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Kern County farmland values continue downward slide

• by Lois Henry
Farmland valuations continued their downward trajectory in Kern County, in some cases dropping  a whopping 47.6% over the first six months of 2024, according to the second quarter Kern County Ag Land Values report put out by brokerage firm Alliance Ag Services LLC. Some farmland has dropped back to, or even below, 2005 prices. “I…
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Money available for wetland owners, applications closing soon

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
There’s a new opportunity for private wetland owners to make money from their land. The BirdReturns program pays wetland owners to flood their land and provide habitat for birds in the Central Valley. The program offers seasonal participation and is currently accepting applications for fall participation. Applications close on June 9.  The program is funded…
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Kings County growers nix local groundwater fees as they face state actions aimed at curbing excessive pumping

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
Hundreds of landowners in the Tulare Lake groundwater subbasin overwhelmingly rejected proposed pumping fees this week that would have added thousands of dollars on top of fees they’re expected to start paying the state in coming months. The fee showdown at the Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency meeting April 23 came just a week after…
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Farmers in Tulare County to test groundwater market they hope could help keep them in business and replenish the aquifer

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
How will selling groundwater help keep more groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley’s already critically overtapped aquifers? Water managers in the Kaweah subbasin in northwestern Tulare County hope to find out by having farmers tinker with a pilot groundwater market program.  Kaweah farmers will be joining growers from subbasins up and down the San Joaquin…
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Climate change is pushing more San Joaquin Valley farmers to buy crop insurance as losses mount

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
After historic flooding in California’s Tulare Lake subbasin last year, farmers in Kings County alone submitted claims of $86 million in losses for crop insurance.  That’s 3.3% of the total gross value of agricultural products listed in the 2022 Kings County crop report. And it’s far above the $8 million in losses reported for 2022,…
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Republican lawmaker seeks to undo Central Valley Project environmental protections

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
More than 30 years ago, a piece of federal legislation dropped like a bomb on California’s Central Valley farmers. Reverberations from that legislation continue through today. Just last month, a San Joaquin Valley congressman added language to an appropriations bill that would unwind a key portion of the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA)….
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One Central Valley dam project gets nearly $95 million in funding; two others still in proposal phase

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Three dam expansion projects could increase water storage for use in the Central Valley by a whopping 304,000 acre feet. Each of the projects would raise existing dams, not build new ones. The project that is furthest along would raise the B.F. Sisk Dam in Merced County to expand San Luis Reservoir storage by 130,000…
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VIDEO: Months after historic flooding swamped some rural Central Valley towns, residents are still struggling to rebuild their lives

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
California’s Central Valley was slammed by one epic storm after another this winter. The water flooded roads, overtopped rivers, broke levees and swamped entire towns. Without flood insurance and few other resources, residents of these mostly small, rural enclaves have had to rely on family, friends and neighors to rebuild. Months later, many are still…
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