Accord
reached on farmworkers for immigration bill [Los Angeles Times]
Agreement
was reached late Friday between farm labor unions and growers on one of the
last major components of a sweeping immigration bill being drafted in the
Senate — a deal that would set the terms of wages, visas and working conditions
for migrant agriculture workers. The accord, struck after weeks of touch-and-go
talks between representatives of industry leaders and workers and brokered by
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), would establish a new "blue card"
for migrant workers already in this country without legal permission, and allow
up to 336,000 visas for farmworkers. The three-part package is hugely important
for California's agriculture industry. It will be folded into a comprehensive
immigration overhaul being written by a bipartisan group of eight senators, who
are aiming to unveil the far-reaching legislation as soon as Tuesday.
Lawmakers
ready to unveil immigration deal [Associated Press]
A
bipartisan group of senators is almost ready to share with colleagues and
voters an immigration overhaul crafted over several months. The so-called Gang
of Eight is finishing up the final details and is planning to unveil the
proposed legislation on Tuesday. Even before the measure gets its first public
airing, its authors were defending the program that would provide a pathway to
citizenship for the 11 million individuals in this country who came illegally
or overstayed their visit. "We're not awarding anybody anything. All we're
doing is giving people the opportunity to eventually earn access to our new,
improved and modernized legal immigration system," said Sen. Marco Rubio,
a Florida Republican who has been among the lawmakers at work on the overhaul.
Federal
scientists say revised Delta plan is improved [Stockton Record]
Federal
scientists reported "significant improvement" this week in the latest
slimmed-down version of Gov. Jerry Brown's twin tunnels plan but also warned
that the plan could still harm some of the same fish species it is supposed to
protect. The scientists' comments demonstrate that despite efforts to move the
Bay Delta Conservation Plan forward at a rapid clip, a great deal of work
remains to be done. After all, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National
Marine Fisheries Service - along with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife
- must eventually sign off on the tunnels if they are to be built at all.
Commentary: Storing water is an
old concept that takes on new importance [Contra Costa Times]
Storing
water has always been critical in California. Today the strategies are changing
to meet a new generation of challenges. As our state moves forward with
long-term plans to modernize our aging water system, expanding our
water-storage capabilities is a central part of the equation. In our
grandparents' era, water storage projects were a means to increase supply.
Today they are more about building operational flexibility to meet 21st-century
needs. Under a new water policy paradigm formalized by the Legislature in 2009,
our system of canals, reservoirs and conveyance facilities must be managed for
the dual goals of a healthy ecosystem and a reliable water supply. We cannot
meet that mandate without more places to "park" water -- both above
and below the Delta -- for relatively short periods of time.
Fresno
County shields dairy industry from high inspection fees [Fresno Bee]
Fresno
County leaders lent a hand to the struggling dairy industry last week, agreeing
to help cover the rising cost of local milk inspections. Higher inspection
costs, driven in part by a new state surcharge for dairy oversight, are
prompting some counties to raise inspection fees for milk producers to more
closely reflect expenses. Fresno County health officials had requested the
Board of Supervisors boost inspection fees by nearly 50%. But Fresno County
supervisors settled on an 18% fee hike at Tuesday's board meeting, deciding it
was worth kicking in county funds to prevent any more harm to dairy farmers.
Keeping
the farm in the family [San Francisco Chronicle]
Nicole
Montna Van Vleck has defied the odds. According to national statistics, her
family's rice farm near Yuba City is among a small percentage of farms to be
passed down and run by the third generation.…They've bought the ancestral land,
Montna Farms, from their parents. Now, they're doing everything they can to
ensure that their six children carry on the legacy. And even if they don't, Van
Vleck and her sister have legally safeguarded the land, so that it can never be
used for anything other than agriculture. It's a fairly uncommon move, but
experts say a necessary one to save the family farm. Due to poor estate
planning, internal feuds and rising land values, fewer and fewer later
generations are holding on to their family farms. Purdue University estimates
that farm children have less than a 10 percent chance of returning to a family
operation. Since 85 percent of the nation's food is produced by family farms,
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the country has reason to be
concerned.
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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