Latest news with #CentralValley
CBS News
12 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
How Black farmers are planting seeds of change in California's Central Valley
The legacy of black farming runs deep in the U.S. On this Juneteenth, we're highlighting urban Black farmers planting the seeds of change in California's Central Valley. That change can be found in the sustainable foods they grow. Deja Wright takes pride in this season's harvest. She's the youngest member of the Black Urban Farmers Association in French Camp in San Joaquin County. "I started volunteering and coming out here helping spray startling and feeding the goats, but I just wanted to be involved in my community and learn more about growing my own foods pesticide-free," Wright said. The nonprofit started 10 years ago with 12 Black members from Stockton. They shared a passion for sustainable farming and a deep appreciation for Black farmers who came before them. Today, their mission remains unchanged. "I think we just really want to encourage people and let people know they are worthy of eating good, healthy all all-natural foods," Wright said. Reatha Hardy-Jordan is a founding member of the group. Her gardening journey began out of necessity. "That was my reason for even starting, growing my own food. I wanted to eat organic, but I couldn't afford to buy it," Hardy-Jordan said. Among the kale, chard, and green onions, Hardy-Jordan is growing celery for the first time at the farm. She can grow just about anything, but if she had to choose a favorite one, Hardy-Jordan said it would be "nothing like a home-grown tomato. It just tastes good." Her husband, Clarence Jordan, another founding member of the group, prefers summer squash because of its versatility. "It grows fast, and I eat it all summer," he said. "Eat it with rice, noodles. You can make pasta out of it. It's just a good super food." Not far from the squash, leafy greens are vibrantly growing in rows. "This is the superfood of lettuce. Salanova," Clarence Jordan said. "It's like three or four salads mixed and they complement each other." Growing pesticide-free produce also means creating healthy soil. For members of the Black Urban Farmers Association, Juneteenth is a special time to reflect and recognize the freedoms in all of its forms. "I think, sometimes, people think we're supposed to get over slavery, but this is a celebration," Wright said. In addition to selling their produce, the Black Urban Farmers Association teaches people how to grow healthy foods. The group also donates fresh produce to Saint Mary's dining room, a Stockton-area nonprofit that feeds the homeless community. "We deserve to celebrate and be happy about not only celebrating our freedom but celebrating the rights that we have," Wright said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
As the summer harvest season launches, confusion and uncertainty hang over California fields
As the crucial summer harvest season gets underway in California's vast agricultural regions, farmers and their workers say they feel whiplashed by a series of contradictory signals about how the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration might affect them. California grows more than one-third of the country's vegetables and more than three-quarters of the nation's fruits and nuts in the fertile expanses of the Central Valley, Central Coast and other farming regions. The industry produced nearly $60 billion in goods in 2023, according to state figures — an output that depends heavily on the skilled labor of a workforce that is at least 50% undocumented, according to University of California studies. Without workers, the juicy beefsteak tomatoes that are ripening and must be hand-harvested will rot on the vines. The yellow peaches just reaching that delicate blend of sweet and tart will fall to the ground, unpicked. Same with the melons, grapes and cherries. That's why, when federal immigration agents rolled into the berry fields of Oxnard last week and detained 40 farmworkers, growers up and down the state grew worried along with their workers. Farm laborers, many of whom have lived and worked in their communities for decades, were terrified of being rounded up and deported, separated from their families and livelihoods. Farmers worried that their workforce would vanish — either locked up in detention centers or forced into the shadows for fear of arrest — just as their labor was needed most. Everyone wanted to know whether the raids in Oxnard were the beginning of a broader statewide crackdown that would radically disrupt the harvest season — which is also the period when most farmworkers earn the most money — or just a one-off enforcement action. In the ensuing days, the answers have become no clearer, according to farmers, worker advocates and elected officials. 'We, as the California agricultural community, are trying to figure out what's going on,' said Ryan Jacobsen, chief executive of the Fresno County Farm Bureau and a farmer of almonds and grapes. He added that 'time is of the essence,' because farms and orchards are 'coming right into our busiest time.' After the raids in Ventura County last week, growers across the country began urgently lobbying the Trump administration, arguing that enforcement action on farm operations could hamper food production. They pointed to the fields around Oxnard post-raid, where, according to the Ventura County Farm Bureau, as many as 45% of the workers stayed home in subsequent days. President Trump appeared to get the message. On Thursday, he posted on Truth Social that 'our great farmers,' along with leaders in the hospitality industry, had complained that his immigration policies were 'taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.' He added that it was 'not good' and 'changes are coming!' The same day, according to a New York Times report, a senior official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wrote regional ICE directors telling them to lay off farms, along with restaurants and hotels. 'Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,' the official wrote. Many in California agriculture took heart. Then on Monday came news that the directive to stay off farms, hotels and restaurants had been reversed. 'There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE's efforts,' Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said, according to the Washington Post. 'Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.' In California's heartland, Jacobsen of the Fresno County Farm Bureau spoke for many farmers when he said: 'We don't have a clue right now.' Asked Tuesday to clarify the administration's policy on immigration raids in farmland, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the Trump administration is committed to "enforcing federal immigration law." "While the President is focused on immediately removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from the country," Jackson said, "anyone who is here illegally is liable to be deported.' Still, Jacobsen and others noted, aside from the upheaval in Ventura County last week, agricultural operations in other parts of the state have largely been spared from mass immigration sweeps. Workers, meanwhile, have continued to show up for work, and most have even returned to the fields in Ventura County. There has been one notable outcome of last week's raids, according to several people interviewed: Employers are reaching out to workers' rights organizations, seeking guidance on how to keep their workers safe. "Some employers are trying to take steps to protect their employees, as best they can,' said Armando Elenes, secretary treasurer of the United Farm Workers. He said his organization and others have been training employers on how to respond if immigration agents show up at their farms or packinghouses. A core message, he said: Don't allow agents on the property if they don't have a signed warrant. Indeed, many of the growers whose properties were raided in Ventura County appear to have understood that; advocates reported that federal agents were turned away from a number of farms because they did not have a warrant. Read more: Eerie silence hangs over Central Coast farm fields in wake of ICE raids In Ventura County, Lucas Zucker, co-executive director of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, a group that has often been at odds with growers over issues such as worker pay and protections, underscored the unusual alliance that has forged between farmers and worker advocates. Two days after the raids, Zucker read a statement condemning the immigration sweeps on behalf of Maureen McGuire, chief executive of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, an organization that represents growers. "Farmers care deeply about their workers, not as abstract labor, but as human beings and valued community members who deserve dignity, safety and respect," McGuire said in the statement. "Ventura County agriculture depends on them. California's economy depends on them. America's food system depends on them." Before reading the statement, Zucker evoked light laughter when he told the crowd: 'For those of you familiar [with] Ventura County, you might be surprised to see CAUSE reading a statement from the farm bureau. We clash on many issues, but this is something where we're united and where we're literally speaking with one voice.' 'The agriculture industry and farmworkers are both under attack, with federal agencies showing up at the door," Zucker said later. "Nothing brings people together like a common enemy.' This article is part of The Times' equity reporting initiative, funded by the James Irvine Foundation, exploring the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to address California's economic divide. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Trump's Conflicting Messages on Workplace Raids Leave Businesses Reeling
President Trump is sending conflicting messages about his immigration crackdown, promising a reprieve for certain industries that rely on immigrant labor while doubling down on his promise to arrest and deport anyone who is living in the United States illegally. The situation has left business owners unclear on exactly what the Trump policy is, just days after the president said 'changes are coming' to help people in the farming and hospitality industries whose employees are too scared to show up for work. 'One minute you have a message saying they won't go after agriculture, the next something else,' said Manuel Cunha Jr., president of the Nisei Farmers League, a growers organization in the Central Valley of California. Mr. Cunha said it was causing 'tremendous havoc' in the country's largest agricultural region. 'First thing this morning I got calls from my growers asking, 'Does this mean they are going to come after the workers in the fields?'' Mr. Cunha said. The muddled messages coming out of the White House and from Trump officials suggest the president is caught between competing factions on an issue that has come to define his political identity and that he credited for his victory last year. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Immigration Raids Add to Absence Crisis for Schools
As President Trump promised mass deportations, educators sounded alarms that the actions could scare families away from school, affecting both immigrant and nonimmigrant students. Now, new research provides evidence that immigration raids did appear to lower school attendance. A Stanford University study found that parents kept their children out of school more often after raids swept California's Central Valley this winter. The findings suggest raids can harm student achievement and disrupt how schools function, even when they do not occur on or near school grounds. The study, by Thomas S. Dee, a professor of education at Stanford University, found that daily absences jumped 22 percent around the time raids occurred. This week, the administration deployed troops to Los Angeles in response to protests against deportations. Absences went up, even though the district tried to reassure families that schools were safe. The new paper looked at attendance data from five school districts in the southern part of the Central Valley, serving a total of over 100,000 children. Public schools do not track immigration status. But a majority of students in the region are Latino, many the children of farm workers with uncertain legal status. Those workers help produce about a quarter of the nation's food — fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts. Professor Dee examined three years of attendance data. He found an unusual spike in absences this past January and February following 'Operation Return to Sender,' a series of immigration sweeps conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan's ASICS to boost India sportswear production to 40% amid import restrictions, executive says
Asics store at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York By Praveen Paramasivam (Reuters) -Japanese sportswear giant ASICS will ramp up India manufacturing to 40% from 30% over the next few years to ensure steady supply, a top executive told Reuters, as the country's regulations force global brands to pause imports of footwear. Advertisement The Indian government has mandated certain standards for various footwear segments, requiring both domestic and foreign manufacturers to obtain quality certifications. ASICS, which has also paused imports, said bringing in footwear from any country is not feasible without government certification. "To address this critical situation, we are strategically developing local production capabilities," ASICS India Managing Director Rajat Khurana said. For financial year 2024-25, ASICS reached 30% local production, a government-mandated threshold that allows foreign brands to operate their own single-brand stores in India. Advertisement The firm, which operates roughly 125 stores through franchise partners, plans to open its first brand-owned store this year and is scouting locations in and around Delhi and Mumbai, Khurana said. It aims to set up a couple more over the next few years. ASICS, which competes with global rivals including Nike, Adidas, and Skechers USA in India, also plans to open three new franchise stores per month between now and the end of the year. For 2024–25, ASICS projected revenue growth of 35%-37% in India, following a 26% jump in the previous fiscal year that lifted its revenue to 4.28 billion rupees ($49.7 million). Known for its running shoes, ASICS is benefiting from a growing fitness culture in India and rising interest in tennis and pickleball among affluent urban consumers. Advertisement The local sporting goods and apparel category is expected to double to $58 billion by 2030 from 2023 levels, according to a 2024 report by consultancy firm Deloitte. ($1 = 86.0810 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
