Sky-High feed prices are pushing dairy farmersoOver the edge [Bloomberg News]
Eric Vanstrom stuck by his dairy cows through a recession, a trade war and a global pandemic that forced him to dump milk into manure pits. This year, though, he’s finally had enough. The thing that’s putting him over the edge: exorbitant grain prices….Vanstrom’s predicament is an increasingly common one. The corn and soybeans that dairy cows eat are seeing a historic rally, fueled by drought in key producing countries and China’s massive purchases of grain to feed a rapidly expanding hog herd. From the U.S. to Ethiopia, farmers say soaring costs are putting their businesses in peril, to the point that they’re thinking of exiting altogether. “For a lot of cows, they’ll just have a career change, from happy cow to happy meal,” said Mary Ledman, global dairy strategist at Rabobank.
Sky-High Feed Prices Are Pushing Dairy Farmers Over The Edge – Bloomberg
Almond growers had expected a record Central Valley harvest. Drought just took 13% [Modesto Bee]
…The U.S. Department of Agriculture now expects about 2.8 billion pounds from the August-October harvest. The initial estimate in May was for a record 3.2 billion pounds. Some growers have opted to strip nuts from branches so their trees can get by with less irrigation this summer, Monday’s report said. Water is especially short in parts of the western and southern San Joaquin Valley. Any upside? Growers with adequate water can expect higher prices per pound from almond buyers around the world. This includes the Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts. The state accounts for about 80% of the global almond supply. Farms and processing plants employ several thousand people in and near Stanislaus County.
Drought reduces projected almond crop in Central Valley | Modesto Bee (modbee.com)
Pesticide caused kids’ brain damage, California lawsuits say [Associated Press]
Lawsuits filed Monday in California seek potential class-action damages from Dow Chemical and its successor company over a widely used bug killer linked to brain damage in children. Chlorpyrifos is approved for use on more than 80 crops, including oranges, berries, grapes, soybeans, almonds and walnuts, though California banned sales of the pesticide last year and spraying of it this year. Some other states, including New York, have moved to ban it. Stuart Calwell, lead attorney in the lawsuits, argued that its effects linger in Central Valley agricultural communities contaminated by chlorpyrifos during decades of use, with measurable levels still found in his clients’ homes….Officials with Dow and its affiliated Corteva Inc. did not immediately respond to telephone and email requests seeking comment. Corteva stopped producing the pesticide last year. The Delaware-based company was created after a merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont and had been the world’s largest manufacturer of chlorpyrifos. The company has said it believes the product is safe and said it stopped production because of declining sales.
Democrats eye immigration action in budget, but outlook hazy [Associated Press]
Congressional Democrats and immigration advocates are staring at their best chance in years to overcome Republican opposition and give millions of people in the U.S. without legal authorization a way to become citizens. Their goal is to stuff the language into a huge measure this fall financing many of President Joe Biden’s priorities that would be shielded from a Republican Senate filibuster. That bill-killing procedure requires a virtually impossible 60 votes to overcome, but erasing that danger with a Democrat in the White House means they could score an immigration triumph by themselves after years of Republican blockades. “This is the chance to finally get it done,” said Kerri Talbot, deputy director of the Immigration Hub, a pro-immigration strategy group….But Republicans and conservative groups sense a favorable political environment for themselves. They cite large numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border recently and growing public concern with crime, which the GOP often links to immigration.
Democrats eye immigration action in budget, but outlook hazy (apnews.com)
California fires are burning faster, hotter, more intensely — and getting harder to fight [Los Angeles Times]
The fires have burned more than 140,000 acres, from soaring mountains along the California-Nevada border to forest north of Mt. Shasta and the gateway to Yosemite. But many of 2021’s biggest blazes have one thing in common: They are burning faster and hotter than some firefighters have seen this early in the year. A winter and spring of little rain and minimal snow runoff — followed by months of unusually warm conditions and several summer heat waves — left the vegetation primed to burn fast, giving crews little time to get a handle on the flames before they explode.
California fires are burning faster, getting harder to fight – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
Tulare County Ag Commissioner backtracks on pesticide study [Visalia Times Delta]
A study looking at the effects of pesticides on farmworkers and rural residents in the central San Joaquin Valley is off to a rocky start after local agricultural leaders falsely warned growers that participants in the UC Davis-led study were activists trespassing on private property. In a June 22 “urgent advisory,” Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer Tom Tucker told growers “to be on the lookout for people trespassing onto orchards and farms” during or after pesticide application. On July 7, the ag commissioner’s office posted a joint statement with the California Environmental Protection Agency, clarifying that the state-funded study is part of a national pilot program “in which participants collect air samples throughout the day using wearable backpack-mounted air monitors.”
Ag Today is distributed by the California Farm Bureau Marketing/Communications Division to county Farm Bureaus, California Farm Bureau directors and staff, for information purposes only; stories may not be republished without permission. Some story links may require site registration. Opinions expressed in stories, commentaries or editorials included in Ag Today do not necessarily represent the views of the California Farm Bureau. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this message and please provide your name and email address. For more information about Ag Today, contact 916-561-5550 or news@cfbf.com.
