Understaffed and ‘Struggling,’ Central Valley Water Board Trims Programs
The State Water Resources Control Board and its regional branches are facing an uncertain time, and farmers could see the fallout.
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Water’s Not the Issue
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /East Bay Expressby Alastair BlandAs the coronavirus creeps through the human population, causing social and economic turmoil, farmers discard vast quantities of food that they are abruptly unable to sell in the upended economy. The waste has been widely reported as one heartbreaking impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Part of the problem seems to be that, with restaurants closed, vegetable farmers, as well as producers of milk, eggs and meat, wound up with no one to buy their goods.
While Some Farmers Face New Challenges Amid COVID-19, Others Have Found Success
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /KALW San Franciscoby Adreanna RodriguezIn California, farms have not been immune to COVID-19. A Farm Bureau Federation survey recently found that more than half of farms across the state have lost customers or sales due to pandemic. Small family farms are especially vulnerable.
Klamath Farmers Protest Early Water Cutoff
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Ag Alertby Christine SouzaIn two weeks or less, farmers and ranchers near the California-Oregon border will see their water supplies run dry, after operators of the federal Klamath Water Project unexpectedly cut allocations in response to concerns about protected fish.
Farmers Must Diversify in a Post-Pandemic World, Ag Experts Say
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /CalMattersby Kate CiminiAmid the coronavirus pandemic, few industries have been quite as essential to the nation as agriculture.
From pickers crouching for nine hours a day to scoop up strawberries to CEOs making handshake deals to keep their companies afloat, hundreds of thousands of workers are feeding America. But, in many ways, the pandemic is forcing farmers to reevaluate how they do business.
Across California, nearly 60% of farmers have lost significant revenue, washing their milk down drains, beefing their dairy cows and ploughing under their lettuce and other crops, according to surveys carried out by the California Farm Bureau Federation and the Monterey County Office of Agriculture.
What’s at the Heart of California’s Water Wars? Delta Outflow Explained
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Cal Mattersby Jeffrey Mount and Greg GartrellThe latest dustup In California’s water wars, as noted in Dan Walters’ commentary, revolves principally around the federal government’s efforts to increase the amount of water supplied to farms and cities by the Central Valley Project, and a breakdown in cooperation between the state and federal government.
Budget Cuts for SGMA Funding Could Hurt Farmers Later
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Agri Pulseby Brad HookerThe pandemic-induced recession has come at a critical time for water planning in the state. The governor’s administration in January pitched ambitious proposals to help fund the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and cushion its impacts on farmers and local communities. In the May Revision of the budget proposal, however, all but one funding allocation from an earlier proposition have been withdrawn.
Even in Dry Year, Valley Farmers See a Bump in Water Allocation
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The San Joaquin Valley Sunby Alex TavlianFarmers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta received some welcome news on Tuesday.
After a set of spring storms in April, water allocations from the Central Valley Project are increasing almost across the board at a rate of 5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced.
Water users on the westside of the San Joaquin Valley will see a five percent increase in water allocation – from 15 to 20 percent of their contracted amount.
Municipal and industrial users, similarly, saw a five percent bump to 70 percent of their contracted amount of water.
7 Things You Can Do Now to Support San Diego Farms, Food Economy
/in Colorado River Basin, Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Times of San Diegoby Hoa QuachThe San Diego Food System Alliance is calling on San Diego County leaders and residents to recognize the devastating impact COVID-19 is having on our local food system—including food businesses, farms and fisheries, food and farm workers, and food security.
Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s California Water Plan
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /AP NewsA federal court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to pump more water to the agricultural Central Valley, which critics said would threaten endangered species and salmon runs.
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