Farm water use down. Farm labor problems up. Food safety. Local almond tree grower expands.

With rain returning to Northern California recently, it’s only appropriate we talk about water use on the farms here and across the country. Surprisingly, water use is down. Even more surprisingly, California is not the leading state when it comes to irrigated acreage. Who do you think is number one? We have a report. Besides H20, let’s talk H2A, the federal program for securing farm labor. And we examine why labor costs are going up. The largest wholesale grower of fruit and nut trees in the U.S. is based locally in Stanislaus County. And they have just gotten a little bigger, purchasing another large whole grower’s property in adjacent San Joaquin County. We have the details. With the rash of warnings about contaminated foods that were issued by the Center for Disease Control during Thanksgiving Week, we tell you how California and the state’s leafy greens industry are working to make sure the food you buy is safe. All that, a look ahead at the weather, the latest California crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.