VP Mike Pence: Passing NAFTA 2.0 will help Central Valley farmers [Visalia Times-Delta]
Amid hay bales and country music at a farm outside Lemoore Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence sought to rally farmers and others in the agriculture industry to support President Donald Trump’s revisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement….”Now it’s time to Congress to do its job and pass USMCA this year,” Pence said. “California farmers, let your voice be heard.”…California ag industry leaders have pushed for passage of USMCA, noting that China — whose retaliatory tariffs have hit California citrus and other ag sectors particularly hard — represents only half of the trade that the U.S. does with its neighbors to the north and south. At a national level, the American Farm Bureau has been one of the biggest advocates of the proposed USMCA.
China and U.S. Differ Over Agricultural Purchases Trump Boasted About [New York Times]
President Trump emerged from a June meeting in Japan with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, saying that China would immediately begin purchasing American farm products in return for a trade truce that would forestall more United States tariffs on Chinese goods. China did not see it that way. People familiar with the negotiations say China has denied making any explicit commitment to buy American farm products during those discussions and instead saw large-scale purchases as contingent on progress toward a final trade deal that is still nowhere in sight….But Beijing has yet to engage in any large purchases of American farm goods since the meeting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/us/politics/us-china-trade-war.html?searchResultPosition=1
Wall Street banks bailing on troubled U.S. farm sector [Reuters]
…JPMorgan grew its farm-loan portfolio by 76 percent, to $1.1 billion, between 2008 and 2015, according to year-end figures, as other Wall Street players piled into the sector….But now – after years of falling farm income and an intensifying U.S.-China trade war – JPMorgan and other Wall Street banks are heading for the exits, according to a Reuters analysis of the farm-loan holdings they reported to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)….The retreat from agricultural lending by the nation’s biggest banks, which has not been previously reported, comes as shrinking cash flow is pushing some farmers to retire early and others to declare bankruptcy, according to farm economists, legal experts, and a review of hundreds of lawsuits filed in federal and state courts.
A Southern California Without Orange Groves? One of the Last Could Soon Be Gone [New York Times]
…Bothwell Ranch is one of the last remaining orange groves in the San Fernando Valley, a vestige of the long-evaporated citrus industry….The ranch is at the center of a growing dispute between its owners, who have sought to sell it to luxury housing developers, and community members who believe it should remain an orchard. The Los Angeles City Council is currently considering a proposal to give the site a historic designation to preserve at least part of the orchard.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/southern-california-orange-grove.html?searchResultPosition=1
Napa County cannabis growing initiative qualifies for ballot [Napa Valley Register]
Napa County voters could decide if wine country will also be cannabis country. Proponents of allowing commercial cannabis cultivation in the unincorporated county are taking their case to the people. They collected enough valid signatures to qualify a ballot measure on the issue for March 3, 2020 election….The Napa County Farm Bureau has talked to proponents of commercial cannabis cultivation and opposes the ballot measure. “We don’t believe the initiative process is the right way to address this issue,” Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Klobas said on Wednesday.
California moves to block Trump from rolling back its environmental protections [Los Angeles Times]
…The bill is lengthy and complex, but basically it decrees that the state will step in and adopt any federal environmental protection that Trump or Bernhardt try to eviscerate….Moderate Democrats could be a problem once the bill reaches the Assembly floor. They tend to vote with business and agriculture interests who oppose the bill….But more than anything, this legislative fight is another battle in the never-ceasing California water war. Water interests are eager for Trump to loosen regulations, especially on endangered species.
