Alejo,
others press DC for immigration reform [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
In
a nation where the political equations around immigration reform seem locked up
like a crashed operating system, Assemblyman Luis Alejo wants a reboot….He is
now one of hundreds descending on Washington this week to urge Congress to move
forward with reforms….The nationwide effort is aimed partly at reluctant
conservative lawmakers who have not backed a comprehensive immigration deal
hammered out and passed by the Senate this summer….Many of those immigrants
support agriculture, a top county industry, and the Watsonville-based
California Strawberry Commission is in the nation's capital as
well….Salinas-based Fresalva Berry owner Jesus Alvarado met with several
lawmakers, saying Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville, assured his group some form of
legislation would come in November. Alvarado said he knows at least one local
farm that closed this year due to a lack of workers, adding that many pickers
want a way to come and go easier with the seasons.
Commentary: Just how do
lawmakers like the family farmer? [Sacramento Bee]
…Converging
trends conspire against growers. With tighter borders, many illegal immigrants
haven’t returned to Mexico for years. Remaining here year-round, they gravitate
toward more stable occupations like construction and landscaping, and stay
there….The bipartisan immigration bill already approved by the Senate provides
an effective mechanism for migrants to come in, do the work and go home, but it
has languished in the Republican House. There’s little indication that’s going
to change, in part, reports Politico, because Republicans badly lost the
shutdown battle and passing immigration reform would be a huge legacy piece for
President Barack Obama. Lawmakers all say they love the family farmer. They
sure have a funny way of showing it.
Editorial: Denham has the
right idea on immigration [Bakersfield Californian]
Ladies
and gentlemen of the House of Representatives, take a cue from Rep. Jeff
Denham. The Turlock Republican took the bold step last week of endorsing an
immigration plan that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants --
one of a scant few members of the GOP to do so thus far….Denham joins Hanford's
David Valadao among the few Republicans who see the writing on the wall. Rep.
Kevin McCarthy, the No. 3 man on the House leadership team, ought to join them.
We're not investing much hope in that, though. The House needs to pass an
immigration reform bill soon, and not just because growers are suffering losses
because of farmworker shortages -- although, for representatives in rural,
agriculture-dependent districts like Denham, Valadao and, for that matter,
McCarthy, that ought to be enough.
Bill
aims to give farmers 'peace of mind' [Stockton Record]
A
bipartisan group of Central Valley representatives introduced legislation last
week allowing farmers in high-risk flood zones to rebuild and repair
agricultural structures without the expense of raising them….The Federal
Emergency Management Agency has remapped many areas in the wake of Hurricane
Katrina, placing some of them into what are known as special flood hazard
areas….The bill allows farmers to upgrade or replace storage facilities, sheds,
farmhouses, barns or other structures without being required to elevate them.
The bill also requires that flood insurance rates be applied as if the
structures had been built before the land was deemed high-risk….This is not the
first attempt to find relief for farmers. Garamendi last year introduced
similar legislation allowing farmers in flood zones to "build necessary
agricultural structures and provide a solid economic base for their
region." The bill was never enacted.
San
Joaquin Valley raisin industry could shrink amid labor, price woes [Fresno Bee]
California's
raisin industry could shrink by thousands of acres next year as falling prices,
a tightening labor supply and the lure of higher value crops continue to chip
away at one of the San Joaquin Valley's longtime crops. Raisin and grape
industry officials say farmers have already pulled out hundreds of acres this
year and more are expected to be pulled. "We are seeing it in Kerman,
around Fresno and in Madera," said Glen Goto, president of the
Fresno-based Raisin Bargaining Association. "They are getting yanked
out." Goto says farmers could bulldoze as many as 20,000 acres, or 10% of
the state's total raisin grape acreage.
IID
board approves water apportionment plan for 2014 [Imperial Valley Press]
The
Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors approved on Monday an
apportionment plan that allocates water to Imperial Valley farmland in a way
that blends a field’s historical water consumption with an equal
“straight-line” allocation. The 2014 plan allows eligible acreage slightly more
than half of the 2013 allocation of 5.45 acre-feet of water, with the other
half of the allocation based on 50 percent of a field’s historical use. And,
like the apportionment plan currently in place, those who need more water can
order it from the district’s water clearinghouse, while those who received more
water than they need can put it in the clearinghouse….Monday’s meeting was the
second time the board took up the matter after it failed to approve an
apportionment plan Oct. 22. IID staff had been recommending a plan for 2014
that was similar to that of 2013. While the 2013 plan was approved by a
committee of Valley farmers, there were some who claimed it was not equitable.
Ag
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