Milk mutiny? Dairy co-ops seek federal fate [Business Journal]
The
state’s three largest dairy cooperatives want the federal government to OK
major changes to the way California dairymen are paid for their milk.
California Dairies, Inc., Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. and Land O'Lakes, Inc.
announced today they have submitted a joint petition to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) requesting that milk producers in the state be allowed to
begin operating under a Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO). Under existing
regulations, California dairy farmers operate under statewide milk pricing
plans, which many dairymen complain have squeezed the profits out of their
operations in recent years….The majority of dairy farmers in other states
operate under a FMMO, which provides dairy producers uniform prices for milk
based on market conditions….In their petition, the cooperatives state: “The
failure of California regulations to establish minimum prices to California
producers which reflect national values for classified milk uses has cost
California dairy farmers more than $1.5 billion dollars since 2010...”
Some
see Sacramento region as agriculture’s Silicon Valley [Sacramento Bee]
When
it comes to attracting venture capital from the Silicon Valley, the Sacramento
region has had limited success over the decades. But that may be changing as
investors increasingly focus on food. Millions of dollars have flowed east in
the past year into food technology startups working in the Sacramento region
and the Central Valley, said people involved in the effort to establish
Sacramento as a hub for food research and policy. At the same time, UC Davis is
pursuing plans to build a World Food Center in Sacramento, perhaps in the
downtown railyard. That center is envisioned as a place where food science,
policy and innovation will come together….Although the medical technology
sector has the most startup activity, the agricultural sector is growing the
fastest, said Kirk Uhler, CEO of SARTA. “The sector that has the most
excitement and growth potential now is the ag and food space,” Uhler said.
Port
labor dispute costing farmers millions [Stockton Record]
Increasingly
fractious labor strife at West Coast ports is slowing movement of all sorts of
goods, including Central Valley farm products and costing California farmers
millions of dollars. Producers and handlers of export crops are seeing their
products stack up in warehouses and when they can move goods, it costs much
more. Two of San Joaquin County’s top cash crops, almonds and walnuts worth
about $468 million and $443 million respectively, are particularly hard
hit….The situation escalated Friday when the Pacific Maritime Association,
which represents terminal operators, stevedoring and shipping companies in labor
negotiations at West Coast ports, said it would temporarily shut down ship
loading and unloading activity over the weekend.
Ventura
County growers say pesticide regulations make them less competitive [Ventura
County Star]
As
the Ventura County agricultural commissioner works to complete his 2015
fumigation restrictions, he’s hearing from strawberry growers who say they are
operating at a competitive disadvantage against growers in countries such as
Mexico, where regulations aren’t so onerous. “What they’re doing is regulating
the agricultural industry out of the world market,” said Matt Conroy, co-owner
of Conroy Farms in Oxnard. The commissioner, Henry Gonzales, said he
continually hears those complaints….John Krist, CEO of the Farm Bureau of
Ventura County, which represents growers, said the regulations are squeezing
profit margins and at a certain point, business becomes uneconomical. “No other
country has pesticide regulations as rigorous as those here in California,” he
said.
Editorial: State’s growing, and
thirsty, almond industry sowing seeds of discontent [Sacramento Bee]
…Exceptional
wine may be what the world thinks of as California’s agricultural bounty, but
it is almonds that dominate the farmland these days in the Golden State….The
Great Almond Rush has brought billions to the state’s economy. But it has also
raised existential questions about water rights, land use and development, the
environment, ethical food policy, fracking, job creation and this fertile
state’s responsibility to feed the world. In the coming year, The Sacramento
Bee’s editorial board will explore how California almonds intersect with the
forces shaping the state’s future by engaging with experts, policy makers and
lawmakers, academics, business people, farmers and many others.
Editorial: Supervisors’ water
offset misstep should be revisited [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
The
San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors took a giant step backward last
week when it rejected, by a 3-2 vote, a plan for an ordinance that would have
continued to restrict development of new vineyards and other crop expansions in
the depleted Paso Robles groundwater basin. While the vote is disappointing,
there’s a chance the ordinance could be resurrected. Supervisor Frank Mecham
told us he would reconsider a water offset ordinance — which requires growers
who are adding irrigated crops to cut back on water use elsewhere in the basin,
so there is no net increase in water demand — if the ordinance includes a sunset
clause limiting the amount of time it’s in effect. That sounds like an
excellent compromise.
Ag
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