June 4, 2010

Welcome to Weekly Update, a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES). Striving to ensure you have the most current information for compliance with the Waste Discharge Requirements of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board we feature articles on compliance issues, regulatory changes and endeavor to answer environmental related questions. In effort to access the Weekly Update anytime the publications can also be found in the News section on our website at www.wuenvironmental.com.

Animal well being workshops set for Merced, Stanislaus and Kern counties in June

The second in a series of free educational workshops designed to help dairy producers prepare for a national animal care and well being program gets underway in June. The national Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program has been endorsed by Dairy CARES. The California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP) will conduct the educational workshops to discuss how the FARM program works, how to best prepare for an on-farm evaluation and what to expect during an evaluation.  There are two sets of workshops. The first is Introduction to the Dairy FARM program and will provide an overview. The second workshop is Performance Monitoring of Animal Well-Being and will cover scoring for locomotion, hocks, body condition and hygiene. The workshops are free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are not required. The first workshops get underway in Merced County on June 3 and June 10, followed by Stanislaus County workshops June 8 and June 22, and Kern County workshops June 23 and June 24.

Merced County

Merced County CE Classroom

2145 W. Wardrobe Ave., Merced

Workshop #1:Thursday, June 3, 9 a.m. - Noon

Workshop #2: Thursday, June 10, 9 a.m. – Noon

Stanislaus County

Stanislaus County Ag Center, DE Room

3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto

Workshop #1: Tuesday, June 8, 1-4 p.m.

Workshop #2: Thursday, June 22, 1-4 p.m.

Kern County

UC Cooperative Extension Office

1031 S. Mount Vernon Ave., Bakersfield

Workshop #1: Wednesday, June 23, 1-4 p.m.

Workshop #2: Thursday, June 24, 9 a.m. - Noon

Milk storage to be exempt from EPA rule, says IDFA

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not require milk silos, tanks and other equipment to comply with the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Rule (SPCC) when the rule's obligations go into effect in November. It is expected that EPA will issue a final rule giving a permanent exemption to milk storage tanks up to 1 million gallons in size soon. <more> June 3, 2010 IDFA Press Release

Governor Schwarzenegger Declares June 2010 Real California Milk Month

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today proclaimed June 2010 as “Real California Milk Month” in the state of California for the third year in a row. The proclamation honors the efforts of California’s more than 1,750 dairy families and the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) to keep the state’s dairy industry healthy and strong. “The official proclamation of June as Real California Milk Month in California is a special celebration for our dairy families, particularly in these tough economic times,” said Stan Andre, chief executive officer of the CMAB. <more> June 1, 2010 CMAB Press Release    

Dairy farmers discuss bill to stabilize dairy prices

With the dairy industry still reeling from one of the worst price drops in years, dozens of farmers gathered Wednesday in Tulare to find a potential solution. Nearly 200 dairy operators listened to industry leaders push a legislative fix that would stabilize dairy prices. The bill, H.R. 5288 by Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) is intended to get rid of the boom-and-bust cycles of the industry by creating a system for controlling the flow of milk. <more> June 3, 2010 Fresno Bee  

Final CSP rule published, signup extended

USDA has announced the final rule for the Conservation Stewardship Program. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack also announced that the current signup period has been extended to June 25th. Under the final rules the program retains a number of features including: * CSP pays participants for conservation performance – the higher the performance, the higher the payment. * Producers get credit both for conservation measures they have already implemented and for new measures they agree to add. <more> June 3, 2010 Brownfield Ag News  

JUNE 2010

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