Trump immigration ban does not include agriculture workers [KERO TV, Bakersfield]
President Trump last week placed a temporary ban on immigration in the U.S. in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. … And President Trump adding a stipulation that it will not be affecting those who want to immigrate for agriculture work on an H-2A visa. … The California Farm Bureau Federation says undocumented workers make up roughly 60% of California’s 450,000-member seasonal ag workforce, while H-2A workers make up only about 4%. … “To hire an h2a visa holder you have to provide them housing, food and transportation,” said Jamie Johansson, the president of the CFBF.
https://www.turnto23.com/news/agriculture/trump-immigration-ban-does-not-include-agriculture-workers
Program to get excess produce to food banks announced by Gov. Newsom [KGPE TV, Fresno]
A new partnership announced Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom is designed to bring more fresh produce to the tables of Californians in need. … With schools and restaurants closed, farmers across the state are dealing with a drop in demand, all while food banks are seeing a surge in need. … The program would provide farmers with federal subsidies and tax credits. … “Locally, we’re very fortunate that the relationship is very strong between the Central California Food Bank and local agriculture, but this is going to help to apply some dollars to make sure that we get through this situation, both from an agriculture perspective, as well as a food bank perspective,” said Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen.
Why the people harvesting Californians’ food can’t afford it [New York Times]
… It has long been an open scandal that so many of the roughly 91,000 farm workers who labor in and around Salinas Valley — “The Salad Bowl of the World” — find it difficult to afford the very food they harvest. But the forces unleashed by the novel coronavirus pandemic have combined to deepen this particular wound. When Ms. Alvarez goes to the grocery store, she finds that panic buyers have already picked the shelves clean of cooking oil, corn flour and the other inexpensive basics she relies upon … Although Ms. Alvarez’s job in the food chain is considered essential, she knows that because of her undocumented status she will not get the $1,200 in relief money being distributed to individuals by the federal government.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/us/california-coronavirus-food-insecurity.html
‘Some of California’s fairs will be forced into closure’ | Why some fairs won’t make it to 2021 [KXTV, Sacramento]
Many communities have said goodbye to their local fairs in 2020 with hopes to see them again next year, but industry officials say not every fair will make it to 2021. … At the California State Fair, Jay Carlson, Agriculture Program Manager, says fairs are in a tough position because they are not getting revenue from the event, its partners, the carnival, food concessions and interim events. “I think it’s important that people understand that this is serious for fairs,” said Carlson. … “Each fair and their respective community are now faced with unprecedented and unpredictable challenges that will forever alter the fair industry,” Cummings said.
Grand compromise on California water wars in disarray. Newsom faces multiple lawsuits this week [Sacramento Bee]
From the moment he took office, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he wanted to bring peace to California’s water wars. But now, more than a year later, most of the warring factions are united against his plan for governing the Delta. … The hail of litigation, filed in a space of 24 hours, seems to leave Newsom’s vision of peace in tatters. … Newsom’s own operations plan for the Delta is drawing fire from environmentalists and water users alike. And the voluntary settlement agreement – a far-reaching water-sharing effort brokered by former Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration – appears to be falling apart.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/water-and-drought/article242386816.html
State studies listing Central Coast mountain lions as threatened, endangered [Santa Maria Sun]
Over the next year, officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will review the status of mountain lion populations on the Central Coast and farther south to decide whether the animals should be protected under the California Endangered Species Act. … During the public comment period of the commission meeting, Sunshine Saldivar, a representative for the California Farm Bureau Federation, said mountain lions are a significant threat to cattle and that losing livestock is extremely costly for ranches that already operate on thin margins. … In a statement to the Sun, SLO County Farm Bureau Executive Director Brent Burchett said that he hopes the state provides some clarity on how any new listing could affect this depredation permit process.
Lawsuit seeks to shut down Busy Bee’s Organics in wine country [KEYT TV, Santa Barbara]
Taking aim at an industry it views as disruptive and out-of-control, a citizens’ coalition is suing the Board of Supervisors and the owner of Busy Bee’s Organics, a 22-acre cannabis project that was unanimously approved for a zoning permit last month. … The coalition claims that the county failed to properly review the environmental impacts of cannabis on the lucrative wine-tasting business in and around Buellton. … On March 13, the California Farm Bureau Federation, an organization with more than 500 members in Santa Barbara County, sent a letter “to respectfully raise a legal issue” with the Board of Supervisors, stating that the county’s definition of cannabis as an “agricultural use” was “not compliant with” the Williamson Act.
