Valley
ag leaders, Swearengin upbeat on Obama immigration plan [Fresno Bee]
Fresno
Mayor Ashley Swearengin and Valley agricultural leaders say they are optimistic
that immigration reform finally could happen after hearing President Barack
Obama outline his plan for fixing the nation's broken immigration
system….Although Obama did not specifically mention agriculture, Swearengin
said she is hopeful the president and Congress will look at the industry's need
for labor….Last spring, California farmers were hit with a worker shortage as
tighter border enforcement, increased smuggling costs for immigrants and
drug-related violence contributed to fewer people coming to the U.S. from
Mexico. "We learned that not having a workable immigration program for agricultural
employees affects farmers throughout the state and across an array of crops,
especially fruits and vegetables," said Paul Wenger, California Farm
Bureau Federation president. Farmers say that immigration reform must provide
the industry with a stable supply of labor.
Editorial: Immigration reform,
now [Los Angeles Times]
After
years of debate, division and stalemate, a shift in political calculations has
resuscitated the possibility of reforming the nation's immigration system. On
Monday, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled its proposal. On Tuesday,
President Obama followed with his suggestions. These developments suggest that
lawmakers may finally have the political courage, and the necessary incentives,
to reach an agreement that has eluded leaders of both parties for more than a
decade….As the debate moves from rhetoric to legislation, all parties should be
guided by broad principles of humanity and common sense. Among them:…Immigrants
who want to work in this country and then return home should have the
opportunity to do so. This is particularly an issue in agriculture, where many
growers rely on undocumented immigrants because they cannot recruit Americans
to do the work. One solution would be to allow undocumented workers who are
already harvesting crops to legalize their status as long as they have worked
at least six months in the U.S. during the last five years. They would be
required to undergo a background check, pay a fine and work in the fields for
at least three more years. This is a rare moment. Labor Democrats once flinched
at proposals that might threaten American jobs, but Latinos have become a
formidable force in the Democratic coalition. Republicans once favored harsh
measures toward illegal immigrants, but they learned the political cost of that
stand in the most recent election. For once, all sides recognize that political
advantage, economic opportunity and human decency demand comprehensive
immigration reform.
IRS
extends tax deadline for farmers, fishermen [Wall Street Journal]
The
Internal Revenue Service announced an extension in the filing deadline for many
people who qualify as farmers or fishermen—yet another effect of the late
approval of the "fiscal cliff" deal. Many of these taxpayers
typically file by March 1, under special rules that allow them to avoid making
quarterly tax payments during the year. But the delayed fiscal-cliff deal—it
was signed into law on Jan. 2—has affected the IRS's ability to process some of
the forms farmers and fishermen must use, particularly those for depreciation.
So the IRS said Tuesday it will waive penalties for the 2012 tax year for these
taxpayers who miss the March 1 deadline, as long as they file their returns and
pay the tax due by April 15. The IRS couldn't immediately estimate how many
households would be affected. About 2 million households file returns with farm
income, according to IRS data. Not all of them would be hit by the delay,
however.
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Supervisors
OK ordinance regulating habitat projects [Davis Enterprise]
Yolo
County supervisors have long expressed frustration that local efforts to
preserve farmland and open space are undermined by outside agencies and
developers who seek to convert portions of that land to habitat projects.
Whether it’s state and federal efforts at flood control or delta conservation
or an ongoing trend by out-of-county developers to create habitat easements in
Yolo County to mitigate the impacts of development elsewhere, supervisors for
several years now have expressed their concern over a lack of county say in the
matter. On Tuesday, the current board took steps toward having more say when it
passed an ordinance giving the county limited regulatory control over habitat
mitigation projects undertaken in Yolo County. While projects by the state or
federal government likely will remain beyond the county’s regulatory reach,
county staff said, the ordinance will provide oversight for “out-of-county”
mitigation projects.
Where’s
the beef? Not in Indonesia, and U.S. cattle producers are none too happy
[McClatchy Tribune News Service]
When
authorities discovered a case of mad-cow disease in California 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. “There’s no scientific basis for turning away U.S. beef,”
said John Harris, owner of Harris Ranch Beef Co., a family-run operation in
California’s Fresno County since the 1930s. Kevin Kester, a fifth-generation
rancher from Parkfield, Calif., called Indonesia’s action a “knee-jerk
political action.”
January
3rd driest in S.F. history [San Francisco Chronicle]
This
month is turning out to be the third driest January in San Francisco history
and, with no rain forecast in California's foreseeable future, state water
keepers are crossing their fingers for a few more pounding storms. The water
content of the snow in the Sierra is 94 percent of normal, a somewhat
disturbing turnaround considering the way higher than average snow levels a
month ago when the state was immersed in wet, freezing bliss….California water
managers maintained their composure Tuesday despite the dwindling snowpack,
mainly because the state's major reservoirs are still pretty full. Lake
Oroville, the primary storage reservoir for the State Water Project, is at 75
percent of capacity, which is 113 percent of normal for this time, the same as
last month. Shasta Lake, which is part of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's
Central Valley Project and is the largest reservoir in the state, is at 76
percent of capacity, or 111 percent of normal.
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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