Leaders Continued from Page 1
“Iwouldencourageeveryonetobeactive in their FarmBureau,” she said, “not only at the local level but the state level. Anddon’t be afraid to call the people that aremaking thesedecisions andwriting thesebills.” Asked what the most important issues he heard about were, Villapudua said, “Obviously, cost is going to be one. What is goingonright nowwithcost of fuel is go- ing to be a domino effect. When it comes to pesticide, to fertilizer, towater, all that’s going to trickle down to the consumer.” He also listened to concerns on port congestion impactingagricultural exports, and he said he wants legislative commit- teeshandlingagricultureandports towork on solutions together. Solano County farmer Daniel Jones said the event connected farmers and ranchers with some legislators who don’t come from farming backgrounds. One of the non-farmers Jones talked to was Assemblyman JimCooper, D-ElkGrove. Jones, who also was attending his first LeadersConference, saidCooper toldhim he learned to loveagriculture throughrep- resenting constituents inhis district. “Here’s someonewhodidn’t come from itbut respects it,becausethatguyhas toeat, too, andprovide for his family,” Jones said. In the morning, before heading down- town, Farm Bureau members and staff- ers heard from Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, aswell as Villapudua and Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Salinas. Darry Sragow, publisherof theCaliforniaTargetBook,gave
anupdateon the state’s ethnic andpolitical demographics,whileAmandaHansenofthe CaliforniaNatural ResourcesAgency spoke about climatechange (seestory, Page4). Caballero said three items came up when shewas preparingher speech: “The first issue that hitmymindwaswater. And then the second issue that hit my mind was water. And then the third issue that hit mymindwas water.” She said California’s water system “is old, it’s broken and full of internal ten- sions.” Caballero said the problemneeds to be addressed onmultiple fronts—such as resolving competing water-supply and flood-control needs and addressing new water-storage demands. She said the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act needs time to do its job, addingthatshouldincludevoluntaryagree- mentsthatbalanceagriculturalandenviron- mentalneeds.Shealsoexpressedsupportof addressingwater needs through desalina- tion,recharge,andrecyclingandreclaiming. “We’ve got to look at what are the best practices and thenbring themto our state, instead of deciding ahead of time that we don’t like thoseparticular technologiesand dismissingthemoutofhand,”Caballerosaid. “We have an opportunity, I think, tomake our statedrought-proof ifwedo it right.” RossnotedthatCDFAbudgeted$50mil- lion forwater-efficiencygrants, thehighest ever. She said the agency also administers
programs dealing with methane reduc- tion, healthy soils and pollinator habitat. “The pressures are on for us tomeet the challengeofthiscenturyanddoingourpart,” Ross said, “but never losing sight of the im- portance of what youdo, which ismeeting thefood-securityneedsofourcitizenshere, across thecountryandaround theworld.” Wirzsaidthedrought—andthehealthof hisvineyard—inspiredhis legislativevisits. “I’ma dryland vineyard guy,” he said. “I have thecapability to irrigatemyvineyard, but this year I’mgoing tohave tospend the extra time, effort andmoney to pumpwa- ter that usually falls fromthe sky.” Fa rm Bu reau ’s engag emen t i n Sacramento caught the attention of some visitors from Washington, D.C. Jessica Cabrera, managing director of member engagement at theAmericanFarmBureau Federation, saidAFBF staff is touring state FarmBureaus and took theopportunity to attend the Leaders Conference. Cabrera said, “I feel like the members havebeenactivelyengaging inthat discus- sion, raising their hand, asking questions, and then when they do, they’re very in- formedandarticulateandtheyunderstand the issues that they’re facing. And they’re willing to say that to their electedofficials.” (Kevin Hecteman i s an ass i stant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)
EstelleClifton, a registeredprofessional forester fromMendocino County, spoke with Assemblyman JimWood, D-Santa Rosa, about the Jackson Demonstration StateForest inher county andWood’s dis- trict. The forest is the subject of a dispute over timber harvesting. “I’mreallyhappyhe came to speakwith us,” Clifton said. “My takeaway is that he’s more in linewithmy views than I thought. It was good to get reassurance on some specifics fromhim, toknowthat heunder- standsmy industry andhas givenhis sup- port to the issues that I care about to help sustain our lumber and timber industry.” Clifton said she wants to see legislators “put their actions where their mouth has beenon forestry. Theyhavea lot of forestry goals, andweneed tobuild the capacityof our industry to achieve those goals.” E l sewhere amid the gather ing , Trelawney Bullis met with Assemblyman Carlos Villapudua, D-Stockton. “We really wanted tomake sure he un- derstood that, one, we appreciate himgo- ingon the farmtours and talking topeople ontheground, but two, toencourageother Assembly members and legislators to do the same thing,” Bullis said. Bullis, a water-supply manager whose territory ranges from Fresno County to Kern County, is a member of the state Young Farmers & Ranchers committee. Thiswasher first LeadersConference, part of the Capitol Ag Conference.
Advertorial Calcium is a powerful occulator that in uences soil structure and contributes to the overall health of both soil and crop. The healthiest of soils have a occulated structure, soil particles are clumped together to form aggregates. These aggregates stabilize soil and allow water to move through the large pores. Sodium is a poor occulator, in fact it closes the soil, increases surface crusting and reduces water in ltration. Calcium works to leach soil salts by replacing sodium on the cation exchange sites, bringing the salt into the soil solution so it can be leached with quality irrigation or rainwater. Limestone or Gypsum can be used to help leach salt from the soil because it is the calcium that replaces the sodium from the exchange sites.
Blue Mtn Minerals Limestone
640 lbs Ca per ton 420 lbs Ca per ton
90% Gypsum
Calcium needed to remove excess salts Soil Type
Sandy Loam
2,000 lbs/acre of Ca 2,500 lbs/acre of Ca
Loam
Bottom line: when choosing your source of calcium to help leach salts, why not put the most in the truck you can? Check with your trusted certi ed crop advisor for more information. Source: NRCS USDA Salt E ected Areas Ask for it by name
California Bureau size 4.5 x 5 FOLSOM
RED BLUFF RED BLUFF DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM 530-366-3166 www.redbluffdodge.com REDDING CROWN MOTORS 530-241-4321 www.crowndodgecalifornia.com
FOLSOM LAKE CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM 916-355-9999 www.folsomcdjr.com MANTECA CABRAL CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE RAM 209-647-3195 www.cabralcjdr.com
Blue Mountain Minerals Naturally the Best!
For more information 209-533-0127x 112
March 23, 2022 Ag Alert 15
Powered by FlippingBook