CA Farm Bureau president says farmworker safety is priority [KABC TV, Los Angeles]
California’s agricultural businesses have been hit hard by the coronavirus. And as they deal with outbreaks and shipping challenges, farmers and ranchers say they’re working hard to keep the food supply steady and safe. Jamie Johansson, president of the California Farm Bureau, joined ABC7 via Skype to talk about the pandemic’s impact. … Johansson said there is a lot of uncertainty, but points out the farm industry is resilient.
https://abc7.com/californias-agricultural-businesses-farmers-ranchers-farmworkers/6288611/
Fresno County Department of Agriculture distributes nearly one million masks for farm workers [Valley Public Radio, Fresno]
As COVID-19 cases in the San Joaquin Valley continue to climb, the Fresno County Department of Agriculture recently secured nearly one million masks to help protect the county’s agricultural workers. Melissa Cregan, the agricultural commissioner for the county, said the masks came from California’s Department of Food and Agriculture and the Office of Emergency Services. … Cregan says she’s currently doing outreach to the local agriculture industry to see if more masks are needed. For now, the process to receive PPE for agricultural workers is fairly simple, she said.
‘Safety first’ questioned: Diamond Foods responds to COVID-19 outbreak at its Stockton walnut processing plant [Stockton Record]
At least six workers at Stockton’s Diamond Foods walnut processing plant have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past three weeks, prompting the company to issue a statement to employees declaring it an outbreak. “We want to be as transparent as we possibly can be with the current pandemic and our facility,” the company — based at 1050 Diamond St. in southeast Stockton — said in its statement issued June 29. But some employees question that, saying they should have been informed sooner and seen the company take steps earlier to ensure their safety.
Sunsweet closes part of plant due to potential COVID exposure [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]
Sunsweet closed part of its processing plant in Yuba City on Tuesday and Wednesday due to a potential COVID-19 exposure. Harold Schenker, general counsel/corporate development for Sunsweet Growers Inc., said most of the Yuba City facility was closed to do cleaning and evaluate. He said they closed down a number of operational lines and worked with the health department on contact tracing. Schenker said an outside vendor had notified them that a sales representative who had visited them tested positive for the coronavirus.
Ayesha and Steph Curry, Salesforce, to tackle hunger and farm waste with Bay Area program [San Francisco Chronicle]
While a growing number of families in the Bay Area struggle with food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and minority-owned farms grapple with excess waste due to mounting restaurant closures, an ambitious new Bay Area pilot program quietly launched last month with the goal of rapidly addressing both issues. … The new farm-focused pilot, which was jump started through a $400,000 donation from Salesforce to the Currys’ foundation, has a goal of sourcing 300 tons of farm produce from local, minority-owned farms, and packaging it into 30,000 boxes of food for low-income residents.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/Ayesha-and-Steph-Curry-Salesforce-to-tackle-15380332.php
Napa County Farm Bureau opposes November’s split roll initiative [Napa Valley Register]
… The split roll initiative – known also as Schools and Communities First – qualified for the November ballot at the end of May, and would revise portions of Proposition 13, California’s landmark property tax bill. … Opponents – including the Napa County Farm Bureau – say the reassessments will catastrophically raise property taxes to be paid by farmers. Under the provisions of the proposed initiative, according to the Farm Bureau, growers could see their property taxes increase simply because the vines in their vineyard had matured (and thus increased in value).
‘Don’t tell my wine snob friends’: Why Americans are buying more boxed wine during COVID-19 [USA Today]
… Boxed wine sales jumped 36% for the 15-week period ending June 13 compared with the same period last year, outpacing the 29% increase in overall retail wine sales during the same period, according to Nielsen research. … Instead of being a badge of poor taste, boxed wine even has become a popular quarantine prop for Instagram photos, a symbol of stocking up and having fun despite the restraints of social distancing and the widespread loss of income. … Even before the pandemic, there were signs that boxed wine was coming of age.
