By Kerry Tucker and Teresa Siles

By now, most companies have heard about “purpose” – a buzzword making its way around corporate boardrooms and even the farm gate. Heck, even the Business Roundtable – an association founded on principles of serving shareholders – has adopted a purpose statement.

“Purpose” is about defining the end benefit of a company’s product or service to people or society as a whole – and there is no industry better suited to define itself by a strong purpose than agriculture. This is especially true today, as early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, eyes were opened to the fragility of the food system. Empty shelves, perceived food shortages and COVID-19 outbreaks in operations in the agrifood chain led some consumers to see the system as broken.

The pandemic struck following years of growing consumer interest, especially among younger segments, to know what companies, brands and industries are doing to make the world a better place. In fact, 47 percent of consumers disappointed with a brand’s stance on a social issue will stop buying its products – and 17 percent will never return, according to McKinsey & Company. What’s more, purpose-driven organizations have shown they can go a long way in earning, maintaining and, in some cases, winning back the trust of people an organization touches daily — from multi-generational employees to customers, consumers, investors and other stakeholders. And while some benefits are intangible, others are written in black and white in the form of solid financial returns.

Research by author and professor Raj Sisodia suggests that purpose-led companies significantly outperformed the S&P 500 between 1995 and 2011. In addition, McKinsey states that more than 2,000 academic studies have examined the impact of environmental, social and governance propositions on equity returns, and 63% of them found positive results.

The California State Board of Food and Agriculture, California Cattlemen’s Association and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture are just a few of the organizations in agriculture that have recognized the value of purpose and clearly defined it for their organizations. Making California a better place to live because of what we grow and how we grow it is the defined purpose for the state board in California. Nourishing people, caring for livestock and sustaining the environment is the purpose and foundation upon which the California Cattlemen’s Association built a strategic plan last year, and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture recently adopted a purpose to nourish people and communities while serving as stewards of the environment and public trust.

And while these words may inspire, the next generation purpose-driven company is about more than words on paper. It’s about aligning an organization to fulfill its purpose on multiple fronts. Those in positions of leadership should ask themselves:

• How are we committed to the betterment of society?
• What do our stakeholders care about and expect from us?
• Where and how can we make a difference and live our purpose?
• Will our board, management teams, employees and stakeholders want to follow us or will they think we’ve lost our way? 
• How can we organize to keep purpose top of mind for our internal team?
• How can we measure and track our progress?

Once a purpose has been defined, been put through a stress test to vet for credibility, and ensure the organization is set up to authentically live and measure progress against its purpose, it can be valuable to share with external stakeholders in a compelling way. Some of the most successful demonstrations of purpose lie not only with one organization but rather by multiple companies, industry groups and stakeholders working together to bring about substantive change bigger than any one entity can do on its own. This is the type of change that truly matters.

In the current environment, where distrust is rampant and pessimism is high, agriculture’s ability to positively shape the future for multiple generations could be the bright light many are seeking.

Kerry Tucker is the founder of Food Foresight, a trends intelligence collaboration between Nuffer, Smith, Tucker and the California Institute of Agricultural Research at University of California, Davis. Teresa Siles is co-author of Food Foresight and President and Partner at Nuffer, Smith, Tucker Inc., a strategic planning and public relations firm headquartered in San Diego.

Link to article on Agri-Pulse web site

With Climate Week 2020 events underway this week, Governor Gavin Newsom will host a virtual California Climate Action Day on Thursday, September 24, convening world, state, tribal and local leaders, business executives and other experts to discuss innovative solutions to a wide array of climate challenges facing the state.

The series of virtual conversations will cover topics including building the state’s climate resilience, implementing climate policies in an equitable way, aligning financial decision-making with climate realities, and delivering climate, health and equity benefits for all our communities in the state’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The day of action will kick off at 9:00 a.m. PDT with an in-depth discussion between the Governor and Van Jones on the state’s groundbreaking climate agenda.

The discussions will be streamed on the Governor’s YouTube page here and can also be viewed by registrants here.

CDFA secretary Karen Ross will appear at 12:45 pm for a panel discussion on COVID-19 and climate change.

COVID and Climate Change: What’s Next?

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted communities and institutions across California. The public health and economic crises are a stark reminder of another crisis already impacting Californians: climate change. Last year, the American Lung Association declared climate change a public health emergency. This panel will explore how the state might rebuild and refashion our communities, institutions and infrastructure going forward to build a greener, healthier, more prosperous and equitable California. It will highlight efforts underway to recover from this pandemic in a way that creates jobs while delivering climate, health and equity benefits for all Californians.

PANELISTS:

Angela Glover Blackwell
Founder in Residence, PolicyLink

Lisa Jackson
VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, Apple

Michael Tubbs
Mayor, City of Stockton

Karen Ross
Secretary, California Department of Food & Agriculture

Josh Fryday
Chief Service Officer, California Volunteers

MODERATOR:

Jared Blumenfeld
Secretary, California Environmental Protection Agency

The rest of the agenda is as follows:

9:00 AM

Conversation with Governor Gavin Newsom & Van Jones

In this year alone, California and much of the West Coast have endured record-setting heat and wildfires. In this conversation between Governor Newsom and award-winning journalist Van Jones, we will hear how California can deliver on our aggressive climate change agenda and continue to be the standard-bearer for change.

9:45 AM

Charting an Equitable Path to Carbon Neutrality

California is recognized globally for its environmental leadership. Notably, we have grown our economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and are aggressively pursuing a 100 percent clean energy future and carbon neutrality by 2045. Under Governor Newsom, the state is making equity a key pillar of how we achieve those goals. This panel will explore how the state is making progress – highlighting important initiatives underway on our energy, transportation and building sectors – and address what challenges and opportunities lie ahead, and how to implement policy in an equitable way. The panel will also highlight carbon neutrality commitments in business and State government and will focus on equitable principles of our carbon neutral future.

PANELISTS:

Eduardo Garcia

CA Assemblymember, 56th Assembly District

David Hochschild

Chair, California Energy Commission

Miya Yoshitani

Executive Director, Asian Pacific Environmental Network

MODERATOR:

Mary D. Nichols

Chair, California Air Resources Board

10:45 AM

From Wildfire to Water – Investing in Nature Based Solutions to Build Climate Resilience

Like so many of our global partners, California is bearing witness to the devastating impacts of climate change.

In recent weeks, wildfires of historic size, scale, and scope have swept across our state. Lives have been lost; homes and businesses have been destroyed; and nature we treasure is gone. These fires have taken place in the middle of a deadly pandemic and heatwave, and on the heels of a prolonged drought.

As California accelerates action to build climate resilience, we are committed to joining the global call for greater attention to the benefits of nature based solutions in addressing climate change and protecting biodiversity.

This panel will showcase nature based solutions being implemented by climate leaders across the globe, and explore how they contribute to increased equity, improved public health, and expanded economic opportunity.

PANELISTS:

Henk Ovink

Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, Kingdom of the Netherlands

Margo Robbins
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Cultural Fire Management Council; Member of Yurok Tribe

Karen Shippey
Chief Director, Environmental Sustainability, Government of Western Cape, South Africa

Senator Henry Stern
California State Senate, 27th District

MODERATOR:

Wade Crowfoot
Secretary, California Natural Resources Agency

11:45 AM

Driving Adoption of Climate-Related Financial Risk Disclosure in the U.S.

Without a clear and transparent accounting of how public and private investments address climate risk and opportunity, the economy will never truly price these factors into decision making. In California, the catastrophic wildfires of 2017, 2018, and 2019 have put in sharp focus the social, economic, and personal loss that come from the current approach to allocating the costs of risk. But increased disclosure can lead to real market change, at meaningful scale.

This panel will explore how, in the absence of federally mandated risk disclosure, state and sub-national governments can promote coordinated adoption of climate-related financial risk disclosure. Panelists will share insights on what represents effective climate-related financial risk disclosure, explore the pathways for disclosure available to sub-nationals and identify clear actions to align public and private action on Financial Risk Disclosure.

PANELISTS:

Bob Litterman
Chair, Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee of CFTC;
Founding Partner, Kepos Capital

Craig Davies
Head of Climate Resilience Investments, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

James Manyika
Chairman and Director, McKinsey and Company

Divya Mankikar
Investment Manager, CalPERS

MODERATOR:

Kate Gordon

Director, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research & Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor on Climate

From a USDA news release

The USDA announced up to an additional $14 billion dollars for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) is underway and will continue through December 11, 2020.

The USDA will use funds being made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and CARES Act to support row crops, livestock, specialty crops, dairy, aquaculture and many additional commodities. USDA has incorporated improvements in CFAP 2 based from stakeholder engagement and public feedback to better meet the needs of impacted farmers and ranchers. 

Producers can apply for CFAP 2 at USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices. This program provides financial assistance that gives producers the ability to absorb increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Producers will be compensated for ongoing market disruptions and assisted with the associated marketing costs.

CFAP 2 payments will be made for three categories of commodities – Price Trigger Commodities, Flat-rate Crops and Sales Commodities.

Price Trigger Commodities

Price trigger commodities are major commodities that meet a minimum 5-percent price decline over a specified period of time. Eligible price trigger crops include barley, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, upland cotton, and all classes of wheat. Payments will be based on 2020 planted acres of the crop, excluding prevented planting and experimental acres. Payments for price trigger crops will be the greater of: 1) the eligible acres multiplied by a payment rate of $15 per acre; or 2) the eligible acres multiplied by a nationwide crop marketing percentage, multiplied by a crop-specific payment rate, and then by the producer’s weighted 2020 Actual Production History (APH) approved yield. If the APH is not available, 85 percent of the 2019 Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Option (ARC-CO) benchmark yield for that crop will be used.

For broilers and eggs, payments will be based on 75 percent of the producers’ 2019 production.

Dairy (cow’s milk) payments will be based on actual milk production from April 1 to Aug. 31, 2020. The milk production for Sept. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020, will be estimated by FSA.

Eligible beef cattle, hogs and pigs, and lambs and sheep payments will be based on the maximum owned inventory of eligible livestock, excluding breeding stock, on a date selected by the producer, between Apr. 16, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2020.

Flat-rate Crops

Crops that either do not meet the 5-percent price decline trigger or do not have data available to calculate a price change will have payments calculated based on eligible 2020 acres multiplied by $15 per acre. These crops include alfalfa, extra long staple (ELS) cotton, oats, peanuts, rice, hemp, millet, mustard, safflower, sesame, triticale, rapeseed, and several others.

Sales Commodities

Sales commodities include specialty crops; aquaculture; nursery crops and floriculture; other commodities not included in the price trigger and flat-rate categories, including tobacco; goat milk; mink (including pelts); mohair; wool; and other livestock (excluding breeding stock) not included under the price trigger category that were grown for food, fiber, fur, or feathers. Payment calculations will use a sales-based approach, where producers are paid based on five payment gradations associated with their 2019 sales.

Additional commodities are eligible in CFAP 2 that weren’t eligible in the first iteration of the program. If your agricultural operation has been impacted by the pandemic since April 2020, we encourage you to apply for CFAP 2. A complete list of eligible commodities, payment rates and calculations can be found on farmers.gov/cfap.

Eligibility

There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits when members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. In addition, this special payment limitation provision has been expanded to include trusts and estates for both CFAP 1 and 2.

Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

Applying for Assistance

Producers may now apply for assistance. Applications will be accepted through Dec. 11, 2020.

Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap/apply. For existing FSA customers, including those who participated in CFAP 1, many documents are likely already on file. Producers should check with FSA county office to see if any of the forms need to be updated.

By CDFA secretary Karen Ross

CA GROWN has announced that the first-ever California Farmer and Farmworker Month will be recognized in October.  It is a fitting tribute in a most challenging year. 

When COVID-19 hit, farmers, farmworkers and the entire food and ag value chain moved swiftly and effectively to redirect supply lines from foodservice to retail and on-line platforms where possible. They increased contributions to food banks to avoid waste at a time we faced a substantial increase of need. They learned on the fly, securing personal protective equipment (PPE) and implementing operational and scheduling changes to keep workers safe. No segment of our society has handled the abrupt disruptions flawlessly, but through it all, agriculture has maintained an adaptive, creative, can-do approach.

The teamwork in response to this crisis includes California’s county agricultural commissioners. They have fulfilled an essential role is helping the state deliver PPE to farmworkers, and I offer my heartfelt thanks for their efforts. Through partnerships with ag and community based organizations, they have distributed 3.25 million N-95 masks for protection from wildfire smoke, in addition to COVID-19 PPE – 13.4 million surgical masks; 1.1 million cloth mask; 58,200 units of sanitizer; and 350,000 pairs of gloves.

I also want to mention the Housing for the Harvest Program, which was introduced by Governor Newsom in July and provides temporary hotel housing to farm and food processing workers who need to isolate due to COVID-19. The state will book the hotel rooms and has partnered with counties and local organizations to help administer wraparound services like transportation, meal delivery and wellness checks.

Housing for the Harvest is currently live in six counties (Kings, Fresno, Riverside, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara and Tulare), and we are hopeful that many more counties will join this crucial program in the weeks ahead.  

California farms and ranches support 1.2 million jobs and generate $263 billion in total revenue for the state. We are an economic driver – but more than that, we are the source of a resilient urban food supply and a critical component of food security for our nation and beyond. The continued health of our industry is vital to this nation, and to customers across the globe. California’s essential agricultural workers plant, pick and pack a third of the vegetables and two-thirds of the fruits and nuts in America. and they care for the livestock that makes us the number one dairy producing state. That scale makes our state’s ag sector foundational in taking care of humanity’s most basic needs.

In a more ordinary year, I would spend time reflecting on the fact that the diverse bounty of our fields, orchards and pastures is the basis for our unique California food culture as well as our state’s character, beauty and allure. California is simply wall-to-wall with iconic landscapes, and many of those feature our farms, our rangelands, and our open spaces.

But this year, farming is less about iconic vistas and more about simple sustenance. It’s about growing food, protecting our food supply, and exceeding our annual average donation of 160 million pounds of nutritious food to California’s food banks. It’s about caring for one another.

This year, California’s agricultural community has come together like no time in recent memory.  Through COVID-19, market uncertainties, heat waves, and wildfires we understand the importance of the work we do.  We honor friends and neighbors who have been impacted, and we mourn the loss of loved ones and colleagues. 

Despite the daunting crises that we face, safe and healthy food gives us much to be thankful for.  These last six months have increased the curiosity of Californians about where and how their food is produced.  It offers us a tremendous opportunity to connect with consumers and is the very reason why CA GROWN is proud to officially proclaim October as Farmer and Farmworker Month. As part of that recognition, the organization will donate one pound of food to the California Association of Food Bank’s Farm to Family Program each time the hashtag #buycagrown is used on social media platforms. I would like to express my appreciation to CA GROWN for its commitment in putting together this important opportunity to show our appreciation.  

We have learned to do a lot by phone and computer from the confines of our homes these past six months.  I am sure virtual events and business sessions will continue to have a large role in our professional and educational lives, even when COVID-19 is behind us. But you can’t telework planting seeds, milking cows, or harvesting crops. Technology has many important roles in our industry, but at the end of the day, it is our people – our farmers, our ranchers, and our workers – who ensure agriculture can feed us.  

Researchers from the University of California-Davis (UC-Davis) are rethinking methane and showing that climate neutrality is within reach for the California dairy sector.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is 25-28 times stronger than carbon dioxide  — the primary greenhouse gas driving climate change in California — but how it influences actual warming is much different, according to a white paper released by UC-Davis professors Dr. Frank Mitloehner and Dr. Ermias Kebreab, along with Michael Boccadoro, executive director of Dairy Cares. The paper, “Methane, Cows & Climate Change: California’s Dairy’s Pathway to Climate Neutrality,” examines recent literature from leading climate scientists and its implications for the California dairy sector.

Methane is a climate pollutant that exists in the atmosphere for 12 years before it is broken down. This means, when a constant rate of methane is emitted for more than 12 years, one molecule, in effect, replaces a previously emitted molecule that has since been removed. In other words, methane isn’t accumulating in the atmosphere. Currently, the main accounting method used for measuring the climate impacts of greenhouse gases does not describe how individual gases such as methane warm — or cool — the climate over time. That oversight leads to a misinterpretation of methane’s role in warming the climate, while also ignoring possible solutions that could offset greenhouse gases from other sectors such as transportation.

“We have been looking at methane incorrectly when it comes to reducing warming,” said Mitloehner, a professor and air quality specialist for Cooperative Extension in the UC-Davis department of animal science and head of the Clarity & Leadership for Environmental Awareness & Research (CLEAR) Center. “While more potent than the most prevalent greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, methane is a short-lived climate pollutant, staying in our atmosphere for about 12 years before it’s broken down and removed. On the other hand, carbon dioxide remains in our atmosphere for centuries, with new emissions accumulating on top of those previously emitted, making it the main driver of climate change.”

According to the white paper, which examined historic dairy production in that state, California dairy farms have already stabilized methane emissions, which is a critical step to achieving climate neutrality and global climate goals. The authors explain, that as dairies continue to achieve further methane emission reductions, then they can create negative warming, also referred to as “cooling.”

California is the fifth-largest economy in the world and is responsible for about 1% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. More than 80% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions come from fossil fuel uses, such as in the transportation (41%), industrial (23%) and power-generating (16%) sectors. Even though California is the largest agricultural producer in the U.S. — producing fruits, vegetables, nuts, livestock and other essential foods for much of the nation and the world — the agriculture sector’s greenhouse gas contribution is roughly 8% of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Of this, California’s largest-in-the-nation dairy sector accounts for 4% of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

To its credit, the state has established goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 as it works toward a goal of “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2045.

Given greater efficiencies, plus a decrease in the number of cows and total milk production in recent years, the amount of methane emitted by California dairies is less today than in 2008. Simply put, California dairy farms are adding less methane today than they did 12 years ago, meaning more methane is being broken down than is being emitted into the atmosphere.

California’s dairy farmers are making further progress in reducing the amount of methane emissions released into the environment by installing anaerobic digesters designed to capture methane or through other projects like compost pack barns and solid separators, which are designed to reduce methane production on farms. According to the California Department of Food & Agriculture, California dairies are implementing projects that will result in a 25% reduction in manure-related methane emissions versus 2013.

Continued progress in these areas will be necessary for the state’s dairy production sector to reach the point at which it is no longer adding to global warming, which is known as climate neutrality.

“Reducing methane emissions and achieving climate neutrality is no small undertaking,” said Kebreab, who holds the Sesnon Endowed Chair in Sustainable Animal Agriculture in the UC-Davis department of animal science. “California is among the most efficient producers of milk and dairy products, and its life-cycle carbon footprint (per gallon of milk produced) is among the lowest of any region in the world. Further reductions will be accelerated as dairy methane reduction projects are implemented and feed additives become widely available. For other dairy regions, a critical first step will be to achieve similar levels of production efficiency (more milk with fewer cows) to begin stabilizing methane emissions and work toward climate neutrality. The impact of such an accomplishment would have profound global climate effects.”

The white paper identifies methane as an important mitigation opportunity. It also follows research on notable differences among individual greenhouse gases and their impact on climate change by leading scientists at the Oxford Martin School and Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.

Link to story on Feedstuffs web site.

Note – CDFA releases approximately 100,000 stingless parasitic wasps each week in areas of California with high populations of the Asian Citrus Psyllid, an invasive species that spreads huanglongbing, or citrus greening, a disease that is fatal to citrus trees.

Thousands of tiny, parasitic wasps were released across Southern California (last) week – but officials say they are beneficial bugs that will reduce a pest spreading a disease that’s killing the region’s citrus trees.

Thousands of tiny, parasitic wasps were released across Southern California (last) week – but officials say they are beneficial bugs that will reduce a pest spreading a disease that’s killing the region’s citrus trees.

Trees with Huanglongbing, also known as HLB, have been found more than 2,000 residential citrus trees in northern Orange County cities, Long Beach, eastern Los Angeles County, and Riverside County, according to UC Riverside’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The disease has not been detected in Ventura County, but several Asian citrus psyllid, also known as ACP, have been collected there.

Officials say the wasps, which are a natural predator of ACP, were released periodically (last) week. Citrus tree owners were urged to place ant bait around citrus trees to reduce ants, which can interfere with beneficial insects like Tamaraxia, and protect harmful pests like the ACP.

See the story here: https://cbsloc.al/3bQ3H5T

Learn more about the Asian Citrus Psyllid and huanglongbing.

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

I am saddened by the recent loss of John Anderson, DVM, farmer, scientist and environmentalist, who passed away on August 19, 2020. It seems quite fitting to pay tribute to him during this week of highlighting California’s amazing biodiversity. John was a leader in demonstrating the positive impact of hedgerows in enhancing biodiversity, which in turn provides many ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, pest regulation, pollinator habitats and sustainable agriculture.

John saw firsthand the value of hedgerows while working for three months in Kenya. He brought that knowledge back to California on his own Hedgerow Farms, showing the agricultural community that planting hedgerows of native plants and grasses benefited both wildlife and food production. The farm is still one of the most important growers of California native grass and wildflower seed in northern California.

A true steward of the land, John’s legacy lives on—and planting hedgerows is now one of the most popular practices in CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program, a Climate Smart Agriculture program administered by our Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation.

John’s obituary appeared in the Davis Enterprise on September 4, 2020.

Governor Gavin Newsom has released his latest “On the Record” column encouraging Californians to get counted in the 2020 Census by September 30. The column is part of a media collaboration with California Black Media, Ethnic Media Services, ImpreMedia, Univision and LGBTQ outlets Bay Area Reporter and Los Angeles Blade to contribute original content from the Governor on important topics impacting Californians, including the state’s diverse communities. Any media outlet is welcome to pull the column from the Governor’s website to publish on their platforms.

The column coincides with the statewide week of action urging all Californians to participate in the 2020 Census following the U.S. Census Bureau’s decision to end its counting efforts on September 30, a month earlier than originally planned.

“It’s our mission to include every community in the Census count, including ones who have previously been left out due to language and cultural barriers, fear or misinformation,” wrote the Governor in his column. “We’ve made historic investments in ensuring every single person living in California – especially those in hard-to-count communities – is counted. That includes working with non-profit organizations and ethnic media partners to ensure we reach every Californian in the language they speak.” 

California made significant investments in a statewide outreach and communication campaign focusing on the hardest-to-count residents, including Native Americans, immigrants, non-English speakers, diverse communities and children. Working in partnership with local governments, tribal governments, community-based organizations and media, the state is funding efforts that will complement work being done nationally by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Every Californian can respond to the Census online at my2020census.gov and by phone by calling the numbers available here. Paper forms received in the mail can also be filled out and mailed back.   The “On the Record with Gavin Newsom” column will be translated into at least six languages and published online or in print in over 50 participating media outlets.

Recent heat waves have caused California’s energy grid to take a beating, which forced the California Independent System Operator, the entity that operates the state’s power grid, to institute rolling blackouts.

How do California’s farmers and ranchers deal with energy uncertainty during times like this, when the intense heat demands an increase in irrigation? For many years, they have been working to improve both energy and water efficiency of their irrigation systems. And since 2014, CDFA’s State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) has been an important resource for California farmers, providing financial support for long-term efficiency improvements with a focus on greenhouse gas reductions.

“For many years, SWEEP has been funding grants that help California farmers and ranchers save water and reduce greenhouse gases through reduced energy consumption,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “The proactive, hard work of these farmers really shines when the state deals with challenges like the recent heat waves. Our farmers’ and ranchers’ contributions provide us with food security plus a host of other benefits seen through SWEEP efforts, which are invaluable to the state, especially now.”   

Some SWEEP grant recipients, for example, have installed energy efficient technologies such as efficient pumping systems coupled with variable frequency drives to reduce energy demands of irrigation. Other grant recipients have also installed solar and other forms of renewable energy, resulting in less imported energy and thus reducing the strain on the grid. Energy-saving practices like these also result in reduced greenhouse gas production. 

Central Coast citrus and avocado grower Daryn Miller received a SWEEP grant, which helped provide two small solar arrays, one for each irrigation pump, to offset his farm’s GHG production use and save water. The project also included installation of soil moisture and weather sensing technologies that help the farmer make data-driven choices on when and for how long to irrigate his crops.

“The objective overall was mostly to cut down our energy,” said Miller, “to really see how much water we were using … to get a good idea of where we’re at on a total amount of water and a total amount of electricity, and to essentially create our own little electric grid.”

Fresno County fruit grower Balvinder Purewal received a SWEEP grant to enhance his 37-acre farm’s irrigation system with a high-efficiency pump, soil moisture sensors, double-line drip system and 25-kilowatt solar array. “The SWEEP program is going to help us save on both water from the ground level and save energy,” he said. This energy savings results in statewide GHG savings by reducing the energy grids reliance of other forms of energy production. 

In 2019 alone, SWEEP supported 122 projects with an estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equal to 3,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. This is equivalent to supporting the electricity needs for nearly 550 homes for one year, based on federal EPA equivalency factors. SWEEP utilizes similar incentive strategies to the United States Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Service: Environmental Quality Incentives Program (NRCS:EQIP).

Scientists tell us that extreme heat days and extreme heat waves are becoming more common in California due to climate change, and reports developed by CDFA in collaboration with several partners and engagement with the farmer community, further highlight the same concerns. With compounding impacts of climate change and other stressors on our environment and natural resources, SWEEP and other CDFA Climate Smart Agriculture programs are helping build a more resilient ‘California For All.’

Watch what these and other farmers and ranchers have to say about SWEEP and CDFA Climate Smart Agriculture programs on our Climate Smart YouTube playlist at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxjMt4BmzMYasCKoAUewX0Vy2yk1LWNd_.