In today's newscast:
New technology on Central Coast farms
Drones fly overhead at an agricultural tech demo near San Juan Bautista. Some are spraying crops. Others are making loud bird noises. In one field, an automated lettuce harvester picks individual heads like a claw machine at an arcade.
Kim Horton is an agricultural consultant for local growers.
"There's definitely farms in the area using automated harvesters," she said. "And as these become lighter, more usable to the field, we're seeing more and more adoption."
She says automated machines that thin, weed and fertilize crops could also be game changers.
University of California Cooperative Extension water resources advisor Michael Cahn says those machines could help reduce the use of chemicals.
"So those drones could, for example, put pesticide just where you have the pests in the field," he said.
He adds education for farmworkers on how to use the new technologies is vital.
Billionaire tax on the ballot
California voters will decide this November whether to impose a one-time, 5% tax on billionaires who were California residents at the start of this year.
Proposition 40 would raise money primarily for healthcare. It’s facing opposition from some prominent democrats, including governor Gavin Newsom. And it’s being challenged by two other measures on the ballot.
The measure is retroactive to January first, meaning billionaires who move out of California if the measure passes would still be subject to the one-time, 5% tax.
That reporting from our partner, CapRadio.
