It’s going to be another tough year for growers when it comes to finding sufficient labor to take care of the 2018 crop. Watch this brief interview with Michael Miiller from the California Association of Winegrape Growers who provided an update on the current legislative status of the labor and immigration situation. Miiller helps growers understand the current dynamics taking place between Sacramento and Washington D.C. making it difficult to come to any immediate solution.
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue followed his town hall at the World Ag Expo last week with visits with farmers and tours of farmland in the San Joaquin Valley. “I need all the education I can get,” Perdue said at Harris Woolf California Almonds facility in Coalinga, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times by Geoffrey Mohan.
Mohan spoke to the director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, Dan Sumner, to understand Perdue’s role in President Trump’s administration.
“When he say things to Trump, Trump can hear him saying, ‘Be careful about your constituency. Unless you want to see Nancy Pelosi in power, you better see to the reelections in the Central valley,” Sumner said.
One of the reelections is for Rep. Devin Nunez (R-Tulare), a strong Trump supporter who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election
Trump has to ponder whether he wants the Nunez or some Democrat leading the committee’s Russia investigation, Sumner said.
Read the article: Trump ‘gets what you’re saying’: Agriculture secretary talks immigration, water and food stamps on California tour
Sacramento, Calif., (March 1, 2018) – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has created a vital trading relationship for both Canadian and Californian agricultural and food businesses. Today, at a trade panel discussion hosted by the Canadian consulate, both the California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF) and the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) reiterated their support for NAFTA and emphasized the importance of integrated supply chains across the continent.
“The fresh produce industry is committed to achieving a win-win-win agreement for all three NAFTA countries,” said Jane Proctor, CPMA Vice President of Policy and Issue Management. “NAFTA has enabled the free flow of goods across our borders with over $2.5 billion USD worth of fresh produce exported from California to Canada in 2016 and ensures that Canadians have a year-round supply of fresh and affordable produce. We appreciate the strong support shown by Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Canadian negotiators for our industry and all of Canadian agriculture during these negotiations.”
“California agricultural exports support 1 million jobs on farms and in cities, and that number will only increase with higher demand for California-grown products,” CFBF President Jamie Johansson said. “Trade with Canada and Mexico under NAFTA has generally been positive for California farms, ranches and agricultural businesses. We support ongoing efforts to modernize the agreement for the benefit of farmers, food businesses and consumers in all three nations.”
The trading relationship between California and Canada remains strong with $6.3 billion USD in agricultural trade in 2016, including $4.1 billion worth of California agricultural exports to Canada.
The CFBF and CPMA will continue to work with negotiators and legislators on both sides of the border to ensure a successful and reciprocal agreement for industry.
With ongoing changes in California pesticide laws and regulations, growers should be prepared with the right tools and resources, especially if County Ag inspector pays you a surprise farm visit. That is why Amanda Zito and Alya Wakeman-Hill from the Fresno County Department of Agriculture provided growers with a bucket inventory checklist regarding pesticide applications at a Sun-Maid Growers meeting in Selma this morning.
Here is what is required:
-Emergency Medical Care Posting (Outside)
-Soap
-3+ Gallons of Water
-Single-use Towels
-Clean Coveralls
-Chemical Resistant Gloves
-Eye Protection
-Labels for Chemicals being Applied
Highly Recommended:
-Eyewash
-Extra N95 Respirators
-Chemical Resistant Apron
Remember, it is always better to be safe than sorry!
Sacramento, Calif., (February 28, 2018) – As the U.S. House of Representatives continues discussion on proposed immigration legislation, the California Farm Bureau Federation says it cannot support a part of the bill that addresses agricultural employees.
Now before Congress, H.R. 4760, the Securing America’s Future Act, would fund a border wall and address internal immigration enforcement and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It also includes an Agricultural Guestworker Act, or AG Act, which would create a new agricultural visa program.
CFBF President Jamie Johansson said the AG Act, in its current form, contains a number of features that would harm the current immigrant employees on whom California farms and ranches depend. In addition, it would mandate use of the E-Verify electronic workplace-eligibility system, which could affect a large proportion of current agricultural employees.
“As now written, the AG Act just wouldn’t work for California farms and ranches,” Johansson said. “There’s a longstanding need to create a workable temporary-visa program for agriculture that provides greater stability and opportunities for agricultural employees and their families. The AG Act would cause too much disruption for our employees and our communities.”
Johansson said CFBF and other organizations have offered a number of recommendations for creating a more practical and flexible program to allow people from other countries to enter the U.S. to work on farms and ranches.
“We know the American Farm Bureau and other national agricultural organizations have decided to support the AG Act, and they have every right to do so,” Johansson said. “But as the largest agricultural organization in the largest agricultural state, we must advocate for a solution that works for our members and their employees. For California farmers and ranchers, the combination of the AG Act and E-Verify would actually worsen chronic agricultural employee shortages. We will press for a better solution.”
Washington, D. C. (February 22, 2018) – As the state of California attempts to implement a policy that would cause massive damage to American farmers, a national agriculture coalition is going to court tomorrow with a reasonable request: halt California’s extreme action until the judge can consider all of the facts. At issue is California’s unjustified and false Prop 65 listing of glyphosate, one of modern agriculture’s most valuable tools and an industry standard across the world.
Despite scientific findings from hundreds of studies and conclusions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and regulatory agencies around the world that glyphosate is safe for use, California ignored facts, data and science, when it added glyphosate to the state’s Prop 65 list.
“While farmers are readying our fields and making plans to put seeds in the ground, California is engaging in aggressive legal wrangling, placing us at risk to crippling liability for using a product that hundreds of studies and the U.S. EPA say is safe for use,” said Gordon Stoner, President of the National Association of Wheat Growers. “We intend to make clear in this hearing that agriculture is under attack and implementation of this erroneous Prop 65 listing for glyphosate should be halted until there is a final ruling from the judge.”
On Tuesday, the agriculture coalition will make the case for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, which would halt the implementation of the Prop 65 listing until a final ruling is decided by the court.
The National Association of Wheat Growers are the lead plaintiff in the case against California filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The plaintiffs include the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Associated Industries of Missouri, Iowa Soybean Association, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, CropLife America, Missouri Farm Bureau, National Corn Growers Association, North Dakota Grain Growers Association, South Dakota Agri-Business Association and United States Durum Growers Association. In December, the group filed a temporary injunction asking the court to halt the regulation.
California State Legislature never ceases to keep growers on their toes with new proposals, laws & regulations coming down the pipeline — many of which are detrimental to our agricultural industry, but with all the confusion of the evolving legislation pending in Sacramento with regards to groundwater management, it’s great to have organizations like the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) to keep us current on what’s going on in the political arena and how it will impact our growers. Watch this brief update with Michael Miiller, director of Government Relations at CAWG for some important information on CA groundwater.