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California Association of Wheat Growers (CAWG)

January 14, 2008

UC NEEDS TO HEAR FROM WHEAT GROWERS.  The one and only University of California Small Grains Extension Specialist, Dr. Lee Jackson, is planning his retirement.  Re-filling his position is not guaranteed and we need your help.  

We need EACH of you to write a letter to Dan Dooley the new UC Vice President for natural resources and agriculture.   A sample letter is found in this newsletter.   Please fax a copy of your letter to (916) 446-1063 and send the original to our address above.  We will be packaging the letters for presentation to University decision makers. 

WORKSHOPS - NEW AIR RESOURCES BOARD REGULATION OF DIESEL TRUCKS.   CAWG along with a coalition of agricultural groups is tracking the on-going development of new air pollution regulations specifically targeting on-road diesel vehicles.  The ARB is proposing to regulate agricultural trucks and vehicles.    To comply, the ARB is proposing installation of emission controls, going out and buying a new vehicle or replacing the engine – all very expensive propositions.   If you own diesel powered vehicles that drive on-road – even occasionally – you are going to be regulated.   The ARB is planning a series of workshops in February regarding the proposed rule;  we encourage you to attend.   Information regarding the workshops is attached. 

 DISASTER DEADLINE PUSHED BACK TO END OF 2007.  Congress has extended the cut-off date for agricultural disaster assistance programs to Dec. 31, 2007. Previously, only disasters that occurred between Jan. 1, 2005, and Feb. 28, 2007, would have qualified for the assistance.

USDA announced in late December that it is now issuing disaster assistance payments for producers who qualify. Sign-up for the assistance began Oct. 15 and is ongoing. Producers must have carried crop insurance to qualify for the disaster assistance program and can only apply for program assistance for one of the three years covered.  At that time, USDA indicated it was only compensating producers for quantity losses and would move forward with quality loss compensation in early 2008.

2007 AG CENSUS FORMS MAILED TO PRODUCERS.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture began mailing 2007 Census of Agriculture forms to producers over the last two weeks.   The Census, conducted every five years, is a complete count of the nation’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures and other topics, and provides the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every county in the nation.

The 2007 Census will collect data for the 2007 calendar year. Anyone who receives a census form is required by law to respond. Individual responses to the Census are kept confidential under the law, though data is tabulated in a variety of forms that will be released to the public starting in February 2009.   Census forms are due by Feb. 4, and can be submitted through regular mail or online.

SAMPLE LETTER

FAX TO (916) 446-1063

 

Your letter head goes here

January X, 2008 

Daniel M. Dooley
Vice President, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
1111 Franklin St. 6th Floor
Oakland, CA 94607-5200

Dear Vice President Dooley:

It has come to our attention that Dr. Lee Jackson your Extension Specialist for Small Grains may be retiring at the end of 2008 or early 2009. We strongly support refilling this position so that we do not create a void in California’s statewide small grains research program.  

California’s lone Small Grains Extension Specialist is critical to the successful technology transfer of genomic advances generated by the University to growers throughout the state and an essential component of the UC wheat and barley breeding programs.  Whether a variety is bound for a food use or animal feed each and every University of California wheat variety passes through breeding trials conducted by this one specialist and are required for approval and release to California growers.  In addition, the position also leads the California Wheat Collaborators Program which links the activities of the university’s wheat program with Farm Advisors state-wide.  Since the breeding of small grains is primarily left to public institutions, the University’s small grain breeding program is particularly important to California growers and frankly its success is dependent on the ongoing existence of a dedicated Small Grains Extension Specialist.    

We also shouldn’t overlook the future importance a dedicated Small Grains Extension Specialist will play in growing California agriculture’s role in producing cellulosic ethanol and other bio-based fuels.  It will be critical to maintain the specialist’s position to provide the pipeline between the laboratory bench, the grower’s fields and the fuel refineries of the future. 

We appreciate the leadership the University and Dr. Jackson have provided to the industry and look forward to a strong partnership with you and the in-coming Small Grain Extension Specialist for years to come.     

Sincerely,  

Your name