Still working, farmers take hit during crisis [Bakersfield Californian]
Permission to keep working as an essential activity during California’s stay-at-home order has obviously made a big difference for the state’s farmers. But that doesn’t mean local growers are raking in money during the COVID-19 crisis. … Recent survey results show many California farmers are losing income during the pandemic. … More than 500 farmers responded to a survey the California Farm Bureau Federation conducted in mid-April. Of the 57 percent who reported suffering harm from the pandemic, more than half cited restaurant and other customer closures during the shutdown, the trade group reported.
People want beef. Ranchers have cows. Here’s what’s going wrong [Los Angeles Times]
There’s no shortage of demand for beef. … There’s also no shortage of cattle earmarked to be turned into beef. But prices for those animals have dropped. Sales are down. At a recent livestock auction in the San Joaquin Valley, just a handful of buyers bothered to make an appearance. The problem is in the middle of this pipeline: the crisis at meat plants. … The plants’ diminished capacity means some beef can’t get processed, and that has thrown cold water on the market for cattle: Why pay top dollar for the animals if you might not be able to sell them later? That’s a problem for California, the nation’s fifth-largest cattle-producing state.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-05-12/how-coronavirus-disrupted-california-meat-plants
‘People are really hurting right now.’ How COVID-19 is hitting SLO County farm workers [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
… Like many San Luis Obispo County residents, local farm workers have had to adjust to numerous challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing guidelines. … Aside from financial challenges, health and safety and child care are among the key challenges for undocumented workers like those at local farms. … “I say ‘You really want to do something? Call up your congressman and tell your congressman that we need a good immigration law, a good immigration policy in this country that respects and values the workers.’ ” … Brent Burchett, executive director of the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau, agrees that a more effective worker policy is needed because farms are experiencing labor shortages.
https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article242501121.html
Costa bill could send $25 million to farmers supplying food banks [Salinas Californian]
U.S. representatives on the House Agricultural Subcommittee have banded together to send $25 million to farmers to help harvest food, provided they donate it to food banks. Chairs Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands unveiled a bill Friday they say will help streamline donations by farmers to food banks. … The federal funding proposed Friday by Reps. Costa, Fudge and Plaskett would expand the percentage of costs covered up to 100% on commodities harvested and donated to food banks during the pandemic.
Sonoma County wine tasting rooms seek path to reopen after coronavirus shutdown [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
… Like restaurants, wine tasting rooms are subject to stricter reopening rules that require lower countywide case numbers and deaths, among other metrics established by the state. New guidance unveiled by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday show Sonoma County isn’t yet close to hitting state-mandated metrics for regional reopenings. In response, wineries have laid off employees, halted hiring of seasonal workers and created new business strategies on the fly, all while lobbying, heavily, for the chance to reopen and restore their place in the Sonoma County countryside.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/10949617-181/sonoma-county-wine-tasting-rooms
Federal judge temporarily blocks President Trump’s California delta water plan [Associated Press]
A federal court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to pump more water to the agricultural Central Valley, which critics said would threaten endangered species and salmon runs. A judge issued a preliminary injunction in two lawsuits brought against the administration by California’s Natural Resources Agency and Environmental Protection Agency and by a half-dozen environmental groups. The order bars the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation until May 31 from going ahead with expanding the amount of water it pumps from the San Joaquin Delta through the federal Central Valley Project.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/12/judge-temporarily-blocks-trumps-california-water-plan/
Opinion: Here’s how less than 10% of farmland could solve the Colorado River’s water deficit [Arizona Republic]
… There is a better, more equitable pathway for reducing the deficit without forcing arbitrary cuts. It involves 3 million acres of irrigated agriculture, mostly alfalfa and forage crops, which consume more than 80% of total water use in the basin. By retiring less than 10% of this irrigated acreage from production, we could eliminate the existing million acre-foot overdraft on the Colorado River, while still maintaining the dominant role of agriculture. … It’s time to create an Irrigation Reserve Program. To work, it must be voluntary, and farmers who participate must be adequately paid for the use of their irrigation rights.
