Latino population hardest hit by pandemic in California [KSBW TV, Salinas]
…During a zoom informational meeting Wednesday morning it was announced by the California Latino Legislative Caucus that Latinos account for 60-percent of statewide COVID infections and 49-percent of all COVID-related deaths. … According to Rivas, ag workers are 3-times more likely to get infected with COVID and they are twice as likely to be uninsured. Fieldworkers are considered essential workers, providing the backbone for the largest ag producing state in the nation, for that reason Rivas says they should be high on the list when a vaccine becomes available.
https://www.ksbw.com/article/latino-population-hardest-hit-by-pandemic-in-california/34719945
Weary but determined, California’s small, family-owned farms fight through the pandemic [Los Angeles Times]
…The novel coronavirus has wreaked havoc on every aspect of the food industry. It’s been particularly taxing on California’s smaller farms, some of which have seen their restaurant orders all but vanish and their farmers markets sales decline because of decreased foot traffic. Surviving this crisis has meant being nimble, making difficult choices, and having to guess what the demand will be like six months or a year in the future.
https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2020-11-19/california-independent-farmers-markets-coronavirus
Small turkeys are in high demand this Thanksgiving. Good luck finding one [Los Angeles Times]
Americans prize colossal Thanksgiving turkeys — hulking burnished centerpiece beasts that make the dinner table groan….But Thanksgiving gatherings will be smaller this year, and turkeys, too, are getting downsized. That’s affecting the entire supply chain as consumers, butchers, meat suppliers, grocers and chefs jostle to secure slender birds for the holiday, when a staggering 46 million are eaten. In many cases, it’s already too late: The little ones were spoken for long ago….Just 40% of the turkeys sold this month at Gelson’s have exceeded 16 pounds, down from 80% in a normal November, said Paul Kneeland, the grocery chain’s vice president of fresh operations.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-11-19/small-thanksgiving-turkeys
Tehachapi Mountains receives wine growing designation [Bakersfield Californian]
After years of hard work, Tehachapi Mountains has received accreditation for its award-winning wines. On Wednesday, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, announced that local vintners can now label their bottles of wine as the Tehachapi Mountains American Viticultural Area. Established by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, this action will allow Tehachapi wines to compete with other well-known AVAs in the state such as Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles. There are currently 251 AVAs in the United States, including 140 in California. Jim Arnold, Triassic Vineyards’ owner and president of Tehachapi Wine Growers Commission, was instrumental in the Tehachapi Mountains receiving its AVA accreditation.
This Berkeley winemaker lost most of his 2020 red wines to smoke taint. So he fermented some pears [San Francisco Chronicle]
The third Thursday in November is a hallowed day in certain wine circles, as the traditional release date for nouveau wines — the just-bottled wines of this year’s harvest. …Like many of his peers, Charles chose not to make a significant portion of his wine production this year due to wildfire smoke. In his case, his red wine output is down about 75%. Vinca Minor’s specialty is Carignan from Mendocino County, one of many California regions that got buffetted by smoke around peak harvesttime in August and September….One of his wine growers in Mendocino also farms hundreds of acres of pear trees alongside the grapes. That gave Charles’ colleague Cassidy Miller — who also has her own label, Buddy Buddy Wines — an idea. To make up for some of the lost wine, why not ferment some pears?
Salmon reclamation project gets boost [Chico Enterprise-Record]
Nearly five years ago, a Chico State research team led by Mandy Banet, an aquatic ecologist in the Department of Biological Sciences, joined a multi-agency project funded by a $16.9 million grant to re-establish juvenile salmon and salmonid habitats along the Sacramento River. Recently, Chico State Enterprises received a $10 million grant from the United States Bureau of Reclamation over five years to help restore 47.3 acres of juvenile salmon habitat and 4.3 acres of spawning habitat along the upper Sacramento River. Susan Strachan of the Chico State Geographical Information Center is the project manager. Project partners are the Sacramento River Forum, the California Department of Water Resources, River Partners, the Yurok Tribe, Tussing Ecological Sciences and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
https://www.chicoer.com/2020/11/19/salmon-reclamation-project-gets-boost/
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