Controversial
Imperial Valley water transfer upheld [Imperial Valley Press]
The
nation’s largest agriculture-to-urban water transfer has been deemed legal and
valid, closing another chapter in a decade-long dispute over rights to Colorado
River water that is crucial to California, six other states and Mexico.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly ruled Wednesday that the
Imperial Irrigation District was in compliance with state environmental
regulations and had the authority to enter into the landmark Quantification
Settlement Agreements. Imperial County, Imperial County Air Pollution Control
District and a number of landowners were challenging the validation of that
agreement, alleging that requirements of the California Environmental Quality
Act were not followed. Of concern was the impact that the water transfer would
have on the already-receding Salton Sea, which is fed primarily by agricultural
run-off from the Imperial Valley.
State:
Local airborne pesticides ‘well below’ health standards [Santa Maria Times]
For
the second year in a row, Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) air
monitoring in various California rural agricultural communities including Santa
Maria shows nearly three dozen pesticides have residue levels well below those
established to protect human health and the environment. “This is reassuring
news for residents,” DPR Director Brian Leahy said. “Our monitoring in 2012
shows that none of the pesticides exceeded their screening levels, indicating a
low health risk to the people in these communities. These findings indicate
that the state and county restrictions are keeping air concentrations below the
health protective targets set by DPR.” In 2012, as part of its statewide
air-monitoring effort, DPR monitored 33 pesticides and five pesticide breakdown
products in three California communities: Salinas (Monterey County), Shafter
(Kern County) and Ripon (San Joaquin County).
Federal
ag secretary pushes to reform immigration system [Chico Enterprise-Record]
Hiring
enough workers for labor-intensive crops has been a problem in California for
the past several years, farmers report. California has a higher percentage of
fresh fruits and vegetables, but labor shortages affect crop production throughout
the nation. Congress is currently working on immigration reform, which could
include a temporary worker program, as well as a program to allow workers here
illegally to gain citizenship. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack talked with the
Enterprise-Record Wednesday as part of an effort to push forward the Senate
version of immigration reform. The hope is that the House of Representatives
will move forward after the August recess. An informal survey of California
Farm Bureau Federation members last year showed 61 percent had labor shortages,
said Dave Kranz, communications director for the group.
Feds
help fund Hickman dairy fixes to keep water clean [Modesto Bee]
…Dairies,
the top-grossing farm sector in the Northern San Joaquin Valley, produce a heck
of a lot of manure. They are allowed to use water tainted by the waste to
irrigate feed, as long as the nitrogen and other nutrients are taken up by the
corn and other plants, rather than going into streams or groundwater. The NRCS,
part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has funded improvements through its
Bay-Delta Initiative since last year. It looks for small but high-impact
projects to protect tributaries to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San
Francisco Bay. The agency has been spending $5 million each year in Stanislaus
and Merced counties. Farmers can apply for the current year, Groveman said, but
future funding has not been determined.
Fruit
breeder hits the sweet spot with Cotton Candy grapes [Los Angeles Times]
It's
not easy peddling fresh fruit to a nation of junk-food addicts. But in rural
Kern County, David Cain is working to win the stomachs and wallets of U.S.
grocery shoppers. Cain is a fruit breeder. His latest invention is called the
Cotton Candy grape. Bite into one of these green globes and the taste triggers
the unmistakable sensation of eating a puffy, pink ball of spun sugar….In an
intensely competitive marketplace, breeding and branding have become almost as
valuable to farmers as sun and soil. Producers are constantly tinkering, hoping
to come up with the next Cuties Clementine orange or Honeycrisp apple —
distinct products that stand out in the crowded fruit aisle….The U.S.
designer-fruit craze kicked into high gear in the late 1980s. That's when a
Californian plum-apricot hybrid called the pluot hit the market. The crispy
stone fruit, which took 20 years to develop, proved such a hit with consumers
that it inspired more farmers to invest in breeding programs to boost sales.
Editorial: Well policy
problems are statewide [Modesto Bee]
We're
not alone. Around California there are multiple situations where some
landowners are pumping so much groundwater that other landowners' wells are
going dry or are producing only a trickle of water. Here in Stanislaus County,
the biggest concern focuses on wells drilled for the massive new almond
orchards on the east. In the Paso Robles area, a similar conflict has surfaced;
only the issue relates to large vineyards. There is a greater sense of urgency
there, and next week the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will
consider an urgent ordinance that could limit new or expanded crop production
that relied on water from the Paso Robles groundwater basin or a conversion
from dry farm or grazing land to irrigated crops. New home building in
unincorporated areas also would be limited.
Ag
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