The Mid-Kings River GSA is seeking landowner approval for an assessment of up to $26.84 per assessable acre for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. The assessment is structured as a not-to-exceed amount, with the GSA Board setting the actual assessment each year based on its adopted budget. The proposal would provide up to $2.5 million annually for GSA operations and implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

“Without adequate funding for GSAs, the Tulare Lake Subbasin will never be released from probation by the SWRCB,” said Dusty Ference, Executive Director of Kings County Farm Bureau.

The Tulare Lake Subbasin was placed on probation by the State Water Resources Control Board in April 2024. Since then, the Mid-Kings River GSA and the other GSAs within the subbasin have been working to address the State Board’s concerns.

According to the Mid-Kings River GSA, assessment revenue would fund SGMA compliance and administration, Groundwater Sustainability Plan updates and implementation, groundwater monitoring, monitoring equipment, dry well mitigation administration, and public outreach.

KCFB recognizes that the proposed assessment represents an additional cost to landowners. The Board considered that cost in taking its position and determined that adequate local funding is necessary for the GSA to carry out its responsibilities under SGMA.

Ballots must be received by the Mid-Kings River GSA no later than the conclusion of its public hearing, which begins at 1:00 p.m. on September 29, 2026, at the Kings County Government Center in Hanford. Ballots are weighted according to the potential financial obligation of each affected property.

Kings County Farm Bureau’s position is in support of the proposed assessment.

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In response, Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District, issued the following statement:

“We appreciate this increased allocation and want to acknowledge the hard work the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) puts into managing the Central Valley Project. Balancing competing demands across a complex, aging system is not easy, and we appreciate that Reclamation is committed to finding ways to improve water availability for Central Valley growers as the season progresses.

At the same time, a 3 percent allocation increase this late in the year only underscores the need to modernize California’s water management system. Even when hydrologic conditions improve, our current system too often falls short of delivering available water to the people, farms, and communities that depend on it.

In this strained system, every drop counts and this increase is meaningful to the farmers on the west side of Fresno and Kings counties. Our growers produce food for our region, our state, and the country’s tables. Every additional acre-foot of surface water helps them maintain operations, preserve farm jobs, keep agricultural land in production, and reduce pressure on groundwater pumping. We do not take that for granted. This additional allocation will directly help avoid pumping critical groundwater reserves that are essential to the survival of our farms during periods of surface water shortages.

We look forward to continue working with Reclamation and federal and state leadership as we work together toward a more reliable and responsive water supply system that can better serve the family farmers and rural communities of the San Joaquin Valley for years to come.”

Westlands continues to work with the Bureau of Reclamation, federal leadership, and policymakers to develop new methods and tools that will secure earlier, increased allocations and improve operational flexibility in the future.

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The DGN Forward Under 40 award, sponsored by Lely, recognizes four passionate dairywomen working to better the dairy industry today. The DGN Leading Impact award honors a distinguished dairywoman with involvement and leadership achievements positively impacting the dairy industry.

Nominees for both awards can be a dairy farmer, industry representative, educator and/or have multiple dairy related roles. The ideal candidate will have contributed success towards dairy farming, is a leader within the agricultural industry and their community and be paving the way for future generations.

“Every day, women across the dairy industry are leading with passion, resilience and vision, states Rebecca Pfeffer, DGN President. “The DGN Awards give us an opportunity to pause, celebrate these remarkable achievements and elevate the voices shaping the future of dairy farming. I encourage everyone to nominate an incredible leader who inspires our community.”

Nominations will be evaluated by an outside panel of anonymous industry professionals and dairy farmers. Nominators will be notified in September. The nominee must be able to attend the Forward TogetHER National Conference from October 27 – 29, 2026 in Lexington, Kentucky. More information about the awards and nomination forms are available on DairyGirlNetwork.com.

Nominations will close on Thursday, August 31, 2026, at midnight CST. Anyone can nominate a deserving dairywoman for recognition of her achievements. Self-nominations will not be accepted. All nominees should be an official member of the Dairy Girl Network. If they receive DGN emails, they are a member. If not a member, or if they need to register – It is quick, easy and free at DairyGirlNetwork.com/Join.

Dairy Girl Network partners with organizations valuing personal and professional development for dairywomen. DGN national partners supporting all women in dairy by enhancing lives and creating opportunities are Alltech, Dairy Management, Inc., Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America, Diamond V, Farm Credit Systems (AgCountry Farm Credit Services, American AgCredit, Compeer Financial, Farm Credit Services of America, GreenStone Farm Credit Services, AgWest Farm Credit),Michael Best, Lallemand, The National Dairy FARM Program and Sealpro Silage Barrier Films. Event sponsorships for the Forward TogetHER National Conference are available. If your company is interested in sponsoring to help the event be even more of a success, contact AmandaK@DairyGirlNetwork.com. Visit DairyGirlNetwork.com to view an event agenda and register for Forward TogetHER.

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The North American neighbor has long been the top export market for agricultural products from California and the U.S. as a whole. But a trade conflict that began shortly after President Donald Trump returned to office last year has put that relationship on fragile footing.

“There has been a lot of volatility,” said James Sayre, an international trade researcher and assistant professor of Cooperative Extension at the University of California, Davis.

The dispute reached another inflection point last month when the Trump administration announced plans to impose new 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods. Meanwhile, the two nations and Mexico began negotiations on the renewal of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement during Trump’s first term as president.

“The purpose of USMCA was to secure guaranteed access for producers in all three countries into the other ones’ markets,” Sayre said.

Bilateral agricultural trade between the U.S. and Canada last year was valued at $9.2 billion, according to federal data.

On July 1, which marked the first review deadline since the trade pact began in 2020, the Trump administration opted not to approve a 16-year extension of the USMCA. The trade agreement remains in effect, but the decision by the U.S. not to automatically extend it triggered an annual review and negotiation process.

Amid that backdrop, stakeholders from both sides of the border met last week at a closed-door meeting in Sacramento to discuss their priorities. Those in attendance included California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, Canadian Consul General Rana Sarkar and representatives of various agricultural commodity groups.

“Trade is extremely important to California agriculture,” said Matthew Viohl, director of federal policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau, which hosted the meeting. “We want to be leaders on this, and we’ll continue to take this conversation to D.C. and emphasize our goals.”

Among the topics discussed, Viohl said, were bans on U.S. alcohol sales imposed by several Canadian provinces.

The provincial bans came in response last year to Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products and his promises to annex Canada and make it a U.S. state, which caused California wine sales to Canada to plummet from $404 million in 2024 to $90 million last year.

Trump cited Canada’s “discrimination” against U.S. alcohol last month in his proclamation announcing new tariffs on Canadian goods, which were scheduled to take effect Aug. 19 if Canada does not meet certain conditions.

The collapse of the Canadian market worsened an already bleak outlook for California winegrape growers and wine producers.

“That’s a really strong headwind on top of the other headwinds they’re already facing,” Sayre said.

In recent years, a global downturn in wine consumption left the state with a persistent oversupply of grapes. In each of the past three years, some of California’s winegrape crop went unpicked due to lack of demand. Last year, a record amount of around 820,000 tons of winegrapes—about a quarter of the crop—went unpicked, according to industry estimates.

Sarkar, the Canadian official, said the country’s government could not speak to the bans on California wine because “decisions on the sale of alcoholic beverages in Canada are made at the provincial level.”

He added, “Canada remains committed to constructive engagement with the U.S. and to restoring predictability in our trading relationship, which we see as benefiting businesses on both sides of the border.”

California exporters of fresh fruits and vegetables also reported losing Canadian trade partners due to boycotts last year of U.S. goods.

However, federal data showed overall exports of fresh California produce to Canada remained relatively stable.

While Canadian consumers might be able to shift wine consumption to domestically produced wines or imports from Europe, South America or Australia, Sayre said, it isn’t as easy for Canada to source perishable goods from other continents.

“Wine doesn’t degrade if you ship it on a boat for a long time,” he said. “But with something like strawberries, it’s going to be hard to divert that sort of trade from California.”

Sayre said California commodities such as almonds have more secure access to the Canadian market because the state effectively holds a monopoly on production. With about 80% of the world’s almonds grown in the Central Valley, “I don’t even know where else you’d go (for almonds) in this hemisphere,” he added.

As negotiations around the renewal of the USMCA continue, Viohl, the Farm Bureau policy advocate, said free trade agreements with Canada had generally benefitted California’s agriculture sector—even if they weren’t perfect.

“USMCA has been productive for all three countries,” he said. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t ways that we would like to see it improved.”

Viohl said that because California farmers and ranchers are subject to some of the most stringent environmental and labor regulations, which increase their operating costs, the state’s producers want to ensure international trade partners adhere to the minimum production standards outlined in trade agreements.

“We just want to make sure that other countries are holding up their obligations, too,” he said. “What we really stress when it comes to trade is stability and fairness.”

Officials from the U.S., Mexico and Canada are scheduled to hold another round of talks related to the renewal of the USMCA in September.

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“Once again, DPR is sitting on bad news instead of telling the people breathing this air,” said Angel Garcia, co-director of the statewide coalition Californians for Pesticide Reform. “The Department loves a press release when a number goes down. When a number blows past their own safety trigger, they bury it in a spreadsheet and hope nobody notices. That’s not regulation — that’s public relations for the pesticide industry.”

DPR’s Air Monitoring Network tracks 1,3-D at six sites across the state. Four of the six monitored communities saw annual average levels rise in 2025 over the prior year:

• Parlier (Fresno County): 0.16 ppb → 0.35 ppb (59% → 131% of the action level)
• Delhi (Merced County): 0.11 ppb → 0.16 ppb (40% → 58% of the action level)
• Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County): 0.04 ppb → 0.07 ppb (15% → 25% of the action level)
• Watsonville (Santa Cruz County): 0.03 ppb → 0.07 ppb (10% → 28% of the action level)

1,3-D is classified by the state of California as a human carcinogen and Toxic Air Contaminant. DPR established the 0.27ppb annual action level specifically as an early-warning threshold — a level meant to trigger review and consideration of mitigation. Parlier residents, especially those near the monitoring site, were breathing air that exceeds that line, in a community already overburdened by agricultural chemical exposure.

Concerns are compounded by the fact that DPR’s trigger for review of 0.27 ppb is almost 7 times higher than the 1,3-D Cancer No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) set by OEHHA, which is equivalent to 0.04 ppb. Annual and longer-term air levels at some of these monitoring sites exceed the NSRL many times over.

Under its own regulatory framework, DPR is required to follow up when the action level is exceeded. As of this release, DPR has not issued any public statement or press release about the Parlier exceedance, nor disclosed what, if any, follow-up review or mitigation steps are underway. DPR has also failed to notify residents, schools, or local health officials in the affected community.

“DPR needs to take a hard look at why air levels rose at more than half of their air monitoring sites after new regulations were put in place,” said Anne Katten with California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.

The Californians for Pesticide Reform coalition is calling on DPR to:

1. Disclose what mitigation measures, if any, are being considered or implemented
2. Immediately and publicly notify Parlier residents, the local school district, and county health officials of the exceedance
3. Commit to real-time, proactive public notification whenever any Air Monitoring Network site exceeds a DPR action level — not passive posting of raw data
4. Explain why four of six monitoring sites saw 1,3-D levels rise in 2025, and evaluate whether the current regulations and action level are adequate to protect public health.

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As California’s wolf population has grown to 12 packs throughout the state, livestock producers throughout California have experienced increasing losses from wolf depredation. In the first three months of 2026, there were already 26 confirmed livestock deaths attributed to wolves. That comes on heels of the 196 confirmed attacks in 2025 – a record for California.

For ranchers, the impact extends beyond the loss of an individual animal. Wolf depredation can disrupt herd reproduction, lower weight gain, and increase stress on the animal and the rancher who is fighting to protect their livestock. Due to the gray wolf’s protected status under state and federal law, management of the species is very restrictive.

“This grant wouldn’t be possible without the Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Cattlemen’s Association and others,” said Shannon Douglass, President of California Farm Bureau. “While not a solution to the conflict, the Wolf Livestock Compensation Program is one avenue that helps ranchers deal with loss. Until we have more options to deter wolves, we will keep seeing more attacks on livestock. I appreciate Director Hertel’s leadership and CDFW for providing more tools to ranchers.”

“CDFW deeply values its partners and looks forward to continued collaboration with these organizations to help reduce wolf-livestock conflicts, support California’s livestock producers, and manage the recovery of wolves in California.” said CDFW Meghan Hertel. “We have heard clearly from ranchers how hard the return of wolves has been on their livelihoods— not just financially, but in the day-to-day toll of managing this change.”

Eligibility will continue to be determined by CDFW in accordance with the Wolf Livestock Compensation Program (WLCP). The majority of the $1.1 million grant consists of funding to provide direct loss compensation to ranchers consistent with prong 1, and opportunities for county support for implementation of the WLCP.

Beyond financial assistance, California Farm Bureau will continue to provide education, outreach and equipment to help farmers and ranchers respond to the return of wolves and build long-term resilience in their operations. Sierra Valley Resource Conservation District, Honey Lake Resource Conservation District, and Working Circle also received grants to provide technical assistance, outreach, and training to affected ranchers.

California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches as part of a nationwide network representing more than 5 million Farm Bureau members. Learn more at www.cfbf.com or follow @cafarmbureau on Instagram, LinkedIn, X or Facebook.

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Industry analysis shows meat sales hit $112 billion in 2025, with more than 98% of American households purchasing meat for daily meals. USDA is forecasting consumption of beef, pork and chicken to rise in 2026.

“Beef remains the centerpiece of many cookouts, but record-high prices and historically tight cattle inventories continue to challenge both consumers and producers,” the Market Intel states. “Pork offers relative value and stability, supported by efficient production and strong export markets, even as producers navigate ongoing disease risks. Meanwhile, chicken stands out as the most accessible option, with steady production growth and modest prices helping it maintain its place as America’s most-consumed protein.”

USDA reports the average retail price for beef set a record in April at $9.64 per pound, up about 13% from the previous year. Beef prices remain elevated by strong demand and the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75 years. This is a result of years of drought, reduced income following the pandemic and elevated operating costs that have led farmers to liquidate their herds.

The average price of pork increased 2.3% from April 2025 to April 2026. Pork chops are the most popular cut. The average retail price for pork chops in U.S. cities was $4.33 per pound in April 2026, up 9 cents per pound from the same time last year. Prices reflect a balanced supply of hogs and growing consumer demand.

For chicken, USDA estimates about 42.2 billion pounds of chicken will be purchased in 2026, up 46 million pounds from 2025. The overall price of chicken fell in April by 0.7% compared to April 2025. Boneless chicken breasts in U.S. cities cost an average of $4.17 per pound in April, down a penny from the same time last year. Poultry flocks continue to recover from avian influenza, which has helped to control price increases.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, “Home-grown meat continues to be a staple for America’s families. Despite higher prices at the grocery store, families trust America’s farmers and ranchers to grow the food that is put on the grill and on dinner tables across the country. We urge the administration and Congress to prioritize ranchers as they rebuild herds so they can continue to meet the needs of the nation’s families.”

For shoppers looking to save money, retailers and grocery stores generally increase promotional sales and specials as holidays draw closer.

While this is a snapshot of current meat prices, the American Farm Bureau Federation conducts annual surveys of the average cost of a full Thanksgiving dinner and a 4^th of July cookout. The 4^th of July marketbasket survey will be released on June 26, 2026.

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In response, Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District, issued the following statement:

“This allocation update is disappointing. While we appreciate the Bureau’s ongoing effort to update allocations as conditions evolve, and recognize the significant operational constraints involved in balancing reservoir management, temperature requirements for fish, and the many competing demands placed on the Central Valley Project (CVP), this allocation update falls short of our growers’ water needs.

This year’s conditions underscore the continued strain on our water system. Early precipitation and full reservoirs met a record hot March, leading to an extraordinarily low snowpack. This kind of weather whiplash between wet and dry conditions has become all too familiar but demonstrates the urgent need to reprioritize our water management policies to fix an outdated and broken system.

The CVP was designed to support water supply both north and south of the Delta through reservoir operations and, particularly for south of Delta agricultural allocations, through the diversion of excess flows in the winter and spring. Instead, lack of flexibility at our reservoirs combined with constraints on capturing surplus water during high-flow conditions has produced a system that is not fully delivering on its intended purpose.

This situation is exactly why we urge the Trump Administration to continue progress implementing Executive Order 14181 and move forward on Initiative 6. We need increased investment in storage and conveyance infrastructure, along with meaningful regulatory flexibility that prioritizes the needs of Californians, including our Central Valley communities. Without it, our water system will continue to fall short for the people and the purpose it was built to serve.”

Westlands continues to work closely with the Bureau of Reclamation, federal leadership, and policymakers to develop new methods and tools that will secure increased allocations and improve operational flexibility in the future.

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“It was like a pioneer thing, because nobody was doing it,” Sparks said.

She took up the mantle after her father died 14 years ago. A lot has changed: In addition to Winters Joint Unified, she also provides oranges to the Davis Joint Unified and Fairfield-Suisun Unified school districts, shipping around 50,000 pounds of her citrus from January to March.

Now a bigger change—one that extends beyond her own farm—has begun to bear fruit as well.

“Many of my peers here are selling their food to school districts, where 10 years ago that wasn’t happening,” Sparks said.California Bountiful

During the past few years, efforts such as California’s Universal Meals Program have offered funding to improve access and quality of food served to students. And last year, state legislators passed a law requiring schools to phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals. That includes foods with high levels of sugar, sodium and saturated fats, as well as additives such as thickeners and non-nutritive sweeteners.

Some school districts started the transition before the law was passed. Among them is Western Placer Unified, where the district’s food service director, Christina Lawson, said they started making changes with the help of the nonprofit Eat Real in 2023. She said working with local farmers has been a big part of the transition, especially in helping change the “mystery meat” narrative sometimes associated with school cafeteria food.

“This isn’t some random thing that came out of a box that somehow is ending up on your kid’s tray,” Lawson said. “We really want our community to know how much effort and work that we’re putting into sourcing the food for our students.”

Mattea Kelly, director of marketing for Eat Real, said a transition away from processed foods can often encourage partnerships with local farmers.

“Sometimes the best pathway isn’t just going through and trying to remove the ingredients, but it’s just bringing in whole foods, right?” Kelly said. “Helping these districts to source from more local farmers can sometimes be one of the lightest pathways to be able to do that, because you don’t have to remove an ingredient if it never had it.”

Some school districts begin those partnerships by working with food hubs that distribute regional produce from farmers in their network.

San Diego County grower Andrew Dickinson runs Dickinson Family Farms, which also operates as a hub that packs and ships produce to customers. At his own farm, he grows mostly tree crops such as avocados and passion fruit.

He said he started working with school districts in 2023. Now, about half the produce distributed by his hub goes to schools.

As he’s provided more fresh produce to schools, he’s seen the impact. Dickinson said one school district serving frozen blueberries to students began offering fresh blueberries after partnering with the hub. Since then, he said the district’s blueberry order has increased as students demand more of the fruit.

“That’s when I really feel like we’ve won a great victory in terms of having the kids anticipate it before it even gets there,” he said.

In another district, Dickinson said he got a request to send carrots with the tops still attached so that students could better understand where the food was coming from.

“It might look a little different than what you see on the grocery store shelf, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad food,” Dickinson said. “A carrot with the top on it looks different, but it tastes incredible because it came right out of the ground.”

There’s also a benefit for the farmers supplying school districts. Dickson said schools have a dedicated population that needs food daily, making them reliable customers that add some consistency to his schedule.

Eric Walker, co-owner of Farmboy Organics in Solano and Yolo counties, said this consistency encouraged his farm’s budding relationship with the Vacaville Unified School District. He said they’re still nailing down the details, but his farm will likely begin supplying the district with produce starting this fall.

While about 75% of Farmboy Organics’ sales come from farmers markets, Walker said he’s working to scale up his farm to grow more produce. But that requires reliable customers to take what’s grown. He said a school district, especially one prioritizing local food, is a good candidate because they’ll buy large quantities.

“It allows us to expand the farm and build it sustainably without having to run 10 different directions to find outlets taking small amounts,” Walker said.

However, school district staff said transforming student meals can be tricky. Michael Jochner, student nutrition director at Morgan Hill Unified, said they often must balance improving food quality with staying on budget.

That means making strategic choices. For example, he said rather than selling a less expensive but more processed burger throughout the month, he might decide to offer a more healthful burger loaded with local ingredients less frequently.

“Then we pair that burger, or we pair that more expensive item, with a vegetarian dish or something that doesn’t necessarily cost as much as the burger patty,” he said.

When working with farmers, Jochner said fresh produce is not the only benefit. He said he tries to bring farmers to the district’s elementary schools monthly to talk to students about the produce they’re supplying that month.

Dickinson said he makes similar efforts with districts he works with—planning classroom visits and disseminating flyers that help students better understand their food and where it comes from. On a flyer about kumquats, for example, he describes the fruit as “sour candy” and tells students how to eat it.

“We feel like this farm-to-school project with the schools is a great way to train students to be aware and to support a local agricultural community by knowing their seasons,” Dickinson said.

Sparks said it’s the relationship with students that’s fueled her passion for working with schools. After years of delivering oranges to schools, she said students in Winters sometimes recognize her as “the orange lady.”

“They’re all happy to see me,” she said. “They know it’s coming fresh from my orchard to their plate, and they love it.”

Manola Secaira is a staff writer for Ag Alert. She can be reached at msecaira@cfbf.com.

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