Democrats consider piecemeal approach to immigration bills [Wall Street Journal]
Democrats in Congress and progressive advocates are coalescing around a strategy to try to pass immigration bills piecemeal, as the Biden administration looks for ways to enact a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants without a permanent legal status. … Facing an April 1 deadline to bypass the committee process for bills passed in the last Congress, Democrats are looking at two bills they hope could win Republican support in the Senate. … One would create a citizenship path for the young immigrants, known as Dreamers. … A second, passed by the House last year with more than 30 Republican votes, would offer citizenship to about a million farm workers in the U.S. without legal authorization.
Food and food packaging highly unlikely to spread Covid-19, experts say [CNN]
Food and food packaging are highly unlikely to spread Covid-19, the US Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a reminder Thursday. … The three agencies said they wanted to stress the lack of credible evidence to suggest that food or its packaging are associated with transmission of the virus. … Chinese officials have repeatedly raised the possibility the virus is spread by packaged frozen foods, but the CDC and World Health Organization have both said this is highly unlikely.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/18/health/food-packaging-coronavirus-wellness/index.html
Esparto hosts pilot coronavirus vaccination clinic for ag workers [Woodland Daily Democrat]
Yolo County has vaccinated about 280 agriculture workers at its pilot COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Esparto. The clinic was held Wednesday afternoon at Durst Organic Growers in Esparto. … “People working in the fields are pretty essential, and overlooked sometimes,” said Jim Durst, one of the farm’s owners. “So it’s nice to see some of the people move to the front of the line.” … The county does plan on holding vaccination clinics at migrant centers in the future, according to Jenny Tan, Yolo County’s public information officer.
Pandemic hits leisure, hospitality industries hardest in Santa Cruz County [Good Times, Santa Cruz County]
… The pandemic also seriously affected the agriculture industry. According to a June 2020 report by the California Farm Bureau Federation, the pandemic caused a major disruption to the agricultural supply chain worldwide, with estimated economic impacts estimated between $5.9 and $8.6 billion. … Locally those numbers look slightly better, says strawberry grower Tom AmRhein. Some commodities, particularly farms that supply vegetables to the food service industry, suffered more than other others, AmRhein said. … But berry growers—particularly those that grow strawberries—are faring well under Covid-19. Horticulture businesses also saw little impact.
Shafter group raises pressure on county ag official [Bakersfield Californian]
Members of a committee set up to tackle air quality issues in Shafter are increasing pressure on Kern County’s agricultural commissioner after he refused last month to turn over farmers’ plans for applying certain dangerous pesticides. The committee sent senior state officials a letter last week accusing Commissioner Glenn Fankhauser of working in bad faith and prioritizing ag profits over public health. Then, on Wednesday, an activist group close to the matter pressed the same two officials to have him fired.
Opinion: Farmers can help in battle against climate change [CalMatters]
… America’s farmers have been pressing ahead with new precision technologies and regenerative farming systems that improve soil biology, sequester carbon and conserve resources. We’re growing more on less land, with less water and with fewer chemicals. Building on and replicating this success across the country will not only help revitalize rural communities battered by COVID-19, it will advance U.S. climate leadership on the world stage. … California’s low-carbon fuel standard has helped prove that farmers can cultivate energy-rich feedstocks to fuel cars and trucks on the road right now – all while reducing carbon emissions, along with toxic fuel additives that poison the air.
https://calmatters.org/commentary/my-turn/2021/02/farmers-can-help-in-battle-against-climate-change/
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