&#8220;The Vampire Diaries&#8221; star Ian Somerhalder ditched <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> for a Southern California farm, and he says he doesn&#8217;t regret a thing.
Somerhalder is married to &#8220;Twilight&#8221; actress Nikki Reed, and the two share one daughter (six years old) and one son (six months old) — and despite his onscreen success, the 45-year-old made the decision to step away from acting in an effort to focus on family and other projects.
&#8220;I love what I did for a really long time,&#8221; Somerhalder <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1393064/why-ian-somerhalder-doesnt-miss-hollywood-after-saying-goodbye-to-acting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told E! News</a>. &#8220;I don&#8217;t miss any of it. I love making films, I just did it for so long. We had an amazing run.&#8221;
The actor, whose latest film is the farming documentary &#8220;<a href="https://commongroundfilm.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Common Ground</a>,&#8221; has embraced life away from Hollywood. He told <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1391101/how-ian-somerhalder-and-nikki-reed-built-their-life-away-from-hollywood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">E! News last December</a> that he and Reed had truly become &#8220;farm people,&#8221; adding, &#8220;We produce most of our own food, I live in my cowboy boots.&#8221;
Reed — who also produced &#8220;Common Ground&#8221; — has made it clear that she is in complete agreement, telling the outlet this week, &#8220;When you see the way that nature operates, you find compassion.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s a beautiful thing to see what&#8217;s happening with children, to watch them participate in the growing of their food and the understanding of what food is and where it comes from,&#8221; she added.
Somerhalder also hinted briefly at the couple&#8217;s future plans, saying, &#8220;This is our 2.0 version &#8230; about to be 3.0 version.&#8221;
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;Common Ground&#8221; is a follow-up to the 2020 documentary &#8220;Kiss the Ground,&#8221; which explored &#8220;regenerative agriculture&#8221; and its potential impact on both the future of farming and climate.
&#8220;By fusing journalistic expose with deeply personal stories from those on the front lines of the food movement, &#8216;Common Ground&#8217; unveils a dark web of money, power, and politics behind our broken food system. The film reveals how unjust practices forged our current farm system in which farmers of all colors are literally dying to feed us,&#8221; the <a href="https://commongroundfilm.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> explained.

2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones – Arrivals

‘The Vampire Diaries’ Star Says He’s Glad He Ditched L.A. For A Farm: ‘I Don’t Miss Any Of It’

'The Vampire Diaries' Star Says He's Glad He Ditched LA For A Farm: 'I Don't Miss Any Of It'

Celebrities

Farming

Hollywood

Television

U.S.

It was revealed this week that a member of the Chinese Communist Party secretly purchased 198,000 acres of U.S. farmland, back in 2015.
Chen Tianqiao, a co-founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment, made the purchase of Oregon land for $85 million, paying around $430 an acre, <a href="https://landreport.com/land-report-100/tianqiao-chen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Land Report magazine, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/13/news/chen-tianqiaos-purchase-of-200k-oregon-acres-sparks-outrage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Saturday.
&#8220;In 2015, Tianqiao Chen acquired nearly 200,000 acres of former Crown Pacific timberlands in Oregon from Fidelity National Financial Ventures for $85 million ($430 per acre),&#8221; the magazine said. &#8220;Chen did so via the investment vehicle Whitefish Cascade Forest Resources LLC. In December 2023, Oregon tax records revealed that the 198,000-acre block was currently owned by Shanda Asset Management LLC.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12952121/chen-tianqiao-shanda-games-china-oregon.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According</a> to the Daily Mail, Chen&#8217;s purchase does not show up in government records of land ownership by foreign investors.
Back in October, the Department of Agriculture estimated that Chinese entities owned around 400,000 acres of U.S. farmland, which translates to more than $2 billion dollars. Though it&#8217;s a fraction of foreign-owned farmland, the number has alarmed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, since it’s been dramatically increasing over the past decade as China becomes more and more adversarial toward the U.S. 
At the time, it was acknowledged that the 400,000 acre estimate was likely far lower than the real number. For one thing, there’s been an antiquated paper-based reporting system for foreign owned-land, and if someone owns less than 10 acres, it doesn&#8217;t have to be reported, nor does someone leasing land. 
“Right now, we don’t know the full extent of the risk at hand,&#8221; Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q4QO5GgakA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;Outdated reporting systems and a lack of auditing at both the state and federal level leave us with incomplete information and many questions.&#8221; 
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY) <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/13/news/chen-tianqiaos-purchase-of-200k-oregon-acres-sparks-outrage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Post on Saturday that the Biden administration has “dropped the ball” when it comes to foreign adversaries goggling up American farmland.
“Communist China is purchasing US agricultural land to subvert our sovereignty, undermine our agriculture industry, encroach on our military installations, and upend America’s rural communities,” she said.
As the shocking land purchase is uncovered, U.S. politicians are also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-not-normal-tens-of-thousands-of-chinese-nationals-cross-border-illegally-in-matter-of-months">expressing concern</a> over tens of thousands of Chinese nationals trying to cross our southern border in the past 11 months.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
It&#8217;s been estimated that some 31,000 Chinese nations were stopped by law enforcement at our border, a CNN report <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/americas/the-walking-route-how-an-underground-industry-is-helping-migrants-flee-china-for-the-us/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a>. According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data, the U.S. would typically only see around 1,500 Chinese nationals in a given year over the previous decade.
Most of the Chinese nationals are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/americas/the-walking-route-how-an-underground-industry-is-helping-migrants-flee-china-for-the-us/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> claiming that they want to come to the U.S. to escape the oppressive communist regime. Notably, a NewsNation report last month captured footage of some Chinese nationals trying to get into the U.S., and overwhelmingly, those observed coming were single adult males.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-not-normal-tens-of-thousands-of-chinese-nationals-cross-border-illegally-in-matter-of-months" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘This Is Not Normal’: Tens Of Thousands Of Chinese Nationals Cross Border Illegally In Matter Of Months</a>

Shanda Group Chairman And Billionaire Chen Tiangqiao and Vice Chairman Chrissy Luo Interview

CCP Billionaire Secretly Bought 200,000 Acres Of U.S. Farmland

China

Communist China

Farmers

There&#8217;s a lot of bull in the news these days, but here&#8217;s a story that&#8217;s actually true: On Wednesday in Nebraska, police pulled over a man for driving down a highway with a gigantic Watusi bull in his passenger seat.
WSAZ 3 <a href="https://www.wsaz.com/2023/08/31/video-police-pull-over-man-with-bull-riding-shotgun/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Norfolk Police Division received a call from a concerned driver about a farm animal in the passenger seat of a car on Highway 275. When authorities found the vehicle in question, the responding officers got more than they bargained for.
“The officers received a call referencing a car driving into town that had a cow in it,” Police Captain Chad Reiman told the local media outlet. “They thought that it was going to be a calf, something small or something that actually fit inside the vehicle.”
Instead, officers met &#8220;Howdy Doody&#8221; — the African bull owned by the driver, Lee Meyer.  The monstrous bovine can be seen here:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Meanwhile in Nebraska&#8230; 
Police pulled over a man with a bull riding in the passenger’s seat. <a href="https://t.co/5kWanvn5UT">pic.twitter.com/5kWanvn5UT</a>
&mdash; Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1697221550812872840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It&#8217;s not the first time that Meyer has driven with the bull. During Neligh&#8217;s 2019 July 4th parade, Meyer drove what appears to be the same vehicle with the same passenger.
<div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/AntelopeCountyNews/videos/681973515600744/" data-width="500" data-show-text="false">
<blockquote class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore" cite="https://www.facebook.com/AntelopeCountyNews/videos/681973515600744/">FAN FAVORITE: The kids went wild when Lee Meyer of Neligh drove his watusi named &#8220;Howdy Doody&#8221; on the parade route!
Posted by <a href="https://facebook.com/AntelopeCountyNews">Antelope County News</a> on Thursday, July 4, 2019</blockquote>
</div>
Wednesday, Meyer was let off with a warning.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1693504018745000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1RMMjCvCBOBYdpkw5O_njE">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;There were some citable issues with that situation. The officer chose to write him a warning and ask him to take the animal back home and to leave the city,” Reiman told the press.
Watusi bulls weigh between 1,000 and 1,600 pounds and have a <a href="https://www.thefarmatwalnutcreek.com/animal/watusi-cattle/#:~:text=The%20Ankole%2DWatusi%20is%20medium,remain%20small%20for%20several%20months." target="_blank" rel="noopener">life expectancy</a> of 20 years.

Screenshot/WSAZ 3

WATCH: Police Pull Over Driver With Gigantic Bull In Passenger Seat

WATCH: Police Pull Over Driver With Gigantic Watusi Bull In Passenger Seat

Animals

Nebraska

Police

A pay-it-forward story is inspiring people after a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">farmer’s</a> good deeds were revealed after he passed away on New Year’s Day.
Hody Childress, a farmer and Air Force veteran from Alabama, went into a drugstore about a decade ago and asked the owner if there were people who weren’t able to pay for their medicine.
“I told him, ‘Yes, unfortunately that happens often,’” Brooke Walker, the owner, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/01/19/alabama-farmer-hody-childress-prescriptions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “And he handed me a $100 bill, all folded up.”
But he didn’t want credit for it.
“He said, ‘Don’t tell a soul where the money came from — if they ask, just tell them it’s a blessing from the Lord,’” she said.
He continued to anonymously provide resources for people in the form of a $100 bill each month for years, and was able to bless those around him with his actions.
“His kindness motivated me to be more of a compassionate person,” Walker said. “He was just a good old guy who wanted to bless his community, and he certainly did. He established a legacy of kindness.”
The money he gave her grew to thousands of dollars and Walker was typically able to assist two people each month who needed help paying for their medicine.
Walker was considering reaching out to his family, but his daughter was also getting ready to inform people about the gifts at his funeral since he had told her about it before he died.
“He told me he’d been carrying a $100 bill to the pharmacist in Geraldine on the first of each month, and he didn’t want to know who she’d helped with it — he just wanted to bless people with it,” Tania Nix, his daughter, said.
“It was just who he was — it was in his heart,” Nix added.
Childress told Nix so that she could <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/23/1150716078/friends-and-family-will-keep-hody-childress-kind-deed-going" target="_blank" rel="noopener">do it for him</a> when his health didn&#8217;t allow for it. Childress survived on a minimal retirement and Social Security.
“He didn’t spend a lot of money in life, but he always gave what he could,” she said. “If he took you out to eat, you had to be quick to grab the ticket, or he was paying for it.”
He had lived through tragedy, but was still an upbeat person. In 1973, his father and son were both killed in a tornado.
“That was really hard on him, but he never complained,” Nix said. “He never lost his optimism.”
When people in the community started figuring out at his funeral that he was the one who had helped them, they were shocked, she said.
“I heard from people who said they’d been going through a rough time and their prescriptions were paid for when they went to pick them up,” she said.
His actions have inspired people to keep giving to the pharmacy.
“We’re calling it the Hody Childress Fund, and we’re going to keep it going as long as the community and Hody’s family wants to keep it alive,” she said.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/us/alabama-pharmacy-donor.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that since The Washington Post published the story, Walker, as well as Nix and her family, have been contacted by people from all over the country who want to give. A man from Miami was even inspired to go to his local drugstore to begin a fund.
One woman, Ms. Schlageter, was able to get her son an EpiPen because of Childress&#8217; money, but she didn&#8217;t know he was behind it.
“All of a sudden it comes out that Mr. Hody did it,” Schlageter said. “What he doesn’t know, now that he’s in heaven, is that he helped a kid that works on a farm that he started. Look at that circle.”

736954D1-3A8B-45E4-8A3F-E4E6B4C7E77B_1_105_c

Pay-It-Forward Story Of Farmer Inspires People Around The Country

Alabama

General

Everyday food products will be hard to come by in 30 years because of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a>, according to a chef who worked in the Obama White House.
At a recent dinner event to promote regenerative agriculture, Sam Kass, who also served as White House senior policy adviser for nutrition, listed rice, coffee, wine, and chocolate as examples of popular food items that could become scarce in the decades to come.
&#8220;A number of foods that we hold very dear to our hearts and largely take for granted are under a real threat,&#8221; Kass said, <a href="https://people.com/food/former-white-house-chef-sam-kass-says-products-like-coffee-rice-will-be-largely-unavailable-in-30-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to PEOPLE magazine</a>. &#8220;And you&#8217;re seeing in the future, we&#8217;re on track for a lot of those to become quite scarce and some really to be largely unavailable to most people and others just significantly increased in cost.&#8221;
Kass teamed up last week with food brand Knorr to hold a &#8220;$500 Dinner,&#8221; an event in New York City meant to highlight dinner table staples that are in jeopardy without the widespread adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, which according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, focus on a &#8220;<a href="https://www.cbf.org/blogs/save-the-bay/2021/08/what-is-regenerative-agriculture-and-why-is-it-re-emerging-now.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">holistic approach</a>&#8221; in farming to foster sustainable food systems and environmental health.
<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA’S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US.</a>
The dinner event celebrated World Soil Day, which took place on December 5. <a href="https://www.hola.com/us/food/20221205340015/white-house-chef-sam-kass-reveals-the-scary-future-of-food/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HOLA! USA reported</a> attendees were served dishes that mixed rice with seafood and truffles. Such a meal would cost $72 now, but $566 in 2050, when &#8220;the ingredients we rely on become even more scarce,&#8221; Kass said.
Kass is <a href="https://acre.vc/#team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">now a partner</a> at Acre Venture Partners, a firm that says it invests in &#8220;companies creating fundamental change in food and agriculture in order to address large scale problems in human and environmental health.&#8221; In 2017, the World Economic Forum <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-under-40-changing-world-2017-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">selected him</a> as one of its Young Global Leaders.
At the dinner, Kass said he wanted to make rice a centerpiece of the dinner because it is very popular around the word and is also a significant emitter of greenhouse gases, per PEOPLE.
&#8220;Food and agriculture is the number two driver of greenhouse gas emissions globally and uses about 70% of the world&#8217;s waters. It&#8217;s the number one driver of deforestation, land use change. It&#8217;s really at the center of a lot of these environmental issues,&#8221; Kass said.
Kass also said: &#8220;Food and agriculture is the only real opportunity that we have to sequester enough carbon on the scale that science is telling us, within the time horizon that the science is saying we have, and that&#8217;s really unique to food and agriculture.&#8221;

Barack Obama with Sam Kass

Obama White House Chef Warns Rice, Chocolate, And Coffee Will Nearly Disappear in 30 Years

Agriculture

Environment

Food

Obama Administration

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drought" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lack of water</a> availability for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agriculture</a> has created a crisis that could continue for years to come and lead to a food supply shortage across the United States. The lack of water not only impacts the communities and environment of California, but has national security and global market implications.
Bob Amarel grows prunes in Yuba City, California, and is also on the Farm Credit West board. Amarel is based in California so he noted that many of his perceptions come from what has happened there. He discussed the sheer quantity of food that is grown in the agricultural region of the state, and the problems that come with cutting water to those regions.
“First of all, you&#8217;ll see less food,” he said, and he wouldn’t be surprised if there were international suppliers providing food to Americans.
“You&#8217;re going to start seeing the shelves being filled with made in China, or grown in China, grown in Mexico, more so than you are today,” he said. “You&#8217;re going to end up getting crop produce, but it&#8217;s not going to be anywhere close to the quality and safety that we produce as U.S. producers.”
Ryan Jacobsen is the CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau and is the descendant of two farm families going back generations. He is also on the Fresno Irrigation District Board of Directors.
Jacobsen noted that farmers haven’t felt the inflationary rise in prices as much as some consumers, but looking to the future, he said people will experience a shortage of many materials from California, which could lead to price hikes on some of them.
David Guy, the executive director of the Northern California Water Association, said that Costco is concerned about where it will source its food since it tries to use local products.
“We&#8217;re hearing from them that they&#8217;re just really nervous about where their food is going to come from,” he said, adding that this includes fruits, nuts, and meat.
“2022 was devastating. It just was devastating. It was devastating for everybody,” he said, adding that 600 square miles of Sacramento Valley land was fallowed, or left unplanted, this year. “Just brown dry, nothing grown there.”
He said they need the regulatory environment to let water be used to grow products on the land. “If they don&#8217;t, we&#8217;re just going to all suffer again like we did this year. It was devastating this year in the Sacramento Valley, on the west side of the Sacramento Valley &#8230; we just didn&#8217;t grow anything hardly,” he said.
Relationships between growers and international markets are also at risk. Guy pointed out that when a grower doesn’t have items to provide, buyers will look to get their products elsewhere.
The potential food supply crisis is also a national security and food safety concern.
JB Hamby is on the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors and he made the point that “there is no more basic need that Americans need than food,” thus moving food supplies to international sources “puts us in a very vulnerable position.”
“We need to ensure that Americans are fed by food produced in America. And the more we continue to offshore and outsource our food supply puts us in an increasingly vulnerable and weak position if we want to maintain full reliability of food in our grocery stores,” he said.
Around two-thirds of the water that goes into California from the Colorado River is pushed towards agriculture, with the Imperial Irrigation District in Imperial County using a massive amount of it, CalMatters <a href="https://calmatters.org/commentary/2022/11/feds-demand-colorado-river-water-cutbacks/">reported</a>.
Hamby said many major farming areas that grow winter produce for the United States get almost all of their water from the Colorado River, but if Americans want to have full availability of products at the grocery stores, there needs to be irrigation to those crops, specifically during that season.
“What we&#8217;re facing right now is a significant situation on the Colorado River, where there&#8217;s more demands on the system than there is water flowing in the Colorado River,” he said.
He said Americans should start to look at where their broccoli or romaine lettuce comes from when they go to the grocery stores during the late fall and coming seasons.
&#8220;Most likely, over the next few months, almost all of that is going to be grown with Colorado River water. And so if we want to continue to have grocery store shelves that we can depend on to give us the food that we need, we need to ensure that we have water flowing to farms, particularly on the Colorado River,&#8221; he noted.
He said the short-term solution will be “some painful reductions across the board, across all sectors. … There&#8217;s going to need to be a collective effort and collective action on the part of all users across the Colorado River basin to reduce consumption.”
“However, in the long term, that&#8217;s not really a viable solution, and we need to look at some additional measures to encourage some augmentation or new supplies of water to chart our future over the next century,” he added.
Water storage is also a much-needed solution to the crisis.
Amarel said more water storage needs to be created like it was in the 1960s because the water storage plan was made decades ago when the population hadn’t even reached 15 million people.
“Since then, we have grown to 40 million with not a single storage site being built,” he said. “All of those folks need to eat, and they want quality, affordable food every day. How do you do that when the food production base continues to shrink?”
Jacobsen discussed the importance of storage, as well. He says that due to climate change, the Sierra Nevada snowpack could be impacted and is projected to get the same or nearly the same precipitation levels as it has in the past, but it will be more from rainfall than snowpack. The reservoirs in California were constructed to be used for snowpack, so he argued there is more infrastructure needed.
Amarel pointed out the many conservation efforts that have been made in the agriculture industry, namely the transition in his operation to water-saving irrigation. However, he pointed out, this practice still needs enough water storage to be effective.
“We&#8217;re saving on the top side and basically not putting money in the bank under the soil. The only way you can make that up is you got to make it up with surface water, which means you got to have adequate storage,&#8221; he said.
Farmers are inherently concerned about and careful with the environment. Guy said the drought not only impacted farmers, but entire communities, suppliers, as well as had a devastating effect on the environment.
“The garter snakes,” he explained, giving an example. “There’s 225 species that live in rice land, in a rice field that just have nowhere to live this year so it was really harsh on the environment and we were doing this all for the benefit of salmon and the salmon didn&#8217;t do well this year.”
He hopes policymakers will learn from the impacts of this year and not only implement strategies that help salmon, but that send water to the land to help the communities and living creatures that need it.
Guy also said wells are beginning to dry up, which normally means communities use groundwater. This year, however, a lot of communities don’t have groundwater access.
“These are disadvantaged communities that are getting hit not only with the economic impact from the lack of farming, but also because of lack of surface water and groundwater,&#8221; he said.
The Biden administration has <a href="https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/17387-judge-clears-biden-delta-plan-to-replace-trumps-biological-opinions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taken</a> steps to get rid of the Trump administration’s biological opinions that impact protections for endangered fish. Jacobsen said the biological opinions&#8217; review was initiated during the Obama administration, and finished in the Trump administration, and were more data-driven.
Jacobsen said the current situation does not look for “win-win” solutions that help the environment and serve the municipal and agricultural users who depend on the water system, but he believes this is possible.
“I’m really, from my perspective, just looking for more leadership that can see that there needs to be a different path or a different way than what we&#8217;ve done the last decade, because our current system is just completely broken,” he pressed.

Farmland in Arizona and California

‘2022 Was Devastating’: California’s Water Crisis And Its Impact On America’s Food Supply

‘2022 Was Devastating’: California's Water Crisis And Its Impact On America's Food Supply

California

drought

Readers Pass

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> tomato crop is hurting after a devastating <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drought" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drought</a> and economic policies continue to plague California farmers.
The processing tomato production is expected to be 9.525 million metric tonnes, or 10.5 million tons, according to the <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Specialty_and_Other_Releases/Tomatoes/2022/202208ptom_final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Department of Agriculture</a>. The number is 2% <a href="https://www.tomatonews.com/en/california-2022-processing-tomato-production-revised-at-9525-million-mt_2_1757.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lower</a> than last year’s number and 10% under the number forecasted in May. The anticipated production amount also continued to go down as the season went on, and crops that were planted early were harmed by frost.
The global production estimate is almost 3 million tons less than projections from March, according to Tomato News <a href="https://www.tomatonews.com/en/wptc-crop-update-as-of-30-september-2022_2_1783.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporting</a> of the World Processing Tomato Council’s crop data as of the end of September. The outlet noted, however, that the final number is expected to be even less because California’s tomato output will likely be even lower.
Low water and intense summer heat have made a difficult environment for farmers, creating issues for them to meet the need for the crop. The Processing Tomato Advisory Board’s shipment numbers reportedly revealed a 5% drop through August 27, 2022 when contrasted with the end of August last year.
The low tomato yield could impact what customers see on grocery shelves and in restaurants, as well as the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/10/10/california-drought-tomato-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost</a> of such items.
“Ninety-five percent of the processed tomato products consumed in the United States come right here from California’s Central Valley,” Mike Montna, president and CEO of the California Tomato Growers Association, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/17/us/california-drought-tomato-farmers-climate/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN. “Mainly the tomatoes from the growers that I represent … go to your ketchups, pizza sauces, your retail sauces that you see at the supermarket.”
“We’re going to end up ultimately somewhere around 10.5, 10.4 million tons,” Montna noted, estimating that amount will be around 14% less than annual numbers forecasted early on. “We’re not getting the yields that we expected or that we got historically seven or eight years ago. We’re in a flat to declining yield situation and a lot of it’s due to weather and how intensive it is to grow a tomato.”
Montna said this is the least amount of tomatoes the industry has ever garnered, after there was a lot of need for tomato items during the pandemic. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-restaurants-are-facing-a-ketchup-shortage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Last April,</a> there was a shortage of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-shortage-ketchup-cant-catch-up-11617645189" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ketchup</a> as restaurants had tried to secure packets of the condiment during COVID.
Aaron Barcellos, a farmer, told CNN that his family reduced the amount of land used to grow tomatoes this season.
“It’s just like owning a second home and trying to rent it out,” Barcellos said of his empty acres. “If you don’t have a tenant in there, you still have all your fixed costs … but you have no income coming from it.”

11EFB8D5-8C9D-4874-94B2-759877103382_1_201_a

Tomato Crop Suffers In California

California Tomato Output Low Due To Drought

As the agricultural industry around the world gets smaller, young farmers in the United States are rising to the task, even as they face hostile regulations and challenges.
The number of people <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/follow-the-food/the-reason-we-are-running-out-of-farmers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">working</a> in the global agricultural industry has decreased over the past several decades — <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS">from 44% in 1991 to 27% in 2019</a>, according to the International Labor Organization.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2020/young-producers.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">between</a> 2012 and 2017, the number of young producers rose by 11%, and the total amount of producers in the United States went up by 7%.
“According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, 27% of farmers were categorized as new and beginning producers, with 10 years or less of experience in agriculture,&#8221; Sarah Campbell, USDA Farm Service Agency National Beginning Farmer &amp; Rancher Program Coordinator, told the Daily Wire over email. &#8220;The 2022 Census of Agriculture is underway and we&#8217;re looking forward to those results to help us monitor the number of new farmers, especially in light of the global pandemic and rising farmland prices.”
According to the 2022 National Young Farmer <a href="https://www.youngfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NationalSurveyReport2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a>, the average age of farmers is around 60 years-old, and almost half of the agricultural land in the United States is about to switch ownership over the next twenty years.
Jeff Mitchell, a professor with the Department of Plant Sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis, told The Daily Wire that things are being done to help people pursue a career in farming.
In California, farmers say they see agricultural interest in the younger generation, but it all depends on several factors, including whether a person has a family history of farming.
Cannon Michael of Bowles Farming Company told The Daily Wire that “context is important &#8211; farms and regions are so very different it is hard to generalize on [whether the younger generation of farmers is more or less willing to enter into the business of agriculture].”
Dennis Jizmejian is a fifth-generation California family farmer on his father’s side. He says, “[i]]nterest is hard to tell. Obviously we live in a very farm-rich community. I would think there would be a lot more interested if it was easier to get into. It&#8217;s just really hard to get in and get started. It really is.”
Jizmejian said the amount of money needed to get started, “especially in California, is pretty crazy,” and there aren’t very many young people who have that kind of money. 
“The data I have seen is that the farming population for the most part is aging more not less — so the younger generation are not flooding into the business. Around me I see examples where younger generations are taking over and entering and then I see plenty of farms where the land is being sold due to lack of family engagement and high prices,” Michael said. 
The survey found that the biggest challenge for young farmers today is discovering land to buy that they can afford, with 59% of young farmers saying that finding an affordable property to purchase is “very or extremely challenging.” More than half of the participants — 54% — said they need additional &#8220;access to land&#8221; right now. 
The second leading challenge was access to money to expand their business, as many farmers deal with healthcare prices, production costs, housing, and student loan debt. The survey also took into account the challenges of different demographics, but across all races, young farmers in the survey said housing, land, and water were major issues over the last year.
Farmers are naturally eco-friendly, and the profession draws people to it for this reason. In the survey, 83% of young farmers said, “one of their farm’s primary purposes for existing is engaging in conservation or regeneration.”
It’s something that might push more people into the farming business. The Biden administration <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2022/09/22/historic-investment-partnerships-climate-smart-commodities-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently</a> put $2.8 billion towards certain projects as part of its “Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity.”
“There is strong and growing interest in the private sector and among consumers for food that is grown in a climate-friendly way,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
Joel Currier, a Colorado rancher, told The Daily Wire that the younger generation &#8220;is more willing to enter the business of agriculture. Even if they are not interested in taking over the family farm or ranch, they end up working in another aspect of the agriculture industry.&#8221;
As far as challenges go, Currier also said that one of the most considerable hardships young farmers have to face is the massive beginning costs of starting out in the industry.
&#8220;For farmers and ranchers like me that are working on taking over a family business we can be faced with estate taxes and inheritance taxes. In some cases, these taxes can be so large the only option we have to come up with enough money to pay the taxes is to sell the farm or ranch,&#8221; he added.
Bill Diedrich, a farmer in the Central Valley of California and Jizmejian’s father, told The Daily Wire that “one of the large predeterminers” of someone continuing in farming is a love of the outdoors. He said some people might “dabble” in agriculture if they are interested in the economic side but do not love “dirt and machines.” In this case, “during the downswings, the fire to farm may fade.”
Diedrich added that “water, capital, market conditions, regulations, energy affecting inputs, all are determinates to their success.” He also said it’s a much harder road to get into farming without family money or gifts than in 1980 when he was beginning.
Trent Diedrich works at the Diedrich family farm, as well as Jizmejian. He said that initially, getting into agriculture is a substantial financial feat and is challenging to do, and even friends of his that would like to get into agriculture can’t do so due to the financial aspect.
He said that water is a significant issue making it hard for farmers, as well as the high cost to farm and decreasing prices for commodities. 
Daniel Sumner, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, at UC Davis, said younger family members are eager to take over family farms, but consolidation is also a factor. Young people are entering the agricultural business at a lower rate than in decades past because of this consolidation, he noted.
“[W]ith consolidation there are fewer farm operators in each generation and more hired managers, who may not invest their financial capital but rather invest their human capital. Some families have none of the next generation willing or able to farm… [w]hat usually happens is that a nearby farm neighbors or the cousin down the road consolidates that operation into a unified business,” he said. 
Sumner also said the number of female farmers has continued to rise. He said this is partially a “recognition that women have always been active participants in management of farms,” but there are also more opportunities for women in farming roles. 
The survey found 63.5% of respondents identified as “female, nonbinary, or a gender other than cisgender male.”
“That allows farming to draw on much more talent and suggests another generation of talent. We have seen female leadership in farm organizations, industries and farms for more than a generation, but now it has become routine and that is really excellent for the productivity of agriculture,” Sumner added. 
Different regions face distinct issues. Water is the main issue for California farmers, and Jizmejian said it is “drastically affecting” them. “Water availability is number one priority. [If] there’s ground you can find, you can farm. But some of it doesn&#8217;t have water or it&#8217;s very limited. It&#8217;s year to year,” he added.
He said the economic atmosphere is “not favorable,” as fuel, fertilizer, and labor costs have increased. “The regulatory environment in California is not on our side at all. It&#8217;s just death by a thousand cuts right now.”
Sarah Woolf is part of a third-generation farming family and also has a water consulting business specifically for agriculture.
&#8220;I would say [agriculture in California is] extremely challenging, specifically around water. We simply do not have enough water in California to support the cities, the environment, and the agricultural production that we&#8217;ve historically done,” she said. “And so all of those factions are being constricted and agriculture is probably going to take the biggest hit.”
She believes it’s “very difficult” to buy a farm and begin farming.
“In California agriculture is often demonized and vilified so I see a hesitancy and some younger people to want to get into an industry that is not well understood and not well respected in some circles,” Cannon Michael added.
Trent Diedrich said he jumped at the chance to work at his family’s farm, but he’s “heard stories of people younger than me selling everything they got and getting into other lines of work because the outlook is bleak,” adding it is on a case-by-case basis.
“It looks difficult, the long-term outlook of [agriculture] in the Central Valley is. It’s difficult to project what it&#8217;s going to be like in ten years, given the rate of change in the last five,” he said.
Still, the desire to farm is engrained in some people&#8217;s blood.
&#8220;If you grow up on a family farm you grow up used to a certain way of life,&#8221; Currier, the rancher from Colorado, said, noting that many of his family members who are beginning their families and live in the city &#8220;hope to return home to the ranch later in life with their kids.&#8221;

Young Farmers Step Up To Feed The Nation As Ag Business Shrinks

Colorado

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California’s</a> water supplies are running dry as the state’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drought" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parched conditions</a> are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/officials-say-california-dry-conditions-expected-to-continue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to continue into the winter months.
Across the state, over 1,200 wells <a href="https://mydrywell.water.ca.gov/report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have gone dry</a> this year, which is up 49% from the same period of time last year. In the last 30 days, 175 wells were reported as dry, which was a 33% decrease from the 30 days beforehand, per the Department of Water Resources’ Dry Well Reporting System.
In 2018, 2019, and 2020, less than 100 dry wells were reported each year, the Associated Press <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/we-need-water-water-water-central-valley-farm-wells-drying-up-in-drought/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition, told The Daily Wire that there are two major reasons groundwater levels have gone down in California.
”First, over the past 30 years, surface water supplies that irrigated much of the state’s food-producing farmland were largely redirected to other purposes,” he said over email. “And second, to cope with reduced surface water supplies, farmers turned to groundwater to stay in business and invested in high-efficiency irrigation systems. This combination of factors severely reduced groundwater recharge and we’re seeing the results today through reduced water for farming and local communities as well as less food production for consumers in the rest of the state.&#8221;
Sarah Woolf of Water Wise, an agricultural water consulting business, told The Daily Wire  over email that she is &#8220;aware of the number of wells and how devastating this is for the residents and then entire county. &#8221;
&#8220;California has a serious infrastructure problem that has been eroding for many years.  These dry wells are directly impacting homes and people who should be able to count on a clean drinking water supply in their homes.  But until there is more infrastructure for water in CA these limited supplies are going to continue to devastate people, industries and communities,&#8221; she said.
Adding another layer to the problem is the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (<a href="https://water.ca.gov/programs/groundwater-management/sgma-groundwater-management" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SGMA</a>), which made it so that local groups have to create groundwater sustainability agencies for certain basins. Local agencies will need to have their aquifers sustainably operated by 2042, per the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-droughts-climate-and-environment-e49c8c5c34ead7ef7f83b770082f20bc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. This puts an additional level of stress and burden on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">farmers</a> who are already trying to get by without much support from the government.
Dry weather is expected to continue for a fourth year. La Niña weather is expected to result in less rain and snow for the western state, Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist told <a href="https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/09/california-drought-likely-to-continue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CalMatters</a>. He said it’s not known just how the weather will go, but “I would still put my money on dry, even in the northern third of the state,” adding, “It’s not a guarantee. But if you were to see 50 winters like this one, most of them would be dry.”
The La Niña effect is thought to have a 91% chance of continuing through September to November, with an 80% likelihood that it will occur through November to January, and a 54% likelihood in January to March of next year, according to <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/september-2022-la-ni%C3%B1a-update-it%E2%80%99s-q-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate.gov</a> and the <a href="https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center</a>.
California officials also recently said they anticipate the dry conditions to continue.
“We are actively planning for another dry year,” Jeanine Jones, drought manager for the California Department of Water Resources, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/04/california-record-drought-climate-crisis-la-nina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> when talking about how California was doing at the end of its water year, which concluded on September 30.

28725DA7-926A-4B47-AC11-58AD9F4F292A_1_201_a

More Than A Thousand California Wells Run Dry

Over 1,200 Wells In California Are Drying Up As Dry Weather Continues 

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> state officials are anticipating dry conditions in the state to continue after three years of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drought" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drought</a> that has plagued the state and severely impacted agriculture.
The water year <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/California-braces-for-dry-winter-as-Western-17483959.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ended</a> on Friday, which is measured from October 1 to September 30. According to SF Gate, California mountain snow usually accounts for one-third of California’s yearly water resources, but this past year saw levels of snow that were much lower than average by the conclusion of the winter months. The Colorado River is also experiencing extremely dry conditions which <a href="https://grist.org/drought/colorado-river-water-california-imperial-irrigation-district/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could</a> impact the amount of water it can send to areas of the western United States.
State authorities said that precipitation levels were at 76% of average for the year that recently concluded, noting that the reservoirs in California are at 69% of historical levels. The <a href="https://cdec.water.ca.gov/resapp/RescondMain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conditions</a> at many of the major water reservoirs are way below their historical averages.
While John Yarbrough, assistant deputy director for the Department of Water Resources, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/us/california-drought-weather-forecast.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">informed</a> the California Water Commission last month that a lot of the largest reservoirs in the state have more water than they did last year, the levels of reservoirs are still far under their averages. He said the situation is “better than last year, not good enough.”
According to the U.S. Drought <a href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monitor</a>, the majority of the state is experiencing drought, with the Central Valley region hard hit by exceptional drought. The Central Valley accounts for the cultivation of much of the produce and nuts for the entire country.
“As the state prepares for the possibility of a fourth dry year and potential weather extremes, it’s more important than ever that all of us adopt water conservation as a way of life,” Democratic Governor of California Gavin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gavin-newsom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Newsom</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/us/california-drought-weather-forecast.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement on Wednesday. “Together, we can save water and save California.”
While many blame the impacts of climate change, the state’s water priorities tend to skew towards environmental purposes and away from agricultural and residential water needs.
The California Department of Water Resources notes that 50% of water supplies in the state are put towards the environment, with 40% going to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">farming</a> and 10% to urban regions, per the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-03/californias-environment-takes-biggest-hit-during-drought" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Times</a>. However, when dry conditions persist, the environment reportedly gets less. Agriculture also gets 80% of the water located for businesses and domestic utilization, per the outlet.
State <a href="https://water.ca.gov/programs/groundwater-management/sgma-groundwater-management" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regulations</a> are set to impact agricultural water availability, as well, such as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which was passed in 2014 and will <a href="https://ca.water.usgs.gov/sustainable-groundwater-management/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impact</a> groundwater usage for farmers. Farmers point to water as a major issue in California agriculture, and it is something that could severely hinder agricultural production in the western state in the coming years.
<div>
<div dir="ltr">“Less water means less food available and higher food costs for everyone. Food security is a national security issue and should be prioritized as such,&#8221; Daniel Hartwig, resource manager at agricultural business Woolf Enterprises, told The Daily Wire over email.</div>
</div>

default

Officials Say California Dry Conditions Expected To Continue

Officials Say California Dry Conditions Expected To Continue After Third Year Of Drought

Some railroads are going to stop shipping crops on Thursday in anticipation of a possible railway <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/labor-unions?_gl=1*1eczayp*_ga*MTkxMzA0ODkzMS4xNjQ0MDIxMjI4*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTY2MzE4OTk1Mi42NzcuMS4xNjYzMTkwNzkyLjUyLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">strike</a>, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-railways-halt-grain-shipments-ahead-potential-shutdown-agriculture-sources-2022-09-13/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sources via Reuters.</a> 
Upsets in shipping could lend to the already steep <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inflation</a> as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">farmers</a> are beginning to harvest and send fall crops to producers. Farmers are also reportedly set to put fertilizer on their land following the harvest, but fertilizer shipments are being stalled, Reuters noted. 
According to the Consumer Brands Association via <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/09/14/congress-freight-rail-strike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post,</a> railways in the country are ready to pause crop shipments on Thursday.
Max Fisher, chief economist at the National Grain and Feed Association, told the outlet that rail customers said at least one railway would pause accepting shipments of grain on Thursday morning.
Fisher said that some of the people who pay to use the railways and feed animals don’t have an adequate amount of soymeal, which could result in some producers needing to cull livestock. 
The majority of major railways in the country have already halted taking in new shipments of items that could be dangerous, such as ammonia fertilizer, according to Justin Louchheim, senior government affairs director at The Fertilizer Institute, an industry organization.
The possible strike is coming six weeks ahead of the time that many midwestern farmers start putting down fertilizer, according to Josh Linville, fertilizer director at StoneX Group. He also said that around 40% of U.S. fertilizer travels via rail during some time before it gets to a farm. 
A strike would reportedly especially hurt states such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska. Grain is taken by rail from those states to areas in the pacific northwest to be exported, according to Thomas Lahey, domestic freight manager at Columbia Grain International, per the outlet. 
Poultry producers in the U.S. need around 27 million corn bushels and 11 million soymeal bushels each week for bird feed, according to the National Chicken Council, much of which is transported via railroads. 
&#8220;Any disruption of service could negatively impact the welfare of the birds, and ultimately impact production at a time when Americans are already dealing with record food inflation,&#8221; council spokesman Tom Super said.
North Carolina’s grain producers don’t grow enough corn to offer feed for all of the livestock, Bob Ford, executive director of the North Carolina Poultry Federation, said, per the outlet. 
&#8220;We&#8217;d be in trouble if they went on strike for very long,&#8221; Ford said. &#8220;We&#8217;d run out of corn.”
The start of the corn harvesting season in the south &#8220;will relieve some of the pressure&#8221; on feed resources, Wayne-Sanderson Farms spokesman Frank Singleton said. Wayne-Sanderson Farms is working alongside corn growers to provide feed if it becomes necessary during railway delays. 
Railways also move hexane, which is utilized to get the oil out of soybeans, according to Mike Steenhoek, executive director of Soy Transportation Coalition.
&#8220;Any slowdown or stoppage of rail service – especially on the eve of harvest – would significantly impact farmers&#8217; ability to meet customer demand – both domestically and internationally,&#8221; Steenhoek said.

3F8D0CA3-041D-40E9-A4EE-AD8C5D9786D4_1_201_a

Report: Crop Shipments To Stop At Some Railroads Thursday

Report: Crop Shipments To Stop At Some Railroads Thursday In Anticipation Of Possible Railway Strike

Agricultural leaders in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/missouri" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Missouri</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kansas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kansas</a> are pressing their senators to greenlight legislation that could help them with the current labor shortage.
According to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farmers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">farmers</a>, the midwest and Missouri are struggling with a labor shortage of workers in the agricultural sector, leading some top members of the industry to push senators to pass the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1603" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Farm Workforce Modernization Act</a>.
The bill would change the H-2A temporary worker program, and would reportedly make it easier to hire people from out of the country to work in U.S. farming throughout the year, per <a href="https://www.kbia.org/news/2022-09-08/missouri-and-kansas-agriculture-leaders-urge-u-s-senate-to-approve-changes-to-temporary-labor-visa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KBIA</a>. It would also expand the program to allow it to be used for agricultural labor that is not only “temporary or seasonal.” The House of Representatives passed the measure last year and the Senate is still discussing its contents.
The program is incredibly <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2022/09/farm-workforce-modernization-act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">popular</a>, even in its current form. The amount of H-2A visas increased from 16,000 to 89,000 from 1997 to 2014, according to <a href="https://agamerica.com/blog/the-impact-of-the-farm-labor-shortage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AgAmerica</a> Lending.
The current agricultural labor shortage could result in higher food costs for the area. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said that for the first time in U.S. history, the United States will bring in more farm items next year than it exports, according to <a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/groups-push-reforms-to-ease-farm-labor-shortages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox4</a>.
Enrique Sanchez, the intermountain state director of American Business Immigration Coalition Action (ABIC-Action), said the labor shortages have been harming farmers, making it hard to get food into stores. He said if there is not as much food available, this can result in food costing more money. There are more pressing consequences, too.
&#8220;This is not just about cost. These are national security issues as well. Food security is national security. A nation that cannot feed itself is not a nation that is secure,&#8221; Sanchez said, according to KBIA.
He added that the possible alterations to the program would create more security for farmers and employees.
During a press conference, people spoke about how the regulations for the H-2A program are restrictive for the farm sector in Missouri and around the region.
Lyndsi Oestmann is the owner of Loma Vista nursery in Kansas, and is in the American Business Immigration Coalition, which is trying to get the legislation through the Senate. She said it’s difficult to get enough U.S. workers.
&#8220;The horticulture industry faces challenges obtaining sufficient domestic workers, and we consistently report shortages of seasonal and production workers,&#8221; she said.
Oestmann has also <a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/groups-push-reforms-to-ease-farm-labor-shortages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that she is leaving large swaths of land uncultivated because she doesn’t have enough people to work it.
“It’s urgent that we get that passed so that farmers like me and other farmers in Kansas can get the labor that we need,” Oestmann said. “So we don’t have to worry day-to-day and week-to-week if we are going to have enough labor to get the job done that we need to get done.”

4387D29D-A608-4A1C-B2D0-D61E6CC91112_1_201_a

Agricultural Leaders Press Senators To Pass Legislation To Ease Farm Labor Shortage

Agricultural Leaders Press Senators To Pass Farm Workforce Modernization Act

Congress

Kansas

Missouri

Menu