Turlock may sell recycled water to farmers [Modesto Bee]
The
Turlock City Council could decide tonight to sell highly treated wastewater to
drought-wracked farms on the West Side. The sale to the Del Puerto Water
District would meet just 10 percent of its demand, and it might not start until
next year, General Manager Bill Harrison said Monday. But any water is welcome
during a drought that shows no sign of ending, he said….The initial sale would
be at $75 per acre-foot. That is much more than farmers pay in the Turlock or
Modesto irrigation districts, but less than what some West Side districts could
pay for outside water if the drought does not ease.
Dry
conditions prompt well-digging frenzy [Fresno Business Journal]
Dry
weather conditions have kept Valley well diggers busy, both for residential and
agricultural uses. In addition, the underground water table and well levels
have fallen, meaning higher demand for new wells and deeper wells….In
agriculture, most of the additions and replacements are done by large farm
operations. Cost can go as high as $400,000 for a deep well and a pump powerful
enough to pull water up from a deep well. That has eliminated many mom-and-pop
farmers who can’t afford that kind of expense…
Drought
forces ranchers to make tough decisions [Ukiah Daily Journal]
Area
ranchers battling the worst drought ever recorded are facing some tough
decisions-sell off some of their stock or spend money to buy feed and water to
keep the herd going… "The normal hay supplies that folks use to get them
through a normal year (is gone)," said Devon Jones, executive director of
the Mendocino County Farm Bureau.
Ranchers
are buying hay from Oregon and Nevada as local supplies run out, according to
Jones who notes the shortage of feed is elevating prices. The potential loss of
this year's hay crop could push ranchers further to the brink….
Obama
is using executive power to affect immigration law [Sacramento Bee]
President
Barack Obama didn’t wait for Congress to rewrite the nation’s immigration laws
to help millions who are in the United States illegally stay in the country.
He
halted deportations of those who came to the United States when they were
young, those who care for children and those who haven’t committed crimes. And
he’s started allowing some relatives of U.S. service members living in the
country illegally to stay as a way to alleviate additional stress on the
military and reward veterans.
With
a proposed immigration overhaul stalled in Congress, Obama is changing the
policy step by step on his own.
Why
California's humane-chicken law threatens the farm bill [San Jose Mercury News]
First,
California voters said chickens need more space to live. Now California
lawmakers say the state's stores can only sell eggs next year from hens raised
in roomier quarters, and that's got producers nationwide worried the law will
cut into their profits. This chicken-and-egg dilemma could pose a risk to the
rewrite of federal farm and nutrition programs, now nearing completion after
two years of negotiations, because one member of Congress wants to resolve the
issue with legislation….
Editorial: High-speed rail in
California runs into a low-speed process [Washington Post]
Who
is more powerful, the president of the United States or Michael P. Kenny of
Sacramento? Before you answer, consider this sequence of events: In April 2009,
President Obama announced his “Vision for High Speed Rail” in America, backed
by $8 billion in stimulus funds. The president pitched the plan in subsequent
State of the Union addresses, signaling his commitment and that of his
administration. Fifty-five months later, on Nov. 25, 2013, Kenny, who happens
to be a state judge, ruled that California could not sell billions of dollars
worth of bonds earmarked for the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles portion of
Obama’s plan. The state had no valid financial plan, and state law requires
one, Kenny decided. Now the entire project, backed not only by Obama but also
by California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), is in limbo.
Ag
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