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Fishing Groups Sue Federal Agencies Over Latest Water Plan For California

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter Fimrite

The fracas over California’s scarce water supplies will tumble into a San Francisco courtroom after a lawsuit was filed this week claiming the federal government’s plan to loosen previous restrictions on water deliveries to farmers is a blueprint for wiping out fish.

Environmental and fishing groups sued the the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monday for allegedly failing to protect chinook salmon, steelhead trout and delta smelt.

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San Diego County Water Authority Special Agricultural Water Rate program

New Agricultural Water Rate Program Benefits San Diego County Growers

/in , /by

The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors Nov. 21 approved a new and permanent Special Agricultural Water Rate program structure that offers lower water rates to farmers in exchange for lower water supply reliability.

Unlike the current temporary program, the structure of the new water rate program will let new participants join as a way to strengthen the region’s multi-billion-dollar agriculture industry.

New ag water program rates will be determined in the spring of 2020 as part of the Water Authority’s annual rate-setting process. The program will take effect January 1, 2021, replacing the current program that sunsets at the end of 2020. Additional program details, such as the signup process and qualifying criteria, also will be developed early next year.

Special water rate program supports regional farm economy

Farmers and growers who participate in the new program will continue to receive a lower level of water service during water shortages or emergencies, allowing the Water Authority to reallocate those supplies to commercial and industrial customers, who pay for full reliability benefits.  In exchange, participating farmers are exempt from fixed water storage and supply reliability charges. Under the current temporary program in 2020, participants will pay $1,231 per acre-foot for treated water, while municipal and industrial users will pay $1,686 per acre-foot.

“Creating a permanent program will benefit all regional water users,” said Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer. “It helps farmers sustain their operations – and thousands of jobs – while providing a benefit to residential and commercial water customers in the event of future water supply reductions.”

San Diego County leads nation in production of nursery crops and avocados

“Every farmer in the county supports the special rate,” said Hannah Gbeh, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau. “The agriculture community stands ready to provide significant water cutbacks in times of need, such as drought or emergency repairs.”

San Diego County is unusual among major metropolitan areas in the United States because it includes one of the nation’s most valuable and productive farm sectors adjacent to one of the nation’s largest cities.The region sustains 3.3 million people and a $231 billion economy thanks to decades of regional investments in water supply reliability projects, including the nation’s largest seawater desalination plant and the biggest conservation-and-transfer agreement in U.S. history.

Input from growers and farmers for agricultural water rate program

The Water Authority has provided lower-cost water to growers in exchange for lower reliability since October 2008, when the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California phased out a similar program. Since that time, the temporary Water Authority program has continued with a series of extensions set to expire at the end of 2020.

The new program was developed by the Water Authority’s Fiscal Sustainability Task Force, which is assessing a variety of issues to ensure the agency’s long-term financial health. Regional farming leaders provided input to the task force on the parameters of the new program.

CVWD Approves Taking On Debt For First Time For $40 Million Oasis Farm Pipeline

/in , , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.)by Janet Wilson

The Coachella Valley Water District on Monday approved taking on outside financing for what is believed to be the first time in its 101-year history for a $40 million pipeline to bring more Colorado River water to the region’s farmers, freeing up valuable groundwater for other uses.

A majority of the board voted Monday at a special meeting to give staff the go-ahead to pursue short-term, low-interest “bridge” financing for the Oasis pipeline project, by drawing on a $75 million line of credit CVWD obtained with Bank of the West on July 1.

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California Wineries, Fearing Recession, Cut Grape Output. Farmers Are Worried

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Esther Mobley

Paul Johnson farms 450 acres of wine grapes in Monterey County for his family’s Johnson Vineyard Co. Normally, a range of local wineries, under multiyear contracts, buy his Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. But after last year’s harvest, Johnson began to worry when no winery clients renewed their contracts.

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Appetite For California Almonds Still Growing, But Farmers Feel Squeeze From New Water Rules

/in , , /by /Sacramento Beeby Candice Wang

The California almond has proved resilient under fire. During the late years of California’s most recent drought, from 2015 through 2016, the almond came under attack from a variety of sources, including news outlets such as Mother Jones, Forbes and the New Republic, labeling it a horticultural vampire. It was, they said, sucking California’s groundwater reserves dry, leaving behind brittle, drought-stricken trees and causing the dusty land in San Joaquin County to cave in. But the nut and the crop have not just survived, but thrived.

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Amid Climate-Linked Drought, Farmers Turn To New Water Sources. Those Are Drying Up Too.

/in , , /by /Forbesby Fiona Burlig and Louis Preonas

Summer is the center of the growing season for many American crops. But as already warm summers start to heat up with climate change, what impact could this have on crops? As one example, without policy changes, two of the most important crops in the United States—corn and wheat— could see yield declines upwards of 80% in the Midwest.

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San Diego’s Farmer Of The Year Taps Every Drop

/in , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Growing water-intensive crops like avocados in San Diego County is no small feat. Producing avocados requires the use of innovative farming methods to supply the trees with enough water. It’s the use of innovative farming methods that earned John Burr the title of San Diego County’s Farmer of the Year – an honor he recently celebrated on KUSI-TV with Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer as part of the agency’s Brought to You by Water outreach and education program. Over the past few months, the Water Authority partnered with local agriculture industry leaders like the San Diego County Farm Bureau to highlight the importance of safe and reliable water supplies for more than 5,500 local farms that are part of the county’s $4.8 billion agriculture industry.

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What State Has The Greatest Percentage Of Beginning Farmers?

/in , /by /Farm Progress (St. Charles, Ill.)

The 2017 Census of Agriculture was released April 11. Here’s a few findings from the report. Alaska ranks first in the percent of producers who are beginning farmers, followed by Georgia and Maine. Beginning farmers have 10 or fewer years of farming experience. In 2017, 27% of all U.S. producers classified as beginning farmers. Their average age was 46.3, and their farms were smaller than average in both acres and sales. The average age of all U.S. producers in 2017 was 57.5 years, up 1.2 years from 2012, when the last Census was conducted. This continues a long-term trend. Producers had been on their current farm an average of 21.3 years. On average, producers are older in southern states and younger in Midwestern states.

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Farmers Welcome Federal Agencies’ Suits On Flows Plan

/in , , /by /Ag Alert (Sacramento)by Christine Souza

Now that the federal government has filed its own lawsuits against an unimpaired-flows plan for San Joaquin River tributaries, farmers and other parties to the lawsuits wait to learn where they will be heard–and prepare for a lengthy court battle. The U.S. departments of Justice and Interior filed suits in both federal and state courts last week, against the plan finalized last December by the State Water Resources Control Board. The plan would redirect 30 to 50 percent of the flows in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers in an attempt to increase fish populations.

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In This Water-Starved California Town, One Citrus Farmer Is Trying To Hold On

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Ian James

Citrus groves spread out in rows across the desert in Borrego Springs, forming a lush green oasis against a backdrop of bone-dry mountains. When the grapefruit and lemon trees bloom on Jim Seley’s farm, the white blossoms fill the air with their sweet scent. His father founded the farm in 1957, and Seley has been farming here since 1964. He and his son, Mike, manage the business, and they hope to pass it on to the next generation of Seleys. But the farms of Borrego Springs, like the town and its golf courses, rely completely on groundwater pumped from the desert aquifer.

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