River
flows not only way to aid salmon, state says [Modesto Bee]
State
water officials said Wednesday that their plan to aid salmon could involve more
than simply boosting river flows at the expense of farmers. They said streambed
improvements and other options could be part of the effort to build back salmon
numbers on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers. "We are actively
looking at nonflow measures that can be taken," said Dorene D'Adamo of
Turlock, who was appointed in March to the State Water Resources Control Board.
Airborne
laboratory being used to measure California's snowpack [Los Angeles Times]
Teams
will fan out across the Sierra Nevada on Thursday to perform their final snow
survey of the season, a closely watched rite of spring that helps determine how
much water will flow to farms and cities in coming months. But 18,000 feet
above the Sierra slopes, an airborne experiment is underway that could
revolutionize that ritual. Starting in early April, researchers have made
weekly flights over the upper Tuolumne River basin, taking sophisticated
instrument readings of the snow depth and reflected sunlight. The information,
coupled with data from the ground measurements, promises to paint the most
comprehensive snowpack picture that water managers have ever had.
Fire
season starts early in California [San Francisco Chronicle]
Snow
that would normally be lingering in the Sierra is virtually gone and fire is
already beginning to scorch the bone-dry hills of California, where the big
storms of December are a distant memory. Wildfires, fed by hot weather and
strong winds, burned 200 acres in Sonoma and Napa counties Wednesday as if in
defiance of snow surveyors who are preparing for this week's final survey of
the Sierra snowpack. Fire officials are concerned that the early conflagrations
might be a bad omen, a logical concern given the remarkable scarcity of wet
weather this year.
Farr
calls on ag groups to lobby GOP [Salinas Californian]
U.S.
Rep. Sam Farr on Wednesday urged the agriculture community to lobby House
Republicans to support the comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by
a bipartisan group of senators — the so-called “Gang of Eight.” Speaking at a
townhall meeting sponsored by UnitedAg at the National Steinbeck Center in
Salinas, the Carmel Democrat at times expressed frustration at the unwillingness
in the House to compromise on immigration reform, something all in the Salinas
Valley agriculture community are calling for to ensure a stable labor force.
House Republicans, Farr said, are focused only on sealing the border, not on
providing a common-sense reform package that would assure a consistent,
reliable agricultural workforce. “The border with Mexico is 2,300 miles long —
that’s the distance from Monterey to Washington, D.C., and most of it is like
the Mojave Desert,” Farr said. “We have more satellite imagery of the border
than we do of Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Strange
bedfellows join fight to keep California oyster farm in operation [PBS]
The
Drakes Bay Oyster Company at Point Reyes National Seashore north of San
Francisco may be producing its last crop. When its long-term lease expired last
year, the Department of the Interior said the lease was terminated, and ordered
the family-owned company to stop planting and harvesting oysters, as the farm
has done since the 1930s. And that has provoked a battle with an unlikely cast
of characters. The repercussions extend far beyond this spectacular Pacific
Coast enclave, to the restaurants of the Bay Area and all the way to
Washington, D.C., where politicians of both parties are joining in the fight.
Op-Ed: Fate of valley
dairy farmers in balance [Modesto Bee]
May
is shaping up to be a crucial month for California's dairy farmers. After
numerous delays, committees on both sides of Capitol Hill are planning to
reconsider a multiyear farm bill that could determine if dairy farmers in our
area survive or fail.…Their best chance for survival is a series of reforms to
today's dysfunctional federal dairy program — reforms drafted by the farmers themselves
and known as the Dairy Security Act. DSA reorients government dairy programs
from an emphasis on price to a focus on maintaining adequate margins, the
crucial gap between what farmers receive for their milk and what it costs them
to produce it.
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.
Some story links may require site registration. To be removed
from this mailing list, reply to this message and please provide your
name and e-mail address.
No comments:
Post a Comment