Agriculture Daily News April 2

Rising prices and a growing fear of scarcity have prompted some of the world’s largest rice producers to announce drastic limits on the amount of rice they export. The price of rice, a staple in the diets of nearly half the world’s population, has almost doubled on international markets in the last three months. That has pinched the budgets of millions of poor Asians and raised fears of civil unrest. NY Times 3/29/08

 

The Department of Water Resources wants to see if growing rice on islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta can reduce subsidence, the process in which peat soils slowly vaporize when exposed to air. This loss of soil has caused dozens of island interiors to drop below sea level, harming the stability of surrounding levees and increasing risks of catastrophic flooding. But there are potential drawbacks. Rice growing could increase the amount of organic carbon, fertilizers and pesticides in the runoff leaving islands, possibly causing water pollution or problems for drinking water treatment systems. Sacramento Bee 4/2/08

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration has moved to ban physicians and hospitals from billing patients for the cost of services above what their HMOs are willing to pay.
Such bills, which patient advocates call a consumer abuse, are the product of a protracted feud between insurers and healthcare providers, principally emergency room doctors, radiologists and anesthesiologists. LA Times 4/1/08

 

The Environmental Protection Agency is taking control of the cleanup of an oil spill in Santa Barbara County after failed efforts by Greka Oil & Gas Inc., a company whose long record of inland oil spills could lead to new legislation. Officials announced the federal takeover of the Bell lease site in Santa Maria on Tuesday, saying that Greka has not removed petroleum-contaminated soil in a creek in the two months since the spill. Contra Costa Times 4/2/08

 

The California Senate on Tuesday approved spending $5.3 million to restore salmon habitat, responding to a population decline that may end salmon fishing off the coasts of California and Oregon this year. The money would help remove barriers to salmon migration, restore spawning areas and monitor salmon populations. CC Times 4/2/08

 

California lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation that would slap slaughterhouses with criminal penalties if they process meat from cattle and other livestock that are too sick to stand. The 6-1 vote by the Assembly Public Safety Committee was in response to the illegal processing of sick cattle at a Southern California slaughterhouse, which last month resulted in the country's largest beef recall. Ventura County Star 4/2/08

 

As the economy sputters, American drinkers are moderating their taste for fine wine – but not by much. And with a weak dollar making imports more expensive and consumers hunting for lower prices, the Central Valley's wine industry could be poised to benefit.  Figures released Tuesday by the Wine Institute, an industry group, show U.S. wine purchases rose 7.9 percent last year to $30 billion, making the nation the world's largest wine market. All the better, it seems, for mid-range wineries. Sacramento Bee 4/2/08