Coronavirus spreads among fruit and vegetable packers, worrying U.S. officials [Reuters]
From apple packing houses in Washington state to farm workers in Florida and a California county known as “the world’s salad bowl,” outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are emerging at U.S. fruit and vegetable farms and packing plants. … The Trump administration said last month it may extend an executive order to keep meat plants operating to fruit and vegetable producers as well, a sign it is concerned fresh produce could be the next sector hit.
Diamond walnut workers rally for hazard pay at Stockton plant [Stockton Record]
Workers at Diamond of California’s Stockton walnut processing plant wanted to make a point: Their jobs are essential and they show up to work every day despite the health risks to them and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. For that, they feel they deserve hazard pay like so many others in the food-processing industry. … The action is also aimed at getting the attention of Congress and state legislatures to enact uniform rules across the food processing industry putting new safety protocols into place.
Editorial: State must do more to help farm workers with housing [San Diego Union-Tribune]
… The main threat that farm workers face isn’t at work. It’s in the packed, sometimes substandard or squalid housing they live in. … Advocates for seasonal farm workers say the fact that some of them are unauthorized immigrants limits how much political backing they can round up to help workers. They also say even in agricultural communities, there can be strong opposition to new housing meant for farm workers. But a state that prides itself on caring for the vulnerable must do better — be it temporary housing or motel vouchers.
Sonoma County to allow more breweries, wine tasting room openings this week [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
Sonoma County will soon resemble Wine Country again under revisions announced Wednesday to the local public health order allowing wineries, breweries and distilleries to offer tastings without the requirement they also serve food. The new order, which takes effect Friday, mirrors changes in the California roadmap to restarting the economy, which was all but shut down by coronavirus in March. … For a place like Sonoma County, a mecca for wine connoisseurs but also for those who relish a fine craft brew or artisanal spirits, the unexpected move to broaden tasting opportunities was a welcomed boon.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/11021007-181/tasting-rooms-breweries-can-open
Oral arguments in IID’s Abatti appeal set for Friday [Imperial Valley Press]
A three-member Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeals panel at 9 a.m. Friday will listen to oral arguments in the Imperial Irrigation District’s appeal of a 2017 Superior Court ruling in favor of former IID director and local farmer Mike Abatti on water rights. In August 2017, Judge L. Brooks Anderholt ruled in favor of Abatti and directed the district to end its Equitable Distribution Plan. … Local farm groups have asked IID to drop the appeal to avoid risk of a more damaging decision being made by the courts, but IID has sustained its argument that the Superior Court’s ruling undermined its board’s authority.
Tyson Foods cooperating in U.S. probe of chicken price-fixing [Wall Street Journal]
Tyson Foods Inc., the leading U.S. chicken producer, said it is cooperating in a Justice Department price-fixing investigation under a leniency program that will allow the company to avoid criminal prosecution in exchange for aiding in the continuing probe of other poultry suppliers. … Tyson’s public acknowledgment of its role in the investigation comes a week after four chicken-industry executives, including employees of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. and Claxton Poultry Farms, were indicted on charges of price fixing and bid rigging.
