This county knew coronavirus could ravage its farmworkers. Why didn’t officials stop it? [Los Angeles Times]
As coronavirus cases began to grow in San Joaquin County in June, Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs proposed requiring citizens to wear a mask in his city in the center of the fertile valley, where agriculture is king and poverty pervasive. The response he received from the county emergency services director, a key figure in coordinating the pandemic response, was disquieting, he said….But according to advocates for agricultural employees, the coronavirus is also ravaging Latino farmworkers because they have long been treated as disposable labor in California, risking their lives in heat waves and pesticide-laden fields to help put food on people’s tables. The pandemic has only amplified the brew of conservative politics, economic pressures and historic disparities that run through the farmlands of California’s inland counties, they say, resulting in government aid that seems too little, too late.
Coronavirus: As deaths in Latinx community skyrocket, Newsom calls to protect essential workers [Bay Area News Group]
Amid California’s COVID-19 surge, the deadly virus is stalking communities of color, elected leaders and health officials said Friday, targeting Black and Latinx people both at work and in recreational settings. In a news conference Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom underscored the rampant spread of the disease among essential workers, noting the huge percentages of workers in health care, agriculture, grocery and other critical sectors who are Latinx and Black. Workers in those jobs regularly interact with others and are often unable to maintain safe distances. “For us to be able to be successful in stopping COVID-19, in extinguishing COVID-19, which we will do, it depends on our ability to keep our essential workers safe,” Newsom said, appearing next to a chart showing that 93% of California farm workers are Latinx. “An overwhelming majority, you’ll see, in certain sectors of our community are disproportionately in the Latino community, in the Black and Asian community.”
Experimental treatment could save California citrus [Bakersfield Californian]
The Central Valley’s citrus industry is hailing a potential breakthrough in the fight against a so-far incurable bacterial disease threatening to wipe out Kern’s mandarin, orange and lemon groves. A researcher at the University of California, Riverside has identified a naturally occurring protein compound that appears to not only treat trees infected with the disease but also immunize them against it. The material is a peptide found in Australian finger lime trees, which naturally resist the disease….Further testing will be required before it can be determined whether the peptide is widely effective and can be commercialized for use by local growers. It’s unclear how soon that might happen but Jin said the process could take years.
Napa County continues biocontrol of vine mealybug, serious grapevine pest [Napa Valley Register]
The Napa County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office will continue its strategic release of parasitic Anagyrus wasps this month as part of a comprehensive effort to diminish Napa County’s vine mealybug population. Rest assured: though “parasitic wasps” may sound like yet another frightening development out of 2020, the insects are the size of gnats and are harmless to humans, Weights & Measures Inspector Sommer Marie Woolley said. They do not sting or bite, and pose no apparent threat to any of Napa County’s other insect populations apart from the vine mealybugs….The Ag Commissioner’s Office is continually encouraging the county’s growers to use “a solid integrated pest management program” – essentially utilizing a diverse range of pest control methods. Anagyrus wasps are an important addition growers’ pest control, Woolley said, and they do not disrupt organic growing as many pesticides do.
Monterey Mushrooms to pay $1.2M in settlement agreement [Monterey Herald]
In a settlement with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, Monterey Mushroom, Inc., has agreed to pay $1.2 million for unauthorized wastewater discharges to Elkhorn Slough tributaries. Monterey Mushrooms was found to have discharged a combined total of about 4.6 million gallons of process wastewater and/or polluted stormwater from two mushroom-growing facilities located in Royal Oaks into the tributary between January and April 2017, according to a press release from the State Water Resources Board. “We work hard with dischargers to prevent these types of spills,” said Dr. Jean-Pierre Wolff, chair of the Central Coast Water Board, in the release. “We take these violations and threats to the environment very seriously. This settlement demonstrates our collaborative commitment with dischargers to protect and restore our region’s waters.”
https://www.montereyherald.com/2020/07/24/monterey-mushrooms-to-pay-1-2m-in-settlement-agreement/
Commentary: Vertical farms fill a tall order [Wall Street Journal]
…Over the past 10 years, hundreds of such indoor farms have sprouted up around the globe, mostly in the larger cities of industrialized countries. They occupy multistory buildings in which crops are grown in water or in misted air instead of soil, with LED lights in place of sunlight, in a controlled and largely automated environment. Building more vertical farms in cities is especially timely because of the expected effects of the pandemic on urban office towers. Moody’s Analytics REIS now projects office vacancies to rise to 19.3% in the 82 largest metropolitan areas by the end of the year, up from 16.8% last year, and then to continue rising. In June, 82% of employers surveyed by market-research firm Gartner, Inc. said that they would allow employees to work from home permanently. Indoor farms can occupy some of the abandoned or underused office space created by these trends. So far, vertical farms have mostly grown and sold leafy greens and herbs—the easiest food crops to grow indoors and to harvest year-round. They are competitive against conventional farms because their crops don’t have to travel far and are free of pesticides and other soil contaminants.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/vertical-farms-fill-a-tall-order-11595649662
