Water:
*Feds' plan to improve Delta water system isn't accurate, agency warns -- A court-ordered fix for the threatened Delta smelt population is running into trouble before it has even seen daylight. Federal water officials have been warned that their work on a draft plan for operating the Delta's water works "contains deficiencies, incomplete analysis, inaccuracies and omissions." The warning came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which faces the same court deadline of Sept. 15 to submit the plan, called a "biological opinion." The goal is to create a new set of operating rules for the massive state and federal pumping systems that export water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the Bay Area and Southern California. Sacramento Bee 7/1/08
*Crews dig in on project to prevent San Jose flooding -- Kicking off one of San Jose's largest public works projects in recent decades, the Santa Clara Valley Water District broke ground Monday on a $256 million effort to reduce flooding on the upper Guadalupe River through the heart of the city's central neighborhoods. The project will progress in sections, finishing in 2016. SJ Mercury 7/1/08
Approval of urgent Delta projects long overdue -- IN NOVEMBER 2006, California voters had the foresight to approve Propositions 84 and 1E, which authorized $9.5 billion in bond money for water projects. Prop. 84 was a $5.4 billion measure for water infrastructure projects, while Prop. 1E approved $4.1 for new and upgraded levees, and other flood protection projects. The Contra Costa Water District identified several short-, medium- and long-term projects to protect the Delta from earthquake damage and flooding. Despite voter approval of the money, broad support by virtually all interested parties and the urgency of the projects, no Prop. 84 funds were allocated. Contra Costa Times 7/1/08
Parks and forests:
Crews can't battle all of state's wildfires -- With hundreds of wildfires raging across remote, rugged parts of California for a second week, fire officials have been forced to strategically choose which to fight and which to let burn for weeks or even months. The number of fires burning in Central and Northern California – more than 1,000, according to state fire officials – means authorities can't send firefighters to every blaze, said Jason Kirchner, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. San Diego Union Tribune 7/1/08
Agriculture:
*Port of Sacramento rebuilds bulk rice shipping business -- Profitability is likely several years away for the Port of Sacramento, but it appears poised to rebuild a business in bulk rice shipping. Monday, workers finished pouring 25,000 tons of loose rice into the belly of a ship bound for Puerto Rico, the first such shipment from the port since December 2005. Bulk rice was once one of the port's financial mainstays, with more than 235,000 tons shipped in 1998. The trade declined as the rice industry shifted more of its shipping to the Port of Oakland and a key buyer, Turkey, blocked U.S. shipments. Sacramento Bee 7/1/08
CDFA Press Release: California's Farmers and Ranchers Are Invited to Provide Public Input on an Agricultural Vision – Developing Future Priorities for the Industry View this Press Release
*Ranchers forced to sell herds because of drought -- Drought-ravaged pastureland is forcing Central California ranchers to sell cattle and sheep herds. A U.S. Department of Agriculture report says conditions on California rangelands are the worst in the nation. About 97 percent of the state's pastures are in poor or very poor condition. It's forcing ranches to buy expensive feed for their herds, move them elsewhere or, in some cases, sell entire herds. Similar conditions last year forced stockmen to sell off their herds. San Luis Obispo 7/1/08
Quarantine extended as moths are found in Alpine Road vicinity -- The quarantine zone in San Mateo County for the light brown apple moth has been greatly expanded due to recent new moth findings, the county health department announced Monday. Four moths were found in the 2600 block of Alpine Road, in the unincorporated area between Menlo Park and Portola Valley, according to county Agricultural Commissioner Gail Raabe. The Almanac 7/1/08
Batten down the hatches, road ahead's looking rocky -- Corn, wheat, rice, and soybean prices are at levels farmers couldn't have imagined in their wildest dreams three years ago, but at the same time growers are confronted with sharply rising costs for every input needed to produce, harvest, and transport those crops. Western Farm Press 7/1/08
Immigration and labor:
Growing scrutiny on labor contractors -- Worker advocates have called for more regulation and enhanced enforcement of the laws that govern farm labor contracting, while others argue that the industry already is well administered. Farm labor contractors, to some extent, have been a part of California agriculture for as long as immigrant labor has. While early contractors worked mainly as translators between growers and workers, according to a report from the University of California, Berkeley's Agricultural Personnel Management program, their roles have evolved along with immigration and labor policy. Stockton Record 7/1/08
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