By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

It is the season to reflect on the year, gather around the table, and give thanks!  As someone who feels truly blessed to work with people I respect and admire, I feel thankful every day to be part of food and agriculture. 

It is my passion and my purpose to travel the state and share with all Californians what I see first-hand as the amazing miracle of California agriculture! The farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, and all others who play an integral role in our food supply are a testament to hard work, innovation, resiliency, and optimism every day regardless of the challenges.  That includes every one of our dedicated and talented CDFA staff members who are so passionate about our mission to ensure safe, nutritious, high-quality food and agricultural products — produced with the highest environmental and labor standards.

For many of California’s nearly forty million residents it is easy to take for granted what goes into the food on our table, but it’s important to remember that nutritional security is not assured.  In a world of harsher and more frequent extreme weather events, producing food with access for all is threatened by climate change.  I am grateful for the investment Governor Newsom and the Legislature have made in climate smart ag programs to support adaptation and the ability of farmers and ranchers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be part of the climate change solution by sequestering carbon.   

At the other end of the food chain, Governor Newsom, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and the Legislature have made significant investments in Farm-to-School programs to support small and mid-sized, historically-underserved farmers and ranchers with local school procurement. It is a holistic investment that is combined with nutrition education and experiential learning to inspire healthy lifelong habits in students and their families, to help them avoid chronic diseases and fully achieve their potential. 

As young people learn about exciting agricultural technology and innovations that enhance our ability to produce food with care—for the environment as well as the people who make it possible–I know they will see what I do: California agriculture is about growing opportunity!  It’s a chance to be involved in a career -– a calling, really -– to produce food and ag products for healthy lives, healthy communities, and a healthy environment. How thankful I am for all the people who make our California agricultural bounty possible! 

From the American Farm Bureau Federation

Gathering around the table for a Thanksgiving dinner won’t take as much of a toll on your pocketbook this year compared to 2022, but the meal still reflects historically high costs. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 38th annual survey provides a snapshot of the average cost of this year’s classic holiday feast for 10, which is $61.17 or less than $6.20 per person.

This is a 4.5% decrease from last year’s record-high average of $64.05, but a Thanksgiving meal is still 25% higher than it was in 2019, which highlights the impact high supply costs and inflation have had on food prices since before the pandemic.

The centerpiece on most Thanksgiving tables – the turkey – helped bring down the overall cost of dinner. The average price for a 16-pound turkey is $27.35. That is $1.71 per pound, down 5.6% from last year.

Farm Bureau “volunteer shoppers” checked prices Nov. 1-6, before most grocery store chains began featuring whole frozen turkeys at sharply lower prices. According to USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data, the average per-pound feature price for whole frozen turkeys declined further during the second week of November. Consumers who have not yet purchased a turkey may find additional savings in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

“Traditionally, the turkey is the most expensive item on the Thanksgiving dinner table,” said AFBF Senior Economist Veronica Nigh. “Turkey prices have fallen thanks to a sharp reduction in cases of avian influenza, which have allowed production to increase in time for the holiday.”

The shopping list for Farm Bureau’s informal survey includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty of leftovers.

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With Thanksgiving and its generous tradition of sharing coming up next week, CDFA is urgently reminding Californians in fruit fly quarantine zones that they should *not* be moving homegrown produce off their property — citrus as well as other fruits and vegetables — as movement is forbidden under quarantine requirements and also creates a risk of spread of the invasive flies.

There are seven different fruit fly quarantines currently active in California, in the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Sacramento, Riverside, San Bernardino, Contra Costa and Santa Clara.

• What residents can do to help:
  • Do not take fresh fruits and vegetables off of your property.
  • Fruits and vegetables may be consumed or processed (i.e., juiced, frozen, or cooked) at the property of origin.
  • To dispose of fresh fruits and vegetables, double-bag and seal prior to placing it in a non-green waste bin.
  • Allow authorized agricultural workers access to your property to inspect fruit, check OFF traps, or conduct fruit fly eradication activities.
  • Report any suspect fruit fly maggots that you find inside of your backyard produce by calling the CDFA Pest Hotline: 1-800-491-1899.

Maps, quarantine restrictions, and other information is available online at: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/off/regulation.html

Californians are urged to adopt the principles of “Don’t Pack a Pest” to help prevent future introductions of invasive pests and diseases — by declaring all agricultural products for inspection upon entering the country and state, and by shipping Ag products through official channels that allow for proper treatment of commodities to protect against invasive species.  

California ranks number one in the nation for dairy production, with 1,100 to 1,200 dairy farms, each with an average of 1,436 cows, mostly concentrated in Tulare County in the San Joaquin Valley. A major dairy waste is cow manure, a byproduct that can require millions of dollars for each dairy to manage.

To help manage the manure, CDFA provides grant funds to California dairy farms to install dairy digesters, a technology that can break down manure and produce methane (a form of renewable energy). The digesters provide additional benefits such as capturing greenhouse gases while improving the nutrient value of manure and water quality.

Pramod Pandey, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the School of Veterinary Medicine Extension at UC Davis, has been studying dairy digesters for over 20 years to understand the conversion of manure into renewable energy. He also is trying to determine the effects of anaerobic processes (in low-oxygen conditions) on dairy manure quality, biogas production and the environment.

Between 2015 and 2022, CDFA supported approximately 133 dairy digester projects in California, with grants of more than $200 million to various dairy farms.

“The California state government plays a big role in the success of this technology because the majority of dairy farmers are not financially able to invest in implementing the manure management technology, which assist both dairy farms and community,” said Pandey.

For dietary components that cannot be completely digested by a cow’s stomach, dairy digesters use a variety of bacteria to break down the manure under anaerobic conditions. This provides an option for sustainable waste treatment. The process not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions by capturing the gases released from manure, but also produces renewable energy in the form of biogas, which can be used as an alternative fuel for cars to further bring down greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the dairy digester helps reduce odor and pathogens that pose a risk to human health.

According to Pandey, one cow can theoretically produce roughly 100 pounds of wet manure daily, and this manure contains nitrogen and phosphorous, which are important for soil. About 40 cubic feet of biogas is produced from the manure of one cow under anaerobic conditions, and this biogas has a potential to produce around 24,000 btu per cow. In California, a 1,000-square foot home uses 45,000 to 55.000 btu per day for heating and cooling. That means manure from two or three cows could meet the daily energy demand of a small home.

By using digesters, farmers can prevent greenhouse gas emissions and simultaneously generate energy and soil amendments, which provide nutrients to cropland, lessening the amount of commercial fertilizer needed. By connecting technologies, the liquid from digesters can be improved to produce water that can be used for irrigation and for meeting the water demands of a dairy farm.

“The main purpose of a dairy farm is to produce milk, and current low milk prices make it difficult for dairy farmers to focus on manure management without the support from government,” Pandey said, adding that managing waste is not only expensive but time-consuming. Although dairy digesters can cost $5 million to $10 million to build and install, the technology is helpful in manure management.

Dairy farmers traditionally use anaerobic or manure lagoons to store their liquid manure waste until they are ready to apply it to farmland as fertilizer. The issue is that the lagoons emit greenhouse gases such as methane into the atmosphere.

“It is important to not overexpect from a dairy digester because it doesn’t reduce all forms of pollution from manure completely,” Pandey said. “But given the available resources, funding and technology, I would say that we’re off to a good start.”

Dennis Da Silva, a dairy farmer in Escalon, has been working in the industry his entire life and used to be “totally against” digesters. In the late 1970s, Da Silva’s father, who immigrated from Portugal, started Da Silva Dairy Farm, which Da Silva currently runs.

“I spend a lot of money getting solids out of my lagoons every year,” Da Silva said.

Although he does not have digesters set up on his farm just yet, Da Silva agreed with Pandey that the government has made it much easier for farmers like himself to tackle waste.

“I used to be against the dairy digester idea, but there’s a lot more incentive to invest these days,” said Da Silva. “It’s also likely that, in the future, there’ll be regulations that will crack down on dairy farms if you don’t already have digesters,” he added.

Currently, he is in the permitting phase, waiting for approval to begin building the digester on his farm, which is expected to take about two years.

Pandey said that the process is slow and there is still a lot of room for improvement, but the intention is a step in the right direction. “The only thing that the digester doesn’t produce is milk,” Pandey said jokingly.

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From a USDA news release

The USDA is initiating a new effort to further support the U.S. specialty crops sector and increase the competitiveness of its products as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to build new, more and better markets that catalyze opportunity for American farmers.

“We all count on America’s specialty crops for reliable access to nutritious, fresh foods,” said USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small. “Specialty crop producers are hard at work to keep operations profitable while implementing sustainable practices, and President Biden is proud to invest in innovation within the industry to remain competitive domestically and in markets across the world.”

As part of this new effort, USDA conducted a departmentwide review of its current services and programs that support the specialty crops industry and compiled the information into a Specialty Crops Resource Directory (PDF, 1.6 MB). The directory, being launched today, is a one-stop shop for the sector and contains a comprehensive snapshot of USDA’s resources and services for specialty crops producers and businesses in one convenient location.

Additionally, over the next several months, USDA leadership will engage directly with the specialty crop industry and producers to gain feedback on how the Department can better address gaps in services and better meet the industry’s needs. Dates and locations of roundtables and other live opportunities for stakeholder feedback are to be announced.

USDA also encourages U.S. specialty crops stakeholders to submit comments on how USDA can better support and meet the needs of the industry. To submit a comment, visit the Request for Information posted in the Federal Register. Comments are due by March 8, 2024. A new specialty crops-dedicated webpage designed to provide information on the initiative is available at www.usda.gov/specialty-crops.

Read more: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/11/09/usda-launches-initiative-enhance-competitiveness-us-specialty-crops