In Russian River’s fabled vineyards, the harvest of a drought; State regulators halt water to part of region’s agriculture [Bay Area News Group]
… Behind the arcana of water law, a larger conflict is playing out, one rooted in a profound disagreement over agriculture’s rights to a dwindling resource. Even as there is less water to go around, their share is shrinking, fear farmers and ranchers. The new regulation sets a dangerous precedent for the agriculture industry and the consumers it serves, they say. While health and safety concerns deserve top priority, “Safeway and our farmers markets are going to look a lot different if we let California agriculture be blown away by our failure to proactively plan” for future water needs, said Chris Scheuring of the California Farm Bureau.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/06/20/in-russian-rivers-fabled-vineyards-the-harvest-of-a-drought/
Severe heat and drought the hallmarks of a changing west; Farmers, regulators and politicians facing the consequences of historic water shortages [Washington Post]
… The onset of this severe drought was far quicker than previous ones — the result of a meager Sierra Nevada snowpack and early seasonal heat that evaporated the runoff needed to fill the reservoirs and rivers. … “They’ll likely … have to fallow up to 40 percent of what was being grown before,” said Stefanie Smallhouse, a fifth generation Arizona rancher and president of the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation. Her organization is one of some 200 signatories on a letter asking that $49 billion worth of water-related investments — canal repairs, recycling projects, ecosystem restoration — be included in the federal infrastructure package.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/19/california-heat-wave-drought/
OID and SSJID revive water sale to West Side farmers after rechecking conditions [Modesto Bee]
Drought-stressed farmers on the West Side will get water after all from the Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts. They had decided in April to cancel a sale of up to 100,000 acre-feet to users as far south as Kern County. Worse than expected conditions in the Stanislaus River watershed prompted that move. Managers took another look at how the water year is playing out and announced Wednesday that the sale is back on. And the price will be higher: $400 per acre-foot, vs. $250 in the original deal. … The deal is with the San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority.
https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article252210738.html
Opinion: California can learn much from Israel on how to conserve water, manage drought better [Sacramento Bee]
… There is no shortage of water here, only a shortage of good water management. In part, our water is too cheap. … California farming policy bears prime responsibility for our water shortage. … Most Israeli farmers use drip irrigation to minimize water loss through evaporation, while most California farmers still employ wasteful flood irrigation and grow water intensive crops such as alfalfa, rice and cotton. Nuts are the most notorious culprit. … It’s preposterous to expect individual households to take the lead in conserving water rather than revise our state’s industrial and farming policies.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article251019169.html
‘Scarlett letter?’ Farm laborers to wear masks if they haven’t been vaccinated or won’t disclose it [Reuters]
America’s largest garlic farm needs 1,000 workers to harvest its annual crop, but faces an unexpected hurdle in this year’s recruitment drive: It now must document and track the Covid-19 vaccine status of these seasonal laborers. Employers in California’s Santa Clara County, including Christopher Ranch, are required as of June 1 to ascertain if their workers have been vaccinated and check in every 14 days on those who say they have not or who decline to answer. The timing of the order, in the middle of the busy harvest season, couldn’t be worse.
Shell shock. Investigators recover 42,000 pounds of stolen pistachios in California [Fresno Bee]
An investigation into 42,000 pounds of missing pistachios led California detectives to a trailer containing the stolen nuts, Tulare County sheriff’s detectives say. The 2,000-pound bags of pistachios, stolen from Touchstone Pistachio Company, were being repacked into smaller bags for resale, the sheriff’s department said on Facebook. The company reported the theft after a June audit revealed the missing nuts. … Investigators arrested Alberto Montemayor, 34, of the trucking company on suspicion of the theft, the sheriff’s department said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article252245143.html
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