Congress urged to revive drought relief for Valley [KFSN-TV, Fresno]
Valley
growers are urging Congress not to give up on drought relief. All signs may be
pointing to another year of drought, and drought relief may be delayed in
Congress, but Valley water interests are trying to keep the message alive.
Aubrey Bettencourt, director of the California Water Alliance, says the goal is
to keep the drought on the front burner….A news conference brought Bettencourt
and other concerned parties together to remind everyone of the need for action.
Fresno County Farm Bureau Director Ryan Jacobson says another year like this
will be devastating. "If we don't have that water supply, and if we are
not able to have some of those regulatory fixes in place, we are in a very
detrimental state were there will be billions of dollars lost from this Ag
economy," he said.
Terra
Bella farmer hoping for a wet winter [Visalia Times-Delta]
This
is the fourth of a series where we follow farmer Geoffery Galloway throughout
this season….But for Galloway and many other farmers here, the dry, hot summer
didn't end up being as disastrous as anticipated. That's largely thanks to the
Terra Bella Irrigation District doing some creative wheeling and dealing to
acquire additional water from farmers in other water districts through a series
of costly purchases and swaps for future water supplies. Those deals got Terra
Bella farmers about 11,000 additional acre feet of surface water starting in
June, about half of what farmers here normally would need to irrigate their
combined 10,000-plus acres of farmland, most of it citrus trees…."So we
were able to save some trees. But some guys lost crops. It's not bad as it
could have been. But it's still pretty severe," said Sean Geivet, general
manager of the Terra Bella Irrigation District. Geivet estimated that he
expects about a 30-percent crop loss this season.
Stanislaus
will take a harder look at well permit applications [Modesto Bee]
Stanislaus
County supervisors voted Tuesday to tighten the rules for well permits,
requiring farmers outside irrigation districts to show that new wells won’t
have a detrimental effect on groundwater. In another change to the county’s
groundwater ordinance, pumping data will be collected from private well owners,
but officials promised to keep the data confidential. Within 45 days, the
county will hire a consultant to perform groundwater mapping for a plan to
sustain the water tables outside irrigation districts….The county’s Water Advisory
Committee proposed the amendments in response to state legislation that will
require local planning for sustainable groundwater use.
State
wants to preserve 5,000 acres of farmland to replace acreage lost to high-speed
rail [Bakersfield Californian]
Central
Valley farmland owners will soon be eligible for $20 million from the
California High-Speed Rail Authority in exchange for a commitment not to
develop their agricultural property. The rail agency, in partnership with the
state Department of Conservation, announced Tuesday it is looking to make deals
on 5,000 acres to replace the farmland expected to be removed from production
by the massive rail project. The idea is to establish voluntary but permanent
agricultural easements, on a one-for-one acre basis, with preference for
property as near as possible and of similar quality to farmland being claimed
by the train project….Kern County Farm Bureau's Executive Director Beatris
Sanders said by email while she appreciates the department's recognition of agriculture's
importance, the bureau has higher priorities, such as the need for a
functioning and sustainable water system.
Groups
sue NorCal county over work with federal wildlife agency [KCET, Los Angeles]
A
coalition of wildlife protection groups filed a lawsuit against Mendocino
County on Tuesday, charging that the county's contract with a controversial
federal wildlife agency violates state environmental laws. The suit, filed in
the Superior Court of California in Mendocino County, claims that the county
failed to submit its $142,356 contract with the U. S. Department of
Agriculture's Wildlife Services division to proper environmental review under
the California Environmental Quality Act. Under the terms of the contract,
Wildlife Services kills hundreds of coyotes, foxes, bears, and other animals in
Mendocino County each year, without assessing the environmental impact of its
work as required under state law. The groups had urged the county not to renew
its contract with Wildlife Services in June, but their pleas went unheeded.
Statewide, Wildlife Services kills approximately 80,000 wild animals in
California alone, mainly on behalf of agricultural interests.
High-tech
farming poised to change the way the world eats [San Jose Mercury News]
Investors
and entrepreneurs behind some of the world's newest industries have started to
put their money and tech talents into farming -- the world's oldest industry --
with an audacious and ambitious agenda: to make sure there is enough food for
the 10 billion people expected to inhabit the planet by 2100, do it without
destroying the planet and make a pretty penny along the way….The booming
activity around the so-called "ag-tech" sector has led experts to predict
that its growth, in terms of the number of new startups and venture capital
investments, will in another five or so years outpace today's hottest
technologies…."There is a kind of renaissance in technology in agriculture
right now," said Ryan Jacobsen, a farmer and executive director of the
Fresno County Farm Bureau. "The technology is becoming more mainstream
because more and more people believe that it will help them produce more. These
technologies actually do make a difference on your bottom line. It's an exciting
time to be a farmer right now."
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