Jan. 22, 2020
Liz Writes Life
This is so exciting! Last week, I started six hyacinths in
the house to force them to bloom – hopefully in February. They were sitting on
the shelf, cuz I purchased them last November just for this project. But, the
package of bulbs did get buried under the reusable plastic bags and I sorta
forgot about them. You know, out-of-sight out-of-mind! But luckily because I
ordered crocus bulbs, in December, I remembered the hyacinths.
So, last week, I went to the rock pile and gathered different
sizes of small gravel and put in a big flat bowl for the hyacinths -- to provide
room for their roots to grow -- and a bigger glass bowl for about 12 crocuses.
I added water and the shoots are already greening up. When the snow melts, I
hope to get the rest of the crocus planted in the garden. The soil should be
soft. (It needs to be done right away! Ha, ha.)
Speaking of snow, we only had about three inches here below
Callahan. When I drove to Etna last Friday, I could see they had quite a bit
more snow and then heard Patterson Creek and Kellems Lane area was hammered
with 18 inches of wet snow that condensed quickly down to about eight inches.
Oh, the joys of January in Scott Valley.
Fallen Heroes
I just love this and it is just in time to beat back the
winter blues.
An allied coalition of Siskiyou County veterans, law
enforcement and fire agencies are sponsoring a fundraiser dinner for our
Siskiyou Fallen Heroes Memorial. It will be a great night of fun and sincere appreciation.
The dinner of rib-eye steak or chicken will be this Sat., Jan. 25, 2020 at the
Yreka Community Center up by the Yreka High School. Doors open at 5 p.m. and
dinner is at 6 p.m.
There will be auctions and raffles of desserts, gift baskets
and various other items. Three Henry engraved commemorative rifles representing
firefighters, law enforcement and veterans will be the highlight of the
fundraising event.
Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased at Cal-Fire in
Yreka, the Siskiyou Co. Sheriff’s Office and the Veteran’s office. In Mt.
Shasta purchase your tickets at Mt. Shasta Elks. For more information, call
Tony Genocchio at 530-945-8979 or Suzi Brady at 530-598-2622.
USMCA
With all the politics going on in Washington D.C., I was
happy to see the U.S. Mexico and Canada Agreement passed by both the House and
the Senate. President Trump was pleased that Congress passed the bill and will
be signing with the heads of Mexico and Canada very soon. (I was also very
pleased to see the first step in a trade agreement with China as well!)
Dist. 1 Congressman Doug LaMalfa touted USMCA passage by the
hugely divided Congress. Nearly all California Agriculture groups have praised
the recent action.
LaMalfa said the USMCA will reduce trade barriers that will
give farmers and manufacturers new opportunities to grow and continue to boost
the American economy. “As our neighbors, maintaining a free trade agreement
with Mexico and Canada is vital,” he said.
I know our elected officials are pushed and pulled by a huge
amount of lobbying interests and in talking with LaMalfa over the years, he
truly works to support California agriculture. Unfortunately, you just can’t
make everyone happy.
So, I am a bit torn. Like I said, USMCA needed to be
accomplished. I have always been frustrated with NAFTA from the Clinton era. There
is one group, R-CALF USA, that felt a major issue was ignored. But, to be fair,
it has been opposed by the other large National Cattlemen’s Beef Association –
for years.
What is this issue? It is COOL – Country Of Origin Labeling. More
than 20 years ago, I reported on the need for COOL as it was accepted by beef
associations two decades ago. Then, COOL was dissolved and R-CALF USA has been
exposing the need to bring it back.
You see, since NAFTA opened the world market, consumers do
not know the country of origin of their beef unless it is labeled. According to
statistics, imports of beef and cattle are the leading agricultural products
from Canada and Mexico at $4.1 billion. Believe it or not, the second-place
import was malt beverages at $3.7 billion! Yep, I was surprised at that one.
But, Mexico and Canadian beef is not the only threat to the U.S.
ranchers. Recently, Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA CEO, reported that in November
2019, U.S. fed steers prices averaged $116 per hundredweight, while steers from
Argentina, Brazil and Australia averaged about $39, $70 and $88 per hundredweight,
respectively.
“How can you expect to compete against this world supply of
cheaper cattle and cheaper beef, when packers and retailers who sell beef from
your superior U.S. cattle are not required to distinguish it as a U.S. product
with a Country-Of-Origin Label?” he said.
Many of us have been skeptical of the quality of
foreign-raised beef. Some foreign countries do not have nearly the controls and
humane protections demanded by USDA.
I don’t know all the complex politics and why the NCBA does
not support COOL. Personally, I want to know where the meat I purchase is
grown. Locally, several ranchers, along with R-CALF, are sending their concerns
to President Trump. But, just like politics in the swamp of WA. D.C., the beef
industry also has its politics and bigger powers have so far stopped COOL.
Doesn’t mean family ranchers shouldn’t try to get their voices heard. I say: “Go
for it!”
Liz Bowen began writing ranch and
farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County
and lives near Callahan. Columns from the past year can be found at:
lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.
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