Some California farmers prosper, while others struggle [San Jose Mercury News]
… The pandemic has left virtually all California farmers staring into the unknown. For Gilroy farmer Paul Mirassou, the uncertainty has led him to till 30 acres of lettuce he could no longer sell. Another 100 acres he had planned to plant will be bare until at least June, said Mirassou, who is president of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau. … According to a new survey from the California Farm Bureau Federation, 57% of the Golden State’s farmers have lost customers or revenue because of COVID-19.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/11/some-california-farmers-prosper-while-other-struggle/
As food supply chain breaks down, farm-to-door CSAs take off [NPR]
… From California to Maine, the movement known as community supported agriculture (CSA) is booming. … CSA programs almost everywhere report a surge in memberships and growing waiting lists. … CSAs have long been something of a niche market that have never really penetrated the mainstream. Yet, the coronavirus just might prove to be sparking community supported agriculture’s breakout moment. … And the new success brings new challenges. Many CSAs are now scrambling to find additional labor to plant, harvest and deliver produce to meet the moment.
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/10/852512047/as-food-supply-chain-breaks-down-farm-to-door-csas-take-off
California faces a perilous fire season as coronavirus threatens firefighters [Los Angeles Times]
As forecasters predict higher-than-normal chances of large fires in Northern California this year — as well as the usual risk of “large significant” burning in Southern California — fire authorities are growing increasingly concerned over their ability to muster a large, healthy force of firefighters in the face of COVID-19. … With the coronavirus still circulating, they say they cannot allow even the smallest secluded fire to smolder for the sake of forest ecology. All fires, they say, must be extinguished as quickly as possible.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-10/coronavirus-coming-wildfire-season
As U.S. meat workers fall sick and supplies dwindle, exports to China soar [Reuters]
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered meat processing plants to stay open to protect the nation’s food supply even as workers got sick and died. Yet the plants have increasingly been exporting to China while U.S. consumers face shortages, a Reuters analysis of government data showed. … While pork supplies tightened as the number of pigs slaughtered each day plunged by about 40% since mid-March, shipments of American pork to China more than quadrupled over the same period, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Massive Northern California reservoir project scaled back to reduce costs [San Jose Mercury News]
An ambitious plan to build the largest new reservoir in California in 40 years to supply water to homes and businesses from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, along with Central Valley farmers, is being scaled back considerably amid questions about its $5 billion price tag and how much water it can deliver. Sites Reservoir is proposed for construction in remote ranch lands in Colusa County, about 70 miles north of Sacramento. … But supporters still haven’t found enough to pay all the construction costs. … Backers say the reservoir, which would still be California’s seventh largest, nevertheless remains on track.
Editorial: Don’t give up on the Kern County Fair without a fight [Bakersfield Californian]
… An invisible, deadly virus, combined with years of financial problems, now threatens to permanently close the Kern County Fair. … If the fair is to be saved, directors must reach out to the community and be willing to take a critical look at what its future should be. … If it is to survive into the future, it will need to change. It will need a new focus and the community’s vigorous support.
Bakersfield is seeing some of its cherished institutions killed off by this pandemic. The Kern County Fair does not to have to be among them — at least not without a fight.
