Agriculture

Agriculture

Despite recent rains and record snowpack, California’s drought is far from over

The Department of Water Resources announced an increase in allocations from 5 percent to 30 percent of requested water. For agriculture, the increased allocations mean approximately 10 million acre feet of water for the nearly 10 million acres of irrigated farmland in the state or enough water to cover every ...
Agriculture

Pork producers await the SCOTUS decision on Prop 12

The law, approved by California voters back in 2018, would require pork producers to give hogs in commercial settings 24-square-feet of housing space in which they would not come in contact with another pig. It also bans gestation crates and requires any pork coming into the state to follow the ...
Agriculture

CARB’s plan to covert farms to organic practices may push food producers out of California

When hunting for fresh produce, we are taught to look for the “ideal” fruit or vegetable. Sweet corn cobs have their husks unceremoniously pulled down, apples are squeezed and scrutinized, onions are sniffed and scoured for the tightest skin, all in the name of finding the “best” version available. A ...
Agriculture

What’s in a label? Ag should re-evaluate its belief in COOL

The global marketplace provides a vast array of food choices and helps to regulate prices by providing out of season food at nearly any time of year. “Where” food comes from can help consumers make choices about what is important to them – affordability, fair wages for farmworkers, use of ...
Agriculture

Klamath Project Could Hurt Generational Farmers and Ranchers

Governor Newsom issued a press release stating, “Today we celebrate a historic victory for the health of the Klamath River and the well-being of all the communities, livelihoods and ecosystems that depend on this vital waterway” while posing in a picture with Oregon Governor Kate Brown, US Secretary of the ...
Agriculture

NPPC, SCOTUS get a reprieve from Prop 12 implementation

Some good news for pork producers nationwide: implementation of Prop 12 has been delayed. On Sept. 1, the Superior Court of Sacramento approved implementation of Prop 12 after a 180-day preparation period. The 180-day period would have given producers until Feb. 28, 2023, to implement all the housing rules of ...
Agriculture

Taking The Bread Out Of California’s Breadbasket

Extremism in the pursuit of environmental policy might not be a vice, but it’s never a virtue. See: California’s plan to convert 20 percent of its agricultural operations to organic practices by 2045. The transition is part of the California Air Resources Board’s Scoping Plan To Achieve Carbon Neutrality. Apparently, ...
Agriculture

Prop 12 has its day in court: will California being the undoing of our national economy?

In 2018, the voters of California supported Proposition 12 as an animal welfare measure that would ban the sale of pork in their state harvested from animals housed in pens smaller than 24 square feet. Prop 12 went into effect on Jan. 1, effectively forcing pork producers in the United ...
Agriculture

Hope for WOTUS changes after Supreme Court hearing

Imagine every highway speed limit in the United States changing every few years to a government official’s determination of a “safe” speed. In some ways the interpretation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule is similar. When the federal administration changes, the interpretation of the WOTUS changes to ...
Agriculture

Can big cities become an agricultural hotbed?

Over 4 billion people have joined the global population in the last 50 years, putting stress on available farmland, water and fertilizer. At the same time, the capacity of the planet to absorb farm waste – toxic farm runoff contaminating aquifers and rivers – has stretched the limit. Nearly 8 ...
Agriculture

Despite recent rains and record snowpack, California’s drought is far from over

The Department of Water Resources announced an increase in allocations from 5 percent to 30 percent of requested water. For agriculture, the increased allocations mean approximately 10 million acre feet of water for the nearly 10 million acres of irrigated farmland in the state or enough water to cover every ...
Agriculture

Pork producers await the SCOTUS decision on Prop 12

The law, approved by California voters back in 2018, would require pork producers to give hogs in commercial settings 24-square-feet of housing space in which they would not come in contact with another pig. It also bans gestation crates and requires any pork coming into the state to follow the ...
Agriculture

CARB’s plan to covert farms to organic practices may push food producers out of California

When hunting for fresh produce, we are taught to look for the “ideal” fruit or vegetable. Sweet corn cobs have their husks unceremoniously pulled down, apples are squeezed and scrutinized, onions are sniffed and scoured for the tightest skin, all in the name of finding the “best” version available. A ...
Agriculture

What’s in a label? Ag should re-evaluate its belief in COOL

The global marketplace provides a vast array of food choices and helps to regulate prices by providing out of season food at nearly any time of year. “Where” food comes from can help consumers make choices about what is important to them – affordability, fair wages for farmworkers, use of ...
Agriculture

Klamath Project Could Hurt Generational Farmers and Ranchers

Governor Newsom issued a press release stating, “Today we celebrate a historic victory for the health of the Klamath River and the well-being of all the communities, livelihoods and ecosystems that depend on this vital waterway” while posing in a picture with Oregon Governor Kate Brown, US Secretary of the ...
Agriculture

NPPC, SCOTUS get a reprieve from Prop 12 implementation

Some good news for pork producers nationwide: implementation of Prop 12 has been delayed. On Sept. 1, the Superior Court of Sacramento approved implementation of Prop 12 after a 180-day preparation period. The 180-day period would have given producers until Feb. 28, 2023, to implement all the housing rules of ...
Agriculture

Taking The Bread Out Of California’s Breadbasket

Extremism in the pursuit of environmental policy might not be a vice, but it’s never a virtue. See: California’s plan to convert 20 percent of its agricultural operations to organic practices by 2045. The transition is part of the California Air Resources Board’s Scoping Plan To Achieve Carbon Neutrality. Apparently, ...
Agriculture

Prop 12 has its day in court: will California being the undoing of our national economy?

In 2018, the voters of California supported Proposition 12 as an animal welfare measure that would ban the sale of pork in their state harvested from animals housed in pens smaller than 24 square feet. Prop 12 went into effect on Jan. 1, effectively forcing pork producers in the United ...
Agriculture

Hope for WOTUS changes after Supreme Court hearing

Imagine every highway speed limit in the United States changing every few years to a government official’s determination of a “safe” speed. In some ways the interpretation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule is similar. When the federal administration changes, the interpretation of the WOTUS changes to ...
Agriculture

Can big cities become an agricultural hotbed?

Over 4 billion people have joined the global population in the last 50 years, putting stress on available farmland, water and fertilizer. At the same time, the capacity of the planet to absorb farm waste – toxic farm runoff contaminating aquifers and rivers – has stretched the limit. Nearly 8 ...
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