations in the
proposed rule," said Trevor Suslow, an extension research specialist with
UC Davis who specializes in microbial food safety of fruits and vegetables for
the fresh-cut industry. "The whole thing is moving from guidance in
produce food safety to regulations in produce food safety."…"Maybe
these are new for the FDA but they are certainly not new for the agriculture
industry," said Chris Summers, global food safety and compliance manager
for Mission Produce Inc. in Oxnard, one of the world's largest avocado
distributors, which contracts out growers in Ventura County and five other
counties.
County
offers ideas for resolving oil-ag conflict [Bakersfield Californian]
County
staff are asking the Board of Supervisors Tuesday for conceptual approval of
measures they hope will restore peace between local growers and oil producers.
A set of proposals by county Planning Director Lorelei Oviatt offers short- and
long-term ideas for dealing with conflicts that have arisen in recent years as
oil producers increasingly set up drilling operations on Kern farmland. Her
near-term plan would require mineral rights owners such as oil and gas
producers to work out land use details with surface property owners, primarily
growers. If their talks reach an impasse -- and if it's unrelated to the issues
of financial compensation or environmental impacts -- then either party could
appeal to the Board of Supervisors for a final ruling.
Value
of recyclables spawns new cycle of crime in Monterey County [Salinas
Californian]
Once
associated with saving the planet by finding new uses for old materials,
reducing trash and the consumption of raw materials, recycling has entered into
the dark shadows of night and felony theft. A sinister cottage industry has
evolved in which profits are made through the theft of hundreds of thousands of
dollars in materials, resulting in a rising cost in repairs and replacements to
the targeted companies and farmers. “Unintended consequences,” said Norm Groot,
executive director for the Monterey County Farm Bureau, describing the outcome
of recycling efforts. “Metal thefts have gone rampant with prices so
high.”…Shortly after the implementation of new regulations in 2008, Galvan said
he began visiting recycling centers in Monterey County to explain the new law
and help businesses with training, provide handouts in English and Spanish, and
list the new rules of operation and business practices. A few months later
Galvan said he followed up with an undercover, investigative operation of the
same recycling businesses. Undercover agents, posing as customers, tried to
sell a variety of materials to recycling operators. All the recycling centers
Galvan investigated failed to follow the law.
Cheese
Wars: Wisconsin cheesemakers stand to profit from mayhem in California dairy
industry [Wisconsin State Journal]
Wisconsin's
cheese producers are poised to profit — perhaps mightily — from a feud that has
buckled the knees of California's dysfunctional dairy industry. California
cheesemakers have prospered for decades because the price of milk used to make
cheese has been set lower than what competitors from other states, including
Wisconsin, pay. Now, California's financially strapped dairy farmers are saying
their future depends on whether their state's cheese producers can be forced to
pay the same price as everybody else. If California cheesemakers are forced
onto a level playing field, sales of Wisconsin cheese — estimated at about $5
billion — could increase by $200 million, according to a top dairy industry
executive from Wisconsin.
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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