California’s water board hit with civil rights complaint over tainted water
A coalition of public interest groups filed a civil rights complaint against California’s top water board last week, accusing the agency of perpetuating environmental racism along the state’s Central Coast. According to the complaint, the region’s agricultural industry has contaminated Latino farmworkers’ drinking water with dangerous levels of nitrates, and the State Water Resources Control Board is partly to blame.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Ag-cancer link in Iowa?: Oncologists and public health researchers say it’s time to look more closely at what role the agriculture industry plays in Iowa having the fastest-growing rate of new cancers in the nation and the second-highest cancer rate overall. (The Gazette)
Onion ban: India has extended its ban on onion exports indefinitely, a surprise move that comes ahead of a general election and is set to exacerbate high prices in some overseas markets. (Reuters)
Antibiotics in Chick-fil-A: The company said it will allow some antibiotics in its chicken starting this spring, overturning a 2014 commitment to use only antibiotic-free chicken. (USA Today)
Dark side of India’s shrimp industry: The largest supplier of shrimp to the U.S. market is India, where the industry struggles with labor and environmental problems. (Associated Press)
ON THE CALENDAR
Monday
USDA releases monthly Food Price Outlook, 9 a.m. ET. At present, the USDA forecasts lower than normal food price inflation of 1.3 percent in 2025, ending three years of higher than usual price increases for food.
USDA releases monthly Cold Storage report, 3 p.m. ET.
Tuesday
USDA releases State Stories, noon ET. Issued on or near the first Tuesday of each month from December through March, State Stories provides “an assessment of winter weather on crops, livestock, fruit trees; consideration for moisture, snow cover, temperatures, and crop condition; and the effect of weather, insects, diseases, etc., on crops and livestock.” The material is republished in the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin.
Thursday
USDA releases annual Prospective Plantings report and quarterly Grain Stocks report, noon ET. Farmers are expected to plant more land to soybeans and less to corn than in 2023, when they planted 94.6 million acres of corn and 83.6 million acres of soybeans. Futures prices indicate soybeans will return more revenue than corn this year.
USDA releases quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, monthly Agricultural Prices report, and Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook report, 3 p.m. ET.
Friday
Final day to offer land for entry into the Conservation Reserve through the annual “general” enrollment period.
