\\David Valadao third House Republican to support immigration bill [Fresno Bee]
Rep.
Jeff Denham of Turlock recently became the first Republican to formally endorse
a comprehensive immigration bill introduced by House Democrats. In the
meantime, Denham's Republican colleague, David Valadao of Hanford, was doing
just about everything he could to show support for immigration reform -- short
of signing on as a co-sponsor of the bill. On Wednesday, Valadao changed that
when he joined Denham and Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen as the third
Republican to sign on as a bill co-sponsor.
Local
dairymen sound off on Farm Bill's standstill [Visalia Times Delta]
Fresh
off a last minute deal to avert a government default, Congress again faces
another significant deadline. Local dairies say the Farm Bill — a major package
of legislation passed about every five years which governs a wide variety of
issues related to agriculture, natural resources, conservation, food safety and
the government’s food stamp program — is essential to the stability of their
industry. Without a Farm Bill, big changes begin for the dairy industry Jan. 1.
The biggest change is that the government would be required to be a ready and
willing buyer of all the milk dairymen can produce….Tulare County Farm Bureau
Executive Director Patricia Stever Blattler said she is most worried about
funding for research and market access for specialty crops — that is, fruits,
vegetables and nuts that are only grown in California. Also of considerable
concern to the Farm Bureau is funding for pest and disease prevention, which
she said is especially needed in California’s citrus belt.
Coachella
Valley officials push $6.5B water bond plan [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
State
lawmakers held a hearing in Indio on Wednesday to tout a proposed $6.5 billion
bond that would go before voters and would be aimed at alleviating California’s
serious water problems. Those who voiced support for the bond during the
meeting included representatives of the Imperial Irrigation District, Coachella
Valley Water District, Riverside County, Imperial County and the Torres
Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe. They also urged lawmakers to earmark a
significant amount of money for the Salton Sea to remedy problems such as dust
storms along its shores as the lake shrinks. The hearing was led by Assemblyman
Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, chairman of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife
Committee, along with Assembly members V. Manuel Pérez, D-Coachella, Brian
Nestande, R-Palm Desert, Brian Dahle, R-Bieber, and Mariko Yamada, D-Davis.
Draft
report examines impact of Pajaro Valley water projects [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
About
30 acres of farmland would be lost under Pajaro Valley Water Management
Agency's plan to shore up dwindling groundwater supplies. But a draft
environmental impact report says the plan would have no other significant
consequences that couldn't be mitigated….Farmland, however, would be lost
permanently as the agency built basins for groundwater recharge at Murphy
Crossing east of Watsonville and around the slough system west of the city. The
roughly 30 acres needed for the projects represents a small fraction of the
nearly 18,000 acres planted in fruit, vegetables and flowers in Santa Cruz
County in 2012. The projects are estimated to return 1,700 acre feet of water
to the basin annually, enough to irrigate about 800 acres of berries. "The
bottom line is the loss of a little bit of agricultural land has the potential
to help preserve agriculture as the primary economic driver in the
valley," Lockwood said.
Experts
dismiss prediction of global wine shortage [San Francisco Chronicle]
Confusion
abounds over a prediction that a wine shortage could be looming. A Morgan
Stanley report released this week said worldwide wine demand exceeded supply by
nearly 300 million cases in 2012. The study blamed the shortfall, the greatest
in 40 years, on bad weather and fewer vineyards, and it added there may not be
enough wine in future years. But don't start hoarding your wine, because
analysts are seeing it differently.
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require paid subscription; text included in attached Word file.
Fruit
fly infestations may reduce olive harvest [Napa Valley Register]
As
Napa County’s olive harvest gets underway over the next two months, growers are
predicting a leaner haul than 2012’s yield, with infestations of the olive
fruit fly largely to blame. The calm and consistently warm weather this year
was a boon to local olive orchards, but also helped the fruit fly population
proliferate, said Chris Pedemonte of Colinas Farming Company, which manages olive
orchards and vineyards in Napa Valley….Pedemonte identified the fruit fly as
one of the most significant variables in this year’s harvest, with higher
infestation rates than normal. The bugs’ populations have grown in the warm,
temperate weather, he said. He’s still gauging how badly the infestations have
hit the orchards Colinas manages. In a normal year, losses are kept to less
than 1 percent of the crop, he said.
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