Farmers urged to think big and small to survive groundwater cutbacks [Bakersfield Californian]
The thinking started small and then grew much bigger at a gathering Tuesday in Bakersfield that was intended to provide a “survival toolkit” for farmers and water managers facing drastic restrictions on Central Valley groundwater pumping. Irrigation and other technical specialists opened the meeting by promoting ways to maximize the region’s existing water resources….By the end of the day, however, isolationism gave way to calls for unity as speakers asserted that the only real solution was to increase the region’s water supply by as much as 10 million acre-feet per year on average by diverting water south from the Sacramento Delta.
San Diego farmers find innovative solutions to climate change problems [KGTV-TV, San Diego]
San Diego County farmers are finding innovative solutions to problems brought on by climate change. “It’s getting hotter and drier, and we’re in longer, more frequent droughts,” says Al Stehly, who manages 15 farms in the North County. “So we have to use the water we do have better.”…The County Farm Bureau agrees, saying it’s up to farmers to get creative when they plant….”We are forced to adapt,” says Farm Bureau Executive Director Hannah Gbeh. “Facing global climate change, our farmers come up with the most innovative solutions possible.”
As valley fever education increases, so does the infection’s reach [Cronkite News – Arizona PBS]
By Grayson Schmidt, Cronkite News | Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019
California and Arizona make up more than 95% of all U.S. cases of valley fever – an infection caused by a fungus that lives in soil in the Southwest – largely because they share arid climates and have an abundance of outdoor workers. New research finds that as climate change alters American landscapes in the coming decades, valley fever has the potential to spread far beyond the Southwest….Farm laborers and construction workers are particularly susceptible to contracting valley fever because those who work the soil are more likely to inhale the spores.
https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2019/11/05/valley-fever-education/
Editorial: Regulatory mop up at the court [Wall Street Journal]
…The Clean Water Act identifies an exhaustive list of pollutants including sand and dirt that may not be discharged into “navigable waters” without an EPA permit. Over the years the EPA and courts have extended the law to non-navigable streams, ponds and canals. The Obama EPA’s attempt to add prairie potholes and backyard ponds was stopped by the Trump Administration. Environmental groups now argue that the Clean Water Act also covers groundwater discharges since pollutants can seep from soil into “navigable waters.”
Opinion: Farmer: I won’t vote for Trump again without an end to high tariffs, trade war with China [USA TODAY]
…I am among those Americans who twice cast my vote for President Barack Obama and then supported President Trump in 2016. But my breaking point with the current president came when I realized his trade war had caused 20% losses for the 750-acre family farm I help run in western Pennsylvania….And for more than a year now, instead of progress, we’ve seen empty promises. Instead of bringing down tariffs, at best we have seen temporary pauses and at worst we’ve seen tariffs go even higher. Instead of delivering open markets, we’ve been given Band-Aid subsidies that fail to stem the bleeding.
Opinion: ‘Plant-based meat’ is all hat and no cattle [Wall Street Journal]
Plant-based burgers aren’t healthier than meat, despite their health halo….Fake meats are ultra-processed, according to the NOVA food classification system….Nearly 40% of consumers say they eat plant-based products to avoid processed foods. Will they keep eating faux meat when they find out the truth about it?… In 2013 “gluten-free” was the health craze. Companies left and right were adding gluten-free consumer options. As studies revealed gluten-free products weren’t healthier or necessary, except for consumers with unusual medical conditions, the trend faded away.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/plant-based-meat-is-all-hat-and-no-cattle-11572997943?mod=hp_opin_pos_2
