November 9, 2023

Reclamation and Sites Project Authority Finalize Plan to Create New Water Storage

Last week, the Reclamation and Sites Project Authority unveiled their plans to establish Sites Reservoir, a significant water storage project in Northern California. Sites Reservoir plans to increase the state’s water supply with an additional 1.5 million acre-feet of storage capacity, particularly valuable during droughts. The project, located 81 miles northwest of Sacramento, is set to become the second largest off-stream reservoir in the nation, increasing California's water storage by up to 15%. This state and federal agency collaboration totals to a $8.3 billion investment over the next five years for various water infrastructure projects, with $173.7 million coming from federal contributions. Sites Reservoir will store water diverted from the Sacramento River and is located where much of the state’s rainfall occurs. The project aims to increase water supply, flood protection and other environmental advantages. 

AFBF Economists Study Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agricultural Land

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s economics team recently submitted a Market Intel piece featuring data from the USDA’s latest Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) report, revealing that over 40 million acres of U.S. ag land are owned by foreign investors and companies. Based on 2021 data, this constitutes 3.1% of all privately held ag land and 1.8% of all U.S. land. The AFBF report also highlights that most of this land is owned by Canadian investors, with additional holdings by investors from the Netherlands, Italy, United Kingdom, and Germany. It further indicates that between 2010 and 2021, foreign investor-held agricultural land increased by 15.8 million acres.

Additionally, the data shows that the top 10 entities holding foreign-investor-owned agricultural land are primarily involved in timber or energy production, with few exceptions. These entities are widely considered friendly to U.S. interests. The report acknowledges foreign ownership concerns, specifically focused on China, which owns less than 1% of all foreign-held U.S. ag land. Other adversarial nations such as Russia, North Korea, Venezuela and others hold a total of .007%. It is important to note that the AFIDA data has limitations due to a lack of enforcement and collection means, but foreign land ownership and investment is increasingly becoming a topic of discussion among policymakers. 

Reminder: Tax Filing Deadline on November 16^th for Select Groups

The extended tax deadline from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ends next week on November 16th, 2023. The extension applies to a wide range of tax obligations that would otherwise have been due earlier in the year (January 16th, April 18th, and September 15th). This includes individual and business returns, quarterly estimated tax payments, and corporate returns. All California counties qualify for this extension except for Lassen, Modoc and Shasta. Taxpayers must have an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. The relief will also work to encompass taxpayers living outside the defined disaster area if they can provide necessary records during the postponement period. Affected taxpayers are encouraged to consult IRS resources and publications for detailed information on the relief measures available to them. This tax relief is part of a coordinated federal response on the damage caused by the disasters and is based on local damage assessments by FEMA. 

Reminder: ECP Deadline on December 29th

The USDA is offering financial assistance through the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to California agricultural producers affected by severe storms from December 2022 to April 2023. Please note the application deadline of December 29th, 2023, is approaching quickly. ECP covers up to 75% (or 90% for some eligible beginning farmers) of approved restoration activities, with a maximum payment of $500,000 per disaster event. The ECP practices available include removing debris, land grading, repairing fences, and restoring conservation structures. Applicants must apply before starting reconstruction and complete the necessary environmental compliance review with the FSA.

FSA county committees assess applications based on damage estimates and require on-site visits. Approval does not guarantee cost-sharing funding, and ECP funds are solely for restoring land to its pre-disaster condition, excluding pre-existing conservation concerns. For further information, contact your local FSA office or visit farmers.gov/recover.

House Labor Working Group

Releases Interim Report

This week, the House Agriculture Committee’s bipartisan Agricultural Labor Working Group (ALWG) released an interim report that summed up most of their initial findings on the state of labor in the industry. This comes after several meetings, hearings, and surveys aimed at farmers and ranchers. While it mostly focused on the H-2A visa program, it did look at other specific sectors that aren’t currently able to access the program. Unsurprisingly, the ALWG discovered that the H-2A visa program suffers greatly from overcomplexity, rising costs, and other barriers for entry.

While the group does not have jurisdiction over labor, they now plan to review potential legislative and executive fixes that will be submitted to the Judiciary Committee. Noting the growing lack of sustainability in the industry from a business perspective, labor continues to be a focal point for farmers and ranchers struggling to stay in business. Even those with larger operations are seldom shielded from these costs—much of which can ultimately be passed down the supply chain. While it is productive that the ALWG has moved relatively quickly, it remains to be seen what specific legislative proposals will come about as a result of these findings. We will continue to update members as those recommendations come together.

Matthew Viohl

Federal Policy, Director

Erin Huston

Federal Policy, Consultant

Isabella Quinonez

Public Policy Coordinator