Fight over beet stecklings to draw out longer

Federal Judge Jeffrey White told litigants this morning to prepare arguments for a court hearing over whether to uproot sugar beet stecklings.

White agreed with plaintiffs in deciding to pursue the steckling issue as a preliminary injunction request, rather than a request for a temporary restraining order. That means a longer process that could drag out through year's end.

Attorneys — for organic growers and environmentalists on the plaintiffs' side, USDA and the industry on the defense — have already made arguments over a restraining order, which could have uprooted the stecklings more quickly.

But since the stecklings were already in the ground by the time the order was requested in early September, White decided at today's hearing to slow the process down.

Check back for more details.

California's pot prop is losing

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Californians are souring on a ballot measure to legalize adult recreational use and cultivation of marijuana, according to a new poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The poll found that 44 percent of likely voters support Proposition 19, the marijuana ballot measure, while 49 percent are opposed. The results are a significant decline from last month, when the same survey found Prop. 19 leading 52 to 41 percent.

Prop. 23, which would suspend the state's greenhouse gas law, lost support in the latest poll as did Prop. 24, which would overturn corporate tax breaks. Prop. 25, which would allow the Legislature to pass a budget with a simple majority vote, gained slightly, and is the only measure of those polled that is winning. Five other measures on the ballot were not polled.

CDFA schedules organics listening sessions

California's Department of Food and Agriculture has scheduled public sessions to collect input on improving its three-decade-old Certified Farmers Market Program.

The sessions are scheduled for:

• Oct. 27 at the State Board of Food and Agriculture's monthly meeting, CDFA Auditorium, 1220 N St. Sacramento, 12:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.;

• Nov. 1 at the Santa Monica Main Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.;

• Nov. 3 at Fresno City Hall Chambers, 2600 Fresno Street, Fresno, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.;

• Nov. 8 at the Berkeley Unified School District Administration Building, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Berkeley, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

CDFA is also taking written comments through November 22. They can be emailed to cfm@cdfa.ca.gov, or sent to CDFA's Inspection and Compliance Branch, 1220 N St. Sacramento, CA 95814, (Attention CFM comments).

Life restored to Williamson Act, at least for now

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a budget trailer bill that puts $10 million into the Williamson Act.

That means the popular farmland-preservation program will get a virtual $30 million of its funding restored for next year — at last as far as counties are concerned.

A recent legislative alteration of the Act is expected to restore around $20 million to state coffers. But in order for counties to receive that revenue, landowners have stepped up: counties can alter Williamson Act contracts to slightly raise property taxes on a temporary basis, thereby increasing their own revenue.

But that's better than counties exiting the program altogether, as some have threatened to do since Schwarzenegger cut Williamson Act funding from the last year's state budget.

"It means the difference of life and death for many family farms and ranches,” said Assemblyman Bill Berryhill, R-Ceres, in a statement.

Check back for more details on how it all breaks down.

Is California's pot crop worth more than its wine industry?

So asserts NBC Bay Area:

The most persuasive argument for legalizing pot might just be a dollar sign.

California's pot crop is worth $14 billion, according to a state report. The Press Democrat points out that crushes the wine crop which comes in at $2 billion.

Legalization would be a huge shot in the arm for plenty of ancillary industries, such as banking and construction.

But even a vote to legalize pot likely wouldn't give it the kind of respectability that wine has, acknowledges the report.

Of course, there's always the possibility that the federal government would crack down. That risk might make investors too skittish to get involved. Earlier this month, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the government would continue its dangerous raids.

If Eric Holder is going to come after pot plantings, think of what a Republican AG will do in 2013, if there is to be one.

Capital Press adds daily video updates

We have added a new feature this week to www.capitalpress.com. Editor Joe Beach is posting daily video updates to highlight some of the news stories you can — or will be able to — find on capitalpress.com and in the print edition of the newspaper.

We just posted the third daily installment online. So far, the video updates have been 2 minutes or less. You can play them from the home page of our website or from our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo. We are also making them available through our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/capitalpress. So if you want a quick capsule of the day's ag news, Monday through Friday, look for the daily video updates to be posted by noon each day. You can watch them on your computer, netbook or even your smart phone.