COVID-19 still spiking in California farm fields [NBC Bay Area]
… An investigation by NBC Bay Area over the last six months found that as COVID-19 created a crisis in agricultural fields, warehouses and packing plants throughout California, state agencies charged with protecting those workers were slow to respond and took little action. … NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit dug through CalOSHA inspection records and found no action taken against any entity relating to COVID protocols or violations until August 2020. … According to data Montgomery provided in response to NBC Bay Area’s public records act request, from the start of the COVID pandemic in March 2020 through February 24, 2021, the ALRB has taken only 9 actions against companies and organizations relating to COVID and health issues statewide, 4 of them in Monterey County.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/covid-still-spiking-in-california-farm-fields/2482280/
‘I feel relieved.’ Foster Farms vaccinates 1,000 workers at Livingston chicken plant [Modesto Bee]
About 1,000 workers received COVID-19 vaccines Tuesday at the Foster Farms chicken plant in Livingston, the heart of the poultry giant’s business. … Foster Farms invited the media to the clinic to showcase its part in protecting the food industry workers at the core of the San Joaquin Valley economy. … The vaccinations started early last month with about 1,000 chicken workers in Fresno, who already have returned for their second dose.
https://www.modbee.com/news/coronavirus/article249645893.html
Feeding the nation, fighting for housing: Imperial County farmworkers’ issues persist amid pandemic [inewsource]
… Imperial County’s farmworkers have long been plagued by insufficient housing options, low wages and barriers to healthcare. COVID-19 worsened those conditions and the agricultural industry has since seen major outbreaks statewide. Local leaders are now pleading for more help for the workers who serve as the backbone of the county’s $4.5 billion agriculture industry. … But a state-run program called Housing for the Harvest that offers COVID-19 isolation in motels has hardly been used. … One reason: People don’t trust it.
https://www.kpbs.org/news/2021/mar/03/feeding-nation-fighting-housing-imperial-county-fa/
State to snuff out agricultural burns in the San Joaquin Valley [KCRA TV, Sacramento]
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) calls a recent decision they made to “phase down” agricultural burning to near zero by Jan. 1, 2025, a delicate balance between protecting public health, and recognizing the economic impacts of San Joaquin Valley farmers. … Bruce Blodgett, the executive director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau, said if the state had fulfilled its promise to build more co-generation plants to offer more alternatives to agricultural burning, the phase-down would make more sense. He said the only other alternative winegrape growers have are landfills, which he said, may cause issues, as well.
https://www.kcra.com/article/state-snuff-out-agricultural-burns-san-joaquin-valley/35702977#
Sierra snowpack at 61% as new drought looms for California this summer [Bay Area News Group]
Highlighting the second dry winter in a row, the Sierra Nevada snowpack on Tuesday was just 61% of its historical average for this date, the latest signal that California appears headed toward summer drought conditions, with water restrictions possible in some areas for the first time in five years. … A year like this one hasn’t happened often since California became a state. The seven-month period from July 1 to the end of February has been the seventh driest in San Francisco in the past 172 years, since 1849 when records began.
Opinion: Current pesticide regulation doesn’t signify robust health protection [Bakersfield Californian]
… While California may be among this country’s leaders in pesticide regulation, it is the leader of a poorly regulated nation. Dozens of countries better protect their residents from pesticide harms by banning the worst of them. … We are not tough but lax when it comes to regulating hazardous pesticides. Our people in the Central Valley pay with their health, especially farmworker families, while pesticide companies profit off our pain. … So, no, we do not trust the pesticide regulatory system. We have no reason to.
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