Farm
subsidies leading to more water use [New York Times]
Millions
of dollars in farm subsidies for irrigation equipment aimed at water
conservation have led to more water use, not less, threatening vulnerable
aquifers and streams….The Environmental Quality Incentives Program, first
authorized in the 1996 farm bill, was supposed to help farmers buy more
efficient irrigation equipment — sprinklers and pipelines — to save water. But
the new irrigation systems have not helped conserve water supplies, studies
show….A study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, this year
concluded that Kansas farmers who received payments under the conservation
subsidy were using some of their water savings to expand irrigation or grow
thirstier crops, not to reduce consumption….Five states — Arizona, California,
Colorado, Texas and Utah — account for nearly half of the program’s spending on
irrigation equipment, data from the Environmental Working Group shows.
Editorial: Pass the farm bill,
but without this harmful amendment [Bakersfield Californian]
When
Congress takes up its version of the Farm Bill later this month, members should
take a long, hard look at an amendment by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, that might
threaten the rights of states, California included, to enforce animal cruelty
protections. Critics of the bill's controversial provision, who include
Democratic representatives Jim Costa of Fresno and John Garamendi of Walnut
Grove and Republican Jeff Denham of Turlock, believe the language might strip
states of their ability to apply their own animal protection laws, including
those that address factory farm confinement, shark finning and horse
slaughter….We share the view that passage of a Farm Bill is necessary and long
overdue. But Congress must carefully consider and weigh the impact on existing
state laws, and to overrule any provisions that would unnecessarily invalidate
the will of California voters or those of any state.
In
House, immigration spurs push by G.O.P. [New York Times]
With
the Senate beginning debate next week on an ambitious bill to overhaul the
immigration system, Republicans in the House moved this week to set a tougher
tone on the issue and to stake out their own course on legislation. Late
Wednesday, a bipartisan group of representatives who had been meeting to write
a broad immigration bill announced they had completed their negotiations. But a
prominent Republican in the group, Raúl Labrador of Idaho, said he was leaving.
Mr. Labrador said that he disagreed with the other lawmakers over health care
provisions for illegal immigrants who would gain legal status under the
measure….Mr. Labrador’s move offered a new option to Speaker John A. Boehner,
Republican of Ohio, who has pressed the bipartisan group to finish its work but
also encouraged the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Robert W.
Goodlatte, Republican of Virginia, to prepare a series of bills addressing
separate parts of the dysfunctional immigration system….But House Republicans
also sent a strong signal on Thursday that they are inclined to take a much
harder line on immigration than the Senate and the White House are advocating.
Drought
cuts water for Klamath Project irrigators [Associated Press]
It
will be another tight water year for farmers on the Klamath Reclamation
project. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Thursday released its operations
plan for the project, which straddles the Oregon-California border south of
Klamath Falls. Greg Addington of the Klamath Water Users Association says the
water stored in Upper Klamath Lake will provide about two-thirds of what they
need for full irrigation, so they are instituting measures to pump groundwater and
keep some land out of production.
Rules
worry more than droughts - study [Fairfax News (New Zealand)]
Farmers
are more concerned about the economic and regulatory impacts from climate
change than its physical and climatic effects, a study has found. The study, by
University of California PhD candidate Meredith Niles, involved 313 farmers in
Hawke's Bay and 177 in Marlborough….Ms Niles found that: When it came to
concerns for the future, farmers were "very concerned" about more
economic and policy matters such as regulation, higher fuel and energy prices,
new pests and diseases and more volatile markets….Ms Niles, who also surveyed
farmers in California, concluded there was a need for policymakers to better
engage agricultural communities, for academics to undertake greater research
that considered the influence on climate change belief and behaviours, and for
farmers to "engage or get left behind" as policies are developed.
Op-Ed: Agriculture has
'shovel-ready' climate solutions [Modesto Bee]
…Well-managed
farms and ranches can store carbon in the soil, tree crops and forested areas.
Farmers can reduce their use of energy and water and limit their fossil fuel
inputs. Permanently protecting valuable farmland from urban sprawl can limit
future increases in emissions. These are the ultimate "shovel-ready"
projects that also stimulate economic activity in California's rural
communities, create jobs, ensure the long-term viability of California's
productive food system, and provide environmental benefits such as cleaner air
and water and open space….There is no time to waste in unleashing the potential
for agriculture to help slow climate change. All eyes are on California as it
rolls out its cap-and-trade program, and we have the chance to be a model for
others around the world for taking bold and creative action.
Ag
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