California Ag Network

Category: News

  • Quota Vs Pooling: Do They Need Each

    Modesto, Calif., (April 25, 2017) – Quota has been a big topic lately as CDFA works toward the potential implementation of a stand-alone quota program should a FMMO be voted in California. Not only is it a complex issue, it is one that drives passion from many in the industry.

    In recent weeks, pooling and quota have been discussed together like they’re bread and butter. But while it is true they work well together, their differences are also key to each of their respective roles. The connection between the two is not surprising, considering it is rooted in history: quota was an integral part of the Milk Pooling Plan when it was implemented in 1969. Prior to pooling, producers were paid according to how the handler receiving their milk used it. Under the Pooling Plan, this was no longer the case: producers were now paid a price reflective of the poolwide utilization of all classes. Pool quota was allocated to producers at the time based on each producer’s historic production and Class I usage. While passage of the Pooling Plan required the creation of quota, quota and pooling evolved separately over the years. Because quota is a tradeable asset, it has changed hands many times since 1969 and is not tied anymore to original Class 1 contract holders like it did 45 years ago. The bottom line is: quota is not a necessary ingredient to operate the Pooling Plan. But this certainly does not undermine its importance in any way. Quota is a very valuable asset that has proven to be an effective investment to keep some dairies’ cash flow positive. Bread may not need butter, but it sure can make it better!

    On the other hand, butter may be tasty on its own, but it does depend on a reliable surface to spread on; just like quota now relies on pooling funds to operate. Let me take a step back to explain. Each month, handlers submit to CDFA a report detailing the milk purchased from producers and in which class it was used. The total value generated by each class is computed by multiplying each class utilization by its corresponding class price. Summing all this results in the pool value. Quota premiums paid to quota holders come out of that calculated pot of money. Those deducted payments average between $12.5 million and $13 million per month. The quota premium paid to producers in Southern California is set at $0.195/lb of SNF (or $1.70/cwt on standardized milk). Producers in other counties receive a lower value based on their location due to regional quota adjusters. RQAs are a deduction from quota payments and consequently return revenue to the pool. This means that eliminating (or increasing) RQAs would ultimately increase (or decrease) the cost of the quota program to the pool.

    Because pooling in theory does not need quota to serve its purpose of revenue sharing among producers, USDA decided in its draft FMMO proposal to leave quota’s fate to CDFA. CDFA hosted a meeting on April 4 to get producers’ feedback (summarized in this Friday Update – <here>); next comes the May 1 deadline for Producer Review Board nominations. The PRB will be tasked with further examining this complex issue. Since a potential FMMO will likely have different pooling rules which will allow pooling volumes to fluctuate from one month to the next, CDFA must determine a way to keep the quota program functioning without the current Pooling Plan. If a set quota premium deduction is taken out of differently sized pools each month, it could impact the milk left in the pool very differently from one month to the next. Let’s take a separate example of a company deciding on fixed health care premiums of $1000 every month. If the company has ten employees, each expects to pay $100 each month to get the benefits. If 5 employees leave, only 5 employees are left contributing $200 each. As you can imagine, employees are likely going to get irritated with the scheme if employees are allowed to come and go.

    For the sake of a durable quota program, CDFA must ensure the program’s funding is applicable to at least as much milk as it is now in a consistent manner (in 2016 96% of the milk in California participated in the pool). You can rest assured, WUD will continue working with CDFA in that direction.

    by Annie AcMoody, Director of Economic Analysis

  • The Season of Giving – December is Farm to Food Bank Month

    Sacramento, Calif., (April 25, 2017) – Over the years more than 200 California farmers and ranchers have contributed more than one-billion pounds of food to the California Association of Food Banks’ Farm to Family Program. This is just a small accounting of the many generous donations individual farmers make within local communities to charitable organizations, faith-based groups and schools.

    CDFA Secretary Karen Ross at the Farm to Food Bank Month Event at Second Harvest Food Bank in San Jose (Dec 2014).

    These donations help to support food banks across the state in providing healthy and nutritious farm products to people who need it most. With California’s great diversity of farm products and our abundant agricultural bounty, giving back to local communities is part of the farming character. We’re pleased to recognize the great work that so many organizations and individuals do in helping our fellow residents.

    As part of Farm to Food Bank Month we once again ask our farmers and ranchers to consider donating or making a future donation pledge to the Farm to Family program. Coordinating with the California Association of Food Banks is easy. A donation can be picked-up at a production facility or a farm and delivered to food banks across the state in just a short amount of time.

    To schedule donations, make a donation pledge, or even inquire on how the program can work best with a business – please contact Steve Linkhart, California Association of Food Banks at 866-321-4435.

    The California Association of Food Banks represents over 40 food banks joining with 6,000 charities to provide food to 2 million Californians in need.

    We ask California’s farmers and ranchers to show support for the Farm to Family Program and make a donation or future donation pledge today.

  • USDA California Crop/Weather Report

    Sacramento, Calif., (April 25, 2017) – A relatively calm week across the State compared to the previous month. Temperatures stayed fairly consistent across the State with a slight warmup over the weekend. Early in the week rain fell on parts of the State. Then a dry period late week before additional rains arrived on Sunday. The heaviest rains fell along the northwestern mountains, the windward slopes of the Sierras, and the area around Redding. These areas received over three inches throughout the week, with parts of the valley having up to one inch. Most of the coastal areas between Los Angeles and San Francisco had up to half an inch of rain, while areas from Bakersfield southeast largely missed out on precipitation. Locations above 7,500 feet received snow shower. However, with warm temperatures, snowmelt continued in most mountain areas, with up to another foot and a half of snowmelt. Snowpacks are two feet above 6,500 feet in the southern Sierras, four to six feet above 6,500 feet in the Tahoe region, and six to ten feet above 6,000 feet in the northern Sierras.

    Temperature highs were in the 40s to 70s in the mountains, 60s to 70s along the coast in and the valley, and 70s to 100s in the desert. The temperature lows were in the 20s to 30s in the mountains, 40s to 50s in the valley and along the coast, and 40s to 60s in the desert.

    Winter wheat was being cut for silage as the weather permitted. The wet weather early in the week delayed the cutting of alfalfa fields. Corn was being planted and germinating well.

    Grapevines continued to leaf out.  Fungicides were being applied to vineyards due to sporadic rains.  Stone fruit leafing out continued.  Fruit set was reported to be good and some thinning of immature stone fruit continued.  Mechanical and chemical weed control continued in orchards.  Old vineyards and orchards were pushed out to make way for new plantings. New orchards were being planted. The late navel orange harvest was drawing to a close.   Valencia orange harvest continued at an accelerated pace.  Orange groves were being row hedged and skirted.  Seedless tangerines were netted to prevent cross-pollination by bees during the bloom.  Some olive trees were blooming.

    Pistachios and walnut trees bloom and leafing out continued. Walnut orchard pruning was winding down.  Almond nut set was reported by some to be good. New orchard planting continued.

    In Colusa County, the organic asparagus harvest continued in the Capay Valley, due to warm, sunny weather.  The lighter ground in the area has dried out nicely which helped growers plant tomato transplants.  In San Joaquin County, asparagus was harvested and packed and tomatoes were planted.  In Monterey County, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, and brassica production and harvesting was running at full speed with most contracted harvesters returned from the Yuma and Huron areas.  In Fresno County, most of the processing tomatoes have been planted with early-planted tomatoes blooming.  Garlic and onions have been established with solid stands.  Irrigation continued on carrot fields.  Peppers were planted.  In Tulare County, cucumbers continued to grow under hot caps, though their increasing size will require caps to be removed soon. Additional summer vegetables were planted without hot caps.  Eggplant and squash were being planted as weather permitted.  Early planted summer squash continued to grow and bloom.  In Imperial County, processing tomatoes were harvested for processing, the carrot harvest continued, onions were harvested for seed, though mostly fresh market, and garlic was harvested.

    Foothill rangeland and valley dryland pasture forage quality was in good to excellent condition. The amount of supplemental feeding of livestock was dwindling in response to the favorable range conditions. Sheep grazed on retired pasture and dormant alfalfa. Bees continue to be moved out of state as the fruit and nut bloom season was winding down for the season.

  • Regional Water Board Approves Groundwater Monitoring Plan for 2017

    San Luis Obispo, Calif., (April 24, 2017) – On April 7th, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board approved the Central Coast Groundwater Coalition (CCGC) Groundwater Management Plan with well monitoring requirements that give existing and new members more time to complete sampling requirements with fewer constituents to be analyzed.

    The plan also enables CCGC to continue its fourth year of working with growers to comply with the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program by providing assistance to members in completing Total Nitrogen Applied (TNA) reports, a requirement recently expanded to include all vegetable crops considered “high risk.”  CCGC also plans to be active in negotiating the next General Order, expected to be adopted in 2020.

    CCGC Board of Directors last week set a new annual dues level, a flat annual fee of $350 per membership (no per acre charges).  Members will be responsible for covering well sampling costs by either contracting with CCGCs existing technical services firm (MLJ, LLC) or contracting with other firms approved by the Regional Water Board.  Members are encouraged to sign up all ranches in CCGC to enable the coalition to demonstrate 100% compliance to the Regional Water Board for its members.

    In brief, here are the CCGC member requirements compared to individuals:

    Domestic Well Monitoring

    CCGC Members

    • First sample in 2017; second before 2020
    • If previously sampled by CCGC, nitrate (or nitrate + nitrite) analysis only
    • If not previously sampled, complete set of ILRP constituents for first sample (pH, EC, TDS, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate, and Nitrate); the second sample nitrate (or nitrate + nitrite) analysis only
    • All results posted to GeoTracker
    • If there is an exceedance of the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for nitrate in a domestic well sample, the member will be notified by CCGC and required to alert users of the risk associated with using water with high nitrates. The member will need to notify the CCGC of when and how this notification was done in addition to supplying information about any replacement water actions.  CCGC tracks follow-up with members and well users.  If a domestic well was previously identified by CCGC as having a nitrogen exceedance, and users were notified, you must confirm that occupants’ notification is current.

    Individual Program

    • Two samples in 2017 (Spring-Fall), nitrate (or nitrate + nitrite) plus pH, EC, TDS, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate for both samples
    • All results posted to GeoTracker
    • Regional Board staff tracks follow-up with well users if there is an exceedance of the MCL for a domestic well sample; grower is  responsible for notifying all users about the high nitrates.

    Primary Irrigation Wells

    CCGC Members

    • First sample in 2017; second before 2020
    • If previously sampled by CCGC, nitrate (or nitrate + nitrite) analysis only
    • If not previously sampled, complete set of ILRP constituents for first sample (pH, EC, TDS, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate, and Nitrate); the second sample nitrate (or nitrate + nitrite) analysis only
    • All results posted to GeoTracker

    Individuals

    • Two samples in 2017 (Spring-Fall), nitrate (or nitrate + nitrite) plus pH, EC, TDS, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate for both samples
    • All results posted to GeoTracker

    Member Assistance for Completing Total Nitrogen Applied (TNA) Reports

    • For an additional $100 per year (optional), CCGC will provide members with the following assistance for completing TNA reports:
    • CCGC staff phone assistance help completing TNA reports (due in March 2018 for 2017 crop year for Tier 2 (high risk crops) and Tier 3 growers)
    • Double check math calculations

    Web based tools for downloading

    • Daily/weekly worksheets by field record keeping tools.
    • Hold regional workshops to cover issues related to completing TNA reports

    Non-Members must rely on Regional Water Board staff for assistance or use ranch employees/private consultants.

    Membership renewal information will be emailed and mailed next week, giving growers adequate time to complete the first Spring sample that is due in June.  The full text of the approved plan will be posted later this week on our website at www.centralcoastgc.org

    Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions; the CCGC Board of Directors and staff thank for your continued support!

  • Prune Grower Field Meeting Friday, April 28, 2017 Morning

    Yuba City, Calif., (April 24, 2017) – Looks like a decent to good prune crop in the Yuba City area. With pit hardening started already, it will soon be reference date and time to count fruit and decide if shaker thinning is needed.

    A prune grower field meeting, sponsored by UCCE and Sunsweet Growers, Inc., will be held on Friday morning, April 28 in the Yuba City area. Exact time and location will be announced on Monday or Tuesday (April 24-25).

    We will:

    • Review the advantages of cropload evaluation (fruit counting) and thinning, where thinning is needed.
    • Demonstrate the process of counting fruit per tree and deciding if thinning is needed.
    • The meeting will last about 2 hours.
    • No PCA CE hours will be available.
    • CCA Crop Management CE hours will be requested.

    Hope to see you there!

  • Cal Poly to Build Solar Farm as Part of Net Zero Plan

    San Luis Obispo, Calif., (April 24, 2017) – Cal Poly will break ground this summer on a solar farm that will generate renewable energy, create Learn by Doing opportunities for students and save the university millions of dollars.

    The facility, to be erected adjacent to Highway 1 on the western side of the Cal Poly campus, will be financed, designed, constructed and maintained by REC Solar, one of the nation’s largest solar providers. REC Solar, headquartered in San Luis Obispo, was founded by Cal Poly graduates in 1997.

    The 18.5-acre solar farm is slated for completion in winter 2017. It will include more than 16,000 individual solar panels with a capacity of 4.5 megawatts (AC) and will generate more than 11 million kWh per year — enough to power more than 1,000 homes, or about 25 percent of Cal Poly’s total needs.

    The solar farm will use single-axis tracking technology to follow the sun across the sky, producing approximately 30 percent more energy than a stationary system.

    In addition to the environmental benefits, the energy produced by the solar farm will result in direct savings on Cal Poly’s utility bills totaling about $17 million over 20 years. The solar farm is being financed by REC Solar via a power purchase agreement (or PPA), which allows Cal Poly to purchase energy at a lower rate, without paying any upfront costs for the system construction and maintenance.

    “This is the first major energy project Cal Poly has undertaken since we committed to achieving climate neutrality,” said Dennis Elliot, the university’s director of energy, utilities and sustainability. “This is a huge step toward our goal of climate neutrality, and we are very excited about using this new facility to support student hands-on Learn by Doing.”

    The solar farm is being designed to maximize academic applications for both students and faculty. It will incorporate a solar engineering laboratory for students to conduct experiments with solar technology in a hands-on environment. A wide variety of performance data will be continuously measured and made available through a web-based dashboard to aid in solar technology research.

    In addition, Cal Poly’s Animal Science program will use the site to research vegetation management practices for utility scale solar farms while grazing the site with its sheep herd.

    REC Solar will partner with the university to provide funds for student and faculty involvement; help develop curriculum that meets Cal Poly’s sustainability learning objectives and educates future renewable energy professionals; and collaborate on applied research. The curriculum will integrate solar photovoltaic (PV) fundamentals into a variety of science and engineering courses and create new courses for renewable energy system design.

    “We hope this solar farm sets the standard for how these infrastructure projects can support the university’s academic mission,” Elliot said, “and we are proud to be doing so with a local company with such strong ties to Cal Poly.”

  • Tulare County Reports on Current Crop Status

    Visalia, Calif., (April 21, 2017) – Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner released the current status today of Major crops in the most valued county in the California Ag portfolio. They report that Winter wheat is being cut for silage as the weather permits. The wet weather early in the week delayed the cutting of alfalfa fields, but cutting and baling will resume with the coming of drier weather. Corn is both being planted and germinating well. Dried Black-eyed beans were exported to Australia and Malaysia.

    Grapevines continue to leaf out. Due to the continued sporadic rains fungicides are being applied to vineyards. Some leaves are being picked off to allow for improved air circulation around the developing bunches. Stone fruit trees continue leafing out. Thinning of immature stone fruit continues. Cherries are progressing well and harvest should start near the end of the month. Almonds are being exported to Belgium, Cambodia, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and Vietnam. Pistachios and walnut trees continue blooming and leafing out. Pistachios are being exported to Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and Vietnam. Both mechanical and chemical weed control continues in orchards. Old vineyards and orchards continue to be pushed out to make way for new plantings. New orchards are being planted.

    The late navel harvest is nearing its end. Navels continue to experience rind issues. Navel orange exports continue to Australia, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Valencia orange harvest continues at an accelerated pace. Valencia oranges are being exported to China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Star Ruby grapefruit are being picked, with most of the fruit being packed for the domestic market and exported to Chile. Mandarins are being shipped to Australia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Japan, Korea, and Peru. Minneola tangelos are being exported to Japan and the Netherlands. Lemons are being shipped to Japan. Orange groves are being hedge- rowed and skirted. Seedless tangerines are netted to prevent cross pollination by bees during the bloom. Some olive trees are blooming.

    Cucumbers continue to grow under hot caps, though their increasing size will require caps to be removed soon. Eggplant and squash were being planted as weather permitted. Early planted Summer squash continue to grow and bloom. Additional summer vegetables are being planted without hot caps. Blueberries were exported to Taiwan. Strawberries fields are being harvested and sold at roadside stands.

    Sunny warm weather is allowing rangeland forage to grow rapidly. Recent rains will continue to benefit rangeland forage growth. Range and pasture conditions remain excellent. The fed cattle price is up to $128.00 per hundred weight.

    Only a few bare root roses are being shipped now.

  • Best of Show Winners Announced from the 2017 California State Fair Wine Competition

    Sacramento, Calif., (April 21, 2017) – The 2017 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition winners have been announced. 2,663 wines from more than 711 California wineries entered this year’s competition with 137 double gold medals, 295 gold medals and 1,051 silver medals awarded. Only wines made with fruit grown in California may be judged in the competition. Wines are evaluated by class, varietal, style and region based upon the source of the grapes. Judges from all over the country and California judged the wines during a three day competition in March.

    “This year our judge’s recognized a couple of non-mainstream varietals with their highest awards. The Cabernet Franc from Imagery Wine Estates in Sonoma County garnered Best of Show Red and helped Imagery become Golden State Winery for this year, and Rendez-Vous Winery’s Viognier from Clarksburg was named Best of Show White. Both wines are well worth seeking out” says Mark Chandler, Chief Judge, California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition.

    Top wines including Best of Region and Best of California winners will be featured at the California State Fair in the Save Mart Wine Country for visitors to enjoy July 14 – July 30. A list of Best or Region and Best of California can be found here.

    Also awarded were 381 Best of Class of Region Awards, 26 Best of California Awards, 22 Best of Region Awards, 3 Best Micro Winery Awards, the Best Value Award, the Golden State Winery of the Year Award and 5 Best of Show Awards.

    A complete list of award-winning wines can be found at CAStateFair.org/California-Commercial-Wine.

    Dating back to 1854, the California State Fair Wine Competition is America’s oldest and most prestigious wine event.

  • The Time Has Come to Get the Drainage Bill Across the Finish Line

    Fresno, Calif., (April 21, 2017) – With the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WINN Act) in place to improve the operations of the Central Valley Project, a 100% allocation for 2017 (late but still a welcome change), and new water supply legislation introduced in the House this year to further improve CVP operations and water supply, there’s a lot to look forward to. Westlands Water District (District) is also looking forward to the enactment of pending legislation (H.R. 1769, San Luis Unit Drainage Resolution Act) by Congressman David Valadao that will implement the Drainage Settlement between the District and the United States. Similar legislation was introduced in 2015, received a hearing and a markup in the House, but time ran out for passage of the legislation.

    Now, the timing is right to complete the process and secure legislative ratification of the Settlement. The legislation has bi-partisan support in the House of Representatives, and we are encouraged by Senator Feinstein’s comments that the “process has been going on for more than 20 years and needs to be solved. Both Westlands and the Interior Department know this, which is why they reached an agreement.”

    H.R. 1769 contains critical provisions that resolves decades of costly litigation, provides a path forward for reuse of the damaged land, requires the District to manage drainage in the future, and compensates Westlands’ growers and the District for the losses that occurred because of the federal government’s failure to construct a drainage system. The bill was referred to the Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.

    The District will be reaching out to a variety of organizations, providing information about the settlement and the legislation. Our education efforts will utilize District documents that describe the legislation and the benefits of the settlement and the Department of Interior’s summary of the Settlement and how it benefits taxpayers (available here).

    We anticipate that anti-farming legislators and activist groups will oppose H.R. 1769, as they oppose anything that benefits farm communities in the Central Valley.
    The District staff will continue to knock down the misrepresentations that opponents have unsuccessfully used in the past to discredit the settlement. We will emphasize that the settlement was negotiated and supported by the Obama Administration, enjoys bi-partisan support, resolves litigation that Senator Feinstein and other federal and state officials described as problematic, and has the support of the Trump Administration.

    With a new President and Congress, the timing is right for passage of H.R. 1769. Please contact me if you have any questions about the legislation.

    Johnny Amaral: Deputy General Manager of External Affairs Westlands Water District

  • Update to California Ag Vision Released

    Sacramento, Calif., (April 20, 2017) – From water to labor, the dynamics of farming and ranching continue to change. In this environment, building meaningful relationships is critical to telling the story of California agriculture. I truly believe that California is a better place to live, because of what we grow and how we grow it.  However, this belief is not always shared in the marketplace and the regulatory arena. We need to do a better job engaging those (all of us!) with a stake in the success of California agriculture.

    This is why we have Ag Vision – it serves as a blueprint for the State Board to engage with regulators and other stakeholders to focus on the long-term success of California agriculture as well as address some of the shorter-term needs of the state’s farmers, ranchers and farm workers.

    Ag Vision was first developed in 2010 and has been updated several times as the board has reviewed changing landscapes.

    Our most recent update is focused on five strategic priorities: Water; Regulatory Environment; Labor/Human Capital; Resource Preservation & Stewardship; and Outreach & Communications.

    The update includes two new goals that emphasize the need to create connections between farmers and the consuming public, as well as the need for agricultural entities to thrive.

    California Agricultural Vision 2016/2017 – Each of these issues is critical to farming and ranching in our state. These priorities were determined in collaboration with a diverse stakeholder group representing agricultural, environmental and consumer interests.  It is our diversity that makes California so unique. I look forward to discussing farming and ranching with all of our constituents and engaging them on what it means to be a farmer or rancher in our state.

    I would like to thank the many individuals who participated in the Ag Vision Update as well as Nuffer, Smith, Tucker, Inc. for guiding the process.