High court won’t hear oyster farm’s appeal of shutdown order [KQED – San Francisco]
The
U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a last-ditch appeal from Marin County’s
Drakes Bay Oyster Company, the Point Reyes firm which has been fighting for a
decade to renew its lease at Point Reyes National Seashore. The Supreme Court’s
decision came without comment and was one in a long list of cases that the
tribunal announced it will not consider. In a statement, Drakes Bay said it
believes it still has not run out of legal moves: “We are not yet out of
options,” said Kevin Lunny, owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Farm….Drakes Bay has
lost successive rounds in its attempt to persuade federal courts that by
denying the oyster farm’s attempt to renew a lease that ran out in late 2012,
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar had violated both federal
environmental and administrative law.
Editorial: Drought focuses
need to negotiate improved water bond [Sacramento Bee]
…Finding
balance in a new bond will be difficult. No discussion involving water in
California ever is easy. But the measure must include money to protect and
restore the Delta, and increase conservation and water reuse….California
agriculture is vital to this state’s economy and to the nation. Farmers must
have water. Southern California residents need water, too. But there must be
limits. The bond almost certainly will need funds for additional storage, probably
including a new reservoir and raising the height of existing dams….The drought
is damaging the economy and the environment. But it’s also serving to focus
voters on California’s strained and faulty plumbing system. Legislators should
not squander this opportunity.
Homeowners
go dry as farmers get permits to drill hundreds of new wells [Modesto Bee]
Stanislaus
County farmers have been granted permission to drill hundreds of new
agricultural wells this year, while an increasing number of domestic water
wells go dry, a review of permit records shows. A record-breaking 299 new water
well drilling permits were issued in the first six months of 2014. That’s
nearly as many as were issued during all of 2013, which itself was a banner
year for drilling….“It’s not my fault,” said Enos, who thinks agriculture is
consuming too much water. “The biggest culprit is the large farms. They’re just
sucking all the water from the rest of us.” Stanislaus Farm Bureau President
Wayne Zipser is struggling with that perception. “We’ve got to act quickly to
figure out how to handle this,” said Zipser, who also is chairman of the county
Water Advisory Committee. “This drought is consuming all of us. It breaks my
heart to see folks suffering.” it’s the drought that’s really to blame, and the
reduction it has caused in surface water supplies, according to Zipser.
California
drought sends business to Oregon [Corvallis Gazette-Times]
With
nearly 1.6 million agricultural acres across California, Nevada and Mexico
being taken out of production due to drought, opportunities for new growers are
popping up everywhere. Right now is a great opportunity for mid-valley farmers
to plant extra crops. “Anybody with vegetables in the ground will do well this
year,” said Pete Postlewait of Postlewait Farms….Karla Chambers at Stahlbush
Island Farms in Linn County said she planned ahead. More greens and annuals
were planted to fill orders from the south.
“We
are selling more down there to folks who know they are going to be short,”
Chambers said. “The shelves already are coming up short and consumers are going
to be seeing price increases.”
California
dairies declining, milk production rising [Turlock Journal]
What
happens to milk when it is left out of the refrigerator? It sours — similar to
the current state of the dairy industry.
In
2013 alone, 11,000 jobs and over $1.4 billion in economic activity were lost in
California due to the closure of 67 dairies — from 1,563 to 1,496 — according
to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Just 10 years ago more
than 2,000 dairies were functioning in the state leading many stakeholders,
such as California Dairy Campaign President Joe Augusto, to attribute the
decline in part to the state’s nonparticipation in the Federal Milk Marketing
Order. However, countless other reasons could contribute to the decline
including the ongoing drought, which has hiked up feed costs as well an
increase in the number of people selling their dairies….While many dairies are
shutting their doors, there is no reason to cry over spilt milk as the number of
operations in California is seemingly indirectly proportional to the amount of
milk produced.
Restaurants,
grocers respond to rising beef costs [Wall Street Journal]
Faced
with soaring beef prices, many restaurants and food retailers are shifting
strategies to woo consumers and protect profit margins. The record costs are
forcing beef purveyors from Ruth's Chris Steak House to Carl's Jr. to choose
between asking customers to pay more for steaks and burgers and eating the
costs themselves. Many are passing along the higher prices while embellishing
their menus with new items, smaller-portion cuts and more sauces, toppings and
side dishes. Others are seeking to control costs by locking in beef purchases
at current prices as they envision further inflation to come. The scramble
shows how a prolonged drought in the southern U.S. Great Plains that has shrunk
the nation's cattle supply to six-decade lows is rippling from slaughterhouses
to drive-ins and high-end steakhouses.
Ag
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