By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

It is always an honor to represent California and the incredible agricultural products we grow and ship across the nation and around the world.

Last week I was part of the USDA – India Agribusiness Trade Mission to New Delhi, and what an eye-opening experience it was! We learned about the great history, culture, people, foods, and opportunities for new and ongoing relationships in this amazing country!

It was such a pleasure to spend a little bit of time with U.S. Ambassador (and former L.A. Mayor) Eric Garcetti, who won the delegation over  with his knowledge, passion and articulate statements of why U.S. business needs to show up and build relationships. He stressed the country’s rich culture; its incredible diversity; the warmth and kindness of its people; and its aspirations. He talked about building a bridge with India and that ag is a key part of doing that, starting with the launch of The Green Revolution after World War II and the leadership of Norman Borlaug, the U.S. plant breeder who focused on improving yields to reduce global  hunger.

It is difficult to grasp the numbers that represent this vibrant, rapidly growing economy of 1.4 billion people – the world’s largest population (according to the UN); the world’s 5th largest economy (when ranked by country); and the largest youth demographic, with 630 million people under the age of 25!

India has made incredible investment in its infrastructure in the last decade and has a fast growing middle class. Sustainability, health and wellness were stressed at multiple stops during the week. In a meeting with the U.S.- India Business Council we heard the investment U.S. companies are making in research and development and technology to improve the lives of the millions of small farmers in the country (50-60% of the population is in farming).  There are huge opportunities to build alliances on climate smart agriculture and alternatives for pest management, improved irrigation and nutrient management.

As always, the in-country USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) staff, as well as terrific D.C. staff, made this a great experience! We are fortunate to have FAS in so many countries around the world working to help American farmers and agribusinesses!

There were ten other state departments of agriculture in the delegation, and I was honored to travel with a number of Californians. Here are insights from Julie Adams of the Almond Board and Honore Comfort of the Wine Institute.  

Julie Adams: “India is critical for almonds – it is our largest export market. These trade missions are a terrific way for USDA and state departments of ag to learn first-hand what is happening, the challenges, and the opportunities.  Market development is a long-view – this trip highlighted the commitment this industry has made to building demand in India. There is no other market where the Almond Board has activities, that we see almonds to be such an essential part of the tradition and culture.  But we’ve only scratched the surface – every time I travel to India, I see more opportunities!” 

Honore Comfort: “USDA’s Agricultural Trade Mission to India provided a timely opportunity to better understand the many factors driving growth in this robust yet complex market. We see a strong opportunity for California Wines in India, especially if we partner with other California growers and producers and connect with India’s dynamic food culture.”

The California State Board of Food and Agriculture visited the Central Coast region this week and hosted two public meetings focusing on ag land conservation and career technical education. The Board also visited farming operations in the region to learn more about conservation practices, local farming, and training initiatives. Don Cameron, President of the State Board, discusses the week’s activities, including a visit to the Agricultural and Land Based Training Association (ALBA), which is committed to training farmworkers to help them advance their careers and/or transition to farm ownership.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross is with the California State Board of Food and Agriculture this week for field visits and meetings in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. As part of today’s activities, the group visited Hartnell College in Salinas to learn about “Mechatronics,” which is part of the school’s Ag Tech Workforce Program. Hartnell works with students seeking to begin or advance their careers in all aspects of agricultural technology.

Ag tech is one of the themes of this week’s board meetings, along with the conservation of ag land.

Photo — Secretary Ross (center) along with Hartnell College instructor Richard Chapman (second from left) and board members (left to right) Jenet DeCosta, Glenda Humiston, and Don Cameron.

CDFA’s Smith River Border Inspection Station–just south of the Oregon border on Hwy 101–is critical in California’s efforts to prevent invasive pests and diseases from entering the state. As one of the state’s 16 border inspection stations, it’s a first line of defense in safeguarding California’s natural resources and agriculture.

From a news release from Governor Newsom’s office

California is taking unprecedented action to strategically harness the equivalent of more than half of its land to fight the climate crisis.

As called for by Governor Gavin Newsom’s California Climate Commitment, the state unveiled 81 targets for nature-based solutions today that will help California achieve its world-leading climate goals, including reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.

Nature-based solutions support the ability of lands to absorb more carbon than they release – a critical tool in the state’s climate arsenal. Since 2020, the Newsom Administration has invested approximately $9.6 billion in nature-based solutions that combat the effects of climate change.

“We’re setting aggressive and ambitious new targets to use California’s lands to fight the climate crisis, ” said Governor Newsom. “This scale of action is unprecedented, and yet another example of California punching above its weight. From restoring and conserving lands to greening our urban spaces and treating more acres to prevent wildfires, we’re protecting nature and allowing it to work for our communities.”

What the targets call for by 2045: 

• 33.5 million acres managed to reduce wildfire risk, mostly through beneficial fire
• 11.9 million acres of forest managed for biodiversity protection, carbon storage, and water supply protection
• 7.6 million acres conserved with protections
• 3.4 million acres of croplands managed to boost healthy soils, drought resilience, and below-ground biodiversity
• 4.2 million trees planted to protect California communities from the climate crisis, remove carbon and increase access to nature where it’s needed most
• 2.7 million acres of shrublands and chaparral managed for carbon storage, resilience, and habitat connectivity
• 1.6 million acres of grasslands managed to restore native grasslands and protect biodiversity
• 1.5 million acres of sparsely vegetated lands (deserts, beaches, etc.) to protect fragile ecosystems

In this video, CDFA secretary Karen Ross discusses agriculture’s role in greater detail.

From a story on the Morning Ag Clips web site

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross will join USDA Under Secretary Alexis M. Taylor on a U.S. Department of Agriculture trade mission to New Delhi, India, April 21-25. They will be accompanied by a diverse delegation of 47 businesses and organizations as well as officials from 10 other state departments of agriculture — all interested in opportunities and partnerships in the world’s most populous country.

“India represents a growth economy for U.S. agribusinesses seeking to capture an increasing share of the household food purchases in the fifth-largest economy in the world,” USDA Under Secretary Taylor said. “India’s rising middle-class consumers’ familiarity with American food products and increased purchasing power is a real opportunity for U.S. producers. This along with the Indian consumers’ trusted view of American food and agricultural products as high-quality has contributed to an 11 percent growth in U.S. agricultural and ag-related exports to India over the past 2 years.”

USDA is leveraging its global reach to open new markets on behalf of American food and agricultural producers. Just last year, India reduced tariff requirements for U.S. poultry products, vegetables, fruits, pulses, and tree nuts – strengthening the agribusiness trade relationship between the United States and India. The trade mission will follow-up on those wins and secure an expanding number of new purchase agreements for American farmers, ranchers, and producers. USDA continues to be forward-leaning in its efforts to broaden the benefits of agribusiness trade for more American producers, exporters, and their home-town communities.

“I am looking forward to learning much more about opportunities in India for agricultural exports,’ said Secretary Ross. “I commend the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service for its work to connect us with the culture of India as well providing us with an understanding of the significance of various commodities there.”

California’s leading ag exports to India are almonds, cotton, pistachios, walnuts, and dairy products.

While on the trade mission, participants will engage in targeted business-to-business meetings and site visits to build new trade linkages, strengthen existing partnerships, observe U.S. products in the marketplace, and discover the latest Indian consumer food trends. Participants will also receive in-depth market briefings from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and industry trade experts.

Other California representatives on the trip are:

1. Almond Board of California, Modesto
2. American Pistachio Growers, Fresno
3. Blue Diamond Growers, Sacramento
4. California Walnut Co., Los Molinos
5. Calway Foods, Inc., Santa Clara
6. Farmers International, Inc., Chico
7. Hall Enterprise, LLC., Paso Robles
8. Redwood International, Irvine
9. The Wonderful Company, Los Angeles
10. Wine Institute, Sacramento

Corpsmembers disposed of more than 770,000 pounds of fruit to help combat Oriental fruit fly infestation

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is used to hard work, like setting quarantines and eradicating fruit fly infestations and other pests that could otherwise threaten the state’s crops, gardens and natural landscapes. For an ongoing Oriental fruit fly quarantine in the Redlands area of San Bernardino County, though, we needed a hand – or a lot of hands – so the California Conservation Corps (CCC) stepped up.

The video above was produced by the CCC to highlight the work of Corpsmembers who helped us remove and dispose of more than 770,000 pounds of fruit from more than 1,600 residential properties in the infested area in recent weeks. Fruit removal prevents the flies from laying their eggs in the fruit, interrupting the flies’ reproductive cycle. It was a big lift, and we sincerely appreciate the CCC’s help.

Note — the fruit collected by CCC crews is being double-bagged and appropriately disposed-of at a local landfill.

More information about the quarantine is available here.

Story from Ag Net West

Several California agricultural leaders, including Ag Secretary Karen Ross, are back from a week-long trade mission overseas. Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Alexis M. Taylor led the South Korea trade mission, which included representatives from 49 companies and organizations from around the U.S. Taylor said it was a success that offered a lot of opportunities for California’s specialty crops.

“I think we are able to really expand and showcase what we can provide, what we can export, and how that can really benefit Korean consumers,” she said. “We had several California fresh fruit sectors represented, some tree nuts represented. So, while we have exports there, I think we are also looking to continue to grow and expand those. We’re working on expanded market access, for instance, of nectarines and so the Tree Fruit Association was there because they have some interest in already exporting, but also looking towards potentially new market access for California nectarines.”

She said there was strong interest in U.S. fruit and vegetables, nuts, dairy and eggs, coffee, and distilled spirits. Pet foods and consumer-packaged goods like condiments and sauces were also on the list.

“At USDA, we are really focused on market diversification and opening doors, helping build relationships for U.S. food and agricultural exporters and our industries and markets all over the world. And I think Korea being our fifth largest market is really key to that market diversification work,” she said. “U.S. food and agricultural products are really recognized by South Korean consumers and importers for their reliability, their quality, and their sustainability as well. South Korean consumers really value food safety and what they’re choosing to eat in the U.S. brand has really strong safety associated with it.”

Taylor said it was one of several trade missions planned for the year, with the next being at the end of this month in India.

“I’m really excited. We have a strong U.S. delegation already signed up to go to India. Last year the Biden-Harris administration was able to reduce tariffs on roughly 10 products in India in the food and ag space [including] a lot of our specialty crops,” Taylor said. “So, we’re excited to be taking food and agricultural businesses back to begin the process of rebuilding back to those consumers and rebuilding that market share.”