Feinstein: Environmentalists no help on California drought [San Francisco Chronicle]
Washington
-- Sen. Dianne Feinstein will try to fast-track farm-friendly drought
legislation through the Senate over the objections of environmentalists, who
the senator complains have done nothing to help her adapt California's aging
water system to deal with climate change and the addition of millions of
thirsty residents. Environmentalists "have never been helpful to me in
producing good water policy," the California Democrat said….Feinstein's
bill, SB2198, co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., would ease
restrictions on water exports from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to
farms and cities. Feinstein said her intention is to take legislation into
conference with the House, where Republicans passed a bill in February to waive
environmental laws protecting endangered fish to get more water to farms.
Valley water users
irked by feds' use of Millerton Lake for west-side farms [Fresno Bee]
Farmers,
water district officials and city leaders expressed frustration Thursday over
the decision by federal managers to tap water from Friant Dam to meet a
long-standing obligation with west-side landowners. Mario Santoyo, who
represents the Latino Water Coalition, said the federal Bureau of Reclamation
acted prematurely by using water from Millerton Lake. He said water from other
sources, including reservoirs at Shasta and San Luis, should have been used
instead of Friant Dam….The state's ongoing drought triggered the Bureau of
Reclamation to announce Tuesday that for the first time ever it would use water
from Millerton Lake to supply west-side landowners -- including farmers -- that
are served by the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority. The
authority provides water to 240,000 acres of farmland east of Interstate 5 and
west of the San Joaquin River, from Patterson to Mendota….But at least one
farmer who stands to benefit from the announcement said he did not feel good
about it. "This is not the option that we wanted," said Cannon
Michael, president of Bowles Farming Company in Los Banos. "This is a
terrible position to be in."
Stanislaus water
panel debates getting ag well data [Modesto Bee]
Everyone
knows Stanislaus County farmers are pumping lots of groundwater to irrigate
their crops this season, but no one knows for sure how much they’re pumping or
whether they’re overdrafting the region’s aquifers. And, apparently, farmers
aren’t too keen about revealing their information. Stanislaus’ Water Advisory
Committee is wrestling with proposals about how – and whether – to get that
pumping and water level data from agricultural well owners.
Court rules against
raisin farmer’s complaint with USDA [Fresno Bee]
A
dissident Fresno-area raisin farmer who took his complaints all the way to the
U.S. Supreme Court has lost his challenge to a crucial part of the system that
governs his industry. In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected farmer Marvin Horne's argument
that a "set-aside" requirement amounted to an unconstitutional taking
of his property. Under the decades-old program, raisin handlers can be required
to give a part of their crop to an industry reserve….The 29-page ruling,
quietly issued last Friday, diminished what had been a notable, if technical,
Supreme Court victory by Horne and his allies last year. The Supreme Court, in
its unanimous decision authored by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, had
allowed Horne to make the takings argument in the first place. That, however,
was only a procedural green light. In the latest decision, the lower appellate
court considered the takings argument and then rejected it.
Report says fewer
bees perished over the winter, but the reason is a mystery [New York Times]
Honeybees
could be on their way back, according to a new federal report….The new survey,
published on Thursday, found that the loss of managed honeybee colonies from
all causes dropped to 23.2 percent nationwide over the winter that just ended,
down from 30.5 percent the year before.…The survey of thousands of beekeepers
was conducted by the Department of Agriculture and the Bee Informed
Partnership, an organization that studies apian health and management. “It’s better
than some of the years we’ve suffered,” said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, a director
of the partnership and an entomologist at the University of Maryland. Still, he
noted, a 23 percent loss “is not a good number.” He continued, “We’ve gone from
horrible to bad.”
Editorial: Pesticide report inconclusive at best [Monterey County
Herald]
…We
agree that the health department could have been far more organized in its
release of the report. When preparing a potentially explosive study, it's
important for an agency to realize the impact. Parents have every right to know
whether their children are at risk, and this report falls far short of
providing any solid evidence of any danger.…More study is necessary. And while
we understand the frustration of the growers whose fields are near the school,
in the long run it will be up to them to prove that schoolchildren are
protected from the impact of nearby pesticides.…It doesn't matter who was there
first. The schools are there now, and they're not going away.
http://www.montereyherald.com/editorials/ci_25772595/editorial-pesticide-report-inconclusive-at-best
Stanislaus County
Farm Bureau marks 100 years [Modesto Bee]
The
Stanislaus County Farm Bureau celebrated its 100th anniversary in style
Thursday night, with a barbecue dinner, tractor display and wisdom from a
cowboy poet. Close to 1,000 people attended the event at the Modesto Junior
College West Campus. The turnout of members as well as nonmembers shows that
the group is a key part of the community, said Paul Wenger, a Modesto-area nut
grower and president of the California Farm Bureau Federation. “Agriculture
touches almost everything in Stanislaus County in some form,” said Wenger, who
was a county bureau president at one time.
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