California Water Action Offers Opportunity For Cooperation
The Feb. 19 signing of a record of decision coordinating federal and state water projects offers a hopeful sign, according to California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson. Johansson, who attended the ceremony in Bakersfield where President Trump announced signing of the document, said the action will add much-needed flexibility to operation of the federal Central Valley Project and State Water Project.
He also thanked the president for signing a memo directing federal agencies to coordinate efforts to store more water, offer regulatory certainty and improve protection of protected species.
“Farmers are optimists and this is a day for optimism,” Johansson says. “The federal agencies have taken a holistic look at the California water system and offered an alternative that promises to improve the health of the environment without devastating people whose communities and livelihoods depend on reliable water supplies.
“We should embrace this new approach and give it a chance to succeed. We know all too well that the policies of the past 25-plus years haven’t worked.”
Johansson says better coordination and improved flexibility of federal and state water project operations would benefit people throughout California.
“We hope people at all levels of government can cooperate on plans to enhance the environment, accommodate a growing population and maintain productive farms and ranches.”
Johansson expressed disappointment in reports indicating the state government will sue over these federal actions, and says solutions to California water problems will be found in constructive discussions, not in courtrooms.
“We have to get off the merry-go-round of endless litigation,” he says. “No one benefits from that. Fisheries continue to suffer. Productive farmland goes unused. It’s not a sustainable path for anyone. Farm Bureau will continue to advocate for practical, reasonable, cooperative ways to address California’s water supply needs.”
Arkansas Farmers Build Gin To Support Expanded Cotton Acres
Just four years ago cotton prices bottomed out, Arkansas acreage and production dropped, and only a handful of cotton gins remained open.
But in 2019, prices, acreage and production saw a dramatic increase, bringing a need for more ginning capacity. In southeast Arkansas, the Day family joined others there to build a new gin at Winchester, south of Dumas.
The gin began operating in January and provides a new facility to process what is expected to be expanded acreage this year.
Go to the Arkansas Farm Bureau channel on YouTube to watch the video to learn more about the new WinnCot Gin Co.
Nufarm To Begin Distributing GoalTender, Goal This Fall
Nufarm Americas Inc. has entered into a distribution agreement with Nutrichem to market GoalTender and Goal 2XL herbicides, according to a news release. The marketing rights will transition from Corteva Agriscience to Nufarm in September.
Distributors, retailers and growers of cotton, tree nuts, grapes, tree fruit, and many vegetables crops can begin to source Goal 2XL and GoalTender manufactured by Nufarm this fall to manage dozens of broadleaf weeds and grasses. Please visit nufarm.com.
LSU AgCenter Students Receive Scholarships At LACA Meeting
Four Louisiana State University College of Agriculture students received scholarships during the recent 2020 Louisiana Agricultural Technology and Management Conference.
Colt Hardee, an undergraduate student in agribusiness, received a scholarship from the Louisiana Land Bank. He has worked crawfish fields, hauled rice and held several ag-related jobs on the LSU campus. Hardee was named Undergraduate Student Leader of the Year.
Patrick Dean Jolly received a scholarship from Grady and Barbara Coburn of Pest Management Enterprises. Jolly is an undergraduate student in agribusiness and has maintained a 3.9 grade point average. He has worked with a crop consultant and helps maintain the Baton Rouge Country Club golf course.
John Ontoy received a scholarship from Ray and Dorothy Young. He completed his bachelors’ degree in plant pathology at the University of the Philippines Los Baños before continuing his education at LSU as a master’s student in plant pathology. He has worked on a study of salinity tolerance in rice and disease resistance for rice.
Scott Lee, an entomology doctoral student, received a scholarship from Belchim Crop Protection. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked with mosquito control efforts in Minnesota and Iowa. Lee is currently working on his doctoral dissertation on the resurgence of the soybean looper.