Dry, sunny days in January have taken a toll on California’s snowpack [Los Angeles Times]
All of those dry January days have taken a toll on California’s snowpack, but officials say it’s too early to worry about drought conditions. Surveyors with the California Department of Water Resources trekked through a snow-covered field Thursday at the department’s Phillips station, above Lake Tahoe, to take the second seasonal measurement that serves as an important marker for the state’s water supply. The result — 40.5 inches deep — is 79% of average for the time of year at that location….The good news, officials say, is that the state’s reservoirs are either at or above their averages for this time of year, thanks in part to solid rainfall last winter.
As California preps for more ‘horizontal hurricanes,’ Air Force gathers intel over Pacific [Sacramento Bee]
Massive storms sweeping over California from the Pacific have played havoc on the state for much of its recorded history,…Yet forecasters don’t know nearly as much as they’d like about these “horizontal hurricanes,” despite the dangers and the important role they play in replenishing drought-prone California’s water supply amid a changing climate. On Tuesday, high above the Pacific Ocean, two U.S. Air Force Reserve “Hurricane Hunter” crews in a pair of WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft were trying to change that, as part of a years-long research project to improve atmospheric river forecasting.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article239807068.html
U.S. EPA reaffirms that glyphosate does not cause cancer [Reuters]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it finished a regulatory review that found glyphosate, the most widely used weed killer in the United States, is not a carcinogen. The conclusion reaffirms the agency’s stance on glyphosate, the key ingredient in Bayer AG’s Roundup, despite judgments by U.S. juries that have found that use of the weedkiller was responsible for plaintiffs’ cancer in some trials….The EPA judgment could help bolster the case for Bayer as it faces thousands more lawsuits from Roundup users who allege it caused their cancer.
U.S. wildlife officials seek to end criminal penalties for unintentional bird deaths [Wall Street Journal]
Federal regulators have moved to cement a policy that would remove criminal penalties for companies or individuals who accidentally kill birds. The proposed rule announced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Thursday would limit the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a 102-year-old law meant to protect the hundreds of bird species that are native to the U.S. The change would mean the consequences laid out in that federal ban only apply to businesses and people who intentionally harm or kill birds or destroy their eggs and nests.
Local farmers say President Trump’s new trade pact will help the Central Valley [KGPE TV, Fresno]
Local farmers believe that President Trump’s new trade pact will help the Central Valley. John Chandler is a Central Valley almond farmer who was happy to hear the USMCA trade pact was signed. “It’s a big deal for agriculture in California. We’re right on the Mexican border, they’re major trade partners for us,” Chandler says….Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno Farm Bureau says it’s a step in the right direction. “This just modernizes it, takes into account some of our newer crops and just strengthens the relationship between the three trading partners,” Jacobsen says.
U.S. farm bankruptcies hit an eight-year high: court data [Reuters]
U.S. farm bankruptcy rates jumped 20% in 2019 – to an eight-year high – as financial woes in the U.S. agricultural economy continued in spite of massive federal bail-out funding, according to federal court data. According to data released this week by the United States Courts, family farmers filed 595 Chapter 12 bankruptcies in 2019, up from 498 filings a year earlier….The bankruptcy data “signals that things have not turned around,” said John Newton, chief economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation.
