California virus aid plan would pay $600 each to millions [Associated Press]
Millions of low-income Californians would receive $600 checks under a $9.6 billion coronavirus aid package announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders. … The plan also provides a new round of small business grants and more housing assistance for farmworkers infected by the virus. … More half the 120-member Legislature signed on to a proposal to put $2.6 billion of California’s unanticipated revenue into one-time grants for small businesses and nonprofits. … A fresh $24 million would be provided for a program that puts farm and food processing workers up in hotels if they contract the virus and have no place to isolate.
Gov. Gavin Newsom visits farmworker vaccination clinic at Coachella packinghouse [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the site of a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at a Coachella packinghouse on Wednesday morning, the latest stop in his tour of inoculation events across the state in recent weeks. … Riverside County Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari on Wednesday highlighted the work that the county and local organizations have done to get vaccines to farmworkers in the Coachella Valley. … By bringing mobile clinics to the fields, it makes it “easy” for farmworkers to be vaccinated, she said.
Coalition ask Governor Newsom for more COVID-19 vaccines for ag community [KSBW TV, Monterey/Salinas]
A large group of Monterey County business leaders want more COVID-19 vaccines for the ag community. Getting the ag community vaccinated is critical, experts say, to open up the economy and essential for the whole country. … A diverse group in Monterey County has joined forces in asking Governor Gavin Newsom for an additional 55,000 vaccines for front-line ag workers. … In the letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, the coalition says they have a unity of interest from associations in food and ag, hospitality, labor, among others.
Opinion: Farmers answer challenges to keep the nation fed [Imperial Valley Press]
… Almost a year has passed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, we once again are in the peak of our agricultural production, and we are faced with an additional challenge: COVID-19 vaccinations. … While other counties have begun vaccinating their agricultural employees, Imperial County has not had enough vaccine allocated to our area to begin Phase 1B. … While Gov. Newsom’s original intent was to prioritize communities hardest hit by this pandemic, here we are, still waiting for the vaccines that will add another layer of protection for our community and our ag employees.
Biden administration sides with California in allowing union reps access to farmworkers [San Francisco Chronicle]
Reversing former President Donald Trump’s position, the Biden administration is backing California in a Supreme Court case by growers challenging state regulations that allow union representatives onto their property to talk to farmworkers during nonworking hours. The Trump administration told the court on Jan. 7 that the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board’s rules authorize outsiders to “physically invade the employers’ land” and violate their property rights. But in a Feb. 12 filing, President Biden’s Justice Department said the federal government has changed its position and said union representatives’ “temporary and limited access” does not necessarily violate the landowners’ rights.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Biden-administration-sides-with-California-in-15958177.php
Farmers from Kansas to Alabama have never dealt with weather like this [Wall Street Journal]
Brutal winter weather continued to batter the U.S. agriculture industry, as companies and farmers contended with snow, ice and cold temperatures that disrupted processing, snarled transport and killed livestock across the Midwest and South. … The snow and bitter cold are also expected to damage some crops and produce that typically thrive through Southern winters. In Texas, some kale and cabbage fields might be completely lost, said Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening, and citrus orchards have taken a hit in some areas.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/winter-weather-sows-havoc-across-u-s-farm-sector-11613655524?page=1
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