West Coast seaport talks resuming after hiatus, rallies [Associated Press]
Labor
strife at seaports along the West Coast prompted thousands of dockworkers to
rally against employers they say are trying to exploit a crisis of cargo
congestion at harbors that handle about $1 trillion worth of goods annually.
While labor contract negotiators took the day off Thursday, port police
estimated that 6,000 people took part in the rally in Los Angeles and Long
Beach, port spokeswoman Rachel Campbell said. Hundreds more rallied in Tacoma,
Washington. Contract talks were expected to resume Friday. Earlier this month a
federal mediator intervened in contract bargaining that began eight months ago
but by fall had deteriorated into a blame game as goods languished on docks.
Oversight
called for on Salinas Valley water basin initiative [Monterey Herald]
Salinas
- Deadlines for meeting a new state mandate to balance the overdrafted Salinas
Valley groundwater basin are years away, but Monterey County water and
agricultural industry leaders are calling for the local process to begin
immediately. That was the message that emerged from a county Water Resources
Agency workshop on the state Groundwater Sustainability Act held at the
Agricultural Business Conference Center on Wednesday….Monterey County Farm
Bureau executive director Norm Groot called the state legislation a c omplex
and expensive “unfunded mandate” and suggested implementation will cost more
than anyone expects….But Groot also counseled caution on enacting fees and
assessments needed to fund the groundwater management plan and said it would be
“unfair” to place the cost entirely on the valley’s property and well owners.
Supes
to hear drought impact report [Salinas Californian]
The
drought has devastated recreation at Lake San Antonio, nitrates or arsenic are
approaching maximum levels to be considered safe, and water systems in certain
areas of Monterey County are at risk of failing. That is the assessment that
will be shared with the Monterey County Board of Supervisors at its 1:30 p.m.
section of Tuesday's regular meeting. The Office of Emergency Services prepared
the report to supervisors, highlighting a half dozen categories where the
drought is affecting key resources in the county. The chances of ending the
drought ending this year is next to none….The one bright spot in the report is
the drought's effects on agriculture and ranching. The Agricultural
Commissioner is reporting that current groundwater resources continue to appear
sufficient to support relatively normal planting schedules. The OES will likely
be questioned Tuesday on what seems to be a counterintuitive statement.
http://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/local/2015/01/22/supes-hear-drought-impact-report/22195595/
EcoFarm
kicks off 35th year with climate change talk [Monterey Herald]
Pacific
Grove - At his farm in Guinda in rural Yolo County, Paul Muller said he has
adapted to climate change by doing what works. The drought and weather changes
have impacted organic farmers as hard as anyone, making it a major topic at the
35th annual EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove. Muller, co-owner of Full Belly
Farm, hears a lot of advice but much of his work comes down to trial and
error….EcoFarm, the premier organic and sustainable agriculture gathering in
the West, is jam-packed with talks related to lack of water over its four days.
There are sessions on “drought-proofing” your garden, soil fertility, no-till
vegetable production, “forgotten practices” to save water, and more.
http://www.montereyherald.com/business/20150122/ecofarm-kicks-off-35th-year-with-climate-change-talk
Tulare
County insect find prompts quarantine [Visalia Times-Delta]
The
latest discovery of Asian citrus psyllids in northern Tulare County has
resulted in an agricultural quarantine of citrus in a 30-square-mile section of
neighboring Fresno County. All of Tulare County has been under quarantine since
last year, but the discovery of three psyllids inside insect traps in an area
between Dinuba and Delft Colony was close enough to the border with southern
Fresno County that the California Department of Food and Agriculture extended
the quarantine across the border….Steve Lyle, an agency spokesman, said the
psyllids were found Dec. 29 on an insect trap placed on citrus tree in a yard
with citrus groves and other farmland nearby. The insects were too dried out to
test for HLB, which has been the situation for other psyllids caught in traps
in the Valley, he said.
Editorial: A subsidy for meat we
can no longer stomach [Sacramento Bee]
The
experiments read like bizarre science fiction:…These unlucky subjects are real,
though not human. They are pigs, cows, sheep and other farm animals used in
modern-day research conducted at the federal Department of Agriculture’s U.S.
Meat Animal Research Center in Nebraska….The USDA is reviewing the issues
raised in the story, and that’s good. Maybe the center will be shut down,
though we certainly shouldn’t shut down all animal research….What would be
better is for all Americans to review the issues raised in the story and decide
whether to continue to subsidize inhumane treatment with our grocery dollars or
seek out local, and consciously raised food.
Ag
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