Agave Right Crop for California and Food Price Fix Campaign Targets Prop 12
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**As California farmers look for drought-tolerant crops, production of agave, the key ingredient in tequila, or Mezcal when produced outside certain parts of Mexico, is gaining momentum.
In recent years, more than 80 farmers have started growing agave, with some 700 acres in production.
Fresno County farmer Stuart Woolf, who pulled out almond trees to plant 350 acres of agave, says it’s the right crop at the right time for California.
**The Center for Environment and Welfare launched a new educational campaign urging Congress to stop the far-reaching consequences of California’s Proposition 12.
The “Food Price Fix” campaign has a website, educational video, and a letter-writing initiative asking voters to contact their lawmakers and urge them to pass a federal fix.
CEW Research Director, Will Coggin says consumers who have never been to California are paying the price for its overreaching, inflationary law.
**Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the congressionally mandated Emergency Livestock Relief Program payments to cover grazing losses due to drought or wildfires in 2023 or 24.
The USDA’s Farm Service Agency is leveraging existing Livestock Forage Disaster Program data to streamline the calculations and expedite relief.
Emergency relief payments are automatically issued for producers who have an approved LFP application and don’t have to contact USDA to receive payments.
