Fracking ban on the ballot in tiny San Benito County has big statewide implications [San Jose Mercury News]
Activists
in San Benito County have placed a closely watched measure on the Nov. 4 ballot
to outlaw hydraulic fracturing, the controversial oil-extraction technique
known as fracking….Opponents include the San Benito County Farm Bureau, the
county's chamber of commerce and the San Benito County Cattlemen's Association.
They note that although there is some limited oil production in southern San
Benito County, there is no fracking taking place anywhere in the county, and no
significant pollution problems from 26 existing oil wells…."You work all
your life; your family works all their life," said Richard Bianchi, a
third-generation farmer who grows vegetables on 1,000 acres north of Hollister.
"To limit the mineral rights, that's a Pandora's box. You are taking
somebody's rights away." Bianchi, president of the county farm bureau,
said he doesn't worry about fracking or the pollution that critics say can come
with it….Other longtime farmers and ranchers disagree.
Drought
funding dries up [Stockton Record]
San
Joaquin County is missing out on millions of dollars in state grants to fight
the drought, in part because some private landowners are reluctant to share
confidential information about their wells. The state recently rejected the
multiagency Groundwater Banking Authority’s request for almost $5 million in
voter-approved Proposition 84 bond money. The cash would have helped pay for
both urban and agricultural water conservation initiatives….Here’s why: To
receive state grants for water projects, the law now requires that counties
prove they are carefully monitoring precious groundwater levels….The problem is
the state is also requiring disclosure of details about how those wells are
constructed, including their depth….In San Joaquin County, owners of about two
dozen wells have not been willing to share those construction details with the
state, said Brandon Nakagawa, the county’s water resources coordinator. So the
county finds itself in the awkward position of struggling to obtain state
assistance with a devastating drought, while still maintaining relationships
with reluctant landowners who have for many years allowed the county to venture
onto their properties to check their wells.
California
farmers: We are getting 'much less water' [National Public Radio]
Farmers
say they aren't using up groundwater supplies, nor are they solely to blame for
the water crisis. Almond grower Dan Errotabere talks with NPR's Rachel Martin
about the situation on his farm….MARTIN: There are residents, though, in
California in different rural, agricultural communities who are upset because
when they turn their faucets on, they're getting dirty water with sand in it
because there are farmers who are drilling really deeply to get groundwater.
And they are blaming those farmers for the scarcity problem. What do you say to
those folks? ERROTABERE: Well, I know those areas. They're more on the east
side of the San Joaquin Valley than they are here. But I think the thing that's
not well understood is that when we have shortage of surface supply, that's
been going on since 1992 when a lot of water got diverted from the projects out
into the environment. And so to the criticism that we're taking all the water,
we're not.
U.S.
Chamber supports candidates who don’t share its immigration stance [Sacramento
Bee]
The
U.S. Chamber of Commerce publicly identifies immigration as one of its top
issues and has pledged to support candidates who favor an overhaul that
includes an earned path to citizenship for those here illegally. The business
group’s pattern of endorsements and outside spending in this year’s elections,
however, suggests that immigration may not be as important as advertised.
Immigration is a top concern for California’s agriculture and technology
sectors, as well as its university system....California business groups
declined to criticize the U.S. chamber on the record. But the chamber is
pumping $28 million into races nationwide this year, according to federal data
compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. The funds are supporting few
candidates who favor an immigration solution that many California business
groups are pushing for.
Farms
angry at Labor Department crackdown on suspected worker abuses [Fair Warning
News Service]
An
attempted crackdown on minimum wage and child labor violations at berry farms
in the Pacific Northwest has sparked a backlash that threatens one of the U.S.
Labor Department’s most potent tools for enforcing protections for farm
workers. At issue is the little-known “hot goods’’ provision of federal wage
law. It allows the government to halt shipments of goods produced in violation
of employment laws. The weapon has been used mainly to combat minimum wage and
overtime pay abuses by garment makers but, under President Barack Obama,
federal officials have invoked the hot goods provision against farm owners
somewhat more often than earlier administrations….Farmers and their political
allies – including the powerful American Farm Bureau Federation – have lined up
behind a bill in Congress to prevent authorities from using the hot goods
provision to stop shipments of perishable crops like berries. Even if the bill
does not pass the gridlocked Congress, worker advocates worry that the backlash
might have a chilling effect on the agency, or that its use of the tactic could
be restricted through the budget process.
Syngenta
faces more suits over Viptera corn seeds [Wall Street Journal]
Syngenta
AG faces escalating legal battles over its sale of genetically engineered corn
seeds that some farmers and agricultural companies say have roiled
international grain markets this year. U.S. farmers in 11 states have sued
Syngenta in federal courts during the past few weeks, alleging losses they say
arose from the Swiss seed-and-chemical company’s move to sell biotech seeds
before the corn was approved by Chinese authorities for import there. China’s
rejections of U.S. corn shipments found to contain the Syngenta strain starting
last November allegedly depressed overall market prices for the grain, driving
more than $1 billion in losses for U.S. farmers, according to documents filed
in the lawsuits….Syngenta officials said the cases have no merit, and that it
has been transparent about the approval process for the GMO corn in question,
known as Viptera.
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