California businesses breathe sigh of relief over deal to update NAFTA trade pact [Los Angeles Times]
There is little overall difference between the old North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trump administration’s replacement. But California businesses are just relieved to finally have some certainty they can plan around….The expected approval of the new pact, by the House on Thursday and by the Senate next year, has calmed the fears of many Golden State businesses….The dairy industry lauded USMCA’s gradual opening of dairy sales to Canada, which has strict production controls, including import quotas protected by whopping three-digit tariffs.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-12-18/california-mexico-canada-trade
China’s farm-purchase targets under trade deal face skeptics [Wall Street Journal]
The limited trade pact reached by the U.S. and China last week could be a boon to American farmers hard hit by the trade war, but the agricultural sector’s relief over a deal is being tempered by skepticism over the ambitious targets set by U.S. negotiators….There is little doubt that China can scale up its purchases from the current pace of about $10 billion a year….Still, in nearly two decades of burgeoning American agricultural exports to China since its admission to the World Trade Organization, there has never been a period with the scale of growth foreseen by the deal.
North Coast wineries, breweries getting another year of federal excise tax break [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a massive spending package that extends for one year the big break on federal excise taxes for wineries, breweries and distilleries that were slated to expire at the end of 2019….The package primarily benefits distillers, who pay a much higher federal excise tax than breweries and wineries and had no reduced rate prior to 2018. But it benefits all alcohol producers, including cideries, though it is skewed to help smaller manufacturers. For example, the measure retains a new tiered tax credit system designed to help smaller wineries.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/10478541-181/north-coast-wineries-breweries-getting
Lack of groundwater coordination could land Kern in ‘probation’ [Bakersfield Californian]
In what appears to be a game of water chicken, at least one Kern County groundwater sustainability agency is refusing to sign a crucial document required to keep the entire subbasin out of state control. Buena Vista GSA General Manager Tim Ashlock said Monday that his agency won’t sign a five-year “coordination agreement” with Kern’s other GSAs. The draft agreement is set to be considered for adoption at Wednesday’s Kern Groundwater Authority meeting….Buena Vista is concerned that water budgets and groundwater plans presented by other GSAs in the Kern subbasin don’t acknowledge the scope of Kern’s overdraft and don’t do enough to curtail overpumping.
$2.24 million settlement: South Bay mushroom farm fouled waterways with manure [San Jose Mercury News]
The nation’s largest mushroom grower has agreed to pay $2.24 million to settle an environmental protection lawsuit brought by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The company, Watsonville-based Monterey Mushrooms Inc., was accused of polluting a South Bay creek with manure for years, despite orders and warnings dating back to the 1980s….The county charged that Monterey Mushrooms intentionally dumped toxic wastewater — created by the use of used horse stable hay and poultry manure – from holding ponds at its Morgan Hill facility into the creek to dispose of the waste for free….The incidents were not intentional, Monterey Mushrooms spokesman Bruce Knobeloch said in an earlier statement.
Napa County to ban solar energy farms in ag areas pending a more detailed review [Napa Valley Register]
Napa County intends to ban new, commercial, utility-scale solar energy farms from all local agricultural-zoned lands, with a spring study session to determine any subsequent exceptions….The proposed ban would affect only new utility-scale projects, not a winery or home that wants to use solar panels for its own electricity needs….The ordinance is designed to provide some relief for members of the public concerned about possible, utility-scale solar development in rural areas.
