Merced County Farm News - Aug. 22

August 2022 | Volume 115, Number 8

arm. You E F at. e W

Merced County Farm News Celebrating Agriculture Heritage in Merced County By: Denelle Flake, Farm News Editor

O

n July 20th, Merced County was well represented at the Agricultural Heritage Club Awards Breakfast that took place at The California State Fair.

The Agricultural Heritage Club honors families and businesses that were early pioneers of the California Agriculture Industry and have maintained financial responsibility for at least 100 years. Merced County Farm Bureau received recognition for 100 years and Meissonnier Ranch received recognition for 125 years Merced County Farm Bureau receives award from The California Agricultural Heritage Club for being in of continuous operation. operation for over 100 years.

Meissonnier Ranch – 125 Years Dave “Frenchy” and Debra Meissonnier were present to receive Meissonnier Ranch’s award. Frenchy’s grandfather came from France to the United State in 1895 and in 1897 he purchased the Merced County property that Frenchy still resides and farms at. Frenchy still has the original deed showing that his grandfather purchased the property for 50 cents an acre. In 1915, Frenchy’s grandfather wrote a letter offering for his grandmother to move from France to the United States to marry. Her requirement was that he had to build her a house before she would move to the states. So, he built her a house, she moved to the states, and See 'Ag Heritage' Page 4

Can Newsom finally win long Delta water conflict?

By: Dan Walters, CalMatters

W

ill the fifth time be the charm for California’s decadeslong effort to replumb the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta so that more Northern California water can be transported to Southern California?

Don’t count on it.

Last week, the state Department of Water Resources released a draft environmental impact report on the latest iteration of the 57-year-long effort to change the Delta’s role in water supply, a 45-mile-long tunnel officially named the “Delta Conveyance.”

The 3,000-page document immediately drew the responses that have accompanied past versions —

INSIDE:

9

Updates from FELS

big municipal and agricultural water agencies were in favor of it because it would, they hope, increase water deliveries south of the Delta, and environmentalists were against it, saying it would further damage the Delta’s already bruised ecosystem.

That fundamental conflict has tied up the project in its various forms ever since it was first proposed in 1965 as a “peripheral canal” to complete the California Water Project (CWP).

The CWP is primarily a massive dam on the Feather River whose reservoir feeds water into the Sacramento River and the California Aqueduct, which pulls water out of the southern edge of the Delta for shipment southward.

They were still under construction when

16

Farm Bureau Endorses Dahle for Governor

the peripheral canal was proposed and without it, water managers said, the CWP could not deliver on its promises to downstate water agencies.

The canal would have diverted water out of the Sacramento River south of Sacramento and carried it 43 miles around the Delta to the head of the California Aqueduct near Tracy. Pat Brown, the CWP’s political champion, was still governor when the canal was first proposed and his son, Jerry, took up the cause upon becoming governor a decade later.

The younger Brown pushed hard for legislative approval of the project, arguing that it would improve the Delta

20

See 'Delta' Page 13

SB 824 Moratorium Declaration for Oak Fire

Page 2

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

from the

Director's Desk

T

Breanne Vandenberg

his November is shaping up to be another intriguing election year.

We have reports that Democrats are monetarily funding Republican candidates, seeking an end goal of providing a smoother path for their candidate of choice. Republicans, on the other hand, had been projected to carry a red wave which may be false once ballots are totaled. Time will eventually tell on this and several unstable positions we have found ourselves in today.

You may have also noticed an uptick of political commercials taking over your TV. Seven ballot measures will be seeking your approval this election period. Below is the brief overview I have been able to gather: Proposition 1 – Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment • Placed on the ballot by the legislature • Codifies right to an abortion and to choose/refuse contraceptives into the constitution Proposition 26 – Legalize Sports Betting on American Indian Lands Initiative • Expands gambling including roulette and dice games at tribal casinos • Allows sports wagering at horse racetracks and tribal casinos • Includes a PAGA provision aimed at putting card clubs out of business Proposition 27 – Legalize Sports Betting and Revenue for Homelessness Prevention Fund Initiative • Authorizes online only sports wagering when partnering with a Native American tribe

• Dedicates new tax revenue to address homelessness Proposition 28 – Art & Music K-12 Education Funding Initiative • Dedicates 1% of the state’s general fund for public school arts and music (this would be in addition to Prop 98 funding) Proposition 29 – Dialysis Clinic Requirements Initiative • Requires on-site licensed medical professionals at kidney dialysis clinics • This would be the third attempt to unionize kidney dialysis clinics by SEIU since 2018 • Has failed the previous two times Proposition 30 – Tax on Income Above $2 Million for Zero-Emissions Vehicles Subsidies and Wildfire Prevention Initiative • Increase income taxes by $4.5 billion annually to primarily fund electric vehicles and charging station subsidies • Raises income tax by 1.75% on income above $2 million • Dedicates 20% of revenue to prevent wildfires Proposition 31 – Flavored Tobacco Products Ban Referendum • Referendum challenging a 2020 law prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco Many of the measures have interesting pieces to them. Prop 26 may find the likes of SPCA and their supporters oppose the measure due to the horse racing portion. They may also have opposition from cities with card rooms in their jurisdictions as they rely on the income from these businesses. Prop 26 is sponsored by larger Native American tribes while Prop 27 is sponsored by Fanduels and DraftKings. Prop 27 is harnessing the most funding for this cycle. If both Prop 26 & Prop 27 fail, all remains the same but a mixed version of the two could come back in 2024. If both were to pass, it is debated if they can co-mingle.

Prop 28 has $8 million raised in support with $0 in opposition, however those opposed call this “ballot box budgeting.”

The question in this is what happens in a downturn economy as this funding allocation will already be earmarked, making it unavailable for other needs.

Prop 30 is supported by Lyft and the California Democratic Party with opponents including

Governor Newsom.

Prop 31 is a confusing bill as the wording is tricky. This bill overturns SB 793 which was voted on in 2020. If voters cast a “yes” vote, they would be upholding the contested legislation. If a vote of “no” is cast, it would be to repeal the contested legislation.

The above is a brief overview of the measures and I want to invite you to a more in-depth conversation that will be occurring in the coming weeks. MCFB will be hosting a legislative committee meeting on Wednesday, September 14 from 11-12pm. The meeting will be held here at the office. Steven Fenaroli,

California Farm Bureau’s Director of Political Affairs, will be presenting the various ballot measures in more detail along with any races of importance. A flyer can be found on page 24 of the Farm News.

Finally, a big announcement out of California Farm Bureau came out this week in their endorsement of Senator Brian Dahle for California Governor.

Merced County Farm Bureau also took the same steps in endorsing Mr. Dahle during our June Board of Directors meeting. Information on him and his platform can be found at www. briandahle.com.

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

from the

engagement, but on a more personal and laid-back basis which I believe everyone who attended felt and appreciated very much! If you weren’t able to attend this year, put it on your calendar for next year!

At the BBQ, Tony Toso from Mariposa County gave us an update on the status as well as efforts to help residents and ranchers affected by the Oak Fire. Tony relayed gratitude and appreciation on behalf of Mariposa County folks for the efforts of many including but not limited to the Farm Bureau family for their help and generosity in assisting any who were impacted by this devastating and fastmoving fire. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our Mariposa County neighbors.

Also in attendance were US Congressional District 13 candidates Adam Gray and John Duarte. I enjoyed getting the chance to chat with each of them too, especially in a lessformal-than-usual setting. They are both very knowledgeable and pleasant to converse with, ready and willing to engage on issues near and dear to Valley agriculture. The MCFB Board of Directors will be hosting them for a Candidates’ Night (Board-only closed session) during our September meeting, and I look forward to hearing them weigh in on and discuss their approaches and potential solutions to critical issues facing Merced County and Valley agriculture. The ability for US Congress members to influence state-specific issues is limited in a number of ways.

However it is still critically important that whomever is elected to represent our District does so in a way which conveys to the rest of the Congress, the Senate, and the Presidential Administration in no uncertain terms the dire circumstances facing agriculture in California, and that the

President's Corner Joe Sansoni

T

hank you to all who attended or supported our annual Summer BBQ! The event was wellattended, with a great mix of members, directors, friends and family. Thank you to our amazing staff Breanne, Lorraine, Denelle, Alexxis, and Gianna for the great job they did putting this event together, and special thanks to Bill and Nancy Arnold for the use of their gorgeous party barn! I thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing and welcoming venue, the great food, drinks, music, and the chance to connect with so many awesome people from within the local Farm Bureau family. In last month’s newsletter I commented about how much I appreciate the opportunities that being involved in MCFB allows for being able to regularly associate with and learn from the board members, staff, and others. The Summer BBQ offers yet another great opportunity for

Page 3 safety, availability and abundance (now more than ever) of a very significant percentage of our entire nation’s food supply is being compromised by the utter mismanagement of our state by an unfortunate majority of political “leaders” who regularly do not apply common sense or real-world, big picture thinking to come up with realistic solutions to the glaring problems we consistently face.

For just one example among many, let’s consider environmental policy, which is probably the most widely scoping and hotly contested topic in the state on a plethora of levels. More often than not, many of our elected representatives at the state level (and even worse, the regulatory boards and agencies they appoint) routinely ignore proven facts and sound science in favor of extreme environmentalist ideals and limitations which all but hamstring any realistically based efforts to improve things for the people of our state. Ironically, their misplaced ideologies also do not actually do much to help the environment either. In fact, I would venture to say that decades worth of the influence of extreme environmentalism has caused more harm to the environment than good.

I am careful to use the term “extreme environmentalism” because I am certainly not against reasonable and justified regulation and environmental protection. It is absolutely a necessary thing! But almost anything taken to an extreme becomes a bad thing, and environmental policy is no exception.

In my opinion, the two most glaring examples of horribly misplaced environmental policies in this state are the same two topics that are constantly in the headlines especially at this time of year: 1) Lack of new water storage facilities, and 2) Vegetation/Forestry management (or lack thereof).

As for the water storage issue in particular, the population of California has more or less doubled from around 1970 to now. Ironically it was also

around that time that the last water storage project was actually built in CA. For decades now since, we have as voters and within the legislature on multiple occasions approved projects to build desperately needed new water storage facilities. And every one of them has been blocked from actually being built by lawsuits and appeals filed and funded by extreme environmentalist groups whose biggest reasoning or interest seems to be based more on a dislike or hatred of people and enterprise than on actual care and concern for the environment. I mean, how can anyone argue with the fact that wherever there is water, there is also the most elemental basis for life?

Not only life, but abundant life. For the benefit of all…people, wildlife, fish, agriculture, forests…everyone benefits!

Sure, of course there would be some short-term detrimental effects on the environment due to the construction process and loss of certain areas of land that would become underwater.

However, with modern technology and methods this impact could be kept to a minimum. Wouldn’t the longterm overall benefits of not only more water but also a more controllable water system outweigh the downsides of nature having to adapt, migrate, or die like it has to anyway? Especially during periods of drought…because EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY dies if lack of water becomes extreme enough. It never ceases to amaze me how ridiculously short-sighted the extreme environmentalists themselves are, all while blindly claiming to be such magnanimous benefactors to environmental causes. It’s a joke, folks!

I look forward to the day when common sense and reality prevails again, instead of this “tail wags the dog” mentality that has pervaded our state and country’s leadership. Maybe… just maybe…we can start making some inroads back to logical basics at both the state as well as federal levels of government!!

Merced County Farm Bureau’s Mission Statement Merced County Farm Bureau is an independent, nongovernmental, grassroots organization that advocates for the men and women who provide food, fiber, and nursery products for our community, state, and nation.

Merced County Farm Bureau exists for the purpose of improving the ability of individuals engaged in production

agriculture to utilize California resources to produce food and fiber in the most profitable, efficient and responsible manner possible, guaranteeing our nation a domestic food supply.

Merced County Farm Bureau supports policies and legislation that promote and protect our Country’s number one industry agriculture for future generations and the security of our nation.

Page 4

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Ag Heritage

continued from page 1

Merced County Farm News Published monhtly by Merced County Farm Bureau Phone (209) 723-3001 Fax (209) 722-3814 646 S. Hwy 59, Merced CA 95341 Email: dflake@mercedfarmbureau.org

(USPS 339-500)

Entered as Second Class matter, Jan. 20, 1948 at the US Post Office in Merced, CA. Subscription is included in membership. Singles issues are 50 cents. Merced County Farm News is printed by Wesco Graphics, 410 E. Grant Line Road, Suite B, Tracy, CA 95376 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Merced County Farm Bureau, P.O. Box 1232, Merced, CA 95341; telephone (209) 723-3001; FAX (209) 722-3814. Merced County Farm Bureau does not assume responsibility for statements by advertisers or for products advertised in Merced County Farm News, nor does Farm Bureau assume responsibility for statements or expressions of opinion other than in editorials or in articles showing authorship by an officer, director or employee of the Merced County Farm Bureau or its affiliates.

Merced County Farm Bureau Staff

Meissonnier Ranch receives award from The California Agricultural Heritage Club for being in operation for 125 years. on the farm, while taking care of her family. Her days consisted of waking up to milk the cows, cooking breakfast, helping in the rice fields, cooking a large lunch for her family and the field workers, going back to the fields, coming home to milk the cows in the evening and then cooking dinner and cleaning. Frenchy stated, “If that’s not a tough woman, then there never was one”.

Frenchy is now third generation and his son is fourth generation of their rice farming operation. They also have a trucking operation hauling tomatoes for Central California Tomato Growers.

There have been points in Frenchy’s lifetime where the price of rice was below the price of production putting them through hard times. During these hard times he once told a reporter at the Farmers’ Rice Co-op Annual Meeting, “I am third generation of my family’s rice operation and I might lose it. How do you think I sleep at night?” Against all odds, Frenchy and his family’s hard work have kept them above water and they continue to do what they love, farming.

Merced County Farm Bureau thanks the Meissonnier family for their longtime support and congratulates them on their award.

Frenchy's grandfather and a crew harvesting a rice field. they had Frenchy’s father in 1928.

Frenchy’s grandfather was the first man to raise rice commercially in Merced County. This new crop spurred Merced County growers to also raise rice, after seeing the success Frenchy’s grandfather experienced. However, times were very tough during The Great Depression, and Frenchy’s grandfather had to find ways to make ends meet.

During the day he worked for the Favier family, he would also pick wild figs to sell, and he would take his wagon into Merced to sell bags of his rice to the Chinese population. Frenchy proudly stated, “Through some very hard times, my family has been able to stay for 125 years”.

Frenchy's grandmother came from a dairy in France, insisting they have cows to survive. Frenchy’s grandfather told her, “If we get cows, you get to take care of them”. Frenchy has the utmost respect for women, because of the hard work his grandmother put into working

Mariposa County Farm Bureau Staff Danette Toso Executive Director

Breanne Vandenberg Executive Director Lorraine Passadori Program Director Board of Directors Denelle Flake Farm News Editor/Project Specialist Pres: Kelly Williams................ 376-2408 1st VP: Elnora George............ 376-2419 Alexxis Rudich Project Assistant/ESJ Grower Relations 2nd VP: Carla Kelly.................742-6862 Directors Abel Lopez...............................376-2208 Board of Directors James Palmer......................... 374-3470 Pres: Joe Sansoni...................761-9284 Walter Palmer Jr...................... 374-3470 1st VP: Alan Sano.......... 559-905-1240 Trevor Lee Smith.....................769-9969 2nd VP: David Barroso...........652-6437 Danette Toso...........................376-2304 Sec/Treas: Tim Lohman........ 988-3545 Tony Toso.................................376-2304 Past Pres: Eric Harcksen....... 620-1953 District 1 Sean Davis..............................769-1804 Joe Maiorino............................564-6791 District 2 Bob Vandenberg.................... 704-5568 District 3 Mike Martin.............................675-1907 Chad Perry............................... 675-4474 District 4 Jean Okuye..............................756-2421 Galen Miyamoto......................761-5366 District 5 Brent Chipponeri.....................652-3473 John Van Ruler........................648-3877 District 6 Dante Migliazzo......................769-9525 Bill Arnold................................761-0542 District 7 GIno Pedretti III.......................756-1612 Tom Roduner...........................769-9353 District 8 Julie Giampaoli...................... 201-8434 Joe Scoto.................................761-0489 Directors at Large Jim Johnston...........................564-7551 Jeff Marchini........................... 769-9116 Bob Giampaoli........................769-4973 Dan Dewees........................... 658-4343 Louie Bandoni.........................761-0625 Michael Serrano.................... 485-1935

Jay Mahil CFBF Director - District 9 Andrew Genasci CFBF Field Representative Kim Mesa Merced County YF&R Chair

Sarah Baskins YF&R State Committee - District 9

Stay Connected with MCFB Follow us on instagram @merced_farm_bureau Like us on Facebook Merced County Farm Bureau Join our mailing list by emailing info@mercedfarmbureau.org

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Page 5

Robert "Bob" John Weimer November 18, 1945 - July 20, 2022

Published by Merced Sun-Star from Jul. 27 to Jul. 30, 2022

B

ob Weimer, age 76, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, at home in Atwater, CA. He was born November 18, 1945, to Walter and Greta Weimer in Merced, CA and was the younger brother of Walter R. Weimer. He attended Livingston High School, where he was president of Future Farmers of America and graduated with

a Bachelor of Science degree in fruit science from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in 1967. He received a Master of Science degree in plant pathology from Washington State University in 1971. He returned to Cal Poly as a Visiting Professor before coming back to Atwater in 1974 to work with his father and brother as part of Weimer Farms, where they grew peaches, almonds, walnuts, and sweet potatoes. Additionally, Bob started a manufacturing business in the 1970s, focused on irrigation design, installation, and sales.

Bob lived to serve others and was active in his community as evidenced by the various organizations he has engaged with. Bob was a past president of the Merced County Farm Bureau, as well as participating in several other local agriculture associations. He was a past president of the Livingston Rotary Club, the California Sweet Potato Council, and the National Sweet Potato Council; served as a Board Member of the Livingston Farmers Association, Merced Irrigation District, Livingston Union Elementary School District,

Merced Union High School District, and Livingston Health Clinic. He was a member of the Blue Diamond Almond Growers Association and, for over a decade, served as a Board Member for District 7.

Bob loved his family, friends, and animals. He enjoyed gardening, reading, photography, cooking, daily lunch with his buddies, entertaining in his beautiful backyard, sharing a “day in the life of a farmer” with visitors, traveling with his wife to Blue Diamond or Sweet Potato Conventions, and bowling in Atwater as part of the Nisei League and several other leagues. Bob became active in the Livingston United Methodist Church and supported many charities for the causes he cared deeply about.

He loved learning, especially anything scientific, and he would revel in the opportunity to discuss challenges. He always had an open ear for his daughter, stepdaughter, and sons-in-law. Most recently, he enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.

Bob is survived by his wife of 31 years, Kristin Rae; daughter Maryann “May” Weimer Jensen, her husband

James, son Dane and mother Annette Ferrey; stepdaughter Joanna Sambor, her husband Brian and daughter Jillian; sister-in-law Carolyn Weimer; nephews Scott A. Weimer and Walter “Robby” R. Weimer, his wife Katherine and daughters Bailey and Sydney Weimer; sister-in-law Karen Lynn. He is preceded in death by his parents and brother. The family is eternally grateful to Yesenia Rocha, Diane Jantz, Mike Duarte, Dave Souza, Rod Bettencourt and the many people that have loved Bob. A Celebration of Life was held on Monday, August 1 at 10:00 a.m. at the United Methodist Church; 2550 Linden St, Atwater, CA 95301.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Bob’s memory to one of the following: the Walt Weimer Family Scholarship, the Livingston United Methodist Church, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Checks can be mailed to: Walt Weimer Family Scholarship c/o Merced Union High School District P.O. Box 2147 Merced, CA 95344

Dr. Billy Louis Weir

April 12, 1938 - July 28, 2022

Published by Merced Sun-Star from Aug. 4 to Aug. 6, 2022.

B

illy Louis Weir discovered America on April 12, 1938, in San Antonio, Texas. He was born

to Mary Blackstock Weir and Louis William Weir. He moved to Corpus Christi, Texas where he met the love of his life Carol Ann Myers, who he later married in 1961. He began his education by attending Texas A&M University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree.

He later moved to Davis, CA with his family, where he attended UC Davis and earned his Master of Science degree, then later his PhD in soil science. He was employed by the University of California for 36 years and worked as a farm advisor, 4-H advisor, then later as an agricultural researcher and educator.

In his retirement he owned his own research and consulting company, which he enjoyed very much. In his spare time, he loved gardening and wood working.

He was a loving and devoted husband to Carol Ann Weir, together they shared a wonderful journey together as a couple, best friends and partners in life.

They would have shared 61 years of marriage this month, August 25 2022.

Together they traveled to fifty-five

countries, where he spoke in many of them about his agricultural research in cotton. He was known as the "Father of narrow row 30 inch cotton". His research in the conversion of cotton rows and harvesters from 40 inch rows to 30 inch rows was instrumental in establishing the 30 inch cotton culture, which transformed the agricultural industry. In this research he found that utilizing the 30 inch rows would increase the cotton yield, thereby increasing the financial gain for the farmers per crop. During his travels he, helped to establish this practice of utilizing 30 inch rows in their agricultural practices. He was also instrumental in research on the use of Pix growth regulator on cotton and potassium deficiency symptoms in cotton.

He taught for 20 years at Merced College in the agricultural department.

Served on the California Cotton Alliance Board, which he enjoyed very much. He was also a member of the California Association Farm Advisors

and Specialist from 1980-1991. He conducted research in cotton and many different crops and made a big difference in the agricultural world at large.

He is survived by his loving wife Carol Weir, his son Daniel Louis Weir and daughter-in-law Teresa, his daughter Deborah Leanne Weir. Grandchildren; Cristi Weir, Vanicia Wilhelm, Alex Myers, Tisneem, Zaynib, Humzah, Rowtha, Omar and their spouses.

Including many great-grandchildren and his three neices. He is preceded in death by his parents, 1 grandson, 1 great grandson and two sisters Louise Mayo and Laverne Fisher.

There will be a private family burial service at Lakewood Memorial Park. A memorial service open to all those who wish to celebrate Dr. Billy Louis Weir's life, was held on Saturday August 6, 2022, at 11:00am at Central Presbyterian Church 1920 Canal Street, Merced, CA. Please visit www.lakewoodhughson. com to leave memories and condolences.

Page 6

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Curly Top Hits Tomatoes Hard This Year

from the

Farm Advisor Scott Stoddard UC Cooperative Extension, Merced County

T

omatoes, both processing and fresh market, have been hit hard by curly top this year, though the severity varies by location and planting date. In Fresno County, for example, some early planted fields along the west side by the I-5 corridor were hit especially hard, with reports of 50 – 80% loss in organic production fields.

Merced County seemed to escape this initial wave, and instead more severe losses have occurred mainly in fields transplanted after May 15. Unlike in Fresno, curly top incidence in Merced is more widely dispersed around the county. Typical infection rates range from 10 to 40%.

Why so bad this year? Blame two winters in a row with early winter rains but virtually no spring precipitation. As the foothills dried down, it resulted in early migration of the leafhoppers to the valley floor.

Curly top is a disease by the beet curly top virus (BCTV). It infects a wide range of crops in arid and semiarid agriculture areas from Mexico north to Canada, but is usually more prevalent in California from Merced south to Bakersfield. Beet curly top virus is only spread from plant-to-plant by the beet leafhopper, Circulifer tenellus. The virus and the beet leafhopper have very

wide host ranges. They are especially fond of sugar beets and other plants in the goosefoot family (garden beets, spinach, and chard), but will also infect tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, beans and even melons. Common weeds in the goosefoot family include Russian Thistle (tumbleweeds), lambsquarters, nettleleaf goosefoot, and greasewood.

Weeds serve as a host for both the virus and the insect, and may be the main source of the disease in areas far away from the coastal foothills.

Leafhoppers overwinter in the foothills bordering the Central Valley, migrating down into the Valley in late spring when the foothill vegetation begins to dry up. They acquire the virus by feeding on infected crops and weeds. Once acquired, beet curly top virus is carried for the rest of the leafhopper's life, and thus long-distance spread is common. Because tomatoes are not a desired host for the leafhopper, the insect remains in the tomato field for a limited time, but long enough to transmit the virus. Infected plants are typically widely scattered in a field; field margins are especially vulnerable because leafhoppers like to feed on plants that border bare soil areas.

Plants infected early in their life cycle typically become yellowish bronze in color and die. Symptoms are very similar as alfalfa mosaic and tomato spotted wilt, and therefore a lab test is usually needed to verify the cause.

Late season infections may not kill the plant but cause the more typical leaf curling with purplish veins and small, marble sized red fruit. At this stage the symptoms are very diagnostic and a lab test is hardly necessary. Because curly top impacts tomatoes differently depending on time of infection and location within the field, it is difficult to estimate economic thresholds for when yield impacts occur.

Curly top is managed through a combination of cultural and chemical methods, including a spray program managed by CDFA where certain foothill zones are treated with malathion in the spring. However, in conventional tomato fields curly top is best managed using systemic insecticides. Verimark (cyantraniliprole) applied to the plants before planting followed by Platinum (thiamethoxam) or Venum (dinotefuran) through the drip around 4 weeks after planting have shown significant suppression of the disease, as has Admire (imidacloprid) at planting

followed by Platinum/Venom. Foliar sprays have not been shown to be effective, and there is currently no known genetic resistance for tomatoes.

The problem will likely persist into

next year – the long-term forecast is for another dry winter. Provided we have enough water to grow anything, tomato growers should plan to apply these insecticides for early season control.

Tomatoes with Curly Top

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Page 7

New Orchard Crops Farm Advisor in Merced and Madera Counties

Cameron Zuber measuring soil moisture in an almond orchard.

By: Scott Stoddard, UC Cooperative Extension County Director

C

ameron Zuber is the new UC Cooperative Extension orchard crops Farm Advisor for Merced

and Madera counties. For Merced County, he will cover almonds, walnuts, peaches, and any of the other deciduous orchard crops in the county except for pistachios. In Madera County, he will work with walnuts.

Cameron joined UC Cooperative Extension in 2016 as a staff researcher in Merced County working as a Staff Research Associate with former orchard advisor Dave Doll, where he assisted with projects with fumigants and other soil pest controls, rootstocks and scion varietals, flooding for groundwater recharge, irrigation management, and other cultural practices relating to tree spacing and whole orchard recycling.

He has assisted Merced County Master Gardeners with various meetings and projects during this time as well. He also manages a project that is trying to understand how people in California say the word almond either with the L, without the L, or both depending on the situation.

Currently, he is continuing some

of the work mention prior, but more importantly he is trying to understand the needs of the agricultural community in Merced and Madera counties. This will help focus the direction of his work in the coming years. He would like to meet with local growers in the area to better understand what needs they would like addressed. He would also like to speak with others connected to local agricultural industry, such as PCAs, CCAs, agriculture chemical company reps, and allied industry.

Cameron is based in the UC

Cooperative Extension office located at 2145 Wardrobe Ave, Merced, CA 95348, and can be reached at cazuber@ucanr. edu and (209) 385-7403. He resides in Merced with his wife and young son, and is about halfway through getting his PhD in soil science from UC Merced.

Part of his research work involves documenting the changes to soil water holding capacity and tree response to whole orchard recycling. Please do not hesitate to reach out to him. He is also happy to help if you have concerns related to your orchard crops.

Lic 0499798 "Proudly celebrating over 50 years of excellence in our industry"

Bobby Rosa (209) 856-8820 brosa@rppins.com

Jeff Wolf (209) 856-8821 jwolf@rppins.com

Lucia Farao (209) 856-8846 lfarao@rppins.com

Leslie Machado (209) 856-8814 lmachado@rppins.com

Leroy Rocha 856-8839 lrocha@rppins.com (209)

Tammy Gray (209) 856-8885 tray@rppins.com

Rosie DeLaCruz (209) 856-8840 rdelacruz@rppins.com

Call us today for a personalized Insurance Consultation!

(800) 399-7473 • (209) 854-2000 • www.rppins.com On the left, a current map of how people say the word almond in California based on survey responses. On the right, website and QR code if you would like more information on the project or would like to take the survey and add your pronunciation to the map.

Page 8

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

STOCKPILING FOR EXTENDED STORAGE OF INHULL ALMONDS

The key to successful stockpile management is controlling moisture content and insects, which requires commitment and close coordination among growers and hullers/shellers.

Scan the QR code to learn about best practices for stockpile management to prevent aflatoxins and minimize the formation of concealed damage.

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Page 9

Updates from FELS

By: FELS CA Minimum Wage Rising to $15.50 in January On May 12, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California’s minimum wage in 2023 will be $15.50 per hour.

Previously, New Year’s Day 2023 had been expected to bring a minimum wage of $15 per hour for employers of 25 or fewer employees. Employers of 26 or more employees have been required to pay a state minimum wage of $15 per hour since Jan. 1.

However, the Department of Finance announced in May that inflation of 7.6 percent during fiscal year 2021-22, which ended on June 30, triggered the increase. Senate Bill 3 (Leno, 2016) included that trigger, resulting in that bill’s first automatic increase in the minimum wage based on rises in the Consumer Price Index occurring in 2023 instead of 2024.

As a result, employers of all sizes will have to pay non-exempt employees at least $15.50 per hour on and after Jan. 1 in 2023, a hike of $1.50 per hour for small employers, who now must pay a minimum of $14 per hour.

The minimum salary for exempt employees will increase to $64,480 per year or $5,774 per month, a significant jump for exempt employees of small employers, whose annual salary floor is now $58,240.

In a bit of good news for California employers, the Secretary of State’s office announced on July 1 that a ballot initiative being pushed by labor and anti-poverty advocates that would increase the minimum wage to $18 by 2025 in $1 annual increments failed to qualify for the November 2022 ballot.

According to the Secretary of State, proponents of the measure failed to submit a sufficient number of verifiable signatures.

CDPH Issues Ambigious New “Close Contact” Order; Cal/OSHA Issues Revised FAQ On June 8, the California Department of Public Health issued a new order (https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/ CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Order-

of-the-StatePublicHealthOfficerBeyondBlueprint. aspx) significantly revising the definitions of “close contact.”

This action by CDPH is significant for agricultural employers who must comply with the May 2022 version of the COVID-19 ETS (effective May 6, 2022 until December 31, 2022). CDPH revised its definitions due to emerging research showing that COVID-19 is an airborne dis-ease and therefore more apt to spread broadly than if spread by respiratory droplets, which settle some distance from the person emitting them.

CDPH’s updated frequently asked questions accompanying the June 8 order indicate that employers may still be able to consider how far employees are from an infected person. However, the CDPH order effectively invalidates the “six feet” part of the longstanding rule of thumb in as-sessing whether close contact has occurred: within six feet for a total of 15 minutes in a 24hour period, or 6/15/24).”

The June 8 order’s definitions of “close contact” affect how employers must comply with the May 2022 version of Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards. That version specifies that CDPH orders establish how employers must assess whether an employee has experienced a close contact for the purpose of contact tracing, workplace exclusion, and provision of testing.

Cal/OSHA’s frequently asked questions, updated on July 18, as to how CDPH’s June 8 order impact the COVID-19 ETS can be found at: https:// www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/coronavirus/ COVID19FAQs.html.

While great ambiguity remains as to how much employers must change their practices in light of CDPH’s order, it appears employers may still be able to treat portions of a large work space like a large building as single workplace rather than having to treat it as a single “air-space.” Further, employers may be able to continue to treat employees who commonly work together as “cohorts” separate from others. Beyond this FAQ, Cal/OSHA has offered little guidance as to how it in-tends to enforce requirements to establish “close contact.”

SCOTUS Upholds Arbitration Agreements Barsamian & Moody Employers finally get some relief from Private Attorneys General Act claims ravaging California agriculture by way of a pivotal long-awaited opinion by the United States Supreme Court in Viking River Cruises, Inc., v.

Moriana.

The Court took up the question of whether the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preempts a California Supreme Court decision which says that you cannot force employees to arbitrate PAGA claims. The answer from the US Supreme Court is yes, the California rule of law is preempted, and thus no longer applicable, to the extent that the waiver precludes division of PAGA actions into individual and nonindividual claims through an agreement to arbitrate.

The case before the Court involved Viking River Cruises, Inc., which is a company that offers cruises around the world. The Plaintiff in that case, Angie Moriana was a sales representative for Viking Cruises. At the time of hire, Moriana executed an arbitration agreement to arbitrate any disputes arising out of her employment.

Specifically, the arbitration agreement contained a Class Action Waiver waiving Moriana’s right to bring class, collective, or representative PAGA actions.

After her employment ended, Moriana filed in California state court a PAGA action alleging that Viking had violated various wage and hour laws, i.e., meal period violations, minimum wage violations, overtime violations, time of pay violations, etc. Viking moved to compel arbitration of her individual claims and to dismiss her PAGA claims. The trial court denied the motion, and the Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that the “categorical waivers of PAGA standing are contrary to state policy and that PAGA claims cannot be split into arbitrable in-dividual claims and nonarbitrable ‘representative’ claims.”

The California rule came from Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC, a 2014 opinion in which the California Supreme Court held that “pre-dispute agreements to waive the right to bring “representative” PAGA claims are invalid as a matter of public policy.”

In its analysis of the Iskanian opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court

recognized a distinguishable difference between a plaintiff’s “individual PAGA claim” meaning the violations suffered by the plaintiff and a representative claim, acting as the representative of the State or a representative claim acting as a representative of all other purportedly aggrieved employees.

The Court opined that Iskanian prohibits waivers of an individual’s representative standing to bring PAGA claims and the ability to resolve the employee’s individual violations through arbitration. The Court has traditionally held that “States cannot coerce individuals into forgoing arbitration by taking the individualized and informal procedures characteristic of traditional arbitration off the table.”

Thus, the Court held that Iskanian’s prohibition on the division of PAGA claims is incompatible with the FAA as it coerces parties to proceed with the case in civil court rather than arbitration.

However, the Court was clear to limit its decision by indicating that the rule of law from Iskanian which precludes whole-sale waivers of PAGA claims was not preempted by the FAA. The Court went on to clarify the process for disposing of the PAGA representative claims after the individual claims have been addressed through arbitration: Under PAGA’s standing requirement, a plaintiff can maintain non-individual PAGA claims in an action only by virtue of also maintaining an individual claim in that action. When an employee’s own dispute is pared away from a PAGA action, the employee is no different from a member of the general public, and PAGA does not allow such persons to maintain suit.

What This Means for Employers: We are all familiar with the PAGA claims being filed all over the California agriculture industry due to the quickly accumulating penalty rate and the excessive attorney fees available to plaintiff’s counsel in PAGA actions.

Fully executed effective arbitration agreements may now save employers the time and expense of litigating PAGA claims.

This decision is a victory for employers who have executed arbitration agreements specifically addressing PAGA claims with employees. To the extent that the arbitration agreement is written in a manner which does not wholly waive See 'FELS' Page 10

Page 10

FELS continued from page 9 PAGA representative claims but instead requires an employee to arbitrate his or her individual PAGA violations, the employee can be forced to arbitrate his or her claims.

We can expect there to be push back from plaintiff’s counsel as to whether an arbitration agreement wholly waives the PAGA claims or allows for severability of individual PAGA claims. Resolution of the individual claims requires the dismissal of the entire PAGA action, as that individual no longer has standing to bring the PAGA representative action.

Employers should immediately update their arbitration agreements to include language consistent with this ruling.

The goal of this article is to provide employers with current information on labor and employment law. Its contents should be neither interpreted nor construed as legal advice or opinion. The reader should consult with Barsamian & Moody at (559) 248-2360 for individual responses to questions or concerns regarding any given situation.

SCOTUS Denies Petition to Strike Down AB 5 On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to review the applicability of California’s AB 5 “ABC” test to owner-operator trucking in California. The preliminary injunction

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022 that had prevented enforcement of AB 5 in this situation will soon be lifted.

The petition was filed by the California Trucking Association (CTA).

Denial of the petition and the lifting of the injunction will jeopardize the owner-operator model of truck freight transportation in California, likely compounding shortages of freight transportation as California ag exports are snarled in ports and port operators and longshore unions are embroiled in contract negotiations that could result in a west-coast ports strike this summer.

CTA had contended that AB 5 is preempted by the federal law prohibiting state regulation of prices, routes and services of motor carriers.

AB 5 (Gonzalez, 2016), intended to discourage employers from misclassifying employees as independent contractors, is problematic for the owner-operator trucking model, which is common elsewhere in the U.S., because it imposes a three-factor test to determine the legality of a contractor relationship that many if not most owner-operators cannot meet.

The three-factor test includes the “A” factor – that a worker is free of the direction and control of the hirer; the “B” factor – that the work is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and the “C” factor – that the worker is customarily engaged in an independently estab-lished trade or

occupation.

The “B” factor is most problematic for owner-operator truckers and the motor carriers that would otherwise contract with them to move freight.

When filing its petition in 2019, CTA said AB 5 “threatens the livelihood of more than 70,000 independent truckers.”

While it’s difficult to predict the fallout of this situation, it seems likely that taking 70,000 truck drivers out of the trucking industry, stranding substantial investments in equipment they can no longer use, and forcing them to transition into employment by motor carrier companies will cause significant disruptions.

Upcoming FELS Webinars & Trainings Aug. 10 (Modesto): Mandatory Produce Safety Training (in person): The Food Safety Training Partnership, a cooperative effort of California Farm Bureau, Farm Employers Labor Service, and the Safe Food Alliance, is offering produce safety training required by the federal Food Safety Modernization Act. The $35 training fee is substantially subsidized by a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

You can find registration and more information at the Food Safety Training Partnership website (http:// foodsafetytrainingpartnership.

org/#registration).

August 26, 2022, 10 AM (webinar): Arbitration Agreements for California Ag Employers: Do I Need One? How Do I Get One?: California policymakers keep trying to narrow employers’ use of arbitration agreements that require employees to arbitrate disputes over employment-related matters. Federal courts, including in the recent Viking River Cruises case, push back by asserting federal preemption.

Employers and their counsel push arbitration rather than resort to California’s crowded and expensive litigation system where the deck is already stacked against employers by the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), liberal and sometimes hostile judges, and unsympathetic juries. How will an arbitration policy help you as an employer in California? How big a victory was Viking River Cruises, and how will the union- and employeefriendly California Legislature respond?

Catherine Houlihan of FELS Group Legal Services plan partner firm Barsamian & Moody will fill you in.

When? August 26, 2022, 10:00 AM Where? Your desktop, laptop, phone, tablet, or favorite device?

How do I register? You can register here: https://cfbf.zoom.us/meeting/ register/tZEuc-yspjMpH9J_ iTxREDbg3ilcFkKDs3Bb.

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Page 11

Merced County Farm Bureau Hertiage Members Platinum Hertiage Members

Gold Heritage Members

Grimbleby Coleman CPAs

Holt Ag Solutions

Minturn Nut Company

Turlock Irrigation District

Valley Pacific Petroleum Services Inc.

BUILT FOR AGRICULTURE Our mission is to improve the lives of farmers and ranchers while serving all segments of agriculture.

Whether you’re looking to buy land, invest in equipment or refinance an existing loan to save money, we have the financial solutions and expertise to help you get the job done.

Call 800.800.4865 today or visit AgLoan.com/Built-for-Ag A part of the Farm Credit System. Equal Opportunity Lender.

Page 12

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Merced County District Attorney’s Office Investigations Bureau Makes Arrest

M

erced County District Attorney Investigator Struble received a phone call early on June 6, 2022 from a local farmer reporting the attempted theft of a fuel trap wagon from their ranch.

Investigator Struble, assigned to Rural Crimes, met with the farmer to begin the investigation. Surveillance video was provided and showed two subjects, in a black pickup; pull into the ranch in the early morning hours of June 6, 2022. The black pickup parked near the fuel trap wagon, stayed for a short period and then left.

Approximately one hour later, the black pickup returned with the same two individuals inside. This time the black pickup is followed by a silver 4 door vehicle with one person inside. All

3 subjects attempt to connect the fuel trap wagon to the black pick up. They were unsuccessful as an employee of the ranch pulled in as they were attempting to steal the trap wagon, all 3 individuals fled.

Investigator Struble was able to identify the black pickup and owner with the assistance of Merced Police Department, Officer Chavez.

Investigator Struble was able to establish enough probable cause to arrest the driver / owner of the black pickup. On June 22, 2022 Investigator Struble located the black pickup in the area of Atwater Jordon and Bert Crane. Merced County Sheriff’s Deputy Hawkins assisted Investigator Struble in conducting an enforcement stop on the black pickup in the area of Buhach Road and Landrum Ave. The owner of the black pickup, Pedro Canella Alvarado, 39, was arrested. A

search of the vehicle was conducted and a stolen shotgun was located inside the vehicle, along with numerous shotgun rounds. Alvarado was booked into the Merced County Jail.

The Merced County District Attorney’s Office has filed the following criminal charges against Pedro Canella Alvarado: Possession of a firearm by a prohibited person – felony Possession of ammunition by a prohibited person – felony Vandalism – felony Attempted auto theft – felony Attempted grand theft – felony Enhancements for being out on bail and/ or own recognizance – felony When Investigator Struble arrested Alvarado on June 22, 2022, Alvarado was currently out of custody, on his own recognizance, pending court for a prior arrest. Alvarado was arrested

Pedro Canella Alvarado

and charged with possession of a stolen Bobcat Skid Steer on March 6, 2022 by the Merced Police Department.

Want to $ave Money?

Keep It Running Right!

We get it. You’re looking for ways to manage costs right now. Our expert technicians are here to help!

Expert Service, Maintenance & Sales on Sanitation, Disinfecting and Cleaning Equipment.

Budget $avers!

Rentals available on all types of equipment!

E OM

$UMMER $AVIN

G

12 Monthassh!

Samew Haotssy &CDon’t Pay S

We Fix & Service All Brands!

AWE S

By: Investigator Jay Struble, Merced County District Attorney's Office

Get a ne ar. No Cash for an Entire Ye Interest. o Up Front, Nds 8/31/22 Offer en

Hot & Cold Pressure Washers Sanitation Equipment Tank & Barrel Steamers Floor Care

WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS | WATER RECOVERY SYSTEMS | PARTS & ACCESSORIES NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BAY AREA | SANTA ROSA | MODESTO

PacificBayEquipment.com

209.578.3925

FORMERLY HOTSY PACIFIC

WE’RE BEST UNDER PRESSURE | YOUR TRUSTED RESOURCE FOR OVER 30 YEARS

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Delta continued from page 1 habitat by avoiding the negative effects on flows caused by the California Aqueduct’s massive pumps.

Twisting arms and promising public works projects for holdout legislators, Brown finally won approval of a peripheral canal bill, only to see it repealed in a 1982 referendum.

Environmental groups formed a strange bedfellows alliance with big

agribusiness interests, which believed the canal would not deliver enough water, on the successful campaign to reject the project.

The two Republican governors who followed, George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson, made fitful efforts on alternatives, such as a “through-Delta” canal or agreements that would deliver more water while improving the Delta’s habitat.

Those efforts failed and the Democrat who succeeded Wilson, Gray Davis, clearly didn’t want to touch the issue — having witnessed the conflict up close as

Page 13 Jerry Brown’s chief of staff.

However, after Davis was recalled in 2003, Republican successor Arnold Schwarzenegger gave it a new try, working out a scheme to replace the peripheral canal with twin tunnels that, at least on paper, could be built without legislative or voter approval.

Jerry Brown inherited the twin tunnel plan when he returned for another stint as governor in 2011 but couldn’t get it done before departing. Immediately upon becoming governor in 2019, Newsom tossed out the twin tunnels in favor of a single one, thereby setting the

stage for last week’s action.

“The governor is committed to getting this project essentially in a place where it’s getting built by the end of this administration,” Wade Crowfoot, Newsom’s resources secretary, said.

Fat chance.

The project still has a lot of blanks to be filled, including a cost estimate, a list of water agencies willing to commit to repaying bonds to build it and a potentially infinite number of legal challenges from opponents.

It also has 57 years of history to overcome.

Rep. Scott unveils Small Family Farmer and Rancher Relief Act By: Ag Daily

H

ouse Agricultural Committee Chairman Rep. David Scott (D-GA) recently introduced the Small Family Farmer and Rancher Relief Act (H.R. 8590). The act attempts to serve small farmers and ranchers in the cattle industry and address a “growing crisis” in decreasing cattle numbers.

The measure is intended to take a “two-pillar approach” to expanding and diversifying marketing opportunities while helping ranchers to preserve their operations for future generations.

The House’s news release states, “Currently, cattle farmers do not have an adequate safety net to protect against volatility in the marketplace — the improved safety net addresses that gap and helps small producers capture a fairer share of the food dollar. The second pillar of this legislation will connect small ranchers to help them market, improve, or differentiate their products. This ensures that small ranchers are not dependent upon a single option to sell their cattle or finished products.”

However, there are some reservations to the plan — or, perhaps, to the lack of a clear plan. In a statement, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association expressed disappointment in the Small Family Farmer and Rancher Relief Act, saying that the act provides more questions than it does answers and that it doesn’t go into enough detail in many spots. NCBA was not included in the drafting process for the legislation, but the association said it hopes to be included in identifying “blind spots” in

the proposal.

Despite those kinds of concerns, Scott’s office remains steadfast.

He said that the following measures are included in Pillar One to provide a stronger safety net for small producers: • Livestock Risk Protection insurance program improvements that increase the premium subsidy for ranchers who market 100 head or less per year.

• Creation of a Beef Cattle Spread Coverage Program • USDA indemnity program administered by the FSA, provides

•

relief to small producers when the farmer’s share of retail dollar drops below 51.7 percent.

• Indemnity rates will be calculated based on the difference between the price of fed beef cattle and boxed beef sold at wholesale or retail prices.

• Protects producers against significant swings in the difference between cattle prices, wholesale beef prices, and retail prices.

Outreach and Education: resources will be provided to USDA’s Risk Management Agency and

Farm Service Agency to educate producers and insurance agencies.

Pillar Two will address increased competition and market access through the following: • Creation of a Small Rancher Market Access competitive grant program administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service.

• Connect small ranchers to new and diversified marketing options to increase profitability.

• AMS resources to help educate farmers on how to apply and use new programs.

Page 14

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

California scrambles to avoid extensive SGMA fallowing—and another Dust Bowl By: Brad Hooker, AgriPulse

T

he Public Policy Institute of California is sparking new conversations around innovative alternatives to keep farmland in production and avoid devastating environmental and health impacts from fallowing as much as a million acres of land under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. PPIC has embarked on the first major research endeavor to investigate options for keeping farmers farming and for the complex policymaking needed to finance and expedite a suite of farming practices and regulatory restructuring. The hope is it would build some flexibility into California’s highly specialized agricultural system.

The PPIC Water Policy Center raised eyebrows in 2019 when the researchers estimated that at least half a million acres must go out of production for overdrafted basins to reach sustainability by 2040. A year later, a UC Berkeley study doubled that estimate to cover about a fifth of the irrigated farmland in the San Joaquin Valley. Now the center is looking for solutions, joining a chorus of agricultural and rural interests engaging policymakers on investing in long-term resilience.

In a report published last week, PPIC researchers found that switching to dryland farming or crops that require little irrigation would offer farmers the option to keep fields in production during dry years and still plant highervalue summer crops when the water returns. The policy paper explores opportunities to capitalize on the winter rains of California’s Mediterranean climate by growing winter wheat and in drought years turning to forage crops like hay or silage, with a focus on early harvests before precipitation dries up in late spring.

While this offers little consolation for the farming families who built the nation’s most productive agricultural region over several generations, it does present the state with a range of public benefits as it enters a period of long-term aridification and diminishing air quality from wildfire smoke. Multibenefit projects for tackling climate and drought issues are also drawing more attention in

the Sacramento policy world.

But competing in California’s highly regulated business landscape leaves farmers—especially the thousands of growers on small plots or from underserved communities—with thin profit margins and little time to invest in risky new practices.

While the researchers cautioned that much more work is needed to assess the economic viability of such alternatives to fallowing, a panel discussion with farmers, an air quality expert and an ecologist drew optimism for the industry’s ability to apply water-limited cropping through creative management practices.

“As far as the grain crop, it serves multiple purposes,” said Mark Hutson, a longtime farmer in Madera County who grows walnuts and almonds and has been experimenting with dryland wheat.

“It just gives me more options. And that is what's exciting to me as a grower.”

While grains provide Hutson with a modest income in dry years, he can sacrifice the crop when flooding fields for groundwater recharge during wet winters, allowing him to bank water for pumping later while preventing subsidence and improving groundwater quality. It also maintains soil organic matter, especially when applying mulch produced from whole orchard recycling. He can farm in a strip manner as well, with only a portion dedicated to grain. And when the yield is too low to harvest, the crops become grazing material.

“We used to do a lot of it in the valley, particularly winter wheat and barley,” said Caitlin Peterson, an agroecologist at the Water Policy Center and lead author on the report. “To what extent might it be possible to reintroduce it? And is that something we would want to do?”

Peterson and colleagues surveyed stakeholders and conducted in-depth interviews to supplement their scenario modeling for parts of the valley. While dryland farming is possible in some areas, having a few inches of irrigation significantly improved the feasibility of a winter crop, especially when harvesting as forage to lower operating costs. The water-limited crops need few inputs and offer a relatively high

value for the water used, propelled by consistent demand from California’s large dairy industry.

To break even, a farmer must produce five tons of winter wheat forage a year with minimal irrigation.

Dryland farming, on the other hand, presented much more risk due to the variability in rainfall. Farmers would stand just a 40% chance of generating enough yield in a year, meaning the crop would fail most years. Yet the PPIC analysis generated several scenarios when water-limited crops would not cover the cost of production either.

Peterson cautioned that the modeling needs be grounded in solid field work, on-farm trials and research into other crop varieties, along with economic assessments of both the markets and the value of the environmental benefits.

The most notable advantage is that maintaining farmland minimizes the amount of dust in the valley as the land transitions under SGMA. In rural, lowincome communities, dust is already leading to devastating health outcomes, such as respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses and developmental impairments in infants and children, according to a separate PPIC report published last month.

Dust accounts for more than half of the fine particulate matter plaguing the valley’s air quality. The concentrations have dropped over the decades as the region meets federal attainment standards and farmers better manage for dust through conservation tillage practices and equipment like lowdust tree nut harvesters. But SGMA fallowing and more frequent and intense wildfires are threatening to increase particle pollution, explained Andrew Ayres, an environmental and natural resources economist at the Water Policy Center.

More dust adds more risk for Valley fever, as fungal spores spread more broadly and lead to infections. He pointed to another unintended SGMA consequence, that the dust can carry legacy pesticides banned decades ago but still present in some soils.

Ayres and his team identified communities that are highly vulnerable to increasing dust, since nearby fallowing is likely to occur. In these

places, the soil type promulgates dust and clusters of dust storms already occur.

“The valley right now is at a point in SGMA implementation where it has an opportunity to really get out ahead of this problem,” said Ayres.

Jonathan Klassen, who directs air quality science at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, stressed that the valley has come a long way to reduce emissions, slashing the larger PM 10 particulates by more than 35 tons. The district has been working with agriculture to implement a regulatory rule for conservation management practices like minimizing tillage, filtering dust, cover cropping and consolidating activities into fewer passes through the fields. The district has been making progress on the finer PM 2.5 particulates, but it remains stubbornly challenging.

Klassen said incentives grants are “a huge part of our operations” to help industries cover the costs. The district has spent more than $13 million so far to help growers upgrade to more than 160 low-dust harvesters in the region.

Another $180 million is helping with alternatives to open agricultural burning to reduce particle pollution.

Air quality has been top of mind for Cork McIsaac as well. As president of Agriculture Industries Inc., he provides land management services to farmers and other landowners. One of his tasks is to protect fallowed lands on those operations from pests, usually through disking fields or shredding material, which can create more dust.

While McIsaac encourages dryland farming, more than a decade of dry conditions have made it problematic.

The farming has mainly been to grow grain that is then grazed by sheep and goats, but those plants often become hosts to a variety of pests.

Farmers, however, concentrate on the agronomic perspective, which means applying water to the highest value good, he explained.

“This is where that broader policy needs to come into play,” said McIsaac, though he warned that growers would rather not rely on government See 'SGMA' Page 15

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Page 15

water lost through evapotranspiration. under NRCS. This led SGMA Sweet continued from Potato page 14 EQIP program Joe from page 1 The conservancy’s corporate sponsors, him to believe that it would be faster

the former Florence Cardoza known themoney “Voicethrough of Livings- which andhave booster for over fifty years. their own environmental to of distribute theas grant Merced in 1942. ton.”

From or 1946 to 1996, he an- goals This led tocover his being appointed to meet, the program costs. local water districts groundwater are also looking into ways sustainability agencies McIsaac After the war, and during his nounced all the(GSAs).

Livingston High The the GSAs third Area Commissioner to strategically deploy groundwater was similarly frustrated with time delays life as a sweet potato farmer, he School football games, lending of Baseball. All of these years recharge around communities with in CDFA’s whole orchard recycling assistance. served as President of the Calihis strong voice to the communi- of being involved in baseball vulnerable drinking water wells. The program.

Hutson lauded the USDA Natural fornia Sweet Potato Council, and ty by also announcing everything in Livingston culminated in the agencies are identifying areas in the GSAs are already leading the charge Resources Conservation Service and US Sweet Potato Council, where in Livingston from parades to basin community baseball fieldofbeing likely to have high rates land on repurposing fallowed farmland, his local resource conservation district he was a Director for over 20 radio programs.

He served on the renamed the “Joe F. Alvernaz repurposing and face economic and according to Reyn Akiona, an ecologist for helping him to incorporate forage years.

He was therecharge first CaliforElementary Baseball Field,” something environmental stressors.

They haveheset and the Livingston watershed coordinator forSchool the cropping into his groundwater $3.5 Tule Basin in Tulare County.

TwoCounty asidewas farmerpermanent to attend the National Board and the Merced somillion proud in of.grant funding on a project. Butnia removing crops of the GSAs in the basin have been suite of projects in those areas. for such purposes more money among Recreation Commission for many Sweet requires Potato Convention, Joe was predeceased by his But Akiona shot down any hope experimenting with a policy that rewards than is available through grants.

He other industry firsts. Joe seryears. Joe’s acting skills even parents, Joe and Mabel Alvernaz, for scaling up small habitat restoration farmers who commit to fallowing a also worriedved about saturating markets as President of the Merced benefited the Livingston Little brothers, Arthur and John Alprojects in the basin, arguing it is portion of their land, charging them by scaling up such production to meet County Farm Bureau, and was Theater Group, where he starvernaz, and sister, Mary Geyer. physically impossible—regardless of less for their water allotments. This the anticipated 500,000 acres of SGMA reda in severalbyproductions, He wasofalso predeceased by his funding available—and feeds into program The Nature most the amount fallowing. on the Board of Directors of the Nisei Farmers League.

He fornotably as Elwood P. Dowd in oldest son, Joey Alvernaz, in cited a lack of available native seeds, Conservancy that works with farmers Navigating the system for grant the California Sweet “Harvey”.

1980 and andpractitioners. by his wife The of 64basin years, suppliers on retiring their water rights, allowing applicationsmed has been difficult and time-Potato one restoration project spanning 465 groundwater remain underground. consuming Growers for Hutson.

After in two years, Co-op Livingston, Histolove of baseball began at anhas Florence, in 2007.

The farmers can then cover crop the acres, which may seem enormous to a he gave up along on a conservation grant for with several other local early age and became a life-long He is survived by five children, restorationist but tiny to a policy person, ground without being penalized for the his rechargegrowers, project and switched to the which is celebrating its interest that manifested itself into Judy Blevins, James (Colette) 50th anniversary this year. a devotion to the sport for over Alvernaz, and Benjamin (Debbie) His interests and community eighty years. He organized the Alvernaz of Livingston; Cecelia involvement were very diversefirst kid’s hardball team in Mer(James) Simon of San Diego, and from serving as a founding ced County in the early 50’s. He Susan (Randall) Wilson of Mamember of the Livingston Mewas particularly fond of Ameriposa, a sister, Cecelia Luker of dical Group, to past-President rican Legion Baseball, serving Atwater, 17 grandchildren and 13 of Livingston Rotary, to being as a coach, sponsor, announcer

AgVentura with Agriculture in the Classroom is right around the corner!

Join us in Ventura County

September 22-24

Free Resources

Fabulous Food

Fun Workshops

Fantastic Field Trips

Register online at LearnAboutAg.org/programs/conference/ Registration: $275 • Scholarships

he explained.

“The state of California at large is great grandchildren. starting to come to grips with the reality His earth dimmed, that welight don'ton even havehas enough material to the action we want as to do,” he said. butdoheaven is brighter he has Scaling up grants to meet the joined Florence, the true love of massive his life. size of the problem raised other concerns for McIsaac, who noted So long to our Dad, coach, that CDFA’s grants for climate-smart neighborare and everyone’s friend. practices limited in funding.

He“Iwill be deeply andthis painfully understand there's hesitancy to missed, yet celebrated, honored benefit larger growers,” said McIsaac.

“How do weforgotten. not disadvantage smaller and never growers, but get the most for the In lieu of flowers, thebang family buck?” requests that donations may be Despite the many obstacles ahead made to Grace Nursing Home in for integrating water-limited crops with Livingston or to the Joe F. Alemerging water conservation efforts, vernaz was Memorial Fundbytothe benefit Akiona encouraged flexible youth baseball in Livingston. thinking and the ability to empathize Sweet Joetrends was the with otherPotato positions, that appear to be budding in President the valley “despite Farm Bureau from the emotional load that comes with resource 1983-1986 and hired long-time scarcity.” staff member Lorraine Passadori when she showed up in her clown costume for the interview.

Agriculture lost a strong advocate that will truly be missed. We will continue to keep his family in our thoughts and prayers.

Pazin & Myers, Inc. 129 West 15th Street Merced, Ca 95340

Serving Merced and Mariposa Counties for over 35 years!

(209)725-2050

Meeting all of your residential, farming, commercial, and retail needs...

GASOLINE - DIESEL - QUALITY LUBRICANTS Merced county FarM news

saturday, noveMber 16, 2013, page 12

Page 16

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Farm Bureau Endorses Dahle for Governor By: Josh Cook, Dahle for Governor

A

ugust 4, 2022 SACRAMENTO --- The California Farm Bureau, representing agricultural producers in nearly every county in California, has endorsed Senator Brian Dahle in his race to become the next Governor of California, applauding his commitment to protecting and supporting California’s largest industry.

“Thanks to its amazing natural

features, California from the earliest days of statehood has been an agricultural wonderland, and we’re still the top farm state in the nation,” Dahle said. “Unfortunately, the state has stopped supporting its farms. Our crops compete on a global market, but only-inCalifornia laws drive up labor and fuel costs, restrict the use of critical farm inputs, and limit water availability.

“As governor, I will support the people who feed the world with healthy, California-grown crops, from the avocados of San Diego County to the organic alfalfa of Modoc County.”

The California Farm Bureau applauds Senator Dahle’s work as a true citizenlegislator who continues to operate his family’s farm and seed business in Lassen County while serving in the state Legislature and his strong support of meeting the state’s commitments to build new water storage and otherwise improve vital water supplies.

“As a State Senator who returns to his farm every week, Brian Dahle understands the consequences legislation and regulations are having on family farms", said Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson. "As a third-

generation Californian, Dahle knows how our disturbing new normal of scarcity—including a lack of water, and shortages of electricity, fuel, food and housing—has brought many California families and businesses to the breaking point. California Farm Bureau supports Brian’s urgent fight to restore our state and provide opportunities for all Californians.”

Senator Brian Dahle represents 1 million constituents in northeastern California in the state Legislature, where he has served since winning the election in 2012.

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Page 17

UN warns two largest US water reservoirs at ‘dangerously low levels’ By: Sharon Udasin, The Hill

T

he United Nations warned on Tuesday that the two biggest water reservoirs in the United States have dwindled to “dangerously low levels” due to the impacts of climate change.

The situation has become so severe that these reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are on the verge of reaching “dead pool status” — the point at which water levels drop so low that downstream flow ceases, according to the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP).

Without such flow, hydroelectric power stations would cease to operate, jeopardizing the electricity supply for millions in the region, a statement from the agency said.

“The conditions in the American West, which we’re seeing around the Colorado River basin, have been so dry for more than 20 years that we’re no longer speaking of a drought,” said Lis Mullin Bernhardt, an ecosystems expert at UNEP. “We refer to it as ‘aridification’ — a new very dry normal,” Bernhardt added.

The Colorado River system supplies water to more than 40 million people and irrigates about 5.7 million acres of agriculture. The system serves seven states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada and California — as well as Mexico.

Scientists have already estimated that Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which are fed by the river, will plunge to 25 percent of their capacity by the end of this year.

MERCED COUNTY FARM BUREAU

2022 GENERAL ELECTION ENDORSEMENT The Merced County Farm Bureau proudly endorses Senator Brian Dahle for Governor of California MCFB RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SUPPORT, OPPOSE, OR STAY NEUTRAL ON CANDIDATES, BALLOT MEASURES, OR POLICIES DURING ANY ELECTION THAT MAY IMPACT MCFB MEMBERS

Meanwhile, only about 10 percent of the Colorado River’s natural flow, which has been heavily diverted throughout history along its 1,400-mile course, now reaches Mexico.

As the western water crisis continues to deepen, water cuts will be introduced throughout the region, but experts warn that these actions may not be enough, according to UNEP. “While regulating and managing water supply and demand are essential in both the short and long term, climate change is at the heart of this issue,” Maria Morgado, UNEP’s ecosystems officer in North America, said in a statement.

“In the long term we need to address the root causes of climate change as well as water demands,” Morgado added.

The combined impacts of climate

change and overconsumption have exacerbated the crisis, as frequent droughts and temperature rises confront an expanding population, the UNEP statement said.

While the situation may be dire in the American West, the agency stressed that what is happening in the region is indicative of a wider global trend.

Across the world, hundreds of millions of people are impacted by climate change as drought and desertification become “the new normal,” according to UNEP. “We are talking about a 20-year period of drought-like conditions with an ever-increasing demand on water,” Bernhardt said. “These conditions are alarming, and particularly in the Lake Powell and Lake Mead region, it is the perfect storm.”

FREE N-95 MASKS Call the MCFB office at 209-723-3001 for more information on how to obtain masks.

Page 18

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

How massive wildfires create their own weather By: Manola Secaira, Capitol Radio

F

ire tornadoes. Pyrocumulous clouds. Smoke that chills temperatures.

After years of massive wildfires, it’s become evident that these blazes do more than burn their surroundings — they’re also influencing weather.

The relationship between weather patterns and wildfires has been studied for a long time. Researchers have seen how certain conditions are more conducive to the creation and growth of wildfires. Drought, which can dry out forests and create perfect fuel for a flame, is one example.

As teams of firefighters have deployed to combat blazes throughout the state, researchers have seen more and more examples of the unique ways that massive wildfires influence their environment.

“Fires create their own weather, they can get very intense, and they can really impact the weather around them,” says Craig Clements, who directs San Jose State University’s Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center.

With a team, Clements studies these weather patterns and also observes them in person. His team’s field approach is still largely uncommon when it comes to how fire-induced weather is studied.

“There's not a lot of observational research because it's very hard to collect these types of data,” he says. “Most wildfire research is done after the fact, after the fire's already been put out and people go back and look at how intense it was.”

As large wildfires become more common, Clements says that work like his could help predict wildfires-induced weather patterns, and therefore help teams of firefighters prepare for it.

Predicting weather created by wildfires The idea of a fire influencing its environment isn’t new. Wildfires, regardless of size, inevitably have an effect on their surroundings.

“Even small fires, even grass fires, modify the local wind around the fire,” Clements says.

But what is new is our ability to predict fire-induced weather patterns quickly enough to help firefighters anticipate them.

Adam Kochanski is another researcher at the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center,

leading the center’s fire modeling group.

The models he uses focus on how fires create their own weather as well as how they impact air quality.

A decade ago, Kochanski says, models like his weren’t fast enough to predict fire-induced weather in a useful timeframe. It could take days to work out a prediction, which would come far too late.

In the last few years, Kochanski says they’ve been able to refine their model, which can now create a 48-hour forecast within three to five hours.

“That’s a big change,” he says.

“Now, because of that, we start thinking about those models, not just as research models, but also as tools that can provide useful information if you have a fire.”

But this kind of prediction isn’t enough on its own. It’s hard to tell, without observations to back it up, if the predictions he gets are accurate — and that’s where Kochanski says Clements in-person work comes in.

What researchers are seeing With a team, Clements goes out to wildfires while they’re still happening to make observations. He says that the ways in which fires influence their environment vary.

Clements says that these changes to the weather start with the heat emanating from the fire itself. The extreme heat of the fire causes air to rise quickly, creating fire-induced winds. These winds sometimes help the fire spread more quickly and can arise even if the location of the fire wasn’t particularly windy before the blaze started.

If a blaze is large and creates particularly strong updrafts, that can then cause clouds to form. These clouds are sometimes called “fire clouds” or “pyrocumulous clouds.” Sometimes, a large fire can create a thunderstorm, called a “pyrocumulonimbus cloud.”

And then there are “fire tornadoes.”

Clements says that these tornadoes can happen after a fire cloud has formed.

“If you form a cloud, you get some cooling, and then you can actually get downdraft air … back down to the surface from the cloud,” Clements says.

“And that can actually push the fire in different directions.”

When the winds start coming at the fire from different directions, this can start rotating the plume of smoke and the fire itself, which can create a vortex such as a fire-generated tornado.

“It's these larger scale vortices that can be very dangerous,” Clements

says. “And we've seen a lot of those in California over the last few years, like the Carr Fire, the Creek Fire, to name just a few.”

Large fires also create a lot of smoke.

Kochanski says that a large quantity of it, like the smoke that inundated the Bay Area as a result of the fires in 2020, can turn the sky orange for days in a row and lower temperatures.

There are longer-term impacts, too.

Kochanski says that a large wildfire can inject smoke high up into the atmosphere, which makes it harder for it to dissipate and can also cause it to travel long distances.

“If you inject it high enough, the smoke just stays there for a much longer period of time,” he says.

Battling fire-induced weather Kochanski says that climate change is becoming a bigger part of the conversation around fire-induced weather. As Californians have already seen, drier conditions make it easier for large wildfires to erupt, which then

increases the likelihood of drastic fireinduced weather patterns.

As a result, he says that researchers need to adjust their expectations of what fires will look like in the future. Making predictions of CO2 impacts from large wildfires, for example, will need to account for how wildfires might continue to grow in size in years to come.

“We are kind of trying to wrap our heads around it and see how to put everything together to better understand what we should expect,” he says. “What is going to be the impact of those fires on the climate, on the timescales of, let's say, tens or hundreds of years?”

Clements says that there’s more work to be done in terms of observing these weather patterns.

“It's one of the phenomena that we just don't get enough observations of,” he says. “And so as the fires are getting worse through climate change, we need more people trained in the wildfire sciences as we move forward in the next few decades.”

From small farms to large commercial operations, the INSURICA Agriculture Experts have grown up in agricultural communities.

We’ve designed insurance programs to provide broad and flexible coverage for both your personal and business needs.

Tom Murphy | 209.353.2700 | tmurphy@INSURICA.com | INSURICA.com

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Page 19

Public Comment Period Opens for Additional Resubmitted Groundwater Sustainability Plans with ‘Incomplete’ Determinations By: California Department of Water Resources – Sustainable Groundwater Management Office

O

n January 28, 2022, the Department released eight Incomplete determinations on groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) developed by local agencies to meet the requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

These basins were given 180 days to address deficiencies and resubmit their revised GSPs to the Department for review.

The revised GSPs in response to the Incomplete determination have been resubmitted to the Department and are now posted on the DWR SGMA Portal.

These plans are open to public comment for 60 days after the posted date. Below in the table are links to the submitted plans, counties they cover, and the public comment period end date. More

information about how to comment on a GSP can be found in the public comment factsheet, available in English and Spanish. Please note that a SGMA Portal account is not required to submit a public comment.

Public Comment Period Opens for a Groundwater Sustainability Plan A groundwater sustainability plan that has recently been submitted to the Department is now posted on the DWR SGMA Portal.

The plan is open to public comment for 75 days after the posted date. Below in the table is a link to the submitted plan, the county it covers, and the public comment period end date.

Information about how to comment on the plan can be found in a fact sheet in English and Spanish. Public comments are welcomed and encouraged. A SGMA Portal account is not necessary to submit comments.

Public Comment Period for Merced and Chowchilla Basin End 9/30/2022 Scan below to comment:

Tell the State You Already Are A “Sustainable” Farmer The Department of Pesticide Regulation has released a “discussion draft” with recommendations on how to accelerate “sustainable pest management” in California agriculture. The draft includes recommendations like: Reduce pesticide use by 90% by 2050 in California Require all Pest Control Advisors (PCAs) to be trained in “sustainable pest management” by 2030 Require SPM to be used on 90% of farms and 90% of farm acreage by 2050 Sign this petition by California Farm Bureau Federation to tell the Department many of these recommendations are not realistic and that you already practice “sustainable pest management.”

Please write to DPR today. This will take less than 1 minute of your time.

Page 20

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Risk Management Agency (RMA)

FACT SHEET

United States Department of Agriculture

July 2022

Fire Recovery Assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has multiple agencies that provide financial and/or technical assistance to help farmers, ranchers and rural landowners recover from natural disasters, such as wildfires. Listed below are USDA agencies and an overview of applicable programs. Funding for some programs are contingent on the on the annual enactment of Congressional appropriations legislation.

•

Farm Service Agency (FSA) •

•

•

•

Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP): Compensates producers for livestock death due to natural disasters. Compensation is based on roughly 75percent of the national average price of the livestock by type and age.

Report losses within 30 days. Complete applications are due 60 days after the end of the calendar year.

Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP): Compensates producers for a percentage of the pasture or forage loss on private lands due to natural disasters. Payments are subject to a national payment factor. Report losses within 30 days.

Complete applications are due 30 days after the end of the calendar year.

Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP): Compensates producers who suffer pasture or forage loss due to drought or who have federally managed grazing leases but are not allowed to graze the lease because of wildfire.

Report losses within 30 days. Complete applications are due 30 days after the end of the calendar year.

Emergency Loans – low interest loans to replace farm and ranch buildings and structures, make repairs or replace livestock or feed. Must meet disaster/emergency criteria.

•

Emergency Haying and Grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): approval will be based on drought severity as determined by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Producers located in a county that is designated as severe drought (D2) or greater on or after the last day of the primary nesting season may be eligible. A list by state and map of eligible counties are updated weekly. Check with your local FSA county office for more information.

Emergency Conservation Program (ECP): is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA), provides emergency funding and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland and conservation structures damaged by natural disasters and implement emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought.

•

Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP): Provides payments to nonindustrial private forest land owners for emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster. This program is contingent on funding available.

•

Tree Assistance Program (TAP): Provides financial assistance to replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes and vines damaged by natural disasters. Forests are not eligible.

•

Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP): Provides compensation to producers who grow uninsurable crops and have purchased NAP coverage by the crop signup dates.

•

For more information, visit http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov

•

USDA is an equal opportunity lender, provider and employer.

•

The NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program may be able to provide financial assistance where a fire has created a situation were excessive soil erosion could occur from a rain event creating a threat to life and improved property.

•

General Requirements: • Eminent threat to life and property.

• Local sponsor is willing and able to represent the local community.

• Must be demonstrated that all local financial resources have been utilized.

Provides insurance to farmers and ranchers who have previously enrolled in the subsidized multi-peril crop and livestock insurance programs. rsoca@usda.gov Davis RO: https://www.rma.usda.gov/RMALocal/California RMA Website: www.rma.usda.gov Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) •

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) may be able to pay on grazing lands if producers agree to defer grazing on damaged land for 2 years. An application period will be announced in the near future.

California Cooperative Research and Extension •

In addition to the USDA resources listed above, expertise and assistance on subjects (e.g. Reseeding, Erosion & Flooding, Livestock, Salvage Logging and Reforestation) may be available through local or regional Extension offices.

USDA Agency Contacts: Farm Service Agency – Merced 2926 G Street Suite 103 Merced, CA 95340 209-722-4119 X2 Or check this link for your county office http://offices.usda.gov.

Natural Resources Conservation Service Mariposa County 5009 Fairgrounds Rd Mariposa, CA 95338 209-966-3431 Or check this link for your local county office

Risk Management Agency Regional Office 430 G St. Ste 4168 Davis, CA 95616 530-792-5870

USDA is an equal opportunity lender, provider and employer.

SB 824 Moratorium Declaration for Oak Fire By: Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, California Insurance Comissioner As enacted by Senate Bill 824 (Lara, Chapter 616, Statutes of 2018) Insurance Code section 675.1, subdivision (b)(1) provides: “An insurer shall not cancel or refuse to renew a policy of residential property insurance for a property located in any ZIP Code within or adjacent to the fire perimeter, for one year after the declaration of a state of emergency as defined in Section 8558 of the Government Code, based solely on the fact that the insured structure is located in an area in which a wildfire has occurred. This prohibition applies to all policies of residential property insurance in effect at the time of the declared emergency.” (Emphasis added.)

Section 675.1, subdivision (d) defines “policy of residential property insurance” as follows:

“…policy residential property insurance” has the meaning described in subdivision (a) of Section 10087.”

(Emphasis added.)

Section 10087, subdivision (a) provides: “…’policy of residential property insurance’ shall mean a policy insuring individually owned residential structures of not more than four dwelling units, individually owned condominium units, or individually owned mobilehomes, and their contents, located in this state and used exclusively for residential purposes or a tenant's policy insuring personal contents of a residential unit located in this state.” (Emphasis added.)

Accordingly, no admitted or nonadmitted insurer shall issue a notice of cancellation or non-renewal due to wildfire risk for any policy of residential property insurance, including all homeowners’, condo unit owners’, mobile homeowners’, or residential renters’ insurance policies, that are

located in a ZIP Code identified by this bulletin or any subsequent bulletin as subject to Section 675.1, subdivision (b) (1).

Section 675.1, subdivision (b)(2) further provides: “…the fire perimeter shall be determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services. The department shall provide the commissioner with data describing the fire perimeter sufficient for the commissioner to determine which ZIP Codes are within or adjacent to the fire perimeter. The commissioner shall then issue a bulletin to inform insurers which ZIP Codes are subject to this subdivision.” (Emphasis added.)

The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, in consultation with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, has provided the

Commissioner with data identifying the fire that pertains to the state of emergency and describing the fire perimeter. The Commissioner has relied upon that data to determine which ZIP Codes are subject to the moratorium under Section 675.1, subdivision (b)(1).

On July 23, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency covering Mariposa County due to the Oak Fire.

Therefore, due to the Governor’s July 23, 2022 declarations, no admitted or non-admitted insurer shall issue a notice of cancellation or non-renewal due to wildfire risk for one year, starting on July 23, 2022, for any policy of residential property insurance in the following ZIP Codes: • Oak Fire: 93601, 93623, 93653, 95306, 95311, 95318, 95325, 95338, 95345, 95369, 95389 See 'Oak Fire' Page 21

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Oak Fire continued from

Page 21

admitted insurers writing policies of residential property insurance in California must offer to rescind any notices of cancellation or non-renewal issued due to wildfire risk since the Governor’s July 23, 2022 emergency declaration and offer to reinstate or

page 20

In addition, all admitted and non-

renew policies in effect at the time of the applicable emergency declaration, if any such notices of cancellation or nonrenewal were issued due to wildfire risk on or after the date of the emergency declaration, and the properties are located in ZIP Codes

identified by this bulletin.

Please Note: If additional ZIP Codes are determined to be within or adjacent to a fire perimeter subject to a declared state of emergency, the Department may issue a supplemental bulletin adding such additional ZIP Codes to the moratorium against

Mariposa County Farm Bureau Annual Fundraiser Dinner Saturday, October 15, 2022 Location: Mariposa County Fairgrounds, Building A Social Hour 5:00 ~ Hosted Bar Prime Rib Dinner 6:30

Table of Eight $550.00 Individual Tickets $75.00

Live, Silent & Dessert Auctions “Friends of Agriculture Honoree” Brian Bullis Contact Danette Toso: (209) 742-5875, (209) 604-1423, mcfarmbureau@sti.net

Mariposa County Business Member Directory Businesses Supporting the Farm Bureau

To be included in the directory, join Mariposa County Farm Bureau as a business member by calling 742-5875.

AGRICULTURAL SUPPLIES Gallaway Feed and Supply..................374-3331 Mariposa Feed & Supply...................966-3326 Bootjack Equipment Rental & Feed.. 966-3545

ASSOCIATIONS 35-A District Agriculture Assn........... 966-2432 Mariposa Chamber of Commerce..... 966-2456 Mariposa County Farm Advisor......... 966-2417 Mariposa County Farm Bureau......... 742-5875

CONSTRUCTION Bucks Construction............................ 878-3702 Tobey Guenthart Construction.......... 374-3334

FINANCIAL SERVICES Inter-County Title Company................966-3653 Yosemite Bank....................................966-5444

HARDWARE STORES

REAL ESTATE

Coast Hardware.................................. 966-2527 Foster Ace Hardware .........................966-2692

MEDICAL Mariposa Physical Therapy................ 742-7242

MISCELLANEOUS Allison Sierra Inc................................966-4082 Happy Burger Diner ........................... 966-2719 Mariposa Friends of the Fairgrounds Foundation..................... 742-4680 Hugh A. Yamshon Ranch Mariposa Gun Works......................... 742-5444 Miners Roadhouse 14.......................966-2444 Pony Expresso....................................966-5053

Cathey's Valley Real Estate................ 742-2121

SERVICES Chases Foothill Petroleun.................. 966-3314 Edward Lien & Toso Ag Appraisers...634-9484 Palmer Tractor ....................................374-3470 Ranch Fence, Inc................................ 966-5914 Valley Pacific Petroleum..................... 948-9412 Yosemite Glass & Window Inc...........966-3292

WINERIES Mount Bullion Vineyard...................... 377-8450 Rauch Ranch Vineyard & Winery.......742-7162

Support Farm Bureau Member Businesses

Page 22

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

A Tradition in Trust Since 1919 CALIORNIA’S LEADING FARM & RANCH SPECIALISTS

Sales & Service

Vertical turbines Domestic pumps End suction booster pumps Sewage & stormwater pumps Multi-stage pumps prefabricated booster systems for domestic, process & landscape requirements.

Special metallurgy for all types of fluids.

In-house machine shop All popular brands - HazMat 40HR Certified Techs LICENSED, INSURED AND BONDED SERVING THE INDUSTRY FOR OVER 50 YEARS (209) 723-3904

Specializing in: For a free consultation please contact:

JIM WATSON Pearson Realty, Ag Division Over 15 Years Experience & Service

Agricultural Land Transitional Land 1031 Exchanges Cattle Ranches Recreational/Hunting

Office: 209.378.2300 | Mobile: 209.349.2225 | jwatson@pearsonrealty.com est. 1973

Custom Weed Control Enterprises Inc. WEED CONTROL

“We Use Environmentally Safe Proven Methods.”

Since 1986 State of the Art Equipment 80' Truck Scale Maximized Returns Owner Operated Inshell line complete with Satake color sorter High Capacity dryer for bin or bulk loads Peter Verdegaal 209-628-1008

Office 209-356-0210

8016 Winton Way, Winton Serving Stanislaus & Merced Counties

AG Towing

209-445-8503

24/7 Towing Service

Ray's Gardening 209-678-3189

Problem Weed Specialist

RESIDENTIAL AGRICULTURAL COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL Discing & Clean-up - Pre-Asphalt Application Call Us First! 209 723-2161

We carry Bergstrom & RedDot Fully stocked parts department AC Hoses built on site M-MIG CONSTRUCTION INC. Serving Merced & Surrounding Counties Specializing in Dairy Construction Steel Buildings Locally Owned & Operated Matthew Migliazzo - Owner Contractors Lic. #870007 291 Business Park Way, Atwater

COMPLETE AUTO BODY SERVICE Domestic and Foreign COMPLETE UPHOLSTERY SERVICE Vinyl Tops, Convertible Tops, Tonneau Covers

www.mmigconstruction.com 209-724-9488

923 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Merced Leonard Rich - (209) 723-1022

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

Page 23

Merced County Business Member Directory Businesses Supporting the Farm Bureau

To be included in the directory, join Merced County Farm Bureau as a business member by calling 723-3001.

REPAIRS & SERVICES AC King................................................722-3552 Atwater Radiator & Muffler, Inc.........358-2638 Car Plus...............................................722-3552 SS Blue ..............................................722-2583

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS

Allison Sierra, Inc...............................966-4082 Dias Construction, Inc........................634-9601 Mid Cal Pipeline & Utilities, INC........ 383-7473 M-Mig Construction, Inc..................... 724-9488

FARM EQUIPMENT

Garton Tractor, Inc..............................726-4600 Holt Ag Solutions................................723-2021 J M Equipment Co Inc ....................... 386-1797 Kirby Manufacturing.......................... 723-0778 Laird Mfg LLC...................................... 722-4145 N&S Tractor........................................383-5888

REAL ESTATE

Flanagan Realty.................. 723-4337 (Merced) Flanagan Realty.. (559) 665-1313 (Chowchilla) Powerhouse Realty Jed Kruppa Team .617-6727 Property Team.................................... 769-4698 Dick Templeton Property Team......... 761-4441 Valley Real Estate Sales, Inc.............854-1000

GROUPS & ORGANIZATIONS

Blue Diamond Growers............ (559) 474-2996 California Farmland Trust........ (916) 544-2712 California Sweet Potato Council........ 385-7403 California Women for Agriculture...... 723-5878 Central CA Irrigation District.............. 826-1421 Cortez Growers Association............... 632-3118 Dos Palos Co-op Gin........................... 387-4151 Farmers Rice Cooperative....... (916) 923-5100 Gustine Drainage District .................854-6782 Hilltop Ranch Inc.................................874-1875 Livingston Farmers Assoc.................. 394-7941 Merced Boosters................................ 761-0815 Merced Irrigation District................... 722-5761 Merced College Ag Division...............384-6250 Turlock Irrigation District....................883-8205 UCCE Merced...................................... 385-7403 Water & Land Solutions..................... 677-4700

FARM SERVICES

A-Bar Ag Enterprises .........................826-2636 Agri-Valley Consulting ........................ 769-2357 Caddy Shack Rodent Servc.....(559) 363-3315 Cal Ag Safety....................................... 351-0321 Cal Corn Growers Inc...............(559) 665-5775 Chipponeri Electric............................. 634-4616 Dutch Door Dairy................................ 648-2166 Farm Management Inc...................... 667-1011 Guerrero Farm Labor.........................492-0408 Horizon Farms, Inc.............................383-5225

J & F Fertilizer.....................................854-6325 La Follette Enterprises, Inc................632-1385 Mass Energy Works..................(530) 710-8545 Machado Feed Company...................658-5943 Maciel & Co........................................ 777-0911 Mid Valley Ag Service......................... 394-7981 Modern Dairy...................................... 722-7452 Modesto Dairy Supply........................669-6200 Silva & Sons Custom Spreading.......667-2566 Stone Family Spreading..................... 756-1491 The Pollination Connection...... (877) 970-BEES (2337)

FOOD PROCESSING

A V Thomas Produce.......................... 394-7514 Dallas Distributing Co........................394-2803 Del Rio Nut Company.........................394-7945 The Morning Star Company...............826-8000 Minturn Huller Co-op............... (559) 665-1185 Parreira Almond Processing Co.........826-1262 Sensient Natural Ingredients. (800) 558-9892 Yosemite Farms.................................. 383-3411

HARVESTING & HAULING

Baldes Hay Co.......................... (559) 718-9714 Bertuccio Hay......................................761-6247 Castillo Brothers Hay.......................... 392-3817 Diamond J Farms...............................564-0870 Minturn Huller Co-op............... (559) 665-1185 Northern Merced Hulling...................667-2308 Wallace & Son.................................... 382-0131

IRRIGATION, WELLS, & SEPTIC

Allison Sierra, Inc...............................966-4082 Agri-Valley Irrigation ..........................384-8494 Dickey's Pump Service ...................... 394-3112 Irrigation Design & Construction, LLC.387-4500 Pacific Southwest Irrigation...............460-0450 Precision Aqua....................................756-2025 Quality Well Drillers............................ 357-0675 Rain for Rent/Westside Pump.(559) 693-4315 Robal Inc.............................................826-4540 San Luis Pump Company...................383-0464 Shannon Pump Company..................723-3904

INSECT & WEED CONTROL

Environmental Spraying Service ......667-1038 Malm Ag Pest Management .............392-6905 Star Creek Land ................................ 704-1790

FARM SUPPLIES

Ag Flag ............................................... 357-3424 Cal Farm Service................................358-1554 Kellogs Supply ................................... 722-1501 Livingston True Value.........................394-7949 Hardware & Farm Supplies...............394-7949 Marfab................................................826-6700 Modesto Dairy Supply........................669-6200

Stanislaus Farm Supply..................... 723-0704

ORCHARD REMOVAL Custom Farm Services....................... 358-1759

FUEL SERVICES Amarants Propane Service ............... 358-2257 Hunt & Sons, Inc......................(916) 383-4868 Western States Petroleum Assoc. ............ (661) 321-0884 Valley Pacific Petroleum..................... 948-9412 Van De Pol Petroleum .......................667-0236

INSURANCE Barlocker Insurance ..........................383-0220 Fluetsch & Busby Insurance ............. 722-1541 Rico, Pfitzer, Pires and Associates ...854-2000 Walter Mortensen Insurance ............ 353-2700 Western Valley Insurance .................826-5667 Winton Ireland Insurance .................394-7925

FINANCIAL SERVICES Alice B. Contreras CPA ......................722-6778 American Ag Credit ........384-1050/826-0320 Central Valley Community Bank........725-2820 Grimbleby Coleman CPAs.................. 527-4220 Trans County Title Company .............383-4660 Yosemite Farm Credit ........................ 383-1116

MISCELLANEOUS Berliner Cohen LLP............................ 385-0700 The Hat Source................................... 357-3424 Merced County Fair............................722-1506 P. B. Iyer, M.D......................................854-1120 Razzari Auto Center............................383-3673 Unwired Broadband.................(559) 336-4157

BUSSINESS SUPPORT FARMERS DCB Farming LLC J&J O'Banion Ranch, LLC Jorgensen Ranch Live Oak Farms Migliazzo Farms Nicholas Calf Ranch

Page 24

Merced County Farm News • August 13, 2022

MCFB LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH 11:00 AM MCFB OFFICE 646 S HWY 59, MERCED

Open to any interested MCFB members Call (209) 723-3001 or email info@mercedfarmbureau.org to RSVP Topics focused on the November 2022 ballot include: Ballot initiatives Important candidate races Guest Speaker: Steven Fenaroli, Director of Public Affairs, California Farm Bureau