Agriculture

Agriculture

Prop 12 upheld by SCOTUS: What will ruling mean for farmers and pork lovers?

There was no clear-cut verdict in the decision with the justices offering different opinions on the two-pronged argument brought by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation. Attorneys for the NPPC and AFBF argued Prop 12 violated the “dormant commerce clause” and imposed more cost on ...
Agriculture

Read latest on California agriculture

Meat production doesn’t have to be cruel

During a recent county fair in California, a little girl sold her show goat but, when faced with having to part with the animal, she and her mother chose to take the animal home during the night. The girl’s mother offered to repay the total amount of money collected to ...
Agriculture

Pam Lewison – How This Year’s Record Rains are Impacting California Farmers

PRI fellow in agriculture policy Pam Lewison joins us for a discussion of how this year’s record rainfall has been both a blessing and a major challenge for California’s farmers.  She also discusses federal and state policy debates and pending legal rulings that could significantly impact state water policy and ...
Agriculture

Read the latest on animal rights extremism

Animal rights activism is not about the animals

The activists claimed the chickens were suffering from neglect and in need of “rescue.” However, they did not call animal control authorities or anyone else, they simply plucked the chickens off the farm and left. Quite simply they stole the chickens. Livestock – even those raised on a farm paid ...
Agriculture

Read blog on California's water challenges

Water, water everywhere …

California is enduring the embodiment of “it never rains but it pours.” After more than two years of drought, the state is being deluged with more water than can be collected. Long, severe droughts have four distinct stages that affect everything from soil moisture to the socioeconomic structure of society. ...
Agriculture

Read about effort to stop new green mandate

Congress votes to stay WOTUS rules until the SCOTUS rules

The broadening and narrowing of the scope of WOTUS and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to use its authority against farmers and other private landowners based on the political leanings of the White House has been an on-going challenge. The current administration was hasty in its decision to issue ...
Agriculture

Water fines for farmers will not keep the wells from running dry

When a profoundly important resource like water is no longer abundant, prioritizing where water goes becomes challenging. The California Assembly is considering legislation that would punish people for over-using water during droughts. The bill, however, does not differentiate between water “needs” and water “wants.” Specifically, food producers and municipalities would ...
Agriculture

California farmers can reduce emissions and feed the world with regenerative farming

A handful of California farmers, ranging from wine growers in Sonoma to chicken raisers in San Diego, are embracing “regenerative” methods to boost the health of their flocks and crops. But many Golden State farmers are still skeptical, largely because regenerative farming is stereotypically viewed as a new-age, hippie practice, courtesy of its emphasis on reducing ...
Agriculture

Despite recent rains and record snowpack, California’s drought is far from over

The Department of Water Resources announced an increase in allocations from 5 percent to 30 percent of requested water. For agriculture, the increased allocations mean approximately 10 million acre feet of water for the nearly 10 million acres of irrigated farmland in the state or enough water to cover every ...
Agriculture

Pork producers await the SCOTUS decision on Prop 12

The law, approved by California voters back in 2018, would require pork producers to give hogs in commercial settings 24-square-feet of housing space in which they would not come in contact with another pig. It also bans gestation crates and requires any pork coming into the state to follow the ...
Agriculture

Prop 12 upheld by SCOTUS: What will ruling mean for farmers and pork lovers?

There was no clear-cut verdict in the decision with the justices offering different opinions on the two-pronged argument brought by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation. Attorneys for the NPPC and AFBF argued Prop 12 violated the “dormant commerce clause” and imposed more cost on ...
Agriculture

Read latest on California agriculture

Meat production doesn’t have to be cruel

During a recent county fair in California, a little girl sold her show goat but, when faced with having to part with the animal, she and her mother chose to take the animal home during the night. The girl’s mother offered to repay the total amount of money collected to ...
Agriculture

Pam Lewison – How This Year’s Record Rains are Impacting California Farmers

PRI fellow in agriculture policy Pam Lewison joins us for a discussion of how this year’s record rainfall has been both a blessing and a major challenge for California’s farmers.  She also discusses federal and state policy debates and pending legal rulings that could significantly impact state water policy and ...
Agriculture

Read the latest on animal rights extremism

Animal rights activism is not about the animals

The activists claimed the chickens were suffering from neglect and in need of “rescue.” However, they did not call animal control authorities or anyone else, they simply plucked the chickens off the farm and left. Quite simply they stole the chickens. Livestock – even those raised on a farm paid ...
Agriculture

Read blog on California's water challenges

Water, water everywhere …

California is enduring the embodiment of “it never rains but it pours.” After more than two years of drought, the state is being deluged with more water than can be collected. Long, severe droughts have four distinct stages that affect everything from soil moisture to the socioeconomic structure of society. ...
Agriculture

Read about effort to stop new green mandate

Congress votes to stay WOTUS rules until the SCOTUS rules

The broadening and narrowing of the scope of WOTUS and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to use its authority against farmers and other private landowners based on the political leanings of the White House has been an on-going challenge. The current administration was hasty in its decision to issue ...
Agriculture

Water fines for farmers will not keep the wells from running dry

When a profoundly important resource like water is no longer abundant, prioritizing where water goes becomes challenging. The California Assembly is considering legislation that would punish people for over-using water during droughts. The bill, however, does not differentiate between water “needs” and water “wants.” Specifically, food producers and municipalities would ...
Agriculture

California farmers can reduce emissions and feed the world with regenerative farming

A handful of California farmers, ranging from wine growers in Sonoma to chicken raisers in San Diego, are embracing “regenerative” methods to boost the health of their flocks and crops. But many Golden State farmers are still skeptical, largely because regenerative farming is stereotypically viewed as a new-age, hippie practice, courtesy of its emphasis on reducing ...
Agriculture

Despite recent rains and record snowpack, California’s drought is far from over

The Department of Water Resources announced an increase in allocations from 5 percent to 30 percent of requested water. For agriculture, the increased allocations mean approximately 10 million acre feet of water for the nearly 10 million acres of irrigated farmland in the state or enough water to cover every ...
Agriculture

Pork producers await the SCOTUS decision on Prop 12

The law, approved by California voters back in 2018, would require pork producers to give hogs in commercial settings 24-square-feet of housing space in which they would not come in contact with another pig. It also bans gestation crates and requires any pork coming into the state to follow the ...
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