Westlands Water District gets permanent U.S. contract for massive irrigation deliveries [Los Angeles Times]
The Interior Department on Friday awarded the nation’s largest farm water district a permanent entitlement to annual irrigation deliveries that amount to roughly twice as much water as the nearly 4 million residents of Los Angeles use in a year. Gaining a permanent contract for so much cheap Central Valley Project water represents a major milestone for Westlands Water District, which supplies some of the state’s wealthiest growers and has long-standing ties to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. But the new pact, which would take effect June 1, provides no refuge for Westlands from California’s acrimonious water wars.
A Trump insider embeds climate denial in scientific research [New York Times]
An official at the Interior Department embarked on a campaign that has inserted misleading language about climate change — including debunked claims that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is beneficial — into the agency’s scientific reports, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. The misleading language appears in at least nine reports, including environmental studies and impact statements on major watersheds in the American West that could be used to justify allocating increasingly scarce water to farmers at the expense of wildlife conservation and fisheries….The misleading language appears in environmental studies and impact statements affecting major watersheds including the Klamath and Upper Deschutes river basins in California and Oregon, which provide critical habitat for spawning salmon and other wildlife.
Unusual warm temperatures in February means record-setting dryness for the Valley [KFSN-TV, Fresno]
With California rain totals falling short, February 2020 is now in the books for record-setting dryness. The unseasonably warm temperatures throughout the month prompted early blossoms bringing picturesque views found throughout the Valley. Experts say overnight lows Sunday and Monday aren’t likely to damage the blossoms as long as temperatures stay above freezing. “It’s just a very short-term dip which is not uncommon for this time of year, so hopefully we don’t see any impacts,” says Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of Fresno County Farm Bureau….Some farmers are already irrigating. “This year it’s been so dry, a lot of farmers have had to turn on their pumps simply to get some moisture in the ground because it’s dried out so significantly,” Jacobsen said.
Warm, dry bloom conditions give hope to local almond growers [Bakersfield Californian]
If not for a certain nagging doubt, this year’s nearly perfect almond bloom would be cause for celebration among local growers….”It’s the best pollination season we’ve had in a really long time,” said grower Holly King, chairwoman of the Almond Board of California. Experts say there’s a good chance the strong conditions could result in a record crop. But because frost could still threaten the nutlets being formed in the coming months, King added, “we aren’t out of the woods yet.” Then there’s the matter of last year’s crop….Even Arvin almond grower John Moore III, president of the Kern County Farm Bureau, said last year’s bumper crop was confusing. If anything, it shows how hard it is to make predictions about agriculture.
Elizabeth Warren unveils farmworkers’ rights plan [Los Angeles Times]
Sen. Elizabeth Warren unveiled a plan for farmworker and food chain employee rights Monday that would bolster federal safety protections and workers’ access to basic rights. The Massachusetts senator’s proposal comes the day before Super Tuesday, when voters cast ballots in 14 states including California, home to about a third of the nation’s farmworkers, many of whom are in the country illegally….She commits to including farmworkers in the fight for a $15 minimum wage and supports replacing the H2-A agricultural guest worker visa program, under which labor contractors and farms have been accused of housing law violations and wage theft, with an immigrant worker visa.
Opinion: How, now, would more cow power help CA’s Central Valley? It absolutely would not [Modesto Bee]
Despite what the dairy industry will tell you, cow power isn’t clean….Expanding methane capture for biogas means we will need even larger dairies that put the health of often low-income communities of color at greater risk. Digesters likely encourage increased herd sizes and incentivize greater concentration of dairies around energy infrastructure, to generate greater revenue from energy production….Although some promote biogas as clean energy and so-called renewable natural gas, biogas is neither clean nor renewable.
https://www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article240632507.html
