Many in Fresno County can’t afford a free COVID-19 test. Why it’s complicated and dangerous [Fresno Bee]
… Besides the big cities, the rural farmworker communities of Fresno County have been hardest hit by the pandemic. But eight months into the virus, frontline workers and their families in small towns continue to avoid what experts deem a key step in overcoming the virus — testing. … Overwhelmingly, however, people in Fresno’s most impoverished communities fear that taking a test will result in nothing but losing their job, missed rent and mounting bills.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/coronavirus/article247327124.html
UFW Foundation calls for prioritizing farmworkers in COVID-19 vaccinations [Bakersfield Californian]
The head of the United Farm Workers Foundation, while announcing Tuesday the organization had been named to a state committee helping guide the rollout of an eventual COVID-19 vaccine, asserted ag workers should be “among the first” to receive vaccinations. … The statement came a little more than a month after the California Department of Public Health released an interim draft of the state’s plan for distributing and administering vaccines that could help end the pandemic. It prioritized vaccinations for Hispanics, who across the state account for two in five residents but three in five COVID-19 infections.
Fresno County remains top agriculture county in California, report shows [KFSN TV, Fresno]
Fresno County is home to over 1.4 million acres of productive pasture and farmland. It remained the top ag county in the state and nation. Ag commissioner Melissa Cregan delivered the crop report to county supervisors. Cregan told the board, “The 2019 gross production value for agriculture in Fresno County was $7.718 billion.” … Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen explained, “In a year like this year, you really appreciate that the value that every single farmer contributes really makes that difference.”
https://abc30.com/food/fresno-co-remains-top-agriculture-county-in-california-report-shows/8235570/
Purple Tulare County braces for ‘food cliff’ ahead of holidays, COVID-19 surge [Visalia Times-Delta]
Between the Thanksgiving holiday and the coronavirus pandemic, California food banks are dealing with unprecedented demand. Tulare County FoodLink is no exception as officials brace for a “food cliff” that could leave the county’s only food bank without enough food to serve its thousands of clients heading into the new year. Hundreds of organizations such as FoodLink are scrambling to purchase bulk commodities from growers and warehouses with increasingly limited supply nationwide.
Good sales give California turkey farmers something to be thankful for [Peninsula Press]
… Uncertainty hangs over this year’s holiday preparations. Farmers and grocers were unsure what the demand for turkey and other Thanksgiving staples would look like given limits on indoor gatherings and the economic stress many Americans currently face. And since turkeys take anywhere from 14 weeks to seven months to grow large enough to be sold for meat (depending on their breed and eventual size), farmers had to make their best guesses months ago as to how many customers would buy.
Deere expects more machinery sales as crop prices rise [Wall Street Journal]
… Dry weather in the U.S. this summer contributed to a less robust harvest than anticipated, as demand for wheat, soybeans and corn rose due to higher consumption of dinners and baked goods at home during the coronavirus pandemic. That helped to shrink grain stockpiles and pushed up crop prices, which have also benefited this year from rising exports including to China. For Deere, the result is a better outlook for demand from farmers for its green-and-yellow machinery.
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