The sun sets over "a newly planted Grenache vine at the top of a vineyard block 10 years in the making" at Tablas Creek Vineyard's Jewell Ridge in Paso Robles. Photo courtesy of Tablas Creek.

Three months of lobbying by San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau to remove a controversial provision from the County's new proposed Paso Basin Planting Ordinance culminated with a big win at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting. Thank you to all of our Farm Bureau members and industry partners who helped push for this pivotal change.

Supervisors struck the "Tier 3" provision which would have required farmers to get a discretionary permit for new crop plantings using more than 25 acre-feet per year of water without an offset of existing crops. The now-removed Tier 3 would have been the first time in SLO County's history that farmers would have to undergo a costly California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review to plant crops.

Here's a summary of the resolution approved by the County Board of Supervisors on April 6, 2021 that directed staff to:

1) Develop a planting ordinance for the Paso Basin (defined using the Fugro boundary map, excluding the Atascadero Sub-basin) to be effective until 2045 with a two-tier framework.

2) Bring an ordinance amendment to extend the Agricultural Offset Requirements to June 1, 2022.

3) Include funding for a 14-month Limited Term Planner III position andn Environmental Impact Report contract during the budget hearings scheduled for June 7-9, 2021.

Our groundwater challenges in the Paso Basin and other parts of SLO County are not going away any time soon. We appreciate the Board's decision to remove the CEQA provision and will continue to collaborate with the County on long-term groundwater policy solutions. For more information, watch a recording of the April 6 meeting (Item 26 is the Paso Basin Planting Ordinance) and read comments from SLO County Farm Bureau and the Agricultural Liaison Advisory Board.

To read CWA's monthly update, click here.

California Farm Bureau's Friday Review - April 9

Fully insured and licensed by the state with a large bonding capacity, the Electricraft field foremen, office staff, and state certified electricians have a combined 300+ years of general electrical construction, service, project management, and turnkey design/build experience.

(805) 544-8224 electricraftinc.com

Bella Terra Farms, Phil Shepard, Stephen Martin, Timothy Twisselman, Atascadero Chamber of Commerce, John Gannon

For more detailed questions about your personal financial needs, consider calling 855-863-9636 for a complimentary one-on-one consultation with a licensed Nationwide representative. 

Most Americans turning age 65 will need long-term care at some point in their lives¹ & many will seek in-home assistance from specialized caregivers over moving to a nursing home. Learn how to estimate care expenses and create a plan to cover them with help from the long-term care specialists at Nationwide. 

The Swiss billionaire who owns a Paso Robles winery could soon be a part owner in the national media publishing company that owns newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun...

www.sanluisobispo.com

Dr. Royce Larsen, UC Extension Service of San Luis Obispo County shared publications that discuss how to document any suspected livestock predation and methods that can be used to help control livestock predation by Gray Wolves. (Note, a lone Gray Wolf was tracked in SLO County earlier this week.)

THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION 

invites you to attend 

Presented by  

Crystal D'Souza, Staff Counsel, CA Department of Food and Agriculture 

Brent Burchett, Farm Bureau Executive Director (Moderator) 

DATE: April 15, 2021 

TIME: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. 

PLACE: Via Zoom 

COST: $10 for SLOCBA Members, $25 for Non-Members   

californiaavocado.com

The Packer - April 9, 2021 By Tom Karst

Everyone is talking about automating field work on farms, but is anyone doing anything about it?

The answer is yes — in fact, Santa Maria shippers counted several important technological developments and labor-saving automation in the past several years.

Mechanical harvesting was mentioned by several shippers, but there are other innovations that have been meaningful. ...

Continue reading here.

A barely-noticed action early in March by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors likely has placed greater control of the region's water supply in the hands of a few individuals and private water agencies.

calcoastnews.com

When Gov. Gavin Newsom voiced his support last year for a ban on hydraulic fracturing by oil and gas companies, an effort long fought by the industry and trade unions alike, he gave Democrats a green light to send him legislation to...

governing.com

UC Extension Hosts Free Webinar: Online Sales Options and Methods 

Penny Leff, UC SAREP, paleff@ucanr.edu, 530.902.9763 (cell) 

Our weekly E-News is sent out every Friday to our membership. If you're interested in an effective, low-cost advertising campaign ($150 a month) please give us a call or send an email to SLO County Farm Bureau Executive Director Brent Burchett.

Join SLO County Farm Bureau now or renew your membership online. Go to slofarmbureau.org to join, or download the membership form PDF. Have your renewal notice available to speed up the process; you will need to enter your membership number, name and ZIP code. Renewal dues may be paid online or over the phone by credit card.