By Brent Bible

U.S. farmers have been on an economic roller coaster for the past decade. Whether the shocks have come from demand destruction from recent trade wars, extreme weather like the heavy precipitation we saw in 2019, or supply chain disruptions like the ethanol facility and meat plant closures we’re seeing this year from COVID-19, it’s become clear to many of us that diversified revenue streams are the key to our survival.

To better weather these shocks, farmers like me will benefit from having access to multiple markets for a wide variety of crops and livestock. Steady, ongoing revenue streams will help smooth the ups and downs, and that’s where environmental markets have real potential to boost both economic and environmental resilience.

Farmers already use conservation practices like cover crops or conservation tillage that build soil health and provide environmental benefits such as reducing emissions or creating wildlife habitat. These same practices would also generate a valued commodity that could be sold to companies that want to offset impacts from their operations.

In the past, the cost and complexity of certifying credits has kept many farmers from participating in greenhouse gas markets, a common type of environmental market. That could be about to change, thanks to the Growing Climate Solutions Act. 

The Growing Climate Solutions Act would simplify and standardize the certification process for generating credits and help farmers realize more returns on their investments in credit-worthy practices.

The bipartisan act — introduced by Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) — would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to “certify the certifiers.” USDA would review the science and define the rules of the road. Then approved private sector certifiers would work directly with farmers to find value in the conservation practices farmers choose to use. 

These certifiers would be akin to the crop consultants and extension agents that farmers already work with closely. Yes, farmers would need to pay for these services, but participation is voluntary, and I can say that for me, personally, the ease of working with a private sector expert instead of having to navigate the certification process myself would be worth it.

The economic rollercoaster that farmers are on seems to be speeding up every year, with higher highs and lower lows. Revenue from providing environmental benefits would be like a seat belt on the rollercoaster, helping farm businesses stay safe across the ups and downs, reducing future risks and shocks, and setting a good example for other stewards of the land.

Agriculture has a tremendous opportunity to lead by example with impactful, common sense climate solutions. Farmers also want to make our farms as resilient as possible so that they survive for generations to come. By opening the door for farmers to engage in voluntary environmental marketplaces, this bill meets both of those needs.

Brent Bible is a first-generation grain farmer in central Indiana. He is an adviser to Environmental Defense Fund and member of the Soil Health Partnership.

Link to item on Agri-Pulse web site

News Release from Duke University

A new study by researchers at Duke University and RTI International finds that reusing oilfield water that’s been mixed with surface water to irrigate farms in the Cawelo Water District of California’s Kern County does not pose major health risks, as some opponents of the practice have feared.

“We did not find any major water quality issues, nor metals and radioactivity accumulation in soil and crops, that might cause health concerns,” said Avner Vengosh, professor of water quality and geochemistry at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, whose lab led the new study.

Faced with increasing droughts and water shortages, some farmers in the Cawelo district have used diluted oilfield produced water (OPW) for irrigation for their fields for more than 25 years, as permitted under California Water Board policy.

While the oilfield-mixed water contains slightly elevated levels of salts and boron relative to the local groundwater, those levels are still below the standards set by the state for safe drinking water and irrigation in the Cawelo district, Vengosh said.

Boron and salts from the OPW have however, accumulated over time in the irrigated soil. The district’s farmers will need to plant boron-tolerant crops and keep mixing the OPW with fresh water to avoid boron toxicity and salinity buildup in their fields, and also to remain within state guidelines. “But all things considered, this is good news,” Vengosh said.

The researchers published their peer-reviewed findings May 18 in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

The new study should help allay fears that contaminants in the Cawelo OPW, which is produced as a byproduct of oil and gas extraction at sites adjacent to many farm fields in the district, could impact water and soil quality, harm crop health or pose risks to human health, the researchers said.

“Those concerns assumed that the OPW generated by oil and gas wells in the Cawelo district contains similar mixtures of salts, metals and naturally occurring radioactivity as OPW generated in oil fields in other regions. But our study shows that’s not the case,” said Andrew Kondash, a research environmental scientist at RTI International, who led the study as part of his 2019 doctoral dissertation at Duke.

“The OPW produced in Kern County is much more diluted and low-saline than common OPW from other parts of the country, so it can be used for irrigation if it is mixed with surface water,” Kondash said.

Determining whether it is safe to use OPW for irrigation in other locations would require a similar suite of water and soil testing, Kondash said. “You can’t assume that the results in this study could be applied to OPW from other oilfields, where the salinity is typically much higher.”

To conduct the new study, the researchers collected and analyzed soil samples, irrigation water samples, OPW samples and groundwater samples from sites across the Cawelo Water District from December 2017 to September 2018 and analyzed them for a wide range of contaminants including, salts, metals and radioactive elements.

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The study was part of a research project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (grant #2017-68007-26308) and included a policy analysis section led by Erika Weinthal of Duke’s Nicholas School.

Other authors were: Jennifer Hoponick Redmon and Elisabetta Lambertini of RTI International, Laura Feinstein of the Pacific Institute, and Luis Cabrales of California State University at Bakersfield.

In addition to earning his PhD in Earth and Ocean Sciences from Duke’s Nicholas School, Kondash also earned a Master of Environmental Management degree in Energy and Environment at Duke in 2013.

Link to study on ScienceDirect website

By Melissa D. Ho, World Wildlife Fund; John Piotti, American Farmland Trust; and Joel Berg, Hunger Free America

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed weaknesses in our nation’s food system—something so fundamental that most people take it for granted. Most of us don’t think about how and where we get our food. We simply expect supermarkets to be fully stocked, and we hope those in need will be able to turn to food banks and federal food assistance programs for help. But as schools and businesses shuttered their doors, more than 38 million people have since lost their jobs, and one in three U.S children are now going hungry, making the gaps in the system evident.

These gaps have always existed—for too long we have prioritized low-cost and most efficient over fair-priced, local and regional—but now the gaps are magnified. Dairy farms have dumped thousands of gallons of milk; perishable fruits and vegetables have been plowed over or left to rot; and fishermen can’t sell their catch. All this while food banks and social service agencies face unprecedented demand, and child hunger is five times the rate it was before this crisis. Our food system isn’t just cracked; it’s broken.

We’re thankful that government programs are being expanded, while volunteers, religious groups, chefs, not-for-profits, private donors and aid organizations are stepping in, trying to get food to the people who need it and supporting our local and regional producers. But these patchwork solutions aren’t nearly enough in the short-term, or sustainable in the long-term.

Many organizations, ours included, are turning to solutions that address the root causes. With additional public support and leadership from the private and public sectors, we have the potential to emerge from this crisis stronger. Here are four actions that need to be taken.

First, we must act immediately to protect farmers and ranchers, especially small- and medium-sized producers of specialty crops, livestock and dairy. The Farmer Relief Fund and state and local emergency mini-grant programs are providing some immediate assistance, but much more is needed. As part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program funded largely through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), the USDA announced that it will provide $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers, plus an additional $3 billion in purchases of agriculture products, including meat, dairy and produce. The USDA must act quickly to distribute this funding to impacted farmers and ranchers who need help the most, prioritizing small- and medium-sized operators and those most negatively affected from the closure of direct to market sales.

Second, we need to increase income, food purchasing power and safety nets for Americans in poverty. There should be immediate revisions in the eligibility restrictions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and future incentives for the purchase of fresh, locally grown foods. States and cities should allow for farmers markets to operate in low-income communities with safe social distancing, and there should be future investment in new markets to provide these communities with affordable, nutritious food. Federal and state regulations must also be relaxed so idling assets can be mobilized and food can be redirected not wasted. For thousands of school districts, more flexibility will allow for efficient execution of emergency feeding plans, which may need to continue through the summer. USDA should be taking additional steps to ensure farmers and ranchers can expand existing partnerships to respond to urgent needs.

Third, we must build resilience and sustainability in our food system. We need to rethink how and where we grow, process, distribute and access healthy and affordable food. We need to develop business models and financial tools for farmers to produce more food for their local and regional markets so that supply chains will be adaptable and resilient to future shocks. We need to protect farmland and water resources. Future farm bills and policies should include a safety net for smaller, more diversified producers and specialty crop farmers; reform commodity, price support and insurance programs to level the playing field across all commodities; and incorporate incentives for conservation and regenerative and sustainable practices for all producers. Policies must also place fundamental value on farmland, not just for growing food but for safeguarding the natural resources that provide habitat for wildlife, clean water and resilience to extreme weather.

Finally, in all these measures we must value people—those who produce our food and those who consume it. It’s important that once we’re on the other side of this pandemic we don’t become complacent and relegate these issues and communities to the back burner. As a society, we have the means, motive and opportunity. Our response now will help shape the resilient and just food system we so desperately need.

Link to item on Farm Journal web site

In 2018 California’s farms and ranches received almost $50 billion for their output. This represents a slight increase compared to 2017. California remains the leading US state in cash farm receipts.

California’s agricultural abundance includes more than 400 commodities. Over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts are grown in California. California’s top-10 valued commodities for 2018 are:

• Dairy Products, Milk — $6.37 billion
• Grapes — $6.25 billion
• Almonds — $5.47 billion
• Cattle and Calves — $3.19 billion
• Pistachios — $2.62 billion
• Strawberries — $2.34 billion
• Lettuce — $1.81 billion
• Floriculture — $1.22 billion
• Tomatoes — $1.20 billion
• Oranges — $1.12 billion

We would like to note that, for the first time, the Agricultural Statistics Review includes summary data about organic production, a significant segment of California agriculture.

California agricultural statistics derive primarily from the United States Department of Agriculture/National Agricultural Statistics Services (USDA/NASS) reports. CDFA collaborates with the University of California at Davis to produce statistics for California agricultural exports. For county-level reporting please see the CDFA County Liaison site.

Initial crop statistics for 2019 are expected later this year.

Link to full 2018 crop report

By Brian German

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working with American Farmland Trust (AFT) to help enhance San Joaquin Valley water efficiency.   The San Joaquin Valley Land and Water Conservation Collaboration is being made possible through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program from NRCS, in coordination with state and local partners.

“We’re going to over the next five years, have some pretty sizable achievements,” said AFT California Regional Director Kara Heckert. “To protect our agricultural land in the valley to ensure resilience to climate change through healthy soils, high-quality surface and groundwater supplies, and environmentally sound habitats for fish and wildlife.”

NRCS has made $10 million available for the project, which is being matched with $14.2 million from multiple project partners. Some of the key elements of the initiative include data analysis, developing conservation plans, and working to implement on-farm conservation practices. “We are going to be protecting farmland through conservation easements as part of this as well,” Heckert noted.

The plan includes assisting in the development of conservation plans to increase groundwater recharge potential and water conservation on at least 100,000 acres, working with 150 to 200 producers. The five-year project will also assist with the implementation of best practices to increase water infiltration and water conservation on at least 23,565 acres of land with at least 80 producers. Heckert noted that the fundamental goal is to improve San Joaquin Valley water efficiency through a variety of hands-on approaches working with producers.

“That can be things like soil, it can be things like cover cropping, it can be things like flooding farm fields. All of those practices are things that are much more cost-effective in the long term, which is really important for the farmers’ bottom line if we’re going to expect the scale-up of adoption of these practices,” said Heckert. “We need to make them economically viable for the farmers.”

Link to item on AgNetWest web site.

California agriculture feeds the world. Entomologists with the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) Plant Pest Diagnostics Center are tasked with protecting the state’s food supply against native and foreign pest insects. This includes hunting for insects at home and abroad that pose potential environmental threats and identifying specimens submitted by various agents and the general public across the state. These specimens make up the California State Collection of Arthropods (CSCA) and are available for future studies.

The CSCA is also part of the CalBug consortium – a collaboration of California’s eight largest arthropod collections – which provides a broader view in time and space than any single institution alone. California has the greatest biodiversity of all states in the US, but at the same time it is not very well known compared to the eastern states. It is important to know what species are native to California, to better understand and detect the invasive species. By analyzing changing distributions of insects over time with respect to land use (agriculture, urbanization, water ways, etc.) and our changing climate, we can better predict and prevent pest outbreaks, know where and when to look for new invaders, and encourage beneficial insects to aid in pollination, pest control, and nutrient cycling.

Our latest expedition series, “California Food and Agriculture”, includes species from several insect families that are important to agriculture and forestry. The often colorful Tephritidae or “fruit flies” include some of the most important agricultural pest species, as well as a diverse set of native Californian species that do not pose pest problems, but are a crucial part in the complex web of life. Bombyliidae (bee flies) are important pollinators, while Asilidae (robber flies) are predators as adults and in the larval stage on other insects. Buprestidae (metallic wood-boring beetles or round-headed borers) typically infest dead or dying trees and accelerate the recycling of nutrition in the ecosystem. California has great diversity of native species, although some non-native pests in this family attack and kill live trees. Understanding and documenting the native fauna is critical to help combat pest species. By helping us capture data in our newest CalBug expedition, you will be helping to protect California’s Food and Agriculture as well as California’s extraordinary biodiversity!

Link to item on the Notes from Nature Blog

By Tammy Anderson-Wise, CEO of the Dairy Council of California

Schools provide children with the opportunity to learn and develop essential skills, and for many children, a chance to eat nutritious foods. For our most vulnerable children, school meals are a reliable meal source and provide a vital source of nourishment, playing a central role in combatting childhood food insecurity.

Since March, schools throughout the nation have shuttered their classrooms and cafeterias to slow the spread of COVID-19. Although sheltering in place is important to keep communities safe, school closures remove an essential safety net for children who rely on free and reduced-cost school breakfasts and lunches as their primary source of nourishment. Collaboration is needed at all levels to ensure all children haveaccess to nutritious foods, especially milk, vegetables, fruits and whole grains, which is important for their optimal growth and development, academic success and long-term health. 

Connecting Families to Meals and Other Resources

School communities in California and throughout the nation have innovated how they connect students with healthy meals, quickly establishing drive-thru service at school sites with the highest need. Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued nationwide waivers for child nutrition programs, such as the National School Lunch Program and the Summer Food Service Program, temporarily loosening restrictions on how meals are served to support local efforts to feed students.

In California, Dairy Council of California partnered with the California Milk Processor Board to launch HealthyEating.org/SchoolMeals as part of a statewide public awareness campaign to help families find school meal program sites near them. The food access campaign is supported by State Senator Dr. Richard Pan, California Association of Food Banks, school districts and local wellness collaboratives throughout the state. 

HealthyEating.org/SchoolMeals is a dedicated landing page that comprehensively aggregates participating school meal service sites throughout the state. The landing page focuses on school meal service sites but also provides information to support families, including links to locate nearby food banks and free online nutrition resources to support distance learning. Also available in Spanish, the landing pages have supported 413,000 site visits since their launch in late March, including 371,000 unique views, proving they are a valued resource to California communities.

Dairy Council of California is also using technology and innovation to help students learn while schools are closed. In partnership with the California Milk Advisory Board, students can now take part in Farm to You Virtual Field Trips where they can learn about dairy farming, including how milk and dairy foods are produced and the nutritional benefits of dairy foods. Dairy Council of California is also offering a roundup of free online nutrition resources, including games, activities and curriculum, as well as a variety of resources to teach agricultural literacy at home.  

An Opportunity to Make a Difference

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges that affect everyone, and while these are trying times, there is also opportunity to make a difference and create solutions to address these challenges. Policy makers and leaders are looking to experts in ag, health and food access to help adopt innovative approaches to keep communities healthy. At Dairy Council of California, we are committed to doing our part to supporting children, families and communities and keeping them healthy by adopting innovative and creative approaches to support food access and distance learning. We are also collaborating with industry partners to ensure nutrition and agriculture’s role in nourishing communities is top of mind, and pursuing multi-disciplinary partnerships at all levels to extend our reach.

The new environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic has also created opportunities to re-affirm the vital role agriculture plays in supporting community health, and we invite collaboration from all agriculture partners. We believe that through leadership, collaboration and ongoing support to provide communities with nourishment, resources and information, we can emerge from the pandemic strong and intact.

Link to article on Agri-Pulse web site

USDA News Release

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that the Department is making available up to $1 billion in loan guarantees to help rural businesses meet their working capital needs during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, agricultural producers that are not eligible for USDA Farm Service Agency loans may receive funding under USDA Business & Industry (B&I) CARES Act Program provisions included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“Under the leadership of President Trump, USDA is committed to being a strong partner to rural businesses and agricultural producers and being a strong supporter of all aspects of the rural economy,” Secretary Perdue said. “Ensuring more rural agricultural producers are able to gain access to much-needed capital in these unprecedented times is a cornerstone of that commitment.”

In addition to expanding eligibility to certain agricultural producers, the changes Secretary Perdue announced today allow USDA to:

• Provide 90 percent guarantees on B&I CARES Act Program loans;
• Set the application and guarantee fee at two percent of the loan;
• Accept appraisals completed within two years of the loan application date;
• Not require discounting of collateral for working capital loans, and
• Extend the maximum term for working capital loans to 10 years.

B&I CARES Act Program loans must be used as working capital to prevent, prepare for or respond to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The loans may be used only to support rural businesses, including agricultural producers, that were in operation on Feb. 15, 2020.

USDA intends to consider applications in the order they are received. However, the Department may assign priority points to projects if the demand for funds exceeds availability.

USDA announced the expanded B&I CARES Act Program authorities in a notice published in the May 21 Federal Register (PDF, 217 KB). Program funding expires Sept. 30, 2021.

Eligible applicants may contact their local USDA Rural Development State Office in the state where the project is located.

USDA is developing application guides for lenders and borrowers on the B&I CARES Act Program. The Agency also will host two webinars to provide an overview of program requirements.

To register for the webinar on Wednesday, May 27 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, visit globalmeet.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1322642&tp_key=7a700acddd.

To register for the webinar on Wednesday, June 3 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, visit globalmeetwebinar.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1324161&tp_key=6067315417.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.