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• Flag City deal approved

• From Lodi to China

• Lodi High School grad is spending two years teaching in Nicaragua

• Lodi Memorial's contract with Blue Cross expires

• Tracy to decide whether it will fight Tracy Press lawsuit

• Regional Roundup

November 2nd, 2009

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

November 7th, 2009

• Lodi High graduate was at Fort Hood

• Lining up for flu shots in Lodi

• Tour packs buses as birdwatchers admire Sandhill cranes

• City of Lodi staff looking into possibility of limiting number of taco trucks

• Daytime thieves targeting Lodi homes

• Lodi High School rally featured on 'Good Day Sacramento'

• Out of control

• Homicide suspect Anthony Hubbard arraigned

• Regional Roundup

• New Lodi Memorial rule to combat spread of H1N1: Visitors must be older than 16

November 6th, 2009

• Short sales make up nearly half of Lodi market

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi man accused of smuggling drugs, weapons for inmates at state prison

• 'I-5 Strangler' sentenced to 6 terms of life

• Jury convicts Acampo man of torture, assault of his girlfriend

• Young girl is 200,000th person to assemble AIDS, HIV care kit

• Woman in wheelchair struck by car

November 5th, 2009

• A lower Lodi Lake

• Streetside scarecrows

• San Joaquin County considers moratorium on new Williamson Act contracts

• Speakers address Lodi Unified School District budget shortfalls, plea to keep programs

• Armed robbers still targeting Lodi shops

• Regional Roundup

• California voters have final say over $11 billion water bond

• Weekend bus service to continue until Lodi City Council makes decision

• Paul Tebbel shines spotlight on sandhill cranes

• Your complete guide to Sandhill Crane Festival

• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy

• Man wanted in Acampo homicide gives up to San Joaquin County Sheriff's detectives

November 4th, 2009

• Candle fire

• Rep. Jerry McNerney sets telephone town hall for Thursday

• Jason Behrmann is unanimously named Galt's city manager

• Regional Roundup

• Galt City Council argues over ordinance hiring residents

• San Joaquin County sues state over prison hospital planned for Stockton

• Big win for Allen Baroni in reclamation election

• California sends Democratic loyalist John Garamendi to Congress

• Bicycling father raising awareness of teen suicide

• Lodi City Council weighs raising fares to restore some bus service

November 3rd, 2009

• 500 attend service for Kyle Coumas

• Correction

• Galt considers ordinance that would require city contractors to hire locally

• Regional Roundup

• Have you seen a missing guide dog puppy in Lodi?

• Galt man dies after weekend Highway 12 crash

• Jason Behrmann is top candidate for Galt city manager

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

• Clarification

November 2nd, 2009

• Downtown Lodi trick or treat

• Public Meetings

• Correction

• Kyle Coumas funeral today

• 27-year-old man shot to death Saturday night in front of Acampo home

• Regional Roundup

• Group investigates reports of haunting

• Sandhill Cranes Festival comes to Lodi next weekend

• Lamborghini lovers gather for show, fine wine, luncheon in Woodbridge

• Lodi's 'Biggest Loser' Christy Richesin runs 5K Halloween race

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Corn concerns

Farming bill proposed by president has dairies worried, others cautiously optimistic

The Bush Administration's farm bill proposals don't promise to satisfy everyone. Furthermore, Congress has yet to weigh in on what Bush hopes to bring to the country.

That's what makes leaders at the San Joaquin Farm Bureau cautiously optimistic about the 2007 farm bill that, in part, calls for $1 billion for specialty crops, which constitute a majority of the county's agricultural production.

"It's positive by the fact that they're talking about the specialty crop so much," said Bruce Blodgett, the Farm Bureau's executive director.

San Joaquin County is rich with what is known as "specialty crops," which include fruits, vegetables and nuts. It includes pretty much everything except wheat, corn, rice and cotton.

Blodgett said he's also encouraged by the administration's conservation proposals to improve air and water quality because it may include some federal funding. The question is in the farm bill's details, he said.

The only problem with the energy proposal is that it can be a benefit or a detriment, he said. Bush's quest for ethanol development stands to be quite costly for dairy farmers because of the increased cost of corn to feed their cows, Blodgett said, but that could be offset if the farm bill offers money to dairies for methane digesters.

While conservation may be a benefit, Blodgett is concerned that it may call for more farm land to be set aside for conservation, which he terms "land retirement."

In Galt, dairyman Case Van Steyn is very concerned about the increased cost of corn.

"You can say the word 'crisis.' We are at a crisis," Van Steyn said Tuesday. "(Corn) prices have really, really gone up — 15 or 20 percent over the past three months.

"In my opinion, it's mostly speculators in the market," he continued. "They're not using the ethanol now."

Van Steyn said he would understand if corn prices went up because ethanol is being used, but prices went up already.

That affects his ability to feed his 1,000 cows west of Galt, although they can also eat wheat, barley and even recycled grain and hops from breweries.

With the added corn costs, Van Steyn said that dairy farmers are at the mercy of their banks.

"We have to be really warm and fuzzy with our bankers," he said. "If I can't go to the bank and borrow the money I need, I'll be out of business."

Some dairies that have been sound 20 to 30 years are struggling, he added. Farmers who grow fruits and vegetables can always lay off employees and take a long vacation if they're in trouble economically, Van Steyn said.

"At a dairy, you can't walk away from those animals," he said. "You have to feed those animals and milk them."

If you stop milking cows, they stop producing milk and sometimes get sick, Van Steyn said.

"Then you would have to feed and take care of them until they have a calf and start the cycle all over again," he added.

In the five years since Congress approved the last farm bill, dairy farmers who used to receive $12 per 100-weight of fluid milk now get about $9 per 100-weight, Van Steyn said. If the rate remained at $12, farmers could weather the storm caused by the higher corn prices, he said.

Larger dairies can withstand the higher corn prices more easily than smaller family operations, Van Steyn said. In California, a small farm has 500 cows and a large one has 2,000. He likened the plight of small dairy farmers to Wal-Mart financially jeopardizing locally owned businesses.

"I'm fortunate that my bank is helping me, but not everyone is in that position," Van Steyn said. "If you don't pay your bills, they will come after you."

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

First published: Wednesday, February 14, 2007