Agriculture Daily News 11/1

President Bush announced Wednesday that he had selected Edward T. Schafer, a former two-term Republican governor of North Dakota, to head the Department of Agriculture. If the Senate acts quickly, as the president requested, the new secretary could be involved in negotiations over a new farm bill, calling for the spending of some $288 billion on crop subsidies, nutrition, conservation, rural development and other items over the next five years. NY Times 11/1/07

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's universal health care plan finally received a hearing in the Legislature on Wednesday and was greeted with bipartisan skepticism. But the six-hour hearing reaffirmed that both Democrats and Republicans remain opposed to major provisions of the plan. Panel members disagreed with the administration about how to pay for the $14 billion plan and provide coverage for 6.7 million uninsured Californians. Democrats want employers to pay a bigger share. Sacramento Bee 11/1/07

 

As the 2007 farm bill takes final shape in Congress, an large wave of Bay Area activists is trying to make substantial change. In trying to alter the direction of the nation's farm policy, they argued that traditional crop subsidie are as much about food as farming and have led to industrialized agriculture, pollution and widespread obesity and diabetes. The groups are disappointed with the performance of local senators, who they say don’t support reform strongly enough. SF Chronicle 11/1/07

Neither California senator has yet taken a public stand on the effort to reshape federal agricultural policies to promote healthier food and environmentally friendly farming. But both senators will have to choose sides next week when the $288 billion, five-year renewal of farm and food programs goes to the Senate floor. SF Chronicle 11/1/07

 

For the second year in a row, spawning fall-run chinook salmon are not returning to the Central Valley's rivers in the numbers that anglers and experts anticipated, touching off what may be a record year for nail-biting and hand-wringing. Regulations limited the commercial salmon fishing in the ocean the past two years, which should have left more fish to return upriver. Sacramento Bee 11/1/07

 

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez called for a deal on universal health care  by November 26 or else risk missing the chance to get on the ballot in November 2008. KQED 10/31/07