Around Kings County – lift tariffs growers say
Hanford COS campus to get $2.2 mil solar project
College of the Sequoias will build a new $2.2 million solar carport over part of its Hanford campus parking lot ready for use this fall, says the COS President Brent Calvin. Visalia already has a solar carport over 104 parking spaces, commissioned in 2015.The Tulare campus has a ground mounted system. A report to the board showed that existing solar projects at the junior college had a cumulative benefit to the general fund of $1.2 million.
The planned Hanford project will be two carports to be built by Compass Energy with construction starting this May.
Corcoran drilling two new wells
The City of Corcoran will be drilling two new groundwater wells that will benefit both water quality and supply amidst a long term drought and high nitrate levels. City Engineer Joe Faulkner says one well is adjacent to an existing well site that is a replacement with the same capacity but improved water quality. Faulkner says helping the city make accurate measurement of groundwater levels is the purchase of a new device that uses ultrasonic technology to measure water well levels, a problem in the past. Subsidence in the area has compounded the water problem around Corcoran with one water agency predicting the city will sink as much as 11 feet over the next few decades. The subsidence affects underground water levels,casings on wells and the land itself.
Police installing Plunge/Skate Park Camera System
Hanford Police plan to insole TV surveillance systems around town including installation of Closed-Caption Television Video Surveillance System (CCTV) on existing buildings at the City’s
Plunge/Skate Park. The camera system will be connected to Hanford Police Department dispatch office for observation and will also provide the Parks Resource Officer with the ability to remotely monitor real-time activity within the Complex and quickly respond to emerging situations. The video product would provide critical evidence, if needed, during the investigation of a crime.
Port of Oakland plans “pop-up” yard to boost ag exports
Port of Oakland officials recently predicted a resurgence of agricultural exports through the Port following announcement of a partnership with the federal government. The Port said it’s working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to clear bottlenecks impeding outbound shipments.
The problem: the global shipping logjam created dockside congestion of empty containers that’s affecting the transport of Oakland exports. The solution: a temporary 22-acre waterfront “pop-up” yard dedicated to export distribution. The goal: providing relief to a multi-billion dollar industry struggling from global supply chain snarls.
“As a major hub for the export of California’s and America’s fresh fruits, nuts, dairy and frozen proteins, we appreciate the Administration’s efforts to ease shipping delays and costs for agricultural exporters,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan.
Partial reprieve over pork rule
A California Judge ruled retailers & restaurants not subject to enforcement of restrictions on pork sales until six months after the state enacts final regulations. But the judge’s ruling does not apply to pork producers that provide pork products to California,” the CDFA said in a statement.
Pork producers and suppliers remain subject to enforcement if they violate square-footage requirements that went into effect on Jan. 1, the department said. Opponents hope the US Supreme Court will take up the case.
Drought in Arizona threatens local alfalfa supply
California Milk Producers are warning that land fallowing in the Colorado River watershed is translation into less hay. Not just to California dairy operators. but to the state’s significant horse sector with 700,000 horses in California. Historically California dairy operators have been able to supplement forage supplies from the Southwest region to make up for lost hay acres in the Central Valley. “That assumption can no longer be taken for granted.”
Hay acreage half what it was
Kings alfalfa hay acres are half of what it was in the year 2000 when the county grew about 54,000 acres. In 2020, it was down to 26,000 acres due to both drought and decisions to plant trees on some of those acres of land.
Apple industry wants US to drop tariffs on China
The U.S. Apple Association recently reported that apple exports to Southeast Asia have declined by 40% in the last three years. The drastic drop in exports is especially being felt as Chinese New Year (Feb. 1) gets underway. The holiday helped secure a large market for the U.S. apple industry prior to President Trump’s series of retaliatory tariffs imposed by China. US Apple is calling on the Biden Administration to eliminate Sec. 232 and 301 tariffs on Chinese products so that China in turn will drop its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products including apples.Overall, U.S. apple exports have taken a big hit in recent years. Washington State, responsible for about 95% of U.S. apple exports, is at a 22-year low with only 21.3% of its apples being exported. This is in comparison to what was a 32% average annual export from Washington State prior to retaliatory tariffs being put in place in 2018. Current Chinese tariffs on U.S. apples are at 50%.
Western Dairymen- Push back on plant-based meals in schools
Dairy and cattle groups are pushing back on a measure in the California Legislature that would incentivize plant base options in school meals. During the Assembly floor debate on the bill last week, lawmakers also raised concerns over granting preference to milk substitutes, raising demand for out-of-state products and adding to the state’s food waste problem.
The bill’s author, Assembly member Adrin Nazarian of Sherman Oaks, argued the grant program proposed in the bill would galvanize a cultural change toward healthier eating habits and emphasized that he is not proposing a mandate. He struggled to understand why anyone would oppose a measure that would give low income students in his Los Angeles County district alternatives to “a day-old hot dog that’s been rolling slowly over at a convenience store.”
In arguments against the measure, Western United Dairies and the California Cattlemen’s Association assert that the bill would use state funds to promote “costlier plant based processed foods above other healthy, nutritious products.”
