Valley Headlines

Small farmers facing ruin

Ag Alert. Farms face ruin as groundwater law takes its toll.
Synopsis: Reporter Caleb Hampton talks to Amrik Singh Basra in Madera, who has been restricted from pumping groundwater and now faces foreclosure on his farm and home. SGMA gives farmers until 2040 to come into compliance, but local hydrology dictates when some farmers – like Basra – actually must stop pumping. Because there are limits on how much he can pump, the value of his land has declined from $9 million to $4 million (the implications were detailed by Janie Gatzman). In Tulare County, a farm near Friant-Kern Canal is seeing immediate pumping restrictions due to damage to the canal caused by subsidence. Farmer Nick Sahota says, “I can’t stay in business.” There are calls for providing more help for those impacted and being forced into ruin. But the water board, seemingly washing its hands, says that’s up to local organizations. UC Berkeley is estimating losses at $1 billion a year and 42,000 jobs. Others say $7 billion and hundreds of thousands of jobs. “This is a freight train. When it hits, it’s going to be extremely painful,” said the Farm Bureau’s Alexandra Biering.

There are lifelines for farmers

Ag Alert. Commentary: ‘Be the lifeline’ to help prevent suicide on the farm.
Synopsis: Considering how many farmers are going bankrupt, this story is timely. This story was written by Tulare Farm Bureau President Tricia Blattler, whose 45-year-old husband committed suicide 6 months ago. She notes that across America, farmers are feeling stress from rising costs and unstable times. But “In California, you can add overregulation and a never-ending stream of new legislation and regulations that contribute a tremendous amount of stress and expense to every farmer’s bottom line.” She notes there are 43.7 suicides per 100,000 farmers and farmworkers compared to 14.1 for everybody else nationally.
MAD Note: Several years ago, when he was in the Assembly, Adam Gray came across a study from Cal Poly that pointed out that regulatory costs on farming in California were 9x higher than in many other states. In Texas, each farmed acre had $120 in fees each year, while in California it was right around $1,000. Now, with water uncertainty created by SGMA, every decision a farmer makes – no matter how small – seems like the difference between profit and loss, or even more important. Every regulation imposed on farming and affiliated businesses should take into account specific impacts, the totality of the cost of compliance and additional costs imposed, said Gray.

Girl Scout collecting coats

Modesto Bee. Stanislaus teen holding coat drive Sunday.
Synopsis: Kirpa Gill, a member of Girl Scout Troop 1731, will reprise her coat drive from last year when she collected 400+ coats. All will be handed out at shelters. Sunday, she’ll be at the Keyes FD, 5627 Seventh Street. She’ll take sweaters, gloves, hats, too.  

No Lathrop levee until ‘29

Manteca Bulletin. 200-year levee physical work starts in late 2029.
Synopsis: Dennis Wyatt writes that construction on the levee designed to protect Lathrop east of the San Joaquin River won’t start until October 2029. It’s part of a $337 million project. A significant portion, overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers, won’t get started until 2034. It’s all to reduce flood danger in the lowest point in the county. The biggest and newest development in the region, River Islands, is not included since developers built their own levees. Parts of Manteca east of Airport will be protected. Reporter Wyatt wonders how climate change – which will change slow-melting snow into fast-running rain – will impact the levees.

More people voting early

Fresno Bee. Early ballots surge in Fresno County; here’s the count.
Synopsis: Nearly 65,000 Fresno County voters have already cast ballots, including around 20,000 at drop boxes. That’s 12.7% of the total registered voters. In March, only 31% bothered to vote, so 12.7% is a good start. More than 80% of all Fresno voters now vote by mail or via drop-box. BTW, 15,355 of those votes have arrived in just the past two days.

What was state doing there?

Ag Alert. Farm groups rebuke agency participation in ‘toxic tour.’ 
Synopsis: The CA Dept of Pesticide Regulation sent representatives to a seminar organized by the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE, get it?). The DPR insisted the event was organized by high school students, but that turned out to be untrue. Materials sent out by the group portrayed commercial farming as “harmful and toxic.” When members of the Farm Bureau called to ask if they could attend, they were turned down. Farmers called it a witch hunt and now they’re wondering why the state got involved. Even Ag Secretary Karen Ross was irritated by DPR’s participation.
MAD Take: Just this year the state raised fees on pesticide inspections specifically so it could provide additional “services.” Is this the kind of “service” the state had in mind? It is a legal requirement that there is a nexus between any fees collected by the state and their use — it is supposed to benefit those who pay them. Perhaps an attorney will be needed to determine if attending such conferences provides a benefit for farmers.

Fun things to do … or not

Turlock Journal. 5 Spooky things to do this weekend.
Synopsis: By the numbers: 1) The city’s Monster Madness at 6 pm Friday at the Turlock Regional Sports Complex behind Pitman High. 2) Saturday Studio at the Carnegie Arts Center, helping kids create fun stuff. 3) Halloween Fun Run at Stan State 7am Saturday. 4) Downtown Trick-or-Treat from 11 am to 1pm Saturday, very kid friendly. 5) FUMC Trunk-or-Treat. The First United Methodist Church will provide free food, games and fun stuff for anyone who can bring a canned item for the Turlock Together holiday food drive.

Modesto Bee. Modesto’s traditional Veterans Day parade canceled over rising costs; will it return?
Synopsis: Carlos Verduzco, of the Veterans Chamber of Commerce of NorCal, chairs the Veterans Day Parade and is saddened by the decision. If he gets enough donations, he says he hopes to bring it back in 2025. “We are reaching out to our community for support,” he said. Big costs include $8,500 to DOT, porta-potties, insurance and signage.

Modesto Bee. Once canceled, will massive Modesto holiday event be saved again?
Synopsis: Mod Shop, which was started by Kate Trompetter and friends with support from the Downtown Modesto Partnership and the Downtown Improvement District, has scaled back the event into something called DoMo Shop. It happens on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Now, it might have run its course entirely. Don’t despair, reporter Pat Clark lists 15 Christmas markets that will happen.

Deportations could harm farms

SF Chronicle. Trump promise could be ‘catastrophic’ to CA’s wine industry.
Synopsis: Trump’s promise to deport 20 million people has terrified many workers, writes Molly Burke and Jess Lander. Many of the same people once labeled “essential workers” are being targeted. Trump and his running mate have blamed immigrants for crime, high housing costs, higher costs for healthcare and education. Oh, and eating your kitten. Elected leaders including Jimmy Panetta, Zoe Lofgren, Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson and farmers Doug Boeschen and Andy Beckstoffer say deporting farm labor will damage every farmer in California. Especially hard hit will be the Central Valley, they say. And GOP protestations that workers will be OK if they have an H-2A visa are not convincing; they are limited and the hoops to go through to get them are expensive. “An unskilled H-2A workers won’t do as good a job as a worker who’s been doing that work for 5 or 10 years.”  But Lena Gonazlez says farmers will be OK because Trump wouldn’t dare hurt his biggest CA contributors.

Another 786,000 birds killed

Fresno Bee. Avian flu decimates Tulare County chicken operation as thousands of birds killed.
Synopsis: Reporter Robert Rodriguez writes about an outbreak that required the destruction of 786,600 broiler chickens, following the second outbreak in the Valley in a month. Four weeks ago, 64,000 turkeys were destroyed in Merced County. A UC Davis veterinarian says, “We can’t get a handle on this outbreak,” meaning millions more birds are likely destined to die. Already, some 100 million birds have been destroyed worldwide. Meanwhile, the number of dairies with infected cows in CA is at 133.

TMS, it seems to work

Turlock Journal. Council approves brain therapy for Turlock’s public-safety personnel.
Synopsis: On a 3-2 vote, the Turlock city council said it will pay $642,500 for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Its vendor, Genesis Behavior Center, says it helps with sleep disorders and post-traumatic stress.
MAD Take: If it’s OK with the Mayo Clinic and FDA, I guess it’s OK for Turlock. But even the Mayo admits, “the biology of why TMS works isn’t completely understood, (but) the stimulation appears to … ease depression symptoms and improve mood.”