Truck weight limits will be increased for some crops
the California Highway Patrol so Caltrans cangauge theeffect of heavier loadson the state highway system. The main driver of the request is a shortage of truckers, which is projected to worsen. As Ag Alert® reported in April, someagricultural-truckingcompaniesare seeingadriver shortageof 25%to30%; one trucking organization forecast a shortage of as much as 50% to 60% as the harvest moved northward. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic ap- pears to be receding, Spiegel said, a full recovery is still aways down the road.
“We knowof significant limitations that still exist in the supply chain,” Spiegel said. “As long as we are operating under the emergency conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to continually ensure maximum flexibility for the reliability of the supply chain.” Formore information, and toapply for a permit, gotohttps://dot.ca.gov/programs/ traffic-operations/transportation-permits/ agricultural-harvests. (Kevin Hecteman i s an ass i stant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)
ByKevinHecteman Agricultural haulerswill beable tocarry morewith less for the next twomonths. Drivers carrying certain commodi- ties from the farm to a processing plant or packinghouse will be allowed to haul loads of as much as 88,000 pounds under special permits granted by the California State TransportationAgency. The regular limit is 80,000 pounds. The permits are valid until Aug. 31 and are good on the state highway system, excluding inter- states and certain bridges. RobertSpiegel,aCaliforniaFarmBureau policy advocate, and JohnLarrea, director of governmental affairs for the California League of Food Producers, explained the need for a weight-limit increase in a June 21 letter toGov. GavinNewsom. “The unintended consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to place significant strains on our national and statewide supply chains,” the letter said. “Agricultural producers are not immune to the transportation challenges and are increasinglyconcernedabout driver avail- ability and the real potential of supply chain interruptions as a result.” Commodities covered under the per- mits include tomatoes, peaches, pears, grapes, onions, carrots, citrus, almonds, pistachios,walnuts, olives, pomegranates, rice, wheat, corn, safflower and potatoes. Larrea said that list leaves out “the en- tire coastal harvest,” such as leafy greens and berries. Spiegel said FarmBureau would like to see “very broad verbiage” that indicates any California-grown commodity des- tined for a California-based processor, packinghouse or distributor be granted the same authorization. “Make it as broad as possible, as simple as possible, to give all varietals of crops grown in California the same sort of flex- ibility,” he added.
Larrea said the permits will meanmore efficient use of trucking assets. “For food processors, it means there may be a few more trucks available,” Larrea said. “By increasing weight by 10%, one out of every eight trucks now will be essentially freed up.” Haulerswill need to turn ina logof over- weight loads every 30days toCaltrans and
Thank you
to the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau
for their help in hosting the Western Caucus Foundation Roundtable with the Senate and Congressional Western Caucus Leaders
We would also like to thank the following people:
Jake O. Francis Valley Piggery Lindsey Jessup Al Wagner
Teri Bontrager Sheldon Bosio Greg Gonzales
Daniel Cavaletto Kathleen Merrill Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau Larry Ferini Rancho Laguna Farms Kevin Merrill Mesa Vineyard Management Sara Araujo The Floral Shop Santa Maria High School
Foley Family Wines Kristina Benedict Lincourt Vineyards
Darryl Henry Josh Jamison Western Caucus Foundation Bob Nelson Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, Chair Igor Van Wingerden Ocean Breeze
www.californiabountiful.com
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July 7, 2021 Ag Alert 11
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