Delta
water diversions reduced to protect smelt [Sacramento Bee]
Federal
wildlife officials Friday ordered substantial cuts in water diversions from the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect a rare fish. The order from the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service came after dead Delta smelt have piled up at state
and federal water diversion pumps since mid-December. The native species is
protected by the Endangered Species Act and considered a bellwether for the
health of the estuary.…Friday's order is not likely to result in immediate
water shortages. But it does mean the agencies will have less water to put into
storage for use in the summer.
Bovine
TB discovered in Tulare County dairy herd [Fresno Bee]
Bovine
tuberculosis, a contagious lung disease in cattle, as been found in a dairy
herd in Tulare County, state and federal animal health officials said Friday.
Officials are working closely with the dairy farmer and his veterinarian to
eradicate the debilitating disease and prevent it from spreading. The diagnosis
of TB was made after a suspicious mass was detected in a cow during routine
slaughter inspection. California's last known case of TB was in a San
Bernardino County dairy herd in 2011.
U.S.
fights Indonesia beef ban after Hanford mad cow case [Fresno Bee]
When
authorities discovered a case of mad-cow disease in Hanford last year,
Indonesia angered U.S. cattle producers by becoming the first nation to ban
beef from the United States. The fallout was immediate, and U.S. beef sales to
Indonesia plummeted to nearly nothing. Much to the satisfaction of cattle
producers in states such as California and Texas, the U.S. government has
decided to fight back: In the latest case to go before the World Trade
Organization, the Obama administration is pressing Indonesia to open its
markets and its estimated 240 million consumers to more American exports or
face consequences.
Ag
critical to success of Butte countywide conservation plan, and ag's unsure
[Chico Enterprise-Record]
Implementation
of the Butte Regional Conservation Plan would require the purchase of
conservation easements on as much as 125,000 acres of Butte County farm and
ranch land to offset the impacts of growth planned here. When a farmer sells an
easement, he agrees to keep the land in agriculture "into perpetuity"
in exchange for a cash payment. At January's public workshop in Chico, Paul
Cylinder of SAIC — the prime consultant on the plan — stressed that a main goal
of the plan was to preserve the "working landscape" and allow farmers
to keep farming.
Grape
harvest a record [Stockton Record]
Grape
growers and wine industry officials in San Joaquin County, where winegrapes are
the No. 2 most valuable farm commodity after milk, were heartened Friday to
learn of a record fall harvest and by reports of record prices paid by
wineries. California farm officials said the 2012 grape crush - fruit harvested
for wine, juice, brandy and other products - hit a record of nearly 4.4 million
tons. That was a jump of 13 percent from the nearly 3.9 million tons in 2011
and 1 percent more than the previous record crush of 4.3 million tons in 2005.
Also, statewide the average price paid for crushed grapes hit a record high of
more than $734, up 24 percent from 2011. On average, red winegrapes went for
$879 a ton, up 24 percent from 2011, and prices increased 15 percent for white
winegrapes to nearly $624 a ton, the U.S. National Agricultural Statistics
Service reported in cooperation with the California Department of Food and
Agriculture.
Santa
Paula farmer Chris Garmon receives spot in state leadership class [Ventura
County Star]
Chris
Garmon, a third-generation farmer from Santa Paula, is among 10 California
residents chosen for the 2013 Leadership Farm Bureau class, a yearlong training
program that supports farmers and ranchers.…“This class will really help me
expand on statewide issues and broadening my visions of statewide agriculture
issues,” Garmon said. “I also am looking to improve on leadership roles such as
public speaking, leading a group of individuals who are my new peers.” Garmon
is an outstanding young leader with an extensive background serving his
community, the local agriculture industry and the Farm Bureau through its Young
Farmers and Ranchers program, said Danielle Oliver, director of leadership
development for the federation.
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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