California Has 12th Fastest-Growing Construction Wages In U.S.
Mike LaFirenza The construction industry took a huge hit in 2020 due to pandemic-induced shutdowns and work stoppages. While construction is now booming in many cities across the country due to pent-up demand for new homes and low interest rates, construction employment has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. According to data from the Bureau […]
California Is The 2nd Worst-Paying State For Agricultural Workers
Column by Mike LaFirenza Agriculture has been and remains one of the most important industries for the U.S. economy. In addition to directly providing food for the population in the form of produce and livestock, the broader agricultural sector—which includes farming, fishing, and forestry—provides raw materials that form the foundation of other industries like food […]
California Water Regulators Cut Off Water Supplies To Select Farmers And Ranchers As WATER RATIONING Accelerates
By: Lance D Johnson (Natural News) Thousands of farmers and ranchers across Sacramento and San Joaquin, California are reeling from a mega-drought that is growing more severe by the day. In the coming weeks, thousands of farmers could be cut off from California’s water supply, as state water regulators begin to RATION crucial watershed resources. In […]
Ban Neonics – Hurt Farmers and Bees
By Paul Driessen Organic pesticides, and other organic chemicals, are more dangerous to bees … and people The honeybees, bumblebees and other little pollinators swarming over my flowers remind me what important roles they play – and how some misguided folks could inadvertently hurt them. Montgomery County, Maryland now prohibits “weed-and-feed” lawn fertilizer […]
ECONOMY | USMCA Expected to Bring Some Relief From Pandemic Economic Woes
BY EMEL AKAN WASHINGTON—The new trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada took effect on July 1, opening a fresh era in North American free trade. The agreement contains new “rules of origin” on cars, which incentivize the use of high-wage labor in auto manufacturing and make U.S. and Canadian workers more competitive vis-a-vis Mexican […]
The Time We Notice We’re Hungry, It May Be Too Late
By Thomas L. Knapp “[A]s the top U.S. watermelon-producing state prepares for harvest, Reuters reports, “many of the workers needed to collect the crop are stuck in Mexico …. Without the workers crops could rot in fields throughout the country,” starting in Florida and California where major harvests begin in April and May. As […]
The New Era of Sustainability Groundwater Management Act Begins with Problems on the Horizon
By Darin DuPont As the year comes to an end, the beginning of 2020 will bring a multitude of issues and policies to the next legislative session. Groundwater will be one of those issues, as the Sustainability Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) has a deadline of January 31, 2020 for Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP) […]
Agriculture Secretary Restricts Alarmist Announcements
By Dr. Jay Lehr & Tom Harris Sonny Perdue was well chosen by President Donald Trump to be Agriculture Secretary. As part of Perdue’s efforts to put our agricultural house in order, he has succeeded in filling the upper echelon of the agency with straight shooters. However, below the surface, the agency remains heavily influenced […]
I, Robot: Americans Get $7.5 Million for Robotic Strawberry Picking Research
By NEIL MUNRO A group of Americans is getting $7.5 million from investors to help pick strawberries by using a multi-armed, electronic-eyed robot. The investment will help field the first robots in Davis, California, said Marc Grossman, CEO of Advanced Farm Technologies. “With this investment, we can expand our lead in robotic strawberry harvesting and […]
Governor Newsom Announces Cancellation of Brainharming Pesticide Chlorpyrifos
Californians for Pesticide Reform Sacramento, CA: California’s farmworking communities will soon get a reprieve from a devastating pesticide linked to permanent brain damage in young children. A little more than two years after the Trump Administration reversed a proposed federal ban of the neurotoxic organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos, Governor Newsom today announced the commencement of […]
