California
businesses pushing GOP lawmakers to back immigration overhaul [Sacramento Bee]
As
a comprehensive immigration overhaul appears stuck, for the moment, in the
House of Representatives, an influential coalition is betting that members of
Congress from California can break the logjam….Last week, CalChamber began a
public push for a House vote on a bipartisan bill the Senate approved last
month. And because Republicans are in the majority, CalChamber’s effort is
focused on the state’s 15 GOP lawmakers in the House….The 38 House Democrats
from California are largely united on immigration, but Republicans are all over
the map.
Program
promoting U.S.-grown foods divides California Republicans [Los Angeles Times]
In
this era of federal austerity, appetites are souring over spending taxpayer
money on dinner parties in India featuring California prunes, cartoons in Spain
touting homegrown walnuts and billboards in South Korea extolling American
beef. Yet an effort to end a $200-million-a-year federal program that promotes
U.S. agricultural products abroad has run into bipartisan opposition in
Congress and has created a rare rift among Republicans in California, which
receives a large chunk of the money….A GOP-led bid to end the program was
soundly defeated in the House last month on a 322-98 vote. The vote split
California Republicans: Five voted to kill the program, nine supported it, and
one was absent. No California Democrat voted to kill the program. Still,
opponents of the program are expected to try again to end it.
Trinity
River water could save Klamath fish, but California farmers need it too
[Northwest Public Radio]
Water
struggles in the Klamath Basin are spreading to the Trinity River. Managers at
the federal Bureau of Reclamation say by releasing extra water from the Trinity
into the Klamath River, they may avoid a fish kill. Salmon fishers,
conservation groups and tribes applaud the proposed water release. But
California irrigators, who rely on the same water, have threatened legal action….Spain
says the Trinity accounts for 40 percent of salmon spawning in the Klamath
River system. But his argument isn’t enough to convince Dan Nelson, who
represents Central Valley farmers. Nelson’s group filed an intent to sue
Reclamation because he says this would be the second straight year of Trinity
River water being released into the Klamath without consulting Central Valley
farmers -- who have equal claim to that water.
Folsom
Lake, American River levels to hit 5-year lows [Sacramento Bee]
Water
levels in Folsom Lake and the American River this fall will drop to levels not
seen in five years as California verges on another extended drought
period….Similar concerns are developing at reservoirs across the state,
including Shasta Lake. The bureau recently received approval from the state to
modify protections for salmon in the Sacramento River to preserve as much cold
water behind the dam as possible….The state has not yet formally declared a
drought, a move that could drive further conservation efforts. But officials
are monitoring the situation, said Richard Stapler, a spokesman for the state
Natural Resources Agency.
Working
through a dry spell: No relief from state drought for Humboldt County ranchers
[Eureka Times-Standard]
With
a request from the Humboldt County Agriculture Commissioner's Office for a
secretarial drought designation pending before the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, local ranchers say they are feeling the burn of a dry year. A
drought survey sent out by the Humboldt County Agriculture Commissioner's
Office to about 60 livestock producers in the area last month found that the
lack of rain plaguing Humboldt -- and the rest of the southwestern United
States -- this summer has led to an estimated 47 percent reduction in rangeland
and grass growth in the county….Humboldt County rancher George Brightman said
this week that he hasn't seen such a bad year since the 1980s. The 60-year-old
has been running cattle on his family-owned ranches between Bridgeville and
Blocksburg for nearly four decades.
Cattle
rustling still riles ranchers in Modesto area [Modesto Bee]
…True,
cattle theft isn't as prevalent as, say, auto theft. Rural crimes detectives
spend far more of their time chasing marijuana growers in the fields and
orchards, and thugs who steal equipment and sell it for scrap. But with a value
of $1,000 per calf, livestock theft is costly….Tom Orvis of the Stanislaus
County Farm Bureau distributes a newsletter alerting the ag community to
thefts, marijuana arrests, news about rural crimes and links to agencies in
Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties….In fact, The Bee learned of the
recent 10- and 16-calf thefts from that newsletter, TV stations read about it
on Modbee.com, and it suddenly blossomed into one of Tuesday's top stories….The
farm watchers are making an impact. In Stanislaus County, rural crime reports
have dropped more than 50 percent when comparing the first six months of 2012
with the first six this year.
Ag
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