KSTE Farm Hour

Thinks look a little different at the Farmer’s Markets in the Sacramento area this week: the fresh produce on display is hidden by tarps. What are they hiding from? The Oriental Fruit Fly. We’ll tell you how the CDFA and Sacramento County are attacking this voracious pest of over 200 fruit and vegetable varieties. The proposed 2018 Farm Bill is back under discussion in Washington, and California’s ag community is watching the progress carefully, including the answer to the question… Are fields of hemp in your future? Also, to no one’s surprise, the costs for repairing Oroville Dam have skyrocketed. And the dam has received another unsatisfactory rating. All that, crop reports, and more, on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Some details of the Trump Administration’s tariff relief package for farmers have been released, and it’s great news if you grow soybeans, who will be getting over 3.6 billion dollars in compensation, more than half the targeted amount of 6 billion dollars in this round of payments. Problem is, you probably don’t grow that crop. Soybeans do not exist in California as a commercial crop recognized by the CDFA. As you might imagine, that doesn’t leave much to divide among the myriad of remaining Golden State farm goods. As a result, the state’s growers of every other crop are a bit miffed at the lack of support they’re getting in this ongoing tariff war. We have the details. The Oriental fruit fly is back, and that’s not good news for Sacramento area farmers and gardeners. We talk about what the state and Sacramento County officials are doing to eradicate this newly found voracious pest in the city of Sacramento, and its impact on local farmers’ markets. Winegrape growers are in the middle of their harvest season, and smoke taint is near the top of their list of worries. That, and labor shortages. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

The water battles in California are heating up. Approximately one thousand protestors, made up of farmers and other irrigation interests, rallied at the State Capitol this past week, in opposition to the latest proposal by the State Water Resources Control Board to divert water from farms and cities, in order to aid the salmon population. We have that report. Like a zombie rising from the dead, WOTUS, that’s the very controversial Waters of the United States rules, have sprung back to life in California and many other states, due to a judge’s ruling. Virulent Newscastle Disease has increased its spread on California’s chicken population. We’ll tell you where, and offer tips for its control. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited California this past week. And he got an earful from Central Valley farmers about the shortage of farm labor, immigration issues, and of course…the ongoing tariff disputes. Fueling those concerns: a new report out that shows California’s farmers could lose 3.3 billion dollars…per year, due to any retaliatory tariffs. A California jury has awarded a school groundskeeper $289 million dollars for his cancer illness…and that jury held Monsanto and its glyphosate weed-killing products liable for those damages. How close are we to consuming lab-grown meat? Closer than you may think. We have that report. Also, we remember a beloved local farm advisor, who lost his battle with cancer recently. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

As wildfires continue to rage in California, farm and range losses are mounting. We have an early look at some of the damage. The state is claiming victory, again, against the Medfly. This time, in Solano County. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act isn’t just about what’s below the soil, there are serious land use decisions that are going to have to be made, especially in the Central Valley. We have an in-depth report. All that, crop reports, and multiple awards for California’s cheesemakers. It’s all on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

California’s earlier starting, hotter burning wildfires as well as the extended triple digit heatwaves this year are playing havoc with farming operations. We have that report. What about us? That’s what California’s farmers, farm organizations and politicians are asking the Trump administration. Their concern? How California huge specialty crop industries are getting shortchanged by the President’s tariff relief money, which is primarily headed to midwest pork, soybean and corn operations. The latest report from the USDA: most farms are losing money. Is there any good news? Well, people are very fond of their tractor’s color…and loyal, too. But even that may be changing. It’s all coming up, on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour. Let’s get started!

Turns out, the WH press is just plum tuckered out! White House correspondent Debra J. Saunders joins Armstrong & Getty to talk about covering The Trump Administration. Plus, what's behind the ridiculous Tom Hanks/QAnon story?

The biggest ag export state effected by the ongoing tariff disputes is California. The Golden State exports 26 percent of its agricultural production by volume. In dollar terms, the state’s agricultural exports reached over $20 billion in 2016. But the California agricultural community is torn. On one hand, farmers are welcoming the financial relief proposed by the Trump Administration: 12 billion dollars to offset agricultural losses due to the ongoing tariff battles with several foreign countries, including China. On the other hand, many farm groups, including the California Farm Bureau Federation, would rather see more certainty and equitable trading protocols when it comes to selling their farm products overseas instead of a program of ongoing handouts. We have the details. The state has given the OK for partial funding of eight major water projects, including one right here in Sacramento County that will be good news for the counties’ farmers. And there’s a new project to move Modesto and Turlock wastewater to the farms on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. We have that, and a lot more, including the latest pest invasion in the state’s orchards: roof rats. It’s all on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Welcome to yet another chapter of the ongoing California saga: Whisky’s for drinkin’, water’s for fightin’. There are water war battles going on throughout the state. Proposed reductions of farm deliveries of San Joaquin river flows has many powerful ag groups up in arms. The November ballot features a bond measure to repair the Friant Kern Canal, the flow of which is the victim of subsiding land. And tucked away in the Cuyama Valley, local farmers there are battling big agricultural interests for the shrinking supply of water in that area’s aquifers. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Good news for California’s almond growers. The 2018 crop now encompasses over one million acres, and this year’s harvest will be the biggest ever…over 1.1 million metric tons of almond nut meat. The not so good news…the cost of sending those nuts to China may be going up. Way up. In past years, China has purchased 12% of California's almonds. Will the ongoing tariff battle with China cause a steep decline in sales? We have that report. Firefighters battling the 90,000 acre County fire that enveloped parts of Yolo and Napa Counties have determined how that blaze started. An improperly installed electric cattle fence. It will be a good year for California’s processing tomato crop, we have the numbers. And if you’re biting into a sweet, juicy pluot or aprium right now, we’ve got the backstory on how those plum-apricot crosses were developed. We’ll take a tour of Modesto-based Zaiger Genetics. All that, crop reports and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.