Weekly Update

November 27, 2009

Welcome to Weekly Update, a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES). Our goal is to provide you with the latest information about the WDRs from the water board and how our organization can help you with your environmental challenges. All previous publications of the Weekly Update can be found in the newsletters section on our website at www.wuenvironmental.com.

 

Dairy risk management seminars set for Dec. 15-16

Managing price risk on your dairy will be the topic of an educational seminar set for Dec. 15 in Modesto and Dec. 16 in Tulare. The sessions are hosted by Western United Dairymen. Sponsors are American AgCredit; Bank of America; F&M Bank; Western Milling and Yosemite Farm Credit. The meetings will provide an introduction to price risk management. Information will be provided by the leading brokers and consultants in the field: Blimling, Downes-O'Neill/FC Stone and First Capitol Ag. Seminar topics include The Changed Economic Landscape; Risk  Management as  Margin  Management and California Uniqueness,  Execution and Outlook. The Modesto seminar will be held Tuesday, Dec. 15 at the Stanislaus County Ag Center, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Tulare seminar will be held Wednesday, Dec. 16, from 9a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tulare Ag Center, 4450 S. Laspina Street, Tulare. Registration is free to WUD members. Non-member registration fee is $30. Registration deadline is Dec. 9, 2009. Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Heidi Savage at hsavage@westernuniteddairymen.com. A registration form can be downloaded at http://www.westernuniteddairymen.com/RiskManagemenSeminarsFlyer.pdf

 

Valley Ag Motor Deadline Jan. 1

Growers in the eight-county San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District have until January 2010, to replace older, high-polluting, Tier 0 diesel engines greater than 50 hp with EPA-certified Tier 3 or Tier 4 engines. The rule is the latest installment in complying with District Rule 4702, which regulates air pollution emissions from ag engines not used in tractors or ag implements, such as irrigation pump engines. Growers statewide will need to meet a similar requirement by January 2011 under parallel rules by the State Air Board. In addition, San Joaquin Valley growers after January face more onerous permitting requirements if they plan to install or modify ag engines, depending on whether or not they qualify as a "significant polluter." The cut-off for "significant polluter" will be lowered from 12.5 tons per year due to the severe non-attainment for ozone status of the SJV. The classification is based on NOx and VOC emissions determined by type and number of internal combustion motors and hours of operation. Estimates indicate growing operations with as few as two or three irrigation pump motors greater than 50 hp may exceed the limit that allows them to register under the District's Permit Exempt Equipment Registration (PEER) program. Those growers will instead need an "Authority to Construct" permit, which requires significantly more process and paperwork. Contact the SJV Air District at (559)-230-6000 for additional information.

At Copenhagen climate talks, Obama will promise 17% drop in greenhouse gases

President Obama will attend the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen next month, according to a senior administration official, a sign of the president's increasing confidence that the talks will yield a meaningful agreement to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The White House also will announce today that the United States will commit, in the talks, to reduce its emissions of the heat-trapping gases scientists blame for global warming "in the range of" 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, the official said. That's the target set out in the climate bill the House passed in June. The president will address negotiators on Dec. 9, just after the opening of the two-week summit, on his way to pick up the Nobel Peace Prize in nearby Sweden. His speech will come ahead of planned visits by prominent heads of state from Europe and around the world.White House officials said the decision to attend came after productive climate discussions between Obama and the heads of China and India, two developing nations whose participation is seen as critical to any successful effort to negotiate an agreement. Those discussions left the president optimistic that his presence in Copenhagen could seal a meaningful - though not legally binding - climate deal, meeting the standard that Obama previously set for his attendance at the summit, the officials said. <more> Oct. 24, 2009 LATimes