Ag Today Tuesday, September 16, 2014

High speed rail board considers farmland in Fresno County [Fresno Bee]

More than 70 parcels of Fresno County farmland now under Williamson Act agricultural preservation contracts will be addressed Tuesday by the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

The rail board, meeting in Palmdale, is expected to certify that the pieces of property -- which are along the approved right of way within the county of the state's proposed bullet-train line -- are necessary for the railroad route and were not selected just because of lower property values….Because the high-speed rail authority proposes to acquire at least a portion of 71 parcels in Fresno County that are under Williamson Act contracts, the agency is required to notify the state Department of Conservation and make those certifications.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/09/15/4125582/high-speed-rail-board-considers.html?sp=/99/406/263/

Moratorium on new wells? Glenn County Supervisor broaches the subject [Chico Enterprise Record]

Drought-troubled Glenn County should take the lead on local groundwater management, Supervisor Leigh McDaniel has said. He's asking other supervisors to consider new rules before the 2015 irrigation season, including a moratorium on new well permits for areas in Stage II and Stage III groundwater alerts until a groundwater management plan is put into place. Already this year, the county has issued more well permits than it ever has in history, county officials said during the most recent Drought Task Force meeting….Part of the equation includes new rules coming from the state to have locals management groundwater, with the State Water Resources Control Board prepared to step in if local management doesn't work.

http://www.chicoer.com/News/ci_26533989/Moratorium-on-new-wells?-Glenn-County-Supervisor-broaches-the-subject

Editorial: Conservationists and farmers can work together [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]

Conservationists and farmers can help each other out, it seems. A PROGRAM unfolding around this region is helping rice farmers get their fields flooded and providing valuable habitat for migratory birds. It wasn't the best of years for rice growers (though it could have been much worse; and it might get that way)….At this time of year, rice growers are looking to flood their fields for the winter. The standing water through the off-season helps rice straw to decompose — it's good for the system. Yet, water is scarce….With the drought having cut critical wetlands to as little as one-sixth of normal, conservationists are instituting a new program, dubbing it "pop-up" habitats. They're renting some 14,000 acres from rice farmers and flooding the fields, giving the birds places to stop during their migrations of thousands of miles.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/opinion/our-view-conservationists-and-farmers-can-work-together/article_dc664790-3d5d-11e4-860d-001a4bcf6878.html

New quarantine as citrus pest is detected [Bakersfield Californian]

Agriculture officials are holding a community meeting Wednesday to educate the public about a citrus quarantine and TREATMENT PROGRAM in the Pumpkin Center area after the second detection of a dreaded agricultural pest in a year. The Asian citrus psyllid is a winged, 1/8th-inch-long insect that resembles a moth. Some but not all of the insects have a bacterial infection called huanglongbing disease that is lethal to citrus trees. The most recent local capture of the psyllid was in a small grove on Sept. 5 along Highway 119, close to Pumpkin Center near Bakersfield. The pest was found in a grove of about 30 young trees at a private residence. Neither that insect, nor another one spotted at a residence in Wasco last year, was infected with huanglongbing disease.

http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/business/local/x1899434247/New-quarantine-as-citrus-pest-is-detected

Poultry firms systematically feed low-dose antibiotics to flocks [Reuters]

Major U.S. poultry firms are administering ANTIBIOTICS to their flocks far more pervasively than regulators realize, posing a potential risk to human health. Internal records examined by Reuters reveal that some of the nation’s largest poultry producers routinely feed chickens an array of ANTIBIOTICS – not just when sickness strikes, but as a standard practice over most of the birds’ lives. In every instance of ANTIBIOTIC use identified by Reuters, the doses were at the low levels that scientists say are especially conducive to the growth of so-called superbugs, bacteria that gain resistance to conventional medicines used to treat people.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/16/us-farmaceuticals-chicken-special-report-idUSKBN0HA1G920140916

As U.S. farm cycle turns, tractor makers may suffer longer than farmers [Reuters]

Farm equipment makers insist the sales slump they face this year because of lower crop prices and farm incomes will be short-lived. Yet there are signs the downturn may last longer than tractor and harvester makers, including Deere & Co, are letting on and the pain could persist long after corn, soybean and wheat prices rebound. Farmers and analysts say the elimination of government incentives to buy new equipment, a related overhang of used tractors, and a reduced commitment to biofuels, all darken the outlook for the sector beyond 2019 - the year the U.S. Department of Agriculture says farm incomes will begin to rise again. Company executives are not so pessimistic.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/16/us-usa-farming-equipment-sales-idUSKBN0HB17R20140916

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.

Ag Today Friday, September 12, 2014

Obama Chief of Staff pledges action on immigration [Associated Press]

President Barack Obama will act on his own by year's end to remake the nation's fractured immigration system, and he will go as far as he can under the law, the White House chief of staff told frustrated Latino lawmakers Thursday. Chief of staff Denis McDonough made the commitments in a closed-door meeting at the Capitol with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Like other Latinos and immigrants rights' activists the lawmakers were fuming over Obama's decision Saturday, made under pressure from endangered Senate Democrats, to put off promised executive action on immigration until after November's midterm elections. In Thursday's meeting, according to lawmakers who attended, McDonough heard out their concerns and renewed the president's commitment to act — pledging under lawmakers' questions that it would happen even if Democrats lose the Senate, the political environment turns worse and Obama once again faces calls to put off his decision.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-chief-staff-pledges-action-immigration-25437809

Pesticide levels in waterways have dropped, reducing the risks to humans [New York Times]

The development of safer pesticides and legal restrictions on their use have sharply reduced the risk to humans from pesticide-tainted rivers and streams, while the potential risk to aquatic life in urban waters has risen, according to a two-decade survey published on Thursday. The study, conducted by the United States Geological Survey and published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, monitored scores of pesticides from 1992 to 2011 at more than 200 SAMPLING points on rivers and streams. In both of the last two decades, researchers reported, they found insecticides and herbicides in virtually all of the waterways. The results nevertheless documented a striking decline in dangers to humans from pesticide pollution. From 1992 to 2001, 17 percent of agricultural streams and 5 percent of other streams contained at least one pesticide whose average annual concentration was above the maximum contaminant level for drinking water. But in the second decade, from 2002 to 2011, the survey found dangerous pesticide concentrations in only one stream nationwide.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/us/pesticide-levels-in-waterways-have-dropped-reducing-the-risks-to-humans.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%3A6%22%7D&_r=0

Sempervirens, conservation groups back water vote [Santa Cruz Sentinel]

Thursday, Los Altos-based Sempervirens Fund decided to rally its organizational forces behind Proposition 1, California's $7.5 billion water bond. A significant player in local and regional conservation efforts, Sempervirens' decision can be seen as a signal to environmentally minded Central Coast voters to support the bond….But environmental groups have fractured over Prop. 1, with conservation groups backing the measure and several water-related watchdog groups forming the opposition. The Sierra Club decided this week to stay out of the fight, with the fault line appearing to be $2.7 billion the bond sets aside for water STORAGE and something the state hasn't seen in a generation: dams….But The Nature Conservancy is one of three signatories supporting the measure, along with Brown and the head of California Farm Bureau Federation, and American Rivers and Audubon California are backing it.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/News/ci_26516367/Sempervirens-conservation-groups-back-water-vote

Opinion: Saving farmland: Drought isn't the only problem in Santa Clara County [San Jose Mercury News]

…Our state has had to fallow more than 400,000 acres of cropland, resulting in profound economic losses for communities -- an expected $2.2 billion this year. The drought also has created a cascading series of other impacts affecting agriculture….The most troubling thing is that the challenges of climate change may become the new normal for California's food producers….However, we cannot focus only on the climate impacts to food supply when the land itself is being lost at an alarming rate. We need to step up our efforts to protect the state's best farmland; the land with the most fertile soils, the most reliable water, and the most resilient microclimates. And considering the impacts of a warming climate, every practical acre of fertile land in the state should be carefully considered for preservation.

http://www.mercurynews.com/News/ci_26498780/Saving-farmland:-Drought-isnt-the-only-problem-in-Santa-Clara-County

Despite drought, California pistachio crop expected to swell [Fresno Bee]

California's drought may SLOW the growth of the rapidly expanding pistachio industry, but even with less water, farmers are expected to produce a whopping 1 billion-pound crop by 2019, a Rabobank analyst said Thursday. Vernon Crowder, senior vice president and agriculture economist for Rabobank, said the pistachio industry has experienced unprecedented growth over the last decade. Crowder spotlighted the pistachio industry in a report released Thursday, titled: U.S. Pistachios -- A Billion Reasons to Believe….Pistachio trees planted in mid-to-late 2000s are continuing to come into production….Crowder said it is also possible that starting this fall, almond growers may pull out some aging trees and replace them with pistachios. Unlike almond trees, pistachios are more tolerant of salty well water.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/09/11/4118660_california-pistachio-crop-continues.html?sp=/99/170/&rh=1

Mountain lion reports raise concern in Northern San Joaquin Valley [Modesto Bee]

A mountain lion appears to have killed a horse near Hilmar. Other sightings of the big cats have been reported in Modesto and other locales well out of the animal’s natural range. Concern has risen in the Northern San Joaquin Valley about the predators, which favor the hills to the east and west but have been known to stride through the flatlands at times….Jessie Wright, who manages a horse ranch on Golf Links Road in the Hilmar area, said the signs are clear that a lion killed one of the ranch’s animals Aug. 23. The horse, about 6 months old and weighing 600 pounds, was found in a pasture with fatal wounds to its neck….Despite the low odds, attacks do happen to people and livestock. The horse death near Hilmar was noted in a weekly email on rural crime from the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, complete with graphic photos.

http://www.modbee.com/2014/09/11/3534113_mountain-lion-reports-raise-concern.html?sp=/99/1571/&rh=1

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.

Ag Today Thursday, September 11, 2014

California mandates sick days for workers [Associated Press]

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday that will require most California employers next year to provide up to three sick days for millions of workers, a policy long-sought by labor unions and opposed by business groups….Supporters said as many as 6.5 million workers — including temporary and part-time employees — will benefit from the law that takes effect next July….The law will require most employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who work 30 or more days within a year, and workers will earn a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/10/6695700/california-mandates-sick-days.html

Field laws: A recently passed bill tightens sexual harassment regulations for field contract laborers [New Times San Luis Obispo]

In August, state regulators passed a bill designed to address sexual harassment in California’s agricultural fields—something the bill’s proponents say is far too common.  Sen. Bill Monning (D-Salinas), the bill’s author, said he was inspired by a documentary produced by Frontline and the Center for Investigative Reporting, Rape in the Fields….SB 1087 will require field labor contractors to pay a little more in licensing fees; require supervisors and workers to attend more sexual HARASSMENT TRAINING; and enforce a harsher penalty if a contractor or any of its supervisors is found to have committed sexual harassment against an employee. Gov. Jerry Brown has until Sept. 30 to sign the bill into law or veto it. If he does nothing, the bill will become law at that time. Richard Quandt with the Grower-Shipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties agrees with Monning: Working in the fields should be the same as working in any other industry, and therefore the regulations should be the same. Still, Quandt said regulations on field labor contractors are already tighter than any other industry, and this bill just tacks on more.

http://www.newtimesslo.com/news/11413/field-laws-a-recently-passed-bill-tightens-sexual-harassment-regulations-for-field-contract-laborers--/

EPA sued — again — to force decision on pesticide [San Francisco Chronicle]

More than four years ago, environmental groups asked a federal court to order the Environmental Protection Agency to decide whether to ban a widely used pesticide that scientists have linked to illnesses in children. They settled the case in November 2011 after the EPA said it would make a decision within a year. When that didn’t happen, they sued again. More promises, the groups said, but no performance. On Wednesday, the same organizations filed a third lawsuit, asking for a firm. court-ordered deadline….But chlorpyrifos is still used as an insecticide on corn, grapes, oranges, almonds and other crops, on golf courses and for PEST CONTROL IN urban areas — as much as 5 million pounds APPLIED in the United States each year, one-fifth of that in California alone, according to Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Pesticide Action Network North America….The California Farm Bureau Federation, however, has opposed a ban and said the EPA’s own studies have shown the pesticide can be applied safely, though its use has declined in recent years.

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/09/10/epa-sued-again-to-force-decision-on-pesticide/

California’s water-starved farmers stymied by fish protections [Bloomberg News]

Environmental protections for endangered salmon in California’s rivers and streams are drawing complaints from drought-stricken farmers who say water that could be pumped to them is allowed to empty into the ocean. Authorities have sharply curtailed allocations in the largest U.S. agricultural producing state, with 2012 sales valued at $42.6 billion, forcing growers to leave farmland unplanted or pay escalated prices for water from other sources. “The Endangered Species Act does not have any consideration for human impact, and that’s a little disturbing,” said Joe Del Bosque, 65, president of Del Bosque Farms in Firebaugh, who grows melons and tomatoes….One of the worst droughts in California’s history is intensifying a longstanding conflict between farmers, environmentalists and fishermen over the Chinook salmon that spawn in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-11/california-s-water-starved-farmers-stymied-by-fish-protections.html

Valley farm laborers finding work in other states [KFSN-TV Fresno]

Small, outlying towns in Central California are losing farm laborers who are FINDING WORK in other states….If you look out in the fields of Firebaugh, you'll find they're not just missing water but the people that normally care for them. "They're going to packing houses. They're going to Alaska to pack salmon, they're going to Nebraska to work in pork processing facilities. They're going to other places to find work because it's just not here," said Firebaugh Mayor Pro Tem Craig Knight. And when the farm laborers pack and up and leave, the students that fill the hallways at these schools go with them.

http://abc30.com/news/valley-farm-laborers-finding-work-in-other-states/303645/

California rice farmer: Drought may make us 'quit' [CNBC.com]

Nearly 25 percent of California's $5 billion rice crop will be lost this year due to lack of water, say experts. And while analysts say the loss is not a crisis just yet, at least one rice producer is ready to call it a day. "If we keep going through this drought, it may make us quit and sell the ranch," said Sherry Polit, who grows organic rice with her family on 1,500 acres in the Northern California town of Maxwell….With surface water sources drying up from lack of rain, the problem for rice producers is having enough water available to fill rice paddies, said Jim Morris, communications manager for the California Rice Commission….To try and MAKE MONEY, some California rice producers have turned to selling their water sources, rather than planting a crop this year, said Bruce Linquist, an agricultural researcher at the University of California, Davis.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101984473

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.

Ag Today Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Opinion: Rushed California groundwater bills hurt Valley communities [Fresno Bee]

…We joined together as Democrats and Republicans to oppose recent groundwater legislation.…Make no mistake, we agree that something needs to be done to ensure there are sustainable groundwater supplies for future generations.…But rushing through a vast rewrite of groundwater law during the waning days of the 2013-14 legislative session is not the right answer. If the state is truly interested in preventing groundwater depletion, it would recognize groundwater recharge as a beneficial use and would provide incentives to develop regional groundwater plans and projects. The state must also streamline the legal process regarding water disputes to ensure fairness for all sides. The bills on the governor's desk do not accomplish these objectives.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/09/09/4114575/kristin-olsenhenry-t-perea-rushed.html

SLO County moves toward banning exportation of groundwater [Santa Maria Times]

San Luis Obispo County is another step closer to banning the exportation of groundwater. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to further develop an ordinance that would regulate exporting groundwater from the county's 22 basins. The county has no rules in place governing the exportation of groundwater from its basins, which range from very small to much larger aquifers, such as the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin and Santa Maria Valley Groundwater Basin, which stretches from northern Santa Barbara County to Pismo Beach. Assistant County Counsel Tim McNulty told the supervisors they have the power to impose a ban exporting groundwater, as has been done in at least 20 various counties in the state, but must adopt rules that can be legally enforced.

http://santamariatimes.com/news/local/slo-county-moves-toward-banning-exportation-of-groundwater/article_458efa61-76f0-52a8-a9e5-cde2c0a787d7.html

Poll: California water bond looking good to voters [San Jose Mercury News]

The $7.5 billion water bond Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature put on the November ballot during a deepening drought has a strong chance of passing muster with voters, according to a new Field Poll. The measure has the support of 52 percent of people surveyed even though almost two-thirds of respondents were unfamiliar with it and the water projects it would fund. Another 21 percent of likely voters are undecided on the Proposition 1 water bond, the poll found….The more voters know about the water bond, the more they like it, the poll found….Democrats support the water bond more strongly than any other voter subgroup, while Republicans were the greatest reservoir of opposition.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/News/ci_26500321/Poll:-California-water-bond-looking-good-to-voters

Valley communities lobby Congress one more time for drought help [Fresno Bee]

Seventeen California cities and counties urged Congress on Tuesday to complete drought legislation that's currently hung up in closed-door negotiations. The municipal resolutions passed in recent weeks by small towns like Dos Palos and counties like Kern and Kings were presented to the House Natural Resources Committee as part of a public drumbeat that included a several-hour long hearing on easing environmental rules….The GOP-controlled House passed an ambitious, 68-page California water bill in February, without a committee hearing….The Senate countered in May with a slimmed-down 16-page bill passed by unanimous consent, also without a committee hearing. Since then, there have been hints that Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and backers of the House bill have closed their major differences, while Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and the Obama administration remain cautious. All of the participants in the negotiations have sworn themselves to secrecy.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/09/09/4114109/valley-communities-lobby-congress.html

House votes to block EPA water rules [Associated Press]

The Republican-controlled House on Tuesday approved a bill to block the Obama administration from implementing a rule that asserts regulatory authority over many of the nation's streams and wetlands — an action that critics call a classic Washington overreach. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule that it says will clarify which streams and waterways are shielded from development under the Clean Water Act, an issue that remains in dispute even after two U.S. Supreme Court rulings. Agriculture groups and farm-state politicians call the proposed rule a power grab that would allow the government to dictate what farmers can do on their own land.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/house-moves-block-epa-water-rules-25387980

Injunction to keep Drakes Bay open rejected by judge [Marin Independent Journal]

A federal court judge rejected an injunction request Tuesday that would have helped keep the Drakes Bay Oyster Co. open. Businesses that use Drakes Bay asked for the injunction, saying the LEGAL FILING represents a new argument — different from the one rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this summer — to keep the oyster farm open….But in a tone that was sometimes harsh, U.S District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers rejected the argument, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to bring a request for the injunction "given the lack of merit."…Drakes Bay owner Kevin Lunny attended the hearing. Gross said he would consult with his clients before deciding a next step, but it appears as though Lunny may be out of legal options.

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_26500324/injunction-keep-drakes-bay-open-rejected-by-judge

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.