Conference Continued from Page 1 with lawmakers and show that agricul- ture has a unified voice in terms of our position on bills and the direction we need to go in California,” said California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson. The Legislature is considering doz- ens of bills that could impact agriculture. Legislation Farm Bureau is tracking include a state Senate bill that would simplify in- surance options for many farm operations and an Assembly bill that would extend agriculture’s exemption from a provision of California’s Endangered Species Act that pertains to accidental takes. Chris Reardon, California Farm Bureau director of government affairs, emphasized the importance of in-per- son interactions in policy advocacy. “Being here is a powerful statement,” he said. “It doesn’t hurt to have a bunch of people fill the hallways and elevators. It sends a message that we care about what we do, and our issues are important.” Visits from farmers can be especially impactful for urban lawmakers such as Jones-Sawyer. “For a lot of urban legisla- tors, these are going to be some of the few farmers and ranchers they meet with this year, but their vote counts just as much as the rural members,” Johansson said. “When it comes to legislators, the urban districts outnumber the rural areas, so they are very important to engage.” During a visit with Jones-Sawyer, farm- ers from Stanislaus County explained the benefits of enabling farms to use drones
“We’ve got to connect what you do on the farmland and what goes on in the city,” he said, mentioning urban agri- culture-related businesses such as food processing centers. “People who have jobs in those processing centers are in my district. You supply them what they need to be able to feed their families and have a job every day.” StateSen.MelissaHurtado,D-Bakersfield, who is the daughter of farmworkers, spoke with Central Valley farmers about big-pic- ture issues. “I want us to start thinking about the near future and the challenges of having to meet the demand of feeding 10 billion people by 2050,” Hurtado said. “The re- sources are just becoming more limited, whether it’s floods or drought or hurri- canes, whatever it may be, and those are impacting our food supply chain around the world.” Martín Chávez, farmer relations di- rector for Pacific Farm Management, a Central Valley labor contractor, encour- aged Hurtado to invite other lawmakers to visit farms to understand “what we do day in and day out.” Hurtado said she loved the idea of creating a farm day for lawmakers “just spending the day in the shoes of a farmer or farmworker.” She added, “We have to do more to educate those who live out- side the rural areas.” (Caleb Hampton is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at champton@cfbf.com. )
Farm Bureau delegation members from the Central Valley Jessica Filippini, from left, Caitie Diemel, Trevor Cordova and Mark Avilla discuss issues with legislative aide Jessica Zaragoza and Assembymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles.
for pesticide application. “This technol- ogy can improve efficiency,” said Mark Avilla, a Stanislaus County walnut grow- er. “Herbicides and pesticides are one of our biggest expenses. Any way we can cut down those expenses will help us stay in business and keep farming.” The technology also has safety bene- fits. “When it comes to employees han- dling pesticides, it could give growers an opportunity to eliminate some of that personal contact with pesticides,” said Caitie Diemel, executive director of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau. Stanislaus farmer Trevor Cordova ex- plained to Jones-Sawyer that aerial appli- cators can target specific spots in a field. “That way they might not have to treat the whole field,” he said.
The farmers also used the visit to dis- cuss other issues, such as regulations from the California Air Resource Board that se- verely limit the use of older diesel trucks and a proposed rule that would phase out all diesel trucks in the coming years. “We’ve seen a lot of trucks taken out of use and a lot of problems moving prod- ucts on farms and ranches,” Diemel said. Jones-Sawyer said he could relate to the challenges. “I used to work for the city, and we were trying change the trash trucks to electric. But then (the electric trucks) couldn’t get up the hill,” he said. “If you want to see something terrifying, there’s a trash truck, with all the trash in it.” Jones-Sawyer emphasized the impor- tance of bridging gaps between people in cities and rural farming communities.
CIMIS REPORT | www.cimis.water.ca.gov
CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
For the week of March 23 - March 29, 2023 ETO (INCHES/WEEK)
YEAR
3.0
THIS YEAR
2.5
LAST YEAR AVERAGE YEAR
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
MACDOEL II (236)
BIGGS (244)
DAVIS (06)
MANTECA (70)
FRESNO (80)
SALINAS-SOUTH (214)
FIVE POINTS (2)
SHAFTER (5)
TEMECULA (62)
IMPERIAL (87)
THIS YEAR LAST YEAR AVG. YEAR % FROM AVG.
.53 1.01 .81 -36t
.75 .88 .94 -19
.91 1.25 1.12 -18
.87 1.17 1.04 -17
.76 1.02 .94 -18
.80 .96 1.01 -20
.89 1.13 .99 -9
.89 .93 .95 -6
N/A N/A N/A N/A
1.51 1.56 1.49 2
W eekly reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is the rate of water use (evapotranspiration—the sum of soil evaporation and crop transpiration) for healthy pasture grass. Multiplying ETo by the appropriate “crop coefficient” gives estimates of the ET for other crops. For example, assume ETo on June 15 is 0.267 inches and the crop coefficient for corn on that day is 1.1. Multiplying ETo by the coefficient (0.26 inches x 1.1) results in a corn ET of 0.29 inches. This
information is useful in determining the amount and timing of irriga- tion water. Contact Richard Snyder, UC Davis, for information on coefficients, 530-752-4628. The 10 graphs provide weekly ETo rates for selected areas for average year, last year and this year. The ETo information is provided by the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) of the California Department of Water Resources.
For information contact the DWR district office or DWR state headquarters:
SACRAMENTO HEADQUARTERS: 916-651-9679 • 916-651-7218
NORTHERN REGION: Red Bluff 530-529-7301
NORTH CENTRAL REGION: West Sacramento 916-376-9630
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION:
SOUTHERN REGION:
Fresno 559-230-3334
Glendale 818-500-1645 x247 or x243
14 Ag Alert April 5, 2023
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