California Budget Hurting Farmers and Mixed Message on Trump Tariffs

**California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass says Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget plan will continue to hurt food producers with fees, taxes and increasing labor costs.

Data shows the state lost more than 7,000 farms and fallowed nearly 1.5 million productive acres in the past five years, while costs increased more than $150,000 per farm.

Douglas hopes every proposed regulation and law keeps affordability top of mind, because the future of California’s rural economies depends on it.

**A recent Washington Post report says President-elect Trump’s aides are considering narrowing his tariff plans, so they’d only apply to specific critical imports.

But, in a Truth Social post, Trump says that is false.

If it happens, the plan would mark a significant narrowing of the universal tariffs of 10 to 20% that Trump proposed during his campaign, a move economists expect to drive up consumer prices and distort global trade patterns.

**China approved five gene-edited crop varieties and 12 types of genetically modified soybeans, corn, and cotton.

Reuters says the expanded approvals are intended to boost high-yielding crops, reduce the need for imports, and ensure Chinese food security.

Many Chinese consumers remain concerned about the safety of GM food crops.

A ministry document says the safety certificates for the newly approved varieties are valid for five years, beginning last month.