California's drought-prone pattern forcing farmers to adapt [San Francisco Chronicle]
Sawn
Coburn farms land that holds senior water rights to the giant Central Valley
Project, rights that usually assure him water. Not this year. He already has
decided to let his pomegranates die, abandon alfalfa and cut his tomato crop by
half.…"I need every drop of water to keep the trees and vines alive,"
he said. "I can't conserve any more. This year I'm going to watch stuff
die." As California gets drier and hotter, no one is more vulnerable than
farmers. And no one is likely to have to do more to adapt to what many experts
fear will be a more drought-prone environment. Climate change is "coming
upon us, and it looks like it's coming upon us fairly quickly," said Paul
Wenger, a Modesto almond and walnut grower who heads the California Farm Bureau
Federation….Farmers' point: Everything they grow requires water, and shorting
them has consequences for everyone. "We will see sizable impacts this year
for a lot of those fruits and vegetables, sweet corn, melons, those things that
you take for granted that are fresh," said Wenger, the farm bureau
president.
Drought raises fears
S.J. River could run dry [Stockton Record]
A
water district official in south San Joaquin County is sounding the alarm that
the county's namesake river could run dry this summer all the way to the edge
of the Delta. Not everyone believes such a dire prediction, but the fact that
it is being discussed shows the seriousness of the drought….Even in the drought
of 1976-77, the San Joaquin was flowing at Vernalis, just downstream of the
Stanislaus. Jeff Shields, general manager of the Manteca-based South San
Joaquin Irrigation District, said he believes that could change this
year….Shields' prognostication comes after his district and Oakdale Irrigation
District sent a letter to federal officials saying they were
"perplexed" by the recent decision to provide the Stockton area with
more than half of its annual allotment of water from the Stanislaus River,
despite historically dry conditions. That water could otherwise have been
stored in New Melones Lake for next year, or sent down the Stanislaus into the
San Joaquin for farmers, fish or to freshen up the Delta. A spokesman for the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said the agency is looking at "new data related
to the allocation" and will have new information later this month.
Editorial: A second look at restoration [Fresno Bee]
…It
is time, in light of climate change, Feinstein said, to "reassess"
the $2 billion plan that would revive salmon runs on the San Joaquin by
rebuilding the 153-mile stretch between Friant Dam and where the Merced River
empties into the San Joaquin.…The Editorial Board has championed the river's
restoration. However, we concur with Feinstein. The project has ballooned in
costs. Deadlines have been repeatedly missed on this massive, unprecedented and
unpredictable project.…We aren't saying that restoration should end. A healthy
San Joaquin flowing in a natural channel from Friant to the Pacific Ocean could
help the West Coast salmon fishery and elevate our quality of life. In
addition, a 2012 UC Merced study said that reviving the river would create
11,000 Valley jobs -- mostly temporary in construction, but it would also add
475 permanent jobs related to recreation. Still, there isn't a scientific
consensus on how large the salmon runs might be. And it's not clear whether
restoration would result in a net gain -- or loss -- in jobs after figuring in
the impacts of lost irrigation water to east-side Valley agriculture and
related industries. But clearly, with the possibility of a long-term drought
ahead and so many questions unanswered, it's worth taking a second look at
today's restoration plan and weighing alternatives.
Opinion: How the other California lives [Wall Street Journal]
When
Americans think of California, they tend to think of Silicon Valley, Hollywood
and the golden coast—"a place where the grass is really greener, warm, wet
and wild" as Santa Barbara native Katy Perry swoons in "California
Gurls." Or they think of the liberals and environmentalists who dominate
state government. Yet there's another California, set back from the left coast,
in the abundantly fertile Central Valley, which produces half of America's
fruits and vegetables; more than 98% of its almonds, pistachios and walnuts; a
third of U.S. dairy exports—and Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck wine. This
California has come under siege from the California of politicians and
regulators, a siege that has been especially harmful during the current
prolonged period of drought and water shortages. The storms that hit the state
a couple of weeks ago didn't make a dent in the water shortfall or in the
farmers' larger problems. Just ask Mark Watte, a second-generation dairyman and
nut grower from rural Tulare, who doesn't mince words. "Everywhere you
turn, they are coming at us with this nonsensical b.s.!" he says. Who are
"they"? Environmentalists, though the beleaguered California farmer
cautions against using that word: "Most of them don't really care about
the environment. They are obstructionists."
Editorial: Farming deserves special consideration for flood
insurance [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]
We're
getting there, but there should still be extra consideration for farms and
agriculture infrastructure in floodplains. The 2012 Biggert-Waters Flood
Insurance Act was supposed to be about making federal flood insurance rates
comparable to the commercial market ... so that the Federal Emergency
Management Agency wouldn't go bankrupt with the next big disaster.…The problem
we all have is that Biggert-Waters, in fine federal fashion, treated everything
about the same ... low-elevation urban areas and low-elevation agricultural plains….Thank
goodness Congressional delegates seem serious about reforming the
reform….Still, somewhere along the line, legislators need to consider the idea
of a different standard for subsidized rates for different land-use areas ...
farming is making good use of floodplains and shouldn't be penalized.
Editorial: Farm Belt states playing a game of legal chicken with
the Golden State [Sacramento Bee]
…Missouri
Attorney General Chris Koster has filed a lawsuit against California and
Proposition 2, the 2008 ballot measure that mandated that chickens be raised in
a humane manner….Missouri’s agribusiness lobby pushed the lawsuit because it
didn’t want to be forced to convert chicken operations to larger cages or
free-range facilities. Koster lays an egg when he argues that California is
violating interstate commerce freedom. The Bee’s editorial board opposed
Proposition 2. But California voters had every right to pass it, which they
did….California gets one-third of its eggs from Missouri. If Missouri and the
other states ganging up on California want to keep that business, they should
drop the lawsuit instead of clucking about the gross unfairness of it all.
Missouri would be better off modernizing its own henhouses instead of employing
a bunch of lawyers to play a game of chicken with the Golden State.
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