Valley Solutions

A good summer in Valley

Ag Alert. From the Fields: Gino Pedretti III, Merced County farmer. 
Synopsis: It’s been a good summer says Gino Pedretti, with cooler temperatures good for cattle and crops. Milk production is up, along with good crops of corn, alfalfa and wheat. The cotton, which will be chopped in October, is also looking good after two rough years. Silage harvest is yielding up to 5 tons more per acre than last year. Record-high beef prices are helping the bottom line as cull cows go for top dollar. The price of milk is dropping from its recent highs. As a smaller dairy with long-term employees, the Pedrettis haven’t been hurt by labor shortages. Most importantly, “we’ve had enough water.” 

A ‘breaking point’ for farmers

Morning Ag Clips. Farm Bureau to President, Congress: Farmers are at a breaking point.
Synopsis: The American Farm Bureau Federation sent letters to congressional leaders and the Trump administration to emphasize the severe economic pressures facing farmers and ranchers due to falling crop prices, skyrocketing expenses and trade disputes. “Across the country, farms are disappearing as families close the gates on the farms tended by their parents, grandparents and generations before them,” wrote AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “As those farms disappear, so too does America’s food independence: our ability to feed ourselves without relying on foreign supply chains.” The Bureau is calling for fair trade agreements, approval of E15 fuel regulations, restoration of whole milk in schools, investigating price-fixing of major ag supplies, enforcing regulations to protect competition and prioritizing American-grown fruit and vegetables in institutional purchasing.

They’ve had enough of RFK Jr.

Ag Daily. RFK Jr. faces bipartisan backlash over leadership, policy shifts. 
Synopsis: Outcry over Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policies are mounting. Six former US surgeons general have signed a letter warning that Kennedy’s policies are “endangering the health of the nation.” Never before have six surgeons general signed a single document; they decried loss of funding for mRNA research and the firing of scientific staff at the CDC. Psychiatric organizations say Kennedy’s portrayals of mental health treatments are pure misinformation and could limit access to important medications. Polling shows 59% of Americans think Kennedy is wrong about everything. More than 1,000 current HHS employees signed an open letter demanding his resignation. Two other groups have called for him to be removed. Demands for his removal have increased since the release of his second MAHA report. The first MAHA report used outdated or misstated research and  cited ChatGPT-fabricated research to denounce farming; the second report relied on theories that either ignored or misrepresented scientific evidence to find blame for autism and chronic diseases. Meanwhile, staff reductions at HHS devastated the unit that focuses on overdose prevention, an odd target for a former heroin user. With all this, the story notes a CNN poll that found Kennedy is the most popular member of the Trump cabinet. Since 59% of the nation does not approve of his conduct, his polling shows “just how negatively the whole of the cabinet is being viewed.” 

Sequoia Brewing is back

Fresno Bee. Sequoia Brewing making comeback in Fresno.
Synopsis: New ownership says Sequoia Brewing will reopen first in north Fresno at Champlain and Perrin then, soon, in the Tower District. Both should be operational by Halloween. It appears former owners Michelle and Scott Kendall are involved in the new ownership team. Among those returning is brewmaster Andrew Ford and operations manager Stacey Dwyer.

Want to help build a park?

Modesto Bee. How to help build ‘Awesome’ Modesto playground for kids with disabilities. 
Synopsis: Rachel Loredo has been planning a playground for her son, who uses a wheelchair, for the past decade. The Awesome Spot has a location at Beyer Community Park, and a design. But she needs $5 million to turn the park into reality. An Oct. 18 event is an effort to help raise some of that money. In 2016, when first envisioned, the park’s cost was $1 million. It has risen since. So far, the committee has gotten $3.5 million in private donations and pledges, including engineering, earthmoving and paving. You can help and get a chance to win a free car, too.

Day of Dead party dies

Modesto Bee. Large annual Modesto cultural celebration canceled.
Synopsis: The Dia de los Muertos festival planned for downtown Modesto by Maggie Mejia has been canceled due to a scheduling conflict with a local car club. No worries, there will be three events to celebrate the popular Mexican holiday. The city of Modesto is hosting two evening events at McHenry Museum on I Street, Oct. 17-18. It’s a way to “get kids to start asking questions about who their family was,” said the city’s Jessica Flores. The Modesto Impala Car Club and Fleet Siders Classic Trucks Club will host Impalaween, which will include De de los Muertos activities on Oct. 25.

Change in flag policy … for now

Merced Focus. Commemorative flags won’t fly in Merced’s Bob Hart Square in 2026. 
Synopsis: Victor Patton reports on the city’s 4-3 decision to stop the practice of allowing community groups to fly flags on one of three poles in the city’s central square. The US and CA flags fly on two of those poles, but the third has been used to commemorate everything from Merced’s sister cities to POWs to months celebrating Black History, Pride and Christianity. Councilmember Shane Smith said the city’s policy for approving flags has caused controversy and should be updated. In the meantime, he is seeking a break from flag statements: “I think people are really fatigued right now in politics at every level.” Smith and three others voted to take a break from hoisting such flags until 2027.

A Coach Plaa surely will win

Modesto Bee. Father-son matchup takes center stage in Downey-Pitman CCAL football contest.
Synopsis: Jeremy Plaa has been coaching football in Stanislaus County for 20 years. This week, his Downey Knights will take on the Pitman Pride, coached by Braden Plaa. That’s Jeremy’s son. It is the first time the two have squared off as head coaches. Pitman is 4-2, Downey 3-3, so there will be a lot at stake at Joe Debely Stadium. Jeremy avoided the question of messy emotions: “My wife gets kind of emotional thinking this could be the first and we’re lucky to have one. But who knows how many we’ll have.” It is Jeremy’s 200^th game at Downey, and Braden has been there for most of them. It’s just this time he’ll be on the opposite sidelines.

Kerman News gets new publisher

Kerman News. Kerwest Newspapers transition to new ownership. 
Synopsis: All three newspapers published by Kerwest have been sold to Mineral King Publishing. The Kerman News, West Side Advance and Firebaugh-Mendota Journal were operated by brother and sister Merlyn Wilcox and Mark Kilen, “whose dedication to their family legacy kept these papers alive into 2025 while so many others were forced to close.” But the family has moved to Texas. Paul Myers and Reggie Ellis are the owners of Mineral King. Their dream is to give local journalism “a fighting chance.”

Journalists doing God’s work

Office of The Holy See. Pope Lee XIV to participants in the Minds International Assn Conference. 
Synopsis: Pope Leo offered encouragement for those working “in the service of ethical and civic responsibility” as journalists. He wrote that journalism is critically important but is “undergoing a period of crisis.” He writes, “Information is a public good that we should all protect.” He added: “Free access to information is a pillar that upholds the edifice of our societies, and for this reason we are called to defend and guarantee it. … The world needs free, rigorous and objective information. … With your patient and rigorous work, you can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing. You can be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth.”