Gov. Newsom orders all Californians to stay home as coronavirus cases top 1,000 [Los Angeles Times]
… Amid the continuing spread, Newsom on Thursday ordered Californians to stay at home, marking the first mandatory restrictions placed on the lives of all 40 million residents in the state’s fight against the novel coronavirus. … The mandatory order allows Californians to continue to visit gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, takeout and delivery restaurants, banks and laundromats. … It exempts workers in 16 federal critical infrastructure sectors, including food and agriculture, healthcare, transportation, energy, financial services, emergency response and others.
‘Devastating impact’: Visa suspensions seen as threat to farm labor, food supply [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
Alarm spread quickly in the agricultural industry after the State Department said it would suspend a number of visa services in Mexico in response to the coronavirus — including for seasonal guest-workers. … The U.S. Department of Agriculture is also working to try to get out ahead of the potential workforce shortage, it announced Thursday. Partnering with the U.S. Department of Labor, the USDA is seeking out workers already covered under temporary visas who could potentially transfer to new employers in the agricultural industry once their current contracts expire.
Farm Bureau fights for growers to be considered “essential” [Escondido Times-Advocate]
As new emergency coronavirus regulations were falling from on high like citrus blossoms in the spring, farm advocates, such as Hannah Gbeh, of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, were battling to earn farmers some respect for the essential work they do feeding people. With the Farm Bureau office in Escondido closed and employees working from home, Gbeh has been lobbying for farming to be considered a vital if not irreplaceable component of the economy. … The first battle was to get local authorities to restore the farmers market permits that had been revoked in the City of San Diego and were being considered elsewhere.
https://www.times-advocate.com/articles/farm-bureau-fights-for-growers-to-be-considered-essential/
Coronavirus-era food supply: America has a lot. Moving it is tricky. [Wall Street Journal]
Companies that supply meat, vegetables and other staples are struggling to redirect the nation’s sprawling food supply chain to meet a surge in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Restaurant closures and shoppers’ rush to stock their pantries are forcing the agriculture industry to boost production, hire new employees and set up “war rooms” to keep grocery stores stocked. … To meet demand, processing plants are churning out more supermarket-ready packs of chicken breasts, pork chops and salad greens while companies build volunteer teams to deploy across facilities if workers fall ill.
More dry weather expected to push state deeper into drought, report says [San Francisco Chronicle]
California saw a dizzying turn from a dry February to a wet start to March, but federal climate experts say the recent snow and rain won’t halt the state’s continuing slide into drought.
The U.S. Spring Outlook, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday, projects that warm, dry conditions will persist and even expand across much of California over the next three months. … The federal Drought Monitor reported Thursday that nearly 48% of California was in moderate drought, about the same as last week, despite the recent rain and snow.
Opinion: AB 5 raises taxes on farmworkers [Bakersfield Californian]
AB 5 impacts agricultural workers, including farm labor contractors, irrigation contractors, agronomists, pest control advisors, workplace safety advisers and human/labor relations consultants, according to the California Farm Bureau Federation. Many of these impacted individuals are immigrants exercising their entrepreneurial spirit to build a better life for themselves and their families. Like all business owners, they invest not only their hopes and dreams and their hard work in their jobs — they also incur costs. … That’s why AB 5 is a massive tax increase on many Latino and immigrant entrepreneurs.
