Sasha Khokha takes an in-depth look at the conflicting interests of cattle and almond businesses in California's Central Valley.
The concern of cattle ranchers is the explosive growth of almond farming in the region. For instance, according to Sasha Khokha, "[m]ore than 110,000 acres of almonds have been planted in Stanislaus County [pdf]. And it doesn’t look like drought will put much of a dent in the boom. U.S. Department of Agriculture stats [pdf] that came out this week predict just a 1 percent drop in the California almond harvest over last year."
The article provides insider interviews and anecdotes from either side of the story, focusing on Stanislaus County, which is just one of many rural counties located in the California Central Valley. The article is also supplemented by a five-minute audio recording of KQED's The California Report show.
FULL STORY: Cattle Ranchers Lock Horns With Almond Investors

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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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