Westland's
$1 billion claim against U.S. rejected [Fresno Bee]
A
federal court has quietly dismissed a $1 billion claim by the Westlands Water
District, leaving unresolved the long-standing problem of coping with
irrigation drainage in the San Joaquin Valley. Wading carefully into one of the
West’s muddiest controversies, a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge rejected
arguments by Westlands, the nation’s largest water district, that the federal
government should pay for failing to build a drainage system that carries away
used irrigation water. The failure has vexed farmers and officials alike for
several decades and incited multiple lawsuits. In her 56-page ruling, U.S.
Court of Federal Claims Judge Emily C. Hewitt largely avoided the immense
political, agricultural and environmental consequences. Instead, Hewitt
reasoned that Westlands’ lawsuit, filed last February, failed for a combination
of technical legal reasons, including her court’s limited jurisdiction and the
expiration of a six-year statute of limitation.
Modesto,
Turlock water users could be in for rate increase [Modesto Bee]
A
state push to help Tuolumne River fish means bad news for farmers and Modesto
water customers, irrigation leaders heard in a somber update Tuesday. Water and
power rates eventually would rise for customers of the Modesto and Turlock
irrigation districts because the agencies would get less water, an attorney
told the MID board. The proposal also would affect a water treatment plant
supplying tap water to Modesto and some nearby communities, although wells also
contribute to the city's water network. "This is another example of where
the city and farmers should be aligned rather than allowing (the state) to
divide and conquer us," MID board Chairman Nick Blom said.
Effectiveness
of automated water delivery gates in question [Imperial Valley Press]
As
the Imperial Irrigation District moves forward with an ambitious multi-faceted
water conservation program that, in part, calls for the installation of
automated gates and electronic measuring devices, the effectiveness of the
automated gates is in question. “It’s been brought to my attention numerous
times … from farming concerns to the people that have to make them work, and
all I’m hearing is they don’t work,” Director Bruce Kuhn said at Tuesday’s
Board of Directors meeting. The issue, he said, is the gates don’t work as
designed, nor do they accommodate the variable environmental conditions that
the district’s water infrastructure deals with, like the build-up of silt,
which can interfere with the operation of the gates.
Lettuce
prices jump due to cold snap [Orange County Register]
Though
it's warming up in Southern California, consumers are feeling the chill of this
winter's cold spell. Most of the food industry feared damage to California's
citrus crop. But the real harm is hitting produce grown in Southern California
and parts of Arizona – a major source for winter greens across the U.S. Retail
and wholesale prices for everything from iceberg lettuce to asparagus are
soaring because of shortages and crop damage. Warning signs have gone up in
some supermarkets. Price hikes are also hurting restaurants, where some
vegetables have more than doubled in cost.
S.J.
farmers sought for ethanol project [Stockton Record]
A
seed producer is recruiting area farmers to produce sorghum, a grain crop also
known as milo, for use in ethanol production, including at the Pacific Ethanol
Inc. plant in Stockton. Chromatin Inc. will host a meeting Feb. 5 in Modesto,
hoping to convince growers to plant thousands of acres of grain sorghum this
spring to supply Aemetis in Keyes and Calgren in Pixley, as well as Pacific
Ethanol. "We're shooting to get 30,000 acres this summer to support the
three ethanol plants," said John Fulcher, director of business
development, speaking Tuesday from Chromatin offices in Chicago.
Grant
will assist student farmers [Napa Valley Register]
A
teacher at Napa Valley Language Academy plans to give her students a memorable
lesson about agriculture. Garden and science teacher Michelle Risso recently
received a $500 grant, which will help students plant several different
vegetables and fruits in the school garden this spring. In the fall, the
school’s second graders will sell their harvest at the local farmers market at
the Oxbow. Risso is one of 25 educators across the state who were awarded
“Literacy for Life” grants from the California Foundation for Agriculture in
the Classroom.
Ag
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