Record taxpayer cost is seen for crop insurance [New York Times]
The
worst drought in 50 years could leave taxpayers with a record bill of nearly
$16 billion in crop insurance costs because of poor yields. The staggering cost
of the program has drawn renewed attention, as the Obama administration and
Congressional Republicans wrangle over ways to cut the deficit. Last month,
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said that reducing farm subsidies was
one way that the administration could cut government spending. But Congress has
resisted….Thomas P. Zacharias, the president of National Crop Insurance
Services, an industry trade group, defended the program, saying that the record
crop losses last year showed the need for insurance.
Rubio-Obama
immigration plan? Senator’s proposal looks like White House policy [Miami
Herald]
The
White House has said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s immigration plans, which could
legalize the status of some of those unlawfully in the country, "bode well
for a productive, bipartisan debate." A reason for that optimism: Rubio’s
ideas and comments closely mirror those of President Obama in a 2011 policy
speech in El Paso Texas….With the Republican Party far more opposed to
immigration reform than Democrats, conservative commentators have praised Rubio
for his boldness. But they’ve also glossed over the fact that Obama proposed
similar ideas….More broadly, the president and Rubio share similar policies and
rhetoric regarding the need for more farm workers. Rubio in the Journal:
""The goal is to give American agriculture a reliable work force and
to give protection to these workers as well." Obama in May: "We need
to provide our farms a legal way to hire workers that they rely on, and a path
for those workers to earn legal status."
Interior
Secretary Salazar plans to step down [Reuters]
Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar, who helped lead the government's response to the largest
offshore oil spill in U.S. history, said on Wednesday he is stepping down from
his post to return to his ranch in Colorado….A successor to Salazar at the
Interior Department, which manages hundreds of millions acres including
national parks and forests, will likely come from a western state, where most
federally-owned lands are located. Potential candidates for the Interior post
include outgoing Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, former Senator Jeff
Bingaman, who was chairman of the Senate energy committee, and Bill Ritter, former
governor of Colorado. All three have also been talked about as in the running
for the EPA or the Department of Energy as well. Salazar said he would leave
the administration by the end of March.
Ceres
resident indicted with others in farm labor benefits scam [Modesto Bee]
…A
federal grand jury has indicted nearly two dozen people, including a Ceres
resident, suspected of participating in a fraudulent unemployment and
disability benefits scheme based in Sutter County, the U.S. attorney's office
in Sacramento announced Tuesday. This is the third indictment in an ongoing
investigation. Six defendants were indicted in May, and six others were
indicted in September….Federal prosecutors said they sold fake pay stubs to
others to fraudulently claim unemployment and disability benefits. Over the
course of the scheme, the defendants reported wages for more than 400 people
that resulted in more than 2,000 fraudulent claims of more than $5 million,
according to prosecutors.
Somis
residents appeal for help on pesticide investigation [Ventura County Star]
Saying
their health has been jeopardized by inaction of the county Agricultural
Commissioner's Office, close to a dozen Somis residents pressed county
supervisors Tuesday to intervene in a pesticide investigation….Other speakers
connected the use of pesticides by berry grower Marz Farms to hospitalizations,
deaths of animals and a daughter's long absences from school. Jeanette
Lombardo, a consultant for Marz, said the grower had made numerous efforts to
address the neighbors' concerns. The company is disappointed the residents are
making comments on a case that's still under investigation, she said….The
complaints center on "normal and customary" practices allowed under a
county right-to-farm ordinance since the 1970s, Lombardo said.
Local
students to get farm ‘tasting kits’ [Napa Valley Register]
Several
elementary schools in the Napa Valley Unified School District will soon be
delivered monthly “tasting kits” of fruits and vegetables. The kits are part of
the Harvest of the Month program, a farm-to-school project that aims to improve
student nutrition, promote agricultural education, and provide farmers access
to the school district’s food service program….Every elementary school in the
district was invited to participate in Harvest of the Month, and about 15
schools responded, said Sandy Elles, executive director of the Napa County Farm
Bureau….The Harvest of the Month program will be implemented this February and
will run through the 2014-15 school year, Elles said.
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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