Cancelations and postponements continue around the nation, but the clock on the open comment period for aggressive regulation on the Central Coast is still ticking.
Proposed regulation for six Central Coast counties being called Ag Order 4.0 is sitting in a 45-day open comment period. That timeline remains unchanged with ongoing COVID-19 declarations. The San Luis Obispo (SLO) County Farm Bureau is moving forward with a forum today on the issue with California Farm Bureau Federation Senior Counsel Kari Fisher.
SLO County Farm Bureau Executive Director Brent Burchett said he hopes some reasonable alternatives can be introduced during this time. Such ideas were introduced in the last version of the proposed regulation, but Burchett said it looked like those alternatives weren’t given much consideration. “Agriculture has been engaged on this issue for many years. I am kinda new to it moving here from Kentucky, but when I go back to look at the comments submitted, these were scientific-based realistic agronomic input,” he said. “I don’t think it was received by the Central Coast Regional Water Board staff. They were given it, but I just don’t think they incorporated it into their actual recommendation.”
If you are interested in today’s forum, you can contact the SLO County Farm Bureau for more information. Also, the Vineyard Team will be hosting a webinar next week detailing the proposed regulation and what can be done. Visit the vineyardteam.org/agorder for more details.
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