Supervisors vote to move ahead with Paso Robles water management plan [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
San
Luis Obispo County supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-1 to begin the process of
forming a public district to manage the Paso Robles groundwater
basin….Supervisor Debbie Arnold, whose district includes portions of the water
basin, dissented….When the petition is ready, it will take another vote by the
supervisors to pass a resolution formally asking LAFCO to form the district.
Eventually, a majority of landowners in the basin will have to vote to approve
the district before it can become a reality….The vote was the culmination of a
yearlong process that included passage of a bill, AB 2453 by Assemblyman Katcho
Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, that specifically allowed the formation of a Paso
Robles water basin district.
Ag
summit expert: Expect fewer crops and farm jobs [Bakersfield Californian]
A
decrease of 185,200 acres in irrigated Kern County crops could mean 12,400 fewer
farm jobs and a $631-million loss in farm income. Kern County could come close
to those numbers in 21 years, a water storage expert explained at the first
Kern Agriculture Summit Tuesday. Eric Averett, general manager of Rosedale
Rio-Bravo Water Storage District, spoke in a Bakersfield College gym with close
to 200 students, school and ag industry officials watching. He said without
significant policy shifts or other changes, Kern County farmers may produce 20
percent fewer crops in acres in 2035 than they did in 2012….The trend in
California agriculture has been to produce more crops with less available
water, Averett said, but that can only continue so long. "When you reduce
(water) to a point, you can't conserve your way out of it," he said.
MID
directors reflect on irrigation water transfers [Modesto Bee]
Drought-coping
programs introduced this year got mixed reviews at Tuesday’s Modesto Irrigation
District board meeting….Most board members said new water-transfer programs
seemed to help farmers get through a third consecutive dry season. But they
acknowledged that relatively few participated. The most popular innovation –
allowing farmers to sell shares of irrigation water on the open market –
resulted in 194 transfers involving 3,300 acre-feet of water. The numbers
represent only 12.5 percent of MID’s 3,100 growers, for an average transfer of
only 17 acre-feet….In addition to open-market deals, MID growers could forgo
water deliveries in exchange for $200 an acre-foot, but only 15 customers
agreed – less than 0.5 percent of MID growers. An additional 28, or 0.9
percent, bought extra water at the same price. And only three (0.1 percent)
helped the district augment its supply by pumping into canals from private
wells.
Opinion: The risks of cheap
water [New York Times]
Water
is far too cheap across most American cities and towns. But what’s worse is the
way the United States quenches the thirst of farmers, who account for 80
percent of the nation’s water consumption and for whom water costs virtually
nothing. Adding to the challenges are the obstacles placed in the way of water
trading….Two studies to be presented at a forum next week organized by the
Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution and the Stanford Woods Institute
for the Environment make the case that markets and prices are an indispensable
part of the tool kit to combat scarcity….The price of water going into
Americans’ homes often does not even cover the cost of delivering it, let alone
the depreciation of utilities’ infrastructure or their R&D….While this may
seem a mess, it is nothing compared to the incentives facing American farms.
Their water rights are primarily subject to state law. In the West, they have
been allocated by a method that closely resembles “first come first served.”
Invasive
insect found in Lodi, Manteca [Stockton Record]
Asian
Citrus Psyllids, an invasive insect, have been found in Manteca and Lodi,
according to San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner Tim Pelican. He is
working with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture to survey areas surrounding the areas where the
psyllids were found, both in residential neighborhoods….While there is scant
commercial citrus grown in San Joaquin County, Pelican said eliminating the
citrus psyllid is really a statewide issue. “If you let the disease take hold
here, then you’re going to see the same issues you saw in Florida,” he said
Tuesday….To try to see if there is an infestation of the psyllids, the county
office has increased the number of traps surrounding the properties where the
psyllids were found. Treatment of the citrus plants surrounding the traps where
psyllids were found is planned.
Whole
Foods to roll out rankings for produce [Associated Press]
Whole
Foods plans to start rolling out a system that ranks fruits and vegetables as
"good," "better" or "best" based on the
supplier's farming practices. Most notably, the supermarket chain says its
"responsibly grown" labeling system for produce and flowers will
prohibit the use of several common pesticides. The rankings will also take into
account factors such as water and energy use. The program will start appearing
in the nearly 400 Whole Foods stores in the U.S. and Canada starting Wednesday,
with the rankings being noted on signs where prices are listed. Not all produce
and flowers that Whole Foods sells will qualify. The standards were developed
by Whole Foods and are not an official government designation.
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