Gov.
Brown's history with bugs cited by veto critics [Los Angeles Times]
Brown
vetoed AB 571 by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), which would have
provided $5 million in state funds annually to fight the Asian Citrus Psyllid,
a bug found in the Central Valley that transmits a bacterial disease that is
often fatal to trees. The governor wrote in his veto message that he is
“accutely aware of the devastating effects” of the bug and its disease. But, he
wrote, “this program has mostly been funded by the citrus industry and the
federal government. If the current support is inadequate, let’s review our
options during the budget process.” That did not satisfy Sen. Andy Vidak
(R-Hanford), a supporter of the bill….Vidak noted that Brown was slow to
approve pesticide spraying against the crop-threatening Mediterranean fruit fly
in 1981. "Clearly Mr. Brown has not learned from his past mistakes,"
Vidak said.
Bass
impact report settles little in endangered salmon debate [Stockton Record]
Exotic
fish such as striped bass undoubtedly eat imperiled baby salmon in the Delta,
but a team of experts in a new report says there's not enough evidence to say
whether the predators are harming salmon populations overall. The report seemed
unlikely Monday to end what has been a fierce debate for several years.
Stockton-area fishermen want stripers to be protected as a popular sport fish,
while some water users want stripers eradicated or controlled. Their water
supplies have been constricted in part because of the decline of salmon and
other fish…."Even if predation occurs, with the data we have right now, we
don't know how much really is due to fish predation, and how much is due to
predation influenced by poor environmental conditions," said Gary
Grossman, a University of Georgia ecologist who led the independent study.
Salinas
River plan draws fire [Salinas Californian]
Both
farmers and environmentalists are taking aim at a new study addressing a
controversial practice of bulldozing the Salinas River to prevent flooding. For
decades, growers along the river have gone into the channel with equipment to
clear brush and sediment to allow the river to flow faster during heavy rains
and not back up and flood valuable crops. But challenges by both nonprofits and
regional regulators required the Monterey County Water Resources Agency to
conduct an environmental impact report that would show both the impacts and the
proposed methods of reducing the harmful effects of the practice….Agricultural
interests, including individual growers, the Monterey County Farm Bureau, the
Salinas Valley Water Coalition and others generally describe the plan as
inadequate to prevent flooding. Environmental groups, meanwhile, are insistent
that the plan does not go far enough to protect native species’ habitat.
Salmonella
cases may be linked to Foster Farms [Modesto Bee]
A
federal agency said Monday that 278 people might have been infected with
salmonella from Foster Farms chicken that was undercooked or improperly
handled. No recall has been issued, and the Livingston-based company is
advising consumers that its products are safe if stored, handled and cooked
properly. No deaths were reported in the notice from the Food Safety and
Inspection Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most of the
cases are in California, but people in 17 other states also were affected, the
agency said….The notice said the main plant in Livingston and two smaller sites
in Fresno were the “likely source” of the chicken.
Unease
in Hawaii’s cornfields [New York Times]
The
balmy tropical isles here seem worlds apart from the expansive cornfields of
the Midwest, but Hawaii has become the latest battleground in the fight over
genetically modified crops. The state has become a hub for the development of
genetically engineered corn and other crops that are sold to farmers around the
globe. Monsanto and other seed companies have moved here en masse, and corn now
sprouts on thousands of acres where sugar cane or pineapples once grew. But
activists opposed to biotech crops have joined with residents who say the corn
farms expose them to dust and pesticides, and they are trying to drive the
companies away, or at least rein them in. The companies counter that their
operations are safe and that the industry is essential to Hawaii’s economy.
Editorial: Congress won’t even
come to the table on the Farm Bill [Davis Enterprise]
Congress,
now wrestling with how to get the government running again, also is missing its
deadline to set long-term agriculture policy. The Senate and House have yet to
meet to work out differences in their very different approaches on a host of
critical issues in the expiring five-year farm bill, last approved in
2008….There’s a lot to dislike in both the House and Senate versions of the
farm bill, prompting some to suggest the impasse is better than an agreement….WHILE
SOME PROVISIONS of the bills could benefit from major revisions by a
House-Senate conference committee, not acting at all simply leads to
uncertainty. It’s time for this Congress to leave politics aside and get on
with setting food and nutrition policy.
http://www.davisenterprise.com/forum/our-view/congress-wont-even-come-to-the-table-on-the-farm-bill/
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