Democrats and Biden prepare to unveil bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants [Bloomberg]
The Biden administration, in concert with Hill Democrats, is preparing to unveil legislation this week that seeks to provide a pathway to citizenship to the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. … Biden’s bill will also likely join a series of other immigration measures that are narrowly focused on undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children, are in the US under a form of humanitarian relief, and are working in agriculture — setting up a dizzying number of attempts to provide legalization to the undocumented population.
Proposed law would give undocumented Californians access to state food assistance [Sacramento Bee]
… Senate Bill 464, introduced by state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, on Wednesday would allow low-income undocumented immigrants to receive food-assistance benefits under the California Food Assistance Program. If passed, the expansion would commence in January 2023. To qualify, immigrants must meet all other CalFresh criteria. … Immigrant families where farm workers are heads of household are 7 times more likely than other Americans to encounter food insecurity, according to 2016 analysis by Bread for the World.
https://www.sacbee.com/article249294930.html
Gov. Newsom expected to focus on vaccine strategy for Coachella Valley farmers [KMIR TV, Palm Springs]
Gov. Gavin Newsom has been visiting vaccination sites across the state of California. … Later this week, the Governor is expected to focus on the Coachella Valley farming community. … In the valley, politicians like Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia and Congressman Raul Ruiz have emphasized the challenges this community faces. … While local groups have provided mobile vaccine clinics and work directly to help with farmers, Tellefson Torres says the Governor’s efforts can provide resources from the state level down.
California getting more COVID vaccine but supplies are short in Stanislaus County [Modesto Bee]
… Counties like Stanislaus have set up clinics and hatched plans to vaccinate residents en masse. As of Tuesday, however, county officials didn’t know how much vaccine can be offered to eligible residents as the county clinics begin serving people in Phase 1B, Tier 1 of the state’s priority system next week. That tier includes school employees, daycare, food and agriculture workers and some emergency service employees. … The farmbelt county could conceivably get a higher priority for vaccine because of its sizable food and agriculture workforce. But county leaders have not heard anything, Kaur said.
https://www.modbee.com/news/coronavirus/article249296725.html
A different kind of land management: Let the cows stomp [New York Times]
… The soil-improving practices that ranchers like Mr. Isaacs follow are referred to as regenerative grazing, part of a broader movement known as regenerative agriculture. … Agribusiness companies and large food producers are launching initiatives to encourage regenerative practices, part of efforts to appeal to consumers concerned about climate change and sustainability. And the Biden administration, in its initial moves to combat climate change, has cited agriculture as a “linchpin” of its strategy.
Deep freeze upends U.S. agriculture markets from grains to beef [Bloomberg]
The deep freeze that has left almost five million Americans without power is snarling shipments of goods from corn to soybeans, shutting meat plants and curbing ethanol production. Traders say it’s increasingly hard to move grain to ports in the Pacific Northwest, and ice warnings are restricting navigation on the Illinois River. … Dairy farmers are also taking a hit, in some cases being forced to dump milk that they can’t get to market. … STX Beef’s cattle-processing facility in Corpus Christi, Texas, was closed Monday and Tuesday due to “current power outages and the adverse weather we are currently experiencing,” the company said in a post on its Facebook page. Tyson shut down its plant in Amarillo.
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