House sends farm bill compromise to the Senate [Los Angeles Times]
The
House of Representatives easily approved a new five-year farm bill Wednesday,
ending nearly two years of contentious debate over how to cut agriculture
subsidies and nutrition programs. The final vote was 251-166. The Senate is
expected to begin considering the compromise bill, which was unveiled Monday by
House and Senate negotiators, early next week. The final product averts deep
cuts sought by Republicans in the federal food stamp program and ends direct
payments to farmers — a controversial provision under the previous farm bill in
which farmers received federal subsidies regardless of their output.
Valley
GOP leaders regroup after drought-relief maneuver fails [Fresno Bee]
San
Joaquin Valley congressional Republicans took aim this week and missed their
stated goal of helping California cope with drought. Now, having unsuccessfully
tried a long-shot, last-minute farm bill maneuver, the GOP lawmakers are
regrouping. Their next steps, though unclear, are certainly on the way….One key
question now is whether this week’s failed effort to add California water
language to a farm bill poisons the well or builds effective long-term
pressure. Another question is what political lessons might be learned to ease
future drought action. There’s also the question of what future legislation
would look like.
California
Farms Going Thirsty as Drought Burns $5 Billion Hole [Bloomberg News]
…The
drought in California, the top U.S. agricultural producer at $44.7 billion, is
depriving the state of water needed to produce everything from milk, beef and
wine to some of the nation’s largest fruit and vegetable crops, including
avocados, strawberries and almonds. Lost revenue in 2014 from farming and
related businesses such as trucking and processing could reach $5 billion,
according to estimates by the 300-member California Farm Water Coalition, an
industry group….Farmers in the state probably will leave as much as 500,000
acres unplanted, or about 12 percent of last year’s principal crops, because
they won’t have enough water to produce a harvest, which will mean fewer
choices and higher prices for consumers, said Mike Wade, executive director of
the California Farm Water Coalition, a Sacramento-based group of farmers, water
district managers and farm-related businesses.
Oakdale
Irrigation District directors vote to reject Westlands water deal [Modesto Bee]
A
proposal to pay Oakdale landowners to fallow their pastures so irrigation water
could be sold to Fresno-area farmers was rejected Tuesday morning.
Oakdale
Irrigation District directors voted 4-1 to reverse Thursday’s decision, which
would have kept the proposed Westlands Water District deal alive.
OID
directors said they changed their minds after being flooded with phone calls
from Oakdale farmers and ranchers opposed to selling water to outsiders during
this drought.
Lawsuit
filed to stop new water wells in Stanislaus County [Modesto Bee]
A
just-filed lawsuit seeks a court order to stop Stanislaus County from issuing
new well construction permits without first requiring environmental reviews.
Lawyers representing two environmental groups submitted the “complaint for
declaratory relief,” which court officials were processing Tuesday….The lawsuit
contends that Stanislaus’ well permit policy is unlawful because it allows new
groundwater wells to be drilled without determining whether they may have
significant adverse environmental effects. The California Environmental Quality
Act requires that such reviews be done, according to the lawyers. At issue are
hundreds of large wells – primarily for agricultural irrigation in eastern
Stanislaus – that were approved last year by the county. New wells continue to
be granted permits almost daily.
Editorial: Our View: Brown’s FFA
funding could be a concern [Imperial Valley Press]
That
Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal aims to unlock the $4.1 million in
categorical funding that makes up in some cases the lion’s share of FFA funding
is a bit scary….FFA education isn’t cheap. There are many costs born that other
public school programs never see. Again, local control for schools is important
where at the local level administrators hopefully know where to use it and how
to use it. That is the plus. The minus will be to see if that occurs, and in
this case, to make sure FFA gets its due.
It
would be a shame, in Imperial County, California, where ag is king, to see a
district not use the money for its ag programs.
Ag
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