Fix
on ‘Dairy Cliff’ Sends Farm Bill Back to Square One [Bloomberg]
The
fiscal-cliff settlement, which extends the most-recent agriculture law until
September, is frustrating farmer groups that spent 2012 pushing new programs
and now must start again under a tougher spending outlook. Congress’s approval
of a one-year extension of the farm bill that expired Sept. 30 heads off
government-mandated higher milk prices. It also preserves subsidies that even
farmers call wasteful and makes plans approved by the U.S. House Agriculture
Committee and full Senate last year moot….The top Republicans and Democrats on
both congressional agriculture committees had pushed for an extension that contained
elements of legislation they had backed last year, including a new dairy
program intended to stabilize prices for the boom-or-bust
industry….Representative Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on
the House Agriculture Committee and author of the dairy plan rejected by
Boehner, said yesterday he is so angry about the one-year extension that he
wants Republican leaders to commit to a floor vote on a farm bill before he
cooperates on creating one.
Fiscal
Cliff Tax Deal: What Does It Mean for Small Business? [Forbes]
For
small and medium sized business owners there is good news and bad news in the
deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. In addition, the deal strongly
underscores the need for business owners to sharpen their own pencils to cut
their taxes….Estate tax was a bit of a mixed bag – the $5 million dollar per
person exemption was kept in place (and indexed for inflation continued)
however the top rate is increased to 40 percent – effective date January 1,
2013….Other good news for estate planning – portability is kept in place and
estate and gift remains unified – ie the $5 million stays in place for gift tax
purposes as well.
Commentary: Big farm issues
hidden in fiscal cliff [Santa Maria Times]
Farm
issues have taken a back seat in our current Congress. These issues have the
potential of being significant economic factors, both nationally and here on
the Central Coast….Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm Bureau
Federation, testified in Washington concerning the mandatory E-verification for
all employers, regardless of size or industry. It would require employers to
verify eligibility before hiring. His message was the need for workable support
legislation to go along with the E-verification system….A recent survey of
farmers by CFBF, “Walking the Tightrope: California Farmers Struggle with
Employee Shortages,” points out the urgent need for a legislative answer to
these concerns for stable farm labor….Here on the Central Coast, it is in our
mutual interest to support farm and ranch legislation to go along with the
E-verification system that is being proposed and discussed in Congress. Take a
few minutes to send your representative an email or letter in support of this
companion legislation.
Parties
renew agreement to restore Klamath Basin [Associated Press]
A
companion agreement to a historic deal to remove four dams from the Klamath
River has been renewed, giving supporters another two years to try to get
Congress to pay for the work, officials said Monday. Supporters of the Klamath
Basin Restoration Agreement announced that all 42 signatories - including
Indian tribes, local governments, irrigation districts, salmon fishermen and
conservation groups - agreed to the renewal. The agreement lays out how water
will be shared between farms and fish during drought years, and calls on
Congress to provide $800 million for environmental restoration.
Officials
worry that agriculture community will bear burden of water shortages [Imperial
Valley Press]
Global
warming and increased demand for water by urban and municipal users make
shortages of the Colorado River inevitable, according to a recently-released
study by the Bureau of Reclamation and the seven Colorado River Basin
states….“You are pitting (urban) populations against agriculture,” said
Imperial Irrigation District Director Matt Dessert, when asked what he took
away from the conference. Anticipated water shortages make the agricultural
community’s pool of water increasingly attractive, he added….IID Director Steve
Benson echoed Dessert’s sentiments….“It’s important that farmers work on
conservation based on current contracts with the QSA,” he added. “It’s not
perfect but it lays out a clear plan. If we show we’re working under the
guidelines of conservation as farmers, it does a lot to protect the future of
farming.”
Opinion: Dan Walters:
California's water wars breaking out again [Sacramento Bee]
…
In other words, Schwarzenegger's water bond was dead. It was taken off the 2012
ballot and although it's still officially scheduled for 2014, it will be
extensively rewritten and reduced – meaning water policy is back to square one.
Even though the apparatus created to write a new plan for the Delta has been
functioning, actually doing what it advises and constructing the new conveyance
depends on having the money to lubricate the process from a bond issue….One
water bond bill has already been introduced and what – if anything – to put
before voters will have a high place on the new legislative session's agenda.
The state's perennial water war is breaking out again.
Ag
Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for
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