Sonoma County farmers facing ‘heartbreaking’ crisis in drought [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
… With Santa Rosa having received barely one-third of its average rainfall for this time in the weather year, which began Oct. 1, and no rain likely until mid- to late fall, the most severe drought in decades is testing farmers all over the region. That’s the case whether they’re cattle ranchers, vegetable growers or vineyard managers. “Our farmers keep overcoming one crisis after another in Sonoma County, and this is just one more sock to the chin,” said Tawny Tesconi, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. … Many livestock farmers are selling off animals and thinning herds to get by. Feed prices have shot up.
Depleted reservoirs, water restrictions worry Sacramento area farmers [Capital Public Radio, Sacramento]
… Earlier this month, McCormack was among more than 4,300 farmers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed who received letters from the state warning that they may be cut off from diverting river water to their crops. “If they cut us off, our pears and grapes are going to suffer,” said McCormack. … With no water from the reservoirs, the only water left for farmers is groundwater which is not always the best for agricultural irrigation. … California farmers won’t be able to use as much groundwater to irrigate crops during the current dry spell than they may have in previous years.
Opinion: Salmon is an indicator species for California’s water crisis. It’s not looking good [Los Angeles Times]
In mid-June, California’s State Water Resources Control Board wrote a tragic letter. The board, which has significant powers under California’s Constitution to manage water for the benefit of California’s people and ecosystems, wrote that it would approve a plan for water releases out of Lake Shasta that risk destroying the Sacramento River’s iconic winter-run Chinook salmon population forever. … The board seems to have been more willing to risk the extinction of a salmon run than they were to risk angering landowners and lobbyists. … But politically powerful agricultural interests and real estate investors have for decades now been the main beneficiaries of our water policies.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-06-27/salmon-sacramento-river-draining
Senate OKs bill to certify farm practices limiting emissions [Associated Press]
The U.S. Senate has approved a measure intended to encourage greater use of farming and forestry practices that prevent greenhouse gas emissions and remove planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It authorizes the federal Department of Agriculture to create a program helping farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners earn payments through private markets for planting offseason cover crops, reducing tillage and taking other steps to lock up carbon in soils and trees. … Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federatioin, said lack of access to reliable information about carbon markets and a shortage of technical assistance have deterred some landowners.
How farmworkers stay safe working in excessive heat [KBAK TV, Bakersfield]
It’s bell pepper season in the fields of the 160 acre Johnston Farms in Edison, but at this point farmworkers are working in 108 to 112 degree heat. “Usually we don’t see it until July, August and we’re not harvesting at that point, so it’s not something we’ve had to deal with a lot in the past,” Johnston Green said. She says they tell their workers to dress appropriately for the heat. … They also work in the shade of the equipment and are told to drink water. Their days start at 5 in the morning in extreme heat, instead of 6 or 7, so they can end their work day by 1 or 2 in the afternoon.
https://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/how-farmworkers-stay-safe-working-in-excessive-heat
Editorial: Senators, quit stalling; solve farmworker shortage [Bakersfield Californian]
… President Joe Biden and progressives have set achieving a BIG immigration reform a top priority. … A piecemeal and more focused approach would be Congress passing the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. … It is a compromise that meets the labor needs of farmers and the goals of workers. It passed the House in March, but like so many other critically needed bills, it now languishes in the Senate, where party politics mean more than actually helping Americans. … Calling the Farm Workforce Modernization Act the first comprehensive agriculture immigration reform bill to come out of the House in 30 years, Jamie Johansson, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, stressed the importance of addressing the industry’s future needs.
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