Monday, June 10, 2013

Ag Today Tuesday, June 4, 2013




Berry pesticide rules debated [Santa Maria Times]
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation wants to increase regulations on the use of the pesticide chloropicrin, commonly used as a fumigant in strawberry production. From the public comments Monday night in Santa Maria during the department’s first public meeting to explain its proposal, how people feel about the new regulations depends on which side of the field they stand on. Farmworkers, their families, along with legal and social representatives, say the regulations proposed by DPR are needed and may not go far enough.

Feds OK new balance for Klamath water [Associated Press]
A new plan for balancing scarce water in the Klamath Basin between fish and farms won't harm salmon or other fish protected by the Endangered Species Act, federal scientists said Monday. The NOAA Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued what is called a biological opinion for operations on the Klamath Project, a federal irrigation project straddling the Oregon-California border….The evaluation represents a "landmark" level of coordination between the federal agencies, as well as integration of the needs of the different fish species, with an eye toward trying to keep the irrigation project supplied with water, said Laurie Sada, field supervisor for the Klamath office of Fish and Wildlife….Irrigators said they were unhappy there was not enough water this year but happy the new plan is in place to deal with the shortage. "It gives us an ability, in the future, to manage a block of water and know what our supply is at the beginning of a season," Greg Addington, director of the Klamath Water Users Association, which represents project farmers, said in an email. "Up until now, we have never had that luxury. We like the coordinated approach, which is unique."

Salinas-area elected officials see water bills pass [Salinas Californian]
A bevy of bills authored by two Monterey County assemblymen that will have a significant impact on water quality in the region passed the Assembly Friday and are on their way to the state Senate. Assemblymen Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, and Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley, both saw their water bills passed by the Assembly on the last day before the cutoff for Legislative action this year….Both elected officials were prompted by having severely contaminated well water in their respective districts….“Communities throughout California are currently without safe drinking water because of nitrate-contaminated groundwater. Many of these communities lack the resources to address the issue, and currently the state does not have the infrastructure or a dedicated fund to assist with providing clean drinking water,” Stone said.

Judge overturns restraining order against four protesting farmworkers [Salinas Californian]
Finding insufficient evidence, a Monterey County Superior Court judge overturned a temporary restraining order on Monday against four farmworkers who are part of a coalition protesting the actions of their union. The dispute between the Salinas-based farmworkers and United Farm Workers, their union, has been ongoing since the termination of Francisco Cerritos, a liaison between the two groups.…In protest, a group of about 30 workers organized outside the UFW on East Alisal Street nearly two weeks ago with signs protesting Cerritos’ termination and expressing frustration with increasing fees they believe to be utilized insufficiently by the union. The UFW responded with a May 20 restraining order listing four workers — including Cerritos — and claiming the workers were violent in their protests.

Monsanto rules out some GMO wheat scenarios [Wall Street Journal]
Japan said on Monday it would hold back shipments of some wheat imports as Monsanto Co. continued an investigation into an unapproved genetically modified wheat strain at an Oregon farm. Monsanto, in a blog post on its website late Friday, said it was conducting its own probe into the discovery and had ruled out a few scenarios about how the biotech wheat had ended up in the farmer's field. Monsanto, which ended its trials of the genetically modified wheat in 2005 and never sold it commercially, said its internal analysis suggests that the wheat likely didn't come from seed left in the soil or from pollen drifting from other fields. Monsanto conducted field trials of the biotech wheat in Oregon and other states, but not at the northeastern Oregon farm in question.

Connecticut approves labeling genetically modified foods [New York Times]
Connecticut on Monday became the first state to pass a bill that would require food manufacturers to label products that contain genetically modified ingredients — but only after other conditions are met. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has said he would sign the bill into law, after reaching an agreement with the legislature to include a provision that the law would not take effect unless four other states, at least one of which shares a border with Connecticut, passed similar regulations. The Connecticut bill also hinges on those states including Northeastern states with a total population of at least 20 million….But whether other states will go as far as Connecticut is unclear. In New Mexico, the state Senate voted not to adopt the report of its committee recommending labeling, effectively killing the labeling effort there. Efforts in Vermont, Hawaii and Maine have stalled.

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