Growers remain concerned that many undocumented farmworkers may stay home to avoid immigration raids. Yet the California Farm Bureau has not heard any widespread reports of workforce disruptions among its 26,000 members.
Bryan Little, senior director of policy advocacy, acknowledged the uncertainty farmworkers feel with President Donald Trump’s mass deportation actions. In a statement Thursday, he said California ag depends on those workers and that “farmers stand with you. We respect you. We value you.” The farm bureau vowed to “do everything in our power” to ensure the industry remains a safe and supportive place.
The association pressed for workforce reforms, such as making the H-2A program more flexible and responsive, granting legal status for farmworkers and enacting immigration policies that support a stable ag workforce.
New water fines next month
The state water board will issue fines to any farmers who fail to submit water use reports on time.
The information provides the board with a better grasp of the state’s water system, beyond the basic data generated from flow gauges on rivers and streams. The agency uses it to fine tune curtailment orders.
The annual reporting deadline is tomorrow, Feb. 1, but the board is offering a 30-day grace period this year. Depending on the size of the farm, the fees could reach as high as 85% of the annual water right fee, according to Alexandra Biering, who directs policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau.
Speaking at the annual conference for the California Irrigation Institute this week, Biering explained the persistence it takes to get the message across to her members — whether it’s in panel discussions at the farm bureau’s annual meeting or commentaries in AgAlert. And keeping farmers and ranchers on task — and in good graces — with the board has been a high priority for farm groups lately.
Why it matters: In 2022 ranchers violated a curtailment order to divert water from the Shasta River to sustain cattle amid the extreme drought. Environmentalists and lawmakers raised alarms over the fines, which they described as a slap on the wrist. The angst helped fuel a series of bills to reform the water rights system and increase fines.
Asm. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan of Orinda was able to get AB 460 across the finish line last year. It took effect at the start of January. The fine for violating an order is now $10,000 per day and $2,500 per acre-foot diverted.
Trump insists new tariffs on Saturday
President Donald Trump is reiterating plans to hit Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs starting Saturday.
“We have to do that because we have very big deficits with those countries,” Trump told reporters Thursday, adding that the tariffs “may or may not rise with time.” Trump also complained that both countries had not done enough to curb illegal migrants and fentanyl coming across the U.S. border.
Trump has previously said he is considering 10% tariffs on China to begin the same day. “China’s going to end up paying a tariff … and we’ll make that determination of what it’s going to be,” he said Thursday.
Some Republicans uncommitted on RFK Jr.
After two public appearances on Capitol Hill, some Republicans still appear uneasy about confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
One of them is Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a gastroenterologist who chairs the Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee, which held its hearing Thursday. He repeatedly pressed Kennedy to say measles vaccines do not cause autism. But Kennedy continued to dodge this and similar questions related to the safety of immunizations, repeatedly saying he would review the evidence.
After asking Kennedy to “convince him” that he would be a supporter of public health, Cassidy said during his concluding statement that he was still struggling with this nomination. He added that Kennedy may receive further questions from his office over the weekend.
“My responsibility is to learn, try to determine if you can be trusted to support the best public health,” Cassidy said. “Or to undermine it, always asking for more evidence and never accepting the evidence that is there.”
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine are other members to watch, as they’ve voted against other Trump nominees.
After the hearing, Murkowski did not indicate which way she may vote. "I think that there were some questions that were particularly telling — that when the science has been out there for a long time and has been proven, do you need to continue being the skeptic?” Murkowski told reporters.
Assuming all Democrats vote against him, Kennedy can only afford to lose three Republicans in the full Senate. The Senate Finance Committee has primary jurisdiction and can report the nomination favorably, unfavorably or with no recommendation. The committee hasn’t scheduled a vote.
Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com.
OMB nominee advances
Trump’s pick to run the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, is a step closer to Senate confirmation. Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee voted to approve Vought after Democrats boycotted the meeting in protest of this week’s funding freeze.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Vought “will try again to illegally seize funds” once he’s confirmed as OMB director.
Budget Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted on X, “My Democratic colleagues decided to boycott, which is their right. The markup was short and pleasant. They were missed… Sort of.”
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Lack of new farm bill could require additional economic farm aid, Thompson says
House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., says farm country will need to “come back to the table for more economic aid,” if Congress doesn’t pass a new farm by this fall.
“Now, we can avoid that,” he says on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers this week. “But the way we avoid that is getting the farm bill done because the improvements we’ve made to the safety net programs will just prevent having to do that [economic aid payments] in the future.”
House Ag Committee ranking member Angie Craig, D-Minn., also joins the program to discuss her outlook for the panel, including her concerns about GOP cuts to nutrition assistance. “If those instructions include to cut SNAP, what ends up happening in my mind is, you’re cutting farm income,” Craig says.
Democrats could back Lutnick’s Commerce nomination
Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, could secure some Democratic support when the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee votes on advancing his candidacy next Wednesday.
Although Lutnick sparred with some Democrats during his hearing this week, others across the aisle are considering backing him for the job.
“I think I might find a way to ‘yes,’” Colorado Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper told Agri-Pulse. Hickenlooper said he was impressed by the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO’s clarity and directness in his hearing. “I think he's straightforward,” Hickenlooper added.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., also said he was open to voting for Lutnick but wants more information on his tariff stance before deciding.
Final word:
“You can’t fallow people.” — Alexandra Biering of the California Farm Bureau, during a panel discussion at the annual conference for the California Irrigation Institute. Biering explained that the state must always meet a permanent demand for human water needs, which is why it turns to agriculture during dry times.