House
passes low-cal farm bill but sows seeds for a possible compromise [Fresno Bee]
House
of Representatives Republicans on Thursday rammed through a newly revised farm
bill designed mostly to solve a vexing political problem that has divided their
party and frustrated farmers nationwide. On a largely party-line vote, the
House approved 216-208 the unusual bill that includes crop subsidies and other
farm benefits but excludes nutrition programs, including food stamps, which
have long been part of the legislation. It was a tactical maneuver, designed to
mollify conservatives and secure passage, and it was the latest turn in a
legislative process often likened to sausage-making….Farm-wise, the new House
bill largely hewed to what lawmakers considered earlier this year. It would, in
time, eliminate the direct payment subsidy for commodities like wheat, cotton
and rice, while boosting subsidized crop insurance. It would retain specialty
crop research and export promotion programs aiding fruit and vegetable
growers….Democrats wanted nothing to do with the latest version largely because
Republicans stripped out, for now, the supplemental nutrition programs that
have been a fundamental part of federal farm bills since at least 1973.
Republicans did so to make the bill palatable to enough of their caucus for
passage. But GOP leaders said the change is temporary.
California
milk producers and processors clash over pricing system [Los Angeles Times]
A
fight over California's arcane milk-pricing system, which determines how much
dairy farmers are paid for milk and other products, has spilled over into the
federal farm bill and the state Legislature. On one side are farmers, who have
been struggling in recent years with high feed and other costs. On the other
are processors, who don't want to pay more for raw materials….Rep. David
Valadao (R-Hanford), a Central Valley dairyman, introduced language in the
House farm bill, which passed Thursday. It could pave the way for dairy
producers to petition the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be included in the
federal milk-pricing system. Lawmakers still have to reconcile the House farm
bill with the Senate version. A group of dairy industry representatives is also
working on a compromise to move forward a state bill, AB 31, which originally
sought to raise the price paid for whey. The effect on consumers would be
negligible, experts said.
House
OKs bill that would limit California's egg law [Los Angeles Times]
The
cluck may be running out on California’s egg law. The House on Thursday
approved a bill that would prevent California from requiring that eggs imported
into the state be produced under standards ensuring that hens can spread their
wings. The measure is included in a Repulican-drafted farm bill that passed on
a largely party-line vote of 216-208 after heated debate.
Heat
wave continues as Fresno hits 101 [Fresno Bee]
As
the triple-digit temperature streak keeps baking Fresno, state officials
continue their investigation into the suspected heat-related deaths of two farm
workers in the central San Joaquin Valley….A Fresno County farmer was ordered
by officials to stop work on his ranch after inspectors found several safety
violations. Work at Reitz Ranches in west Fresno County was halted by Cal/OSHA
on Tuesday after inspectors found several heat illness prevention and other
workplace violations, including no shade, no clean drinking water, no heat
illness prevention training, no restrooms and no first aid kit. Several workers
were tying vines on a trellis in preparation for the upcoming harvest when
inspectors found them, said Peter Melton, spokesman for Cal/OSHA.
Destructive
gypsy moths are found in Magalia [Chico Enterprise-Record]
Two
moths found last week in Magalia have alerted the Butte County Agriculture
Department to the arrival of destructive gypsy moths to Butte County. Gypsy
moths are "hitchhikers" that have spread across the country from the
East Coast, and are a threat to all vegetation, said Jim Mathys, an insect
trapper from the county Agriculture Department. His first discovery of a moth
was on Monday. The next day, he found another.
Editorial: Today's water
battles merely are warm-ups for the future [Fresno Bee]
…As
the Valley grows, battles over (and competition for) water -- already fierce,
already clogging the courts and already expensive -- will become more intense.
There undoubtedly will be more instances of agricultural water districts
selling water to developers, even as a good number of farmers, their lands
parched by drought and environmental restrictions to protect fish, bemoan their
reduced irrigation deliveries. A challenge for the Valley's farm bureaus, all
of which champion the preservation of prime ag land, is convincing the public
that the need is legitimate when farmers and irrigation districts have no
qualms about selling off two of their biggest assets -- soil and water -- to
the highest bidders.
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.
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