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.
Ag
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