The Association hosted a meeting with Department of Water Resources (DWR) Deputy Director, Paul Gosselin, who oversees the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The meeting included various Ag Associations, County Farm Bureau’s, SJV Water Blueprint members, Growers and other interested stakeholders. Deputy Director Gosselin heard directly from the group about the devastating effects of SGMA not only to agriculture but also to farm workers, disadvantaged communities, the San Joaquin Valley and the entire state of California. Gosselin provided a SGMA update to the group and discussed the different stages of Groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA)’s groundwater sustainability plans (GSP’s). The San Joaquin Valley Water Blueprint discussed its’s efforts related to SGMA. One of the action items coming out of this meeting was the idea to pull together a broader and larger meeting to include legislators.

With cotton prices where they are today, it comes as no surprise to see an increase in cotton acreage for 2022.  Unfortunately, another year of drought will severely limit the amount of acreage that gets planted this year.  As of today, California cotton growers are only increasing their plantings this year by approximately 10% despite record cotton prices.  Cotton growers planted approximately 120,000 total acres in 2021 and are looking to plant 132,000 acres in 2022.

According to the preliminary planting intentions survey conducted by the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association this month, the Association is currently estimating approximately only 107,000 acres of pima, 1,600 acres of Hazera and about 24,000 acres of upland statewide for the 2022 cotton season plus or minus 10%.  This survey is based on surveys from all of the gins in California and things could change when planting is actually completed and final field surveys are completed by CDFA.  If it plays out, it will represent a 26% increase in pima acreage and a 31% decrease in upland acreage in California as compared to 2021.  Again, this is preliminary, but reflects what all gins are reporting.

2021 Honoree: Ted Sheely

March 30, 2022
Doors open 11:30 a.m. Lunch at noon. 
Overton Hotel, Lubbock, Texas

Since 1970, Cotton Grower magazine has annually sought to honor an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment, leadership, and innovation to the cotton industry with the 2021 Cotton Grower Cotton Achievement Award.

The 2021 honoree – Ted Sheely of Lemoore, California – is recognized for his ongoing commitment to industry service on behalf of U.S. cotton, farming innovation, and successful strategic planning.

Please RSVP by March 15
CottonGrower.com/RSVP
Questions? Contact:
Beck Barnes
Business Director, Cotton Grower
662.820.1594 | bbarnes@meistermedia.com

Remarks on current cotton
market outlook by
Dr. John Robinson
Professor and Extension Specialist/Cotton Marketing at Texas A&M University 

California Cotton Ginners & Growers Association and Western Agricultural Processors Association are scheduling labor law webinars for members beginning March 10, 2022.

Presented by Fisher & Phillips, the webinars will review employer requirements and answer questions. These 1-hour webinars are free to CCGGA & WAPA members and will take place via Zoom, registration required to receive Zoom logistics prior to the session(s).

Cost:
Members – FREE
Non-members – $25.00

Registration details:

Visit our events page www.wapa-events.com, select Labor Law Webinars or contact our offices (559) 455-9272

Zoom link will be emailed prior to the session(s)

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has completed ASABE S615.2, Cotton Module Cover Material Performance.  The document is a major revision of S615.1 that adds performance specifications for module covers used on cylindrical modules, which are now the predominant seed-cotton storage method in the US.  Module covers are used to protect the cotton following harvest until it reaches the gin. The ASABE standard provides the physical test requirements for material used to manufacture these covers, which are exposed to environmental conditions, such as wind, rain, and ultraviolet radiation (sunlight) and storage degradation.   ASABE is recognized worldwide as a standards developing organization for food, agricultural, and biological systems, with more than 280 standards currently in publication. Conformance to ASABE standards is voluntary, except where required by state, provincial, or other governmental requirements, and the documents are developed by consensus in accordance with procedures approved by the American National Standards Institute. For information on this or any other ASABE standard, contact Scott Cedarquist at 269-932-7031, cedarq@asabe.org.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued on February 25, 2022 updated guidance related to face coverings based on the latest data on COVID-19, and on February 28, 2022 California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has issued updated guidance on face coverings to align with the most current CDC guidance.  Effective March 1, 2022 CDPH face coverings guidance no longer requires individuals to wear face coverings indoors, except in limited settings where face coverings remain required, and now strongly recommends that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, continue indoor masking.  In addition, Governor Newsom issued an Executive Order with respect to the second readoption of the Cal/OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) by extending it an additional 21 days to allow the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) additional time to finalize the third readoption of the ETS to align with current public health guidelines and recommendations. This is what we know for now and we will continue to review and monitor the COVID guidance from CDPH as well as the Cal/OSHA ETS.

An Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was recently approved by the Federal Maritime Commission asking if a new rule governing demurrage and detention billing practices would benefit the trade and should apply to marine terminal operators and non-vessel operating common carriers in addition to vessel-operating common carriers.  Specifically, the Commission is considering the merits of establishing regulations mandating certain minimum information be included in bills issued for demurrage and detention charges and prescribing the maximum period in which an invoice can be sent.  Additionally, the Commission is seeking industry views on whether it should regulate the demurrage and detention billing practices of common carriers and marine terminal operators. The ANPRM broadly defines the terms “demurrage and detention” to include any charges assessed by common carriers and marine terminal operators related to the use of marine terminal space or shipping containers, regardless of the labels given to those charges.  The ANPRM is being issued in response to information developed by Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye as part of her work leading Fact Finding 29. In July 2021, she identified issuing an ANPRM on these topics as one of the Interim Recommendations provided to the Commission on how the agency can address complaints and issues related to demurrage and detention.  The Commission is requesting comments on what specific information should be required on demurrage and detention bills. It is interested in learning what information is necessary to identify a shipment, and whether bills for demurrage and detention should include information on how the charges are calculated and what circumstances justify stopping the clock on charges. Finally, the Commission is soliciting guidance on how to ensure a bill is being issued to the correct party and whether an explanation of the source and reason for the charge should be required.  If you have comments or suggestions, please forward them to the Association.

This week, the U.S. Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published the final rule approval for the 1997 24-hour PM_2.5 standards as established under the Clean Air Act.  With this rule approval designation, U.S. EPA also found that the San Joaquin Valley is in attainment with the 1997 24-hour standard.  The standard requires that PM_2.5 readings maintain below 65 micrograms/m³ in a 24-hour span.  The 1997 standard is one of four major standards under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that the Air District must be in attainment with, or be implementing rules to help achieve attainment by specific dates.  The Air District originally failed to meet the December 2015 deadline for attainment designation as previously established, and was forced to develop more stringent rules in order to achieve the secondary attainment deadline of December of 2020.  Several Air District rules targeting agriculture were developed as a result of this standard, and the standard’s reassessment.  With help from the Association, and many other agricultural associations, rules against the industry were limited to only the ones that could achieve the most emissions reductions.  This is a significant achievement for the local Air District, and also further highlights the reductions achieved by voluntary and incentive based agricultural programs in the Valley.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking action to further the Agency’s compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when evaluating and registering new pesticide active ingredients (AIs).  Before EPA registers any new conventional AI, the Agency will evaluate the potential effects of the AI on federally threatened or endangered (listed) species, and their designated critical habitats, and initiate ESA consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services).  Prior to this action, there was a litany of resource-intensive litigation against EPA for registering new AIs prior to assessing potential effects on listed species. EPA’s new policy should reduce these types of cases against the Agency and improve the legal defensibility of new AIs, which often have lower human health and ecological risks than older pesticides.  Under this new approach, if EPA finds through its analyses that a new conventional pesticide AI is likely to adversely affect listed species or their designated critical habitats, EPA will initiate formal consultation with the Services before granting a new AI registration. As part of its analysis and under its existing authorities, EPA will consider the likelihood that the registration action may jeopardize the continued existence of listed species or adversely modify their designated critical habitat and provide its findings to the Services. To determine or predict the potential effects of a pesticide on these species and habitats, EPA will use appropriate ecological assessment principles and apply what it has learned from past effects determinations and the Services’ biological opinions.  If EPA determines that jeopardy or adverse modification is likely, the Agency will only make a registration decision on the new AI after requiring registrants to implement mitigation measures that EPA determines would likely prevent jeopardy or adverse modification. If EPA finds that a new AI is likely to adversely affect listed species or their critical habitat, but that jeopardy/adverse modification is not likely, it may nonetheless require registrants to include mitigation measures on their registration and product labeling to minimize the effects of incidental take to listed species that could result from use of a pesticide.