Immigration: Farmworkers may seek greener pastures [Riverside Press-Enterprise]
Every
summer, Ben Drake scrambles to find enough workers to pick wine grapes in his
fields outside Temecula. He worries that President Obama’s executive action on
immigration, which will allow potentially millions of undocumented immigrants
access to three-year work permits, could make it even more difficult.…Like
other growers, Drake believes some of his migrant employees may abandon farm work
for more stable employment….During Riverside County’s torrid growth in the
early and mid-2000s, when seas of new homes seemingly went up overnight, many
farmworkers left the fields for construction sites, said Steve Pastor,
executive director of the Riverside County Farm Bureau. “During the boom years
of construction, it was awfully hard to find workers,” he said. That was
without a presidential executive action that allows many undocumented
immigrants to legally work in the United States.
Farmers say new
congress will be dealing with some old problems [KFSN TV/Fresno]
Valley
farmers are eager to see the republican-controlled congress take on issues
dealing with the California drought. Farmers say the new congress will be
dealing with some old problems. They just hope the discussions over water begin
sooner rather than later.…The Valley's top industry, agriculture, seeks a
legislative fix to an on-going drought problem. Ryan Jacobsen with the Farm
Bureau said, "Hands down number one water. Obviously looking for some kind
of congressional solution this year to the Valley's water woes. We don't know
if we're headed for a fourth year of drought but right now things don't look
too good."
Advocacy group’s video
of hens raises questions, but not just for farms [New York Times]
An
animal rights group released Thursday a disturbing video of laying hens at a
farm in Northern California that supplies eggs to Whole Foods and Organic
Valley, among other retailers and distributors. The group, Direct Action
Everywhere, contended that the hens’ treatment was inhumane and said it planned
to protest this weekend at Whole Food stores in a number of American cities.
The hens in the video belong to Petaluma Farms, whose owners assert that the
group is distorting and exaggerating the conditions under which its organic and
conventional eggs are raised and sold under the brands Judy’s Family Farm and
Rock Island.…This latest dispute over the treatment of animals used in food
production provides an example of how prevalent the use of graphic videos as a
publicity tactic is becoming. (This week, the Humane Society unveiled its own
“exposé” of conditions at a slaughtering facility in Minnesota.) But these
videos can also be mystifying, if not misleading, for consumers paying
attention to the varying certification standards of humane treatment available
to producers and companies selling animal-based food.
Foie gras can go back
on California menus, judge rules [Los Angeles Times]
Foie
gras can go back on the menu. U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson issued a
ruling Wednesday overturning California’s law banning the sale of the fatty
goose liver….Foie gras was outlawed in California by a bill that passed the
state Legislature in 2004 and went into effect in 2012….The judge ruled that
the law was unconstitutional because it interferes with an existing federal law
that regulates poultry products. Last year, the courts rejected a different
argument against the state ban -- that it improperly tried to regulate
interstate commerce. But the new argument -- referred to by lawyers as
“preemption” -- succeeded. The state could appeal Wilson’s ruling, but, for
now, foie gras devotees can celebrate.
5 things to look for as
govt writes new dietary advice [Associated Press]
You've
heard it before: Eat fewer calories, more fruits and more vegetables. Those
recurring themes as well as some new advice about sugar, salt, meat and
caffeine could be part of the government's upcoming dietary guidelines for
healthy eating.…A government advisory committee made up of medical and
nutrition experts is set to issue preliminary recommendations this month. It
indicated in draft recommendations circulated in December that it may suggest
some changes in current dietary advice. The secretaries of the Agriculture and
Health and Human Services Departments will take those recommendations into
account as they craft the final 2015 guidelines, expected by the end of the
year. Five things to watch for as the government begins writing the new
guidelines:
2014 ag highlights:
Miya, Medeiros set the standard [Hanford Sentinel]
If
the purpose of an agriculture award is to highlight the best and brightest in
the field, then the honors given out in 2014 to Hanford walnut farmer Michael
Miya and Hanford dairy operator Brian Medeiros hit the mark….For his foresight,
Medeiros received the Young Farmers and Ranchers Award from the California Farm
Bureau Federation in December. The Lemoore Chamber of Commerce recognized Miya
and his family as Agriculturalists of the Year in September. The farm bureau
statement announcing the award for Medeiros noted his “efforts in production
agriculture and leadership activity.” The emphasis is on the leadership. That’s
also true for Miya, who plays all kinds of roles that go way beyond the
mechanics of planting, growing and harvesting a crop. Miya is a field worker,
grower, walnut marketer, real estate investor and a past president of the Kings
County Farm Bureau — to name just a few of the hats he puts on.
Ag
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