More good news for growers: Senate passes bipartisan trade deal with Mexico, Canada [Visalia Times-Delta]
Tulare County growers are applauding the Senate’s approval of a revamped trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that leaders say will benefit farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses throughout the Central Valley….It’s a major rewrite of trade rules with the nation’s neighbors and closest trading partners relating to agriculture, manufacturing and services….“Passage of the USMCA has been a top priority for Farm Bureau and other farm organizations, and we’re excited to have achieved the milestone of congressional passage,” said Jamie Johansson, California Farm Bureau president.
‘The dam must be moved.’ Speakers cite flood risk in opposing Stanislaus reservoir project [Modesto Bee]
People commenting on an environmental study for a proposed dam near Patterson urged water districts to scrap the plan or build the dam someplace else. About 150 people attended the hearing Wednesday at Patterson’s senior center and comments were heavily against the 800-acre reservoir that would inundate part of Del Puerto Canyon, just west of Interstate 5. Opponents said city residents and the broader community would lose a scenic treasure….Del Puerto and other Central Valley Project contractors say the reservoir is needed for wet-year storage so West Side farmers are not cut off to water deliveries in drier years.
https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article239355723.html
NorCal’s Shasta and Scott River Salmon Runs Below Sustainable Levels [Jefferson Public Radio]
The number of Coho salmon in Northern California’s Shasta and Scott rivers in 2019 was too low to sustain a viable population. That’s according to a just-released report from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife….One of the potential causes could be a drop in the flow rates of both rivers, causing the water temperatures to rise and fish to become trapped in shallow pools….But Jim Morris, rancher and director of the Scott Valley Irrigation District, says says agriculture is being used as a scapegoat for a much bigger problem.
https://www.ijpr.org/post/norcals-shasta-and-scott-river-salmon-runs-below-sustainable-levels
Judge Blocks California Gig Economy Law Enforcement on Truckers [Wall Street Journal]
A federal judge halted California’s attempt to regulate trucking companies’ use of independent drivers under the state’s new “gig economy” law, extending a temporary bar on enforcement of the measure while an industry challenge plays out in court. The order bolsters the trucking industry push to carve out an exemption for the law, which seeks to force companies to classify certain contract workers as employees….The judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the state from enforcing the law for motor carriers operating in the state “pending the entry of final judgment in this action.”
Struggling California State Fair eyes bailout from taxpayers to avoid insolvency [Sacramento Bee]
Cal Expo, weighed down by years of sagging attendance at the California State Fair, needs a roughly $2.3 million taxpayer bailout to ward off insolvency and a possible shutdown of the fair, state officials say. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal includes a $1.5 million one-time rescue “to offset short-term funding deficiencies” and $750,000 to study long-term solutions for Cal Expo’s problems. The help would be unprecedented….Without help from taxpayers, Cal Expo could become “insolvent within a few years,” according to a budget memo from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which oversees the agency.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article239359688.html
Sonoma County wine grape growers reach out to climate scientists, millennials amid challenging market [North Bay Business Journal]
It’s been a sobering week of wine business forecasts for continued slowing of decadeslong sales growth, but local industry professionals on Thursday heard about two novel efforts to attract millennial and other consumers concerned about climate change….To fill consumers’ thirst for environmental-sensitive products, the local grape growers trade group is building on the success of its 100% sustainable grapes….At the Thursday seminar and trade show, which attracted about 700 all together, the group announced the county has become the exclusive testing ground for a pilot climate adaptation certification program….The question the certification program seeks to address with science is how much carbon do vineyard properties sequester — pull out of the atmosphere and transfer to the plants or the ground — after considering for emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide, according to Laurel Marcus, institute executive director.
