WGA EXPANDS COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT

Jeff Janas Is New Communications Manager

Jeff Janas

Today, Western Growers (WG) announced the appointment of Jeff Janas as its new communications manager in its Irvine office.

Jeff comes to WG from Arizona where he served as vice president of public affairs and communication at the Arizona Charter Schools Association.  He has extensive experience in government and communications having served previously as an appointee at the Ohio Department of Insurance in former Ohio Governor George Voinovich’s Administration and for eleven years as a congressional staffer at the U.S. House of Representatives. 

During his congressional career, Jeff served as director of committee operations at the House Administration Committee and also covered a multitude of topics including agriculture, insurance and transportation issues.

“We are very happy to welcome Jeff to the Western Growers staff,” said Sr. Director of Communications Wendy Fink-Weber. “He has a great deal of experience in government affairs and communications and will make significant contributions to our efforts to advance the public policy goals of our members.”

Jeff is an Ohio native and graduate of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he earned a B.S. in Communications degree.  He will edit WG’s twice-weekly electronic newsletter, Spotlight, handle news monitoring, and contribute to issues management, social media, media relations and several writing and editing projects.  

2016-05-31T19:45:22-07:00August 27th, 2013|

RESOLUTIONS TO BE READ TO PUT LEGISLATURE ON NOTICE

Counties and Cities Prepare For Resolutions

Today the Kings County Board of Supervisor will read a formal resolution on where they draw the line on the Water Bond and the need for storage.

According to Mario Santoyo, assistant general manager of the Friant Water Authority “Essentially the resolutions will say: ‘We reaffirm our support for the 2010 Water Bond, and we are open to a modified bond. However it better have $3 billion in continuous appropriation for storage, $2.25 Billion for the Delta and some regional projects, otherwise we are not going to support any modify bond.’”

It’s reported that the City of Fresno will also adopt the Resolution in the coming weeks. More cities and counties are also proposing the Resolution.

2016-05-31T19:45:22-07:00August 27th, 2013|

WESTSIDE DOCUMENTARY COLLECTS ACCOLADES

“The Fight for Water” Wins Over Critics

AUGUST 26, 2013 — “The Fight for Water: A Farm Worker Struggle”, a documentary based on the historic 2009 march that spanned across the Westside of the California Central Valley to the San Luis Reservoir by farmers and farm workers, won the Best Documentary in Cinematography Runner Up Award and the Best Documentary Political Film Runner Up Award at the Action on Film International Film Festival in Pasadena, California, which ended this past weekend.

The film was also nominated for Best Documentary, Best Cinematography Feature and for The Sony Software Award for “Excellence in Filmmaking” in a Major Genre.

The festival showcased the works of independent writers, producers, directors and actors from around the world in all genres.

Furthermore, “The Fight For Water” has been selected to screen internationally alongside some renowned environmental films from around the world later this year at the 6th Annual Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival in Malaysia. Additional screenings are planned in the U.S. and, in particular, California.

The Northern California Living Series Magazines reviewed the film and called it, “Compelling… A ‘must see’ film!” It also won an Honorable Mention for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Los Angeles Movie Awards.


Juan Carlos Oseguera, a San Francisco State University alumnus, is a published film critic and has won awards in writing, producing and directing. 


Juan Carlos Oseguera

Raised in the California Central Valley by parents who were migrant farmworkers, Oseguera set out to film the 2009 march and document the farm workers’ struggle as a lesson to be learned and a voice to be heard. 


Multitalented, Oseguera produced, directed, wrote, shot, and edited the film, the first feature-length documentary under his production studio, Filmunition.

The documentary features two Latino farmers, Joe Del Bosque and George Delgado, who describe how federal water measures contributed to fields going dry in 2009 in the Westside of the California Central Valley while refuges that protect a threatened fish received all of the water designated for the Westside. 

This diversion of water affected their community tremendously; the governor declared the area a disaster and the state provided food assistance to over 200,000 farm workers who lost their jobs.

Oseguera uncovered class, social and environmental intricacies behind water access and distribution in California, and the ripple effect it has on all of us.

Hollywood actor Paul Rodriguez, who helped organize the water march in the style of Cesar Chavez, is featured for his activism in this cause. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also appears on the film.

Los Angeles area music composer Benjamin Coria and California Central Valley musicians, Dustin Morris and Eric Vega, contributed to the film’s emotional score. Coria is a trained pianist, orchestrator and composer who has scored numerous award-winning film projects. His work can be heard in the documentary film, Bet Raise Fold (2013). He currently produces music for Access Hollywood and Inside Edition.

Dustin Morris is singer and songwriter who has scored short films and is a member of the rock band Solar Powered People, which has a large following in Europe. Eric Vega composed “Se Me VA”, “The Fight For Water” film’s thematic song, exclusively for the film. A songwriter, singer and stage performer, Vega has produced music albums of his own and for other artists. He recently performed at the L.A. Comedy Festival.

For additional information about the film and film screenings, visit:

For filmmaker interviews or to book film screenings, contact filmunition@yahoo.com or call (209) 675-2988.

###

2016-05-31T19:45:22-07:00August 27th, 2013|

GROUNDWATER COOP EXTENDS DEADLINE TO SEPTEMBER 9TH

CCGC Eases Water Board Compliance

Membership materials are now available to join the Central Coast Groundwater Cooperative (CCGC). CCGC’s groundwater monitoring plan was recently accepted by the Regional Board for grower/landowners in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties.

If a landowner/grower selects the cooperative approach on their EPA Electronic Notice of Intent (eNOI), they still need to submit a membership application to CCGC. Those who selected the individual well monitoring option can now switch to the cooperative program based on a recent action by the Regional Water Board.

The Program Welcome Letter states member dues will support the sampling of drinking water wells throughout Monterey, Santa Clara, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties on farm property owned or leased by members.

Sampling will occur September 2013 through August 2014, with follow-up nitrate source identification continuing into 2016-17.

CCGC combines member resources to achieve economies of scale to comply with the regulatory requirements of the Central Coast Regional Water Board.

CCCG has already accomplished what individual growers/landowners could not do alone; it has illustrated to the Regional Water Board that a one mile square blurring of well locations is protective and important such that staff is recommending that the Board amend the Monitoring and Reporting Plan (MRP) and the Order to make the rule for all growers, regardless of whether they’re in CCGC or monitoring individually.

CCGC provides long-term security of individual well monitoring information, fulfilling the need for accurate information to be used as a basis for the next Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP). Negotiations are expected to begin in 2014.

CCGC uses experts in groundwater to create an accurate characterization of the aquifers covered by the plan, using science-based, and aggregated reporting.

The Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, Western Growers, and the Farm Bureaus of Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties created CCCG.

Growers should submit the CCGC Application no later than September 9, 2013. 

There are three upcoming informational workshops on this program:

Wednesday, September 4 @ 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. at the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Conference Center – 1428 Abbott St., Salinas

Wednesday, September 4 @ 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at Santa Cruz Farm Bureau – 141 Monte Vista, Watsonville

Thursday, September 5 @ 9-11 a.m. at Veterans of Foreign Wars – 58 Monterey St., San Juan Bautista

Contact Abby Taylor-Silva at 831-422-8844 or Parry Klassen at 831-240-9533 with any questions.   

2016-05-31T19:45:22-07:00August 27th, 2013|

Table Grape Season Shines

Table Grape Harvest Going Well

A Table Grape Harvester packs a box of
Thompson Seedless grapes for market.
According to Mark Givens, a salesman with HMC Farms in Kingsburg, the table grape harvest is moving along well in the central San Joaquin Valley. “The harvest got started in the area a little earlier than normal, around the first of July,” he said.

Givens said the there has been a lot of good quality fruit throughout the entire state this season and that prices have been a little lower compared to last season. “Flame Seedless in the central valley are coming to and end and Thompson Seedless is just getting underway,” Givens said. “A newer variety Scarlet Royal is just getting underway and Crimson Seedless will be starting soon.”

This years production estimates are 105.7 million 19 pound boxes this compared to 100.8 million boxes last year.

2016-05-31T19:45:22-07:00August 26th, 2013|

UNIONS PRESSING GROWERS HARD

ALRB Board Issues Report

According to a report released TODAY by the ALRB, growers are being pressured by unions to provide grievance-related information, to award retroactive wage increases, to not use misleading advertising, to not retaliate and to provide Mandatory Mediation and Conciliation intervention.


Bud Antle, Inc.

On July 29, 2013, the Board issued a decision affirming the Administrative Law Judge’s decision in May that Bud Antle, Inc. violated sections of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA) by failing to supply the Teamsters Union, Local 890 with requested information to process grievances.

ALRB decided the information sought by the Union was relevant to the grievances filed, and the conclusion that Bud Antle Inc.’s claim of privilege did not support its categorical refusal to supply the information. Bud Antle Inc. contended that the information sought was in the possession and control of Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. (Dole), and was therefore unavailable. The Board affirmed that Bud Antle, Inc. could not escape responsibility for failing to provide information by merely asserting the information was in the hands of a third party.


Gerawan Farming, Inc. (two issues)

On July 29, 2013, the Board issued its decision against Gerawan Farming, Inc., which paid for an advertising campaign that attacks Senate bill 25, which requires farm workers to be part of the United Farm Workers of America. Ag Leaders say it’s unfair to force farm workers to join unions and are calling on state lawmakers to strike down the legislation. Those in favor of the bill claim the ad is misleading because it uses a person with an accent speaking against the bill. The bill is up for a vote in the assembly over the next four weeks.


On July 10, 2013, Lupe Garcia, an employee of Gerawan Farming, Inc. filed a “petition for intervention” in the Mandatory Mediation and Conciliation (MMC) case involving Gerawan and United Farm Workers of America (UFW) The ALRB issued a decision dismissing the employee’s petition as he was not a party to the MMC proceedings under the Board’s regulations. The Board further found that, even if the standards for intervention in civil court cases were applicable to MMC cases, Garcia did not qualify for intervention under those standards.


George Amaral Ranches, Inc.

On July 18, 2013, ALRB dismissed a United Farm Workers of America (UFW) petition that wage increases for this year provided for in the mediator-imposed contract should have been made retroactive to January 1, 2013 instead of July 1, 2013, as a remedy for the mediator filing his report late. The Board noted that retroactivity of an imposed contract could be proposed by the parties during the mediation process only, which the UFW did not propose in this matter.


H & R Gunland Ranches

On July 1, 2013, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Mark Soble issued a decision in H & R Gunlund Ranches, Inc., Caruthers, accused of allegedly engaging in the following unfair labor practices violations: discharging a grape vine pruning and tying crew in 2009 in retaliation for the crew protesting a reduction in their piece rate wages; discharging a crew on December 3, 2009, in retaliation for the crew’s protest against a reduction in their piece rate wages and for having filed charges with the ALRB; and, unlawfully refusing to rehire, in 2010 and thereafter, approximately three-fourths of the crew in retaliation for the protests and ALRB filings.


The ALJ found that all of the unfair labor practices occurred as alleged. By firing the workers in response to their protected, concerted activity and by unlawfully failing to rehire the crew in retaliation for their protests and having filed charges with the ALRB, the company committed unfair labor practices.

The ALJ’s recommendation requires the company to rehire the unlawfully discharged workers and to provide them with back pay.

The ALRB holds that the Agricultural Labor Relations Act is a law that gives all farm workers in California these rights:

1.To organize yourselves;

2.To form, join or help unions

3.To vote in a secret ballot election to decide whether you want a union to represent you

4.To bargain with your employer about your wages and working conditions through a union chosen by a majority of the employees and certified by the Board

5.To act together with other workers to help and protect one another

6.To decide not to do any of these things.

Ag officials warn all farmers to take care of employees, pay them fairly and instill a good working environment.

2016-05-31T19:45:22-07:00August 26th, 2013|

Chinese Learn About PCAs, CCAs in California

Chinese Ag Officials

Visit West Hills Farm of the Future

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

A Chinese delegation that included He Caiwen Deputy Director General of the country’s Ministry of Agriculture were at West Hills Community College’ Farm of the Future campus in Coalinga on Friday.

Chinese Ag Officials Join West Hills Community College Staff in Coalinga.
The group were part of a fact-finding tour with a focus on their country’s crop protection product usage including an interest in doing what California does  in terms of licensing those who make recommendations, as well as maintaining good records, according to Joy Cowden coordinator of special grants with WHCC, and the person instrumental in getting the group to West Hills Community College. “They are also interested in our Pest Control Advisor, and Certified Crop Advisor programs,” noted Cowden.

He Caiwen

Hosting the delegation while at the campus was Frank Gornick, chancellor of the West Hills College District. “They were very interested in our pesticide regulatory standards so they can possibly implement similar standards in their country,” he said.

China has about 247 million acres under agricultural production (compared with the US at 404 million acres) with their top three crops being corn, rice and wheat.

The China group is also concerned about Maximum Residue Levels (MRLS) on their crops that could prevent exports, or be harmful for their consumers.

And if they were to develop their own crop protection materials, what does the US EPA require on the labels.

While in the US for three weeks, the group visited many areas including the US EPA in Washington D.C. They will also visit with California EPA and Department of Pesticide Regulations officials.

2016-05-31T19:45:22-07:00August 24th, 2013|

TODAY’S MEETING IN FRESNO ADDRESSES ACP

Fresno County on Alert for ACP

 
Assemblyman Jim Patterson

Assemblyman Jim Patterson hosted the Citrus Industry Town Hall this morning at the Fresno County Farm Bureau office to discuss the current state of the Asian Citrus Psyllid presence in California, the quarantine situation, how Fresno County is preparing for the possible migration of ACP into the county, and how agencies, growers, and the state and federal governments are cooperating to control its spread in California.

Over forty people attended the meeting, including growers, PCAs, local government and industry leaders, researchers, and media.

Fresno County is the fourth largest citrus-producing county in California, having dropped in status due to freeze-damaged mandarin acreage last year, according to Les Wright, Fresno County Ag Commissioner.
Les Wright
“ACP spread is one of the most serious problems facing valley citrus growers especially those in the south valley,” said Wright.
 
To date, all contiguous counties in southern California are under CDFA Quarantine, as well the Porterville area of Tulare County, to prevent movement of ACP-ridden leaves and plant debris and unsanitary ag equipment into non-infested regions of the state and to bide time for agency mobilization and industry research to catch up. The effort also aims to prevent ACP from finding HLB-infected trees and spreading the incurable disease.
 
Though presently under quarantine, the effort in southern California to stop the spread of ACP, it was emphasized, was NOT a failure; rather, it bought precious time for other regions to prepare, and while many treatments did not work, other regions are learning from their attempts.
 
Creative Solutions
 
Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell

Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell, UC IPM Specialist and Research Entomologist, recently studied ACP found in Texas and Florida and reported that local agencies here are following Florida’s lead in organizing grower groups and local neighbors to treat their trees simultaneously.

She said that researchers are looking for natural processes, among others, to control ACP populations.
 
Victoria Hornbaker, CDFA, Program Coordinator, gave the example of Dr. Mark Hoddle, Extension Specialist and Director of the Center for Invasive Species Research at UC Riverside, who is working towards the massive release of Tamarixia radiata wasps, a natural predator of ACP, found in Pakistan. In studies of small releases of T. radiata, the wasps were found outside the areas where they were released—a good indication of their hardiness and potential effectiveness against ACP.

Victoria Hornbaker

While there is no cure for HLB thus far, researchers are looking at altering the ACP so it cannot pick up HLB disease, inserting a gene so it cannot carry HLB, and creating disease-resistant plants.

Organic insecticides against ACP are short-lived, so they must be applied more frequently than their conventional counterparts. Thus, organic farmers must be more aggressive in their treatments.
 
UC Davis is studying new efficacious organic products.
 
If an organic farm were in an eradication zone, the grower would be required to use conventional products, losing organic status for one year. Without compliance, the property would be abated.
 
It is recommended that when a grower sprays for a different pest, they should choose a product that also works on ACP.
 
Eradication and management strategies differ according to season.
 
Product spraying frequency and product choice are delicate decisions so as not to cause resistance in ACP.
 
Expert dog sniffers can detect the presence of ACP, and have detected infested shipments that were subsequently destroyed. California is vigilant at all points of entry including airports, border traffic, and ports. Not all counties have expert canines; however, Fresno has one such specialist. The USDA also provides dogs, one of which works in Fresno.
 
Take Action Now
 
Start sampling now.
 
Do not rely on (color-saturated) yellow-sticky traps for detection. Remember that psyllids are attracted to citrus trees, which have both color and scent.
ACP likes an orchard’s edges, so test for their presence around a field’s perimeter, as well as down the center for good measure.
 
Go to the following websites for information, quarantine maps, crop protection cost-effectiveness:
·       CDFAWebsite
In the event a homeowner or grower suspects ACP on their property, take the bug, if possible, put it in alcohol, and contact the Fresno County Farm Bureau; Sylvie Robillard, Fresno County Grower Liaison; the CDFA Hotline, 1-800-481-1899 or your local Ag commissioner (if outside Fresno County).
 
Joel Nelson
Joel Nelson, California Citrus Mutual, President, commented, “If it weren’t serious, it would be exciting” due to the talent of the people involved in the fight to suppress the ACP and thereby avoid HLB disaster in the state. With southern California producing $750,000 and the Central Valley producing $1.5 billion in citrus, California is the largest citrus-producing state in the country, providing 85% of the country’s fresh citrus.
 
Stopping the spread of ACP and eradicating Huanglongbing (HLB) is among the top five priorities of the USDA. The federal government has contributed $10 million to the California program toward that end.
 
A coalition of groups is conducting a public relations campaign starting in southern California that includes distribution of bookmarks and brochures (in several languages) that have a little magnifying glass inside to detect ACP; enlisting legislators and box stores, among others, to help spread information; and launching a PSA next week featuring Citrus Grower Kevin Severns speaking about this crucial situation.There are 6 versions of the PSA on CCM’s YouTube Channel.
 
Nelson emphasized that every step this coalition in California takes is globally unprecedented. And the government is flexible and ready to adopt new strategies; using this effort in California as a model for other programs planned to eradicate foreign invading pests.
 
Assemblyman Jim Patterson concluded by acknowledging, “Agriculture is more than a livelihood; it‘s a life.”
2021-05-12T11:06:03-07:00August 24th, 2013|

FIGHT FOR WATER FILM CONTINUES SCREENING


Film Communicates the Cause

There was big crowd at award winning and award-nominated, The Fight For Water Film, at UC Merced last night, 8/22/13.

The Fight For Water Film documents the struggle of two farmers, and thousands of farm workers on the Westside, Fresno County, in 2009 when there was only a 10 percent water allocation.

Filmmaker/Director Juan Carlos Oseguera focuses on the 50-mile historic water march in his film, the only film that documents this journey that brought more than 1,000 farmers and farm workers from all over the state.

The film also records the many food lines that were required in towns such as Firebaugh, Mendota, San Joaquin and Huron. Farmworkers, though humiliated, were forced to resort to these food lines due to the high unemployment that reached in excess of 40 percent as a consequence of the non-irrigated fields.

Ironically, though The Fight For Water film documents this event in 2009 and 2010, nothing has changed. In fact, farmers in the Westside Federal Water Districts are currently facing what could be an even worse year in 2014. The Bureau of Reclamation has warned that if there is not significantly more than average rain and snowfall this winter, there could be an unprecedented zeroallocation.

No water allocation may force many farmers out of business and cause massive unemployment in the Westside communities already suffering from severely reduced water allocations. This season, farmers received only 20 percent of what they needed and paid for.

Oseguera said, “I have found that Californians outside of the Central Valley, and Americans out of state, are unaware of the plight of farmers and farmworkers here. So, we need to expand distribution of the film to educate everybody.”

“There is growing interest from film distributors to advance the film to wider audiences,” said Oseguera. “A good way to tell the distributors that the film needs to be seen by others outside of California is to like the Fight For Water Facebook page,” he noted.

Click on The Fight For Waterfilm facebook page and like it.


2016-05-31T19:45:23-07:00August 22nd, 2013|

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OVERREACHES HUMAN RIGHTS

The Endangered Species Act Turns 40

A Statement by Rob Rivett, President, Pacific Legal Foundation

This year the Endangered Species Act turns 40. President Richard Nixon, on December 28, 1973, signed into law one of the nation’s most powerful environmental laws.  The law vested authority in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to enforce a wave of new regulations, and create a new relationship between homo sapiens and other species.
Soon after its passage, the U.S. Supreme Court declared it the most comprehensive law ever passed for the protection of species and that ESA enforcement must occur “whatever the cost.”  Federal officials have used their power under the Act to regulate private property as if it were public land.
The degree to which the ESA has been successful is a matter of debate.  Of the estimated $3 billion of taxpayer funds necessary to fund the annual operation of the ESA, less than 1 percent of the species in North America have been recovered out of more than 1,400 that have been listed.  One undebatable fact is the law has created a flood of lawsuits, those filed to seek government acts, and those filed to limit them.
Since its founding in 1973 — the same year the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted — Pacific Legal Foundation has been America’s watchdog in the courts to check and reverse government abuse of this and other environmental laws.
PLF has enough experience with the ESA to know that a well-intentioned law can completely turn the tables on common sense, sound science, and the fundamental freedoms of people.  PLF believes in responsible stewardship of our land, water, and air for the benefit of people, the environment, and the species that inhabit it.  The trouble comes when a law designed to help species harms the people who care for the environment — including farmers, ranchers, and foresters — those living and working in America’s “environment.”
The protection of the environment is only one of many competing and important social values in America.  In an orderly society, no single value can be exalted “whatever the cost.”  Environmental laws can and must be administered so as to safeguard, and not thwart, fundamental human needs and rights.  Therefore, Pacific Legal Foundation has assumed a leading role in protecting constitutionally established limits on governmental power and ensuring individual freedom.
Nearly 40 years after its enactment, the Federal Endangered Species Act remains one of the nation’s most potent threats to our constitutionally protected property rights.  Crafted by the Congress with the noble goal of saving species from extinction, and helping them to return to health, the law today has led to controversy and regulatory creep across our nation’s landscape.
Because Pacific Legal Foundation supports a balanced approach to environmental regulations — like the ESA, we’re taking the opportunity in 2013 to examine aspects of the law, with particular emphasis on past and current cases we’ve litigated.
During the course of the year, this landing page will feature PLF opinion articles, videos, podcasts, and news and information about current PLF cases.

Whether you are part of the “regulated community” or just a concerned citizen who values liberty and a thriving environment, I invite you to check in regularly on this page to see our latest postings and to give us your feedback.
Of course, as a nonprofit legal charity, Pacific Legal Foundation welcomes your charitable donations.
If you believe, as we do, that in protecting our nation’s environment, our constitutional rights should not be threatened or endangered by government agencies and activist groups, I invite you to become a supporter of PLF’s legal program.

2021-05-12T11:06:03-07:00August 22nd, 2013|
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