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California Farm Bureau: supports Schwarzenegger, says water plan will create needed jobs

Posted by: Maven on July 24, 2007 at 4:02 pm

The California Farm Bureau issued a press release in support of Schwarzenegger’s water plan today:

[Schwarzenegger quote:] “I want to make sure that when people in California turn on their faucet, there’s always water coming out,” the governor said. “I want to make sure that when the farmers need water for irrigation, that there is water available for that. I want to make sure that we have enough water for our thriving industry in California and that we have enough water to power our cities and our state.”

Schwarzenegger has asked the state Department of Water Resources to take immediate steps to improve the deteriorating conditions of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, through which water travels to provide for the needs of 25 million Californians and irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of Central Valley farmland. “But it also is one of the most vulnerable areas in California,” Schwarzenegger said. “It faces dangers of contamination from natural disasters and from rising sea water.”

In commenting on the governor’s water plan, California Farm Bureau Federation President Doug Mosebar said he was encouraged by the focus on new water storage. “Adding to our state’s water supply will benefit all Californians,” Mosebar said. “As the governor rightly points out, the time for action has come. We will continue to work with his administration to create an action plan that enhances water supplies, maintains delta water quality, benefits the environment and improves water security for family farmers, ranchers and all Californians.”

Steve Patricio, a grower from Merced, board chairman for Western Growers, joined Schwarzenegger at the San Luis Reservoir and had this to say:

“Farmers today use less water than they used in the 1960s while producing higher yields of high value crops with tremendous nutritional value. The water saved by agriculture has helped fuel California’s population growth,” he said. “But the time has come to prepare for the needs of future generations.”

Also on hand, Bob Balgenoth, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council in California, who had this to say:

[The Building and Construction Trades Council] supports the governor’s water policy because it will bring needed jobs to the Central Valley, which has the highest unemployment rate in the state. “His water project will generate enough jobs to employ all those 70,000 people that are unemployed, plus bring in new men and women, young men and women, to become apprentices and begin a career in construction, a good-paying with health, pension and good wages,” he said.

To read the full text of the article from the California Farm Bureau, click here.

July 24, 2007 · Filed Under Agriculture, Legislation - State & Federal

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