Dry
winter could lead to a cruel summer for Valley growers [Fresno Bee]
A
dry winter forced farmers in the Westlands Water District to run their wells
far more last summer than they usually would. The underground water table
dropped a staggering 48 feet. After another dry winter in California, Westlands
farmers this summer will pump even more water, probably enough to fill 80% of
Millerton Lake. Even so, many thousands of farmland acres will be left to grow
tumbleweeds, and some crops already planted will wither. There won't be enough
water to go around.
Budget
cuts won't reduce food safety inspections [USA Today]
The
Food and Drug Administration will not reduce food inspections because of budget
cuts, despite warning earlier that it could be forced to eliminate thousands of
inspections by Sept. 30. "Our goal is to absorb the cuts without a risk to
public health. We are working to manage the budget reductions through other
mechanisms," FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said.…The numbers shifted so
drastically because FDA reconfigured its budget to avoid cutting inspections,
focusing instead on decreasing travel and training, said Michael Taylor, the
FDA's deputy commissioner for foods. Just figuring out where the agency stood
took time, he said. "These sound like simple questions, but in the budget
world of the federal government they're not." The FDA was also helped by
an infusion of $40 million to fund the Food Safety Modernization Act, the 2011
act hailed as the most comprehensive food-safety law in generations. Food safety
advocates fear that sequestration will delay implementation of the law.
Could
immigration bill set off another backlash? [Associated Press]
As
a Senate committee prepares to begin voting this week on far-reaching
immigration legislation, advocates are watching warily to see whether
relatively tame opposition balloons into the kind of fierce resistance that
killed Congress' last attempt to overhaul the system. Last time around, in
2007, angry calls overwhelmed the Senate switchboard and lawmakers endured
raging town hall meetings and threats from incensed constituents. The
legislation ultimately collapsed on the Senate floor. Supporters of the
immigration bill brought forward last month by a group of four Republican and
four Democratic senators have been cautiously optimistic about their prospects
because of factors including public support for giving citizenship to
immigrants, a large and diverse coalition in support of the bill, and a growing
sentiment among Republican leaders that immigration must be dealt with if they
are to regain the backing of Hispanic voters.
Farm
Beat: 'Plumped' poultry fight advances [Modesto Bee]
The
battle over "plumped" poultry — fresh chicken and turkey injected
with saltwater and other substances — has moved to the state Capitol. The
California Poultry Federation, based in Modesto, is backing a bill that would
forbid these products in public schools and state-owned buildings. The bill is
a strike at out-of-state producers that make substantial use of plumping. Some
California poultry has added salt and other ingredients in marinades, but the
federation points out that they are not plumped.
Farm
Bureau honors families that have farmed for 100 years [Napa Valley Register]
In
the course of a century and more, the vast majority of Napa County’s pioneer
farming families have moved on, selling off their land for more urban
lifestyles. But a few families have held tightly to the soil. To celebrate its
own centennial, the Napa County Farm Bureau last week honored three families
whose ties to farming have endured through the generations. Through the stories
told by descendants of the Tofanelli, Page and Rodgers families, a 60-person
audience was transported far beyond the county’s tourist- and vineyard-adorned
present, and into the lives of those who came from Portugal and Italy and
Switzerland to raise grain, cattle and fruit in the Napa Valley from the late
19th century onward.
Commentary: California farmers
must hang together in the water wars [Modesto Bee]
"We
must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately," said
Benjamin Franklin at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. His words
of wisdom are also applicable to farmers in modern-day California. Farmers have
been mostly divided in this state when it comes to water. Many farmers are
focused on survival — securing water for their own farming needs. It's almost
as if they take delight when other farmers can no longer grow their crops.
Perhaps they believe that the loss of irrigation for others will benefit them,
by thinning production and increasing commodity prices. This dog-eat-dog
attitude is often expressed: Farmers should never have planted permanent crops
south of the delta without having water they could count on. Some others, with
even bigger craniums, say that water should only be used for high-value crops
like trees and vines (i.e. permanent crops), not for growing alfalfa or other
field crops. I suppose they miss the inconsistencies, and that flushing
freshwater out to sea for the welfare of fish is not wasting precious water,
either.
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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