-June 26,2019-
from press reports
New water bill
A bipartisan Western water bill unveiled Thursday has the backing of the American Farm Bureau Federation and California Farm Bureau. The bill, introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, (D-Calif.) along with Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and others would provide more federal funding for water storage and other water infrastructure projects, among other things.
Honeybee decline
A record number of honeybee colonies died last winter. U.S. beekeepers lost nearly 40 percent of their colonies last winter — the greatest reported winter hive loss since a key survey started some 13 years ago says a research group.
Tulare Co jobless rate down
The unemployment rate in the Tulare County was 8.1 percent in May 2019, down from a revised 9.9 percent in April 2019, and below the year-ago estimate of 8.5 percent.
This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 3.5 percent for California and 3.4 percent for the nation during the same period.
Veggies grow on vertical walls indoors
A company named Plenty is growing veggies in large indoor spaces near urban centers, protecting the greens from the weather and dramatically increasing the yield possible from an acre of land.Here is how they describe it.
“Step into one of our urban farms and you’ll see floor-to-ceiling towers nurturing varieties chosen for their taste and nutrient profile. The latest in sensor technology and machine learning allows us to create the optimum growing environments with no need for pesticides or GMOs. And Plenty isn’t just going to bring consumers fresh, local produce all year long; our growing methods are environmentally friendly too.”
Land O Lakes investing in an animal feed operation in China
Land O’Lakes is expanding its global footprint with a new dairy animal feed operation in China. The Minnesota-based ag cooperative’s joint venture with Dutch co-op Royal Agrifirm Group still must be approved by regulators.
Blue Diamond Growers expanding in Salida, Turlock
Blue Diamond Growers is expanding its Salida, California, facility – the largest almond receiving station in the world. The expansion will include a new bulk receiving warehouse that will store an additional 50 million pounds of almond meats and bring the total number of bulk warehouses at the facility to eight. The design of the warehouse features 60-foot ceilings and extends 26 feet into the ground, increasing Blue Diamond’s receiving capacity by 25 percent.The cooperative expects the warehouse to be in operation for the fall 2020 harvest season.
Blue Diamond Growers, a nonprofit grower-owned cooperative and a processor and marketer of almonds, has begun expanding its processing facility in Turlock, California. The company held a groundbreaking ceremony Jan. 29 at the 200,000-s.f. manufacturing plant. The new addition is part of Blue Diamond’s continued plans to expand its value-added product lines and deliver new almond products worldwide.
The new 52,000-s.f. building will be the latest construction of the three-phased project that will eventually yield a total of about 500,000 s.f. of building space over the next nine years. This phase of the project is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2020.
LA Co buys Bolthouse farms
Los Angeles-based private equity company Butterfly has closed on the $510 million acquisition of Bolthouse Farms, Bakersfield, Calif. The purchase from Campbell Soup Co., was announced earlier this year. Bolthouse has “leading market positions in fresh carrots and refrigerated premium beverages,” according to a news release, along with salad dressings. Bolthouse has more than 65,000 of production land, national distribution capabilities and carrot and beverage processing facility. Bolthouse has facilities in Bakersfield, Hodgkins, Ill., Wheatley, Ontario, and Prosser, Wash.
Butterfly partner Jeff Dunn is CEO of Bolthouse as of June 17, according to the release. He was president and CEO there when Campbell Soup bought the company in 2012, later becoming president of Campbell’s fresh division before leaving in 2016 to lead Juicero.