Water for Coachella Valley farms untouched by drought [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
One
of the most extreme droughts in California's history has been hitting
agriculture hard, forcing cutbacks in water deliveries in parts of the Central
Valley and leaving more than 400,000 acres of farmland fallow and dry. But vast
amounts of water are still flowing as usual to the farms of the Coachella
Valley, soaking into the soil to produce lemons and tangelos, grapes, and
vegetables from carrots to bell peppers. Some farms are still using flood
irrigation, inundating the furrows between rows of date palms and other crops
with pools of water. The lucrative farming industry in the desert has been left
untouched by the drought because the area holds longstanding rights to water
from the Colorado River and is one of the few places in the state where water
remains relatively cheap and plentiful….But the large quantities flowing to
agriculture are increasingly prompting questions, both in the Coachella Valley
and across California, about what can be done to make agriculture more
water-efficient to weather future droughts – and about what sorts of policies
can be adopted to encourage farming businesses to conserve more water.
Two
most controversial groundwater issues – fracking, Kern Water Bank [Fresno Bee]
If
you follow water lawsuits in the southern San Joaquin Valley, you will find the
two biggest controversies in California’s groundwater world – hydraulic
fracturing and the Kern Water Bank….A farming operation last month filed suit
against several oil companies, claiming salt water from hydraulic fracturing,
or fracking, is contaminating groundwater. The Kern Water Bank issue dates back
two decades, but the latest legal decision was made last week. A Sacramento
court struck down the environmental review of the 1 million acre-foot bank –
the second rejection of the state’s work on the review. The water bank was
transferred in 1995 from the state to a joint powers authority controlled by
powerful ag water districts, including one representing billionaire Stewart
Resnick’s Paramount Farms.
Amid
drought, plan seeks to conserve aquifer under Santa Rosa Plain [Santa Rosa
Press Democrat]
Sonoma
County supervisors on Tuesday are expected to adopt a far-reaching plan that
seeks to locally manage and protect groundwater resources through scientific
study and voluntary measures such as well monitoring….The plan emphasizes using
science-based information to promote reduced water use, well monitoring,
enhancing groundwater recharge and increased use of recycled water. It
encourages participation and provides no penalties for non-compliance….Rural
pumping for residences and agricultural water supply now account for the
majority of groundwater withdrawals, according to the draft management plan,
which noted that modest reductions in groundwater levels can result in
decreased stream flows and have adverse effects on ecosystems and habitat….“If
anything, this should be the foundation for the next phase of development,
which unfortunately is heading into a more regulated approach, which we are not
for at all,” said Tito Sasaki, president of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau.
Union
workers protest alleged Gerawan intimidation (video) in Fresno [Fresno Bee]
Nearly
100 United Farm Workers union supporters held a protest rally Monday over
concerns that employees of Gerawan Farming are intimidating witnesses from
testifying against the company. Gerawan is facing unfair labor charges at a
state administrative hearing….Union supporters say the farming company’s
employees have videotaped pro-union workers in the field or have told them they
will be fired if they testify in the administrative hearing that began last
week….Dan Gerawan denied the intimidation allegation. In a statement, Gerawan
said: “It’s yet another ALRB and UFW attempt to deflect attention from the fact
that they are denying the right of thousands of Latino farmworkers to choose
whether to be part of a union. The real intimidation is the effort by UFW and
ALRB to force a contract on the employees without first counting their votes.”
National
Park Service, Drakes Bay Oyster Co. announce exit agreement [KQED News]
After
nearly a decade of negotiations, scientific studies, congressional intervention
and protracted legal skirmishing, the National Park Service and Drakes Bay
Oyster Co. announced Monday they’ve reached agreement on terms for the firm’s
final exit from Point Reyes National Seashore. Under the deal announced by both
sides — formally, a proposed consent decree (embedded below) that still needs
federal court approval — Drakes Bay will be allowed to continue harvesting
shellfish from the national park’s Drakes Estero through Dec. 31….The company
shut down retail operations at the oyster farm at the end of July. It has
continued to sell to wholesalers while owner Kevin Lunny and his attorneys
negotiated with the park service.
Opinion:
Hens win: Out-of-state egg farmers must comply with California law [Los Angeles
Times]
It’s
fair to say that the Missouri attorney general just laid an egg. In fact, I’m
just characterizing what a federal judge wrote in her dismissal of a lawsuit
brought by Missouri against the state of California over an impending law that
will require all out-of-state egg producers who want to sell their eggs in this
state to meet the housing requirements for egg-laying hens that California
producers will have to meet soon….All these laws are PART of a growing number
of measures across the U.S. to institute more humane treatment of factory
farmed animals. They are not silly or capricious. They reflect a deepening
concern for the welfare of all animals. Plenty of states pass laws for the
well-being of consumers as well as animals and they often affect out-of-state
businesses that sell to those states. The hen housing law is just one of them.
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