April 25, 2022
FARM BUREAU THIS WEEK
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In This Edition:
Calendar
Meetings This Week
New Members
Farm Bureau Benefits
County
State
US
Classifieds
Other News
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May 11 Ag in the Classroom's Farm Day
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Apr 25 7:30am Taxpayers Assn Online
Apr 25 9:00am EID Board Agenda
Apr 25 9:00am Board of Supervisors Agenda
Apr 26 5:00pm Placerville City Council Agenda
Apr 27 6:00pm EDC Farm Bureau Board
Apr 28 8:30am Planning Commission Agenda
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Need a UTV that isn’t slowed down by tough terrain? Buy a crossover utility vehicle from John Deere and knock $300 off the price tag with your Farm Bureau membership. Find your Rewards number at JohnDeere.com/FarmBureau, present it to your local dealer, and grab your Gator!
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It’s been over 100 years since the first Farmall prototype was released. In that time, Case IH’s historic line of tractors has improved in every way – including being added to our member benefits program! Get your discount certificate and show it to your nearest dealer for $200 off a Farmall purchase.
(You might even be able to combine California Farm Bureau’s deal with other discounts, promotions, rebates, and offers at Case IH…just ask!)
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Your savings on Cat® products don't end with Farm Bureau's discounts of up to $5,000 on equipment purchases. The Great Payback program converts your machine's fuel cost estimates* into credit for parts, service, and rentals. Print your discount certificate at Cat.com/FarmBureau and take it to your local dealer to start earning!
* Offer valid Jan. 1, 2022 - June 30, 2022, on select Cat® machines. Credit is calculated based on your machine’s runtime hours and its predetermined fuel consumption rate, not a guarantee of exact fuel consumption. Credits are awarded quarterly until reaching 1,500 hours or 24 months, whichever comes first. Contact your local dealer for terms & conditions.
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Grow For It! A new approach to digging
Late March proved to be bittersweet as it foretold the spring to come. Home gardeners loved the warmer weather and its promise of the joys of trees, shrubs and flowers blooming. The bitter part of the anticipation of spring comes in the not-so-fun part of preparing your soil for planting. A lot of manual effort is expended through the practice of tilling or the even more extreme disruption of soil called rototilling. Is there a way to get the garden ready for planting aside from tilling? (continued)
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Lake levels as of Apr 13-14
Stumpy Meadows Percent full 100%
Folsom Reservoir Percent full 64%
Union Valley Reservoir Percent full 88%
Loon Lake Percent full 64%
Ice House Percent full 84%
Lake Aloha Percent full 86%
Caples Lake Percent full 93%
Echo Lake Percent full 48%
Silver Lake Percent full 71%
Sly Park Percent Full 81.1%
American River Flow 541.2 cfs (down from 803.2)
xx% indicates - reduction xx% indicates - increase xx% unchanged
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Cannabis
Cannabis Business Licensing - The Department of Cannabis Control launched a comprehensive online compliance portal named CannaConnect. The DCC asks for regulated entities to share input on the services offered online and suggest improvements. To access compliance resources and submit feedback click CannaConnect Compliance Hub - Department of Cannabis Control
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Nutrition
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is currently accepting proposals for the 2022 California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP). This program supports shoppers using nutrition benefits such as CalFresh (Food stamps) by providing matching funds for every dollar spent on California - grown fruits and vegetables at participating sites, including certified farmers’ markets, CSAs, farm stands and small corner stores. CNIP incentives enable benefit recipients to purchase nutritious, locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables for their families while supporting California farmers. Applications must be submitted by email to cafarmtofork@cdfa.ca.gov, by 6 p.m. on May 16, 2022. Further information on the grant program, including the RFP, timeline and application criteria are available here .
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Organic
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has announced vacancies on the California Organic Products Advisory Committee (COPAC) responsible for advising the Department on the State Organics Program. The current vacancies include a wholesale distributor representative; technical representative; consumer representative and alternates for the producer representative, wholesale distributor representative, processor representative, retail representative, environmental representative, technical representative; and consumer representative. The term of office for committee members is three years. Individuals applicants should complete a questionnaire and submit a letter of recommendation from an industry member to Thomas Osborn, CDFA Inspection and Compliance Branch, 1220 ‘N’ Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 or via e - mail to Thomas.Osborn@cdfa.ca.gov.
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Pesticides
The Department of Pesticide Regulation will be hosting a second public hearing on Tuesday, April 19th starting at 9am to discuss the presence of imidacloprid residue in groundwater in Fresno, Santa Barbara, and Tulare counties. The finding triggered a review process for imidacloprid which includes a hearing process to assess allowing continued agricultural use. DPR conducted the first hearing on March 22nd where the state provided evidence of potential groundwater pollution. The second hearing will be about receiving rebuttal evidence and public comments. The meeting will be held in person (at the CalEPA headquarters in Sacramento in the Byron Sher Auditorium) or via Zoom with the link found here (Webinar ID: 886 7904 0342 / Passcode: 697531).Participants can also view the hearing here. A third hearing will likely be set for May 17th with more information to follow.
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Pollinators
CDFA released a draft proposal of the Pollinator Habitat Program last month. This new program, within the Department’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation, was established by the Budget Act of 2021 (SB 170, Skinner). An allocation of $15 million to CDFA was made for fiscal year 2021 - 2022 to provide grant funding for the establishment of pollinator habitat on agricultural lands throughout California. CDFA was directed to administer the Pollinator Habitat Program and to prioritize the planning of native habitats for the benefit of native biodiversity and the use of locally appropriate native plant seed mixes when feasible. Farm Bureau will be submitting comments by the deadline on Monday, April 18. The proposed draft has problematic language including exclusively awarding grants to third party entities, such as Resource Conservation Districts, California Universities, or non - profits, instead of directly funding farmers and ranchers. It also allows these third parties to use up to 25% of the grant funds towards administrative costs – a percentage which CAFB feels is exorbitant and could ultimately be applied to more project acreage.
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Rural Crime
AB 2613, introduced by Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D – Salinas), is a Farm Bureau sponsored measure to allow farmers and ranchers direct access funds to help clean up illegally dumped waste on their property. It would add a state - wide pilot program to the current Farm and Ranch Solid Waste Cleanup and Abatement Grant Program housed within CalRecycle. The pilot program could be funded up to $1 million, in addition to the current program’s $1 million allocation. The current program funds many cleanup projects on publicly owned land, or land that is merely zoned for agriculture and not in active use. As the program has recently become oversubscribed, these kinds of projects could be taking away opportunities from farmers and ranchers which are confronted with this problem on a regular basis. This bill would make pilot program funds exclusively available for private and active agricultural lands, in hopes that it will help members with this growing problem. The bill will be heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on Monday, April 18. If you have faced issues with illegal dumping, please feel free to reach out to staff.
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Wildfire
Tax Credits in Wildfire Zones - Assembly member Frank Bigelow amended his AB 2892 last week to provide tax credits for the purchase of a backup generator. The bill would allow a credit against the Personal Income Tax Law and Corporate Tax Law for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2027, in an amount that is equal to 50% of the amount incurred by a person or a small business, during the taxable year for the purchase. The bill sets a maximum credit of $18,000 for a backup generator for use in a residence or commercial property in a designated wildfire zone. The bill is set to be heard in Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on April 25, 2022.
Wildfire and Livestock - In 2021, University of California Co - operative Extension (UCCE), along with the Placer, Nevada, and Yuba County Agriculture Departments, worked with ranchers in all three counties to create California’s first multi - county Livestock Access Pass program. This program provides training and certification for commercial livestock producers to safely access and care for their animals in an evacuation zone. Placer, Nevada, and Yuba Counties are included in a single program, corresponding to CALFIRE’s Nevada - Yuba - Placer Unit. The program, which was developed in coordination with CALFIRE, local law enforcement, and local offices of emergency management, defines a Commercial Livestock Operator as an owner of livestock consisting of 50 + head of livestock (including in utero, e.g., 25 + bred cows), 100 + poultry or rabbits, or 50 + beehives that reside in Placer, Nevada, or Yuba County for at least a portion of the year, or a person who, through an agreement with that owner of livestock, has authority and is responsible to oversee the care and well - being of the owner’s livestock. Commercially raised species of livestock include cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, poultry, rabbits, llamas, alpacas, and bees, and “commercially raised” means the livestock are raised as part of a business. Livestock Access Passes are provided by the agricultural department in the operation’s home county. Each department also maintains a database of pass holders, that will be made available to first responders in an emergency. To gain access to live stock, pass holders will notify the County Agricultural Department and/or UCCE before receiving permission to enter an evacuation zone. Commercial ranching operations often include too many livestock to evacuate in a single trailer. Many ranchers shelter their livestock in place, but need access to feed, water, and care for their animals when it’s safe.
These passes are intended to allow commercial ranchers to enter an evacuation zone and care for livestock once first responders feel it is safe for them to do so. Pass holders must participate in 4 hour training session to receive their first pass. This initial training includes information on the incident command system, wildfire behavior and terminology, the responsibilities of pass holders, and ranch - scale disaster planning. Once a rancher has received initial training, a one - hour refresher course is required each year.
Important dates for 2022: For new passholders, an initial 4 - hour training session will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2022, at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center in Browns Valley, CA (with lunch provided by the Yuba - Sutter Farm Bureau). A one - hour refresher course for 2021 passholders will be provided virtually. To apply for a Livestock Access Pass (even if you received one in 2021), please complete the form here or contact UCCE advisor Dan Macon at (530) 889-7385 or dmacon@ucanr.edu to receive a paper application.
Federal Wildfire Funding in California - The United States Department of Agriculture announced its Wildfire Crisis Landscape Investments through 2024 for California with two significant projects identified and budgeted for over $80 million in funding over two years. The funding will target high risk wildfire zones with a variety of forest health and resilience treatments.
The 313,000 - acre North Yuba Landscape watershed is one of the largest contiguous “unburned” landscapes remaining in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The North Yuba watershed is also an important water source for residential and agricultural areas surrounding Sacramento. It feeds a reservoir retained by the tallest dam in California, which also provides power to the Sacramento area. To ensure that native forest practices are integrated with the North Yuba Landscape project, the Nisenan of the Nevada City Rancheria partnered in 2019 with the National Forest Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Blue Forest Conservation, Yuba Water Agency, Sierra County, South Yuba River Citizens League, and the Camptonville Community Partnership to create the North Yuba Forest Partnership. These entities have demonstrated commitment and success in transitioning the North Yuba watershed to a healthier and more resilient state, reducing wildfire risk to communities, and enabling the watershed to withstand other disturbances associated with a changing climate.
Through ecologically based thinning and prescribed fire, the North Yuba Forest Partnership seeks to protect North Yuba communities from the threat of catastrophic wildfire and restore the watershed to a healthier, more resilient state. The North Yuba Landscape project is the proving ground for innovations, including community - based biomass utilization development, large-scale planning, and conservation finance through the issuance of the first two Forest Resilience Bonds that leverage substantial private sector investments to help fund implementation of this work. In addition to reducing the fire risk to the communities of Camptonville, Goodyears Bar, Downieville, Sierra City, the Yuba Water Agency infrastructure, and others within the North Yuba watershed, the project will improve forest conditions across the landscape to enhance fire resilience and adaptability to a changing climate. The project aims to improve watershed resilience by protecting 260,000 acre - feet of water supply for 60,000 acres of productive farmland while also protecting water quality in the Sacramento Delta.
The second project in California to receive funding is the Stanislaus Landscape Project, which aims to apply a full suite of needed treatments to restore forest resilience at a landscape scale in the Stanislaus National Forest. These treatments include mastication, biomass removal, machine piling for burning, hand piling for burning, hand thinning, timber harvest, hazard tree removal, prescribed fire, and fuel break construction and maintenance. Combined, these efforts will reduce hazardous fuels and create a landscape that can better withstand disturbances such as wildfire, insects, disease, and drought conditions, while also protecting local communities, providing for critical species habitat, and supporting forest use and recreational opportunities. Within the Stanislaus Landscape Project, the newly signed Social and Ecological Resilience Across the Landscape (SERAL) project uses emerging models to demonstrate how vegetation treatments will help wildland fire play its natural role within the fireshed, leading to greater ecosystem integrity and protection of collaboratively identified high - value resources and assets (communities, California Spotted Owl and other habitat, water systems, powerlines, roads, communication sites, and more).
The US Forest Service is working with Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk to develop a Tribal Forest Protection Act (TFPA) component that will capitalize on existing agreements with the Tribe to support implementation of the Stanislaus Landscape Project. Outcomes include reduced fire risk to several foothill communities (Sonora, Columbia, Cedar Ridge, Twain Harte, Strawberry, Pinecrest, Long Barn); protection of power infrastructure (hydropower facilities and transmission and distribution lines); reduced risk to multiple communication sites and facilities both on private and public lands; and road improvements (to provide access for various treatments, as well as improved public recreation and access for emergency response). The South and Middle Forks of the Stanislaus River are the primary water sources for Tuolumne County and provide potable water for other municipalities throughout the Central Valley, as well. Additional outcomes include less risk to community infrastructure (beyond homes), including the watershed, water reservoirs (Pinecrest Lake, Lyons Lake) and the historic wooden flume that provides 90 percent of the water to the local area. These watersheds provide substantial water for agricultural uses and habitat for several species of conservation concern.
Wildfire and Insurance - California Farm Bureau and California Forestry Association submitted a joint public comment letter to the California Department of Insurance proposed regulations on Mitigation in Rating Plans and Wildfire Risk Models. As discussed previously, these regulations would require insurers to provide premium discounts for property level wildfire mitigation measures (home hardening) and consider community level fire safe certifications and designations (community hardening) in an effort to ensure that California homeowners do not face discriminatory rates, and to create a healthy competitive insurance marketplace. CAFB and Calforests’ combined public comments express concerns that the proposed regulations do not go far enough in ensuring that rural residents will stop facing non - renewals and unfair rates. CAFB and Calforests request that CDI’s proposed rules need to account for the state and federal governments investment of billions of newly budgeted spending on wildfire mitigation and forest health and resilience projects at landscape scale (for example, as described in detail in the review of the Stanislaus Landscape Project and North Yuba Landscape Project funded by USDA).
CAFB and Calforests are concerned that the very communities that will benefit from direct fire risk reduction at landscape scale may be small, rural areas or individual farms and homesteads that will not be grouped into community attainted fire safe certifications, and thus will be overlooked by insurers. CAFB and Calforests feel that in addition to considering home and community hardening, insurers need to consider billions of dollars in investments to decrease wildfire risk at scale for every policy holder, even if located in smaller communities or situated farther out in the wildland interface. A lack of a community designation should not work against policy holders that have also benefited from these mitigation investments, and the regulations must account for landscape scale reduction efforts.
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Water
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) released new features this week for their domestic and irrigation well dashboards. DWR has added two new drought - related features to the Domestic Well and Irrigation Well Dashboards within California’s Groundwater Live. The first is a series of new interactive well density layers that summarize the number of domestic and irrigation well completion reports received by DWR, allowing users to view the density of wells installed over four distinct time periods:
- Since 1977,
- The last 5 - Years,
- The last 3 - Years, and
- The last year.
Users can toggle between time periods to see how well density has changed over time across California and in their local areas. The other new feature has added monthly well statistics for both domestic and irrigation wells, allowing users to compare the number of new domestic and irrigation wells installed month - by - month since 1977. Users can see how the number of new well installations have changed over time both Statewide and within any County or Groundwater Basin due to climatic conditions, seasonal trends, and other factors. For questions or more information about California’s Groundwater Live or these new features, email calgw@water.ca.gov.
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The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program - Produce PrescriptionProgram
The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture is seeking proposals for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program – Produce Prescription Program. The primary goal and objective of the GusNIP Produce Prescription Program is to demonstrate and evaluate the impact of projects on (1) the improvement of dietary health through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables; (2) the reduction of individual and household food insecurity; and (3) the reduction in healthcare use and associated costs.
Please note: Non-profit organizations are eligible to apply.
Estimated Total Program Funding: $4,900,000; Range of Awards: $0 - $500,000
Link to view grant description Request for Application:
***Please note: Letter of intent due date: None
Cost Sharing Requirements: No match required
***Note: Due Date (Closing): June 30, 2022
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You're Invited: USDA NRCS Services & Funding Program Information Session
The US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is committed to “helping people help the land.” The agency provides farmers, ranchers, and private non-industrial forest operators with technical services and funding opportunities to incentivize improvements to their soil, water, and related natural resources to become more resilient to such things as drought. This information session will give stakeholders a chance to learn and ask about such services as Conservation Technical Assistance and learn about funding programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). This information session is hosted in partnership with the Fresno State Office of Community & Economic Development (OCED), USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and USDA Office of Partnerships & Public Engagement (OPPE).
USDA NRCS Services & Funding Programs Information Session
Date: Thursday, May 26, 2022
Time: 10:00am PDT
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El Dorado County https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/edcgov
Placerville City https://www.cityofplacerville.org/jobs
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El Dorado Ag In The Classroom has opportunities on several committees: Program, Finance, Development, and Marketing. If you have interest in serving as a volunteer on one of these please send an email here.
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Is there a story you'd like to share with our members? Let us know at admin@edcfb.com
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California gives rivers more room to flow to stem flood risk
Between vast almond orchards and dairy pastures in the heart of California’s farm country sits a property being redesigned to look like it did 150 years ago, before levees restricted the flow of rivers that weave across the landscape. The 2,100 acres at the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers in the state’s Central Valley are being reverted to a floodplain. That means when heavy rains cause the rivers to go over their banks, water will run onto the land, allowing traditional ecosystems to flourish and lowering flood risk downstream. The Dos Rios Ranch Preserve is California’s largest single floodplain restoration project. Just as climate change is making California’s dry periods drier, it’s expected to make the wet periods wetter. The state experienced an atmospheric river in October and major rain and snowfall in December, followed by its driest January through March on record. Since the 1850s, 95% of the historical wetlands and river habitats in the Central Valley have been eliminated. But the valley’s vast open spaces offer opportunities, such as on farmland that’s no longer in use. The property Dos Rios sits on was most recently a dairy, and the owners approach River Partners about selling the land for conservation in the mid-2000s.
Sonoma County unveils first-ever proposed well water fees under pioneering California groundwater law
In a dramatic shift from California’s history of allowing landowners to freely pump and consume water from their own wells, Sonoma County’s rural residents and many others will soon begin paying for the water drawn from beneath their feet. In the sprawling 81,284-acre Santa Rosa Plain groundwater basin, the proposed regulatory fee for a rural resident is $18 to $25 a year, much lower than the rates in the more sparsely populated Petaluma and Sonoma valleys. Large groundwater water users — including ranches, cities, water districts and businesses — would pay fees based on the volume of water drawn from their wells. The proposed fees, unveiled in a series of public Zoom meetings last month, stem from a state law mandating payments to support locally tailored plans to sustain groundwater resources for the next 50 years, including a 20-year drought.
Biden Administration Restores Stricter Environmental Reviews
The Biden administration is restoring stricter environmental standards for approving new pipelines, highways, power plants and other construction projects, including requiring consideration of how such projects might affect climate change. The changes announced Tuesday reinstate National Environmental Policy Act measures that had been removed by former President Donald Trump, who said that federal regulations were needlessly hindering much-needed infrastructure projects. Under the stricter reviews, federal agencies must take into account the cumulative impacts that a project or a new proposed federal regulation would have in areas such as air and water quality, wildlife habitat and climate change, according to a White House statement. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business trade groups opposed restoring the measures when first proposed last year. The groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Chemistry Council, pointed out that the regulations could impede construction of new transmission lines needed to connect clean-energy projects like wind-turbine farms to the power grid.
How robots and indoor farming can help save water and grow crops year round
Agriculture may feed the world, but it is also contributing to global warming. Agriculture production uses about 70% of the Earth's fresh water and makes up about a third of greenhouse gas emissions. But it doesn't have to. Farming is moving inside, and farmers aren't exactly what they used to be. New forms of farming, new technology and new companies are greening the greenery. Take for example Grover and Phil. They are autonomous robots — or farmers of the future, working at Iron Ox, a 6-year-old, Silicon Valley-based farm tech start-up. It grows produce in natural light greenhouses, with the goal of decentralizing farming in order to grow crops closer to consumers in a more sustainable way. "We have different robots that are tending to the plants, they're checking on it, they're scanning for issues, and they're adjusting the amount of nutrients it gets, the amount of water it gets," explained Brandon Alexander, CEO of Iron Ox.
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) on Friday called on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to support California’s Proposition 12 before the Supreme Court. In 2018, California voters passed Proposition 12, which set humane standards for farm animal products sold in California. Last month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, a lawsuit challenging Proposition 12.
How America’s Farmers Got Cut Out of the Supply Chain
During a normal spring, the sight of orchards bursting with clusters of almonds is a boon throughout California’s Central Valley. Here is money growing on trees. Not this year. As Scott Phippen looks out on his orchard on a recent afternoon, he feels a sense of foreboding tinged with rage. His warehouse is stuffed with the leftovers of last year’s harvest — 30 million pounds of almonds stored in wooden and plastic bins stacked to the rafters, and overflowing into his yard. The almonds are here, the customers are over there, and the global shipping industry is failing to span the divide. Beyond a logistical torment, the crisis assailing almond producers is inflicting deep financial consequences, from diminished revenues to higher costs for storage. The same can be said for a broad array of other American agricultural exporters — from wheat growers in North Dakota to soybean producers in Nebraska — as shipping crops to customers has become maddening to the point of futility. The exasperation of agricultural exporters amounts to the latest chapter of the Great Supply Chain Disruption, the tumultuous reordering of international trade and transportation amid the worst pandemic in a century.
Food fight over olive oil sparks larger debate about the California brand
With its verdant hills full of fruit trees, calming ponds and tastings of an olive oil so precious it is typically drizzled rather than poured, McEvoy Ranch in Petaluma could be mistaken for the Italian countryside. Every tree planted in this 3-decade-old family operation, which helped put California olive oil on the culinary map, can be traced back to Tuscany or Puglia. The McEvoy family, along with other Northern California olive oil artisans, have imported something else from Europe: the idea that their regional brand is sacred — much like Italians with their Parmigiano-Reggiano or the French with their Champagne. But in this case, the brand is California extra virgin olive oil, a product connoisseurs seek out for its pungency and pepperiness. A new state law punishes those who improperly use the California name to peddle oil from elsewhere. “It is extremely important we protect the California brand,” said Samantha Dorsey, president of McEvoy Ranch. The movement that led to the new law triggered one of the biggest food fights in California since Napa vintners got the state to ban charlatans from marketing their wines with the region’s name. It has implications extending far beyond the scenic olive groves of Northern California, drawing into the debate food safety advocates, global marketing consultants, even hedge fund players who see potential for big profits in products labeled as Californian.
Oregon tribe opposes water release for farmers
A Native American tribe in Oregon said Tuesday it is assessing its legal options after learning the U.S. government plans to release water from a federally operated reservoir to downstream farmers along the Oregon-California border amid a historic drought. Even limited irrigation for the farmers who use Klamath River water on about 300 square miles of crops puts two critically endangered fish species in peril of extinction because the water withdrawals come at the height of spawning season, The Klamath Tribes said. This summer’s water allocation plan, released by the Bureau of Reclamation last week, will send about 50,000 acre-feet of water to farmers in the Klamath Reclamation Project — less than 15% of what they would get in a normal year. The Klamath Tribes said in a statement that the decision to release any water to about 1,000 farmers in the massive, federal agricultural project was “perhaps the saddest chapter yet in a long history of treaty violations” and placed the blame for the current water crisis on “120 years of ecosystem mismanagement at the hands of settler society.”
PG&E wildfire victim trust lobbies Newsom, California lawmakers for $1.5 billion state loan
The multibillion-dollar trust fund responsible for paying PG&E Corp. wildfire victims is lobbying Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature for a loan. The PG&E Fire Victim Trust says it needs a state loan of about $1.5 billion to help it fully compensate the nearly 70,000 survivors of the wildfires that drove California’s largest utility into bankruptcy in 2019. Without the state’s help, the trust probably can’t make the victims whole, said Patrick McCallum, a lobbyist hired by the trust to press its case at the Capitol. As it prepared to emerge from bankruptcy in 2020, PG&E told fire victims it would pay them $13.5 billion for losses not covered by their insurance. The utility set up the independently-run Fire Victim Trust with $6.75 billion in cash and 477 million shares of PG&E stock, an ownership stake of about one fifth. Fire victims won’t actually receive any stock. Instead, the head of the trust, a retired appellate court justice named John Trotter, is selling the shares periodically to raise cash.
Could April storms help save California from another drought year?
A burst of late-season storms rolling across Northern California is filling in the region’s mountains with snow at a time when many people had chalked up this winter as another disappointing drought year. After a three-month dry spell of paltry precipitation, the La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific has unleashed a barrage of wet weather this month that could continue, on and off, through early May. It’s been an erratic winter in the mountains. Early October storms gave way to a dry November, then December brought historic heaps of snow to the Lake Tahoe area — as deep as 17 feet in some places. But the wet weather came to a halt beginning in early January, and the dry conditions continued through the end of March. Some high-elevation areas in the train of peaks between Mammoth Lakes and Mount Shasta in the state’s far north received a foot of snow last week and could get 2 more feet between Wednesday evening and the weekend.
Dry Weather Forecast Calls For Higher Food Prices And Billions In Farm Losses
Third-generation San Joaquin Valley farmer Gary Beene will plant only half his 1,200 acres this year. He doesn’t have enough water for the other half. “We’re working on survival more than anything else and getting through this year,” said Beene, who farms tomato, almond, cotton and garlic with his sons and grandson on the land his grandfather settled in California in the 1930s after sharecropping in Oklahoma. “It’s pretty discouraging. I’m hoping to steer my grandchildren away from agriculture. It’s sad.” California is having its driest year ever. In West Texas, no one alive has seen this little rain. The vast underground lake that feeds the Great Plains, which helps produce one-sixth of the world’s grain, is shrinking. Drought — historic drought, not just a year or two or three of dry weather, but a famine of rain so severe that some say you have to go back to the 1500s to find a rival — extends from the Pacific coast as far east as Mississippi, Wisconsin and Illinois. It couldn’t come at a worse time. Food prices are already stratospheric. Wheat prices, worsened by a shortage due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, have spiked. Soybeans are the highest in 10 years. Avocados haven’t been this expensive since the 1990s. Corn prices are flirting with an all-time record. America’s drought will push them and others higher. “Consumers will see higher prices and fewer choices, or imported replacements,” said Mike Wade, executive director of the pro-agriculture California Farm Water Coalition.
Farm, food workers in California can get $1,000 in COVID wage relief. Here’s how to apply
state program that gives up wage relief for Sacramento County farmworkers, food processing workers, agriculture laborers and food stand vendors sick with COVID-19 ends this month. Cosecha Sana, also known as Housing for the Harvest, is designed to help food and agriculture workers isolate if they test positive for COVID-19 by providing wage reimbursement for time off. Workers can also use the funds to book a hotel to isolate from family members. Since its inception in 2020, more than 570 people have benefited from the program in Sacramento County, according to Rachel Rios of La Familia Counseling Center, the county administrator of the state program. Last year, the program got a $24 million boost in state funding to distribute to agricultural counties in California.
After wildfires, scorched trees could disrupt water supplies
In a California forest torched by wildfire last summer, researcher Anne Nolin examines a handful of the season’s remaining snow, now darkened by black specks from the burned trees above. Spring heat waves had already melted much of the year’s limited snowfall across California and parts of the West when Nolin visited in early April. But she and her colleague are studying another factor that might’ve made the snow vanish faster in the central Sierra Nevada — the scorched trees, which no longer provide much shade and are shedding flecks of carbon. As climate change fuels the spread of wildfires across the West, researchers want to know how the dual effect might disrupt water supplies. Communities often rely on melting snow in the spring to replenish reservoirs during dryer months. If snow melts earlier than normal, that would likely leave less water flowing in the summer when it’s most needed, Nolin said.
Climate change, big agriculture combine to threaten insects
Climate change and habitat loss from big agriculture are combining to swat down global insect populations, with each problem making the other worse, a new study finds. While insects may bug people at times, they also are key in pollinating plants to feed people, making soil more fertile and they include beautiful butterflies and fireflies. Scientists have noticed a dramatic drop both in total bug numbers and diversity of insect species, calling it a slow-motion death by 1,000 cuts. Those cuts include pesticides and light pollution.
Cash for farmworkers? California lawmaker says new $20 million idea will help amid drought
A lawmaker from the central San Joaquin Valley wants to put cash in the hands of eligible farmworkers to help them deal with the devastation of California’s drought. Proposed by State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Democrat from Sanger, Senate Bill 1066 would allocate $20 million to create the California Farmworkers Drought Resilience Pilot Project, a state-funded project that would provide unconditional monthly cash payments of $1,000 for three years to eligible farmworkers, with the goal of lifting them out of poverty. “When we talk about climate change, we forget about those that are most impacted and are already hurting,” Hurtado said in a phone interview with The Fresno Bee on Tuesday. “And that is the workers and the farmers.” Part of the reason for the bill is that the agriculture industry lost over 8,000 jobs in 2021 alone due to the drought, Hurtado said. The proposed legislation comes nearly a year after Hurtado wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, urging him to prioritize farmworkers with the $35 million the state earmarked for guaranteed basic income pilot programs. The funding, agreed to by the Governor and the legislature as part of the fiscal year 2021-22 budget, will prioritize projects that serve former foster youth as well as pregnant individuals.
Plenty of rain, snow in Northern California. But nothing close to a drought buster
Northern California is getting a nice spell of wet weather, the latest in a series of storms in what’s turning into a fairly wet April. But a drought-buster? Forget it. “Any water is good water at this point,” said Benjamin Hatchett, a climatologist at the Desert Research Institute in Reno.. “It’s very beneficial, but probably isn’t going to make much of a dent in the long-term situation.” California got a statewide average of 1.75 inches of precipitation from January to March. In a normal year, those three months yield about 11.5 inches. The snowpack is just 31% as thick as it normally is for this time of year. The major reservoirs are in poor shape, too: Shasta Lake is less than half as full as it normally is. Lake Oroville is holding one-third less water than usual. As of Thursday, the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor said 95% of California is experiencing “severe drought.” About 40% of the state is in “extreme drought.”
Drought boon or boondoggle? Critics blast Poseidon desalination plan as crucial vote nears
Among the many complex arguments over water in California, one particularly heated debate centers on whether the state should seek more drinking water from a plentiful but expensive source: the Pacific Ocean. The debate has reached a critical stage in Huntington Beach, where Poseidon Water has been trying for more than two decades to build one of the country’s largest desalination plants. The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to vote next month on whether to grant a permit to build the plant. The long-running fight over the proposal encompasses contentious issues such as the effects on marine life, power requirements and whether the low-lying site is vulnerable to sea-level rise, as well as the company’s heavy political lobbying for the lucrative project. At the heart of the debate, there are fundamental arguments about whether Orange County really needs the water, how the area should adapt to worsening droughts with climate change, and whether the costs would be a reasonable investment to secure reliable water or an exorbitant megaproject that would mean higher water rates for decades to come.
Opinion: The World’s Food System Is Too Dependent on Wheat
Jessica Fanzo, professor of global food policy, Johns Hopkins: Russia and Ukraine together supply 30% of the world’s wheat. This is why the war has caused wheat prices to skyrocket, along with the prices of many other food commodities. From February to March, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Association’s Food Price Index leapt 12.6% to an all-time high. This threatens people around the world with unprecedented food insecurity. It also highlights the need to reform the global food system, which now leaves too many people dependent for nourishment on just a handful of mass-produced grains, including wheat, rice and corn. To deal with the immediate shortages, farmers in the U.S., India, Canada and elsewhere will have to plant more wheat. And people worldwide will have to replace wheat with rice and other available grains. In the long term, though, this crisis provides an opportunity to change the face of agriculture and reduce the world’s dependency on wheat and other big staple crops.
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2021/2022 Board of Directors
President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Ranalli
Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryann Argyres
Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gordon Helm
Jim Davies
Chuck Bacchi
Bill Prosser
Carolyn Mansfield
Norm Krizl
Staff
Managing Director . . Barb Kildow admin@edcfb.com 530-622-7773 530-620-8292 (cell)
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El Dorado County Farm Bureau News is a weekly publication for its members. Dues for membership are $185 for agricultural members, $150 for Business Ag Support, $72 for Associate members and $25 for Collegiate. Non-profit postage paid at Placerville, CA. Postmaster: Send changes to 2460 Headington Road, Placerville, CA 95667 El Dorado County Farm Bureau does not assume responsibility for statements by advertisers or for products advertised in El Dorado County newsletter, nor does Farm Bureau assume responsibility for statements or expressions of opinion other than in editorials or in articles showing authorship by an officer, director or employee of El Dorado County Farm Bureau or its affiliates.
A private nonprofit organization serving El Dorado County agriculture since 1917.
2460 Headington Road, Placerville, CA 95667
530-622-7773
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