Crowds
flock to Tulare for World Ag Expo [Fresno Bee]
A
robust crowd, good weather and an improved farm economy helped kick off the
46th annual World Ag Expo at the International Agri-Center in Tulare on
Tuesday….Visitors at this year's expo were interested in everything from
massive tractors to automated payroll systems. A robust agriculture economy has
given some farmers money to spend, especially nut-crop growers, grape growers
and some row-crop farmers from the Midwest. Devin Stout, owner of the Visalia-based
Stout Built, has seen a 20% to 30% increase in business in 2012 over the
previous year for his trellis system for vineyards. The system allows for
easier management of the grape vines and improved production. "As grape
prices go up we are seeing a lot more interest in farmers over new systems for
growing grapes," Stout said. "And it isn't just from California
farmers. We have interest all the way from Peru."
Op-Ed: Tricia Stever
Blattler: What does WAE mean locally, regionally and globally for our hungry
planet? [Visalia Times-Delta]
…Locally,
we all know the show involves a lot of events, activities, busy and long days
at the show grounds, traffic jams and crowds at our local restaurants and
hotels. But besides those minor inconveniences, the show is really a semblance
of pride that all of Tulare County’s residents can appreciate and be a part of.
We should be ready to open our community to all those weary travelers coming in
from distances both far and near and show off the amazing small-town pride of
Tulare and our surrounding communities….Statistics released a few years back
provide a staggering look at the impact of the show on the local economy, with
a more than $3 billion boost in the region economically, the more than 100,000
attendees and the 1,800-plus exhibitors that travel to Tulare over that
three-day period….So, as you go about your business this week, whether it
includes a visit to the World Ag Expo or not, I hope you will pause for a
moment to think about the magnitude of the show, the economic benefits it
brings to the region, and the value it provides to helping agriculture do
business here in the San Joaquin Valley and around the world.
Coalition:
Calif water cuts hurts agriculture [Associated Press]
Water
cuts in California are taking a big toll on the state's agriculture industry
according to one farm group. According to the California Farm Water Coalition,
the state has lost more than 700-thousand acre-feet of water during the past
two months. That loss is sufficient to provide annual food supply for almost
730-thousand people. That's also enough to sustain nearly 13-thousand farm jobs
and is expected to translate into the loss of nearly 900-hundred thousand
dollars in crop production. Coalition officials say the cuts are due to federal
regulations that went into effect last December -- redirecting water used by
farmers to new efforts to protect the state's fish.
EU,
US to push for trans-Atlantic trade deal [Associated Press]
The
European Union and the United States announced Wednesday that they have agreed
to pursue talks aimed at achieving an overarching trans-Atlantic free trade
deal. The 27-country EU said such an agreement, first announced in Tuesday's
State of the Union address by President Barack Obama, would be the biggest
bilateral trade deal ever negotiated. Any agreement could boost the EU's
economic output by 0.5 percent and the U.S.'s by 0.7 percent, according to some
estimates. That would be a highly desirable outcome when the EU and the U.S.
are both struggling with slow growth, high unemployment and high levels of
debt….Trade between the U.S. and the EU is already huge, reaching (EURO)2
billion ($2.69 billion) a day, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said….De Gucht
said that initial talks should start by summer. The negotiations will cover a
huge array of commercial and agricultural areas. Officials hope to complete
them within two years….U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Wednesday that
the U.S. plans to push the EU to relax its ban on genetically-modified crops.
Executive
gets 6 years in tomato price-fixing scam [Associated Press]
Frederick
Scott Salyer has been described as one of the most influential men in
California's agriculture industry, but on Tuesday he learned that he'll soon
become just another inmate in the federal prison system. Salyer, who built a
small canning company into one of the biggest tomato processors in California,
was sentenced to six years in prison for engaging in a price-fixing scam that
authorities said involved bribing purchasing managers at food giants including
Kraft Foods Inc. and Frito-Lay. "I hope this case sends a message to the
people in the agriculture industry that it's critically important they keep
fraud out of the industry," said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagoner after the
sentencing. "Obviously this is a tremendous fall from power. He was one of
the richest and most influential people in agriculture."
…The
charges against Salyer carried maximum sentences of 20 and 10 years,
respectively, but the terms were reduced as part of a plea agreement. He also
was sentenced to three years of probation.
2
charged in chicken starvation at Stanislaus egg farm [Modesto Bee]
Prosecutors
have filed criminal charges against two people associated with a Stanislaus
County egg farm, where authorities said they found an estimated 50,000 hens
without feed a year ago. More than 40,000 hens died. Andy Yi Keunh Cheung and
Lien Tuong Diep have been charged with one felony count of animal cruelty each.
Cheung is the owner of A&L Poultry on South Carpenter Road about a half-mile
south of Fulkerth Road, west of Turlock.…A&L Poultry had been in the
process of shutting down its egg production operations. Carlton-Magaña said an
attempt to hand over the hens and avoid the usual business practice of
euthanizing the hens resulted in an unacceptable situation that the egg farm
did not intend and profoundly regrets. The defense attorney said the evidence
will show that an animal rights activist had made arrangements with A&L
Poultry to pick up hens that were intended to be euthanized. But the activist
didn't pick up the hens, she said.
Ag
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