Ag Today Monday, June 24, 2013

Livestock antibiotic use rampant despite warnings [San Francisco Chronicle]

In March, the head of the Centers for Disease Control issued an alarm, echoed by virtually every health authority in the world, that antibiotic-resistant bacteria threaten to return humans to the days when ordinary infections routinely killed and maimed. Yet the United States continues to use at least 70 percent of its antibiotics on livestock, to shave pennies per pound from the price of pork chops or chicken wings that are consumed by millions of Americans every day. Millions of pounds of antibiotics are routinely administered at low doses to large numbers of animals living in crowded conditions, not because they are sick, but to speed their growth and prevent possible infections, creating ideal conditions for bacteria to become resistant. At the same time, drug-resistant infections acquired in hospitals kill 70,000 people a year. The problem is so dire that the Obama administration is paying drug companies to develop new antibiotics, and some groups want to test them directly on sick people to speed approval.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/Livestock-antibiotic-use-rampant-despite-warnings-4617902.php

Farm bill’s fate in House bodes ill for immigration reform [New York Times]

The story of the 113th Congress was on display during a single afternoon this week. On the Senate floor on Thursday, Republicans and Democrats forged a hard-fought path forward on a bill to overhaul the nation’s immigration system. At the same time, the House was voting down the farm bill, historically one of the easiest legislative lifts for Congress. Though both chambers have added more conservative Republican members over the last few election cycles and partisan divides have deepened, the House and Senate are set on disparate legislative trajectories that may well linger for the rest of this Congress and beyond, and may be a dark harbinger for immigration legislation. “If you think this is hard,” said Trey Gowdy, Republican of South Carolina and one of the scores from his party who joined Democrats, for opposite reasons, to bring down the farm bill, “try getting 218 on a path to legal status.” Senate Republicans and Democrats have come to a compromise on various issues this year, even along the margins, passing drama-free measures like a farm bill, and the Violence Against Women Act. They appear to be working in earnest to come together on immigration, with each side seeking significant policy and political goals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/22/us/politics/farm-bill-brings-house-senate-collision-path-in-sharp-focus.html?_r=0

Commentary: Boehner's leadership fails farm bill stress test [Sacramento Bee]

House Speaker John Boehner stopped by the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on Thursday afternoon to pitch a gathering of the National Association of Manufacturers on the Republicans' plans for jobs and growth. "While my colleagues and I don't have a majority here in Washington," the speaker vowed, "we're going to continue to pursue our plan." Or will they? Not an hour after those words were uttered, Boehner's House Republicans dealt him the latest in a series of humiliations. Sixty-two Republicans voted against the farm bill, defeating a major piece of legislation Boehner had made a test of his leadership by pushing for it publicly and voting for it personally – something speakers only do on the most important bills. The dispute this time was over food stamps and agricultural subsidies, but the pattern was the same: House leaders lost Democratic support by tilting the bill to satisfy the Republican base, but a group of conservative purists remained upset that the legislation didn't go far enough.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/23/5515642/boehners-leadership-fails-farm.html

Local farmers worry about finding enough farmworkers [Bakersfield Californian]

As a thousand acres of table grapes approach peak ripeness on his farm near Arvin, grower Rick Deckard says he's more concerned about fruit prices than he is about getting enough farmworkers to do the picking. But that may soon change. Worries are mounting that the Central Valley's agricultural industry is falling ever shorter of the experienced labor it needs to bring its produce to market. Despite wage increases and growing investment in automated harvesting equipment, ag trade groups say a worker shortage threatens farmers' profits. They fear that, over the long term, it will push them toward less labor-intensive crops that, in turn, will raise prices on fruit and vegetables that require experienced field workers….Trade group leaders called on Central Valley congressmen, and specifically House Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, to work out a bipartisan compromise on the bill co-authored and championed by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida. The bill being debated in the U.S. Senate, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, would provide a chance at citizenship for the nation's estimated 11 million immigrants here without authorization since the end of 2011. Specific provisions benefit agricultural workers and children of immigrants. The bill proposes tougher border enforcement, including work on a border fence. It would also tighten workplace hiring rules by expanding use of an electronic employment eligibility system. If signed into law, it would be the nation's largest immigration overhaul in more than a quarter century….The president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, Paul Wenger, said the Rubio bill is not perfect but at least it has support from lawmakers in both parties. "If we don't get this (reform) done by August, we better not even discuss it for six or seven years because it's not going to happen," Wenger said. But even he wondered how much immigration reform will help farmers in the long term. He said in Mexico -- California's traditional source of farmworkers -- the overall population is aging and having smaller families. Even so, he asserted that immigration reform would help alleviate the labor shortage in the near term.

http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/business/x208285582/Local-farmers-worry-about-finding-enough-farmworkers

$84-million removal of a dam on Carmel River set to begin [Los Angeles Times]

More than 90 years ago the San Clemente Dam rose on what John Steinbeck called in a novel "a lovely little river" that "has everything a river should have." These days, that's not so true of the Carmel River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean just south of Carmel. The river is overpumped. Flood plain has been lost to development, and the silted-up San Clemente is vulnerable to collapse in an earthquake, threatening 1,500 downstream structures. But next month, in what officials say is the state's largest-ever dam removal, work will begin on a three-year project to dismantle the 106-foot-tall concrete dam and reroute half a mile of the river. The demolition will open up 25 miles of spawning and rearing habitat for a threatened population of steelhead trout, help replenish sand on Carmel Beach and eliminate a huge headache for the utility that owns the dam.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dam-removal-20130624,0,4731164.story

Officials release Merced area water plan [Fresno Bee]

The region's first integrated water management plan has been released, and the collaborative effort provides a "big picture" perspective on water, officials said. Multiple agencies, including the city of Merced, Merced County and the Merced Irrigation District, joined forces with more than 35 community stakeholders — a Regional Advisory Committee — to create the plan. It took more than a year to draft, but the "Integrated Regional Water Management Plan" covers issues such as water conservation, flood control, water quality, groundwater recharging and climate change….Jean Okuye, Merced County Farm Bureau president, said education is the key to finding solutions to water issues, such as erosion and subsidence. "As president of the Farm Bureau, I'm concerned about the farmers who might be losing their land because of erosion," she said. "What can we do to save that land? By having this plan, we will be able to get grants that will provide the means of education."

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/06/24/3357725/officials-release-merced-area.html

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.

Ag Today Friday, June 21, 2013

Farm bill failure hinged on food stamp fight [Santa Cruz Sentinel]

A fight over food for the needy sank a long-awaited farm bill in the House on Thursday. The five-year, $500 billion bill would have cut $2 billion annually from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.…Democrats who called the cuts draconian voted no along with Republicans who argued for steeper reductions, and the bill failed, 234-195….Farmers have been waiting for the legislation, which a divided House put off last year and instead extended the existing bill through September. Josh Rolph, director of the California Farm Bureau's federal policy division, said state farmers would have benefitted from hundreds of million of dollars targeted at agricultural research…."We are disappointed," Rolph said. "Of course, there were things in it we didn't like, but it looks like we're back to square one. We'll do everything we can to make sure we have a farm bill by Sept. 30, whatever it takes."

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/watsonville/ci_23506579/farm-bill-failure-hinged-food-stamp-fight?IADID=Search-www.santacruzsentinel.com-www.santacruzsentinel.com

Water transfer moves ahead amid opposition [Chico Enterprise-Record]

A transfer of 5,000 acre-feet of water was approved Thursday by the Board of Directors of Glenn-Colusa Irrigation district. The vote came after environmentalists, the Butte County Board of Supervisors and the city of Chico asked the district to reconsider. The surface water will be purchased by San Luis Mendota Water Authority, south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and Glenn-Colusa growers will pump groundwater in an equal amount….Normally water transfers in this area include farmers selling water and not planting rice. However, the spring was historically dry this year; water transfers with land fallowing could not be negotiated before the growing season.

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_23509123/water-transfer-moves-ahead-amid-opposition

Satellites reveal depth of water depletion [San Francisco Chronicle]

Satellites peering down on California's great Central Valley have discovered evidence that the nation's prime food source is fast losing precious reserves of water from the valley's underground aquifers. Loss of water from beneath the surface, combined with increasing shortages of surface irrigation caused by climate change, is quietly adding up to a crisis that threatens one of the state's major industries, scientists say. "We don't recognize the dire water situation we face," said Jay Famiglietti, a UC Irvine hydrologist who has monitored those stored water levels every month since the spacecraft began measuring the sources 11 years ago.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Satellites-reveal-depth-of-water-depletion-4613600.php

Strawberry grower fined, ordered to destroy crop [Salinas Californian]

A Watsonville strawberry farmer was slapped with a $15,000 fine and ordered to till under 10 acres of crop for using an illegal, highly toxic insecticide called methomyl. The crop was valued at $200,000. The insecticide residue was discovered during a routine inspection by the state Department of Pesticide Regulation at a packing house in Norwalk and traced back to V.L. Farms in Watsonville, operated by Lorenzo Lopez, according to a settlement agreement released Thursday by the DPR….The investigation was initiated in May after DPR’s Residue Monitoring Program found illegal residues of methomyl on strawberries in retail outlets. A California Department of Food and Agriculture laboratory detected 1.44 parts per million of methomyl and began tracing the strawberries to their origin.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20130621/BUSINESS/306200041/Strawberry-grower-fined-ordered-destroy-crop?nclick_check=1

U.S. approves a label for meat from animals fed a diet free of gene-modified products [New York Times]

The Agriculture Department has approved a label for meat and liquid egg products that includes a claim about the absence of genetically engineered products. It is the first time that the department, which regulates meat and poultry processing, has approved a non-G.M.O. label claim, which attests that meat certified by the Non-GMO Project came from animals that never ate feed containing genetically engineered ingredients like corn, soy and alfalfa. The U.S.D.A.’s Food Safety Inspection Service “allows companies to demonstrate on their labels that they meet a third-party certifying organization’s standards, provided that the third-party organization and the company can show that the claims are truthful, accurate and not misleading,” Cathy Cochran, a U.S.D.A. spokeswoman, said in a statement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/business/us-approves-a-label-for-meat-from-animals-fed-a-diet-free-of-gene-modified-products.html?_r=0

Marijuana crops in California threaten forests and wildlife [New York Times]

…Hilltops have been leveled to make room for the crop. Bulldozers start landslides on erosion-prone mountainsides. Road and dam construction clogs some streams with dislodged soil. Others are bled dry by diversions. Little water is left for salmon whose populations have been decimated by logging. And local and state jurisdictions’ ability to deal with the problem has been hobbled by, among other things, the drug’s murky legal status.…The environmental damage may not be as extensive as that caused by the 19th-century diking of the Humboldt estuary here, or 20th-century clear-cut logging, but the romantic outlaw drug has become a destructive juggernaut, experts agree.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/us/marijuana-crops-in-california-threaten-forests-and-wildlife.html?pagewanted=all

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.

Ag Today Thursday, June 20, 2013

Senators closing in on border security compromise [Associated Press]

White House-backed immigration legislation gained momentum in the Senate on Thursday as lawmakers closed in on a bipartisan compromise to spend tens of billions of dollars stiffening the bill's border security requirements without delaying legalization for millions living in the country unlawfully.…Under the emerging compromise, the government would grant legal status to immigrants living in the United States illegally at the same time the additional security was being put into place. Green cards, which signify permanent residency status, would be withheld until the security steps were complete. Officials said the plan envisions doubling the size of the Border Patrol with 20,000 new agents, completing 700 miles of new fencing along the border with Mexico and purchasing new surveillance drones to track would-be illegal border crossers. The cost of the additional agents alone was put at $30 billion over a decade.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/06/20/2553764/senators-closing-in-on-border.html

Effort to protect California egg law in House farm bill fails [Los Angeles Times]

Congress to California: Here’s bit of egg on your face. A bipartisan group of lawmakers failed to kill a provision in the farm bill that blocks California from requiring that eggs imported into the state come from hens who have enough room to spread their wings.  The measure in the farm bill now before the House would prohibit one state from imposing conditions on another state’s production of agricultural goods. The prohibition was sought by Rep. Steve King, a Republican from Iowa, the biggest egg-producing state, who contends that California has exceeded its authority and interfered with Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce. A group of lawmakers, led by Rep. Jeff Denham, a Republican from California’s agriculture-producing Central Valley, sought a vote by the full House to remove the prohibition and substitute national standards for hen housing. But the Republican-led House Rules Committee late Tuesday rejected his request on a largely party-line 7-3 vote.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-egg-farm-bill-california-20130619,0,877175.story

Editorial: If House enacts an inhumane farm bill, Obama should veto it [Sacramento Bee]

…The farm bill should provide a food safety net, particularly during economic downturns, so Americans don't go hungry. The Great Recession, not surprisingly, increased the number of families that qualify for food stamps. Food stamp participation and costs will go down as the economy recovers. Senate cuts reflect this; House cuts go too far. House and Senate bills agree on other issues. Both would eliminate direct payments to farmers – traditional farm subsidies – in favor of an expanded crop insurance farm safety net, to minimize the volatility of weather, pests and world prices. The House, however, would boost the subsidized crop insurance program significantly more than the Senate.…The House would do better to scale back on its assault on food stamps by reducing crop insurance subsidies. Then the haggling can begin with the Senate to reconcile the bills and get a new five-year farm bill done so our producers can have some certainty and stability. The delays on a farm bill have dragged on for far too long.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/20/5510295/if-house-enacts-an-inhumane-farm.html

As fires rage, feds cut funding on prevention [Associated Press]

As the West battles one catastrophic wildfire after another, the federal government is spending less and less on its main program for preventing blazes in the first place. A combination of government austerity and the ballooning cost of battling the ruinous fires has taken a bite out of federal efforts to remove the dead trees and flammable underbrush that clog Western forests. The U.S. Forest Service says that next year it expects to treat nearly 1 million fewer acres than it did last year. In real, inflation-adjusted dollars, the government is spending less on the Hazardous Fuels Reduction Program, run jointly by the Forest Service and the Interior Department, than it did in 2002. And President Barack Obama has proposed a 31 percent cut for the fiscal year that begins in the fall.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/19/5509323/as-fires-rage-feds-cut-funding.html

In orange trade, success never tasted so sweet [Wall Street Journal]

In a small shed nestled in a grove here, Kevin Severns dipped a long, thin instrument into a test tube filled with fresh-squeezed orange juice. The general manager of a citrus-growing cooperative smiled after getting a reading of the juice's sugar content: "It's off the chart," said the 52-year-old Mr. Severns. California farmers such Mr. Severns have made a new discovery: Consumers prefer sweeter oranges. The notion, obvious to some fruit connoisseurs, is driving radical changes in the nearly $1.5 billion U.S. market for fresh oranges, as farmers try to reverse years of falling sales and persuade consumers not to switch to other citrus fruit.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323300004578555491594920574.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTTopStories

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World Food Prize goes to 3 biotech scientists [Associated Press]

The World Food Prize Foundation on Wednesday took the bold step of awarding this year's prize to three pioneers of plant biotechnology whose work brought the world genetically modified crops. The private nonprofit foundation, which is in part funded by biotechnology companies, refused to shy away from the controversy surrounding genetically modified crops that organic food advocates say are harmful to people and the environment. "If we were to be deterred by a controversy, that would diminish our prize," said the foundation's president, Kenneth Quinn, a retired U.S. diplomat.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/06/19/2552731/world-food-prize-goes-to-3-biotech.html

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.

Ag Today Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Opinion: Immigration reform failure would hurt California and GOP, official says [Sacramento Bee]

From a Sacramento office where he sits as president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, Paul Wenger is a key figure in the national immigration reform debate. A business-oriented Republican, Wenger is spending his days lobbying ideologues in his own party as immigration reform comes to a head in Congress.…The hope is that farmers would get the workers they need, while the workers would be free from the exploitation endemic to undocumented life. "We're not displacing American workers," Wenger said. "Let's get past this."…But if you support locally grown food, you should support immigration reform because locally grown crops are hand-picked.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/19/5507184/marcos-breton-immigration-reform.html

Budget office view boosts Senate immigration bill [Associated Press]

Supporters of a far-reaching immigration bill in the Senate see fresh momentum from a report by the Congressional Budget Office that says the measure would boost the economy and reduce federal deficits by billions of dollars. Congress' nonpartisan scorekeeping agency said that the immigration bill would decrease federal red ink by $197 billion over a decade and $700 billion in the following 10 years as increased taxes paid to the government offset the cost of benefits for newly legal residents….The CBO assessment Tuesday came as the pace of activity increased at both ends of the Capitol on an issue that President Barack Obama has placed at the top of his domestic agenda.…The bill approved late Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee on a 20-15 party-line vote would make being in the U.S. illegally a federal crime punishable by prison time, instead of a civil offense as it is now.…On Wednesday, the committee was to take up a bill creating a temporary agriculture worker program.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/06/18/2550821/house-committee-takes-up-tough.html

Farm bill is fertile ground for complaints [Fresno Bee]

California dairy processors are still trying to squeeze a better deal from a big farm bill up for House debate this week. They aren't the only ones. The Obama administration is threatening a veto. California liberals complain it cuts nutrition programs too much. The state's conservatives say it's still too generous. Everyone agrees the 1,200-page House bill is a work in progress….Broadly speaking, the Obama administration this week proclaimed that it "strongly opposes" the House farm bill, citing the cuts in supplemental nutrition programs including food stamps and increases in crop insurance subsidies. More narrowly, the bill pits dairy producers, many of whom favor a new voluntary supply management program, against dairy processors, who contend they'll be hurt by artificially curtailed supplies. The supply management provision does not set a production quota, but does tie dairy payments for program participants to certain market conditions….Beyond the high-profile dairy issue and the big-ticket subsidies and nutrition programs, the House bill includes myriad provisions that matter to different sectors of the California farm economy.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/06/18/3348885/farm-bill-is-fertile-ground-for.html

Editorial: Farm bill takes turn for better [Chico Enterprise-Record]

…The new farm bill makes a philosophical shift from subsidizing a few staple crops, including rice, to crop insurance. That provides a safety net for an industry more at the mercy of weather and market forces than any other, while eliminating a kind of spending that just wasn't palatable to the general public anymore….But unless you're really out of touch with how critical ag is, it's hard to argue with crop insurance. Protect the farmers from the variables. Protect the most critical industry in America, because you have to eat, first and foremost. That's why the government is involved. Ensuring a safe and adequate food supply has been a function of government since the beginning. And it's a business that needs some help, because it is unique.

http://www.chicoer.com/editorials/ci_23490655/editorial-farm-bill-takes-turn-better

San Joaquin Valley farmers get bleak report on water supply [Fresno Bee]

Growers jammed into the Westlands Water District field shop Tuesday to hear bad news: Expect a zero percent water allocation next February if winter doesn't start out stormy. A leader with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which sells water to the farmers, described a bleak situation, but stopped short of predicting zero next year. Westlands general manager Tom Birmingham didn't hesitate. "When we look at these dry conditions and low storage in reservoirs later this year, it's difficult to see how the initial allocation could be anything but zero, unless we have a very big December and January," he said….West San Joaquin Valley farmers rely on that first water estimate to plan their crops, set up loans and prepare the ground for planting.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/06/18/3348954/san-joaquin-valley-farmers-get.html

Grand opening draws 300 to Turlock plant [Modesto Bee]

A large crowd turned out Tuesday for the grand opening of the Blue Diamond Growers processing plant, a welcome boost to the job market. The plant has about 50 employees now, could reach 100 by year's end and might have as many as 300 when it's at full operation within a decade, said Mark Jansen, president and chief executive officer, in an interview before the event. The Washington Road plant slices, dices, grinds and blanches almonds after they get initial processing at Blue Diamond's plants in Salida and Sacramento.

http://www.modbee.com/2013/06/18/2768305/blue-diamond-almond-processing.html

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.