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• Minimum Wage Fight -- Déjà Vu
• Water Legislation Comes Up Dry
• Spotted Lanternfly in 13 Eastern States
• CAWG PAC Success in Los Olivos
• Playing the Waiting Game: Card Check Bill Heads to Governor’s Desk
• Solano County GWSS Eradication and Nursery Regulatory Program
• Conservation Agriculture Planning Grants Program
• USDA Announces Details for the Upcoming Census of Agriculture
• Call for Nominations: CAWG Grower and Leader of the Year

Minimum Wage Fight -- Déjà Vu

On Labor Day, Governor Newsom signed into law a controversial bill to create a state-run council to regulate working conditions for the fast food industry while setting workers’ minimum wage as high as $22 per hour next year. This legislation, AB 257 (Holden, D-Los Angeles), was opposed by fast food restaurants from San Diego to Arcata and was hotly debated in the legislature, receiving the bare minimum votes needed for approval.

The measure will likely be challenged at the ballot in 2024. But in the meantime, the bill is a sign of things to come. 

The “Fight for $15” effort began in the late 1990’s with minimum wage increases in the Los Angeles basin, San Francisco Bay area, and other coastal communities. The goal of the movement was to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour and then increase annually relying on the consumer price index.

In 2015, the California legislature approved the $15 minimum wage statewide which includes an annual cost of living escalator. But labor unions are not satisfied with that victory and are now calling for a $20 per hour minimum wage. 

The Fight for $15 game-plan is currently playing out again with 39 California cities and counties having already established rates that are higher than $15 an hour. It is widely expected that there will be legislation in 2023 or 2024 to increase California’s minimum wage to at least $20. 

Water Legislation Comes Up Dry

Last week when the legislature adjourned for the end of the two-year session, one of the last bills to be disposed of was AB 2201 (Bennett, D-Ventura) which would have created new regulatory hurdles for getting a permit for a new water well. When this bill was first introduced in February, it was what is referred to as a “spot bill.” Meaning, it made no substantive change in law and was simply a placeholder for future amendments later in the year.

When the bill was amended in March, it appeared that the author was intending to place new well restrictions into the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. A few weeks later, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-7-22 to create similar restrictions. The executive order is for a limited period in response to the drought and made AB 2201 entirely unnecessary. 

AB 2201 would be amended four more times over the next five months, with some amendments that were essentially an entire rewrite of the bill. With each amendment, it became more confusing as to what the bill was actually intending to accomplish – Other than to effectively prohibit new wells permanently in large parts of the Golden State. 

At midnight on the last day of the two-year session, AB 2201 finally died when the author wouldn’t take it up on the Assembly floor. 

Much of the burden of this current drought has sadly rested with agriculture. This is mostly in the form of emergency water regulations and executive orders. For the moment at least, the voice of reason was heard, and this anti-agriculture water legislation was defeated.  

The invasive species has now taken hold in 13 Eastern states; California grapegrowers are nervous it will head west, but are thankful for the proactive approach that the California Department of Food and Agriculture has taken. 

While the infestation has quietly expanded across the Eastern states, alarming agriculture officials and wine industry members, officials in California are keeping a watchful eye on the bug and laying plans to keep it from taking hold in their state. In February, lanternfly egg masses were intercepted at a CDFA agricultural checkpoint in Truckee, Calif., near Lake Tahoe, on a trailer load of firewood coming from New Jersey, one of the infested states. One study has projected that the insect will likely reach California by 2027.

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CAWG PAC hosted a very successful event on August 25 at the beautiful Crossroads Estate in Los Olivos. The event focused on The Future of Farming with onsite vendors such as Fieldin, JSC Ag, Vmech, and Sunridge Nurseries who showcased their products of the future. A big thank you to our CAWG board of directors, Greg Gonzalez, Gregg Hibbits, and Mike Testa for hosting, promoting, and bringing in sponsorships for this event. Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support!

Donate to the CAWG PAC! 

Growing winegrapes is a risky proposition. Each year, growers confront new and changing circumstances: water, fires, pests, labor availability and volatile markets. Growers attack these challenges head on, through continuous learning and adaptation. By supporting CAWG PAC, our growers can adapt to California’s ever shifting political climate. For more information about CAWG PAC, please visit our website.

Insight by Fisher Phillips LLP

California agricultural employers are in for a whirlwind month ahead as labor advocates and farmworker unions are once again demanding Governor Newsom pass the infamous “card check” bill. If signed, this bill would make it far easier for agricultural workers to organize into unions across the state.

While California lawmakers just passed Assembly Bill (AB) 2183 on August 29, Governor Newsom has been outspoken about the bill’s procedural problems and various inconsistencies. The governor’s spokesperson recently noted that he “cannot support an untested mail-in election process that lacks critical provisions to protect the integrity of the election and is predicated on an assumption that government cannot effectively enforce laws.” This statement occurred after final amendments were made to the bill – so presumably the governor’s concerns were not addressed before the bill landed on his desk. We won’t know for sure, however, whether the governor supports the measure as it stands until he formally puts pen to paper and either signs or vetoes the measure – which he must do by September 30.

What do you need to know about the card check bill, and what might it mean for your business?

ARTICLE

The Solano County Agriculture Department extended the treatment area for the GWSS infestation in the Browns Valley neighborhood of Vacaville, but recent additional GWSS finds have not resulted in an expansion of the infested area. County officials are working with the Pierce’s Disease Control Program to eradicate the infestation by conducting visual surveying, trapping, and insecticide treatments, and releasing biocontrol agents.

Over 1,700 stingless parasitic wasps have been released for biological control since April. Officials will continue to release wasps every two months through October. Approximately 95% of residential properties in the area were treated in fall 2021 through early 2022. Additional treatments of both new and previously treated properties took place this summer. Also, 150 sticky traps set up in the area will be checked every two weeks through fall to monitor the GWSS population.

The Solano County infestation is the only current infestation north of the Madera area. 

Nursery Regulatory Program:

As of July 31, 2022, there were 23,915 nursery stock shipments to non-infested areas of the state this year. During outgoing inspections, origin county inspectors have stopped 32 glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) egg masses, eight GWSS nymphs, and one GWSS adult from moving in nursery stock shipments. Two regulatory actions have been taken so far this year for viable GWSS life stages found during the destination inspection of nursery stock.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) recently announced the new Conservation Agriculture Planning Grants Program (CAPGP). This program funds plans for climate change mitigation and adaptation, further environmental stewardship on farms and ranches, and projects to ensure agricultural food security into the future.

The following are examples of conservation plans eligible for funding: 

Irrigation Water Management Design, Comprehensive Nutrient Management, Soil Health Management Plan, Agricultural Energy Design Plan, Conservation Plan Supporting Organic Transition or Organic System Plan, Transition to Organic, Pest Management Conservation System, Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Assessment, and more... 

Application deadline: October 23, 2022

LEARN MORE

Stay Tuned for SWEEP!

We expect CDFA will soon be announcing the guidelines for the 2023 State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP).

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the plans for the 2022 Census of Agriculture. USDA will mail the census to millions of agriculture producers across the 50 states and Puerto Rico this fall.

The 2022 Census of Agriculture will be mailed in phases, starting with an invitation to respond online in November, followed by paper questionnaires in December. Farm operations of all sizes, urban and rural, which produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural product in 2022 are included in the ag census.

The Census of Agriculture began in 1840 and is now conducted every five years by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The census highlights land use and ownership, producer characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures, among other topics. 

To learn more about the Census of Agriculture, visit nass.usda.gov/AgCensus 

JANUARY 

24-26 – Save the Date! 2023 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium 

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