Valley Headlines

Silver bullets for golden eggs

Morning Ag Clips. National Chicken Council offers measures to help alleviate egg shortage.
Synopsis: The NCC is asking the FDA to divert 400,000,000 “perfectly good” eggs to the market instead of into dumpsters. The rule is an Obama-era regulation that requires eggs laid by broiler chickens to be destroyed instead of sold. The Chicken Council’s senior VP is also a Ph.D., and she called her suggestion “a silver bullet that will bring down the cost of eggs tomorrow.” She made the same request in 2023. The broiler-chicken eggs would be routed into the “breaking supply,” freeing up other eggs for the “table” or “shell egg” supply bound for grocery stores. On the other side of this argument are concerns about safety. But in 2020 the FDA and USDA jointly said there would be “extremely low risk” in releasing those eggs.  

Modesto Bee. CA egg prices at record high as bird flu decimates farms; relief months away.
Synopsis: Reporter Robert Rodriguez says the culling of 160 million chickens over 3 years is the reason eggs are so expensive. Bill Mattos says it will take months for producers to repopulate their barns, assuming they can  come to grips with bird flu. According to the UC Foundation of Ag Economics, some henhouses will not reopen out of fear of reinfection. California eggs are slightly more expensive due to higher input costs and the requirement that chickens be raised cage-free. Meanwhile, more eggs are being smuggled into the US from Mexico.

CPUC, PG&E in the dog house

SF Chronicle. CA regulators suggest ending rooftop solar subsidies for homeowners.
Synopsis: Reporter Julie Johnson offers a balanced follow-up on the CPUC’s conclusion that all solar-panel subsidies should be ended in an effort to lower electricity bills. Public utilities have long insisted that incentives to install panels and net-metering rules add to higher bills for those who lack solar panels. The CPUC offered the example of a “hypothetical” PG&E customer who would save $51 per month, lowering his “hypothetical $193 bill.” A solar industry representative said such changes would require invalidating multi-year contracts signed with homeowners. Another asked, “Why are we trying to punish customers we asked to do a good deed?” Former CPUC member Loretta Lynch said the CPUC lacks transparency and is simply trying to scapegoat the solar industry rather than blame the real culprits.
MAD Take: My question: Where, exactly, does this “hypothetical” PG&E customer whose home requires only $191 a month in electricity live? Is that the Fido family in Marin? Or the Bow-Wows of Nob Hill?

Explaining the price of gas

Cal Matters. CA’s controversial new fuel rules rejected by state legal office.
Synopsis: A well-done follow-up on Thursday’s news that the Office of Administrative Law -- whose job is to make sure that regulations are clear, necessary and legally valid – told the CA Air Resources Board that its new carbon standards don’t meet the test and cannot be implemented. Last year, the air board admitted its new standards would likely cause a bump in gas prices, at least 47 cents per gallon. The money would help fund the carbon-credit program which pays for cleaner transportation. Meanwhile, as the story points out, last year was the hottest on record for the planet. 

Flu can thrive in raw milk

Farms.com. Influenza virus can survive refrigeration in raw milk for days – including bird flu.
Synopsis: Researchers at Stanford say the only way to kill flu virus in milk is pasteurization. Simply refrigerating it a few days – as some raw-milk proponents insist – won’t work. This confirms the policy position of the CDC, FDA and USDA and refutes the notions of new Health Secretary. Raw milk has been tied to more than 200 illness outbreaks, ranging from E.coli to salmonella to bird flu.

You’re fired. You’re hired

LA Times. Trump backtracks on eliminating thousands of national park employees.
Synopsis: A week ago, the DOGE forced the National Park Service to rescind the job offers it had made to ALL seasonal employees – the ones who staff the entrances, restore the trails, rescue injured visitors and clean the restrooms. Turns out, that was a bad idea. Instead of hiring 6,300 for those jobs last year, the agency says it needs to hire 7,700. The National Parks Conservation Assn considers it “definitely a win” for our parks. But “we need to keep pushing until we restore all of the positions for the park service.” As one not-yet-rehired employee put it, “I just really don’t understand why they’re attacking working-class Americans who never took these jobs to get rich. Why us?” One observer said the park service’s HR department is “the worst job in America right now. They’re dealing with unprecedented levels of chaos.”

Money angst for farmers

Ag Net West. Farmers still caught in Trump’s funding freeze.
Synopsis: Many farmers and organizations say the USDA has yet to release any of the frozen funds promised to farmers under three conservation programs. This has hurt the farmers who need the projects and the contractors awaiting payment. Two judges have ruled the Trump administration lacks authority to block funding already appropriated by Congress, but the USDA refuses to budge. One farmer in Missouri went viral on TikTok to say he will soon lose his farm if the funds aren’t released.

Successful Farming. USDA says it will release $20 million of frozen funds for farmers.
Synopsis: A “tiny sliver” of the funding previously frozen by the Trump administration will be released, says Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, honoring contracts made “directly with farmers.” In all, about $20 million covering a handful of contracts signed under the Environmental Quality Incentive, Conservation Stewardship and Ag Conservation Easement programs will be released. The funding had been earmarked for “a wide range” of projects from watering systems to cover crops to wind erosion.

Ag Daily. Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies surge amid economic strain. 
Synopsis: There were 216 Chapter 12 filings during 2024 with 71 in the Midwest, 62 in the South and 17 in California – the leading single state. Row-crop and cotton price declines are said to be behind the increased filings.

Costa: I can work with Trump

KSEE / CBS47. Congressman Jim Costa says he wants to work with Trump on high-speed rail.
Synopsis: Rep. Jim Costa said in Reedley that he would welcome a “constructive, positive” conversation with Donald Trump about fast trains. “I’m certain that Gov. Newsom would welcome that as well.” Costa was highly aware of the benefits foreseen for the region from Merced to Bakersfield, and centered in Fresno. He says cost overruns have been exaggerated and many of the delays can be traced to frivolous lawsuits from political opponents.

Stand firm, Rep. Valadao

Fresno Bee. Fresno-area Rep. David Valadao holds Trump to his word about not cutting Medicaid.
Synopsis: The Bee’s editorial board (Tad Weber and Juan Esparza Loera) note that David Valadao’s re-election depends on preserving Medicaid and Medicare – programs that cover 67% of his constituents. To do that, he’ll have to defy House Speaker Mike Johnson, who plans to pay for a $4.5 trillion tax cut by stripping $880 billion out of Medicaid. Valadao says he is “concerned” that Trump will not live up to his promise not to touch Medicare or Medicaid. He and seven other Republican Congressmen promised to keep an eye on it. Writes the board: “We encourage Valadao to stay firm against proposed cuts to Medicaid that would upend access to health care for the 22^nd District and neighboring districts that have some of the country’s highest poverty rates.”

Ex-president running for Assembly

CA Ag Net. Past CA Farm Bureau president runs for state assembly.
Synopsis: Former CA Farm Bureau President Jamie Johannson is running to replace James Gallagher, who will be termed-out next year. AD3 includes Butte County, where Johannson lives. He once served on the Oroville City Council. High prices, wasteful water practices and Sacramento’s “extreme political agenda” have sparked his ambition.

Arrests at 2 high schools

Merced Golden Wire (Facebook). Merced Police investigates sexual assault at El Capitan.
Synopsis: The school’s intervention coordinator, John Mobley III, has been taken into custody after being accused of statutory rape involving a student. The police are looking for evidence and the district is fully cooperating.

GV Wire. Bullard teacher arrested for inappropriate behavior with a minor.
Synopsis: Ray Waller was arrested on suspicion of having sex with a minor and making pornography. He has been put on administrative leave as the district promises full cooperation with law enforcement. There are a total of 10 charges and bail was set at $785,000. 

‘Very clear’ on his duty

Modesto Bee. Modesto police chief addresses community concerns over immigration enforcement.
Synopsis: Chief Brandon Gillespie spoke during a meeting of the Community Police Review Board last Wednesday, saying he is “very clear” on California’s law. "I don't care about somebody’s immigration status. If somebody is a danger to our community or wanted on serious or violent crime, my duty is to protect our community.”
MAD Take: Amen, chief.