Friday, March 15, 2013

Ag Today Tuesday, February 26, 2013




Dry spell, delta fish protection limit water to west-side farmers [Fresno Bee]
Faced with growing dry spell and water pumping cuts to protect fish, west San Joaquin Valley farmers can expect only a quarter of their water deliveries, federal authorities said Monday. West-side water leaders say if the federal allocation does not increase, 200,000 acres will not be in production, and the region will take a $1.5 billion hit. They acknowledged the dry spell but blame the problem on the pumping cutbacks to protect delta smelt at the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Marin County oyster farm wins temporary reprieve [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
Drakes Bay Oyster Co. won a temporary reprieve Monday, when a federal appeals court ruled it could stay in business while it challenges a government shutdown order. The terse, two-page decision effectively rescinds Thursday's deadline for the company to quit harvesting and selling oysters from Drakes Estero in the Point Reyes National Seashore. It also prolongs a contentious issue that has pitted the National Park Service and wilderness advocates against oyster farm owner Kevin Lunny and his supporters, with the future of one of California's leading oyster producers at stake.

The GOP's immigration dilemma [Wall Street Journal]
Sen. Lindsey Graham had just explained how his immigration overhaul plan would secure the border and crack down on employers who hire illegal residents. But when he asked a luncheon of the Cherokee County Republican Party what should happen to the millions already in the U.S., one woman yelled back, "Send them home!" It is the kind of response that Mr. Graham, an architect of a bipartisan plan that would provide a path to legal status for undocumented workers, has come to expect in his home state. It is also the kind of reception that neatly encapsulates the dilemma the Republican Party faces as it shapes its future: Make the GOP more welcoming to the nation's swelling—and decisively Democratic—Hispanic population and risk the ire of a chunk of its most fervent supporters; don't and watch Democrats keep winning elections on the strength of Latino votes.
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Mediterranean diet's benefits confirmed [San Francisco Chronicle]
The Mediterranean diet has long been touted as healthy. Now a study released Monday of the effects of a diet rich in olive oil, nuts, vegetables, fruits and fish confirms that. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that the diet can reduce the risk of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases by 30 percent…."This study backs up what we thought we knew with science, and the results were pretty dramatic," said Dr. Rita Redberg, a UCSF cardiologist specializing in heart disease in women. "If this were a pill, people would be clamoring for it."…The study noted that some authors had financial ties to food, wine and other industry groups, and foods were supplied by olive oil and nut producers in Spain, as well as the California Walnut Commission. Dennis Balint, chief executive officer of the California Walnut Commission, said walnut growers represented by his group provided a daily half-ounce of walnuts to the group that supplemented the Mediterranean diet with nuts.

Let's make a deal: Local growers, buyers get down to business in Redding [Redding Record Searchlight]
Chicken farmer Tyler Dawley of Big Bluff Ranch in Red Bluff spoke for many in summing up Ag Speed Dating. “It’s pretty fun to hang out with people who think you do great things,” Dawley said.…Nearly 40 producers and buyers showed up for the affair, organized by the Butte County Economic Development Corp., Upstate California and Superior California Economic Development. Participants came north from Siskiyou County and south from Orland. Producers like Dawley had five minutes to make their pitch to buyers who were sitting at tables. When the cowbell rang, it was off to the next potential sale.

Editorial: Residents must question Cal Fire [Visalia Times-Delta]
Cal Fire is now in its second year collecting up to $150 per parcel from homeowners in the State Responsibility Area to cover firefighting costs. Cal Fire calls it a fee, but property owners insist it’s a tax. And they don’t like it. The issue may be settled in a lawsuit filed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, but homeowners are right to question Cal Fire’s motives. There’s a whole lot wrong with this situation that simply begs answers.

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