Several new laws went into effect in California on New Year’s Day that affect agriculture and farms in the state. 

The state minimum wage rose from $16.50 to $16.90 per hour, which will impact farm labor and jobs.  

County agricultural commissioners will be better able to force absentee landowners to clean up any neglected orchards or vineyards after the passage of Assembly Bill 732. These neglected areas have impacted nearby farms and orchards, according to the California Farm Bureau. They attract pests, for one, which means active farms have to work harder to keep the bugs out.  

Commissioners have always had the power to place liens on abandoned properties that have been declared a nuisance, the Farm Bureau said, but the abatement process can take years and costs money that some counties may not have.    

Now agricultural commissioners are able to fine landowners $500 per acre if they fail to make a good faith effort to address a pest-related public nuisance within 30 days and $1,000 per acre if they do not take action within 45 days, according to the bureau.  

Two new laws were also signed this year to give California farmers and ranchers more options for disposal of organic waste.  

Assembly Bill 411, authored by Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, will allow small-scale, on-farm livestock carcass composting under specific guidelines. A limited number of livestock carcasses can be addressed on the rancher’s own property instead of having the carcasses hauled to a rendering plant.  

Farmers are also now able to increase the amount of material they can send to composing facilities under Senate Bill 279, authored by state Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton. The law was created to provide more options for discarded orchards and vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley, where agricultural burning is no longer permitted.  

Another bill allows farmers to connect to agritourism through less regulatory red tape, allowing them to host overnight campers.  

“This new law creates opportunities for agricultural producers to diversify revenue, build a new customer base and help more people experience California’s beautiful working landscapes,” California Farm Bureau, which supported the bill, said in a statement on the organization’s website.  

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.