July 6, 2023 - California and major truck manufacturers announced a deal Thursday that would avoid a legal battle over the state’s landmark mandate phasing out diesel big rigs and other trucks.
In return, the Air Resources Board will relax some near-term requirements for trucks to reduce emissions of a key ingredient of smog to more closely align with new federal standards.
“It’s great to have them not suing and not helping others in lawsuits,” said Steven Cliff, the air board’s executive officer. “But more important is we ensure that we’re getting the actual reduction benefits associated with the rules.”
The powerful Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association as well as 10 manufacturers — including Cummins Inc., Daimler Truck North America, Volvo Group North America and Navistar Inc. — signed on to the deal.
“Both (the California Air Resources Board) and we realized that, through
these discussions, there was an opportunity for CARB to realign with the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) starting in 2027. And that’s really what led to our sitting down and coming to this agreement,” said Jed Mandel, president of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association. Starting in 2036, no new fossil-fueled medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks will be sold in California under a regulation approved by the air board in April. All new models instead will have to be zeroemissions. Large trucking companies also must convert existing fleets to zero-
emission electric or hydrogen models by 2042.
While manufacturers are now supporting California’s rules, trucking companies have vigorously opposed them, saying zero-emission big rigs can cost more than twice the cost of a diesel truck, take hours to charge, can’t travel the range that many companies need to transport cargo and lack a sufficient statewide network of charging stations.
A top executive of the trucking industry had predicted economic chaos and dysfunction and said the mandate is likely to “fail pretty spectacularly.”
July 3, 2023
SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria (D-Merced) was appointed Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister).
Assemblywoman Soria is honored to Chair the Assembly Agriculture Committee and oversee the state’s $50 billion agriculture industry. Assemblywoman Soria represents Assembly District 27, a largely
agricultural district, in the heart of the Central Valley. The Central Valley supplies 8% of U.S. agricultural output, and produces 25% of the nation's food, including 40% of the nation's fruits, nuts, and other table foods.
“I’m grateful to Speaker Rivas for entrusting me with the important work of this committee,” said Assemblywoman Soria. “As the daughter of first-generation immigrants and farmworkers, I worked alongside my parents in the Central Valley agricultural fields, and understand the importance of supporting both our agricultural industry and workers.”
As Chair of the 11-member
Assembly Agriculture Committee, Assemblywoman Soria will lead the legislative decision-making process on a wide variety of issues including agricultural commissions, agricultural commodities, Department of Food and Agriculture, expositions and fairs, farmers markets, food access, food labeling, livestock and poultry, dairy products, pest management, veterinarians, and more.
“I hold a deep connection with California agriculture,” said Assemblywoman Soria. “I pledge to continually engage with and bring the voices of farmers and farmworkers to the State Capitol.”
One of the pillars of our organization, and one of the biggest benefits of being a member, is our ability to connect with elected and bureaucratic departments during times of need. This has been on display this past week through our efforts in aiding cotton growers and PCAs in explaining the issues that have arisen with lygus and whitefly. Increasing numbers of lygus has continued to dwindle crop retention. It should also be noted that statewide acreage has already been impacted due to the reforming of Tulare Lake within Kings County.
Lygus comes on early in cotton development. It impacts the crop by stinging the developing square (undeveloped fruit before the bloom stage) which in turn kills the growth, shedding the square. Lygus also seems to come on stronger during wet years due to the nutritional material that is
present. While much of the concern to date has been on lygus, whitefly brings an equal level of concern but occurs later in the year when bolls open. The pest produces a honeydew which is where you may have heard the term “sticky cotton,” creating enormous issues during the ginning process.
Growers and PCAs have been working around the clock to find materials that will eliminate the lygus, or at least maintain it for the year, but many products have been found ineffective. This has unfortunately led to more spray events than one would make in a season. Ultimately this becomes more costly on many levels outside of the cost of purchasing supplementary products. This also leads to more being placed on the environment, more concern for time and energy of employees, and worry if the crop will make it to harvest. The same story may be said for whitefly at season’s end.
For the above reasons, we joined with the Dos Palos Cotton Gin in requesting a meeting with our elected officials to detail the concerns. A wide range of speakers and guests were present to speak on the issue however most notable were the representatives from the elected offices of Congressman John Duarte, Senator Anna Caballero and Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria. Our end goal was education on the issue at hand, ensuring we have products that will work for our growers at a better rate.
We plan to continue the conversation over the growing season and hope to have a solution sooner rather than later. We appreciate everyone who took the time to join the call during a busy season. This is one of the many ways your local Farm Bureau works for the membership. Please reach out to our office with any issue you may have.
This Spring, the UC Merced Library concluded its multi-year project to preserve, digitize, and make accessible films produced by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR). When the Library began accepting materials from UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) offices around the state (local CEs under UCANR’s umbrella), archivists uncovered items that described and visualized the professional activities of farm advisors and home demonstration agents over the course of the twentieth century.
Formats found in the archive vary greatly (i.e.: pamphlets, newsletters, annual reports, photographs, negatives), but much of the materials fall under categories of either paper or photographic materials. So, when in 2019 the Library acquired several boxes of 16mm film reels from the UCANR statewide office, the California Agricultural Resources Archive (CARA) processing team was confronted with a new— but exciting— challenge.
Although many of the reel cans contained titles and other transcriptions, learning the exact content of each film required digitization. Even more significantly, the films were in bad shape. A strong smell of vinegar
emanated from the boxes (a telltale sign of vinegar syndrome which occurs when the cellulose acetate reels decompose producing acetic acid) and many of the reels were concaved or brittle. Once vinegar syndrome begins it is irreversible and the films suffer embrittlement, shrinkage, and bubbling. If its effects go too far, it becomes impossible to play the media or complete a digital transfer.
Confronted with this urgency, the Library received funding from UCANR and Project CERES (a preservation grant from the United States Agricultural Information Network (USAIN)) to digitize the films. CARA’s Project Archivist spoke with Dawn Aveline, Director of Preservation Programs at Preservation Technologies, about their audiovisual laboratory MediaPreserve. Dawn conveyed that even though our materials were in various states of deterioration, they would be able to examine and likely digitize the decomposing reels.
In total, we sent MediaPreserve eighty-seven reels for digitization and forty-nine films were identified. The reels along with their corresponding digital files were sent back to the Library. The digitized films are now available to view on Calisphere and the originals will be placed in our freezer for long term storage.
Dating from 1953 to 1979, the films, produced by UCCE personnel and collaborators, reflect UCANR activities
like the 4-H youth development program, food and nutrition education, irrigation, rangeland management, the ag industry animals, and adolescent health. They reflect changes in public awareness about environmental and health concerns, and were produced as communication tools, representing valuable audiovisual documentation of those changes. For example, in the film You are what you eat, 1962, from a UCCE series called the Homemaker’s Notebook, nutritionist Marion Tate addresses the viewers about the importance of good nutrition practices for all ages. The films in the Homemaker’s Notebook series provide a historical lens for understanding the prevailing nutrition recommendations and food education practices of that time. It also reveals other societal norms of the early 1960s like clothing, interior design, and the family dynamics including the performance of gender roles.
Another film titled Operation Fire Stop, visualizes a “one-year operational study to provide the Fire Services with new aids for massfire prevention.” (opening credits of operation film). In the film, the narrator describes several of the measures undertaken by Fire Stop collaborators such as the use of the use of grass plots for test burns, weather balloons to measure wind drifts and weather patterns, ignition pattern tests, and fire retarding chemicals. The narrator also
conveys that “complete film records were made of each and every test.”
Modern irrigation equipment, shares clips from different irrigation equipment demonstrations to showcase modern implementations to distribute, utilize, and conserve water. The construction of canals is illustrated by the film’s visuals and discussed by the narrator; providing viewers with an understanding of how California waterways—still visible in our landscapes— were developed.
In September of 2022, UC Merced Library opened a photography exhibit, A Century of Impact in California's Counties: Highlights from the University of California Cooperative archive. Still shots from the digitized UCANR films made up several of the exhibit’s images, signifying the range of audiovisual materials used by UCCE to disseminate information about agriculture and rural living.
In closing the exhibit, the Library hosted an event in May 2023, with local UCCE specialists, UC Merced extension specialists, and others who conduct work about agriculture, climate, and related topics. Guests learned about the Library’s endeavor to process collections from the UC Cooperative Extension archive and were presented with methods to access the materials online for research and teaching considerations.
We look forward to more opportunities to share resources from the UC Cooperative Extension Archive!
It has been a pretty mild summer so far, but as I write this, I know that is about to change. Several days of triple digit temperatures are heading our way… it’s going to truly feel like summertime for sure! I hope that all farmers, workers and their families are able to get through the days of extreme heat safely and comfortably.
In last month’s article I wrote about the unfortunate lack of collaboration and compromise from our state and various regulatory agencies. The reasons for their lack of cooperation or effort towards mutual stewardship with landowners is often rooted in a very aggressive stance on environmental policy…by aggressive I mean they are often vehemently opposed to any and all human manipulation or constructive management of our land, resources, and infrastructure, thinking that we should in fact do the least possible of these things in the belief that somehow that is better for our environment than
active management of it. I complained about the fact that there is a mentality among many of these regulators that is devoid of reason and common sense. Another area where this mentality has really reared its ugly head is in the arena of “green energy.” Whether from the lawmakers themselves, their agencies and leaders, or from the activists who put relentless pressure on them all the time, there is a strong and constant push for green energy projects and goals. Conceptually, this is completely acceptable. It is of course great that strides and developments in methods and technology are being made all the time. One of the most beautiful things about a free market economy is that there is always motivation to come up with better ways and better products. It never has to be mandated to become mainstream… you just let the technology develop and people and companies will adopt it and find ways to utilize it to the maximum degree possible. But…interestingly… mandating these goals is exactly what our regulators and lawmakers are constantly trying to do! Even when the technology or capability to mass produce it or economically produce it doesn’t even exist yet. It’s really a very backwards way of thinking and acting… and that has become a very mainstream way of thinking in our society these days, especially by our politicians and their influencers.
There are a plethora of falsehoods and ironies that plague the Green Energy Movement, and a whole lot of blindness and ignorance on the part of the zealots who push it relentlessly on everyone else. A recent example would be Governor Newsom and the State of California pushing for a ban on all gas powered equipment
under 25HP by 2024, as well as on all new gas powered cars by 2035. Of course, the motivation for this is to help clean up the air and lessen dependence on fossil fuels. However, there seems to be little to zero concern on their part for all the environmental downsides of replacing gas powered equipment and cars with electric ones… such as the need to mine more elements needed to manufacture the batteries, the need for more plastic components to package batteries for small equipment such as chainsaws and power pruners (producing plastics requires a lot of crude oil), the future need to dispose of or recycle said batteries, and of course the need to constantly recharge them which places more demand on an already overburdened electric grid. Of course one of the reasons for the overburdened electric grid is the lack of any new water reservoirs that could produce extra energy…because for whatever reason, the State Water Board doesn’t consider hydro-electric power “renewable!” So the next best solution is wind generation…which only works efficiently in certain areas and in certain conditions, and by the way, unknown to many “environmentalists” also cause a huge amount of loss of life in bird populations, some which are threatened. That particular ugly downside of wind generation gets conveniently left out of the reporting narrative of course, because the people who push for it are afraid of being labeled as hypocritical. As does the need for more elements to be mined for battery production. Ironically, crude oil itself is much more renewable than the elements mined for batteries. That gets left out of the conversation too. Solar power is viewed as a wonderful technology too, and it is. But it too is fraught with many unanswered questions and unresolved problems. Most PV panels only have a 20-25 year life span, so beginning here in just a few years, most installed in the past 10-15 years will need replacing, and
over time all the others. As of yet they are only still researching possibilities of recycling them, so at least early on most will be buried in landfills and replaced with new units…all of which requires lots more mining and manufacturing. I seriously question the true net positives after factoring in all the downsides, collateral costs and trade-offs of these “green energy” initiatives. They are not as green as people think. And I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of the humanitarian crises that are being created in many countries where people and children are being exploited because of the demand for the mined elements. That’s a whole other can of worms. In agriculture, we are pushed and mandated (basically forced) all the time to upgrade equipment and processes with goals of lower emissions and more environmentally friendly technology. We even have money (our own money, collectively) thrown at us to make these changes within compressed time frames. Often these arbitrary time frames are nowhere near consistent with fully researched and developed technology. What good is an “upgrade” if it is constantly problematic and causes the user more downtime and inefficiency than the old technology that was proven by time to be cost effective, reliable and manageable by the average person? I’m certainly all for the development of newer and cleaner technologies. I just wish that the politicians and activists would leave it to the very capable world of engineers, manufacturers, and end users to work together to develop and utilize new technologies in their own time frames…because in my opinion, properly and patiently developed progress is far more effective and efficient than forced/mandated progress in which products and technology that are not yet fully proven or refined get forced into production and use. I believe the current trends are creating more problems for our future than they are actually solving in the present.
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 industryagriculture for future generations and the security of our nation.
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
Breanne Vandenberg
Executive Director
Lorraine Passadori
Program Director
Denelle Flake
Farm News Editor/Project Specialist
Alexxis Rudich
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Board of Directors
Pres: Joe Sansoni 761-9284
1st VP: David Barroso 652-6437
2nd VP: Tim Lohman 988-3545
Sec/Treas: Dante Migliazzo 769-9525
Past Pres: Eric Harcksen 620-1953
District 1
Matt Jasso 270-1981
Joe Maiorino 564-6791
District 2
Mike Davis 387-4151
Bob Vandenberg 704-5568
District 3
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
John Johnston 489-8462
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
Bob Giampaoli 769-4973
Louie Bandoni 761-0625
Michael Serrano 485-1935
Jesse Penick 678-8887
Tom Murphy 353-2700
Alan Sano 559-905-1240
Mariposa County Farm Bureau Staff
Danette Toso Executive Director
Jay
Almond growers commonly observe the condition of shoot terminals as an overall indicator of tree health and vigor. Long internodes with healthy green leaves are seen as an indicator of high vigor and tree health, whereas shortening internodes and small or discolored leaves are a cause for concern. Trees that exhibit good health and vigor, but the terminal ends of stems have become stunted with wavy and odd-looking leaves may be due to damage from a sometimes relatively unknown pest of almonds: western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis).
Western flower thrips have raspingsucking mouthparts. They are most known for feeding on the flowers on a wide range of plants, but they can also feed on really soft plant tissues, such as the new growth at the terminals on an almond tree. When this occurs, internodes become increasingly shorter and new leaves get smaller.
There is a direct correlation between how soft the tissue is, and the thrips ability to feed on it. Trees with rapidlyexpanding vegetative growth are at highest risk due to that softer tissue. This is most common in young trees that are overfertilized, overwatered, highly vigorous varieties, or varieties on highly vigorous rootstocks. The risk of thrips feeding decreases significantly as tree begin to bear fruit or as the season progresses as leaves and stems become hardened off.
Thrips damage should not be confused with zinc deficiency, which can result in similar symptoms, but typically appears later in the season (e.g., after harvest) when the risk of thrips feeding decreases. Additionally, western flower thrips should not be confused with sixspotted thrips (Scolothrips sexmaculatus) which is a predatory thrips species that feeds almost exclusively on spider mite. Adults are easily recognized due to the presence of three distinct black spots on each of the wings.
The best way to monitor for western flower thrips is to tap the ends of
impacted stems into the palm of the hand or a clipboard. Then look for small, cylindrical, yellow-brown organisms. Under magnification, they have long cylindrical bodies, fringed wings with lots of hairs, and black setae extending from the tip of the abdomen.
In almonds, western flower thrips are suspected to come from the foothills as the resident vegetation dries. Research projects to document impacts of western flower thrips on almond crop growth or quality have not been conducted. In general, treatments for western flower thrips are rarely warranted as the thrips coming from the foothills eventually fades away, die, or move to other locations in search of preferred places to feed, such as flowers. However, it is presumed that stunting to vegetative growth, particularly on young trees, has the potential to produce smaller trees, which could reduce yields in the future. For that reason, some growers have resorted to making insecticide treatments when levels of stunting become unacceptable for them.
An effective insecticide for western flower thrips is in the chemical class called spinosyns. This includes spinetoram (e.g., Delegate) and spinosad (e.g., Success or Entrust). If considering a treatment for western flower thrips, please understand that these products are also highly effective against the predatory sixspotted thrips that serves as the most important natural enemy of spider mites. Please weigh the benefit of controlling plant-feeding thrips against the detriment caused by reducing populations of predatory thrips.
Special thanks to Jhalendra Rijal (Area IPM Advisor, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Merced Counties) and Houston Wilson (Specialist, Department of Entomology, UC Riverside) for their help with the initial identification of this thrips as well as insight used in this article.
This was adapted from article first posted to San Joaquin Trees and Vines. While this article discusses specific products, they are used as examples within the context of education and extension efforts conducted by University scientists and mention of any products are not an endorsement, and lack of mention does not imply a lack of endorsement.
JUNE 15, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting nominations for county committee members. Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for members. LAAs are elective areas for FSA committees in a single county or multi-county jurisdiction. This may include LAAs that are focused on an urban or suburban area.
County committee members make important decisions about how Federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2023 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2023.
“It is a priority for USDA to integrate equity into its decision-making and policymaking, and that starts with our local FSA county committees,” said Blong Xiong State Executive Director for FSA in California. “We need enthusiastic, diverse leaders to serve other agricultural producers on these committees as we work to build equitable systems and programming inclusive of all employees and all of our customers. I ask that you consider making a difference in your community by nominating yourself, or another agricultural producer, to serve on your local FSA county committee.”
Blong said agricultural producers who participate or cooperate in a USDA program and reside in the LAA that is up for election this year, may be nominated for candidacy for the county
committee. A cooperating producer is someone who has provided information about their farming or ranching operation to FSA, even if they have not applied or received program benefits. Individuals may nominate themselves or others and qualifying organizations may also nominate candidates. USDA encourages minority producers, women, and beginning farmers or ranchers to nominate, vote and hold office.
Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated members of the agricultural community serve on FSA county committees. The committees are made up of three to 11 members who serve three-year terms. Producers serving on FSA county committees play a critical role in the day-to-day operations of the agency. Committee members are vital to how FSA carries out disaster programs,
as well as conservation, commodity and price support programs, county office employment and other agricultural issues.
Producers should contact their local FSA office today to register and find out how to get involved in their county’s election, including if their LAA is up for election this year. To be considered, a producer must be registered and sign an FSA-669A nomination form. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at fsa. usda.gov/elections.
Election ballots will be mailed to eligible voters beginning Nov. 6, 2023. Producers can find their local USDA Service Center at farmers.gov/servicelocator.
Napa Valley winery executive
Clarice Turner will be the next leader of the Almond Board of California. The Modestobased board announced Tuesday that she will succeed the retiring Richard Waycott as president and CEO. Turner has been president of Joseph Phelps Vineyards since 2018. She had earlier leadership roles with Starbucks Coffee, Papa Murphy’s International, Boudin Bakery, PepsiCo and Yum! Brands. The Almond Board supports the state’s third-highest-grossing farm product with export promotion and research on growing practices and consumer trends. “Clarice brings extensive knowledge and experience that we believe will be a great benefit to the organization and
the industry, ” said Chairwoman Alexi Rodriguez, a grower and processor in Fresno County, in a news release. Turner will join the board in September. Waycott has led it since 2002 and will help with the transition through December. Clarice Turner will be the next president and CEO of the Almond Board of California, the Modesto-based group announced on July 18, 2023. Almond Board of California
Turner, a ninth-generation Californian, earned a bachelor’s degree in geology and a master’s in international business at San Francisco State University. She also attended Fudan University in Shanghai, where she studied business and the Mandarin language. Joseph Phelps Vineyards was founded by its namesake in 1973 in the St. Helena portion of the premium wine
region. It is still family-owned. Turner was CEO at Boudin, a sandwich chain inspired by a San Francisco sourdough brand dating to 1849. She was president and chief operating officer at Papa Murphy’s, a take-and-bake pizza chain based in Vancouver, Wash. Turner led the food, wine and ready-to-drink lines at Starbucks, headquartered in Seattle. She held several executive positions at Yum! Brands, based in Louisville, Kentucky. It owns KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger Grill. Turner also had executive roles at PepsiCo, a snack and beverage maker based in Purchase, N.Y. Its operations include a Frito-Lay chip plant in Modesto.
California grows about 80% of the world’s almonds. They brought about $5.03 billion in gross income in 2021,
according to the latest report from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Milk was first, grapes second. Almond growers have struggled with low prices in recent years. The problem began with the bumper crop of 2020 and was compounded by tariffs and pandemic-related shipping backlogs. The board dates to 1950 and is funded by assessments on growers. In recent decades, it has sponsored research that found almonds to be healthy sources of fat and protein. It also has worked on behalf of pollinating bees and on capturing carbon in the fight against climate change. “I am honored to lead the Almond Board of California,” Turner said in the release. “It’s a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to combine my California heritage, roots in generational farming and executive experience to build on the strong foundation established in 1950.”
SAN FRANCISCO -- Tommaso's
Restaurant in San Francisco's North Beach serves up some of the most authentic Italian food outside of the "Bel paese."
From the thin-crust pizza baked to perfection in a wood-fire brick oven that can be traced back to those used in ancient Rome, to the ample servings of home-cooked, marinara-drenched pasta, customers devour everything on the menu.
The secret is in the sauce.
"It's so good. I don't know what they put in it but it's delicious," exclaimed longtime customer Juliet Dwight.
Tommaso's depends on a reliable supply of tomato sauce.
"This place without tomato sauce? We could close the doors. That's how vital that product is for us," explained owner Agostino Crotti
The recipe may be pure Italy but the tomatoes are all California. Tommaso's uses lots of tomatoes -- all grown and processed in the Central Valley.
"Sixty gallons a week of tomato sauce and about 10 cases of fresh tomatoes," Crotti's wife Anna said as she took a break from preparing sauce for the restaurant.
California's tomato farmers are responsible for more than 95 percent of processed tomatoes in the United States. Of all the tomatoes grown commercially on earth, nearly 30 percent is grown in California. It's a top agricultural commodity worth about $1.18 billion.
When it comes to tomatoes, California's extreme weather is serving up some big trouble for restaurateurs like the Crotti Family.
"A lot of it has to do with the weather. It will be another really rough tomato season," Crotti's sister Carmen said.
Five years of drought have created a tomato shortage. Last year, an extreme heat wave late in the season shriveled tomatoes on the vine.
This year, heavy winter storms put Central Valley fields under water, preventing farmers from planting on
schedule.
"There's a lot of tomatoes in the ground right now but the real challenge is going to come at harvest time," farmer Cannon Michael said.
Michael, a sixth-generation farmer, heads up the Bowles Farming Company near Los Banos.
Fresh market and processing tomatoes is the largest crop on his 11,000-acre farm.
"Our processing tomato crop is about a third of what we grow here," Michael said.
In California, tomatoes are planted, harvested and processed according to a staggered, state-wide schedule.
"They start in the southern part of the valley where it gets hotter first and then the planting starts there and then it goes north," Michael explained.
According to the California Tomato Growers Association, once harvested, the tomatoes are processed within six hours.
Eleven tomato processors operate 16 plants throughout the Central Valley. If the extreme weather continues, the impact could be crushing. There could be bottlenecks at the plants.
"We're a little nervous about what might happen down the road," Michael said.
Because of shortened planting season, a very unusual situation has cropped up. The nonprofit CTGA told KPIX that, instead of 28 percent of the crop being processed after midSeptember, 50 percent of the state's tomatoes will now get processed. That is an unusually large percentage so late in the season.
A lot can happen between then and now on the tomato fields and Michael remains optimistic. Even so, if there's an extreme heat wave or rain event, these tomatoes simply
can't all be processed. That could lead to shortages.
"I would anticipate that some of your favorite products you might have a hard time finding them in the stores," Michael warned.
As for Tommaso's, the Crottis have already seen a jump in prices. They can't remember ever paying $1 for each fresh tomato they use for their dishes. As for the canned tomatoes, they're using up last year's supplies and they're paying more for each gallon.
They can't imagine passing on the costs to their customers. "No, we do not ... We take the loss," Anna Crotti insisted.
Many customers told KPIX that the staff at Tommaso's is like family and the Crottis are grateful for their loyal customers.
"It sounds corny but we really are a family," Carmen said.
"Global warming is making food supply more of a challenge. We hope for better times ahead," said Agostino.
the former Florence Cardoza of Merced in 1942.
By: Bob Egelko, San Francisco ChronicleWorkers in California can use a unique state law to join together and seek penalties against their employer for violating labor laws, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday, rejecting a U.S. Supreme Court decision that would have effectively nullified the California law.
The Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, or PAGA, lets employees sue their employers, individually or collectively, in the name of the state for violating laws such as those regulating minimum wages, overtime, sick pay and meal and rest breaks. If the suits succeed, the employees collect 25% of the penalties provided by labor law, and the state collects 75%.
After the war, and during his life as a sweet potato farmer, he served as President of the California Sweet Potato Council, and US Sweet Potato Council, where he was a Director for over 20 years. He was the first California farmer to attend the National Sweet Potato Convention, among other industry firsts. Joe served as President of the Merced County Farm Bureau, and was on the Board of Directors of the Nisei Farmers League. He formed the California Sweet Potato Growers Co-op in Livingston, along with several other local growers, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
with more than 1.6 million employers in California subject to state regulation, he said, state inspectors were able to conduct only 1,734 inspections in a recent year.
known as the “Voice of Livingston.” From 1946 to 1996, he announced all the Livingston High School football games, lending his strong voice to the community by also announcing everything in Livingston from parades to radio programs. He served on the Livingston Elementary School Board and the Merced County Recreation Commission for many years. Joe’s acting skills even benefited the Livingston Little Theater Group, where he starred in several productions, most notably as Elwood P. Dowd in “Harvey”.
The ruling does not eliminate the last threat to PAGA, however. Business groups, which have argued that the law harms the economy and serves mainly to enrich lawyers, have qualified an initiative for the November 2024 ballot that would repeal the 2004 law and instead allow individual employees to sue their employers for labor law violations and collect 100% of the penalties, but no attorneys’ fees.
Michael Rubin, a lawyer for the worker in Monday’s case, praised the ruling and said he was optimistic that the state law would endure.
His interests and community involvement were very diversefrom serving as a founding member of the Livingston Medical Group, to past-President of Livingston Rotary, to being
Last June, the nation’s high court ruled 8-1 that PAGA violates the rights of businesses whose contracts require workers to take disputes to individual augmenting enforcement of the Labor Code,” Liu said.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta told the court that allowing workers to rely on PAGA to sue employers was crucial to enforcing labor protections —
“The more the California populace learns about what a difference PAGA has made in the lives of workers throughout the state and how much PAGA has strengthened the state labor agencies to enable them to enforce workplace law on behalf of low-wage workers, the more confident I am that PAGA will survive the most recent initiative challenge,” Rubin said.
for both employers and plaintiffs of arbitration as a means of effectively, quickly, and fairly resolving disputes will be eroded.”
and booster for over fifty years. This led to his being appointed the third Area Commissioner of Baseball. All of these years of being involved in baseball in Livingston culminated in the community baseball field being renamed the “Joe F. Alvernaz Baseball Field,” something he was so proud of.
The ruling also illustrated differences between the highest courts of the nation and its largest state. While the U.S. Supreme Court has been fractured across ideological lines, with a 6-3 conservative majority prevailing in recent cases on abortion, affirmative action, student loans and gay rights, more than 80% of the California Supreme Court’s rulings in recent years have been unanimous.
His love of baseball began at an early age and became a life-long interest that manifested itself into a devotion to the sport for over eighty years. He organized the first kid’s hardball team in Merced County in the early 50’s. He was particularly fond of American Legion Baseball, serving as a coach, sponsor, announcer
Joe was predeceased by his parents, Joe and Mabel Alvernaz, brothers, Arthur and John Alvernaz, and sister, Mary Geyer. He was also predeceased by his oldest son, Joey Alvernaz, in 1980 and by his wife of 64 years, Florence, in 2007.
Rubin’s client, Erik Adolph, went to work as a driver for Uber Eats in Orange County in 2019, and sued the company under PAGA later that year for refusing to reimburse drivers for expenses such as fuel costs, benefits that are provided to employees but not to independent contractors.
great grandchildren.
His light on earth has dimmed, but heaven is brighter as he has joined Florence, the true love of his life.
to arbitrate his individual claim against the company, Monday’s ruling allows him to sue Uber Eats on behalf of coworkers and the state. It does not resolve the equally contentious issue of whether the drivers are employees or contractors.
So long to our Dad, coach, neighbor and everyone’s friend. He will be deeply and painfully missed, yet celebrated, honored and never forgotten.
Although last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling put PAGA cases on hold, Rubin said, most courts in California resumed hearing those cases after a few months when state appellate courts began issuing rulings that rejected the Supreme Court’s reading of the law. Liu’s opinion Monday noted five appeals court decisions that had reached the same conclusion.
Theane Evangelis, attorney for Uber Eats, the food-delivery company in Monday’s case, said the ruling contradicted both the U.S. Supreme Court decision and federal arbitration law, and also “undermines the legislature’s intent in enacting PAGA. …We are considering our appellate
The ruling was also criticized by attorney Adam Karr, who filed arguments for the Employers Group and the California Employment Law Council, among the business organizations that sought to curtail PAGA lawsuits.
“It will almost certainly lead to further abuse of PAGA by some plaintiffs and their attorneys,” Karr said. Unless state lawmakers act to limit the scope of PAGA, he said, “the benefits
He is survived by five children, Judy Blevins, James (Colette) Alvernaz, and Benjamin (Debbie) Alvernaz of Livingston; Cecelia (James) Simon of San Diego, and Susan (Randall) Wilson of Mariposa, a sister, Cecelia Luker of Atwater, 17 grandchildren and 13
While his contract requires Adolph
Under an earlier state Supreme Court ruling and followup legislation, AB5, that set standards for employment relationships, most or all of the drivers for Uber, Lyft and other app-based companies were classified as employees. But those companies sponsored a November 2020 ballot measure, Proposition 22, that carved them out of the law and reclassified their drivers as contractors. It was approved by 59% of the voters after a $200 million campaign by the companies.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations may be made to Grace Nursing Home in Livingston or to the Joe F. Alvernaz Memorial Fund to benefit youth baseball in Livingston.
Sweet Potato Joe was the Farm Bureau President from 1983-1986 and hired long-time 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.
A state appeals court upheld the key provisions of Prop. 22 this March, but the state Supreme Court set that ruling aside last month and agreed to hear the case and decide the issue.
The United Farm Workers just had its biggest unionizing success in years, and it didn't happen in California.
In a first for the historic labor union, it organized nearly 500 workers at five farms in New York. The victories, which will increase UFW's membership by 8%, come four years after a state law passed giving farm workers the right to organize. "For us, it's proof of concept that when you change the laws, workers can win," said Antonio De Loera-Brust, a UFW spokesperson.
Like many unions, UFW has struggled to organize over the last few decades, its membership dwindling from 60,000 to around 6,000. Even with legal protection, farmworker organizing is often slow, painstaking work. Many prospective union members are reluctant to give up 3% of their already low wages for dues, and worry that their immigration status leaves them vulnerable to employer retaliation.
But there are signs of a resurgence on both sides of the country.
The New York law includes components similar to recent California legislation. Its signing culminated a long battle by UFW to expand unionization rights for farm workers. Now, bolstered by the new law, some labor experts say similar victories could be on their way in the Golden State.
"Union victories in New York show us that laws do matter in protecting workers rights...So the fact there's been these big wins, I think we should expect something like that in California," said Ana Padilla, executive director of the UC Merced Community and Labor Center.
UFW and Padilla attributed the recent certifications to the 2019 New York law, the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act. The legislation prohibits
retaliation against farmworkers desiring to organize, and allows them to vote by signing pro-union cards.
Prior to the law, farm workers in New York had no state-protected right to organize. That was in accordance with the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which was rooted in racism and excluded farmworkers from the right to unionize without retaliation. At the time, many of those workers were Black.
Since then, only a few states have enacted legislation protecting organizing and collective bargaining for agricultural workers. Attempts at federal reform have failed repeatedly.
In states where bargaining isn't specifically protected, farmworkers can decide to form a union but an employer does not have to negotiate a contract. UFW is currently dealing with that conflict in Washington, where workers at a mushroom farm voted to unionize but the company refuses to bargain.
From UFW's perspective, only three states have true unionization rights -- California, New York and Hawaii. Though it sometimes takes years, these states require the company to recognize the union. Even then, that doesn't always guarantee a win.
In 2020, a major raspberry grower in Watsonville decided to shut down after losing a multi-year legal battle against UFW and being ordered to uphold a statewide contract.
'New era in farmworker organizing' California just approved its version of a "card check" law, giving farmworkers an additional way to unionize.
Newsom vetoed a similar measure in 2021, citing technical issues. The following year, the governor faced pressure from labor advocates and President Joe Biden. He eventually signed with the caveat that new legislation would be passed in 2023 to address "concerns around implementation and voting integrity." New legislation finally appeared in
early May, with Newsom signing it a few weeks later.
Under the new law, farmworkers can sign cards to show their union support and drop them off at the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) office. Previously, they had to call for a union election by petitioning the ALRB and then notifying their employer. Elections would often be held at the worksite.
Labor advocates and UFW said it has been difficult to organize without the new provisions because employers could union bust and take action against workers, including threats of deportation for those who are undocumented. There have only been six union elections for farmworkers since 2016.
"It was a functionally broken process that had resulted in no new union certification for many years and it wasn't because workers didn't want it," De Loera-Brust said. "It was because there were too many barriers, given the realities of poverty, immigration status and the vulnerability to retaliation that workers face."
The union currently has 20 UFW contracts in California, representing about 5,000 to 8,000 workers. The count is taken in late December, when many farmworkers don't work, and fluctuates annually depending on weather conditions and international trade patterns.
However, there is a possibility that unionization and membership increases because of the new legislation. Padilla said the law mirrors New York's, indicating that the same may be coming.
"It does signal a new era in farmworker organizing," she said.
In New York, the organized farms include four apple orchards and one vegetable grower -- Wafler Farms, Cahoon Farms, Porpiglia, A&J Kirby and Lynn-Ette. Four of the five farms are located near Rochester.
coming?
De Loera-Brust and UFW are
tight-lipped about what the California legislation means moving forward and a potential timeline for organizing, saying only that the new law is important but not a "silver bullet." That tactic follows similar quiet organizing in New York.
But in California the union will likely face much more opposition given its history. That could mean years of laborious organizing before seeing any progress.
"It's going to be a much harder uphill battle for the union to try to do this here," said Rob Roy, president and general counsel for Ventura County Agricultural Association.
Roy, who advocated against the California measure, said agriculture associations have been educating members about the new law over the last six months. Much of the agricultural industry opposed the bill because they believe such a change would make it easy to commit voter fraud and force employees to unionize.
Roy also pointed to the type of farmworkers that UFW organized in New York. The majority were from Jamaica or Mexico with H-2A visas to do seasonal work.
"They really don't have a connection with the employer," Roy said. "Whereas in California, most of these people work most of the year or year round for particular employers."
Roy conceded there are some agricultural employees that the union will reach, while De Loera-Brust acknowledged challenges come with UFW's storied history.
"In California, UFW is more established," De Loera-Brust said. "And obviously that has some perks because workers know who we are. But it also means that growers know that we're here."
He declined to share more on the union's plan.
"I'm not going to share any specific California organizing strategy because growers read your paper too," De LoeraBrust said.
On Wednesday, May 17th, 2023
Merced FFA held their annual End-of-the-Year Banquet. We were able to recognize all of our members' achievements throughout the school year. We had approximately 275 guests and members attend including our Mayor; Matt Serratto, who gave a very inspiring, motivational, and uplifting speech. Mr. Serratto’s wonderful speech highlighted that members of the Merced FFA are the future leaders of tomorrow. We also had the honor of having other members from the Merced County agriculture community present as we celebrated our members and their great achievements. Another highlight of the night came from The Merced High Ag Booster Program. Thanks to the generous contribution from members of our community at the Merced High AG Booster’s Annual Crab Feed, they were able to sponsor 19 members of our chapter with their very own FFA jacket. They also gave out ten scholarships to active members of the chapter. The Chapter also gave out several awards such as Star Greenhead, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior. Participation in Leadership Development Events like job-interview, prepared, creed, and impromptu public speaking were recognized. One special recognition went to current Junior, Forrest Johnson, who earned the high title of being 3rd overall at the California FFA State Extemporaneous Public Speaking Contest. Furthermore, we got to recognize our outstanding seniors, who have accomplished so much throughout their years of being in the FFA. Senior cords were awarded based on their involvement and blue FFA stoles were awarded for earning their state degree. We are so proud of them and can’t wait to see what the future holds as they embark on their next chapter of life! The highlight of the night was the installation of the new 2023-2024 Chapter Officer Team! The
2023-24 Chapter President is Charli Auldridge. The Vice President is Christian SantaMaria, and the Secretary is Liliana Lopez. Preslee Hunter was elected as Treasurer and Madyson was elected as the Reporter. Ethan Vega will be serving as Sentinel and the newly elected Historian is Esteban Castaneda. Liliana Lopez
shared “It feels so great to be able to represent the organization that has been like home to me the past few years!” While this chapter in life might be closing for the Class of 2023, another chapter is just beginning for this officer team! The team hopes that everyone had an amazing time at the
banquet and is excited for the year to come! Merced FFA would like to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone that came out and supported our chapter and its members, especially the Lancer 4-H Club who helped serve our guests and members. For more information on Merced FFA, visit www.mercedffa.org
Over 500 Atwater High School
FFA students participated and exhibited a variety of livestock, horticulture, and agriculture mechanics projects at the 2023 Merced County Fair earlier this month. “Our program continues to grow each year,” said FFA advisor Dave Gossman, “The increased student involvement is a direct reflection on our strong community support.”
72 students exhibited various livestock and small animal projects. Highlights included FFA Rabbit Champion Meat Pen and Supreme Champion Meat Pen, and Outstanding FFA Rabbit Exhibitor for rabbits earned by Dylan Cardey. Gannon Gossman placed 2nd overall for Freshman Rabbit Showmanship. Carson Borba earned Outstanding Dairy Goat Exhibitor, Champion Senior Doe, Reserve Champion Senior Doe, Supreme Champion Doe, Reserve Champion Doe, and Supreme Champion Udder for Dairy Goats. Haven Kamykowski won FFA Reserve Champion Hampshire (breed) for her market hog. Hannah Slate won Grand Champion Commercial Gilt in swine with Isabella Silva placing 1st overall in Freshman Swine Showmanship. Hunter Birmingham won FFA Grand Champion Meat Pen in poultry. Zachary Shannon placed 1st overall in Freshman Dairy cattle Showmanship. Caden Hultgren earned Outstanding Beef Exhibitor and Reserve Supreme Beef Female. “We had a great team of students this year who put forth a tremendous effort that combined with tremendous support from our community in making this year’s fair a very positive experience for all,” said FFA advisor Sam Meredith. Atwater FFA the “Clean Barn” award with the dairy cattle. “This award represents the quality of teamwork by the students in working together to maintain a clean and organized barn area throughout the fair,” said advisor Kim Mesa.
In addition to plants and animals, the Atwater FFA exhibited agriculture mechanics projects that correlated with their classroom and ag welding/wood shop curriculum. Highlights included Caden Hultgren winning the “Most
Innovative / Original Exhibit” award. Fernando Prado earned the “Outstanding Woodworking Exhibit” award. Atwater Hoigh School FFA won the “Chapter Sweepstakes” award for their agriculture mechanics projects. “The fair is an excellent opportunity for students to showcase their skills in tool repair, wood working, electrical wiring, plumbing, welding, and metal fabrication,” said Atwater FFA and Ag Wood Construction instructor Dan Flatt, “The students have an opportunity to display and take pride in their efforts.”
Students involved in the FFA program have been raising their animal projects since early spring. Some students invested their own money, however most students received over $17,000 in agriculture loans through Travis Credit Union towards the expenses related to their projects. “If it wasn’t for the tremendous support of our community, many of these students would not have the opportunity to experience this opportunity of responsibility, business, learning, personal pride, and accomplishment,” said Agriculture instructor Taylor Helton, “It is the continued support of the community that drives our goal of getting students involved.”
Students who participated in the small and large animal projects included: (swine) Alany Guzman, Allison Brewer, Allison Garner, Alyssa Colores, Chole Herrera, Edward Howe, Gabriella Garcia, Gannon Gossman, Hannah Slate, Haven Kamykowski, Isabella Silva, Kayleigh Trindade, Kimberly Valdovinos, Mariah Dhillon, Mathew Kamykowski, Nic Presto, Paisley Garcia, (sheep) Adrian GarciaVillanueva, Alyssa Gentry, Asusena Jamie, Audrey Dores, Devin Garcia, Giovanni Perez, Giselle Varela, Hunter Birmingham, Isaac Gonzalez, Jocelyn Renteria, Julio Perez, Kendal Kingston, Lexi Gallegos, Miranda Dores, Sophia Tacheira, (market goats) Aidah Macias, Alexa Bracamontes, Ayde Renteria, Breana Grissom, Bryce Nickerson, Carson Borba, Dulce Campos, Ella Boyenga, Gizelle Munoz, Guadalupe Millan-Solorio, Hallie Billings, JammieJean Lawrence, Jasmine Monge, Karina Alvarado, Katelynn Mederiros, Kendall Borba, Natalia Cardenas, Nayelli Garcia, Sandra Prothro, Sarah Conn, Shayleigh
Miller, Trevor Struble, Viviana Roach, Ximena Duran, Yahaira Carrillo-Robles, Yoceline Aguila, Zoe Jolly, (dairy heifers) Kaleb Shannon, Lyra Barton, Maverick Shepherd, and Zachary Shannon, (beef) Caden Hultgren, (dairy goats) Carson Borba, (rabbits) Dylan Cardey, Gannon Gossman, (poultry) Fernando Prado, Hunter Birmingham,
Noemi Benitez, Shayleigh Miller, and Viviana Roach.
FFA provides students with the opportunity to gain “hands-on” learning through agricultural education. For more information on how your son/daughter can get involved, contact your local high school agriculture program or log onto the AtwaterFFA.org website.
By: Denelle Flake, Farm News Editor
On July 7th, members of the Merced County Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) group met at the Merced Rescue Mission to donate a cut & wrapped hog. The group purchased the hog at the Merced County Fair from Atwater FFA member Allison Brewer. With this purchase YF&R was able to donate 200 pounds of pork, which will directly benefit the 300 residents of Merced Rescue Mission.
The Merced Rescue Mission strives to permanently improve the lives of those in Merced County who are homeless, those who have been incarcerated, or have been imprisoned by their own addictions. According to Merced County, the current homeless population is around 800 individuals, with half currently sheltered and the other half living on the streets. The mission is one of the largest providers of housing for homeless in Merced County, providing 300 beds across 26 locations in the county. Dr. Bruce Metcalf, CEO of Merced Rescue Mission, is optimistic stating that “with current projects, there
should be enough beds to house all the homeless in Merced County within the next two years”. The mission is always in need of toiletries and basic household necessities. Anyone interested in donating can visit their Donation DropOff site at 644 W 20th St. in Merced, Monday-Friday from 11 am to 4 pm.
Merced County YF&R participates in Farm Bureau’s Harvest for All Program every year. In the past they have participated in Merced County Human Services Agency Season’s of Giving Program and volunteered hours at the Merced County Food Bank. The goal of the Harvest for All Program is to work with Feeding America to help feed the millions of Americans who face hunger. Since Harvest for All began in 2003, Farm Bureau members have gathered nearly 65 million pounds of food, logged more than 30,000 volunteer hours and raised more than $778,000 in donations to local food banks. Any producers interested in collaborating with Merced County YF&R on a Harvest for All campaign may contact mercedcoyfr@ mercedfarmbureau.org. Commodities donated through the program are tax deductible through the CARE legislation.
Manufacturers have long been leaders in sustainability, as have their partners in the agricultural industry. But as the Environmental Protection Agency considers imposing new restrictive air standards, groups across the country are speaking out in opposition.
In California, a group called the Nisei Farmers League is making noise.
Formed by a small group of Japanese American growers in 1971 as a “mutual protection society,” the NFL has become a well-respected organization committed to serving the needs of growers, farm workers and other members of the agriculture community in California. Today, they are sounding the alarm about
a proposed EPA rule that would enforce a tighter national ambient air quality standard for fine particle pollution known as PM2.5—a move that could impact everything from permitting to international competition.
Widespread impacts: According to NFL President Manuel Cunha Jr., the regulations could be devastating for growers in California and farmers across the country.
“There are issues with this regulation that the public just doesn’t realize,” said Cunha. “It impacts jobs. It impacts our ability to move freight. If you think the cost of food is high today, it will be even higher if this rule goes into effect.”
A closer look: Cunha knows the impacts of regulations like this one firsthand. He tells the story of
a colleague who uses machinery to dehydrate fruits like apricots and peaches, but whose machinery would be unaffordable if he was forced to adhere to the stricter standard.
“If they come out with a new standard, he’ll have to shut down,” said Cunha. “He can’t afford to build new equipment—the cost is unsustainable. It’s not economically feasible. And that’s what they’re telling our farmers to do.”
Impeding growth: Rapid shifts in environmental standards have also made it difficult for growers and other members of the agricultural community to adjust and succeed.
“These standards keep changing, and it’s impossible to keep up,” said Cunha. “Our area in the San Joaquin Valley has seven plans with the EPA that are
waiting for approval, and every time we turn around, there is another standard holding us back.”
Meanwhile, strict standards imposed on other parts of the supply chain create costs that get passed along to farmers.
A message to policymakers: Cunha is speaking out because he wants policymakers to think about the realities of the proposed rule—including the costs that states will bear and the ripple effects throughout the agricultural supply chain.
“How do we keep jobs?” said Cunha. “How do we keep our rural communities alive if you’re developing rules that don’t have the facts and the science behind them? Politicians are going on the basis of what looks and sounds good, but you have to realize that what you’re doing is driving out small farmers.”
It seems like yesterday that Mariposa County was just dealing with “Snowmageddon” and its aftermath of massive flooding. In the blink of an eye, we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of fire season. Of course, along with fire season comes the dreaded Rattlesnake season, there is never a dull moment up here in the hills.
We all know the fire prevention
drill, grazing, mowing and weed eating around our homes and barnyards early in the season. We burn brush piles in late spring to minimize fuel for wildfires and hope and pray that we don’t have thunderstorms after our grass has turned. The sound of a helicopter flying overhead during fire season strikes fear in our hearts and dread in our minds. Now, Rattlesnakes are a completely different issue, but I do have a helpful suggestion, get some Guinea Fowl.
One great benefit to raising guinea fowl is their constant patrol of their living area. There is not much that gets past them, and they sound the alarm if something new or different comes into their territory. My guineas along with the dogs alerted us to a coyote that was so brazen, he was in our front yard hunting our cats…….a very big and last mistake, (Thank you Tony.) Guineas are very effective at pest control and can almost wipe out populations of insects like ticks, grasshoppers, caterpillars, spiders, and scorpions. In my opinion, their absolute best attribute is rattlesnake hunters and
exterminators. Rattlesnakes are the masters of camouflage and even with eyes scanning the ground this time of year, you can overlook them. Guineas seek them out, alert then attack. I love my guineas, and they come when I call them, (of course they’re just coming to food.) Guinea eggs taste no different than chicken eggs, and they can also be harvested for their meat.
Now, if you ask Tony what he thinks about guineas, it’s a different story. Tony calls them Roof Chickens because they fly up onto the roof of the house to get to the tree that they roost
in every night. They all start squawking just before dark, line up on the hill side and one by one, fly, and hit the roof with a thud. Occasionally, I accidentally park my truck too close to their roosting tree, what a mess! All in all, I believe that they are a benefit to our ranch.
As the summer rolls by, I wish everyone a fire safe and Rattlesnake free season. As always, I encourage farmers, ranchers, and conservators to invite friends, neighbors, and family members to join the collective voice of the Farm Bureau. Together, we can make our organization stronger than ever, one member at a time.
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.
To be included in the directory, join Merced County Farm Bureau as a business member by calling 723-3001.
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)
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
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
Allison Sierra, Inc. ............................. 966-4082
Agri-Valley Irrigation 384-8494
Dickey's Pump Service 394-3112
Irrigation Design & Construction, LLC387-4500
Pacific Southwest Irrigation .............. 460-0450
Precision Aqua 756-2025
Quality Well Drillers 357-0675
Rain for Rent/Westside Pump (559) 693-4315
Robal
F A R M 2 U D A Y O C T O B E R 5 , 2 0 2 3
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T h e 2 0 2 3 F A R M 2 U D a y i s s c h e d u l e d f o r T h u r s d a y , O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 2 3 a t t h e M e r c e d F a i r g r o u n d s . D u r i n g t h i s e v e n t t h i r dg r a d e r s f r o m M e r c e d C o u n t y w i l l p a r t i c i p a t e i n a n e d u c a t i o n a l d a y w h e r e t h e y w i l l h a v e a c h a n c e t o l e a r n f i r s t h a n d a b o u t a g r i c u l t u r e a n d n u t r i t i o n .
W e a r e c u r r e n t l y l o o k i n g f o r p r e s e n t e r s t o s h o w c a s e p l a n t s , a n i m a l s a n d f a r m m a c h i n e r y a n d a d d i t i o n a l v o l u n t e e r s t o a s s i s t w i t h s t u d e n t s a n d t e a c h e r s w h o w i l l b e v i s i t i n g d u r i n g t h e e v e n t .
To participate please contact Merced County Farm Bureau PO Box 1232, Merced, CA 95341 Office: 209.723.3001 Fax: 209.722.3814
dflake@mercedfarmbureau.org
