https://www.facebook.com/attn/videos/1524378374264283/

A nationwide economic impact study has found that more than one-fifth (or 20.4%) of the nation’s economy is linked, either directly or indirectly, to the food and agriculture sectors and that more than one-fourth of all American jobs (28%) are similarly connected. Twenty-two food and agriculture organizations commissioned this research, available at www.FeedingTheEconomy.com. Among the most important findings:

Total Jobs: 43,311,057

Total Wages: $1.9 trillion

Total Taxes: $894.13 billion

Exports: $146.32 billion

Total Food and Industry Economic Impact:  $6.7 trillion

To measure the total economic impact of the sectors, the analysis also includes the indirect and induced economic activity surrounding these industries, which captures upstream and downstream activity. For example, when a farm equipment retailer hires new employees because farmers are buying more tractors, experts consider the new salaries an indirect impact. Similarly, when a retail associate spends her paycheck, an induced economic impact occurs. Together, these have a multiplier effect on the already formidable direct impact of food and agriculture.

The economic data was compiled by John Dunham & Associates and is available at www.FeedingTheEconomy.com. The analysis illustrates the direct impact of food and agriculture on jobs, wages, economic output, exports, and state and local business taxes. The interactive website also breaks out the data at the national, state and congressional district levels.

Link to FMI web site

Healthy Soils equal Healthy Lives. In California our soils help feed the world, save water, clean the air, and fight climate change. In recognition of these contributions, and in celebration of the annual World Soil Day, CDFA, alongside its state, federal and private sector partners, will be hosting California Healthy Soils Week, from December 4 to December 7, 2017.

This multi-day celebration—which will include panels, webinars, and tours—will highlight all the remarkable gifts healthy soils have to offer. We hope that by telling the story of California soil we can help Californians better understand how vital it truly is.

For more information as well as a link to CDFA’s comprehensive healthy soils web site, please click here.

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 32nd annual price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.12, a 75-cent decrease from last year’s average of $49.87.

The big ticket item – a 16-pound turkey – came in at a total of $22.38 this year. That’s roughly $1.40 per pound, a decrease of 2 cents per pound, or a total of 36 cents per whole turkey, compared to 2016.

“For the second consecutive year, the overall cost of Thanksgiving dinner has declined,” AFBF Director of Market Intelligence Dr. John Newton said. “The cost of the dinner is the lowest since 2013 and second-lowest since 2011. Even as America’s family farmers and ranchers continue to face economic challenges, they remain committed to providing a safe, abundant and affordable food supply for consumers at Thanksgiving and throughout the year.”

The shopping list for Farm Bureau’s informal survey includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty for leftovers.

Consumers continue to see lower retail turkey prices due to continued large inventory in cold storage, which is up almost double digits from last year, Newton explained.

Foods showing the largest decreases this year in addition to turkey, were a gallon of milk, $2.99; a dozen rolls, $2.26; two nine-inch pie shells, $2.45; a 3-pound bag of sweet potatoes, $3.52; a 1-pound bag of green peas, $1.53; and a group of miscellaneous items including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (butter, evaporated milk, onions, eggs, sugar and flour), $2.72.

“Milk production has increased, resulting in continued low retail prices,” Newton said. “In addition, grocers often use milk as a loss leader to entice consumers to shop at their stores.”

Items that increased modestly in price were: a half-pint of whipping cream, $2.08; a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.81; a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, $3.21; a 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries, $2.43; and a 1-pound veggie tray, $.74.

“Whole whipping cream is up about 4 percent in price, due to increased consumer demand for full-fat dairy products,” Newton said.

The stable average price reported this year by Farm Bureau for a classic Thanksgiving dinner tracks with the government’s Consumer Price Index for food eaten at home. But while the most recent CPI report for food at home shows a 0.5 percent increase over the past year (available online at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm), the Farm Bureau survey shows a 1.5 percent decline.

After adjusting for inflation, the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner is $20.54, the lowest level since 2013.

A total of 141 volunteer shoppers checked prices at grocery stores in 39 states for this year’s survey. Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers are asked to look for the best possible prices, without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals, such as spending $50 and receiving a free turkey.

Shoppers with an eye for bargains in all areas of the country should be able to purchase individual menu items at prices comparable to the Farm Bureau survey averages. Another option for busy families without a lot of time to cook is ready-to-eat Thanksgiving meals for up to 10 people, with all the trimmings, which are available at many supermarkets and take-out restaurants for around $50 to $75.

The AFBF Thanksgiving dinner survey was first conducted in 1986. While Farm Bureau does not make any scientific claims about the data, it is an informal gauge of price trends around the nation. Farm Bureau’s survey menu has remained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons.

Link to American Farm Bureau web site

California’s three state cannabis licensing authorities announced today that
proposed emergency licensing regulations for commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis have been posted online and are available to the public for review.

The Department of Consumer Affairs’ Bureau of Cannabis Control, Department of Public
Health’s Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch, and Department of Food and Agriculture’s CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division each developed the new regulations to reflect the law defined in California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA).

The regulations and their summaries can be viewed by clicking the following links:

Bureau of Cannabis Control:
www.bcc.ca.gov/law_regs/bcc_prop_text_reg.pdf
www.bcc.ca.gov/law_regs/bcc_fact_sheet.pdf

CA Department of Food and Agriculture:
www.bcc.ca.gov/law_regs/cdfa_prop_text_emerg_reg.pdf
www.bcc.ca.gov/law_regs/cdfa_fact_sheet.pdf

CA Department of Public Health:
http://www.bcc.ca.gov/law_regs/cdph_prop_text_emerg_reg.pdf
http://www.bcc.ca.gov/law_regs/cdph_sum_emerg_reg.pdf

On June 27, 2017, the Governor signed MAUCRSA, which creates one regulatory system for both medicinal and adult-use cannabis. Prior to that law’s passage, state licensing authorities had released proposed regulations to govern the implementation of the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act. The public hearings and comments from a broad cross section of stakeholders that were informing that regulatory process have also been taken into consideration in the drafting of these proposed emergency regulations.

The licensing authorities expect the emergency regulations to be effective in December 2017. The implementation date for the issuance of the state commercial cannabis licenses remains the same: January 1, 2018. However, California will only be able to license those businesses that are in compliance will all local laws.

In addition, the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency will hold a workshop with state-chartered banks and credit unions next month to discuss regulatory and compliance issues, as well as potential approaches to banking cannabis-related businesses.

For information on all three licensing authorities, please visit the state’s cannabis web portal– cannabis.ca.gov. Follow the Bureau on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for daily news and updates.

By Ellen Hanak

When strong winter rains finally ended the recent five-year drought, many water districts seized the opportunity to recharge depleted aquifers. How did they do, and what barriers did they face? A public forum brought more than 30 experts together to discuss the benefits, opportunities, and barriers to groundwater recharge. The event was hosted by the California State Board of Food and Agriculture and the state Department of Water Resources.

My presentation focused on recharge in the San Joaquin Valley—a region that is home to more than four million people, half the state’s agricultural output, and most of its critically overdrafted groundwater basins, where pumping exceeds replenishment. Consequences include dry wells, sinking lands, and reduced supplies to weather future droughts.

As part of our ongoing work to explore practical and effective solutions to the region’s water challenges, the PPIC Water Policy Center recently surveyed local water districts about their groundwater recharge efforts. Although such efforts have been underway for decades in some parts of the valley, the state’s 2014 groundwater law has increased interest in using recharge to bring basins into long-term balance.

About 75% of respondents to our survey said they were actively recharging this year. Large water districts with formal recharge programs are doing the lion’s share of recharge, but there’s lots of interest from smaller agencies in getting in on the act.

Agricultural districts are already employing a broad mix of recharge tools, and many see potential for expansion. In contrast, urban districts—most of which rely heavily on groundwater—are much less active. The most widespread methods—used by two-thirds of agricultural districts surveyed—include allowing water to seep through unlined canals and irrigating crops with surface water instead of groundwater, which enables basins to recharge naturally (a method known as “in-lieu” recharge). Other popular options—used by half of agricultural districts—include directing water to dedicated “recharge basins” and applying extra water on irrigated cropland. Some districts also spread water on fallowed land and open space. Of these tools, recharge basins are being used most intensively, storing more than half of total recharge reported (roughly four maf). One caveat to this last finding is that many districts have been using some popular methods (cropland irrigation, in-lieu recharge, and unlined canals) without formally accounting for how much recharge occurs.

Secretary Ross in Orland before the second annual North State Innovation Conference, speaking with Glenn County Fair CEO Ryann Newman (r) and Kevin Spafford of Ryan Wealth Management.  Photo by Tim Hearden, Capital Press

By Tim Hearden

ORLAND, Calif. — State Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross held up the rice industry in the middle Sacramento Valley as an example of how growers can respond to public concerns about their production activities.

The industry’s effort about a decade ago to move away from winter residue burning by using water for decomposition quieted downwind complaints from urban residents while creating habitat for birds — and enhancing an already famous hunting ground, Ross said.

The move illustrates what California’s 77,500 farms often have to do to mollify concerns among the state’s roughly 40 million residents, many of whom may have formed misconceptions based on inaccurate information, she said.

“People don’t know how passionate we are about our land and all the steps we take to preserve it,” Ross told about 75 people at the second annual North State Innovations in Agriculture conference Nov. 8 at the Glenn County Fairgrounds.

She urged growers to work with environmental groups and cultivate relationships and human interactions with city dwellers and consumers.

“You have the water of the state, and you have the wildlife, the forests and the diverse landscapes,” Ross said. “If you want to be bolder going forward, you have to form partnerships and communicate with more people.”

Ross’ remarks came during a wide-ranging speech and question-and-answer session near the close of the conference, which was started to educate Northern California farmers and ranchers about technological advances and marketing trends.

Her message provided a bookend after keynote speaker David Schabazian, a manager for the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, opened the conference Nov. 7 by telling growers they should form partnerships with local government planners to have input on land-use policies that could maximize their farms’ earning potential.

Noting the conference’s focus on emerging technologies, Ross cautioned producers not to lose their human touch. She encouraged farmers to tell their stories on social media and in personal interactions with consumers.

“People can feel a connection with you even if they’ve never met you,” she said.

She pointed to former California Cattlemen’s Association president Matt Byrne, whose family’s SunFed Ranch markets its new grass-fed beef product lines by handing out samples at functions such as last year’s Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Calif.

“That takes a lot of effort,” Ross said, adding the ranch doesn’t sell all of its beef that way but still finds the venues valuable.

While California’s regulations often flummox growers, the upside is that the state’s products are coveted around the world because people know they’ve met high standards, she said. To that end, California Grown, an organization that promotes the state’s farm products, is working with the group Visit California to enhance food- and beverage-related tourism, which already accounts for 25 percent of all the tourism to the Golden State, she said.

Link to story