Congressman Harder Is Fighting For Valley

Harder, Already Appointed to Appropriations Committee, Successfully Secured Waiver to Serve on Ag

WASHINGTON – Representative Josh Harder (CA-10) will continue to serve on the House Committee on Agriculture for this term in Congress after successfully obtaining a waiver from the House Steering and Policy Committee. Members of the House who are appointed to the Appropriations Committee typically serve solely on that committee. If a member wishes to serve on an additional committee, they must seek out and obtain a special waiver allowing them to serve on an additional committee.

“This is the best-case scenario for the Valley. I get to fight for the funding we deserve on the Appropriations Committee – and I can continue my work on behalf of our farmers by serving on the Agriculture Committee once again,” said Rep. Harder. “It’s particularly important for me to serve on Ag this term as I’ll focus on our specialty crop producers when we look at drafting the next Farm Bill.”

Last month, Rep. Harder announced that he had been appointed to the House Appropriations Committee. The Committee is responsible for drafting all funding legislation in the House and will give Rep. Harder an opportunity to secure more funding for the Central Valley.

2021-01-18T18:21:53-08:00January 18th, 2021|

Gov. Newsom Proposed Budget

Governor Newsom Proposes New Fiscal Year Budget

Governor Newsom unveiled his Proposed Budget on January 8th, outlining his budgetary and policy priorities for the coming fiscal year. Following upon a tumultuous economic year with a $54 billion deficit, this year’s budget paints a rosier picture with a proposed $227 billion “balanced” spending plan, $22 billion in budget reserves and a one-time $15 billion budget surplus. This does not, however, reflect the $7.6 billion structural deficit projected for 2022-2033—one that will grow to $11 billion in 2024-2025. Below is a brief synopsis of proposed expenditures and policy changes offered in the Governor’s budget:
  • $ 6.7 million one-time General Fund ($3.35 million in the current year and $3.35 million in July 2021) with the University of California Cooperative Extension to provide technical assistance and grants to small, mid-sized and underserved farmers; this assistance may include business planning, compliance, and accessing state and federal funds
  • $8.7 million in federal funds and 24 positions at the Department of Food and Agriculture to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act
  • Climate smart agriculture funding (see the Climate Change section below)
  • $40 million General Fund for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (see the Water section below)
  • $6 million General Fund ($4 million for current year and $2 million in July 2021) to do an assessment of EPA/CDFA regulations and identify opportunities to streamline regulations, reporting, and develop a unified licensing portal for program regulation and payment
  • Proposed extension of the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program (Carl Moyer Program) which provides grant funding for cleaner-than-required engines, equipment, and other sources of air pollution with the State Air Board and local air districts until 2024
  • Allow the Department of Industrial Relations to increase budget by $14.4 million and position allocations by 70 to hire additional Cal/OSHA inspectors
  • Provides $8.6 million and 43 positions to allow access to workers comp benefits under SB 1159 and investigate workplaces that violate COVID-19 specific guidelines and regulate businesses for adequate personal protective equipment stockpiles for future crises
  • Establish a new Department of Better Jobs and Higher Wages compromised of several existing Labor Workforce Development Act agencies involved in job training, labor market information, and apprenticeship programs
  • Replacing the current pesticide mill assessment structure (which is non-discriminatory on pesticide type), with a risk-based assessment strategy that charges a higher mill for higher risks (i.e. those pesticides with no classification or a ‘caution’ classification would go from 21to 26 mills, ‘warning’ would go to 40 mills and ‘danger’ would go to 45 mills)
  • $54 million in Cap and Trade expenditures ($30 million in current year and $24 million in July 2021) for the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water fund
  • $60 million in one-time General Fund ($30 million in current year and $30 million in July 2021) to DWR for implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to support economic mitigation planning and implementation projects
2021-01-15T18:32:00-08:00January 15th, 2021|

Lemon Economics in Ventura County

 

Lemons Became More Popular, But then COVID Hit

 

By Tim Hammerich, with the AgInformation Network 

A recent study on the costs and returns of establishing and producing lemons in Ventura County was released by UC Cooperative Extension in Southern California and UC Agricultural Issues Center.

“We grow lemons along the coast because it doesn’t get hot, and we do a really good sour lemon. The trees flower year-round, and so there’s production year-round,” said Ben Faber, a Farm Advisor based in Ventura County.”

He says lemon prices had been stagnant for a long time but started to really rise in the past decade or two with the popularity of restaurant dining.

“And so the consumption just soared. Prices had been around five or six, eight dollars a box, and boy, they went up to $18 – $20 a box. So people saw a lot of money there.

“And so what do you do? You respond to it, and you plant. The market for strawberries had fallen, labor availability diminished. So along the coast here, a lot of people had said, ‘I don’t care. I’m going to risk it. I’m going to plant lemons’. And it doesn’t take a whole lot of labor to do, it takes less water. We’re stressed about water availability along the coast. And so, you know, the choice of lemons sounded really good until…boom…COVID.”

The pandemic has certainly taken its toll on lemon prices. Faber is hopeful they will recover but also concerned about the threat of citrus greening disease.

2021-01-14T18:10:18-08:00January 14th, 2021|

Effort to Stop Colony Collapse Disorder Underway

Scientists Developing Electronic Honeybee ‘Veterinarians’

By Jules Bernstein, UC Riverside, Senior Public Information Officer

 

The University of California, Riverside, is leading a new effort to stop and reverse a worldwide decline in honeybees, which threatens food security and prices.

Honeybees pollinate more than 80 agricultural crops, which account for about a third of what we eat. Several factors, including pesticide exposure and the spread of parasites and environmental changes, are to blame for the widespread collapse of bee colonies over the past decade.

To boost dwindling honeybee populations, the University of California’s Office of the President has awarded $900,000 to a four-campus network of bee researchers and engineers.

“This will become one of the largest honeybee health networks in the country,” said Boris Baer, a professor of entomology at UC Riverside and principal investigator of the project. “I’m very excited about so many different kinds of bee expertise joining forces through this project.”

The network, which includes researchers from the Davis, San Diego and Merced campuses, is approaching the problem in three main ways.

The first is through breeding programs — a particular focus of Baer’s laboratory. “We seek to identify and breed bees that are better able to cope with environmental stress,” he said.

A second goal of the new network is to develop medications and treatments for sick bees. Certain types of honeybees generate molecules that make them more tolerant of pesticides and parasites. New technology will enable the scientists to isolate those molecules and use them as a basis for drugs.

Finally, the group is looking to give beekeepers tools to better monitor bees’ health. Small devices will be able to ‘listen’ and ‘smell’ inside hives to give beekeepers indications about the health of the hive.

“We know bee queens have a special pheromone they give off when they’re hungry or dying, and these can be traced,” Baer said. “We are essentially building ‘electronic veterinarians.’”

Preventative devices like these are key to keeping bees alive, because once the colony collapses, it’s too late to bring it back, Baer said.

Read more: https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2021/01/07/scientists-developing-new-solutions-honeybee-colony-collapse

2021-01-11T18:21:20-08:00January 11th, 2021|

Agreeing on Water Needs

Sixth Generation Farmer and EDF Director Discuss Water Challenges

By Cannon Michael and Ann Hayden

Despite a seemingly endless era of upheaval – a surging pandemic, contentious election cycle and racial strife – we still have the responsibility to address pressing issues that cannot wait for calmer times. The future of California’s water is one of those issues.

While collaboration and relationship building have been made even more challenging due to distancing required by COVID-19, we believe that water is an issue where we can rise above party lines and entrenched perspectives.

Cannon Michael, Sixth Generation Grower

Water is the backbone of California’s agricultural economy, supports our iconic rivers, and of course, is essential to our survival.  Simply put, water is a lifeline that binds us together, and without it, we jeopardize our future and that of coming generations.

Could now be the time to collectively start down a better path for managing this precious resource and roll up our sleeves to make it happen? We think so.

For decades, fighting over water has stalled progress and sown deep mistrust across different water users.

We have forgotten that we are all stewards of California – a special place like no other, a rich connected tapestry of environmental beauty, diverse communities and productive agriculture.

We need to come together as Californians – not just farmers, environmentalists, rural community organizers and urbanites. We need to come together as Californians working for our children and future generations who are depending on us to leave them with a better California than we have today.

We need to come together to solve some admittedly difficult water challenges that affect the future of rural communities, cities, wildlife, farming in the Central Valley and consequently our country’s food supply. Drought and water scarcity are high on the list of these challenges. During our last major drought, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was enacted as one major piece of the solution to ensure we have enough water for future generations.

Looking forward, 2021 will be an important year for moving ahead on implementation of this sweeping change to water law. The state will be rolling out its first assessments of sustainability plans developed by regions with the most critically overdrafted groundwater supplies.

Balancing groundwater supply and demand, as required by the law, will no doubt be challenging: Some models say San Joaquin Valley landowners may need to take equivalent acreage to Yosemite National Park out of production to balance groundwater supply and demand.

To reach durable, fair solutions to such large challenges, we need to drop the baggage we’ve amassed over time. We need to come together as Californians to start collaboratively tackling problems – not just talking and arguing them. We need to come together and break the cycle of mistrust and take the time to truly understand how each side views the challenges and potential solutions.

It’s unlikely we will agree on everything – if we did California wouldn’t be the dynamic, diverse state it is today. But there is significant common ground we can build from. For instance, we all agree every single person in California should have clean and affordable drinking water when they turn on their kitchen faucet.

We also agree that replenishing groundwater is one of many solutions we will need to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. But it’s not the only solution; it’s inevitable that we still will need to scale back some agriculture.

The question we need to address is, how can we make sure that agriculture can still thrive while some farmland becomes productive in new ways, whether it’s with less water-intensive ranching, low-impact solar projects, wildlife habitat or recreational areas for our families to enjoy on picnics and hikes?

Taking action to address these challenges may mean parts of our state and the very communities we live in will look different from how they look today. But if we can come together as Californians to get it right, California will evolve and endure as the special place it is today for generations to come.

We have decades of experience coming at water challenges from our silos. Let’s break down those silos, come together as Californians and see what happens. Isn’t it worth a shot?

Cannon Michael is a sixth-generation farmer and president and CEO of Bowles Farming Co., headquartered in Los Banos, cannon@bfarm.com

Ann Hayden is senior director of western water and resilient landscapes at Environmental Defense Fund, ahayden@edf.org

This document first appeared in WaterWrights.net

 

2021-05-12T10:52:43-07:00January 11th, 2021|

Stop Use Order on Agro Gold Organic Fertilizer

 

CDFA Issues Stop Use Notice and Statewide Quarantine on Organic Fertilizer Agro Gold Was

Agro Gold WS was found adulterated with glyphosate and diquat and CDFA has issued a stop order for use on organic farms in the state of California.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)  announced recently a Stop Use notice and statewide quarantine have been issued for the organic fertilizer product AGRO GOLD WS to all organic operations registered in California. CDFA lab analysis of the product detected the presence of Diquat and Glyphosate, which are substances prohibited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program for use in organic production. Continued use of this product in organic production may jeopardize an operation’s organic status.

Pursuant to authority under the California Food and Agricultural Code (FAC), Division 17, Chapter 10, CDFA’s State Organic Program (SOP) in coordination with the Fertilizer Materials Inspection Program (FMIP) issued a Stop Use notice today for AGRO GOLD WS to all organic operations in California registered with the SOP. CDFA’s FMIP also announced today that all California operations registered as organic in possession of AGRO GOLD WS must hold the product and contact CDFA for quarantine instructions on how to handle it.

AGRO GOLD WS is manufactured by Agro Research International, LLC. It has been distributed in a co-packaged box that also contains the product WEED SLAYER. CDFA continues to provide follow up to this investigation and is working with state and federal agencies. CDFA received a complaint about the AGRO GOLD WS product and program staff collected product samples from various locations to conduct lab analysis in CDFA’s Center for Analytical Chemistry. FMIP is an industry-funded program that ensures consumers receive fertilizing materials that meet the quality and quantity guaranteed on the product label. Investigators located throughout the state conduct routine sampling and inspections, respond to consumer complaints, and enforce the laws and regulations that govern the manufacturing and distribution of fertilizing materials in California. CDFA’s State Organic Program protects the organic label through enforcement, education and outreach.

If you are in possession of AGRO GOLD WS and seek additional information, please contact the Fertilizing Materials Inspection Program at FMIP@cdfa.ca.gov. Any appeal of the determination that this product violates the Food and Agricultural Code must be filed with the Fertilizing Materials Inspection Program no later than 15 days from receipt of the Stop Use notice and statewide quarantine. See Food and Agricultural Code section 14659.

2021-01-11T16:47:17-08:00January 11th, 2021|

Driscoll’s Goes Vertical with Strawberries

(Featured photo courtesy of Tex AgriLife Today)

Driscoll’s and Plenty Team Up to Grow Strawberries Indoors

By Tim Hammerich, with the Ag Information Network

The concept of growing crops in vertical farms with plants indoors stacked on top of each other has been around for years. But this industry got some serious validation when Driscoll’s the global berry leader announced a partnership with Plenty – a San Francisco-based vertical farming company.

Plenty Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Nate Storey says this is a big deal for the evolution of vertical farming.

“It’s a big deal for several reasons. The first reason is, you know, people just need more delicious things – access to more delicious things. You know, that’s a source of excitement and joy and just part of the human experience. And the other thing is, I think it signals to folks that, you know, indoor ag is a thing,” said Storey. “It’s not a concept anymore-it’s a thing. And when you have people who know their business, who are serious about production, who have been in the space for a very long time and are kind of the best at what they do investing and engaging. You know, that’s a pretty big deal,” Storey.

Traditionally, one of the criticisms of vertical farming was it was somewhat limited commercially to leafy greens. Nate says this deal with Driscoll’s is exciting to expand their offerings into strawberries, and eventually, far beyond.

“At the end of the day, the number of crops that are going to move indoors, I think is going to surprise everyone. And, strawberries are just the first; definitely not the last,” noted Storey.

2021-01-11T16:47:17-08:00January 11th, 2021|

The Quick Math on Navel Orangeworm

The Math on Navel Orangeworm Sanitation

By Patrick Cavanaugh, with AgInformation Network

Get a napkin out. Let’s do some math on navel orangeworm sanitation. The numbers really matter.

David Haviland is a UCANR Cooperative Extension Entomologist in Kern County. “I just want to do a little bit of a back of a napkin math. Just think about this scenario. If you’re down to two mummies per tree, if 10% of those were infested, you assume that half of any worms in there are going to be females. And each of those females, when it comes out, it’s going to make 85 eggs. Just roughly look at that scenario,” noted Haviland.

“In that case within an acre, you’re going to have 10 females that are all coming out at different times that are all competing to lay 850 eggs. And they’re trying to do that in 200 nuts. They’re also trying to find mates in the process,” explained Haviland.

“And if you think about it, each one of those females, in order to lay 85 eggs, they have to find a nut in a tree, fly around the tree, find another nut, lay an egg, and so on. They literally have to fly to 42 different trees to lay one egg in each nut, if you’re down to two nuts per tree,” he said.

And that’s the goal with sanitation, no more than two mummy nuts per tree. “So, you know, all that’s being done uncoordinated, of course, sometimes they’re flying back to the same nuts. Sometimes there’s a nut that isn’t even suitable. Sometimes there’s already an egg in that nut,” Haviland said.

Haviland noted: You’re just creating a lot of chaos! “When you can get under two mummies per tree,” he said.

“And when you think about it, any egg that you prevent from being laid in May is one less moth at hull split. So, sanitation is extremely important and we do recommend that everybody do their best attempt,” he said.

2021-01-07T18:13:24-08:00January 7th, 2021|

Farmwise Bringing Automation to the Vegetable Field

Automation in Vegetable Crops

By Tim Hammerich with the AgInformationNetwork

Farmers are being squeezed between the scarcity of labor and the regulation of tools to try to do their job most efficiently. Some companies, like San Francisco-based Farmwise, think automation is the answer. Here is co founder and CEO Sebastian Boyer.

“The number of people willing and able to do manual tasks on the field is obviously shrinking. And that’s a big concern for most of U.S. farmers today. Automation can play a big role in making every one of these workers much more productive. And that leads to more productivity in the field, but also better jobs and better wages for these workers,” noted Boyer

Boyer says a more automated farm will also enable more data collection which could lead to further efficiencies.

“And a lot of that that has to do with the ability for machines to capture data on crops. And we’re actually at Farmwise, leveraging that technology to make every one of our machines not only automating the tasks that we’re here to automate, but using that as a way to capture unique data about the crops,” Boyer said.  “And that’s becoming increasingly relevant for farmers. We can use that data to make better decisions at the strategic level, and at the field level.”

Farmwise offers automation technology to vegetable growers in California and Arizona. Learn more at Farmwise.io.

2021-01-04T09:56:21-08:00January 4th, 2021|

Improving Food Safety

Government, Academia and Farmers Join Forces to Improve Food Safety

By  April Ward, LGMA Director of Marketing and Communication

On November 19, 2020 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the launch of a longitudinal study in partnership with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), University of California Davis, Western Center for Food Safety (WCFS) and agricultural stakeholders in the Central Coast of California.

In recent years several E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks have been linked to lettuce. In an effort to find the cause of these outbreaks and arm farmers with a way to prevent them, this multi-year project will examine how pathogens survive and move through the environment and possibly contaminate produce. FDA will work closely with water quality, food safety, and agricultural experts, representatives from various agriculture industries, and members of the leafy greens industry.

As a part of the project, research teams will aim to determine potential sources of contamination by collecting and examining samples from the environment including adjacent lands, well and surface waters, soil inputs that include compost, dust and animal fecal samples.

U.S. FDA:

The findings from this study will contribute new knowledge on how various environmental factors may influence bacterial persistence and distribution in this region, and how those factors may impact the risk of leafy greens becoming contaminated. Results from this collaboration will lead to improved practices to prevent or mitigate food safety risks, and ultimately enhance the safety of leafy greens grown in California.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross:

California leads the world in leafy greens production and innovation. Industry and food safety officials are proud to partner on this in-depth scientific study protecting public health.

Dan Sutton, Chairman of the California LGMA and General Manager of Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange:

The California LGMA completely supports this joint effort spearheaded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. LGMA members are committed to safe leafy greens and look forward to any findings that will help to make our crops safer for consumers. We are pleased to see wide participation from industry, academia and regulators. All of these stakeholders bring different strengths to the project and share a common goal of improving food safety for lettuce and leafy greens.

A similar study is being conducted in the Yuma, Arizona growing region.

2021-01-06T18:27:55-08:00December 30th, 2020|

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