California
plan to overhaul water system hub to cost $25 billion [Los Angeles Times]
The
state plan to overhaul the hub of California's water system will cost nearly
$25 billion to build and operate, according to preliminary figures released
Wednesday. The proposal, backed by Gov. Jerry Brown's administration and the
Obama administration, calls for habitat restoration and the construction of two
enormous tunnels to divert water from the Sacramento River and carry it under
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to southbound pumps. Water users, including
San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts and urban agencies in Southern
California and the Bay Area, would bear roughly two-thirds of the cost, with
the rest coming from federal and state sources.
Deadline
passes on Merced County nitrogen sign-ups [Merced Sun-Star]
The
official deadline has passed for area farmers to sign up under the state's new
"nitrogen budgeting" program. Regional officials estimate about
150,000 acres of agricultural land in the area remain unregistered.…While the
water-quality coalition estimates that as many as 2,000 commercial farmers have
yet to sign up, regional regulators are not ready to express concern…."In
an overregulated state like California, this program is the best option for
landowners," said Amanda Carvajal, executive director of Merced County
Farm Bureau….Within the last two weeks, more than 800 commercial growers joined
the water-quality coalition, bringing the total to about 3,984 farmers enrolled
in the nitrogen budgeting program, representing 705,000 acres, according to
coalition data.
Farmers
turn to drip-tape irrigation to save water [Los Angeles Times]
Last
year, the federal government gave farmer Dan Errotabere half of the water it
had awarded him the previous year to cultivate his 5,200 acres. But he still
managed to reap a yield as much as 25% higher. "I've got to do more with
less," said Errotabere, 57, who grows cotton, tomatoes, almonds and
pistachios among other crops on his family's ranch in the Central Valley
northwest of Visalia. His trick? The increasingly popular drip-tape method of
irrigation, which pumps water directly to a plant's roots.
Kings
County high-speed train challenge gets court hearing [Fresno Bee]
A
Hanford homeowner, a farmer and Kings County have a court date Friday in
Sacramento in their legal battle to block California's efforts to build a
high-speed train system. Several other lawsuits that sprang up in the San
Joaquin Valley -- and were subsequently settled -- challenged environmental
certification for the Merced-Fresno portion of the proposed statewide line.
This case, however, focuses on allegations that the California High-Speed Rail
Authority's plan violates Proposition 1A, the $9.9 billion bond measure
approved by voters in 2008. The wide-ranging suit was filed in late 2011 by
attorneys for Aaron Fukuda, whose home east of Hanford stands in the path of
one potential route for the rails through Kings County; farmer John Tos, who
has farmland that would be disrupted by a rail route; and the Kings County
Board of Supervisors, whose members have long been irked by what they say is
the rail authority's refusal to coordinate planning efforts.
Modified
wheat is discovered in Oregon [New York Times]
Unapproved
genetically engineered wheat has been found growing on a farm in Oregon,
federal officials said Wednesday, a development that could disrupt American
exports of the grain. The Agriculture Department said the wheat was of the type
developed by Monsanto to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup, also known as
glyphosate. Such wheat was field-tested in 16 states, including Oregon, from
1998 through 2005, but Monsanto dropped the project before the wheat was ever
approved for commercial planting.…Still, the mere presence of the genetically
modified plant could cause some countries to turn away exports of American
wheat, especially if any traces of the unapproved grain were found in
shipments.
China’s
food deal extends its reach, already mighty [New York Times]
…A
growing amount of food commonly consumed by Americans — ranging from canned
tuna and mandarin oranges to fresh mushrooms and apple juice — is now being
imported from China. By the end of last year, the United States imported 4.1
billion pounds of food products from China, according to the Agriculture
Department. American imports of Chinese food products gained more attention on
Wednesday, when Smithfield Foods, one of the biggest and oldest pork producers
in the United States, agreed to sell itself to Shuanghui International, one of
China’s largest meat processors. The $4.7 billion deal amounts to the largest
takeover to date of an American company by a Chinese one. Although Smithfield
emphasized that the deal was intended to deliver more pork to China, not the
reverse, it nonetheless prompted concern about China’s expanding role in the
American food supply and the implications that might have for food safety in
the United States.
Ag
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