Earlier this month, the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation announced that applications to be part of Class 55 are now available.  The Ag Leadership Program is one of the premier leadership program in the country, specifically focusing on the representatives of the agricultural industry.  Encouraged applicants include mid-career growers, farmers, ranchers, horticulturists, foresters and/or individuals working in other areas of California’s diverse agricultural industry.  The Association has representation from previous classes with Priscilla Rodriguez as a member of Class 50 and Chris McGlothlin in Class 52.  If you are interested in applying, or know anyone interested in applying, please follow instructions in the link below.

https://www.agleaders.org/class55apply/

The Association hosted a meeting with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) and the agricultural industry for a kickoff meeting on issues dealing with the development of the new Moderate State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the new Federal EPA 9 ug/m3 standard.  Attending the meeting were the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association, Western Tree Nut Association, California Farm Bureau  Federation, Fresno County Farm Bureau, Nisei Farmers League, Western United Dairymen and the California Fresh Fruit Association.  The meeting focused on the emissions inventory development and modeling that will be necessary to demonstrate attainment for the new plan and how that information will be used to develop control measures to reduce PM2.5 emissions.  In the meeting CARB identified the following agricultural sources being considered for review:

• Soil NOx and Ammonia from application of nitrogen to managed lands
• Farming Operations, Dairy Cattle Waste and Dust Emissions
• Silage NOx from dairy cattle operations
• Dust from harvesting, tilling and land preparation (emphasis on nut harvesting)
• Fugitive dust from unpaved farm roads
• Agricultural equipment including tractors and harvesters
• Agricultural burning (now banned)
• Fugitive windblown dust
• Ag irrigation pump engines
• VOC emissions from citrus packing house (?)

These topics and other will be discussed over the next several months as CARB and the SJVAPCD work to put their PM2.5 SIP together.  All the research and modeling will have to be done in the next two years, as these plans will be due to Federal EPA in the 4^th quarter of 2027. CARB has identified seven areas in the state that will be non-attainment for the 9 ug/m3 PM2.5 standard including the San Joaquin Valley, Feather River AQMD (Yuba and Sutter Counties), the South Coast AQMD, Bay Area AQMD, San Diego County, Imperial County, Mendocino County, and the Portola area of Plumas County. 

As you are aware the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is moving full speed ahead on their “zero emissions” goals for California, including replacing all combustion vehicles and equipment by replacing them with electric or hydrogen vehicles or equipment.  This includes all trucks and forklifts.  The Association is convinced the infrastructure to meet such demand simply isn’t there.  Up until a meeting last year hosted by the Association last year in Modesto, CARB and the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) were convinced there would be no problem meeting the demand.  But after that meeting, CARB, CEC and the CPUC admitted they did not know how much demand would be from agriculture, nor did they know when it would be needed or where.  At that same meeting the utilities, PG&E and SCE, also admitted they did not know, and they were already having “system-wide constraints”.  In response, CARB and the CEC have contracted Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to work with agriculture to conduct a comprehensive survey of agricultural operations (farms, packing houses, cotton gins, nut hullers and processors, etc.) to see how much electricity demand would be needed to comply with these new regulations, when it would be need by, and to the zip code level where it would be needed.   

The survey is anonymous and only to zip code level.  Your company or farm name and address is never entered or revealed.  We are working with several agricultural organizations on this survey to demonstrate what the true demand and need would be to meet these regulations.  Without this data, CARB will move forward on all regulations as planned.  Should you have any questions, please contact our office.  We encourage you to participate.  Here is the survey: https://bit.ly/4k1U5YD 

The 2024 legislative year was another busy one, introducing a wave of critical updates that every employer needs to understand. The Association is partnering with Fisher Phillips to join us for an informative seminar covering important legislative and legal updates that will affect agricultural employers in 2025 and beyond with an overview of important new laws impacting workplace policies, compliance, and employee management. The webinar will be hosted on February 24, 2025 at 10:00 am.

The legislature has remained busy by enacting new legislation for 2025 that greatly impacts employers of all sizes. This webinar will analyze significant new legislation that will affect agriculture employers in the new year. You’ll learn how to protect your operations, plan, and be ahead of the game.

Click here to register for this free webinar.

The firm is submitting this webinar for HRCI/SHRM credit.

Speaker:

Rebecca Hause-Schultz

Partner, Fisher Phillips

A partner in Fisher Phillips’ Sacramento office, a native Calaveras County and Future Farmers of America alumna, Rebecca draws on her deep roots in agriculture to defend farmers, food processors, manufacturers, and ag-tech businesses in employment litigation lawsuits and provide on the ground solutions. Rebecca litigates cases in federal and state courts, as well as state administrative agencies including the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), Civil Rights Department (CRD), Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB), and Department of Labor (DOL). Rebecca assists employers navigating the complex H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program, and has significant experiencing in defending H-2A employers in all venues. Rebecca’s practice includes defending employers in Class/PAGA and single plaintiff litigation.

California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association and Western Agricultural Processors Association are offering safety training workshops in both Spanish and English. Topics include:

• Aerial Lift Safety (Train-the-Trainer)
• Hazard communication (Webinar)
• Workplace Violence Prevention (Webinar)
• Indoor & Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention (Webinar)

Check out the attached flyer for details and feel free to share this with interested growers. For questions, please email Esmeralda at esmeralda@agprocessors.org or you can reach out to the Association directly at (559) 252-0684.

We hope to see you there!

With less than a month away, the Association is gearing up for the 2025 regional Train-the-Trainer workshops! This year the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association along with Western Agricultural Processors Association, African American Farmers of California, California Citrus Mutual, California Fresh Fruit Association, Fresno County Farm Bureau, Nisei Farmers League and The Zenith are partnering to provide Aerial Lift Safety Train-the-Trainer. Beginning in March, the trainings will be covered in English and Spanish and will hold seven on site tractor safety workshops in the following areas: Fresno, Tulare, Wasco, Madera, Turlock, Woodland, and Chico. The Lockout/Tagout, Fall Protection and PPE safety topics will be covered via webinar. These workshops are for owners, managers, supervisors, safety personnel or those who are responsible for training. Each workshop attendee will be provided with a binder that includes the information needed for understanding the rules, regulations and conducting effective safety training. Each attendee will also receive a certificate of completion for those that participate in the full class.

In addition, the association will be conducting Hazard Communication, Workplace Violence Prevention, and Indoor & Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention webinars in the spring. Details will follow on those special events.

The cost per training is $65 per person for members and $85 for non-members. For information on registering for the workshops and/or webinars, please see flyer.

The 2024 legislative year was another busy one, introducing a wave of critical updates that every employer needs to understand. The Association is partnering with Fisher Phillips to join us for an informative seminar covering important legislative and legal updates that will affect agricultural employers in 2025 and beyond with an overview of important new laws impacting workplace policies, compliance, and employee management.

The legislature has remained busy by enacting new legislation for 2025 that greatly impacts employers of all sizes. This webinar will analyze significant new legislation that will affect agriculture employers in the new year. You’ll learn how to protect your operations, plan, and be ahead of the game.

Click here to register for this free webinar.

The firm is submitting this webinar for HRCI/SHRM credit.

Speaker:

Rebecca Hause-Schultz

Partner, Fisher Phillips

A partner in Fisher Phillips’ Sacramento office, a native Calaveras County and Future Farmers of America alumna, Rebecca draws on her deep roots in agriculture to defend farmers, food processors, manufacturers, and ag-tech businesses in employment litigation lawsuits and provide on the ground solutions. Rebecca litigates cases in federal and state courts, as well as state administrative agencies including the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), Civil Rights Department (CRD), Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB), and Department of Labor (DOL). Rebecca assists employers navigating the complex H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program, and has significant experiencing in defending H-2A employers in all venues. Rebecca’s practice includes defending employers in Class/PAGA and single plaintiff litigation.

This week the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced an update to the State Water Project (SWP) allocation forecast for 2025. The allocation has increased to 20 percent of requested supplies, up from 15 percent in December. The SWP provides water to 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians. While January has been incredibly dry across California, storm runoff into the state’s reservoirs came in higher than forecasted at the end of December allowing for a modest allocation increase. Storms in late November and early December had a positive impact by saturating the ground, allowing for storms through December to more efficiently runoff into reservoirs. “We are in the middle of our biggest months for precipitation for California, and unfortunately January has been very dry, putting a significant dent in our season,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. Despite the dry conditions, California has effectively managed its reservoirs to keep storage above average for this time of year. Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir, is currently at 127 percent of average for this time of year. San Luis Reservoir, which is jointly operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, is at 102 percent of average for this time of year. Each year, DWR provides SWP allocation forecasts based on available water storage, projected water supply, and water demands. Allocations are updated monthly as snowpack, rainfall, and runoff information is assessed, with a final allocation typically determined in May or June. As the winter progresses, if California sees an increase in rain and snowfall, the allocation forecast may increase.

Recently, the Department of the Interior awarded the Sites Reservoir Project  $129 million in federal funding to bring clean, reliable drinking water to communities across the West through water storage and conveyance projects. This new commitment builds on the $67.5 million announced in May 2024 to Sites Reservoir, increasing the current total to $646.15 million in federal funding committed to the Project in exchange for federal benefits. As a beneficiary pays project, this funding would secure additional benefits for the Bureau of Reclamation’s water operations, which include supporting ecosystem objectives. The state of California conditionally awarded $875 million to the Project through the Proposition 1 Water Storage Investment Program for public benefits. “Sites Reservoir would not be possible without the continued support of our federal partners, who share our commitment to increasing California’s water resiliency amid a changing climate,” said Fritz Durst, Chair of the Sites Project Authority Board of Directors. “We’ve made significant progress in the last few years and this funding is an exciting start to what will be another monumental year for Sites Reservoir.” Sites Reservoir will increase water supply throughout California and provide, for the first time, environmental benefits by storing water specifically to support native wildlife and their habitat during drought periods. The Project will provide an additional 1.5 million acre-feet of storage capacity, substantially improving the state’s water flexibility, reliability, and resiliency in drier years.

December 30, 2024, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) announced the availability of two preliminary reports pertaining to the re-evaluation review of the active ingredient, paraquat dichloride. The letter further announces the opening of a 45-day comment period closing February 13, 2025.  The referenced reports included the Preliminary Report of the Potential Human Health Outcomes Resulting from Paraquat Exposure, and the Preliminary Report on the Potential Ecological Risks from Paraquat Exposure.  Given the breadth of the detailed scientific information, analyses, and references in said reports, the Association asked for CDPR to consider a minimum 30-day extension of the comment period to allow sufficient time for our teams and technical people to more completely review the provided reports and provide a more complete and thorough response.  This past week CDPR granted an extension until March 17^th, 2025.