arm. You E F at. e W
December 2023 | Volume 116, Number 12
Merced County Farm News
Shannon Douglass elected president of California Farm Bureau
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By: California Farm Bureau
hannon Douglass, a diversified farmer in Glenn County, has been elected to a two-year term as president of the California Farm Bureau. Douglass, who previously served three terms as first vice president, is the first woman to head the organization, which was founded in 1919. “This is an exciting moment,” Douglass said. “Farm Bureau has provided me with tremendous opportunities as a first-generation farmer. I’m excited to be part of the leadership of this organization, which represents the diversity of farmers and ranchers in our state. “The California Farm Bureau has long played an important role
in working to protect the future of America’s most productive agricultural economy,” Douglass added. “We face abundant challenges in farming and ranching today. But California remains a great place to grow food, and Farm Bureau is committed to helping our state farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses thrive for generations to come.” Douglass succeeds Jamie Johansson, who served three terms as president, beginning in 2017. She was elected Tuesday at the Farm Bureau’s 105th Annual Meeting in Reno. Douglass is an owner of Douglass Ranch in Orland, which raises cattle and grows walnuts, corn and forage crops, She also co-founded CalAgJobs, an online listing of employment
INSIDE:
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YF&R Update
opportunities in California agriculture. Douglass has served as a director of the Glenn County Farm Bureau and as chair of the California Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers State Committee. She is a graduate of the Leadership Farm Bureau program and the California Agricultural Leadership Program and participated in the American Farm Bureau Federation Partners in Advocacy Leadership program. Douglass earned a master’s degree in agricultural policy, a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and a minor in agriculture business from California State University, Chico. Shaun Crook, vice president of a family timber business and a real estate agent specializing in ranch, commercial
Introduces 8 Duarte Workforce Aid Bill
and residential properties, was elected as the Farm Bureau’s first vice president. Crook has served three terms as the organization’s second vice president. He was first elected as president of Tuolumne County Farm Bureau in 2015. Ron Peterson, a member of California Farm Bureau Board of Directors and past president of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, was elected as second vice president. Peterson is a cattle rancher and dairy farmer who also grows silage crops and almonds. The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 29,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of 5.3 million Farm Bureau members.
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Save the Date 106th Annual Meeting
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
A
from the
Director's Desk Breanne Vandenberg
nother year down but while Christmas music plays and the weather is colder, I am still finding it hard to believe it is December. Merced County Farm Bureau has continued with another busy year and we look forward to a number of events for 2024. By now you have probably received a listing of many of those through our sponsorship letter. We completely understand that receiving a sponsor letter may not be the most desirable piece of mail, however it does mean so much to our organization. Through this donation request made once a year, our organization can ensure we can continue
the fight for local agriculture, provide donations to our youth agricultural groups and educate the local community through various events. We sincerely hope you are able to consider aiding in pushing our organization forward into 2024. Our efforts are done with you in mind and look forward to seeing you. Our team of directors and staff have returned from the California Farm
Bureau’s Annual Meeting. Joe’s article has covered it at a full level but we need to extend a thank you to President Jamie Johansson for his years of service. We look forward to working with President Shannon Douglass as she leads Farm Bureau in 2024. We wish you all the best in the holiday season! Cheers to 2024!
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.
Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
from the
tasked with appointing a member of this committee, and with approval of our Board of Directors as well as those of Madera and Mariposa Counties, we were proud to have Gino Pedretti III serve as our District Representative. All but one of their recommendations were approved, with one being tabled for further discussion. Any members who have questions about the bylaw changes and how they will affect the structure and management of CAFB are welcome to call myself, Breanne, or one of the above listed delegates for more specifics. Another very significant development at Annual Meeting was the election of Shannon Douglass of Glenn County to the office of President of CA Farm Bureau. Congratulations Shannon!!...for not only being elected but in doing so becoming the first woman in history to hold the office of the President of CAFB!! Moving up to 1st VP was Shaun Crook of Tuolumne County, and coming in as our new 2nd VP is Ron Peterson of Stanislaus County. Merced County’s delegation was in support of these changes to CAFB bylaws as well as officer positions. We believe these changes will have a positive impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of CAFB moving forward, and that a new era of transparency, availability and open communication between county members and state officers and officials will be ushered in by this leadership team. Their willingness to work together, get on the same page on issues, and effectively delegate as well as share in certain responsibilities bodes very well for our organization and staff. Additionally, the House of Delegates welcomed the newly formed San Francisco Farm Bureau to the rank of CAFB. This was a development that took place over the last year, especially in the last several months, and was announced to the delegate body prior to Annual Meeting. There were many discussions among the counties and delegates about the motivations behind this development and whether or not it is truly a good thing for CAFB. We are all quite aware that many of the policies and ideologies that plague CA agriculture in negative ways originate from the political culture of San Francisco, its inhabitants and leadership. That is a fact known very
President's Corner Joe Sansoni
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our MCFB staff and executive team attended California Farm Bureau’s (CAFB) 105th Annual Meeting December 4th-6th at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV. Many thanks to Breanne, Denelle, and Alexxis for their efforts supporting our delegates the whole time, and coordinating the many necessary meetings and research needed for our executive team to be fully informed and connected with other counties’ delegates and personnel. I also want to thank Dave Barroso, Tim Lohman, and Gino Pedretti III for their attendance and work as delegates alongside myself throughout the meeting and related events. It was a historic meeting for multiple reasons, and one that was monumentally important for all county members to have participated in. At last year’s annual meeting in Monterey, the House of Delegates collectively felt that significant changes were needed within the corporate structure and management of our great organization. No significant changes had been made since the inception of CAFB, and it was agreed upon that we were far overdue. At that meeting, a Special Review Committee was appointed and tasked with spending 2023 reviewing and brainstorming needed changes to bring us into the 21st century with regard to our corporate structure and management. The Committee performed their task admirably and presented their recommendations in the form of proposed bylaw amendments to the House of Delegates at this year’s Annual Meeting. This committee was a literal brain trust of some of the finest minds and most dedicated individuals within our organization. Each district was
Page 3 well and indeed readily admitted to by the new SF delegation themselves, and it is something that they wanted an opportunity to help change from within, along with the help and partnership of CAFB. Ultimately, I believe a lot of good can come from this! Politics are always going to be at play in our state, but despite the differing dynamics and economics of SF Farm Bureau members’ ag operations, having a united platform from which to come together and advocate for many of the same issues will only serve to better the relationship between “Ag” and “City” folks! We have a symbiotic relationship with our big city counterparts…they need us to provide them with food and fiber on a large scale, and we need them as consumers to buy what we grow and produce. An open pathway to regular dialogue and interaction under the umbrella of CAFB is going to be beneficial for us in many ways,
and I look forward to the opportunity to engage with them, support them, and educate them about our ways and needs here in the Central Valley, as well as learn from them about the dynamics of their own unique operations there. I wish you all a merry Christmas, happy holiday season, and a happy new year! I hope and pray that the coming new year will bring with it new hope, prosperity, and much needed positive changes on many levels: world peace first and foremost…economic relief for those who are struggling to make ends meet or even just feed their families… hope, positivity and inner peace to those who are struggling with great personal loss or their mental health…and above all else, love and respect for one another, with the embracing and accepting of each other’s cultural and spiritual differences, both with our immediate neighbors as well as worldwide. See you all in 2024!!
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
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
Nominate your favorite ag teacher for the Golden Owl Award®
Agricultural teachers devote countless hours and often their own resources to make a difference in the lives of their students and inspire the next generation of agricultural leaders.
Go to GoldenOwlAward.com to find out more and complete a nomination today.
That’s why Nationwide®, California Farm Bureau and California FFA Foundation work together to bring recognition and important funding to California’s outstanding ag educators. The Golden Owl Award® awards $500 to six finalists and $3,000 to the grand prize winner, California’s Agricultural Educator of the Year. Honor an ag teacher you know by nominating him or her today. Nominations are being accepted September 1 to January 16.
Products are underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, Columbus, Ohio, and are subject to underwriting guidelines, review and approval. Availability varies. Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA, Columbus, Ohio. Nationwide and the Nationwide N and Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. The Farm Bureau and the letters FB are registered service marks of the American Farm Bureau Federation and are used under license by Nationwide. © 2023 Nationwide FBO-0208CA (08/23)
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 Pres: Joe Sansoni...................761-9284 James Palmer......................... 374-3470 1st VP: David Barroso............652-6437 Walter Palmer Jr...................... 374-3470 2nd VP: Tim Lohman............. 988-3545 Trevor Lee Smith.....................769-9969 Sec/Treas: Dante Migliazzo...769-9525 Danette Toso...........................376-2304 Past Pres: Eric Harcksen....... 620-1953 Tony Toso.................................376-2304 Jordan Cory.....................765-401-4078 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
Jay Mahil CFBF Director - District 9 David Macedo CFBF Field Representative Pierce Hanning Merced County YF&R Chair
Pierce Hanning 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 • December 15, 2023
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Atwater FFA Students Embark on Public Speaking Opportunities
By: Atwater FFA
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leven Atwater High School agriculture students participated and competed in the annual Mariposa FFA Public Speaking contest held at Mariposa High School on Saturday, December 2nd. The opportunity is one of numerous public speaking opportunities and competitions that will take place in the coming months for agriculture students. “Being a good communicator is one of the foundations of success towards personal and career development,” says Atwater FFA advisor Jose Vargas. “I’m very proud of our students’ efforts, participation, courage, and enthusiasm in this event!” Atwater High School agriculture freshman student Iker Chargoy placed 2nd overall in the sectional FFA Creed speaking contest. This event is designed to recognize outstanding FFA members for their ability to present the FFA Creed
from memory and answer questions on the meaning and purpose of the FFA Creed. Other participants included Fatima Soto, Gianna Fragulia, Marissa Vargas, and Maria Avalos-Velazquez. Atwater High School Agriculture program senior Ella Boyenga placed 3rd overall in the Prepared Public Speaking contest which involves a 6-8 minute speech on an agriculture related topic/issue, a written manuscript which is scored, and a question and answer period between the contestant and judges following the speech. Other contests included the FFA Job Interview contest involves students completing a cover letter, resume, job application, and panel interview. This event emphasizes developing, practicing, and demonstrating skills needed when seeking employment. Participants included Zoe Jolly, Haven Kamykowski, and Brianna DuranRobles. The other seeking contest was the Impromptu Speaking contest which involves students giving a
speech without any preparation, any notes or other additional materials; it is a spontaneous reaction to an agriculture-related topic at hand which may introduce an interesting turn to the discussion. Over 100 students representing schools throughout the state of California participated in the event which was geared towards allowing students an opportunity to practice
Atwater High School agriculture student Ella Boyenga placed 3rd overall in the Prepared Public Speaking contest and freshman agriculture student Iker Chargoy placed 3rd overall in the FFA Creed contest at the Mariposa FFA Speaking Invitational.
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and prepare for the sectional finals in late January. “This is an opportunity for students to develop, build, and strengthen critical thinking and speaking skills,” said Vargas. “Opportunities for students such as this establish foundation skills for success.” For more information on the Atwater High School Agriculture Department and Atwater FFA, please log on the website www.AtwaterFFA.org .
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
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Comparing Irrigation Requirements: Almond, Walnut, and Pomegranate By: Cameron Zuber, Orchard Crops Farm Advisor, Merced and Madera Counties
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hile many factors are considered when comparing the costs and returns for different crops, water can carry more weight in California due its effect on the economic and long-term viability of a crop. As some may be considering management of alternative crops, below is a generalized comparison of almond, walnut, and pomegranate irrigation requirements. For mature orchards (e.g., six-years since planting) and in the southern San Joaquin Valley, the yearly irrigation requirement between almond and walnut is similar, respectively 45 and 42 acreinches per year (UCCE et al., 2019 and 2017). While lower amounts can be achieved based on region and irrigation strategies, the compared amounts stay relatively similar between almond and walnut. Irrigation requirements for pomegranate were thought to be similar to almond and walnut at 45 acre-inch per year (UCCE, 2010); however, more recent research performed in Parlier, CA has shown a lower amount of approximately 37.5 acre-inch per year can be achieved with drip irrigation and when monitoring crop water use (Ayars et al., 2017). Differences between these crops are due to when and how much water each crop needs, as shown by comparing crop coefficients (see graph). When compared to almond, walnut crop coefficients are higher in the middle of the growing season (May to September) but lower in the early and latter parts. This is primarily due to physiological difference between the trees. For example, almonds leaf out earlier and drop their leave later when compared to walnuts, hence the difference earlier and later in the season. Even though there is a seasonal difference, the yearly irrigation requirement tends to end up being the same between almond and walnut. Pomegranate crop coefficients fall somewhere in between, but tend to trend lower hence the slightly lower yearly irrigation requirement. However, yearly irrigation requirements may not reflect the actual
irrigated amount as the early season requirements for almond may be met by available soil moisture supplied by precipitation during the dormant period. Additionally, differences in seasonal requirement does not consider potential variability in the cost of water over the course of the year. Ultimately, irrigation requirements are only part of production considerations as there are the many
factors towards growing these crops and what makes them profitable. This was just a comparison of one factor for some tree crops. Thanks to Abdelmoneim “Moneim” Mohamed (Irrigation and Soils Advisor) for their input when interpreting the crop coefficients from the referenced pomegranate paper. Please contact author if need location of references or specific values of
crop coefficients used in article. While this article discusses crop coefficients and irrigation requirements, they are used as examples within the context of education and extension efforts as irrigation can vary from region to region and within research. Additionally, while almond and walnut crop coefficients are from well-established sources, newer coefficients may be available or more appropriate for your context.
Graph of expected crop coefficient by month for almond (Almond Production Manual, 1996), walnut (Walnut Production Manual, 1998), and pomegranate (Ayars et al., 2017) in California. Almond and pomegranate crop coefficients reported monthly, while walnut crop coefficients reported for first and second half of each month.
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
Duarte introduces workforce aid bill By: Joe Cortez, Turlock Journal
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ecember 5, 2023 - Rep. John Duarte (R-Hughson) has introduced a bill that aims to double the amount — from. 20 percent to 40 percent — of Adult and Dislocated Worker Allocation funding that local boards can spend on incumbent worker training. “Last week, I proudly introduced the Professional Growth and Retention Act,” said Duarte. “By investing in the skills development of our existing workers, we not only enhance the competitiveness of our businesses, but also ensure the sustained growth of our local communities.” Employer-facilitated training
programs — classroom instruction, laboratory training, virtual instruction models — equip existing employees with the necessary skills to maintain their employment. However, local workforce boards are limited to using just 20 percent of their ADWA funds for IWT. Duarte’s bill seeks to double the allocation for IWT, with an addition boost to 50 percent for areas with unemployment rates at or below 3 percent. “It’s a forward-looking approach to workforce development, especially in rural communities,” said Duarte. “By allowing local employers to retain and train the local workforce, we can create more prosperity and opportunity in the places that need it most.”
California’s unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percent to 4.8 percent in October 2023 despite the state’s employers adding 40,200 non-farm payroll jobs to the economy, according to data released last month by the California Employment Development Department from two separate surveys. The number of jobs in the agriculture industry decreased slightly from September by 800 to a total of 430,500 jobs in October. The agricultural industry had 4,800 more farm jobs this year than it did in October a year ago. California’s unemployment rate is 4.8 percent overall, while the rate sits at 6.0 percent in Stanislaus County and a whopping 7.8 percent in neighboring Merced County, By way of comparison, San Mateo County, at 3.2 percent,
has the lowest rate in the state, while Imperial County, at 19.3 percent, has the highest. Duarte, serving his first term representing California’s 13th congressional district, is expected to face one of the most competitive races in the nation in 2024. Former Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) already has announced plans to run against Duarte in a rematch of the 2022 race that was decided by a mere 564 votes. The congressman is slated to be in Turlock Friday night when he takes part in a Town Hall Meeting hosted by Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa. The hour-long meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Calvary Chapel Turlock, 147 S. Broadway.
Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
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Uncertainty over SGMA grants amid deficit and leadership shuffle By: Brad Hooker, Agripulse
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he Newsom administration is bracing for sweeping budget cuts next year to account for a $58 billion deficit. At the same time, both the Assembly and Senate will have new leaders at the start of the session. Roger Isom, president and CEO of the Western Agricultural Processors Association, was relieved to have a speaker from a farm district with Assemblymember Robert Rivas of
Salinas, since the previous speaker, Asm. Anthony Rendon of Lakewood, “just frankly didn't care about agriculture.” He noted that Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins does care about ag and was the only reason that the Air Resources Board had funding this year for its tractor upgrade grants under the FARMER program. In February Atkins is handing over the gavel to Senator Mike McGuire, who has a close connection to the farmers in his North
Coast district, and Isom is optimistic with the transition—but “the proof is in the pudding.” Farm lobbyists have been racing to educate a large cohort of new lawmakers this year and Isom shared his frustrations. He recently discovered one freshman assemblymember had never heard of SGMA (the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act) before. “If we’re trying to lobby for this money [for groundwater projects] and
they don't even know what the word is, we've got a huge challenge,” he said. Isom gained a sympathetic ear from Rivas recently when he told the speaker the state cannot have strict climate and SGMA goals “and not help us.” Isom noted that the industry had asked for $800 million this year to help with SGMA and got just $200 million, and he warned that every agency is now in the process of cutting its budget much further.
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
Why this year’s quiet U.S. wildfire season could be one of our last By: Scott Dance, The Washington Post
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his year transported the West to summers of the past: Pleasant temperatures and clear air allowed for regular walks and hikes in the sunshine. In this part of North America, at least, choking smoke and the buzz of firefighting aircraft, unnerving hallmarks of so many recent wildfire seasons, largely relented. The dread and fear of out-of-control fires, on the other hand, remained inescapable, residents and emergency managers said. It was a reminder there is no going back to old norms so long as global temperatures continue to rise. “We have just had a respite,” said Tonya Graham, mayor of Ashland, Ore. “We have had a little bit of breathing space in this trajectory that is taking us toward higher wildfire and smoke risk and more extreme temperatures.” In recent months, fires raged over an astonishing, record-setting footprint in Canada, killed nearly 100 people and devastated Maui’s cultural capital, and blanketed the eastern United States with plumes of lung-harming smoke. Nevertheless, the U.S. wildfire season is likely to end as the quietest in decades. Given recent trends in wildfire statistics, it could be the quietest for decades to come without successful efforts to prevent blazes and reduce risks. The lull in wildfire activity has offered some communities, weary from decades of increasingly harrowing fire years, a chance to prepare for when flames come roaring back. In places such as Nevada County, Calif., northwest of Lake Tahoe, that meant time and energy to study and clear evacuation routes, take stock of fireprone buildings, and go after state and federal money up for grabs for wildfire preparations. “If you get a breather from it being just emergency, emergency, emergency, then you have the ability to plan,” said Alex Keeble-Toll, a senior administrative analyst for the county’s emergency services office. Why the U.S. wildfire season was so quiet An unusual abundance of moisture goes back to last winter, when an onslaught of storms dumped rain and —
more important — heaps of snow from the Sierra Nevada to the Cascades to the Rockies. Snowpack is a key water source for the West through hot and dry summers. Record-setting snowpack helped the Great Salt Lake bounce back from record low water levels. In the Colorado River basin, extra snowfall provided some relief from drought, although it was not enough to solve that waterway’s woes. In California, snowpack brought a water miracle, filling reservoirs and irrigation systems and for once allowing farms to add water to aquifers instead of further sapping them. There were fears that all the moisture might actually trigger an intense fire season in the Golden State if autumn weather dried out all the lush vegetation and it ignited. But that didn’t happen. For a second year in a row, the acreage torched by wildfires in California was a small fraction of the land burned during the devastating 2018, 2020 and 2021 fire years, and on par with the quieter seasons of the 1990s and early 2000s. For the first time in years, drought is nowhere to be found in the Golden State during what is typically its driest time of year. This year’s above-normal moisture meant that fires had difficulty spreading. In Colorado, the number of fires was close to average, “but we did not see the large acreage fires that we have experienced in other years,” said Tracy LeClair, a spokeswoman for the state’s wildland fire management office. Well-timed precipitation also helped prevent fire activity from ramping up, said Jim Wallmann, a meteorologist with the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho. Monsoon rains doused fire activity in Montana in early August, and then later that month, Hurricane Hilary drenched Southern California and spread moisture across the West. In recent years, drought persistently dominated the country west of the Mississippi River, but the maps flipped this year: Measures of soil moisture are among the highest on record across much of the mountain West and Northwest, according to NASA satellite data. Instead, it’s the Mississippi Valley that is the nation’s most parched — and fire-weary — region.
The conditions fueled hundreds of fires across Louisiana, where the Tiger Island Fire became the largest on record for the state. But because fires in the West can grow so much larger than those in the East, Wallmann said, an above-normal wildfire year in the South and Southeast had little bearing on national wildfire statistics. Changing how wildfires are prevented In the West, the quiet season was a welcome respite for communities with fresh memories of harrowing blazes. Images of fire-ravaged communities such as Paradise, Calif., where the Camp Fire killed 85 people in 2018, are prompting many communities to confront fire risks in new ways. “The reality of what we’re living in now is completely different,” said Sandie Hewston, who lives in a steep and densely wooded part of Nevada County, near Grass Valley. Growing up in the area, Hewston said she remembers the sound of firefighting aircraft passing overhead, flying toward some distant blaze. Now, there is an awareness that the forests that make the region such a peaceful place to live could one day become death traps, she said. The average fire has been trending larger because the biggest fires are growing, Wallmann said. And studies have shown climate change to be a factor: Because warmer air speeds up evaporation, it can dry out vegetation more quickly. For decades, a goal to extinguish any fire in the West meant a buildup of undergrowth in forests, which means more fuel for wildfires. Blazes that once stayed below the tree canopy and burned out faster are now overtaking forests. Without such massive fires this year, the size of the average blaze was on par with the lows of a decade or two ago. To address the changing risks, Nevada County authorities have been updating fire emergency plans and will study evacuation routes more closely. And they are lining up federal and state money to clear out dense undergrowth in some of the most vulnerable communities, where steep slopes allow fires to spread rapidly and evacuation routes are narrow. Prescribed burns — a practice of creating intentional, managed fires in
an effort to reduce fuels that could feed wildfires — are also an increasingly common tool, although this year’s wet conditions sometimes limited opportunities to conduct them. But it isn’t being used as widely as some have hoped. California set a goal in 2018 to conduct the burns across 500,000 acres a year, but last year lowered that to 400,000 acres annually by 2025. The state has conducted the burns across about 125,000 acres in recent years — out of more than 30 million acres of forested land. And during a wildfire lull, authorities have to redouble efforts to maintain awareness that the risks have changed. “People go back to that place of, ‘Oh, maybe wildfires every year is not the new normal and we can feel a little more safe,’ ” Keeble-Toll said. “We are incredibly mindful that people don’t get complacent about the risk.” Fires aren’t just for a season In the West, the late summer and early fall months are traditionally marked “fire season,” when warm conditions and dry weather patterns turned lush landscapes into tinderboxes. In recent decades, those artificial bounds have become increasingly irrelevant — so much so that authorities have changed their outlook on when risks are highest. “We think of fire years,” rather than just seasons, Wallmann said. Even for experts, it’s hard to say how effectively prevention measures will slow wildfire growth in the decades to come. Recent research found that prescribed burns have helped to reduce fire risks by about two-thirds in California over the past 15 years. Another recent study, however, found that the conditions needed to safely conduct prescribed burns will become rarer as the climate changes. How those forces interact, “it’s really hard to predict,” said Xiao Wu, an assistant professor of biostatistics at Columbia University and lead author of the study on prescribed burns in California. The research found that, because the state is conducting burns
See 'Wildfire' Page 13
Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
Wildfire
Other methods of clearing out undergrowth to reduce fire risks are continued from page 12 tedious and expensive, and can include work by hand. Those can cost upward of $2,000 per acre, while prescribed across a relatively small footprint each burning costs several hundred dollars per year, the strategy will have to be targeted acre. to the most vulnerable areas to be “There really is not enough money, successful. and I don’t think there ever will be, to
Page 13 solve this problem,” said Steve Garcia, a Cal Fire forester in Nevada, Yuba and Placer counties. Even if there is no clear endpoint to fire season, risks are dwindling for much of the country as lower temperatures set in and winter storms get going. National Weather Service analyses suggest no risks of significant wildfires
in the coming weeks and months across the contiguous states and Alaska — everywhere except Hawaii, that is. There, ongoing drought contributed to the deadly fires in Maui. The potential for major fires was forecast to extend into at least January, although heavy rainfall in recent days may have lessened that risk.
Calif. imposes 7 fruit fly quarantines tryoni) quarantine is the first of its kind in the U.S. Although QFF was first seen in California in 1985, the recent Residents in multiple Southern detection of two adult males triggered California and Northern California the unprecedented quarantine action counties should not move homegrown by USDA's Animal and Plant Health fruits and vegetables from their Inspection Service and CDFA. properties to help contain several species “This pest has earned a bad reputation of fruit fly that can destroy crops and for wreaking havoc on fruit production impact the livelihoods of local farmers. in Australia, where it is native,” With sharing and gifting of food said Hamutahl Cohen, University of integral to the holiday season, the California Cooperative Extension California Department of Food and entomology advisor for Ventura County. Agriculture is reminding people to heed “Adult flies lay their eggs in fruit, and the seven active fruit fly quarantines the eggs hatch into larvae that then feed aimed at controlling the Mediterranean on the fruit, causing damage.” fruit fly, Oriental fruit fly, Tau fly and And while females of other fruit Queensland fruit fly. The links below fly species live for only two or three describe quarantine zone boundaries: months, QFF females are unique in that • Mediterranean fruit fly: Los Angeles they can live up to a year, according to County, Leimert Park Area Cohen. • Oriental fruit fly: San Bernardino “Once QFF populations take root, and Riverside Counties, Redlands they're challenging to manage because and Yucaipa Areas females can each lay up to 100 eggs per • Oriental fruit fly: Sacramento day,” Cohen said. County, Rancho Cordova Area In addition to being highly adaptable • Oriental fruit fly: Contra Costa to a variety of environmental conditions, County, Brentwood Area QFF has more than 170 host plants – • Oriental fruit fly: Santa Clara including a wide range of California County, Santa Clara Area commodities such as citrus, grape, • Tau fly: Los Angeles County – strawberry, fig, avocado, apricot, peach, Stevenson Ranch, Valencia, Santa cherry, nectarine, plum, pear, apple, Clarita Area tomato and sweet pepper. • Queensland fruit fly: Ventura and The threat to citrus is especially Los Angeles Counties, Thousand concerning, as Southern California Oaks Area growers continue to grapple with the People within these zones should specter of spreading huanglongbing consume or process (i.e., juice, freeze (HLB) disease, which kills citrus trees. or cook) their homegrown fruits and Cohen said residents of citrus-growing vegetables at the place of origin and not regions can do their part to help their move them off their property. Uneaten neighbors and local economy by produce should be double-bagged in respecting quarantine restrictions. plastic bags and disposed of in the “Growers are already dealing with landfill bin – not compost or green other invasive species like Asian citrus waste. psyllid [vector of HLB pathogen], so we as homeowners need to prevent the QFF a threat to citrus spread of fruit flies to reduce the burden The Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera on them,” she explained.
By: Mike Hsu, UCANR, Western FarmPress
Post-pandemic travel While a spike this year in the detections of multiple fruit fly species was likely caused by a host of factors, Cohen speculates that increased postpandemic travel is helping to move the flies. And with holiday travel in full swing, she said it's important to practice “Don't Pack a Pest” principles. “Invasive species often hitchhike on fruits and vegetables brought into California by travelers – that's why we
often first find invasive species in urban and suburban backyards, and not on farms,” Cohen said. “Travelers entering the U.S. can visit dontpackapest.com to learn about which products they can and cannot bring back with them.” To report a suspected infestation of fruit fly larvae in homegrown produce, call the CDFA pest hotline at 1-800491-1899. Growers with questions and concerns are urged to contact their local agricultural commissioner's office.
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
McCarthy resignation sets off mad scramble By: Joe Kieta, CalMatters
F
ormer House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announcement today that he will vacate his seat and not seek reelection sets off a tidal wave of speculation on who will represent a wide swath of California’s agricultural heartland. The timing of the announcement also puts McCarthy in a spot to be a political kingmaker if he makes an early endorsement. It’s a role he’s played before and relishes. In announcing his resignation in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, McCarthy reiterated that he will “continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office.” One thing is virtually certain: McCarthy’s replacement will be a Republican. And one of the names on a possible list of GOP stalwarts is a big one — former Rep. Devin Nunes. The sprawling Godzilla-shaped district is a GOP stronghold as ruby-red as any in California. Its voters supported former President Donald Trump and the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom by wide margins. We also know the process for how McCarthy will be replaced, at least initially. Since he isn’t leaving his seat until after the candidate filing deadline, it’s up to Newsom to decide whether to call a special election in early 2024 to fill the remaining months of McCarthy’s current term, according to the Secretary of State’s office. A spokesperson for the governor’s office said a special election would need to be called within 14 days of a vacancy, but did not answer questions about whether Newsom plans to do so. “We will have more to share once we have specifics from McCarthy about his planned departure,” said Erin Mellon, the spokesperson. In the March primary and November general election, voters in the district will choose their next representative to serve starting in January 2025. The filing deadline for candidates is now Dec. 13, according to the Secretary of State. The counties covered by McCarthy’s 20th Congressional District have recent familiarity with this process when Nunes departed at the end of 2021. Connie Conway was elected in June 2022 to fill out the remaining six months of Nunes’ term and served as a caretaker
uninterested in re-election. Here are some of the potential candidates who could mount a campaign to replace McCarthy, and their pluses and minuses: Devin Nunes Longtime GOP member of Congress who left his seat in late 2020 to take over as chief executive of Truth Social, Trump’s social media venture Why it could happen: Nunes has a mile-long list of political bonafides: national name recognition, an $11 million campaign war chest, and a bridge to the powerful MAGA wing of the Republican Party. He previously represented many of the Fresno-area voters who now make up a sizable chunk of McCarthy’s district. He hasn’t disappeared from the local political scene and frequently is a guest on local conservative talk radio. Election to a GOP stronghold district could be a more secure job than Truth Social’s shaky prospects. Why it won’t: Nunes, who over nearly two decades in Congress had risen up the House ranks to lead the influential intelligence committee, would start over as a backbencher. Many speculate the chamber’s current thin GOP majority will be wiped out after the 2024 election, making for a miserable life as a Republican first-termer. He’s also branched out into various unrelated interests after joining Truth Social. He recently started his own winery with such vintages as Patriot Cabernet Sauvignon. Shannon Grove Republican state senator who currently represents a district that overlaps much of McCarthy’s congressional seat Why it could happen: Grove has built a well-known and popular political brand in Bakersfield, which makes up the bulk of her Senate district. She’s a strong supporter of Trump but has charted a relatively more pragmatic political profile. She won a highprofile victory over Democrats in the Legislature to reclassify human trafficking of a minor as a felony, a bill that Newsom signed. Redistricting brought her north to the wealthy and more conservative areas of Fresno and Clovis. Why it won’t happen: Grove still
is a relative unknown to a chunk of McCarthy’s district. She’d have to fundraise at a level she hasn’t achieved in the past. Her MAGA ties could turn off more middle-of-the-road voters in the Fresno suburbs. David Valadao Republican who currently represents the 22nd Congressional District Why it could happen: The Republican from Hanford long has been held up as a political miracle — a Republican who gets elected in Democratic-majority districts. It’s a streak he kept alive for multiple terms until the 2018 blue wave, only to regain his seat in 2020. He’s now staring down a rematch with Salas in a year with Trump on the ballot. Hopscotching one district over could make political life much easier. It wouldn’t be the first time a member of Congress moves districts for greener political pastures. Democrat Josh Harder declined to run for re-election in his Modesto-centered district in 2022, opting instead to run in a safer Democratic district centered in Stockton. Why it won’t happen: Valadao would be viewed as a political carpetbagger. Moving over to McCarthy’s district would leave his current one wide-open for Salas and the Democrats. His vote to impeach Trump in early 2021 turns off the powerful MAGA bloc. Nathan Magsig
Fresno County supervisor Why it could happen: Magsig, also a former Clovis mayor and councilmember, mounted a primary challenge in 2022 to incumbent Rep. Tom McClintock in the newly-drawn 5th Congressional District. He has a history of taking on conservative causes and made waves when he led a majority of Fresno supervisors to sue the state over the renaming of the unincorporated community Squaw Valley to eliminate the Native American slur. Why it won’t happen: Magsig’s 2022 McClintock challenge went poorly and angered many Republicans. He has no name recognition in Bakersfield. He opted out of a logical next step to replace termed-out Assemblymember Jim Patterson, a Fresno Republican, and seems content to stay closer to home. There are no term limits for Fresno County supervisors. Connie Conway Former state Assemblymember and member of Congress Why it could happen: Conway won a special election in 2022 to fill out the remainder of Nunes’ term. Her long history in the state Legislature gives her all-important name recognition. Why it won’t happen: The former Assembly minority leader showed no interest in making Congress a permanent home. Editor’s Note: Omitted Vince Fong section; Fong announced on Dec. 7 that he won’t run.
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
Page 15
In California’s San Joaquin Valley, the future of farming is in tech By: Esther Quintanilla, KVPR
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RESNO, Calif. – Smart farms, electric tractors and remotecontrolled wheelbarrows. Those are just some of the new technologies that could soon be hitting the agriculture industry in the San Joaquin Valley in the upcoming year. The latest inventions created by researchers and students across the Valley were displayed at Fresno State earlier this week. They are being developed as part of a project called the Food, Farm and Future (F3) initiative. It’s a partnership among Valley community colleges, Fresno State, UC Merced, community organizations
and industry associations representing growers and workers. The F3 project started last year after the U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded the region $65 million through the “Build Back Better” Regional Challenge to boost economic recovery from the pandemic. “We will change the way agriculture is done,” said Leigh Bernacchi, executive director of the UC Merced Valley Institute for Sustainability, Technology and Agriculture. “It will be climate ready. It will be accessible. It will be technologically advanced and we'll be making data driven decisions.” Aside from the F3 initiative, the Economic Development Administration also granted $23 million to the Fresno
County Economic Development Corporation to expand equitable job opportunities across underserved populations and communities through its “Good Jobs Challenge.” The Valley was the only region in the country to receive both grants. The community was recently blindsided by the collapse of Bitwise Industries, a startup that promised to bring thousands of tech industry jobs to the city of Fresno and diversify the largely agricultural-based economy. The fall of the company has placed a larger focus on tech to improve the economy. Ashley Swearengin, executive director of the Central Valley Community Foundation, believes the F3
initiative will provide solutions for the Valley's climate issues in the agriculture industry Officials see a lot of it coming through the F3 initiative, which they hope increases the regional GDP over the next four years, attracts more than $20 million in private investments and creates more than 10,000 jobs. The prospects are also running up against efforts to adapt to climate change. “It's been our vision to develop world recognized climate smart food and agricultural systems and technology to solve our own problems,” said Ashley Swearengin, executive director of the Central Valley Community Foundation.
H-2A wages increasing in 2024 By: Philip Brasher, Agripulse
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armers who intend to use H-2A workers in 2024 will have to offer pay raises of up to 7%, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation analysis of the USDA farm labor report on which the wage rates are based. In 2024, the adverse effect wage rate, or AEWR, for H-2A workers will range from a low of $14.53 per hour for workers in Arkansas, Louisiana
and Mississippi, and $14.68 per hour in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, to $19.25 in Oregon and Washington and $19.75 in California, AFBF says. Farmers in 11 states will have to pay between $18 and $19 per hour: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Hawaii, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Hawaii. The government sets the AEWRs based on USDA’s region-by-region
survey of farmworker pay released in November. “With labor costs accounting for up to 38.5% of total production expenses in the fruit and tree nuts sector and 28.5% in the vegetable and melons sector … this increase is no small part of the budget,” the AFBF analysis noted. A few states will see relatively modest increases: The rates will increase just 1.4% in Iowa and Missouri, about
2% in Colorado, Nevada and Utah, and 3% in Florida. But farmers in most of the South, Midwest, Plains and West Coast will have to pay H-2A workers 6% or 7% more than this year. The analysis notes that the wage increases could come on top of a series of changes the Biden administration is implementing or proposing to the H-2A program that will also increase farm labor costs.
250,000 birds euthanized due to avian flu in Sonoma County, state of emergency declared By: Jordan Parker, San Francisco Chronicle
T
he Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday declared a state of emergency after approximately 250,000 birds were euthanized following the discovery of a “highly pathogenic” avian flu at two commercial poultry farms in the county. County officials said the emergency declaration would provide emergency
services to businesses affected by the outbreak and that remaining birds at both farms were under quarantine. The detection of the virus was announced Friday by local and state agencies. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported that the two poultry farms affected were Sunrise Farms and Reichardt Duck Farm, both located near Petaluma. Birds can become infected when they have contact with the virus after its been shed via saliva, secretions or feces,
according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They can also become infected when touching surfaces that are contaminated with the virus. Although it is a deadly threat to birds, human avian flu infection is rare, according to the CDC. Neither Sunrise nor Reichardt responded to requests for comment. State agriculture officials said the disease was also detected in commercial flocks in three other California counties: San
Benito, Fresno and Merced. “As wild waterfowl migrate in the fall season, we anticipate increased movement of birds that are potential carriers of this virus,” the state’s agriculture department said in a statement Friday. “So we strongly urge poultry owners to protect their flocks by increasing their biosecurity practices, including limiting access to poultry areas in order to reduce the risk of accidental exposure to virus.”
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
California pushes ahead with $16 billion water project — one of the most contentious in history reduce by building a slightly different and smaller project than what was advocated by his predecessor, Gov. Jerry Brown. ov. Gavin Newsom’s office is Shortly after taking office in 2019, pressing forward with one of Newsom announced that he would California’s most contentious substitute a two-tunnel plan with a single water projects of the past half century, pipeline that moved less water: 6,000 as it released a completed environmental cubic feet of water per second instead review on Friday for the proposed 45of 9,000. Administration officials also mile tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San wanted the pipeline to avoid the heart Joaquin River Delta. of the delta and run farther east, near The $16 billion undertaking, which Interstate 5, where they say it will be less has been pursued in various forms by disturbing to people and wildlife. previous administrations, is meant to Since the project’s draft move water more easily — and more environmental report was released last securely — from the state’s wet north year, state officials have made several through the vast, but fragile delta estuary small additional changes in response to to 27 million Californians living to the public comment, namely how roads will south. be realigned and where utilities will be The aging network of bays, canals placed. and levees that currently carries water “I believe we have put together a through the delta is no longer reliable project that has done as much as we can amid the threat of earthquakes and to minimize disruption,” Karla Nemeth, increasingly extreme weather with director of the Department of Water climate change, state officials say. Resources, told the Chronicle. The tunnel also would likely boost the As proposed, the tunnel, officially amount of water that is exported from dubbed the Delta Conveyance Project, the delta. would draw water from the Sacramento However, as long as state officials River through two large intake facilities have been talking about a fix for at the delta’s north end, where most of California’ water hub, residents and the estuary’s water enters. Then, the environmental groups have fought it. water would be piped to the delta’s south Opponents fear any new conveyance end where a new pumping station would project would siphon too much water be built to push the flows into aqueducts from the communities, farms and fish running as far as San Diego. in the region. The state also faces the The Metropolitan Water District challenge of securing funding for the of Southern California is the biggest pipeline, a hurdle officials insist they’ll recipient of the state water that comes overcome. through the delta, though several Bay “Climate change is threatening Area agencies rely on it, including our access to clean drinking water, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, diminishing future supplies for millions Alameda County Water District, the Triof Californians,” Newsom said in a Valley’s Zone 7 Water Agency and many statement. “Doing nothing is not an in Napa County. option.” The receiving utilities will be Friday’s release of the final responsible for funding the tunnel — environmental impact report puts the not state taxpayers — which would project in position to get the go-ahead likely mean higher rates for their water from the Department of Water Resources customers. For this reason, the financing and secure the necessary state and has remained a sticking point, with federal permits. The tunnel is not likely some agencies hesitant to pony up. to break ground before the end of the State officials say they expect to firm up decade. State officials hope to have it funding commitments over the next two operational 10 years later. years. The environmental document, over The state’s main selling point for thousands of pages, lays out the expected the recipients of the water is not the impacts of the proposal, which the promise of more of it but greater Newsom administration has tried to reliability. However, the Department
By: Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle
G
of Water Resources does anticipate an average increase in water deliveries of about 500,000 acre-feet a year, which is enough to provide for more than 1 million households. While exports from the delta are restricted by state regulation, more water would be available largely because the existing pumps that push water south are sometimes slowed or shut down to protect chinook salmon and delta smelt. The tunnel would move water past these pumps to a new pumping station, thereby avoiding the hang-ups and ensuring that more water could be exported during wet periods when there is surplus supply.
Critics fear that even with regulation protecting delta water, the new, massive pipeline would encourage the state to find ways to sidestep the rulescaps and move more supplies south, leaving less for the region. The idea of moving water beneath, or around, the delta dates back more than 50 years. One of the original state plans was to construct a “peripheral” canal around the region, a proposal that was rejected by voters in a 1982 ballot initiative. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger more recently tried to revive the canal proposal before Gov. Brown reimagined the concept with twin tunnels.
Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
Page 17
A new tree nut pest problem has emerged By: Lee Allen, Western FarmPress
I
t was only weeks ago that the California Association of Pest Control Advisers met in an annual conference to discuss pending problems and solutions with a focus on agricultural technology. They may already have what could be the first of future tree nut pest problems of concern to the nearly 4,000 California EPA-licensed pest control advisers providing management consultation for food production. The issue involves a beetle that is frequently mistaken for a dried fruit beetle -- but is responsible for greater damage than its fellow genus companion. Currently identified as Carpophilus truncatus, it initially lays its eggs on field nuts. “The larvae dig entry tunnels and burrow into the nut causing pinhole-type damage,” said Bob Klein, manager of the California Pistachio Research Board. With increasing reports of growers seeing a growing number of pinholes in pistachios, Klein told his audience that other than the navel orangeworm, no other pest was known to burrow into pistachios and almonds in similar fashion
as this beetle. In his “Managing Pests and Diseases in Pistachios: Current Technology and Works in Progress” presentation, Klein traced the pistachio/almond/walnut pest from Australia a decade ago to Italy by 2019 into California this year, showing up in pistachios in Kings County and almonds in Madera County. “A number of control approaches have been tried using attractants and pesticides, but nothing promising has yet been achieved,” he noted. A Science of the Total Environment bulletin last month was prescient in noting, “Climate change with its earlier onset and rapid completion of insect lifecycle will increase pest pressure on high value agriculture in California.” The research authors cited almonds, walnuts, and pistachios as targets of the increased pest activity, a reference corroborated by the government’s National Center for Biotechnology Information reporting, “Agricultural crops and their corresponding pests are direction and indirectly affected by climate change.” Temperatures a factor That report cited temperature as the
most important environmental factor affecting insect behavior, distribution, development, and reproduction. “Climate change creates new ecological niches that provide opportunities for insect pests to establish and spread in new geographic regions and farmers can expect to face new and intense pest problems in the coming years due to the changing climate.” Houston Wilson, an IPM specialist at Kearney Ag Center, is leading the University of California efforts involving the new discovery made in September, and says: “The pest has been recovered from both almonds and pistachios. So far, there are official finds in four counties --- Kings, Stanislaus, Merced, and Madera --- and we are surveying the rest of the San Joaquin Valley.” Wilson says, “In the span of a couple of weeks, we suddenly had two discoveries in two different crops in two different counties. We initiated a regional pest survey and have been working with growers, farm and pest control advisors over several counties. We’re getting a lot of beetle samples from throughout San Joaquin Valley.”
“The damage in this area has been seen for several years, but that destruction may have been confused as coming from another insect,” adds entomologist and Stanislaus County IPM advisor Jhalendra Rijal. To which Wilson says: “The earliest samples were collected in 2022 in Merced County, so it’s been here for at least a year and we’re seeing it from Stanislaus to Kinds County. That’s a pretty good stretch north-to-south, so our sense is that it’s widespread and has been here for some time.” Because this year was somewhat unprecedented in the combination of forces that lead to poor orchard sanitation, “We’re seeing historical levels of navel orangeworm damage, one of the worst years in memory involving NOW infestation, and now this beetle shows up. Because it’s so widespread, a quarantine is too late and we’re living with its arrival. The key message now is sanitation, sanitation, sanitation. Navel orangeworm has already kicked growers in the butt and a new pest has arrived. Fundamental to controlling both is effective crop sanitation.”
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
Peace and Blessings
from the
Mariposa CFB
I
Danette Toso
n this crazy, uncertain, upsidedown world we live in, it can be very hard to focus on anything other than the abysmal news headlines. There is so much negative energy and hate across the globe, it’s like living under a black, gloomy cloud every day. Just when it seems that things can’t get worse, it gets worse than ever. I can remember as a young child my great grandma saying,
“Things are so bad, we’re all going to hell in a handbasket.” I often wonder what she would have to say about the state of our world today if she could look down from Heaven. I would imagine that all of our Founding Fathers have rolled over and over and over again in their graves. To hang on through this era, we have two choices, to buy into the negativity and hate, and let it drag us into darkness, or embrace the positive that is still holding us together by a thread. We can not give into the war machine that threatens us daily. Holding on to the peace that we’ve taken for granted and enjoyed for so long is vital to our health, happiness, and wellbeing. To add insult to injury, farmers and ranchers have been hit hard with extreme regulations making it harder and harder to feed the world. It’s almost as if there is a group of people who don’t want agriculture in the picture at all. Oh, that’s a crazy conspiracy theory, tin foil hat wearing words, right? You’d better hold on to your hats, there are more anti-agriculture regulations
coming down the pike. Even with everything our government is hitting us with, I continue to count my blessings and look for the silver linings of those dark clouds. Now is the time to take a huge step up, do your homework, educate, discuss and debate agriculture with those around you. Let people know just how important agriculture is to so many things in their lives. If we want to continue living our best lives on our
farms and ranches, we can no longer sit back and let others speak for us. Now is our time to make some noise and be noticed before it’s too late. May the peace and blessings of Christmas be yours and may the coming year be filled with happiness. In the new year, I encourage you 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.
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
HARDWARE STORES
REAL ESTATE
Gallaway Feed and Supply..................374-3331 Mariposa Feed & Supply...................966-3326 Bootjack Equipment Rental & Feed.. 966-3545
Coast Hardware.................................. 966-2527 Foster Ace Hardware .........................966-2692
Cathey's Valley Real Estate................ 742-2121
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
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
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
Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023
Page 19
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 Arrowhead Field Repair......................658-5250 Cab Air Systems................................. 551-3301 SS Blue ..............................................722-2583
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS Allison Sierra, Inc...............................966-4082 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 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) 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 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 Farm(x).......................................(559)608-4410 GAR Bennett............................ (559) 480-3029
J & F Fertilizer.....................................854-6325 La Follette Enterprises, Inc................632-1385 Mass Energy Works..................(530) 710-8545 Mid Valley Ag Service......................... 394-7981 Silva & Sons Custom Spreading.......667-2566 Stone Family Spreading..................... 756-1491 The Pollination Connection...... (877) 970-BEES (2337) WTS McCabe LLC............................... 854-6818
FOOD PROCESSING A V Thomas Produce.......................... 394-7514 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 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
FUEL SERVICES Amarants Propane Service ............... 358-2257 Hunt & Sons, Inc......................(916) 383-4868 Pazin & Myers Inc...............................725-2050 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
IRRIGATION, WELLS, & SEPTIC
American Ag Credit ........384-1050/826-0320
Allison Sierra, Inc...............................966-4082 Agri-Valley Irrigation ..........................384-8494 IJ Larsen Pumps ................................529-2020 Pacific Southwest Irrigation...............460-0450 Precision Aqua....................................756-2025 Quality Well Drillers............................ 357-0675 Rain for Rent/Westside Pump.(559) 693-4315 San Luis Pump Company...................383-0464 Shannon Pump Company..................723-3904 SWAN Systems.........................(661) 335-2649
Central Valley Community Bank........725-2820
Yosemite Farm Credit ........................ 383-1116
INSECT & WEED CONTROL
Merced County Nut Festival.............. 761-8279
Environmental Spraying Service ......667-1038 Malm Ag Pest Management .............392-6905 Star Creek Land ................................ 704-1790
P. B. Iyer, M.D......................................854-1120
FARM SUPPLIES Ag Flag ............................................... 357-3424 American River Ag..............................385-9553 Cal Farm Service................................358-1554 Kellogs Supply ................................... 722-1501 Livingston True Value.........................394-7949 Marfab................................................826-6700 Pacific Bay Equipment.............(800) 640-1227 Stanislaus Farm Supply..................... 723-0704
Farmers & Merchants Bank.............. 626-4100 Grimbleby Coleman CPAs.................. 527-4220
MISCELLANEOUS The Hat Source................................... 357-3424 Merced County Fair............................722-1506
Sunset Pool Service........................... 286-7665
BUSSINESS SUPPORT FARMERS DCB Farming LLC GS Farms J&J O'Banion Ranch, LLC Live Oak Farms Migliazzo Farms
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Merced County Farm News • December 15, 2023