House passes farmworker bill on bipartisan vote [Fresno Bee]
The House on a bipartisan vote Wednesday passed what’s commonly known as the farmworker bill….It passed on a 260-165 vote arrived at after nearly two years of negotiations between House Democrats and Republicans. Now, it faces even more uncertainty in the Senate. “Though we’re heartened by the House vote, we realize there’s a lot of work still needed to advance this legislation to the president,” California Farm Bureau Federation president Jamie Johansson said in a release….More than 300 industry groups including the United Farm Workers have backed the measure.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article238296798.html
Coli Outbreaks in Lettuce Point to Gaps in Food Safety [Wall Street JournalE. coli illnesses linked to romaine lettuce show how U.S. regulators continue to struggle with identifying which farms spark an outbreak and stopping it from spreading….Officials have improved their ability to track ingredients and pathogens in the U.S. food chain….But determining the root cause of an outbreak remains difficult….Government experts have been studying the environment where the E. coli outbreaks in romaine originated and are working with the industry’s newly established Romaine Task Force to figure out ways to make leafy greens safer.
U.S. Makes Tariff-Cut Offer to China as Tariff Deadline Nears [Wall Street Journal]
U.S. negotiators have offered to slash existing tariffs by as much as half on roughly $360 billion of Chinese-made goods as well as to cancel a new round of levies set to take effect Sunday, according to people briefed on the matter, as the two sides work toward a limited trade deal that could help prevent their shaky relationship from worsening….The offer to reduce tariffs was made in roughly the past five days, the people said, and in exchange, the U.S. side has demanded Beijing make firm commitments to purchase large quantities of U.S. agricultural and other products, better protect U.S. intellectual-property rights and widen access to China’s financial-services sector….Negotiations are grinding on.
Opinion: Open trade with our neighbors is a win for the Central Valley [Bakersfield Californian]
…A pending new trade agreement with our neighboring countries would replace existing outdated trade policies and modernize trade with our two largest trading partners. Once enacted, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), among other things, would give California dairy farmers access to Canadian and Mexican markets….The USMCA would also eliminate trade barriers, expand market access for agricultural products, modernize digital trade and offer transparency for many industries. The opportunities in this trade deal would benefit many agricultural industries….This modern trade deal is a clear victory for agriculture and our Central Valley, home to several of the nation’s top agricultural producing counties.
No-hemp zones supported for unincorporated Ventura County in hearing [Ventura County Star]
Reacting to complaints about the smell of hemp, Ventura County supervisors are supporting the adoption of zones near populated areas and schools where planting of the newly legalized crop would be prohibited. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors directed staff Tuesday to return with an ordinance establishing half-mile buffers around the 10 cities and an array of unincorporated areas including Somis and the Santa Rosa Valley….Industrialized hemp was expected to be a lucrative crop for growers in Ventura County after Congress legalized it for commercial production last year. But angry homeowners and city officials have called for temporary moratoriums to limit production while officials figure out ways to mitigate the smell.
California commission lists yellow-legged frog as endangered [Associated Press]
The state Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday approved protections for five of six populations of the foothill yellow-legged frog….The commission voted to list the frogs as endangered in the Southern Sierra, central and southern coasts. Populations in the Northern Sierra and the Feather River will be listed as threatened….The tiny, pebbly-skinned frogs were once found from Los Angeles County to the Oregon border but their populations have shrunk thanks to threats from human encroachment, dams, climate change, pollution and activities ranging from logging and mining to marijuana growing.
