Farmworkers,
stock staying safe as sun sizzles in Modesto [Modesto Bee]
The
big heat so far has not done much harm to the people who work Modesto-area
farms, nor to the crops and livestock. Agriculture leaders said Monday that
they are carrying out measures aimed at keeping people safe and fields
productive through the hot spell.…"You don't want some guy working out in
the heat and not having access to water and shade," said Michael Marsh,
chief executive officer at Western United Dairymen. The Modesto-based group
urges members to protect their cows from severe heat with shade, fans, misters
and drinking water. Marsh said he has not heard of problems this week that are
anywhere near the disaster of 2006, when several thousand cows died.
Regulations
bleed California farmers dry, as record drought continues [Fox Business]
As
drought conditions and extreme heat continue to plague California, farmers in
the Central Valley are struggling to get enough water to feed their land -- the
bread basket of the Golden State. But the weather alone isn’t to blame. Fish
and Wildlife regulations tightly control water resources in the state, making
it impossible earlier this year for the reservoirs to capture the rain, when it
fell late last fall. And because of the endangered species in the region,
pumping water is also restricted, leaving farmers high and dry….Dan Errotabare,
a small farmer in western Fresno County, is spending more than $1.5 million on
water this summer – and fallowing 600 acres on his 3,000-acre farm. “We’re in
real trouble. It will probably mean most of the profits, and we’ll have to be
pretty defensive just to get through the year,” he says.
Reps.
Valadao, Costa offer support for immigration reform at Fresno forum [Fresno
Bee]
Two
Valley congressmen from different parties found some common ground Monday on
one of the most divisive issues facing the nation: Immigration reform. Reps.
Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and David Valadao, R-Hanford, told more than 80 people at
a town hall meeting at Fresno City Hall that immigration reform is
needed….Valadao said the Senate version of the bill is not likely to get a
hearing in the House. He said fellow House members link the bill with
"amnesty," but the first step to move the debate forward is to have
an open dialogue." Once you talk to the members and explain to them it's a
process, where they can work for it, appreciate it and someday become citizens
-- just like my parents did -- most members begin to understand," Valadao
said. Costa, who has made clear his support for immigration reform, called it
the "right thing to do for the dignity of mankind.
Urban-rural
alliance breaks down on farm bill vote [Associated Press]
For
decades, country and city interests had come together every few years to pass
the farm bill, a measure that provided billions of dollars in subsidies to
farmers and businesses in rural areas and food stamp money for urbanites. No
more. The recent defeat of this year's farm bill - traditionally a sturdy,
albeit lonely pillar of cooperation in Washington - highlighted how the
country-city political marriage became yet another victim of partisan politics
in polarizing times. The divorce throws into doubt the future of sweeping
agriculture and nutrition spending.
Almond
crop takes downward turn [Stockton Record]
California's
almond crop, which accounts for about 80 percent of world production, is
expected to come in this year at 1.85 billion pounds, down nearly 8 percent
from earlier predictions, U.S. farm officials announced Monday. That had an
immediate impact on prices, sending them up about 30 cents a pound, said Dave
Phippen, an almond grower and processor in the Ripon/Manteca area….The 2012
harvest was 1.89 billion pounds and the USDA a month ago had predicted a 2
billion pound harvest this fall, based on a telephone survey of almond
farmers….This week's heat wave could contribute to an even smaller crop, as the
still-maturing nuts may fail to gain their full size potential, said Phil
Brumley, a Ripon almond grower and agricultural consultant.
Experts
see new normal as a hotter, drier West faces more huge fires [New York Times]
…Scientists
said those blazes and 15 others that remained uncontained from New Mexico to
California and Idaho were part of the new normal — an increasingly hot and dry
West, resulting in more catastrophic fires….Warmer winters mean less snowfall.
More of the winter precipitation falls as rain, which quickly flows away in
streams instead of seeping deep underground. The soils then dry out earlier and
more quickly in May and June.…The growing season also starts earlier, so there
is more to burn….The fire potential is exacerbated by the past policy,
beginning around 1900, of putting out all fires….This total-suppression policy
began to ease as early as the 1950s, when scientists began to see fire’s role
in ecosystems. It was completely abandoned nearly two decades ago.
Ag
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