Obama promises money for drought relief; now the hard part begins [Modesto Bee]
The
easiest part of the Obama administration’s response to the California drought
is now over. The White House has provided money, commitments and a presidential
visit. But the money is limited, the president is moving on and the commitments
will soon be tested on Capitol Hill and deep within the federal
bureaucracies….Abiding by Politics 101, President Barack Obama brought to the
San Joaquin Valley on Friday what pros call “deliverables.” He announced new
aid, including conservation grants, livestock producer assistance and funds for
water-short rural communities. He pledged flexibility in federal water
management decisions to maximize deliveries to farmers. He put his prestige on
the line, a definite signal to administration underlings. The coming weeks and
months will test the administration’s staying power on multiple California
drought fronts.
Flood
irrigation still common, but drip method is gaining ground [Sacramento Bee]
…Amid one of the worst
droughts in state history, environmental advocates say farms are where the big
gains in water conservation will come from, not in the residential and
commercial sectors….Broader adoption of solutions such as drip irrigation on
farms, they say, could go a long way to stretch the state’s water
supplies….California farmers have actually made big progress over the past 20
years in switching crops to drip irrigation. In 1991, when California was
experiencing its last major drought, 70 percent of farms were irrigated by
gravity flow and only 15 percent by “low volume” methods, which include
pressurized drip irrigation, according to the DWR data. By 2010, low volume
methods had more than doubled to 38 percent.
California
faces critical drought, despite recent rains [Sacramento Bee]
A
severe drought persists in California despite the recent precipitation, and
parts of the state will face critical water shortages later this year without
more rain and snowfall, water experts said at a Friday symposium….Statewide,
the drought continues to hurt farmers. They’ll let at least 500,000 acres sit
fallow this year due to lack of water, said Mike Wade, executive director of
the California Farm Water Coalition. “It isn’t an issue of greed,” he said.
“It’s an issue of survivability at this point.” In addition, “the livestock
industry is reeling,” said Rich Matteis, administrator of the California Farm
Bureau Federation. “Folks are selling off their herds.”
Drought:
Mendocino County agricultural community worried [Ukiah Daily Journal]
Drought
conditions that some are calling the worst California has seen in decades have
local farmers worried about crop loss, according to officials….Water rights are
ordered under state law so that users of any kind holding "senior"
water rights get what they are entitled to, when, in a drought year like this
one, junior water right holders will likely get nothing, according to
White….Hamburg noted the state Water Resources Control Board has "the
hammer" and notified water right holders they may need to "limit or
stop divergence of water" if the drought persists, even though they have
the right to do so. Devon Jones of the Mendocino County Farm Bureau said local
growers are aware of the state's "hammer," and many had given up
their crops so their neighbors will have enough water to supply their homes.
Officials
discuss Valley’s place in state’s drought [Imperial Valley Press]
… The Colorado snowpack
is about average this year. Yet, “an average year doesn’t cancel the effects of
a 14-year drought cycle,” said Tina Shields, Imperial Irrigation District
Colorado River resources manager. Southern California water agencies will
likely forego Northern California water sources in favor of the Colorado River,
Shields said.
While
this may not translate to into added political pressure on IID, as many in
Imperial County fear, it will put more pressure on the Colorado River
system….However, anxiety about water security continues to haunt rural Imperial
Valley. The region is mostly agricultural, and the Quantification Settlement
Agreement is still a sore point. “One of our biggest fears is once water is
sold or taken away, it is difficult to get back,” said Linsey Dale, executive
director of Imperial County Farm Bureau.
Petaluma
slaughterhouse closure a ‘double whammy’ for Marin ranchers [Marin Independent
Journal]
West
Marin ranchers already reeling from the effects of the drought have a new
burden: one of the largest meat processors in the North Bay has temporarily
ceased operations while recalling a year's worth of processed beef and is under
investigation by two offices in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are
no reports of anyone becoming ill after eating the beef, and Supervisor Steve
Kinsey has written a letter expressing "strong support" for
Petaluma-based Rancho Feeding Corp., calling it an asset to Marin…."It
(the closure) has had a significant impact," said Kinsey aide Liza Crosse.
"If our ranchers can't use Rancho, then they are hauling the animals way
farther, which is bad for the animals and involves significant costs for the
ranchers," Crosse said. Other locations for processing include sites as
distant at Modesto.
Ag
Today is distributed by the CFBF Communications/News Division to county Farm
Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for information purposes; stories may
not be republished without permission. Some story links may require site
registration. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this
message and please provide your name and e-mail address. For more
information about Ag Today, contact 916-561-5550 or news@cfbf.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment