Water Archives - Page 43 of 50 - California Agriculture News Today

Legislation Update

The National Pork Producers Council reported today:

HOUSE POSTPONES ACTION ON AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL

The House this week began considering the fiscal 2015 funding bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, but postponed a final vote on it so that Republicans can sort out their leadership issues in the wake of Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s decision to step down from his post after losing his primary election for the Virginia 7th Congressional District seat. The legislation includes $20.9 billion in discretionary money, which is equal to the fiscal 2014 level, and $121.3 billion for mandatory spending for federal food programs. NPPC helped secure in the House Appropriations Committee-approved bill language that prohibits USDA from implementing certain burdensome provisions included in the 2008 Farm Bill related to the buying and selling of livestock under the Grain Inspection and Packers and Stockyards Act. Additionally, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, requested and was able to include funding for research on porcine endemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) funding to better understand the transmission of the disease. NPPC is thankful of Rep. Latham and Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., for the inclusion of these important funds.

LIVESTOCK HAULERS RECEIVE ONE-YEAR EXEMPTION FROM DOT ‘HOURS OF SERVICE’ RULE

The U.S. Department of Transportation last Friday granted truck drivers hauling livestock and poultry a one-year exemption from an hours-of-service rule that took effect last July 1. The regulation requires truck drivers to take a 30-minute rest break after eight hours of service. For drivers transporting livestock and poultry, the hours of service included loading and unloading animals. NPPC hailed the move as a victory for animal welfare, as summer temperatures can cause livestock health problems, particularly for pigs, which do not sweat. NPPC is also appreciative of Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx for recognizing the importance of the issue for livestock farmers and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for his efforts to secure the exemption. Click here to read the rule.

HOUSE COMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING AFTER COMMENT EXTENSION GRANTED

NPPC Chief Environmental Counsel Michael Formica drafted a petition signed by 72 other agricultural groups in support of an extension. Under EPA’s proposal, the agency would redefine the term “waters of the United States” to include intermittent and ephemeral streams, and expand jurisdiction into farm fields and farm drainage. This would significantly impact agricultural operations, requiring permits and giving activists and regulators authority to dictate farm production practices. Prior to issuing these extensions, NPPC hosted EPA representatives at the World Pork Expo to meet with the NPPC Board of Directors and learn firsthand about farming. EPA visited farms in North Central Iowa to better understand farmers’ concerns regarding the apparent impact of these proposals and the need to work together with farmers to clarify EPA’s intent and minimize the unintended impacts on farmers and ranchers who have worked their families land for generations.

SMALL BUSINESS EXPENSING LEGISLATION APPROVED

The House Thursday approved on a 277-144 vote H.R. 4457, the “America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014,” which would permanently extend the tax code’s small business expensing provision – Section 179 – at a level of $500,000. Since 2003, Congress increased the amount of investment that small businesses can expense from $25,000 to $500,000. Legislation expanding and/or extending the provision was enacted eight times, but the expensing limits were temporary, and, beginning in 2014, the amount reverted to $25,000. NPPC joined dozens of other agricultural and business organizations in urging House lawmakers to approve the tax legislation. In a June 9 letter to bill sponsors Reps. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, and Ron Kind, D-Wis., the groups said permanent extension of Section 179 would increase investment and jobs, reduce tax complexity and paperwork and alleviate uncertainty for business owners, farmers and ranchers.

SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ON CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS

The Senate Agriculture Committee Thursday held a hearing titled “A National Priority: The Importance of Child Nutrition Programs to our Nation’s Health, Much of the discussion focused on the military turning away recruits and discharging service members because of poor health (known as the “Too Fat to Fight” epidemic) as well as on how reduced school lunch programs help students perform better in school. Witnesses included U.S. Air Force (Ret.) General Richard Hawley; National Parent Teacher Association President Otha Thornton; Dr. Stephen R. Cook, associate professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center School of Medicine and Dentistry; and Francis Scott Key Middle School Principal Yolanda Stanislaus. Click here to read testimonies and watch the hearing. Congress is in the beginning stages of reauthorizing the national school lunch program, and NPPC continues to promote pork as a lean healthy protein that should continue to be included in school lunches.

HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS TRADE SUBCOMMITTEE HOLDS AGRICULTURE TRADE HEARING

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade Wednesday held a hearing titled “Advancing the U.S. Trade Agenda: Benefits of Expanding U.S. Agriculture Trade and Eliminating Barriers to U.S. Exports.” In his opening remarks, Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., voiced his concern that Japan was not being held to the standards that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation free trade agreement (FTA) of Pacific Rim countries, set out to meet. “If any countries insist on retaining tariffs, then we must complete the negotiations without them and allow them to rejoin when they can commit to full tariff elimination,” said Chairman Nunes. Japan continues to demand certain products, including pork, be excluded from tariff elimination. In addition to being the largest value market for U.S. pork exports ($1.89 billion in 2013), Japan is the fourth largest market for the rest of U.S. agriculture, which shipped $12.1 billion of food and agricultural products to the island nation in 2013. A final TPP agreement that does not eliminate all tariffs and non-tariff barriers on U.S. pork products will negatively affect U.S. pork exports for the next 20 years, meaning billions of dollars less in U.S. pork sales and tens of thousands fewer U.S. jobs. For NPPC to support a final TPP agreement, Japan needs to eliminate all tariff and non-tariff barriers on U.S. pork and pork products NPPC expressed its concerns to the subcommittee in written testimony. To read testimonies from the hearing, click here.

DR. GAMBLE PARTICIPATES IN CODEX WORKING GROUP

Dr. Ray Gamble, president ex officio of the International Commission on Trichinellosis, traveled to Tokyo, Japan, May 28-30 to participate in meetings as part of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene’s physical working group tasked with drafting a document on parasites in food. Dr. Gamble provided invaluable expertise to the US Delegation which was led by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Currently, some trade partners such as the European Union and South Africa impose unnecessary trichinae mitigation steps on the United States’ pork industry. According to Dr. Gamble’s studies, there is virtually no risk for trichinae in the United States. A Codex document that creates counterproductive international standards on parasites would be burdensome on the U.S. pork industry. NPPC looks forward to working with FSIS as this document develops.

NPB’S LARSEN TRAVELS TO FINLAND

Steve Larsen, National Pork Board’s Director of Pork Safety, traveled to Kirkkonummi, Finland, June 4-6 to participate in an informal scientific colloquium of researchers/university academics, industry and government officials to hear how countries use Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) and their issues. The committee is planning to propose a new work item aimed at updating the Codex Alimentarius’s General Principles of Food Hygiene, more specifically its Annex on HACCP. The group of HAACP experts will draft a discussion paper on if there is a need to make revisions and will present their findings at the next CCFH meeting this November.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:26-07:00June 14th, 2014|

Farm Water Use Efficiency & Conservation Explained

Source: California Farm Water Coalition

Governor Brown has asked California’s citizens to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by 20 percent but what are farmers doing to reduce water use? Many farmers will be fallowing, or not planting, their fields simply because there isn’t enough water to meet their needs.

Crops, such as broccoli, winter lettuce, cantaloupes and garlic will not be grown in the same quantities that we normally see in California. According to Bloomberg News prices for broccoli, lettuce and tomatoes are up by double digits, with tomatoes reaching their highest prices since 2011.

A recent survey of public water agencies that deliver farm water shows that most areas of the state are being affected by the drought. Deliveries of irrigation water are expected to be cut this year by 50 percent or more.

About 2 million acres in the San Joaquin Valley are expected to receive no water this year under existing contracts with the State Department of Water Resources or federal Bureau of Reclamation.

Water Conservation or Water Use Efficiency?

The terms water conservation and water use efficiency are often used interchangeably but to water users they’re different things. Water conservation is generally perceived as an activity that reduces the amount of water used to do something, such as wash a load of clothes or take a shower.

High efficiency washers and low-flow showerheads conserve water that can then be used by another user or at a later time. Water use efficiency is when a water user does things to achieve more using the same (or less) water. An example could be a farmer who upgrades his or her irrigation system so that water is more efficiently used by the crop, producing more saleable, higher quality crop on roughly the same amount of water.

The efficiency is what is gained in crop production.

California farmers depend on reliable water supplies to grow almost half of the nation’s fruits and vegetables and 100 percent of another 14 specialty crops, including almonds, kiwis and clover seeds.

Water Use Efficiency Investments

From 2003 through 2010 San Joaquin Valley farmers invested almost $2.2 billion installing upgraded irrigation systems (drip, micro sprinklers, high-efficiency pumps) on more than 1.8 million acres.

High-efficiency irrigation systems deliver water to the crop in precise amounts on a schedule that meets the plant’s growing cycle. Drip irrigation systems limit the amount of water that is consumed by weeds, reducing the need for herbicides or repeated trips with a tractor and cultivator over the field, which saves fuel and helps reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

For more information, please visit: http://new.farmwater.org/new/learn-more-about-farm-water-use-efficiency-conservation/

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:26-07:00June 12th, 2014|

U.S.: Limoneira Raises 2014 Income Guidance

U.S. lemon and avocado business Limoneira Company (NASDAQ: LMNR) recorded a sharp year-on-year rise in lemon sales in the second quarter, and buoyant prices for the fruit have led to a substantially higher income guidance for 2014.

The company’s lemon sales increased 17% during the period to reach US $18.1 million, and costs were only slightly up by US $700,000 amid acquisitions of Associated Citrus Packers and Lemons 400.

With the much higher sales and only a marginal increase in costs, operating income surged by 35% to US $3.2 million. EBITDA was down 2.3%, but it is important to note the company gained US $3.1 million in the second quarter last year by selling stock in Calavo Growers (NASDAQ: CVGW).

“Based on lemon prices we are currently enjoying, our results for the first six months of fiscal 2014 and our positive outlook for the back half of the year, we are raising our previously issued guidance for the full year results of operations,” said chief executive officer Harold Edwards.

“Importantly, even with the well-publicized drought in California, we continue to believe that our extensive water rights, usage rights and pumping rights will provide us with adequate supplies of water as we begin our seasonally strongest quarter of the year.”

The company said that with higher lemon prices expected, it has pushed up its previous operating income guidance from US $7 million to a range of US $10.6-11.8 million.

Limoneira said this approximately represented a 100% increase over its 2013 operating income of US $5.4 million.

“The expected increase in operating income is primarily due to the additional lemon revenue generated by the acquisitions of Associated and Lemons 400 and increased lemon prices, partially offset by lower expected avocado revenue,” the company said.

“Fiscal year 2014 pre-tax earnings are anticipated to be $11.3 million to $12.4 million compared to previous guidance of approximately $8.1 million, which is similar to fiscal year 2013 pretax income.”

After hours trading was strong for the stock, with shares up 3.54% at the time of writing.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:27-07:00June 10th, 2014|

Housing Market Recovery Helps Timber Producers

Source: Steve Adler; Ag Alert

Home construction in California is on the upswing as the housing sector slowly recovers from the dramatic downturn of the recession that saw home prices and new construction plummet.

Going hand in hand with the increase in home building is the demand for lumber for framing, moldings, doors, fences and other uses. California timber producers say they welcome the increased demand for lumber, but are held back by the regulatory climate in the state that cuts into their bottom line.

As a result of added costs and restrictions on timber harvest, California forestry owners say they have difficulty competing with their counterparts in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia who work in a more business-friendly climate.

An estimated two-thirds of the building materials utilized in California comes from the Pacific Northwest and Canada’s westernmost province.

“Lumber production in California has dramatically fallen off from where we were a couple decades ago,” said Mark Pawlicki, director of corporate affairs for Sierra Pacific Industries in Anderson. “We are harvesting around 1.4 billion board-feet of timber now in California, and that is less than half of what it used to be. A lot of the fallout has been because of the reduction in sales of timber in national forests. It is a combination of regulations involved and a philosophical change within the U.S. Forest Service that occurred back the 1990s.”

Timber owner Peter Bradford of Booneville, who serves as board liaison to the California Farm Bureau Federation Forestry Advisory Committee, said the high cost of regulations “adds a substantial amount” to the price of California timber.

“We are very over-regulated when compared to Washington, Oregon or British Columbia,” Bradford said. “There is a lot of material that comes in from Oregon and Washington because the cost to get a harvest plan to log the trees is easier and much less costly than it is here. It is time, paperwork and cost here in California.”

Despite these challenges, timber owners in California say they are more optimistic than they were a few years ago, when the market for timber had decreased significantly.

“Prices right now aren’t the greatest, but they are better than they were five years ago. For some of the redwood that we are selling this summer, we’ve been given a price of around $900 for 1,000 board-feet. Back in the heyday of the late 1990s, we were receiving $1,500 for that same amount of lumber,” Bradford said.

Pawlicki noted that lumber is a cyclical market.

“As everyone knows, housing construction has been way off in recent years, but it has been gradually coming back. We have seen improvements in U.S. housing construction and along with it improvements in lumber pricing,” he said.

There are currently about 30 lumber mills in California, a decline of 80 mills since the 1990s.

“With the downturn that we experienced in lumber demand, a lot of sawmills closed in California and we are roughly in balance now with supply and demand,” Pawlicki said. “As demand goes up, we expect to see some pricing increases for lumber—not dramatic, but nevertheless steady. And that helps us to maintain our industry here in California.”

Producing more lumber in California to meet the state’s demand, he said, would require “some significant changes in the regulatory world.”

“Folks are not too inclined to build a new sawmill in this state with the regulatory environment that we have,” he said.

Another concern is the tight labor supply, particularly for employees who are experienced in timber harvest and millwork.

“Labor is a tremendous issue in the timber industry right now, trying to get people who are able to do the work,” Bradford said. “This is frequently something you are born into and you know how to do it.”

The labor shortage is felt most acutely in the mills, according to Pawlicki.

“We are experiencing some difficulty filling jobs, particularly millwrights and technical folks in our mills. These mills now are very technical and computerized systems for sawing lumber. It requires a different skill-set than what was required in the past,” he said.

The California drought creates concerns for foresters for several reasons, including increased fire danger and a slowdown in tree growth that corresponds to the lack of water for the trees’ root systems.

“The drought stresses the trees and we will see some tree die-off. We are concerned that we may lose a lot of trees to drought—and when that happens, insect infestations occur and that kills even more trees, and this creates an increased concern for catastrophic wildfires,” Pawlicki said.

Bradford said wildfire concerns also build because of the problems that small landowners face in trying to harvest their timber.

“The amount of environmental review that they have to go through to get a timber harvest permit and the cost to get that review done, with the market value of timber now, makes it economically undesirable. As a result, some of these properties are being sold for home sites. With this increased population comes an increase in the fire danger,” he said.

Bradford said he has seen a buildup in understory in the forests—shrubs, bushes and grasses—that has created dangerous fire conditions.

“That is the worst part of it. The other thing, of course, is that without the normal amount of rainfall, the trees won’t grow as fast as usual. But that is something that is pretty hard to measure,” he said.

Despite the ongoing challenges facing the timber business, Pawlicki noted some positive signs.

“We are optimistic that the market is going to improve domestically. We are seeing some improvements in operating conditions in California, and we are seeing some improvements in the legislative and regulatory front that have helped us,” he said.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:27-07:00June 9th, 2014|

More Evidence of Damage From Drought/ Water Restrictions

The continual trend of water restrictions in regards to the drought on the Central Valley is affecting multiple facets of the Industry, and even exterior businesses as well.

Doug Thiel is the owner and operator of Thiel Air Care, Inc. located in Chowchilla. He provides aerial application service throughout the central Valley. This season, his business is off due to the drought and environmental regulations protecting fish and ducks.

“It’s tremendously slow, with zero water allocations in many areas of Merced County and throughout the West Side of Fresno and Kings County. It is really hindering us. There’s nothing planted, there’s nothing to spray,” said Thiel.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:27-07:00June 6th, 2014|

Merced Irrigation District Growers to Receive Increased Water Supply

Merced Irrigation District officials say growers in the district will receive additional surface water, after action taken Tuesday by MID’s board of directors.

The increased water supply is the direct result of regulatory relief MID received from the state after months of planning a multibenefit water management action for the Merced River, according to a press release from Mike Jensen, MID spokesman.

MID growers were most recently expecting 0.9 acre-feet of surface water supply this growing season. However, MID officials noted increased water supply would be available, and recommended increasing the allocation to 1.1 acre-feet of water per acre.

Class II growers will receive 0.55 acre-feet after Tuesday’s MID board action. Deliveries are expected to continue until Sept. 7, according to Jensen.

“This year still remains among the most challenging we have ever seen,” MID General Manager John Sweigard said in the release. “Nevertheless, we are extremely pleased there was some surface water supply relief for our growers.”

Additionally, the board voted to decrease the in-season agricultural water rate for growers from $100.67 per acre-foot to $75 per acre-foot. The new rate is retroactive and applicable to all surface-water use for the 2014 irrigation season.

The reduction in the 2014 water rates comes after MID growers recently approved a rate increase to $100 per acre-foot, ensuring the financial health of MID during the drought crisis. Since that time, MID implemented the multibenefit water management action for the Merced River after months of planning and receiving final approvals from the state.

It involved obtaining 25,000 additional acre-feet of water from Lake McClure for growers, and providing 5,000 acre-feet of water for a critical-year spring fish-flow in the Merced River. The spring fish-flow water was transferred to other water users after it served its environmental purpose in the river system. MID received $5 million in revenue to help the district recover lost revenue associated with the drought.

In addition to the surface water supply from Lake McClure, MID is again implementing its Supplemental Water Supply Pool Program. Growers have already elected to receive additional water that is made available from conjunctive groundwater pumping. The district expects to provide approximately 28,000 acre-feet of water through the program this year, the release said.

MID began deliveries April 21.

Facing a third dry year with unprecedented drought conditions, the board of directors earlier this year enacted penalties for any water theft this season. For a first offense, a grower will be fined $1,000 and be charged $500 for each acre-foot used. For a second offense, the grower would receive the same fines and penalties while losing access to MID water this year.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:28-07:00June 6th, 2014|

Turlock Irrigation District Will Rehab Reservoir

Source: John Holland

The board of the Turlock Irrigation District voted 5-0 Tuesday to fix up a small, abandoned reservoir near Hilmar to conserve canal water.

The $2.34 million project will catch water from the Highline Canal that now is released into the Merced River when flows are unexpectedly high. The water will go into Laterals 7 and 8, which serve farmland near the south end of TID’s territory.

A staff report said the project will save an average of 2,550 acre-feet of water per year, and a future expansion could boost that to about 9,000. TID delivers close to 360,000 acre-feet in a normal year throughout its service area, but the drought has cut 2014 supplies roughly in half.

The district, which gets its water from the Tuolumne River and wells, also faces a long-term reduction in the river supply because of state and federal efforts to protect fish.

The project is scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2015 irrigation season. The board also approved spending $960,000 on automated gates that will make flows on Lateral 8 more consistent.

The reservoir site is owned by the Hilmar County Water District, which provides water and sewer service to the town of Hilmar. The TID board appointed General Manager Casey Hashimoto to negotiate the purchase of the property.

Modesto Irrigation District, which also draws from the Tuolumne, also has been looking at building small reservoirs to catch canal water that now ends up in natural streams.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:28-07:00June 6th, 2014|

Water Finally Reaching Growers in Fresno Irrigation District

Source: Dale Yurong; ABC 30

Growers in the Fresno Irrigation District are relieved to see irrigation water finally being delivered to their farms.

In a normal year, farmers would see water delivered for six months in the Fresno Irrigation District. This year, they’re getting a fraction of that but that still beats the zero allocation some growers are getting.

The almonds are developing nicely in Mitch Sangha‘s Fresno County orchard. He has been putting his old well to the test since winter — pumping groundwater because the drought has severely reduced water deliveries. But this past weekend, the water finally flowed as the Fresno Irrigation District began a six-week-long delivery.

“It’s going to help us a lot. Hopefully it will recharge the underground and hopefully we can shut our pumps off and let the water table build back up,” said Sangha.

“It’s a large district. Its 245,000 acres,” said Fresno Irrigation District General Manager Gary Serrato.

He says 4,000 growers now have access to the much needed water.

“The thought is that by starting up in June because there are wells going dry and groundwater tables are dropping that it buys them time as well,” said Serrato.

Sangha says he’ll take whatever water he can get. The constant groundwater pumping impacts homes which rely on the same underground aquifer.

“Our domestic pump on this rental house is only 60 feet so when I turn this pump on that runs out of water,” said Sangha.

“There’s been a lot of pressure on our groundwater this year, and we’ve seen historical drops like we’ve never seen before,” said Serrato.

Sangha says the delivery will help bring his almonds into production and will help raisin growers get through a critical period. Still, some farmers rely solely on the water deliveries and don’t have underground wells to pump groundwater.

Serrato says this is the third driest year on record. Only the droughts of 1976-77 and 1932-33 were worse.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:28-07:00June 5th, 2014|

Food Assistance Available In Counties Hit By California Drought

Source: CBS Sacramento

Families in areas hardest hit by California’s drought are getting some much-needed help as part of the state’s $687 million drought relief bill.

Yolo County is able to put some of that money to use by feeding families in need.

“Most of us here in town, they work on the fields, and they depend on the season,” said Claudia Covorrubias.

But she says this season, the drought is taking its toll, and her husband is out of his usual farm work. It’s a familiar story in Yolo County.

“We need the water,” she said. “If there’s no water, there’s no planting. So if there’s no planting, there’s no food.”

The need was seen by state leaders who set aside $25 million in the recent drought bill to help feed families like hers. The money is being spent on boxes going to food banks from 24 of the hardest hit counties where unemployment and agricultural work is higher than the state average.

COUNTIES AFFECTED: Amado, Butte, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, San Benito, San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Yolo, Yuba

The Yolo County Food Bank began handing out more than 5,600 boxes of donations at two locations on Monday.

The boxes include nonperishable, nutritionally balanced food that can last four or five days for a family of four.

Families qualify if the drought has caused them to be unemployed. “It’s all on an honor system,” said Stephanie Sanchez. “We’re really trying to just help out families in need. If they can’t prove it, we don’t want to have to turn them away.”

Emmanuella Eliadiazzamora has a daughter and is expecting another child in less than a month. For her, the help is huge.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:28-07:00June 5th, 2014|

CA Drought Devastates State’s Citrus Industry – June 6 in Bakersfield Orchard

California Citrus Mutual and Senators Fuller and Vidak to hold Press Conference June 6, 11:00 a.m.

Please join California Citrus Mutual, Senator Andy Vidak and Senator Jean Fuller for a press conference on the current water crisis and its devastating impact to the Central Valley’s $1.5 billion citrus industry and local communities.

Senator Jean Fuller

Senator Andy Vidak

The event is on Friday, June 6 at 11:00 a.m.in a Bakersfield citrus grove that is being pulled out of production due to zero surface water allocation [21662 Bena Rd., Bakersfield, CA]. The scene of removed groves is, unfortunately, becoming a familiar one throughout the Valley as citrus growers are faced with zero water allocation for the first time in the Central Valley Water Project’s history.

“The situation our industry is now faced with is not the result of a drought,” says CCM President Joel Nelsen. “It is the result of inaction and indifference by state and federal regulators who have time and again demonstrated that the production of food and fiber is not a priority.”

California Citrus Mutual estimates that nearly 50,000 acres of citrus will receive zero water allocation this year. “The loss of citrus production in the Central Valley will undoubtedly have a ripple effect that will be felt in many local communities,” continues Nelsen.

“Due to the zero water allocation, thousands of acres of citrus trees have already been destroyed resulting in higher food prices and lost jobs,” says Senator Fuller. “Now is the time for regulators to act on behalf of the farmers and residents of the Valley, get the water moving to where it is needed most, and stop the planned removal of thousands of more acres of citrus.”

California Citrus Mutual President Joel Nelsen

“The citrus industry is an economic driver in the Central Valley,” says Senator Vidak. “The loss of prime citrus production as a result of zero water allocation will have a lasting and devastating impact on jobs and our communities. This is not simply an agricultural problem; the impact will be felt by each and every one of us if water is not made available to our Valley.”

Speaking at the press conference will be CCM President Joel Nelsen, Senator Andy Vidak, and Senator Jean Fuller along with Valley citrus growers who have been directly impacted by this water crisis.

(Photo credit: California Citrus Mutual)

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:35:28-07:00June 4th, 2014|