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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, November 21, 2024
In this opinion piece, Rep. David Valadao highlights the devastating impact natural disasters have had on the ag industry over the last year and the importance of ensuring producers have timely access to relief.
A pair of heavily agricultural U.S. House districts in California's Central Valley could decide which party controls the chamber next year. The races pit GOP incumbents John Duarte and David Valadao in rematches with Democrats they narrowly defeated in 2022.
The Bureau of Reclamation says it has completed Phase 1 of the Friant-Kern Canal Middle Reach Capacity Correction Project with a ribbon-cutting celebration of 10 miles of new, concrete-lined canal. The new lining replaced an original section that had sunk from persistent groundwater removal since its construction in 1951.
The Pollinator Habitat Program, an initiative of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation, has awarded grants to 10 organizations.
After falling for the first time during the pandemic, California’s population continued to decline last year, albeit more slowly, as more people moved to more affordable inland areas.
With drought conditions worsening in many parts of California and more water restrictions, farmers will likely idle between 600,000 to 800,000 acres this year, says Roland Fumasi, EVP & North American Regional Head, RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness.
Farmland values in parts of the U.S. are on the rise as commodity prices and government payments spur buyers in the Corn Belt while water access fuels the market in California's drought-stricken Central Valley.
California agricultural employers are continuing to adapt to the increasing minimum wage and the rollout of new overtime pay requirements, sometimes by moving away from manual labor to mechanized solutions. The rest of the country is watching closely to see whether these farm labor trends expand.
As almond harvest advanced at a feverish pace in the Central Valley during August, high heat, humidity, along with heavy smoke from neighboring wildfires, created some unique challenges.