New coalition aims to protect California’s pollinators The California Pollinator Coalition aims to protect the state’s bees and butterflies, something of vital importance to Stanislaus County as almond pollination was the eighth-most profitable commodity locally in 2019, valued at nearly $84 million (Journal file photo).
It’s no secret that almonds reign supreme when it comes to crops in Stanislaus County, but it can be easy to forget that pollinators like bees and butterflies are essential for the orchards to thrive. A diverse coalition announced this week is aiming to protect the vital, six-legged friends of farmers in order to make sure that the state’s robust farming industry continues to provide.
A new California bill, if passed, could help Central Coast families retain family-owned farms and ranch land as they are passed down from generation to generation.
This week, Congressman Jimmy Panetta introduced the Preserving Family Farms Act which aims to help family-owned farms continue operations by updating the special use valuation provision of the estate tax.
Joined by Jackie Walorski (R-IN-02), Panetta s act would increase the amount of farmland that can be valued for family farming operations and decrease the amount of farmland that must be valued for development purposes when someone inherits the property.
“Estate taxes on family-owned farms have forced families to split up the land they have spent generations building,” Panetta said in a press release. “Our Preserving Family Farms Act would ease this burden by ensuring that these farms are appraised by the value of their business, rather than development value.
Ranchers in far Northern California who wish to run their cattle on Siskiyou County s Big Springs Ranch have until 5 p.m. April 12 to apply for the grazing permit.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has issued a request for proposals for excess vegetation control on 1,907 acres of the ranch.
The RFP package can be accessed on the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) Cal eProcure website here and can be found by searching the Event ID 0000018907 (zeros required), the California Cattlemen s Association advises in a legislative bulletin.
Detailed instructions on how to find CDFW bid opportunities on Cal eProcure can be found here. Questions may be directed to Sherry Leffler, a CDFW Staff Services Analyst, at (530) 225-2853 or Sherry.Leffler@wildlife.ca.gov.
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Colorado Cattlemen s Association
A sign on the side of a cattle truck promotes beef during one of numerous rallies in Colorado in support of “Meat-In Day” on March 20. Proposed 2022 ballot initiative would criminalize artificial insemination and other ranching practices.
Ranchers throughout the West and around the nation are keeping a close eye on a proposed Colorado animal-cruelty initiative that cleared a key procedural hurdle April 7 but faces an uphill battle.
Animal-welfare advocates are trying to place the Protect Animals from Unnecessary Suffering and Exploitation (PAUSE) initiative on the ballot in November 2022. Critics say the measure would ban artificial insemination and other commonly accepted veterinary and animal care practices in Colorado and would ban the slaughter of livestock that have not yet lived more than one-quarter of their anticipated lifetime, which for cattle is about five years.