Many Legislative Bills Introduced

Legislative Update From Calif. Farm Bureau

Many Legislative Bills Introduced in California Last Week!

The State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) held a Workshop this week to take public comment on the Temporary Urgency Change Petition (TUCP) for the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.

Consistent with the Governor’s Executive Order B-21-13 issued last May the TUCP for these two projects would temporarily modify (reduce) Delta outflow and export requirements to preserve water in storage and maintain in-Delta water quality.

Additionally, the TUCP would temporarily modify (open) the Delta Cross Channel gates to improve in-Delta salinity conditions. State Board staff also presented information on water diversion curtailment notices for junior water right holders. Due to rain events a couple of weeks ago the notices have not yet been issued.

A measure that would repeal provisions of the $11.14 billion Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act, currently scheduled to go before California voters November 4th this year, was heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee this week. If approved by the voters, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality, and Water Supply Act of 2014 (SB 848), authored by Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis), would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $6.825 billion in five separate categories. Those five categories include:

$900 million for Safe Drinking Water,
$2 billion for Integrated Regional Water Management Planning and stormwater capture and reuse projects,
$1.2 billion for projects that protect the Delta ecosystem and integrity of Delta levees,
$1.7 billion for Watershed and Ecosystem Improvements,
$1.025 billion for Water Storage Projects.

All five categories would require legislative authority to appropriate the funds. Farm Bureau remains actively engaged in this and every effort to impact the size and structure of the water bond, emphasize the need for increased water storage, area of origin water rights protections and continuous appropriation for water storage dollars. Farm Bureau has an Oppose Unless Amended position on SB 848.

A measure that would allow multiple use registrations for small livestock stockponds was introduced this week. AB 1905 (Luis Alejo, D-Salinas) would allow small (10 acre feet or less) livestock stockponds to also be registered with the State Water Resources Control Board for use as small irrigation ponds. Currently law allows small irrigation ponds to also be registered for small domestic use, but not for livestock. Farm Bureau is the sponsor of this measure and therefore is also in support.

AB 1634 (Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley) would require employers to immediately abate conditions that Cal/OSHA alleges are a violation of occupational safety and health regulations if the agency classifies the citation as a serious, repeat serious, or willful serious violation. Under current law, if an employer appeals the citation, the employer is not required to abate the violation unless and until the appeal is denied. AB 1634 allows Cal/OSHA to grant a stay of abatement at its own discretion. This is similar to legislation Assemblymember Skinner carried in 2013 (AB 1165) which Governor Brown vetoed in October. The Governor’s veto message cited an appeal process in AB 1165 for abatements parallel to that which already exists through the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board. AB 1634 does not include that duplicative appeal process. Farm Bureau will oppose AB 1634 because it undermines due process protections allowing employers to appeal Cal/OSHA citations.

SB 1034 (William Monning, D-Carmel) would eliminate waiting periods before employers offering health insurance would be required to institute coverage. Current state law allows for a 60-day waiting period; federal law allows a 90-day waiting period. Farm Bureau is analyzing SB 1034 before taking a position.

SB 1087, also by Senator Monning, would impose a laundry list of changes to the California Labor Code for Farm Labor Contractors (FLCs). Several of these changes include:

higher licensing fees;
increase the size of surety bonds FLCs must obtain and provide documentation of the size of the bond to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE);
requires that surety bonds be conditioned on compliance with state laws prohibiting sexual harassment;
requires FLCs to receive training on prohibitions on sexual harassment;
doubles the number of continuing education hours required of FLCs from 8 hours annually to 16 hours annually;
adds violations of laws prohibiting sexual harassment by an FLC or an FLC’s supervisory personnel to the list of violations of law which prohibit DLSE from issuing an license to an FLC and requiring DLSE to revoke an FLC’s license;
requires FLCs to provide, upon request to a current or former employee or grower, a written statement showing compensation paid to employees, and requires growers to retain payroll records furnished by FLCs for three years.

Numerous other changes in the Labor Code pertaining to FLCs are further outlined in the bill. Farm Bureau position pending.

AB 1723 (Adrin Nazarin, D-Sherman Oaks) would authorize the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) to recover for employees payment of applicable penalties for willful failure to timely pay wages. Existing law provides for criminal and civil penalties for violations of statutes and orders of the commission regarding payment of wages. This bill would expand that penalty, restitution, and liquidated damages provision for a citation to also subject the employer to payment of any applicable penalties for the willful failure to timely pay the wages of a resigned or discharged employee. Farm Bureau is opposed.

AB 1660 (Luis Alejo, D-Salinas) clarifies that an action taken by an employer to comply with federal immigration law is not a violation of California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. AB 60, which became law in 2013, requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driving privilege cards to persons who cannot furnish the requisite documentation to obtain a regular driver’s license. AB 60 also prohibited discrimination under the Unruh Act against people using a driving privilege card. Farm Bureau supports AB 1660.

AB 2033 (Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield), just introduced yesterday, would create an Agricultural Career Technical Education (ACTE) unit in the Department of Education to provide schools with assistance in establishing and maintaining ACTE classes. This bill is in response to the 2014 state budget proposal to eliminate $4.1 million from the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program from the state budget. Ag Incentive Grant funds are used to update and modernize equipment and technology, as well provide vital resource for developing leadership skills and personal growth opportunities for students through ACTE programs and coursework. Farm Bureau is in support.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:54-07:00February 28th, 2014|

Does “The West Without Water” Portend our Future?

Sources: Excerpts from UC Berkeley; Steve Hockensmith, UC Berkeley NewsCenter; University of California Press; The Commonwealth Club of California.

As 2013 came to a close, the drought was reported to have been the driest year in California since records began to be kept in the 1840s. That was, academically speaking, not quite the truth.

“This could potentially be the driest water year in 500 years,” says B. Lynn Ingram, a UC Berkeley paleoclimatologist professor of earth and planetary science and geography.

B. Lynn Ingram

As a paleoclimatologist, Ingram analyzes sediments and archaeological deposits to determine how climates change over the course of millennia. And according to the width of old tree rings (which can record the coming and going of wet or waterless stretches), California hasn’t been so parched since 1580.

“These extremely dry years are very rare,” she says.

But soon, perhaps, they won’t be as rare as they used to be. The state is facing its third drought year in a row, and Ingram wouldn’t be surprised if that dry stretch continues.

“If you go back thousands of years, you see that droughts can go on for years if not decades, and there were some dry periods that lasted over a century,” Ingram said in a recent interview with Steve Hockensmith, UC Berkeley NewsCenter. “The 20th century was unusually mild here, in the sense that the droughts weren’t as severe as in the past. It was a wetter century, and a lot of our development has been based on that.”

Ingram continued, “The late 1930s to the early 1950s were when a lot of our dams and aqueducts were built, and those were wetter decades. I think there’s an assumption that we’ll go back to that, and that’s not necessarily the case. We might be heading into a drier period now. It’s hard for us to predict, but that’s a possibility, especially with global warming.”

“When the climate’s warmer,” she said, “it tends to be drier in the West. The storms tend to hit further into the Pacific Northwest, like they are this year, and we don’t experience as many storms in the winter season. We get only about seven a year, and it can take the deficit of just a few to create a drought.”

“Yet, if you look at the past, you realize that our climate is anything but reliable. We’ve seen these big fluctuations. Extreme droughts and extreme floods.”

The co-authors want the public to know that if you’re going to buy a house in the Central Valley, you should know about these floods. “And we have to start assuming that we could go into one of these longer droughts and maybe start doing some serious conservation and rethinking of agriculture here,” Ingram commented.

Together, B. Lynn Ingram, Professor of Earth & Planetary Science and Geography, UC Berkeley; and Frances Malamud-Roam, Associate Environmental Planner and Biologist, Caltrans; Visiting Scholar, UC Berkeley; co-authored The West Without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us About Tomorrow, which was released by the University of California Press last year.

The West without Water documents the tumultuous climate of the American West over twenty millennia, including past droughts and deluges and predictions about future climate change and water resources. Looking at the region’s current water crisis from the perspective of its climate history, the authors ask the central question of what is “normal” climate for the West, and whether the relatively benign climate of the past century will continue into the future.

The authors show that, while the West may have temporarily buffered itself from such harsh climatic swings by creating artificial environments and human landscapes, our modern civilization may be ill-prepared for the predicted climate changes and warn that we must face the realities of the past and prepare for a future in which fresh water may be less reliable.

The co-authors will present their ideas and research at The Commonwealth Club’s “In conversation” with Lisa Krieger, Science and Medical Research Reporter, San Jose Mercury News on Tuesday, Mar 11, 2014 at 6:30pm at the Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette.

Join Ingram and co-author Frances Malamud-Roam for a discussion on California’s current water crisis, the region’s climatic past and predictions about the future of climate change and its effect on water resources.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:55-07:00February 28th, 2014|

UC Davis Ag and Forestry Ranks No. 1 Globally, Again

For the second consecutive year, the University of California, Davis, ranks No. 1 in the world for teaching and research in the area of agriculture and forestry, according to rankings released today by QS World University Rankings.

The organization — which provides annual rankings in 29 other subject areas — also ranked UC Davis among the top 15 in environmental sciences and among the top 35 in civil and structural engineering.“We are proud to receive these outstanding rankings because they reflect both the long-established and emerging strengths of our university,” said UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi.

“Our agricultural programs date back more than 100 years to the very founding of the Davis campus and cover an amazingly broad spectrum of disciplines that support agricultural endeavors throughout the nation and abroad,” she said.

UC Davis’ College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences was founded in 1905 as the University of California’s University Farm. Today, it has more than 6,200 undergraduate students in 27 majors and more than 1,000 graduate students in 45 graduate groups and programs. Its programs have characteristically received top-tier rankings from the Chronicle of Higher Education, U.S. News & World Report and ISI Essential Science Indicators.

More than 3,000 acres of UC Davis’ 5,000-acre campus are devoted to agricultural research.

UC Davis also is home to the World Food Center, established in 2013 to increase the economic benefits from research across campus; influence national and international policy; and convene teams of scientists and innovators from industry, academia, government and nongovernmental organizations to tackle food-related challenges in California and around the world.

UC Davis, overall, was ranked ninth in 2013 among the nation’s public universities by U.S. News & World Report.

The QS World University Rankings by Subject this year evaluated a total of 2,838 universities and ranked 689 institutions. The rankings are prepared by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British firm that previously was the data provider for the annual Times Higher Education rankings. The firm is widely considered to be one of the most influential international university rankings providers.

About UC Davis

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has been one place where people are bettering humanity and our natural world while seeking solutions to some of our most pressing challenges.

Located near the state capital, UC Davis has more than 33,000 students, over 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff, an annual research budget of over $750 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers.

The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:55-07:00February 28th, 2014|

Ag Crime: Stolen Trailer Recovered

Ag Crime Assistance Requested: The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Rural Crime Unit is looking for any information on a recovered, stolen trailer. The only markings on it appear to be hand stamped.

Description: PJ Trailer, 2 Axle, had a “Trailer Barn” sticker on it, was stolen at least 3 years ago.

If you have any information on who it might belong to, please contact Officer Mark Ernstrom at: (805) 431-5529.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:55-07:00February 27th, 2014|

West Side Farmer/Rancher Says Drought is Tragedy

John Harris, owner of Harris Ranch, recently weighed in about how the drought is affecting his farming operation in Coalinga.

“This is probably the most depressing time I’ve seen in agriculture on the West Side,” he said. “We have employees that have been here for 30 or 40 years who are facing getting laid off.”

Harris said he and his crew have spent a lot effort to develop trees, which are doing well, that are facing the chance of being taken out.

Harris lamented, “You drive around and there’s nothing green.”

“It’s just a tragedy,” he said, “but we’re just trying to sort out how best to cope with it. We’re looking at drilling more holes and trying to buy water here and there.”

“There are just a few things we can do but nothing that is a real silver bullet,” Harris commented. “We’re probably 70% fallow right now.”

In terms of a bright side, Harris said, “If there’s anything good about it, this makes it so bad that it becomes so evident that the Endangered Species Act needs to be changed. It brings it home that you just can’t live with that.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:55-07:00February 27th, 2014|

USDA Funds $3 Million to Improve Bee Health

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide close to $3 million in technical and financial assistance for interested farmers and ranchers to help improve the health of bees, which play an important role in crop production, particularly in California.

The funding is a focused investment to improve pollinator health and will be targeted in five Midwestern states, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, where California farmers procure their bees.

USDA reports that Honey bee pollination supports an estimated $15 billion worth of agricultural production, including more than 130 fruits and vegetables that are the foundation of a nutritious diet.

California’s 800,000 acres of almond orchards typically require 1.8 million domesticated bee colonies, just to pollinate its almond trees alone.

The future security of America’s food supply depends on healthy honey bees,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Expanded support for research, combined with USDA’s other efforts to improve honey bee health, should help America’s beekeepers combat the current, unprecedented loss of honey bee hives each year.”

Funding will be provided through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to promote conservation practices that will provide honey bees with nutritious pollen and nectar while providing benefits to the environment. Recent studies have shown that beekeepers are losing approximately 30 percent of their honey bee colonies each year, up from historical norms of ten to fifteen percent overwintering losses experienced prior to 2006.

This assistance will provide guidance and support to farmers and ranchers to implement conservation practices that will provide safe and diverse food sources for honey bees. For example, appropriate cover crops or rangeland and pasture management may provide a benefit to producers by reducing erosion, increasing the health of their soil, inhibiting invasive species, providing quality forage and habitat for honey bees and other pollinators, as well as habitat for other wildlife.

Midwestern states were chosen because from June to September the region is the resting ground for over 65 percent of the commercially managed honey bees in the country. It is a critical time when bees require abundant and diverse forage across broad landscapes to build up hive strength for the winter.

Applications are due March 21, 2014.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:55-07:00February 27th, 2014|

Many Reasons to Celebrate Pistachios!

February 26th is a day for all to celebrate National Pistachio Day. It is a day that has been set aside for all pistachio lovers to eat their favorite nut all day long.

Besides their great taste, pistachios are an excellent source of vitamin B6, copper and manganese and a good source of protein, fiber, thiamin, and phosphorus. In July 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first qualified health claim specific to nuts lowering the risk of heart disease: “Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces (42.5g) per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease”

In addition to all the health benefits that pistachios offer, the empty pistachio shells are useful for recycling in several ways. Practical uses include as a fire starter, just as kindling would be used with crumpled paper; to line the bottom of pots containing houseplants, for drainage and retention of soil for up to two years; as a mulch for shrubs and plants that require acid soils: as a medium for orchids; and as an addition to a compost pile designed for wood items that take longer to decompose than leafy materials, taking up to a year for pistachio shells to decompose unless soil is added to the mix.

Shells from salted pistachios can also be placed around the base of plants to deter slugs and snails. Many craft uses for the shells include holiday tree ornaments, jewelry, mosaics, and rattles. Research indicates that pistachio shells may be helpful in cleaning up pollution created by mercury emissions.

Source: National Day Calendar

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:55-07:00February 26th, 2014|

California Drought Precipitation Data Shows a Drop of Promise

DATA SHOWS CALIF. PRECIPITATION JUST ABOVE TWO WORST DROUGHT YEARS

Current data shows California precipitation levels are inching just above drought year levels 1976-77 and 1923-24.

California Data Exchange Center Data

(Click on Image)

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:55-07:00February 26th, 2014|

National Beef Rejects General Offer from Community, Still Plans to Close

NATIONAL BEEF WILL CLOSE, LEAVING BRAWLEY IN A LURCH

Source: Lloyd Miller, The Desert Valley Review

The Imperial Valley Ad Hoc Committee met on February 21^st to inform the public that after three weeks of proposals with National Beef, the processing plant chose to continue with their April 4th closing date.

Ryan Kelley, supervisor district 4, was the spokesman of the committee present. Others were Don Wharton and George Nava of the Brawley City Council, Matt Dessert, Imperial Irrigation District director, and cattlemen Bill Plourd of El Toro Exports and Bill Brandenburg, Meloland Cattle Company, absent was Paul Cameron of Mesquite Cattle Feeders.

Kelley mentioned that National Beef never gave any figures they had to have to stay, but said they had lost many millions of dollars yearly at the Brawley plant.

Bill Plourd said the cattlemen met many times, with the ad hoc committee and with all the Imperial Valley Cattle Feeders. Last January 2013, the feedlots had agreed to a reduction of $15 million, on top of that they promised another $9 million reduction in prices.

“We have to be competitive, too. We buy cattle, we have to buy feed. To be successful and continue attracting customers there has to be a profit. Otherwise our customers will leave and ship their cattle where they can make money,” Brandenburg explained to the room.

Matt Desert said they cut their electrical rates to the historical contract that they had given when the plant first opened. This totaled $2.1 million in savings.

Wharton said the city of Brawley spent many hours combing through rates looking for ways to save the plant.

George Nava said that there was still reason to hope. “The door isn’t closed completely. It may just be a crack, but it is still open. We will continue our dialogue with National Beef CEO Terry Wilkinson in Kansas City, Mo. and chief financial officer Simon McGee.” He also added that National Beef did go from saying the plant would be moth-balled, to they would consider any reasonable offer.

Kelley said, “If you know of anybody interested, give me their name. I’ll call them.”

Plourd said that the cattlemen would now adjust their herd size. Many had recently expanded to meet the needs of the market, but now would downsize until the market reached its equilibrium.

Brandenburg added that through all of this the cattlemen remained united in trying to save the cattle industry and this would reverberate all through California, not just the Imperial Valley.

“We have clients that buy bull calf Holsteins from dairies and now that market is disappearing.

Ryan said that they wanted to give special recognition to Senator Ben Hueso and Assemblyman Manuel Perez and how they made calls and met with local officials. In the end, the State of California didn’t move in their regulations.

“In fact, the state didn’t seem to care,” Ryan said.

“But the cattlemen, they did not shy away. They gave their all.”

National Beef released this statement on February 21, 2014:

National Beef would like to thank the City of Brawley, Imperial County, the State of California, the regional cattle feeding industry and other community leaders that participated in developing and submitting a proposed incentive package in an effort to keep our Brawley processing facility open. The response was quick, thoughtful and well organized across many agencies. We have listened to the feedback and are grateful to all who were involved in the effort to support the continued operation of the facility.

We have considered all of the alternatives, but unfortunately, the barriers to profitably operate the facility continue to exist. Even with the proposed incentive package, the declining supply of fed cattle available for the Brawley facility remains the key driver of our decision to close the plant.

“We truly regret the impact this may cause to our employees. Their loyalty and dedication has been remarkable, and we will be offering assistance to help them transition to other opportunities,” said Tim Klein, chief executive officer, National Beef.

National Beef will continue to operate through this transition period until the last day of production, which is currently anticipated to be April 4, 2014.

National Beef:

We are a leading American beef supplier dedicated to providing fresh, chilled and further processed beef and beef by-products for our customers. Our focus is to expand our branded boxed beef, case ready beef, portion control beef and wet blue leather businesses to continue to meet and exceed the growing needs of our customers.

National Beef^® has grown from a single beef plant in 1992 to the fourth largest beef processor in the U.S. Our goal is to ensure that our customers have the tools they need to drive their own growth in the marketplace.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:55-07:00February 26th, 2014|

March 3rd Deadline for Drought-related Conservation Funds

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) reminds interested farmers and ranchers that they have until March 3, 2014, to apply for $25 million in drought-related conservation assistance. Farmers and ranchers should consult with their local NRCS offices as soon as possible in order to apply for assistance.

NRCS California can help farmers and ranchers understand the options for their particular water situation, soil type and production goals and develop a plan to get through this drought. Soil conservation practices for fallow land include cover crops, residue management, mulching and other complimentary practices.

To help ranchers suffering from drought conditions, NRCS can offer practices such as livestock well development, piping, troughs, and fencing. For some ranchers, this may allow livestock to take advantage of available grass while protecting vulnerable ranch resources.

Finally, for farmers who have access to water and want to make every drop count, NRCS can provide improved irrigation hardware with an irrigation management plan to optimize efficiency.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $20 million in drought assistance through NRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) on February 4 and President Barak Obama enlarged the conservation cost share assistance to $25 million during his California visit on Feb. 14. The program is strictly voluntary and producers share in the cost of the work.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is also providing drought assistance through the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP). Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to consult with their local offices to gain a full understanding of the drought assistance options available from both agencies. FSA and NRCS are often co-located in service centers throughout California.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:38:55-07:00February 26th, 2014|