California rainstorm moves south; shelter-in-place ordered for Alisal burn zone [Los Angeles Times]
The powerful storm that walloped Northern California over the weekend moved into the Southland on Monday, carrying with it the potential for localized flooding, strong winds and debris flows across the region. The atmospheric river event will probably peak in Los Angeles around midday Monday and could dump up to an inch and a half of rain on downtown L.A. The Santa Lucia mountains in San Luis Obispo County could see as much as 5 inches, and roadway flooding and debris flows in recent burn areas are possible. The system is “unusual for this time of year in terms of its strength,” said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “It’s a very, very powerful storm.” The first major storm of the season has already shattered records.
Downtown Sacramento had an all-time-record 24-hour rainfall total of 5.44 inches, surpassing a mark set in 1880, officials announced early Monday. Blue Canyon in Placer County received 10.4 inches, breaking its previous record from 1964.
USDA readies to distribute $1.15B for rural broadband [Politico]
The USDA announced Friday that it will begin making available up to $1.15 billion to help connect rural communities to broadband.
Focus on least-connected communities: The department will begin accepting applications on Nov. 24 for loans and grants via its ReConnect Program, with a focus on less-populated regions that have some of the slowest internet speeds in the country. Certain projects on tribal lands and socially vulnerable communities will be eligible to have projects fully paid for by federal grants. Smaller, rural cooperatives set to benefit most from the broadband funding applauded the move. Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, said changes to the federal program “will allow electric cooperatives and other broadband providers to offer service to many more unserved and underserved rural communities.”
But broadband trade groups, including the Rural Broadband Association, criticized USDA’s move as “disappointing” and unfair to commercial providers by “includ[ing] a preference for certain kinds of non-profit providers rather than for all of those community-based operators.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/22/usda-rural-broadband-funding-516820
Bountiful pistachios, fewer almonds shape price outlook for Kern nut growers [Bakersfield Californian]
Optimism is holding as the year in tree nuts comes into clearer focus for Kern’s almond and pistachio growers. California’s almond crop is officially estimated as 10 percent smaller than last year’s — welcome news after sluggish prices last year — while there are suggestions pistachios may tie last year’s record haul amid solid demand. Signs look more positive for almonds than pistachios mainly because of supply expectations, but it remains to be seen exactly how the supply-demand balance will work out this year for growers of Kern’s third and fourth top-grossing crops behind grapes and citrus. Almonds brought county growers $1.1 billion in 2020, pistachios $945 million. McKittrick-area almond grower Don Davis said his crop this year was down about 10 percent, same as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s estimate for the state’s crop as a whole. He attributes the decline in his crop to a dry winter, adding some farms have been hit harder than others by insect damage. “I think we needed a correction,” he said. “We need to sell more almonds or grow less almonds.”
Dollars in the dirt: Big Ag pays farmers for control of their soil-bound carbon [Reuters]
The biggest global agriculture companies are competing on a new front: enticing farmers to join programs that keep atmosphere-warming carbon dioxide in the soil. Fertilizer producers Nutrien Ltd (NTR.TO) and Yara (YAR.OL), agribusiness giant Cargill Inc (CARG.UL), and seed and chemical dealers Corteva Inc (CTVA.N) and Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) are paying growers for every acre of land dedicated to trapping carbon underground, known as sequestering it. The companies’ ambitions stretch from the United States to Canada, Brazil, Europe and India, executives told Reuters. Farmers capture carbon by planting off-season crops, tilling the ground less and using fertilizer more efficiently. They log their practices on digital platforms to generate a carbon credit. Agricultural companies use the credits to offset the climate impact of other parts of their businesses or sell them to companies looking to reduce their own carbon footprints.
Agriculture covers nearly 40% of the world’s land and is responsible for 17% of global emissions, according to the United Nations. Changes to farm practices could sequester as much as 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually in the United States, or 4% of the country’s emissions, according to a 2019 report by the National Academy of Sciences.
After California wildfire, thousands of trees to be removed [The Associated Press]
In the wake of California wildfires, upwards of 10,000 trees weakened by fires, drought, disease or age must be removed, work that will keep a nearby highway closed to visitors who seek the world’s two largest sequoia trees. The hazard trees could potentially fall onto people and cars on the section of State Route 180 known as Generals Highway, or they could create barriers for emergency and fire response, the Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks said Friday. The highway has been closed due to the KNP Complex blaze and will remain blocked off to visitors after the fire is out while saw crews cut down trees and trim branches. Recent storms have helped contain some of the nation’s largest wildfires this year, including one that threatened the popular Lake Tahoe resort region this summer and is now 100% contained after snow blanketed the western side of the blaze and rain dropped on the eastern side. But this week’s storms won’t end drought that’s plaguing California and the western United States.
New goats at high school create new learning opportunities [Imperial Valley Press]
Billy and Nugget have brought curiosity and excitement to teacher Shanna Abatti’s agriculture classes at Southwest High School. Billy and Nugget are baby goats that arrived at the school on Aug. 16. They are expected to help students attain new learning opportunities and experiences. The goats will be used to be both interactive and more active in the classroom. This project will lead students into potential agricultural careers and teach students responsibility. The money made through raising the goats will go to future animal projects. “We’ll raise them to when they’re market ready and sell them to keep the project going next year,” teacher Shanna Abbatti said. “Our hope is that students and administration find value in educational components and the immense amount of educational opportunities.”
