US farmers hope Trump delivers on trade deal with Japan [Associated Press]
American farmers have not only endured retaliatory tariffs from China and other nations, they’ve watched as most of their top foreign competitors used free trade agreements to make inroads into Japan, a historically protectionist market with nearly 127 million consumers. Now they’re wondering if the coming U.S.-Japan trade deal that President Donald Trump is showcasing will be as strong for farmers as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was negotiated under President Barack Obama and ditched by Trump as soon as he took office….The president, in need of some wins on the trade front, has said the U.S. and Japan have agreed in principle on a new trade pact that the two parties hope to make official later this month….Trade talks involving the Trump administration tend to be subject to fits and starts. Farm groups are hoping for no setbacks.
https://www.apnews.com/65f4fce7ae784b16a9d85c56df057889
Shortage of local processing centers hampers Camp Fire tree removal [Chico Enterprise-Record]
The Camp Fire left a staggering million trees dead or dying — at least — and the logs have almost nowhere to go. Because Butte County has a dearth of local sawmills and biomass power plants, the high costs of transporting logs hours away is hampering the removal of burned trees….So local officials are now considering a slate of options to process the trees locally, from restarting a biomass power plant in Oroville to building a wood-powered heating and cooling system in Paradise….The shortage of local tree processing sites is part of a statewide trend.
As almond harvest picks up, so does the dust [KBAK-TV, Bakersfield]
…During the peak of harvest season, dust from almond orchards can create havoc for drivers….Jenny Holterman, a 4th generation California farmer and a local almond farmer, said harvest time is something the Central Valley must pay attention to….Farms do take precautions to limit the amount of dust harvesting creates. It starts with prepping their orchard floors to get rid of any divots where dust can hide. And the equipment has gotten more advanced too. “So, there’s a series of new technologies involved in our equipment over the last several years that have really helped alleviate some of that [dust],” Holterman said.
https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/as-almond-harvest-picks-up-so-does-the-dust
Canal plans to bypass subsidence with 30-mile parallel path [Sun-Gazette Newspaper]
As the old saying goes, if you can’t go through something, go around it. And at an estimated cost of $357 million, the Friant Water Authority (FWA) is contemplating a 30-mile parallel canal to circumvent the portion of the Friant Kern Canal (FKC) that has been negatively affected by subsidence. Under the “Capacity Correction Project” the FWA is attempting to find a solution to the portion of the FKC that has lost 60% of it’s conveyance capacity, due to subsidence….After some serious study of alternatives, Friant is now focusing on the idea of building a parallel canal to the east of the existing Friant Kern near Porterville. Friant Water Authority’s Chief of External Affairs Johnny Amaral says the board has selected this 30-mile parallel canal as its “preferred alternative” to fix the problem.
California becomes first state to ban fur trapping after Gov. Newsom signs law [Los Angeles Times]
California has enacted a new ban on fur trapping for animal pelts, making it the first state to outlaw a centuries-old livelihood that was intertwined with the rise of the Western frontier. The Wildlife Protection Act of 2019, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, prohibits commercial or recreational trapping on both public and private lands….Under the law, using traps to catch gophers, house mice, rats, moles and voles would still be permitted….The Wildlife Protection Act of 2019 argues that the small number of active trappers in the state cannot afford to pay the full cost of implementing and regulating their industry as required by law.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-04/fur-trapping-ban-california-law
Fewer U.S. households are going hungry. But cuts in food aid loom [NPR]
…In a new report released Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that about 11 percent of households — just over 14 million — had trouble putting enough food on the table last year and that in about 4 percent of households, someone went hungry because there was not enough money to buy food. While the numbers are high, they have steadily dropped in recent years and the government says that the level of what it calls food “insecurity” is finally back to where it was before the Great Recession began in 2007….The decline in the number of food-insecure households comes as the Trump administration has proposed tightening eligibility for some food aid programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps.
