Yosemite
fire displaces grazing ranch animals [SF Chronicle]
For
decades, the crisp air, natural water sources and abundant vegetation of
Stanislaus National Forest have served as idyllic grazing land for grass-fed
cattle in the summer months. About 4,000 cows were ranging there when the Rim
Fire ignited Aug. 17. Now, as the fire continues to spread over more than
200,000 acres, ranch hands are scrambling to find what's left of their herds -
dead, wounded or unscathed….Dick Gaiser, a rancher based in Chinese Camp who
leads the Tuolumne County Farm Bureau, said many of his counterparts have been
returning from the forest empty-handed….Gaiser, who blames the swift spread of
the fire on a lack of federal funding for forest thinning, said local ranchers
are now facing some tough decisions for the future.
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Help
in the fields: Farmer workers push for program reform [San Mateo Daily Journal]
Federal
immigration reform will significantly affect the coastal cities of Half Moon
Bay and Pescadero as they have San Mateo County’s largest group of agricultural
workers who have a specific skill needed to keep the area’s farms producing
through the seasons. This week, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, spoke
with members of the San Mateo County Farm Bureau and visited several coastal
farms to learn more about their needs and speak about the significance of
pending federal legislation….Although the H-2A system works well in theory,
it’s extremely complicated and there are few counties with farmers employing
it, said Josh Rolph, representative of the California Farm Bureau
Federation….John Giusti is also a third generation coastal farmer who finds
himself short-staffed. He would like to see “some type of immigration reform
that would help with our workforce. We just don’t have enough people coming
around looking for work right now,” Giusti said.
Bigger
raisin crop pressures Valley labor supply as harvest begins [Fresno Bee]
As
raisin harvest beings to unfold in the central San Joaquin Valley, farmers will
greet the new season facing higher costs for labor, a potentially bigger crop
and uncertainty over prices….Life in the raisin business has been relatively
sweet over the last few years with growers receiving record prices for their
grapes. But they also have faced challenges, including a lack of workers. Many
farmers were hard-pressed last year to get their crops picked and on the ground
before the late September deadline to qualify for insurance. This year may be a
different story. Although the size of the crews continues to be on the light side,
farmers, labor contractors and raisin industry officials say so far there
appears to be enough workers….Gonzalez said that while the supply of workers
may be adequate for now, growers still are anxious to secure their labor
supply, causing demand and prices to rise.
Opinion: California's
Union-Sponsored War on Farmers [Wall Street Journal]
‘At
what point do you look at this picture and ask, 'Why are you fighting
anymore?'" muses Dan Gerawan, whose third-generation family farm in
Fresno, Calif., has been under assault by California's labor-regulatory
complex. Within days a state mediator could impose an unwieldy labor contract
that may force him out of business. However, the ultimate victims will be his
farm workers. Mr. Gerawan's story illustrates the devolution of California's
progressive dream….A 2002 state law allows farmworker unions to sidestep
collective bargaining and demand state mediation of first-time contracts. No
other labor group in the state has this right. Meanwhile, California Senate
President Darrell Steinberg is driving legislation that would allow farmworker
unions to request state mediation whenever a contract expires, thus
obliterating collective bargaining.
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In
Paso Robles, vineyards' thirst pits growers against residents [Los Angeles
Times]
While
the world clamors for more Paso Robles wine, rural residents like Denise Smith
yearn for something far more precious: local water. The retired teacher is one
of dozens of homeowners in parched northern San Luis Obispo county whose wells
have run dry….Where did the water go? Smith and other residents say it's
flowing freely into the area's signature industry — wine….The water level has
sunk 70 feet or more since 1997 in some parts — the product of persistent
drought and largely unchecked agricultural and urban growth….The dispute over
the basin is now roiling this idyllic country community, where living among the
vineyards has long been central to its allure.
New
water tunnel route sets up conservation battle over Delta island [Sacramento
Bee]
The
new route proposed for Gov. Jerry Brown's giant Delta water-diversion project
may conflict with direction from California voters, who spent $35 million in
2001 to acquire part of the new route as permanent wildlife habitat. In a major
revision of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, as the project is known, state
officials announced Aug. 15 that the pair of 40-foot-diameter water tunnels
would shift east to pass under Staten Island, a 9,000-acre tract of farmland.
Hundreds of acres of construction are planned on the surface. Twelve years ago,
California taxpayers spent $35 million to buy Staten Island for a very
different purpose: as a permanent refuge for sensitive wildlife, especially the
greater sandhill crane, one among dozens of threatened species in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Ag
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