Agriculture Daily News June 10

Agriculture:

 

*Salmonella scare may help local growers -- While stores across the country and state are pulling from their shelves varieties of tomatoes, some East Contra Costa growers were optimistic that the multistate salmonella outbreak could increase business at their small operations. California-grown tomatoes are not a problem, a California Farm Bureau spokeswoman said Monday. "California tomatoes have been cleared by the FDA." SJ Mercury 6/10/08

 

*Tomatoes pulled after FDA safety warning -- Popular varieties of fresh tomatoes have been pulled from restaurant menus and produce aisles across Northern California as a nationwide salmonella outbreak now linked to 145 illnesses in 16 states continues to spread. In Sacramento, supermarkets pulled field-grown red round, red Roma and red plum varieties from store shelves over the weekend. Chain restaurants from McDonald's to Noah's Bagels stopped serving tomatoes altogether. Sacramento Bee 6/10/08

 

*For about $500 a season, you can have own farmer -- A growing number of people around the nation are investing in shares of a local farmer's crop, reducing trips to the supermarket and the cost of shipping food. The number of CSA farms has grown from about 50 in 1990 to more than 2,000 nationwide, according to a database maintained by LocalHarvest, a California-based group that supports buying locally grown food. The heaviest concentrations are in the Northeast, West Coast and upper Midwest. AP 6/10/08

 

Secretary Kawamura announces vacancies on the Shipping Point Inspection advisory committee -- California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura is announcing seven alternate member vacancies on the Shipping Point Inspection Advisory Committee.  The Shipping Point Inspection Committee is charged with making recommendations to the secretary of agriculture on all matters pertaining to the Shipping Point Inspection Program, the annual budget, and the necessary fees to provide adequate inspection services. Fresh Plaza 6/10/08

 

Bio-fuels:

 

*Richmond looks at updating regulations as interest from biofuel developers grows -- More developers are calling Richmond City Hall to inquire about opening a biofuel facility, prompting city planners to start updating regulations that were passed before alternative fuels began gaining momentum. The biofuel industry has evolved so fast that city laws have not kept pace. Those laws, adopted in 1997, do not specify where such facilities should go, what they should look like and how they should operate. Contra Costa Times 6/10/08

 

Immigration and labor:

 

Bush widens immigration checks -- The Bush administration, in an aggressive new effort to keep illegal immigrants out of the workforce, on Monday ordered all companies doing business with the federal government to begin ensuring their employees can legally work in the U.S. The order will require thousands of firms to use a government system called E-Verify to check workers' Social Security numbers. LA Times 6/10/08

 

Health:

 

Kaiser, Microsoft test online medical records -- Kaiser Permanente and Microsoft Corp. announced a partnership Monday that the two companies hope will push forward the effort to digitize medical records and safely transfer sensitive health data. Kaiser's 156,000 employees will be eligible for a pilot program connecting the Oakland health maintenance organization's health records with Microsoft's HealthVault, a free, Web-based medical database the company began in October. SF Chronicle 6/10/08

 

Early start for West Nile season -- The year's first batch of West Nile-infected mosquitoes has been confirmed in San Jose, the earliest insects infected with the virus have ever been detected in Santa Clara County. The May 29 discovery, in the 95130 ZIP code, has prompted the county's Vector Control District to initiate ground fogging within a mile radius of where the infected samples were found, near Westmont High School, said Russ Parman, assistant manager with the district. SJ Mercury 6/10/08

 

Parks and forests:

 

Park officials back Presidio development plan -- A modern-art museum, 125-room hotel and expanded movie theater should be added to the Presidio's Main Post, officials at the national park recommended in an analysis released Monday. The document was prepared by the Presidio Trust, the agency created by Congress to oversee 1,491-acre area after it made the transition from a military base to a national park 12 years ago. SF Chronicle 6/10/08