As the Farm Bureau team responded to dramatic events of 2023, the steady, day-to-day work of sustaining California’s critical agriculture economy and livelihoods of our farmers, ranchers and agricultural workforce continued, with Farm Bureau actions producing results. to our agricultural future Staying committed
responsibilities to potential litigation. Additionally, Farm Bureau helped lead a 200-member agriculture, water and business coalition in defeating 2 bills that would have given state officials new powers to halt water diversions for farming while depriving water-rights holders of due process.
In Sacramento, Farm Bureau’s Government Affairs Division staff attended 123 committee meetings and 71 regulatory hearings , made 14 conference presentations and wrote 76 letters involving legislative matters. In Washington D.C., Farm Bureau’s Federal Policy Division organized 20 group meetings at offices of members of Congress through our “County Leaders” program, which connects agricultural producers in California counties with lawmakers and federal agency officials. The federal team also had hundreds of calls , virtual and in- person meetings and helped arrange testimony and attendance at 3 Congressional hearings in California—including 2023 Farm Bill sessions with the House Agricultural Committee at Yosemite National Park, in Red Bluff and at the World Ag Expo in Tulare. In addition, Farm Bureau and California Bountiful Foundation staff led 5 California farm tours and 3 cattle and dairy tours for state lawmakers and legislative staffers. Farm Bureau’s Farm Employers Labor Service (FELS) focused on new and innovative approaches to help California agricultural employers navigate tight labor markets, safety regulations and other challenges during 2023. FELS labor management consultants made some 2,000 worksite visits , providing training on safety, workplace harassment prevention, good management practices and positive relationships between supervisors and employees. Our actions produced results. At the California Capitol, the governor signed 3 Farm Bureau sponsored bills . The first, Senate Bill 505 . expanded commercial insurance coverage options, including for farms and ranches. The legislation was a follow-up to Farm Bureau-sponsored SB 11 in 2021, which allowed farmers and ranchers denied insurance market renewals after wildfires to obtain coverage under the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan. Second, Gov. Newsom signed Farm Bureau’s agricultural drone bill, Assembly Bill 1016 , to modernize the certification process for farmers to use drones when applying pesticides and beneficial biological treatments on farms. Lastly, the governor signed AB 606, which extended the sunset on accidental take provisions of the California Endangered Species Act. Without this extension, many ag operations would grind to a halt. For 13 years , the California Farm Bureau has been pushing the State Water Resources Control Board to allow our farmers to use their land to recharge aquifers. This year, our efforts finally bore fruit as the governor signed executive orders easing permit requirements to allow farmers to use floodwater diversions to recharge groundwater, resulting in 40,000 acre-feet of additional recharge in the San Joaquin Valley during the spring and summer. This was later enshrined into law as part of the budget process. Farm Bureau also persuaded the governor to veto 2 bills: SB 799 , which would have allowed striking workers to collect unemployment benefits, and AB 524 , which would have exposed agricultural employees with family caregiver
Our advocacy also helped generate returns. In Washington, D.C., $508 million in funding was approved for 24 water infrastructure projects in California under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. An additional $250 million was allocated for rice producers, including hard-hit California growers who fallowed fields during drought, under the Farm Service Agency’s Rice Production Program based on planted and “prevented-planted” acres. Another $95 million was provided in 34 California grants for federal wildfire defense initiatives. Some $140 million was allocated for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program for water-conservation and efficiency projects in the West, including for 31 California projects . An additional $88 million was secured for expanded fertilizer production and $25 million for California under the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program. Additionally, 127,000 California homes and businesses were provided the chance to receive expanded broadband access through the Treasury Department’s Capital Projects Fund. This year’s state budget included $75 million in grants and rebates for reducing emissions, with the money going to help farmers and ranchers purchase low-emission harvesting equipment, tractors, heavy-duty trucks and other equipment. Another $50 million was allocated to support the Healthy Soils Program for farmers. $40 million was provided to the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program. $25 million was budgeted to support strategies, such as feed additives, for enteric emissions reduction in the livestock sectors. $14.5 million was provided to support the Pollinator Habitat Program. Meanwhile, $2.5 million was secured for farmworker housing development in San Mateo County and the City of Half Moon Bay. The state also invested $180 million to promote recovery of native fish species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed.
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