WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is setting out to do what this year's farm bill didn't: tighten work requirements for millions of Americans who receive federal food assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday is proposing a rule that would restrict the ability of states to exempt work-eligible adults...
Senate Votes Overwhelmingly to Renew Farm Programs
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for a sweeping agriculture bill that will fund key farm safety net programs for the next five years without making significant changes to the food stamp program. The vote was 87-13. The House is expected to pass the measure soon and send it...
Crushing Tractors Is Fun. Breathing Clean Air Is Even Better.
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District received $108 million from the state Legislature earlier this year to reduce agriculture industry emissions. The program is dubbed FARMER and it provides incentives for replacing old, high-polluting tractors and other ag equipment with newer and cleaner options. The incentives cover up...
Meet the Farmers of the Future: Robots
SAN CARLOS — Brandon Alexander would like to introduce you to Angus, the farmer of the future. He's heavyset, weighing in at nearly 1,000 pounds, not to mention a bit slow. But he's strong enough to hoist 800-pound pallets of maturing vegetables and can move them from place to place...
What Does Costa Say About Tariffs, Immigration & Valley's Future?
"Nobody wins trade wars," says Rep. Jim Costa. That's the view of the Fresno Democrat, reacting to a series of import tariffs imposed in recent months by President Donald Trump. Those tariffs have sparked retaliation from countries such as China, impacting Valley agriculture. Trade policy is one of several issues...
Tibbetts Slaying Focuses Attention on Immigrants in Farming
DES MOINES, Iowa — The arrest of a Mexican farmworker in the death of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts renewed calls to change immigration laws, but it also focused attention on the immigrant workers whose labor is essential to the state's agricultural industry. Hours after authorities found the body of...
Interior Secretary Wants Plan in 15 Days to Boost Water Deliveries
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued a memo Friday outlining his expectations that federal officials quickly come up with a plan to increase irrigation deliveries to farmers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. "The time for action is now," Zinke wrote in an Aug. 17 memo that called for action...
Valley Growers Hit Ag Secretary Perdue With Tough Questions
Stopping in Kingsburg during a Central Valley tour, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue heard concerns from representatives of dairy, fruit and nut growers. What was top of mind? Everything from the Trump tariffs to market access to immigration. Perdue made news: He said that the president is in negotiations...
Time to Pass Safe & Affordable Drinking Water Fund Legislation
Farmworkers plant and harvest the California fruits and vegetables that feed our families. But when they turn the faucets in their own homes, they too often encounter something unthinkable — contaminated water, infused with unsafe levels of arsenic or nitrates from fertilizer. The presence of dangerous, undrinkable water in the...
Time to Pass Safe & Affordable Drinking Water Fund Legislation
Farmworkers plant and harvest the California fruits and vegetables that feed our families. But when they turn the faucets in their own homes, they too often encounter something unthinkable — contaminated water, infused with unsafe levels of arsenic or nitrates from fertilizer. The presence of dangerous, undrinkable water in the...