COVID-19 safety steps urged for Fresno farmworkers. Will it protect food supply chain? [Fresno Bee]
To slow the coronavirus’ spread in the agricultural industry, Fresno County officials launched new safety guidelines to protect farmworkers. … Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen supports the recommendations, but he said that the rules apply differently to various sectors of the farm industry. For the agricultural workers who predominantly work outside, many recommendations can be done relatively easily, he said, because individuals are separated, and the risk of transmission is much lower. But when the bulk of the work is done indoors, such as in a food processing facility, he said safety protocols need to increase significantly.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/coronavirus/article247893010.html
Wine Country is officially closed for wine tastings under Bay Area’s new regional stay-at-home order [San Francisco Chronicle]
After several months of back-and-forth opening and closing restrictions, Bay Area wineries were handed a clear and absolute message on Wednesday: They must all close to visitors. Most notably, the new guidelines mean that wineries in Napa County, the country’s most famous wine region, will have to shut their doors as of midnight on Thursday. … In recent weeks, despite widespread evidence of a surge in COVID-19 infections, Wine Country tasting rooms were still seeing plenty of visitors, with some winery owners reporting close-to-normal traffic numbers.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Wine-Country-is-officially-closed-for-wine-15809294.php
For farmers and consumers, a crazy year in food [Wall Street Journal]
… In all, the events of 2020 will likely be remembered as catalysts for significant changes in the food system—and the source of great uncertainty for consumers and suppliers. Making the supply chain more resilient, for instance, may mean higher prices for consumers. And farms may lean more heavily on automation to protect against the impact of future pandemics—eliminating many jobs. Those sorts of trade-offs are likely to be the new normal in the industry for years to come.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-farmers-and-consumers-a-crazy-year-in-food-11608071329
These California groups want state to spend $1.5 billion on wildfire prevention in 2021 [Redding Record Searchlight]
A group of agriculture, timber and environmental organizations is asking the state to commit to spending up to $1.5 billion on wildfire prevention programs in the next year. Representatives from those groups said Wednesday that bureaucratic red tape and funding issues have held up needed fire prevention projects to prevent the types of deadly wildfires California has endured the past five years. … The California Cattle Council, the California Native Plant Society and the Pacific Forestry Trust are sending a letter to the governor asking him to include the funding in the state’s 2021-22 budget.
Unprecedented losses plague lettuce growers as Salinas Valley scrambles to contain pests that threaten the region’s biggest crop [Monterey County Weekly]
… A virus spread by tiny flying insects is turning leaves brown, dry, and dead. A mold that produces spores that swim through well-irrigated soil to target lettuce roots is causing them to rot until the plant can longer feed itself. A bacteria coming from who-knows-where is clinging to the lettuce as it’s harvested, processed and shipped, and sometimes sickening salad eaters thousands of miles away. … The threat of INSV is not new. The virus has been damaging California lettuce since 2006, but never on the scale of this year.
Local dairy employee wins young farmers discussion meet [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]
Madeline Meyer grew up on a dairy farm in Michigan and through connections with her college professors now works at Tollcrest Dairy in Wheatland. On Dec. 8, Meyer, 22, won the Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet during the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Sacramento. … Meyer is one of the assistant managers at Tollcrest Dairy and said her day starts off by checking in with her boss Sean Tollenaar to see what her tasks will be. … “I do a little bit of everything,” Meyer said. “… Every day is different. That’s what I love about the industry.”
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