California precip for January by the numbers

Somebody reached up (or down, as the case may be) and turned off the spigot, but we're still OK. This is where we stand.

January rainfall
Here are the January and seasonal rainfall totals and comparisons to normal for selected California cities, according to the National Weather Service. Totals are as of Monday, Jan. 31:
Redding: month to date 1.44 inches (normal 6.29 inches); season to date 17.51 inches (normal 17.92 inches)
Sacramento: month to date 1.68 inches (normal 3.71 inches); season to date 11.06 inches (normal 9.71 inches)
Stockton: month to date 0.76 inches (normal 2.62 inches); season to date 8.81 inches (normal 7.46 inches)
Modesto: month to date 1.11 inches (normal 2.47 inches); season to date 7.50 inches (normal 6.76 inches)
Salinas: month to date 1.69 inches (normal 2.53 inches); season to date 7.44 inches (normal 6.73 inches)
Fresno: month to date 1.72 inches (normal 2.08 inches); season to date 9.88 inches (normal 5.45 inches)

Reservoir levels
Here are the percentages of capacity for California reservoirs as of midnight Jan. 30, according to the Department of Water Resources California Data Exchange Center:
Trinity Lake: 74 percent
Shasta Lake: 77 percent
Lake Oroville: 69 percent
New Bullards Bar Reservoir: 72 percent
Folsom Lake: 49 percent
New Melones Reservoir: 66 percent
Lake McClure: 78 percent
Millerton Lake: 76 percent
Pine Flat Reservoir: 65 percent
Lake Isabella: 39 percent
San Luis Reservoir: 93 percent

Snowpack
Here are average snow water equivalents and comparisons to normal for the date in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to the Department of Water Resources California Data Exchange Center. Totals are as of Monday, Jan. 31:
North: 19 inches, 105 percent of normal
Central: 23 inches, 126 percent of normal
South: 25 inches, 166 percent of normal
Statewide: 23 inches, 130 percent of normal

For more details on January weather and where it leaves us, visit CapitalPress.com soon.

Bull sale cracks $1 million mark

The bull sale in Red Bluff, Calif., on Saturday cracked the $1 million mark for the first time since 2006.

Gross sales from the marquee event at the five-day Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale totaled $1,037,600 -- a huge jump from the more than $700,000 in total sales of bulls in 2007.

Two factors led to the big increase, bull sale manager Adam Owens told me this morning. One, the quality of bulls was good this year, and two, Red Bluff is one of the few places left in California where bulls are available. Now that the sale is over, ranchers will likely have to travel to Oregon or Nevada if they want to buy a bull this year.

For complete results from this year's bull and gelding sale, check CapitalPress.com soon.

The Capital Press at the bull sale

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The Capital Press has a booth again this year at the Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale, one of many events throughout the year at which our paper has a presence.

Manning the booth this year is our newest ad representative, Josef Laredo, who works out of Woodland and has Northern California as his territory. He can be reached at 916-203-8869 or at jlaredo@capitalpress.com.

I have a bit of a fondness for the Capital Press booth at the bull sale, having stopped there three years ago when I was working in the Red Bluff bureau for the Redding Record Searchlight. I had read the Capital Press before, but the person at the booth then told me how it worked -- that reporters throughout the West work out of their homes and cover their regions. When the Capital Press' Northern California field reporting job came open later that year, I applied.

So if you're at the bull sale, stop by for souvenirs, subscription deals and conversation. Or just come by and grab a paper.

USDA: GMO alfalfa is safe

Here is the news release from the USDA regarding genetically modified alfalfa:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today announced its decision to grant non-regulated status for alfalfa that has been genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide commercially known as Roundup.

"After conducting a thorough and transparent examination of alfalfa through a multi-alternative environmental impact statement (EIS) and several public comment opportunities, APHIS has determined that Roundup Ready alfalfa is as safe as traditionally bred alfalfa," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. "All of the alfalfa production stakeholders involved in this issue have stressed their willingness to work together to find solutions. We greatly appreciate and value the work they've done so far and will continue to provide support to the wide variety of sectors that make American agriculture successful."

After releasing a final EIS in December 2010, USDA took another step to ensure that this issue received the broadest examination before making its final decision. USDA brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss feasible strategies for coexistence between genetically engineered (GE), organic, and other non-GE stakeholders. The stakeholders helped to identify areas of consensus; issues where the group disagreed and opportunities for further dialogue exist; and areas where USDA could – or should – play an important and helpful role.

In response to the request for support from its stakeholders, USDA is taking a number of steps, including:

* Reestablishing two important USDA advisory committees - Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture, and the National Genetic Resources Advisory Committee. These two committees will tackle a broad range of issues, from ensuring the availability of high quality seed, to helping ensure that growers have access to the best tools available to support their production choices, to whether risk management and indemnification options can play a role;
* Conducting research into areas such as ensuring the genetic integrity, production and preservation of alfalfa seeds entrusted to the germplasm system;
* Refining and extending current models of gene flow in alfalfa;
* Requesting proposals through the Small Business Innovation Research program to improve handling of forage seeds and detection of transgenes in alfalfa seeds and hay; and,
* Providing voluntary, third-party audits and verification of industry-led stewardship initiatives.

More information on these areas of support USDA will provide outside of the regulatory arena is available online .

APHIS' deregulation of Roundup ready alfalfa will become effective upon publication of the Agency's determination of nonregulated status in the Federal Register. USDA's Record of Decision on RR alfalfa is available to the public at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/

Red Bluff bull sale rumbles on

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Here are a few snapshots from today's goings-on at the Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale, which began Tuesday and continues through Saturday at the Tehama District Fair grounds. Among today's activities was an online auction of feeders and replacement heifers, arena work for geldings and mules and stock dog workouts.

Here's what's happening the rest of the week:

* Trade and art shows, all day today, Friday and Saturday

* Working stock dogs, sale at 2:30 p.m. Friday

* Geldings and mules, arena work Friday morning and sale at 5 p.m. Friday

* Sale of all bulls, 8:30 a.m. Saturday

The sale comes as prices for cattle have been riding high, but so, too, have been the costs borne by ranchers in the form of feed and fuel.

"That's the No. 1 challenge we're faced with right now," Kenny Read of Bar KD Ranch in Culver, Ore., told me this afternoon.

For an examination of these issues and for a full report on how the sale went, check CapitalPress.com early next week.

'It's time to level the playing field'

In response to my inquiries about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest ruling allowing a higher mix of ethanol in gasoline, National Cattlemen's Beef Association president Steve Fogelsong e-mailed me this statement through a spokeswoman:

“NCBA members strongly oppose government mandates and intervention in the marketplace. We are disappointed that EPA has granted Growth Energy a waiver and will allow E15 in 2001-2006 vehicles. The corn based ethanol industry is of significance to the cattle industry because of its impact on feed prices. Rather than perpetuating the government’s continued intervention in the 30-year old corn-based ethanol industry, it’s time to level the playing field for all corn end users. NCBA encourages EPA and the federal government to reevaluate U.S. renewable energy policies and evaluate the consequences these policies continue to have on all corn end users. We look forward to working with the U.S. Congress to ensure our nation’s renewable energy policies create a level playing field and do not pick winners and losers.”

This week I teamed with Idaho-based reporter Carol Ryan Dumas to take an in-depth look at the impact the EPA's ruling will have on animal agriculture. Look for the story at CapitalPress.com later in the week.