Feds Kill More Smelt than Ag


There is great irony in blaming farmers for taking 230 smelt at C.W. Bill Jones Pumping Plant in the Delta. Because the Feds take more than that when surveying fish in the area. 
Taking 230 smelt has caused the pumps to be turned down really hurting West Side Agriculture, leading to job losses and lost tax revenue
But Tom Birmingham the General Manager of Westlands Water District in Fresno say the Feds take many more smelt in their surveys, about 108 each month from January until May.
Westlands encompasses more than 600,000 acres of farmland in western Fresno and Kings counties. The District serves approximately 600 family-owned farms that average 900 acres in size.
2016-05-31T19:47:16-07:00March 1st, 2013|

Allocation May Be Above 20 Percent

Because the Tracy pumps have been significantly been turned down throughout December and most of December, the San Luis Reservoir has not been refilled as it should be, which will impact Farmers on the West Side of Fresno County. Patrick Cavanaugh has more

The reduce pumping has  triggered an early prognostication last week,  that farmers on the West Side could be looking at as low as a  20 percent allocation, but it is not the official allocation from the Bureau of Reclamation for this season.

Joe Del Bosque is a West Side Fresno County Farmer who is severely impacted by the water cutbacks. He told AgNet West that he’s waiting for the official announcement.

Del Bosque noted that The Bureau may make an official early allocation this week.

He said  there should be more water coming.

2016-05-31T19:47:16-07:00February 22nd, 2013|

Lawmakers Considering Nitrogen Tax on Farmers

Saying farmers should pay an added fee for all Nitrogen Fertilizer products to help fund repairs to California water systems in certain areas of the state where there is nitrate contamination, but agriculture officials are pushing back. 
A new report from the state’s water board is urging the Legislature to enact the new fees

Manual Cunha is President of the Nisei Farmers League in Fresno. He said that lawmakers should just hold on. What about homeowners and municipalities using nitrogen, which ends up in retention ponds in many cities.

Cunha said if everyone paid then it would be more fair.

2016-05-31T19:47:16-07:00February 22nd, 2013|

Will Bees Be Short this Spring for Almonds?

Honey Bees had a tough summer 2012 with droughts in the Mid-West. Colonies have also been hammered by Varroa Mites, which such the blood from bees, weakened their immune system and introduce other diseases to the bee. Already weakened by poor nutrition, many bees have died off.

Some growers are soliciting bees from the south. Beekeepers there are agreeing to help–chasing the carrot of higher rental prices pushing $180 per colony.

2016-05-31T19:47:16-07:00February 16th, 2013|

Unbelievable Lack of Rain

2012 is shaping up to be yet another critical water year. Thankfully the excessive rain and snow in 2011 filled the reservoirs that should supply agriculture much of its critical needs this season. But there deep fear about next year.

2016-05-31T19:47:16-07:00February 10th, 2012|

Growers Should Start the Revolution!

 Photo at left is the San Luis Reservoir-filled to capacity, April 6, 2011


With all California reservoirs filled to capacity and much more snow melt to come, growers in the Federal water districts will receive 80 percent of their contracted water. Why not 100 percent? Still the pumps are at times OFF for the Delta Smelt—supported by a flawed biological opinion. Meanwhile millions of acre feet of water flows into the ocean.

A recent hearing in Fresno brought both sides of the political isle to discuss the ongoing water cutbacks that are hurting California agriculture.

Following is the opening statement by Congressman Tom McClintock, Chairman, House Subcommittee on Water and Power.        

During the last session of Congress, Republicans unsuccessfully attempted for two years to get the Water and Power Subcommittee to come to Fresno to hear first-hand from the communities that have endured the devastating financial, social and environmental damage done by the government’s decision to deny this region 200 billion gallons of water to indulge the pet causes of the environmental Left.

            A little over a year ago, Republicans held an informal listening session, at which time we heard riveting testimony of the human suffering caused by this misguided policy. 

·         We heard the stories of food lines in communities that once prided themselves on supplying American grocery shelves. 

·         We heard about the frustration of seeing the same produce once grown in the Central Valley of California instead imported from China — handed out at those Central Valley food lines.

·         And we saw the anger as the absent Secretary’s testimony to the Natural Resources Committee in 2009 was played back, in which he admitted that the Obama administration had the authority to restore water deliveries but that it chose not to do so because that would be – quote – like admitting failure.

            Even now, with the snowpack at 165 percent of normal for the season – the wettest year in the last 16 – the San Joaquin Valley has been guaranteed only 75 percent of its contracted allotments. 

            In this discussion, the left has attempted to pit fishermen against farmers.  What they ignore, of course, is the actual science:

·      They ignore the findings of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center that determined the Pacific Decadal Oscillation is the principal reason for changes in salmon migration; that these changes are not unique to Delta fisheries but have been observed throughout the Pacific Coast; and that as those conditions have improved over the last several years, salmon populations are rebounding.

·      They ignore the California Department of Water Resources analysis of pumping flows that determined that their influence on salmon and smelt migration is negligible compared to natural tidal flows. 

·      They ignore the overwhelming impact of natural predation in the Delta that alone is responsible for some 90 percent of salmon smolt mortality.

·      They ignore the tremendous contribution of fish hatcheries to supporting fish populations.

·      They ignore – indeed, they actively oppose – the construction of new reservoirs and other water projects that could dramatically increase year-round supplies of fresh cold water throughout the Delta.

·      They ignore the findings of the Federal District Court that the U.S. Interior Department’s biological opinion on Delta smelt to be “arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law.”

·      And worst of all, they ignore the plight of the tens of thousands of farm families needlessly thrown into unemployment by these policies.

For too long, our government policies have been misguided by politically motivated junk science instead of the sober, dispassionate and accurate application of real science.  For too long, our government policies have focused on rationing of shortages rather than on providing abundance. 

           

            Today we will hear testimony about what these policies have done to harm the economy of the Central Valley and the cornucopia of fruits, nuts and vegetables it once produced for the entire world.  And we will hear suggestions on the changes in federal law that need to be made to restore abundance and plenty to all those who rely on the Delta.

            I know that people are feeling powerless and disregarded by Washington.  But the fact is that the debates inside the Capitol are merely a reflection of a much larger debate going on across the country.  The public is rapidly engaging, becoming aware of these past policies and demanding change.  As this occurs, public policy will follow.

            Chairman Hastings has made it very clear that he wants priority given to this issue, and from this hearing today, the House majority will craft legislation to restore abundance as the principal objective of federal water and power policy — and with it, an era of abundant water, clean and cheap hydroelectricity, new recreational centers, desperately needed flood protection, burgeoning fisheries, re-invigorated farms – not to mention lower electricity, water and flood insurance bills for American families.

It is toward that brighter and more prosperous future that this majority seeks to proceed.  It is my hope that the testimony today will assist the House in identifying those changes in law necessary to get there.

2016-05-31T19:47:16-07:00May 3rd, 2011|

Inter-tie Project Breaks Ground

Securing More Water for Westside

Under blue, cloudless skies near Tracy where the Delta-Mendota Canal and the California Aqueduct are at their closest, officials broke ground to create a tie-in that provides much needed flexibility in managing the state’s water system. The project should be ready for use by 2012.

More importantly, it will provide more reliability of water deliveries to farmers who have been hardest hit by shortages under the regulatory drought. The Intertie will restore as much as 40,000 acre-feet of annual deliveries to the Central Valley project.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region has contracted the construction of the $28 million dollar plumping plant and underground pipeline connecting the federal Delta-Mendota Canal (DMC) and the State’s California Aqueduct (CA).

The Department of Interior has committed $15.8 million thought the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. CALFED funding is $8.8 million Funding for the project includes $15.8 million dollars.

Editor’s note: You may read about CALFED, but do you really know what it stands for?  CALFED Bay-Delta Program, also know as CALFED, is a department within the government of California, administered under the California Resources Agency. The department acts a ringleader, coordinating the activities and interests of the state government of California and the U.S. federal government to focus on interrelated water problems in the state’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The coordinating program was created in 1994 by Governor Pete Wilson and the federal Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt following a decade of chaotic disputes between the state of California, the federal government, environmental interests, and municipal water services.

The Inter-tie, a shared Federal-State water system improvement, connects the two water systems with two 108-inch diameter pipes, running 500 linear feet. The system has a pumping capacity of 467 cubic feet per second gravity flow from the CA to the DMC.

The Inter-tie connecting the DMC with the CA was studied in 1988 by Fresno-based Westlands Water District.

“The only negative thing I can say about this project, is why did it take so long,” said Tom Birmingham, the General Manager for Westlands, which serves 600,000 acres on the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley. “This project will provide much needed flexibility for delivery of water to farmers in the valley.”

Birmingham said that the project is expensive but the reality is that the water infrastructure needed over the next 10 to 15 years is going be expensive.  “But because of the conservation and the cropping changes that we have seen in the valley over the recent years—this is a project that farmers can afford.   

“The beauty of the inter-tie is that it will enable Westlands to fill San Luis Reservoir—more often and earlier in the year,” said Birmingham. “This will enable the Bureau of Reclamation to make water allocation decisions earlier in the year at times when farmers can base their planting decisions on those allocation announcements.”

2016-05-31T19:47:16-07:00November 2nd, 2010|

Just Returned From China!

I just returned from a 12-day trip to China. I visited Beijing and Shanghai to report on the exports of almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and raisins from California. Trust me, I saw a lot of product in every grocery store that I walked into.

I met with Jessie with PR Consultants Ltd. in Beijing and we toured many grocery outlets to see Almond Board of California promotions and almond displays. Almonds exports to China are huge—142 million pounds so far this year ( as of today). Just four years ago, the industry only shipped 50 million pounds to China.

I visited with Daniel Chan and his colleagues Irene Zhou and Shirley Jiang, all with PR Consultants Ltd. in Shanghai. We met in City Shop a downtown grocery store catering to a strong middle class shoppers. We spoke about the strong almond sales and raisin sales throughout China.

I also met with Paramount Farm’s Anita Lam, in Shanghai. We talked about how the company’s Wonderful brand pistachios are selling briskly. Paramount Farms is responsible of changing a tradition in China, who normally bleached their pistachios turning them a very bright white, while altering there taste. Paramount is convincing the industry that natural roasted and salted pistachios taste better, and are better for Chinese consumers. It’s taking off in China!

Thanks to everyone who help arrange my meeting and were so dedicated to my success in China!

2016-05-31T19:47:17-07:00June 27th, 2010|

Pacific Legal Foundation is Fighting for Water

Folks: Go to www.pacificlegal.org to see what the Pacific Legal Foundation is doing about the devastating water cutbacks for California farmers. 


The PFL had filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government declaring that protecting the Delta Smelt is unconstitutional. Following an adverse judgement by Federal Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno, PLF is filing an appeal with the the Ninth Circuit Court.


PLF has strong evidence that Protecting the Smelt is Unconstitutional. 

 

                                                    
The image above is a Westlands Water District irrigation turnout in Western Fresno County, standing unbelievably dry for the second year in a row. This image was taken during the 2009 summer season, with thousands of acres of prime farm land laying dry and idle—nearing a potential new Dust Bowl. Additionally, growers are losing their livelihoods, and farm workers are unemployed—as many as 45 percent in some West Side communities. This is all due to a flawed biological opinion regarding the three-inch Delta Smelt.


Also, they are trying to convince the National Academy of Sciences to look at all stressors in the Delta, while reviewing the U.S. Fish and Game biological opinion, which is the linchpin causing the federal pumps to stay off during critical delivery times for growers in the spring and summer.  


Again: go to www.pacificlegal.org to see what the Pacific Legal Foundation is doing and view important Press Conference information.

2016-05-31T19:47:17-07:00January 23rd, 2010|

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