California drought spawns well drilling boom [Associated Press]
The
scarcity of irrigation water in drought-stricken California has created such a
demand for well drilling services that Central Valley farmer Bob Smittcamp is
taking matters into his own hands. He's buying a drilling rig for $1 million to
make certain he has enough water this summer for thousands of acres of fruit
and vegetable crops….With California in a third dry year, well drilling is
booming across the nation's most productive agricultural region, and some
drilling companies are booked for months or a year. In some counties, requests
for permits to dig new wells have soared, more than doubling over this time
last year….The boom driving farmers to such lengths is a result of drought and
a steadily improving economy, said John Hofer, an underground water consultant
and executive director of the California Groundwater Association. Hofer said
his consulting firm started receiving more calls last year, and that's when he
predicted the rising demand for drillers would follow.
Editorial: California needs overdraft protection for its dwindling
groundwater supplies [Sacramento Bee]
California’s
century-old groundwater problem no longer is underground and invisible….The
situation now is so dire that even long-standing groundwater regulation
skeptics have come to the table….Legislation also should deal with a major
cause of the alarming drop in groundwater levels: A big expansion in new land
coming under irrigation for permanent crops, such as almond trees….In 1978,
Brown said that just as we shouldn’t overdraft our bank accounts, we ought not
overdraft our groundwater basins. Thirty-six years later, California needs to
get serious about regulating groundwater.
Districts with senior
water rights may get boost after March rains [Chico Enterprise-Record]
Where
water will flow this spring and summer is still up in the air, but it is
looking likely that "senior water rights" holders in the Sacramento
Valley will have their contracts honored. More certainty will be worked out in
the next few weeks….During a conference call with reporters Wednesday, DWR
Director Mark Cowin mentioned water transfers, and the hope that Northern
California water users would take part. Western Canal Water district has been
working for months on environmental documents in anticipation of possible water
transfers. These are ready to go. Yet, when the word was that only half the water
would be available, the plan was to keep the water local. Now that it looks
like there will be full supply, the state has reiterated that transfers would
help out water users in other parts of the state.
Dairy industry
rebounds at last in Northern San Joaquin Valley [Modesto Bee]
Dairy
farming in the Northern San Joaquin Valley has turned profitable, at long last,
thanks mainly to booming exports for powdered milk and other products. It’s
welcome news for the several thousand residents who work in the plants that
process milk from the region’s farms. But not all is rosy. Farmers have to pay
down debt built up over half a decade of generally low prices, and they face a
drought that likely will squeeze their feed supplies this year….Ray Souza, a
dairy farmer west of Turlock and leader in the industry, said it is doing
better despite the challenges with drought and debt. “I don’t see the for-sale
signs,” he said. “I don’t see the foreclosures. I don’t see the equipment being
loaded onto trucks.”
Wanted: More young
people for an old US industry [CNBC]
Jake
Carter is a 34-year-old farmer with 330 acres in McDonough, Ga….As much as
Carter says he loves his profession, he's knows he's part of a minority—being a
farmer under the age of 50. According to the United States Department of
Agriculture, the average age for a farmer is now 58 and has been on the rise
for 30 years. There are now six times more farmers 65 and older than there are
farmers 34 and under, according to one study. This has many industry watchers
concerned about the future of American farming. "It's a dangerous
situation," said Milt McGiffen, a professor and researcher of sustainable
agriculture at the University of California, Riverside.
Opinion: In immigration reform, half an enchilada is better than
no enchilada [Sacramento Bee]
…It
is no secret that our immigration laws are arcane. When it comes to the demands
of the food industry, they are simply counterproductive….One thing that both
the workers and the growers have in common is a shared disillusion with the
current immigration legal system and the lame attempts to address this
perennial challenge. A bipartisan, common-sense bill just focused on
agricultural jobs would allow undocumented labor to come out of the shadows and
continue to help grow the economy, let alone feed our country….While many in
the Latino community want a comprehensive immigration reform bill to be passed
into law – what has been called “the whole enchilada” – it is not likely to
happen in this election year. Pragmatism dictates that a series of smaller legislative
victories is the right path for now, certainly with respect to agriculture
jobs. Our nation’s food supply depends on it.
Ag
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