California’s on track to more than double its power generated by solar panel installations by the end of the year with the surge expected to continue in 2010, and this trend is also gaining steam in San Joaquin County as more ag operations turn to solar panels for power.
Stockton East Water District’s 16-year breach of contract battle with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation came to an end recently when the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the district’s favor, saying the federal government is liable for contracted water that was never fully delivered to the district.
A Bureau of Reclamation spokesman said, “The Bureau has no comment because we haven’t reviewed the decision yet.”
“This is great news for the district and Central [San Joaquin Water Conservation District], who were also part of the lawsuit,” said SEWD board president Andrew Watkins. “This decision means the bureau definitely has an incentive to ship water in the future.”
Agriculture in 2008 hovered at the edge of the economic downturn and as the year progressed, some sectors of San Joaquin County’s agriculture began feeling the effects of the fiscal fiasco with dairy leading the way.
But overall, San Joaquin County’s agriculture in 2008 was a good enough to establish an estimated gross production value of $2,129,725,000, an increase of more than 6 percent over 2007’s $2,005,793,000.
Leading 2008 was dairy with a value of $412,643,000, a drop of more than $33 million from 2007 but still holding its position as, said Agricultural Commissioner Scott Hudson, “the easy leader as the commodity with the largest value in San Joaquin County.” Milk also represents 19 percent of the total gross production value.