Strange bedfellows? Westlands and San Francisco share common ground [Fresno Bee]
and San Francisco face identical problems, but plans to keep more water flowing in the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers – leaving less for irrigators and cities – is bringing the two together….It remains to be seen if Westlands and San Francisco’s water entity would ever work together on the issue….For both rural irrigators and urban entities, the plan, if adopted, would mean 7 to 23 percent less water being diverted for their use, according to state figures….But it was a similar proposal for the Sacramento River sent a shock wave through Westlands.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/article217855050.html
Food safety scares are up in 2018. Here’s why you shouldn’t freak out [NPR]
…Twenty years ago, this outbreak may have been hidden….Today, the tests yield quick results — within an hour or two — and can detect many common pathogens at once….Since we tend to hear more about foodborne illness outbreaks, there’s a perception that the risk has gone up. But, is our food supply any more or less safe than it used to be? All the experts I spoke with had similar answers. “There’s really no evidence that our food supply is more unsafe than it has been in the past,” Dudley told us.
Pesticide used in SLO County might harm children — and now it’s been banned by a federal court [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
A federal court order could ban a pesticide used by growers throughout San Luis Obispo County as soon as this month due to environmental concerns about its safety. In a rebuke to the Trump administration, an appeals court in August ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban chlorpyrifos, a chemical that environmentalists say can damage the nervous systems of farmworkers, their children and even consumers….In San Luis Obispo County, chlorpyrifos-based pesticides are used to control pests from Cayucos to Nipomo, according to San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture data obtained through a California Public Records Act request.
https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/environment/article218016000.html
Bayer officials vague on lawsuit strategy, despite liability [Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting]
It’s been nearly three weeks since the merger between Bayer AG and Monsanto officially began its integration, about two months since the deal closed and nearly two years since the planned deal was announced. Despite that, newly appointed Bayer officials are vague on how they plan to handle the mountain of lawsuits inherited from Monsanto over pesticides such as glyphosate and dicamba….But at the recent Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, Brett Begemann, Bayer’s new chief operating officer and former Monsanto executive, was non-committal on the newly integrated company’s approach.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article217983710.html
U.S. Agriculture chief says NAFTA deal must end Canada’s milk protein scheme [Reuters]
Canada must end its low-price milk proteins policy to reach a U.S.-Canadian deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said. Canada has encouraged overproduction and flooded export markets for milk proteins used in cheese and yogurt, hurting U.S. dairy farmers, Perdue said in an interview aired on Sunday on C-SPAN television….White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow last week said milk was the main issue standing in the way of a NAFTA deal.
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/09/09/business/09reuters-trade-nafta-dairy.html
Large animal evacuation group forms in Solano [Vacaville Reporter]
Time and again a group of Solano residents with trucks and trailers have been tapped to help horse and livestock owners escape the clutches of wildfires. So following a disaster preparedness presentation earlier this year, they made it official — creating the Solano Voluntary Emergency Livestock Team. The goal is to have a large base of FEMA-trained volunteers who can help transport large animals when voluntary evacuations are called. Eventually, the team aims to become credentialed disaster workers for the county.
http://www.thereporter.com/general-news/20180908/large-animal-evacuation-group-forms-in-solano
