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NEW FRESNO AG COMMISSIONER

Wright Is New Fresno County
Ag Commissioner

New Fresno County Ag Commissioner,

Les Wright.

Les Wright was appointed to serve as the agricultural commissioner for Fresno County, the top agricultural county in the nation. He was formally appointed by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors this morning.

Wright has been serving as interim Ag Commissioner ever since former Ag Commissioner Carol Hafner retired last year. He said he looks forward to strengthening his relationship with Fresno County farmers and ranchers.

In the summer of 1976, Wright began his first government job, working for a border inspection station in northern California.

During this time, he was attending a junior college and working on farms in Modoc County. “You had to become a jack of all trades of living in northern California,” said Wright. He also worked in construction, drove trucks and was a ranch hand in the area.

“At one point along the way, I took one of the state license tests,” said Wright. He eventually decided to work for the government full-time, mostly to receive a steady paycheck and insurance for his family.

From there, he moved up the ranks, eventually becoming agricultural commissioner in Modoc County. “I learned what was necessary to accomplish what needed to be done and done right,” said Wright.

In 1999, Wright moved to Kings County, and worked as a deputy agricultural commissioner. In 2010, Wright joined the team in Fresno County, and became chief deputy.

Although he has always favored livestock, he has done almost every job in the business, from inspecting bee hives to pesticide applications, said Wright. Even before moving to the Central Valley, he had some familiarity with row crops where he grew up. Throughout the years, he has gained a well-rounded experience.

The California agricultural commissioner system is necessary because of the state’s diversity. “There are big differences throughout the state in the type of agriculture and issues facing growers,” said Wright.

“I wear a lot of different hats throughout the day,” said Wright, who is constantly connected to technology. On a daily basis, he will receive hundreds of emails and oversee 82 full time employees working in the diverse agriculture programs and deal with local regulatory issues. A Commissioner has dozens of programs and many issues to deal with, from Asian Citrus Psyllid to an incorrectly computing gas pump.

“Agriculture has always been my love,” said Wright. “I’ve always been involved in agriculture and don’t see myself doing anything else.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:06-07:00August 2nd, 2013|

GROUP URGES IMMIGRATION REFORM

Additional Appeal for

Immigration Reform

This week, a group of about 430 organizations sent a letter to House Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi urging Congress to enact legislation to reform our nation’s immigration system.

Undersigned organizations include: Paramount Farms, Adobe,California Chamber of Commerce, California Cotton Ginners Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, Sweet Potato Council of California, California Grape and Tree Fruit League, Oracle, California Strawberry Commission, Intel Corporation, Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, and Sun-Maid Growers of California

The letter reads, “Reform of an outdated, broken immigration system is essential if we are to achieve a fully revitalized economy that provides and accelerates rewarding and lasting jobs and opportunities for all Americans.” . . . “We deal with an immigration system that is now in its third decade and completely incapable of being responsive to an ever-changing national economy and hypercompetitive global marketplace.”

Leaders urge reform at a critical time when U.S. economic growth has struggled to recover. “Done right, reform will also serve to protect and complement our U.S. workforce, generating greater productivity and economic activity that will lead to new innovations, products, businesses, and jobs in communities across the U.S.”

“Problems with our immigration system have grown and multiplied to become an emerging threat to the current and future productivity, ingenuity, and competitiveness of key sectors of our economy, including

agriculture,” among others.

The letter urges Congress NOT to watch a generation-old immigration system work against the overall national interest. Rather it calls for Congress to recognize the clear benefits of immigration reform to the economy’s success and to collaborate to achieve pro-growth reform.

As stated in the letter, “Failure to act is not an option.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:06-07:00August 1st, 2013|

Get to the Summit!

Reminder:

Delta Water Summit, Saturday August 3

California State University, Student Union

The Delta Water Summit brings together high level policy, technical and legislative representatives from the state and federal governments, along with officials from key water agencies to present, discuss and answer questions. The Summit features a series of three moderated panels. Half of each panel discussion will be devoted to questions and answers.

An update on one of the speakers: USBR Commissioner Michael Connor, who will be participating at the Delta Water Summit, was recently nominated by President Obama to Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

Doors open at 8:30am. Event starts at 9am.

It’s critically important to fill the Student Union to standing room only!

The event and parking are free! (Please park in lots A or J)

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:06-07:00August 1st, 2013|

Family Tree Farms

Tree Fruit Season Coasting

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Despite some isolated rainstorms that passed through the Central Valley in mid-July, California tree fruit growers are having a great season.

Daniel Jackson with Family Tree Farms in Reedley noted that it rained for nearly a half hour across some of their acreage, which caused some damage on their white peaches in the tops of the trees. “But all the other tree fruits on the ranch look fine. In fact, that weather issue was a little blip on the screen of a great year,” Jackson said.

“We have had record-breaking pack-out reports, which means a lot of boxes per acre are going to market,” he said. “And depending on the commodity, prices are up too. We did a comparison with last year, another great year, and we are up 10 cents a pound.”

“As an industry, there has been a lot more fruit on the market and there have been some challenges in the yellow peach and nectarine markets,” Jackson noted. “However, all the other commodities including plumcots, apriums, apricots, white peaches, and white nectarines, have seem to run very smoothly through the market this season.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:06-07:00August 1st, 2013|

IMMIGRATION REFORM IS AGENDA

Strawberry Growers In D.C. This Week

By Laurie Greene, Associate Editor

The California Strawberry Commission (CSC) has sent a delegation with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group to Washington, D.C. to explain the crucial need for immigration reform. The delegation intends to raise awareness of the critical role of immigrant labor in the success of California’s high-tech and agriculture industries and future job growth, as well as the overall health of the national economy. Finding a way to get a workforce here legally is of paramount importance.

According to Carolyn O’Donald, Communications Director of the CSC, the delegation members, representing the state’s two largest industries, are getting a positive response this week, thus far, from their meetings with congress people from both sides of the aisle. The group has had a number of meetings yesterday and today, and will brief White House staff tomorrow morning.

The CSC delegation has taken four strawberry growers who are between 1^st-and 3^rd-generation in this country from Watsonville, Salinas, Santa Maria and Orange County. They will press the need for comprehensive immigration reform, guest worker programs, and the workforce needed for the California agriculture and hi-tech industries.

“It may seem like an odd partnership between strawberries and hi tech,” O’Donald said, “but we have built a partnership with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group because we have a lot of characteristics in common. Immigrants play an integral part in both industries at the work level and at the leadership level in the running of the company.”

“About 65% of our strawberry farmers are Hispanic; some of multi-generational in this country,” explained O’Donald. “Our economy is built on immigrants. They worked in coalmines, oil refineries, and steel mills, and they built this country’s infrastructure. We are still building technology and working the land, so immigrants are major lynchpins in the California economy.”

“We’ve been letting this issue fall by the wayside for a long time; since the mid-1980s we have not had any kind of immigration reform. So, we are trying to see as many people in Washington, D.C. as possible–-the dealmakers–before their August recess,” O’Donald remarked. “We are also trying to show the California delegation, particularly the republican delegation, how important it is to get this done, this year we hope.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:06-07:00August 1st, 2013|

Water Summit Reminder

Reminder:

Delta Water Summit, Saturday August 3

California State University Fresno, Student Union

The Delta Water Summit brings together high level policy, technical and legislative representatives from the state and federal governments, along with officials from key water agencies to present, discuss and answer questions. The Summit features a series of three moderated panels. Half of each panel discussion will be devoted to questions and answers.

An update on one of the speakers: USBR Commissioner Michael Connor, who will be participating at the Delta Water Summit, was recently nominated by President Obama to Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

Doors open at 8:30am. Event starts at 9am.

It’s critically important to fill the Student Union to standing room only!

The event and parking are free! (Please park in lots A or J)

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:06-07:00August 1st, 2013|

Dairies Wait for Petition Granting

Dairy Producers Hope to Hear

From Secretary Ross on Monday

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor, and

Laurie Greene, Associate Editor

On Monday Aug. 5, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross should answer a dairy petition presented to her July 19 regarding implementing a cheese price deal that will help dairy farmers throughout California.

“If she does grant the petition for a hearing, then we will go to the hearing and try to get the deal incorporated and implemented as quickly as possible to help the dairy farmers in the state,” said Michael Marsh, Chief Executive Officer with the Modesto-based Western United Dairymen. “We requested implementation as of Sept. 1, 2013, so we can get money to the dairy farmers as quickly as possible,” said Marsh.

On July 12, AB 1038, authored by Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), unanimously approved by the Senate Ag Committee on a 3-0 vote, with the Chair Cathleen Galgiani, (D-Livingston) and her republican colleagues, Tom Berryhill (R-Twain Harte) and Anthony Cannella, (R-Ceres) to move the bill after they were informed that a deal had been struck between the cheese makers and dairy producers. The deal was negotiated on behalf of the California dairy families, represented by Pan, and the cheese makers.

The deal was to both adjust the whey factor in the 4b cheese milk formula by raising the cap from 75 cents per hundredweight (CWT) to $1 per CWT, and provide an additional surcharge, during the next year, on milk going into cheese-making of 46 cents per CWT.

According to Marsh, “The value of whey is capped at 75 cents per CWT, which is ridiculous, as we have seen whey values as high as $4 per CWT in other states back when we were getting 25 cents per CWT as our cap.”

“This increase would add an additional $110 million to the pool of California dairy farmers. At the same time, it would not cost consumers a penny as it simply redistributes assets from the cheese makers back to the farmers.” said Marsh.

“This current process is an outgrowth of our original AB 31 legislation that we introduced last December on the first day of the legislature,” said Marsh. “Since that time there have been ongoing negotiations between members of the legislature and cheese makers trying to get some relief for the dairy families of our state.”

AB 31 was intended to reconnect our cheese price as best we could back to the marketplace. “Unfortunately, CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura, at the request of cheese makers in California in 2007, disconnected the cheese milk price from the marketplace, and we have been struggling ever since to reconnect it. AB 31 would have closed the gap, between what we receive for milk going into cheese making in California and what is received by dairy farmers outside the state for the same type of milk, ” said Marsh.

“It was unfortunate the Kawamura agreed to transfer wealth from the famers to the cheese makers, and with everything else that hit California dairy farmers beginning in 2008, it was just another nail in the coffin for so many dairies that have since gone out of business.”

The hearing petition sent to Secretary Ross was signed by Western United Dairymen, as well as California Dairies Inc., Milk Producers Council and the Dairy Campaign.

Marsh noted that on Wednesday, July 31, CDFA emailed him stating that Land O’ Lakes had sent a letter to Secretary Ross to grant the petition for a hearing. “Land O’ Lakes also recognizes that California Dairy farmers need some relief,” Marsh said.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:06-07:00August 1st, 2013|

Almonds Take up a Lot of K

New App Manages
Almond Potassium Consumption

Great Salt Lake Minerals, a subsidiary of Compass Minerals, launches a powerful mobile tool designed to help California almond growers, agronomists and pest control advisors (PCAs) make more accurate soil nutrient decisions and maximize yield potential.

The Almond Potassium Uptake Calculator is now available here (http://www.textbookalmonds.com/calculate-your-almond-orchard-sop-needs/) or is available for download to an iPad device via the Apple App Store for iPad. Please note that the app is not available for use on an iPhone^®or other phone devices.

Almonds remove a tremendous amount of potassium from the soil each crop year. In a study for the California Almond Board in 2011, Dr. Patrick Brown and other UC Davis researchers reported that almond production can drain as much as 80 pounds of potassium out of the soil per 1,000 pounds of kernel and more than 65 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 pounds of kernel.

“We’re coming off two back-to-back years of large almond crops, and that can deplete the nutrients in soil dramatically,” explains Wes Asai, owner of Wes Asai Pomology Consulting in Turlock, Calif.

It can take years for the symptoms of potassium deficiency to appear in almond trees. Maintaining adequate potassium levels in the orchard produces healthier trees that are more capable of handling stresses such as drought and disease.

A 2001 study by Brown and another group of UC Davis researchers found that trees with less than 1.4 percent of potassium in a July leaf sample experienced a 27 percent increase in spur mortality and a 30 percent decrease in return bloom of fruiting spurs the following year.

“When the almond crop depletes the soil of nutrients that could be compared to withdrawing money from the bank,” says David Doll, a UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor based in Merced County, Calif. “You have to replace that amount in order to avoid future potassium deficiency in the orchard. You have to build up your potassium credit.”

To learn more about sulfate of potash and how to optimize almond quality and yield, visit www.textbookalmonds.com.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:07-07:00August 1st, 2013|

IMMIGRATION CRITICAL

July 31, 2013
Immigration Reform Update

Yesterday, the White House released a report, Fixing Our Broken Immigration System: The Economic Benefits to Agriculture and Rural Communities, detailing the important benefits provided by the bipartisan Senate immigration reform bill for the domestic agriculture sector, its workforce, and rural American communities.

According to the report, U.S. agriculture has grown in recent years, with farm income and agriculture exports reaching historic highs. At year’s end, net farm income is predicted to be $128.2 billion, the highest level since 1973 (adjusting for inflation). Much of this growth is due to the increased demand for and value of American agricultural exports. U.S. agricultural export value is projected to reach $135.8 billion in FY 2013, which would also establish a new record.

Immigration reform appears to be necessary to keep farms operations from moving abroad due to the labor shortage. The biggest effect is in California with its annual $34 billion produce industry, which is harvested mostly by illegal immigrant workers. Without a labor supply of migrant farm workers, the state could lose between $1.7 billion and $3.1 billion a year in lost farm income. The report said 74 percent of the state’s farm labor force is non-citizen, and probably most of those are undocumented.

Thus, the current agriculture industry is hampered by a broken immigration system that fails to provide a predictable and stable workforce. U.S. agriculture, among all economic sectors, is particularly dependent on foreign-born workers. Seventy-four percent of California’s agricultural workers are non-citizens, the highest in any state, and a majority of them are undocumented workers, according to the White House report.

Agricultural producers report difficulty in locating qualified, available, authorized workers—both foreign and domestic—as one reason for the high rate of undocumented labor. Moreover, there continue to be insufficient U.S. workers to fill labor needs; 71 percent of crop workers surveyed between 2007 and 2009 were foreign born. By providing a path to earned citizenship for currently unauthorized farmworkers, the Senate bill gives these workers and their families the security needed to further their skills and education and pursue higher-paying employment.

The Senate passed historic legislation in June 2013 to strengthen border security while providing an earned path to citizenship for undocumented farmworkers who are vital to our nation’s agriculture industry, and a new temporary worker program negotiated by major grower associations and farmworker groups. If enacted, the Senate bill is estimated to allow 1.5 million agricultural workers and their dependents to come to the U.S.

Strength in agricultural production supports other parts of the economy, particularly in rural communities, which should see a boost in farm output. An economic analysis by the Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) reported that an expanded H-2A visa program would raise GDP by approximately $2 billion in 2014 and $9.79 billion in 2045. With declining native-born rural populations, the strength and continuity of rural America is contingent on commonsense immigration reform that improves job opportunities, provides local governments with tools for success, and increases economic growth.

With so much at stake, the agricultural community awaits the House to address immigration reform. We, in California have so much to gain, and very much to lose, depending on the outcome.

As follow-up, the American Farm Bureau Federation and more than 400 leading U.S. businesses and advocacy organizations called on the House to enact immigration reform legislation. The letter, sent today, was signed by a broad cross section of industries that includes agriculture, housing, retail, tourism, hospitality, technology, engineering, manufacturing, finance, venture capital, consumer electronics and others with a combined presence in every state in the United States.

“We deal with an immigration system that is now in its third decade and completely incapable of being responsive to an ever-changing national economy and hypercompetitive global marketplace. Today, the problems with our immigration system have grown and multiplied to become an emerging threat to the current and future productivity, ingenuity and competitiveness of key sectors of our economy, including agriculture, housing, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, tourism, engineering and technology.”

“Failure to act is not an option. We can’t afford to be content and watch a generation-old immigration system work more and more against our overall national interest. Instead, we urge Congress to remain mindful of the clear benefits to our economy if we succeed, and work together and with us to achieve real, pro-growth immigration reform.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:07-07:00August 1st, 2013|

QUARANTINE AFFECTS 21,520 ACRES in CITRUS

BREAKING NEWS!

July 31, 2013

ACP Quarantine Officially in Place

in Tulare County

SACRAMENTO, July 31, 2013 – A portion of Tulare County has been placed under quarantine for the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) following the detection of psyllids at three locations in the Porterville area, representing 21,520 acres of citrus. 

The quarantine zone measures 178 square miles, bordered on the north by an area near Blue Ridge Drive and Campbell Creek Drive; on the west by an area near State Highway 190 and Coyote Drive; on the south by Avenue 68 near State Highway 65; and on the west by an area near Avenue 104 and Road 192. A link to a map may be found at: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/acp/maps/quarantine/3435ACP_Tulare_20130730.pdf

The quarantine prohibits the movement of host nursery stock out of the quarantine area and requires that all citrus fruit be cleaned of leaves and stems prior to moving out of the area. An exception may be made for nursery stock and budwood grown in USDA-approved structures designed to keep ACP out. Residents with backyard citrus trees in the quarantine area are asked to not remove fruit from the area.

In addition to Tulare County, ACP quarantines are now in place in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Imperial, Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. A total of more than 45-thousand square miles are under quarantine.

The ACP is of grave concern because it can carry the disease huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening. All citrus and closely related species are susceptible hosts for both the insect and the disease. There is no cure once a tree becomes infected with HLB. The diseased tree will decline in health until it dies. HLB has been detected just once in California – last year on a single residential property in Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County.

Residents in the area who think they may have seen the Asian citrus psyllid are urged to call CDFA’s Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899. For more information on the Asian citrus psyllid and huanglongbing disease please visit: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/acp/index.html

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:07-07:00July 31st, 2013|

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