Growers
say immigration bill ensures a workforce [Sacramento Bee]
…Farmers
across the country warn that shoppers will find even more imported food on
their store shelves if Congress fails to pass immigration legislation that
would guarantee them enough workers to milk their cows and harvest their fruits
and vegetables….Addressing the agriculture labor shortages has been one of the
less controversial issues in the immigration debate taking place on Capitol
Hill. Many Republicans and Democrats agree that the agriculture industry is
suffering because of a broken immigration system. But resolving the matter for
America's farmers has been complicated because of opposition from those on the
far ends of the debate. Many of those on the right oppose providing any legal
path for those in the country illegally, and many of those on the left argue
that the agriculture component must be addressed only as part of a
comprehensive package.
Senate
to debate crop insurance in farm bill [Associated Press]
The
Senate is debating cuts to the federally subsidized crop insurance program as
it considers a massive farm bill this week. The Obama administration said Monday
it wants to see more cuts to crop insurance and farm subsidies in the
legislation, which would cost almost $100 billion a year over five years and
would set policy for farm programs and food aid. The bill would cut about $2.4
billion annually from overall farm spending. But it would still expand
federally subsidized crop insurance and raise some subsidies for rice and
peanut farmers. The White House did not specify how large a cut it was seeking.
Gov.
Brown orders streamlining of water transfers [Associated Press]
Gov.
Jerry Brown has issued an executive order he says will help California's
agriculture industry by streamlining the approval process for water transfers
in the state. The order, issued on Monday, directs state water officials to
expedite the review and processing of voluntary transfers of water and water
rights. The order comes with near record-low precipitation in California this
year.
IID
water payback obligations pouring in [Imperial Valley Press]
The
amount of water that the Imperial Irrigation District is expected to pay back
to the Colorado River keeps rising. In addition to nearly 180,000 acre-feet of
water that the IID ordered in excess over the last two years and a projected
overrun for 2013 estimated at 13,000 acre-feet of water, the IID is also
expected to repay nearly 47,000 acre-feet of water it put in the Salton Sea for
environmental mitigation in 2010. “The 46,546 acre-foot depletion of the
Colorado River system requires prompt responsive action to address this
situation,” said Bureau of Reclamation Regional Director Terrance J. Fulp to
IID General Manager Kevin Kelley in a strongly-worded letter. “A depletion of this
magnitude, without prompt responsive action, has the potential to tip the
system into shortage earlier than might otherwise occur, with IID at the focal
point of such a destabilizing event,” Fulp wrote.
U.S.
pesticide makers seek answers as bee losses sting agriculture [Reuters]
Monsanto
Co is hosting a "Bee Summit." Bayer AG is breaking ground on a
"Bee Care Center." And Sygenta AG is funding grants for research into
the accelerating demise of honeybees in the United States, where the insects
pollinate fruits and vegetables that make up roughly a quarter of the American
diet. The agrichemical companies are taking these initiatives at a time when
their best-selling pesticides are under fire from environmental and food
activists who say the chemicals are killing off millions of bees. The companies
say their pesticides are not the problem, but critics say science shows the
opposite. Die-offs of bee populations have accelerated over the last few years
to a rate the U.S. government calls unsustainable. Honeybees pollinate plants
that produce roughly 25 percent of the foods Americans consume, including
apples, almonds, watermelons and beans, according to government reports.
Dairy
farmers renew price hike push [Modesto Bee]
Dairy
farmers Monday urged the state yet again to boost minimum prices they get from
processors. Western United Dairymen, based in Modesto, and allied groups asked
the California Department of Food and Agriculture to increase the price for
milk that is made into cheese. They said dairy farmers continue to go out of
business because of a mismatch between milk prices and production costs,
especially that of feed corn.
Ag
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