California Ag Network

Category: News

  • Western Growers Statement on Waters of the United States Rule Executive Order

    Irvine, Calif., (March 2, 2017) – In response to President Trump’s executive order regarding the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule released during former President Obama’s administration, Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif issued the following statement:

    The health of our nation’s water is of paramount importance to Western Growers and its 2,500 members who grow more than half of the country’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. Our collective livelihoods depend on the abundant availability of clean water, which has been protected over the years by the reasonable application of the Clean Water Act.

    However, we believe the 2015 WOTUS rule exceeded the federal government’s jurisdiction as defined by Congress in the Act, which only intended to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority over navigable waterways affecting interstate commerce. Indeed, this interpretation has been confirmed by the Supreme Court in Rapanos v. United States.

    We are pleased with President Trump’s executive order directing the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to formally reconsider WOTUS. While we recognize this order will not immediately repeal the rule, it will provide adequate space for these federal agencies to engage state and local governments to craft an alternative solution that both fits within the boundaries prescribed in the Act and serves the best interests of the environment and key stakeholders. “More importantly, we believe the order should spur Congress toward much-needed legislation clarifying the reach and extent of federal jurisdiction under the Act. Since the Rapanos decision, there has been significant inconsistency in interpretation and application of the Act, which has resulted in harmful unintended economic consequences for landowners. After decades of inactivity, we call on Congress to enact legislation defining the limits of the Clean Water Act.

  • Ag/Biological Engineers Society Honors Industrial Tech Prof, Students

    Fresno, Calif., (March 2, 2017) – Dr. Balaji Sethuramasamyraja, industrial technology associate professor at Fresno State, was honored as the Agricultural Engineer of the Year at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers section meeting for California and Nevada. He was selected based on his contributions the past decade to the society, area agriculture and Fresno State’s applied agricultural engineering programs. Also, graduate student Arthish Bhaskar of Chennai, India, and junior Huy Le of Fresno also won first place in graduate and undergraduate student research poster competitions at the conference held Feb. 17 in Tulare. Bhaskar’s project focused on a smart farm data interface that used analytics and data from field sensors and was funded by the National Science Foundation. Le’s research was based on digital elevation modeling, integrating advanced geospatial technology, a real-time kinematic ground station and rover units for irrigation planning, management and conservation. His research was partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each student winner received a $250 prize. INFO: Sethuramasamyraja at 559.278.2333 or balajis@csufresno.edu. Website: ASABE.

  • Fresno County Farm Bureau Issues Statement On Water Supply for County’s Federal Water Contractors

    Fresno, Calif., (March 1, 2017) – Statement by CEO Ryan Jacobsen:

    “Mother Nature has provided a bountiful precipitation season-one that will be near the top of the record books.  After the historic five-year drought, the snowpack and rain are a tremendous blessing to an agricultural industry hammered by the critical water shortage.  Most farmers and ranchers with surface supplies will experience an increased water allocation as a result of these storms’ resurgences across the state.

    “While the short-term relief of this year’s water outlook should have our industry optimistic, reality says something much different.  The implications of the governmental-imposed drought continue with a vengeance.  How, with reservoirs at their brim, flood releases happening by the hundreds of thousands of acre feet a day, snowpack levels in most areas 150 percent plus for this date and Delta outflows cumulatively adding up to over 24 million acre feet since October 2016, can Fresno County’s Westside federal water contractors still have no initial allocation?  Historically, this announcement has come in the middle of February.  And, at this point, these farmers do not even expect to reach anywhere near their contracted amount.

    “Unfortunately, but as this region has come to expect, the answer is bureaucratically-related.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under the United States Department of Commerce, has yet to complete their fisheries’ temperature management plan for Shasta Lake.  While they take their time in completing this report, our Valley loses jobs and economic activity.  Cropping decisions are taking place now!  Farmers cannot make choices on what might be an allocation…they need real numbers.  Every day that passes without an announcement, as well as anything short of a 100 percent allocation in a year like this, takes some of the world’s most fertile fields out of production.  This is completely unacceptable.

    “Federal water policy is failing this region.  It has failed to protect fish species, and, most importantly, it has failed to provide water to the communities and businesses who need it most, even when water is plentiful.

    “On the Friant system, while news of a 100 percent Class I allocation is welcomed, we are once again reminded of the importance of Temperance Flat Dam.  Around 350,000 acre feet of water has already been released to date with much more flows expected this season.  Over the long-term, California does receive ample precipitation, but it’s weather patterns are cyclical.  Without investments in our water infrastructure, it will be economically devastating to the Valley to make it through the dry times, particularly with the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

    “FCFB will continue to push for additional surface water and groundwater storage; improved conveyance through the state, specifically in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; and a return to common-sense water policies that bring back into balance water allocated for food production, municipal and rural communities, the economy and the environment.”

  • UC Davis Launches $1.4 Million Project to Help Kenya’s Rural Poor

    Davis, Calif., (March 1, 2017) – 1.4 million grant from USAID is targeting poverty in one of the poorest regions of the world. The grant funds a project, recently launched by University of California, Davis, researchers in northern Kenya, that will use a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of combining programs that offer training, support and aid with affordable insurance to reduce chronic poverty.

    Some 1.3 million Kenyans have been experiencing the impact of ongoing drought, the Kenyan government announced last year.

    The new project is led by Michael Carter, a professor of agricultural and resource economics and director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access at UC Davis, and Andrew Mude from the International Livestock Research Institute, or ILRI, in Kenya. The researchers hope the project will help create a pathway out of poverty and reduce the need for aid, which Kenya’s government provides each year, even without drought.

    “Emergency aid helps people survive, but in general it doesn’t change poverty dynamics,” Carter said. “We are looking into the synergies of helping people get out of poverty and providing a mechanism to keep them from falling back into indigence and becoming next-generation beneficiaries of emergency food aid.”

    The set of interventions the project will test include: the BOMA graduation program, Kenya’s Hunger Safety Net Programme, or HSNP; and index-based livestock insurance. The BOMA graduation program teaches hard and soft skills, followed by asset transfers to start a business. The HSNP transfer program is one of five cash-transfer programs under Kenya’s national Safety Nets Programme.

    Index insurance is a lower-cost alternative to traditional insurance that helps protect smallholder farmers and pastoralists from drought or extreme weather events that typically lead to deeper poverty. Index insurance is different than traditional insurance because rather than basing payouts on verified losses, it estimates losses based on an index of factors that can be measured and monitored externally, like rainfall or vegetation.

    On Feb. 20 the government of Kenya announced that an index insurance product, based on work by Carter, Mude and Cornell University’s Christopher Barrett, will trigger more than $2.1 million in payouts for pastoralists stricken by drought through the Kenya Livestock Insurance Program, or KLIP. The program has based its payouts for livestock losses on measures of vegetation forage taken by satellite at the end of the dry season.

    “This insurance program is not just an effective component of our national drought relief effort. It’s also a way to ensure that pastoralists can continue to thrive and contribute to our collective future as a nation,” said Willy Bett, cabinet secretary for Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, in a press release.

    This round of payouts is based on a livestock-protection model that takes early- and mid-season measurements to time payouts that will help keep livestock alive. The government of Kenya estimates that these payments to more than 12,000 pastoral households will directly reach more than 100,000 Kenyans.

    “We always felt it would be a game changer if you could issue the payments earlier,” Carter said.

    Carter’s 2011 paper with Barrett, “Designing Index-based Livestock Insurance for Managing Asset Risk in Northern Kenya,” established the contract design and underlying index to predict livestock mortality that underpins KLIP. At the time, said Carter, payments to protect assets didn’t seem feasible but, since then, agricultural markets in Kenya have developed so that farmers today can now use those payments to buy forage for their livestock when there is none — or not enough — on the ground.

    KLIP, launched in 2015, targets six counties that are currently experiencing one of the worst droughts to hit the Horn of Africa in a quarter century. Between 2008 and 2011, livestock losses caused by drought in Kenya accounted for 70 percent of the $12.1 billion in damages. The reach of KLIP is limited, however, because the Kenyan government pays the majority of premiums for the pastoralists it covers.

    “The KLIP program is actually buying the entire package for the vulnerable people,” said Carter. “One of our questions with this new project is how to have the largest impact on the well-being of poor people in this country for a given constrained budget.”

    The project, “Can Asset Transfer & Asset Protection Policies Alter Poverty Dynamics in Northern Kenya? A Randomized Evaluation of an Integrated Graduation and Contingent Social Protection Program,” will run from February 2017 through September 2021. It is part of the USAID Associate Award that launched the Global Action Network project, which seeks to identify and fill gaps in research on index insurance for global development.

    Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access

    The mission of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access, or AMA Innovation Lab, is to conduct and support research on policies and programs designed to help poor and smallholder farmers worldwide to manage risk, adopt productive technologies and take an active part in economic growth.

    It is one of 24 Feed the Future Innovation Labs across the United States funded by USAID’s Food Security Bureau to support the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative.

  • Berry Finishes In Top 4 Of Farm Bureau National Competition

    Fresno, Calif., (March 1, 2017) – Fresno State senior Hunter Berry (San Jacinto) finished as one of four finalists in the American Farm Bureau Federation and Young Farmers and Ranchers Collegiate Discussion Meet on Feb. 11 and 12 at the annual conference in Pittsburgh.

    A Fresno State agricultural business student, Berry earned a $1,250 scholarship as part of the honor.

    The two-day event featured over 50 entrants from across the nation who were judged on their ability to analyze industry issues and create solutions. The competition encouraged applicants to build basic discussion skills and pool their knowledge to reach a consensus and solve problems.

    Contestants were judged on their responses to topics ranging from national immigration policy; how ranchers and farmers can steer natural resource management policy; restructuring agriculture tax policy to be more balanced and beneficial; and how Farm Bureau can improve consumer education and confidence in food labeling, quality and safety.

    Senior Ryan O’Reilly from Colorado State University won the event.

    Berry qualified for the event after he won the California Farm Bureau state discussion competition in March 2016 in San Luis Obispo.

    “It was a rewarding experience,” Berry said. “The national competition is much different than the state event since we spent the past year researching how ag issues can affect the country differently. For instance, farm labor isn’t an issue in California but it is in other areas that have worker shortages. In California we have a water quantity problem, but other states have a water quality problem instead. It was interesting to see all the other people that care about the ag industry in unique ways and the support they get from the national farm bureau.”

    Berry is a past FFA state sentinel officer who served in 2013-14. After he graduates this spring, he will start the Craig School of Business graduate program. He also works as an intern at Central Valley Community Bank and is training to be an analyst.

    Working with Fresno state animal sciences and agricultural education professor Dr. Steven Rocca, Berry is the sixth Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology student to represent California in the national competition. The prior Fresno State competitor, Levy Randolph, won the national event in February 2015.

    More info on the competition is available at Farm Bureau  and at  2017 Fusion Conference.

     

  • Introducing New Fresno County UC Nut Crops Advisor

    [wpdevart_youtube]4MgrMQbNugk[/wpdevart_youtube]

    After the departure of Gurreet Brar, Fresno County UC Cooperative Extension has been lacking a nut crops advisor for some time. Now we are happy to announce Mae Culumber as the new nut crops advisor. Check out her brief introductory video here, and be sure to get in touch with her at the Extension office.

  • John Vlahos Passes Away

    Modesto, Calif., (February 28, 2017) – The California dairy industry lost one of its top legal minds and advocates last week. John Vlahos, who had been an integral part of the California milk pricing world since 1964 –defending California dairy farmers at the state appellate court level all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, has passed away. Mr. Vlahos has recently been a vocal advocate for dairy farmers on the litigation team to include California dairy producers into a Federal Milk Marketing Order. His guiding light and deep background of the California dairy industry will be greatly missed.

    The son of Greek immigrants, Dimitrios and Eleni Vlahos, John grew up in Tracy and Oakland. He attended the University of California, graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in economics in 1957, and was the sports editor of The Daily Cal. “Every Cal sports fan knows the meaning of suffering,” John would say, and he certainly suffered a lot. From 1948 through 2015, John personally attended all but seven Cal football games; for five decades, he served as the internal press box announcer at Memorial Stadium. In 2007, backed by fundraising from the Class of 1957, he edited and produced a new Cal Songbook.

    After earning a law degree from Hastings, John clerked for Justice Raymond Sullivan at the California Court of Appeal. In 1962, he was the eighth person hired at the firm that became Hanson Bridgett. In the early years he represented everyone from a bank robber to the maker of “Star Trek”-themed wine bottles. As the firm grew, he became the managing partner and also represented the Golden Gate Bridge District, the League of California Milk Producers, SamTrans, and BART. On multiple occasions John announced his retirement, but it never quite took, and he finished his last major case in 2016.

    John died in his sleep from lung cancer, at home, with his family around. He is survived by his wife, Martha; his sisters Betty Christian and Marie Petris; his children, Jennifer, James, and Jonathan; and seven grandchildren.

    Friends and family are invited to a celebration of John’s life, which will take place at 3pm on March 12, 2017 at the Mira Vista Golf & Country Club in El Cerrito.

  • USDA California Crop/Weather Report

    Sacramento, Calif., (February 28, 2017) – Another wet week, with temperatures staying steady. Widespread freezes were reported Thursday through Saturday across the State.

    Rainfall followed a similar pattern Monday through Wednesday, with the heaviest rains falling in the northwestern mountains, and the northern and central Sierra foothills. Four to five inches of rain fell in these places, with two to three inches in the northern and central valley. Rainfall tapered off to the south, with up to one inch in the southern valley and along the coast down to the Los Angeles area. Additional light rains fell on most of the State for the rest of the week and into the weekend. Most areas outside of the far southern coast and deserts received an additional quarter inch to half inch of rain. Cold temperatures and an active weather pattern led to yet more snow in the mountains, with up to two feet falling in parts of the central and northern Sierras. The northern mountains received another foot of snow, with the southern Sierras receiving under six inches. Temperatures were cold enough for an overall increase of the snowpack in the central and northern mountains, while a slight decrease of the snowpack was seen in the southern Sierras.

    Temperature highs were in the 20s to 50s in the mountains, 40s to 60s along the coast, 50s to 60s in the valley, and 50s to 70s in the desert. The temperature lows were in the 10s to 30s in the mountains, 20s to 30s in the valley, 20s to 40s in the desert, and 40s to 50s along the coast.

    The planted grains and field crops continued to mature, reaping the benefit from all the recent rain, and a few sunny days.  Growers waiting for excess water to dry up in the fields.

    Pruning, discing, weed control, and pre-bloom spraying continued where drying orchard floor conditions permitted. Olive groves were pruned. Pruning, tying, berm sanitation, and brush shredding continued in the drier vineyards. The standing water in vineyards and orchards continued to cause concern for the health of the trees and vines. Herbicides were applied in some vineyards. Early varieties of nectarine and peach were blooming in Fresno County. Cherry bloom began in Tulare County. The Navel orange harvest resumed. Recent rains impacted the overall quality of the citrus. Zutano avocados harvest was ongoing. Tangelo harvest continued. Date trees were planted in Imperial County.

    As field conditions permitted walnut and pistachio orchards were pruned. Saturated soils and high winds toppled some walnut and almond trees in the San Joaquin Valley. Almond bloom was progressing well across the State. Rain and wind caused some almond petal drop. As flooded orchards dried and conditions permitted, beehives were moved in to facilitate almond pollination.

    Drying conditions allowed for fields to be prepared for cultivation in Madera, Fresno, and Tulare County. Ground was being prepped for planting tomatoes. Herbicide was being applied to onions. Strawberry fields continued to thrive. Carrots continued to be harvested.

    Non-irrigated pasture and rangeland continued to improve due to the winter’s precipitation and warming temperatures. Range was reported to be in excellent to fair condition. Supplemental feeding of livestock was waning as range conditions improved. Bees were active in the blooming almond orchards. Sheep grazed retired pasture, harvested broccoli fields, and dormant alfalfa.

  • CDFA Announces Vacancy On The California Cotton Pest Control Board

    Sacramento, Calif., (February 28, 2017) – The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Integrated Pest Control Branch is announcing three vacancies on the California Cotton Pest Control Board. This advisory Board makes recommendations to the CDFA Secretary on all matters pertaining to the Pink Bollworm Control Program.

    The term of office for a board member is unlimited. Members receive no compensation, but are entitled to payment of necessary traveling expenses in accordance with the rules of the Department of Personnel Administration. Members are considered public officials and must be willing to comply with necessary disclosure requirements.

    The three vacancies are for cotton growing representatives in Tulare County, Kern County and a representative from either Madera, Merced, or Tulare County. Individuals interested in being considered for the board appointment should send a brief resume by March 2, 2017 to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Integrated Pest Control Branch, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, California 95832, Attention: Sara Banchero.

    For additional information, visit the branch’s web page at: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/ipc/pinkbollworm/pbw_hp.htm ; or contact: Victoria Hornbaker, Chief of the Integrated Pest Control Branch at (916) 262-1102, by fax (916) 262-2020, or e-mail IPCInfo@cdfa.ca.gov

  • CA Suffers Emergency Drought & Flood Conditions Simultaneously

    [wpdevart_youtube]4ZWbY16FOlA[/wpdevart_youtube]

    For the first time in recorded history, California is suffering from both an emergency state of drought and flood simultaneously. Watch this video interview with California Ag Network and Aubrey Bettencourt from the California Water Alliance as she describes the current water crisis at hand.