Water investments would help to assure essential farming jobs
One thing that’s been re-emphasized, time and again, during thepandemic travailsof thepast 14months: Farming is essential. During the coming fewmonths, asCalifornia strug- gles throughanother drought,we’ll learnwhether our elected and appointed public officials feel the sameway. As farms and ranches continue tooperate through thepan- demic, there’s been a lot of focus—understandably so—on the men and women who have worked to harvest, pack and process California food and farm products: Are they being sufficientlyprotected fromCOVID-19?Are theygainingaccess to vaccines? Farm Bureau has advocated tirelessly, in every available forum, for supplies, equipment, vaccines and information to help farmers and their employees through the pandemic.We havealsopointed to long-term, structural problems that need tobeaddressed, for example inprovidingaffordablehousing. But an overarching, long-termproblemneeds to be solved tomake sure farmemployees cannot justwork safely, but can have jobs, period: water supplies. I hope I’mprovenwrong, but I fear many of the same peo- plewho have expressed concern for farmemployees’ welfare during the pandemic will fail to translate the same urgency to farmwater shortages, and will take no notice when jobs begin to evaporate in farming and ranching communities throughout California. Make nomistake: That is already happening. Farmers and ranchers are making hard choices about howmuch land to leave idle, howmany animals they can feed—and howmany people they can hire or retain. The drought is only one reason for this. In California, we know there will be droughts as part of the natural rainfall cy- cle. We’re told that climate change may already be making droughts deeper andmore frequent. But although droughts may be inevitable, water shortages aren’t. That’s one reason the sharp reductions in water sup- plies this year are so frustrating. California voters saw this coming in 2014, when they passed the Proposition 1 water bond. They voted over- whelmingly for new water storage. Here we are, six and a half years after the bond passed, and we’re still mired in process, waiting for construction. As part of preparing for future droughts, Farm Bureau will continue to press state agencies to expedite bond funding to fulfill the measure’s promise of additional water storage.
We’re alsoworking with legislators whowant to use part of the state government’s sudden and unexpected budget sur- plus topay for short-termprojects that couldaddress drought impacts, to ensure those dollars bring true relief. At the federal level, we have an opportunity in the infra- structurepackagebeingdebated inCongress. FarmBureau is seeking substantial improvements to the package that would beef up its support for water supply infrastructure. The California Farm Bureau helped organize a coalition of Western agricultural groups and water agencies—some 200 strong—that has taken the lead in advocating for water infrastructure as Congress works on the Biden administra- tion proposal. To avoid water shortages during future droughts, California and the West must adapt by building more stor- age, aboveground and underground, to take advantage of rain and snowwhen it does fall. Just think about howmuch better shape we could be in now, had we been able to cap- ture and store more of the precipitation that dropped on us during the flood winter of 2017. BuildingmoreWesternwater infrastructurewouldhelpen- sure theregion’swater futureandwouldgenerate thousandsof jobs. Beyondthat, itwouldsecure the futureof threatened jobs that existnow—suchas thoseonCalifornia farmsandranches. It’s time for state and federal policymakers to make clear they consider farming and ranching essential by providing what’s essential for farming and ranching: water. As thedroughtwearson, thosepolicymakersaregoing tobe hearing fromwell-funded and influential activist groups that see farming not as essential, but as expendable. The groups will demand that water be directed away fromfarms, ranches and rural economies. Theywill complainabout farmers’ crop choices. They will insist that California canmake do with the water it now has, if only people would stop farming certain crops, or in certain regions—or both. That’s what happens when a resource becomes short : People begin grasping for a bigger share of the pie. What we need, of course, is a bigger pie. That’s what FarmBureau has advocated, consistently,whilealsoencouragingmoreefficient water use in agricultural, urban and environmental settings. By their actions, elected and appointed government offi- cials are going to showuswhat they trulybelieve. IsCalifornia farming essential, or is it expendable?
President’s Message
Jamie Johansson
VOL. 48, NO. 17
May 5, 2021
AG ALERT ® weekly newspaper is an official publication of the CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU
www.agalert.com www.cfbf.com
@cafarmbureau @cafarmbureau @cafarmbureau
@calfarmbureau
Melanie Duval- Chief Marketing Officer Dave Kranz- Editor/Director, Publications and Media Relations Christine Souza- Assistant Editor Ching Lee- Assistant Editor Kevin Hecteman- Assistant Editor Karin Bakotich- Design Services Manager Jessica Cook- Graphic Artist Paula Erath- Graphic Artist Margaret Rodriguez- Operations/Production Manager Chico Ochi- Administrative Supervisor GENERAL INFORMATION: (916) 561-5570 agalert@cfbf.com
ADVERTISING: Chris Tedesco- Manager, Marketing and Business Development (916) 561-5656 Brock Tessandori- Advertising Sales (916) 561‑5585 Classifieds: (916) 561-5576 2600 River Plaza Dr., Sacramento, CA 95833. Represented in the East and Midwest by J.L. Farmakis, Inc. Eastern office: Bill Farmakis 48 Topfield Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 (203) 834-8832; Fax: (203) 834-8825. Midwest office: Russ Parker , P.O. Box 7, Albia, IA 52531 (641) 946‑7646, Bob Brunker , 8209 NW 81st Ct., Kansas City, MO 64152 (816) 746-8814, Jennifer Saylor , 8426 N. Winfield Ave., Kansas City, MO 64153 (816) 912-2804, Laura Rustmann , 901 Lands End Cir, St. Charles MO 63304, (636) 238-8548. AG ALERT ( i s sn 0161 - 5408 ) i s pub l i shed weekly except weeks of Memor ial Day, July 4,
Board of Directors (District 1) Al Stehly; (2) Andy Wilson; (3) Terry Munz; (4) KevinMerrill; (5) Jenny Holtermann; (6) Joey Airoso; (7) Donny Rollin; (8) Richard Bianchi; (9) Tom Rogers; (10) JanGarrod; (11) JoeMartinez; (12) Paul Sanguinetti; (13) Ron Peterson; (14) Ken Mitchell ; (15) David Barhydt; (16) Garrett Driver; (17) Domenic Carinalli; (18) David Rosenthal; (19) TomStewart; (20) JimMorris; (21) Blake Alexandre; (Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee Chair) Lindsey Mebane. Advisory Members Ronnie Leimgruber, Chair, CFB Rural Health Department; Glenda Humiston, University of California Cooperative Extension. Letters to the editor: Send to agalert@cfbf.com or Ag Alert, Attn: Editor, 2600 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833. Include name, address, phone number, email address; 250-word limit.
Thanksgiving, Christmas; and with exceptions, by the Cal i fornia Farm Bureau, 2600 River Plaza Dr. , Sacramento CA 95833 (telephone: (916) 561-5570) . Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, California. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to AG ALERT, 2600 River Plaza Dr., Sacramento, CA 95833. The California Farm Bureau does not assume responsibility for statements by advertisers or for products adver t ised in AG ALERT nor does the Federation 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 California Farm Bureau Federation or its affiliates. No alcohol, tobacco or political ad-
vertising will be accepted. Jamie Johansson , President
Shannon Douglass , First Vice President Shaun Crook , Second Vice President
Printed on Recycled Paper
BPA Business PublicationMember
2 Ag Alert May 5, 2021
Powered by FlippingBook