Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Scientists trying to make plants love salt – from The Counter

By Jessica Fu

Every summer, wine scientist Andrew Walker embarks on one or two road trips in search of wild grapes. Armed with an eagle eye, a team of graduate students, and a rental car—the wheels on one side rolling along the asphalt and the wheels on the other rumbling through the adjacent gravel—Walker estimates that he drives between 400 and 500 miles per day in search of native grape varieties, which conveniently thrive along the edges of roads. When he comes across a wild grape, he uproots the plant, places it in a Ziploc bag, and stores it on ice. For obvious reasons, uprooted plants don’t last long, so these foraging trips never last more than a few days. Walker then brings the wild varieties back to his lab at the University of California, Davis, where he’s a professor of viticulture and enology (fancy terms for “wine-growing” and “the study of wine,” respectively). The plants will go on to play an integral role in his research, breeding grapes to withstand one of today’s most challenging environmental issues: salty soil.

The gradual, upward creep of soil salinity is a quiet phenomenon—one that doesn’t get as much attention as, say, historic levels of flooding or incurable plant diseases. The factors that drive salinization, as it is officially known, are manifold. The use of certain high-salt fertilizers can increase salinity; as can saltwater intrusion—a problem that occurs in coastal regions where seawater from the ocean seeps into groundwater reserves. Even everyday, non-agricultural practices, such as the use of road salt, can play a role. But perhaps the most significant contributor to salinization is something that appears far less menacing: Irrigation, the ubiquitous, millennia-old technique of human-controlled watering. 

Farms supported by irrigation, located mostly in the West, make up half the market value of the country’s annual agricultural output, according to a 2016 Congressional Research Service report. Irrigation has given producers the power to extract freshwater nearly everywhere—from distant rivers to aquifers deep under the earth’s crust—and bring it to the most barren regions. In California, the biggest farming state in the nation in terms of revenue, irrigation has built and sustained empires. But unlike rain, irrigated water contains small levels of salt-bearing minerals that accumulate in the ground, and over extended periods, these remnants can damage or even kill our most economically important crops.

“When you irrigate your crop, the water used is not pure water—it always has some salt in it,” explains Jian-Kang Zhu, a professor of plant biology at Purdue University. “This water will eventually evaporate from the soil, but the salt will stay. Over time that salt will accumulate in the soil to a level that is not suitable for plants.”

Salt in soil can jeopardize a crop’s health first by dehydration and later by poisoning. 

“When you have salt, and really high concentrations in soil, it can do two things: One is it can reduce the plant’s ability to take up water,” says Phoebe Gordon, a farm advisor at the University of California, Merced Extension. “Another thing that will happen is that the plants will actually take up some of these salt compounds. While plants might need sodium and chloride, at very, very, very low levels, plants [in high salinity soil] will take up those ions at levels that will damage tissues and that can cause things like leaf burn and defoliation and, in really severe cases, death.”

Grapes are one such plant. While there are more than 30 wild varieties in the U.S., just a handful of them have roots that can adequately tolerate high-salinity soil. Those that do, however, aren’t usually the same varieties that root well. Or the kind that people like to drink. As is the case with most crops, farmers use a process known as grafting to connect the scions, or twigs, of wine grapes with plants that have sturdier root systems. And as such, rootstock serves as an integral conduit between these grapes and the earth itself, and the first point of contact between the plant and salty soil.

“We’re looking for types [of root systems] that exclude excess amounts of sodium chloride from getting to the plant, so that they can persist even longer and last even longer,” Walker says.

Here’s where Walker and his team come in: They breed thousands of hybrid seedlings by dusting the pollen of certain species—some of which they may have found on their road trips—onto the flowers of others in an effort to produce offspring that exhibit the desirable traits of both. What follows is akin to a playoff-style elimination. First, they note which seedlings take root best and get rid of the rest. Next, they observe which seedlings graft best and get rid of the rest. After the field is whittled down to a handful of finalists, Walker’s lab exposes the remaining seedlings to increasingly higher levels of saltwater, until they determine the champion.

Since mid-December, Walker’s lab has submitted three salt-tolerant varieties of rootstock to the California Grapevine Registration & Certification Program, standard practice to verify that each variety is free of disease. With a clean bill of health, the rootstock will then undergo a patenting process, and eventually end up in commercial nurseries, which will sell it to vineyards. If and when it becomes commercially available, wine growers will be able to graft it to the stems of syrahs, merlots, and zinfandels.

The forage-to-field process can take up to 20 years, Walker tells me, and there’s usually multiple rootstock breeding projects unrelated to the issue of soil salinity ongoing at the same time. In the past few years, for example, Walker’s lab has released grape varieties that can thrive when faced with a range of other common environmental stressors, including pathogens and nematodes.

The specific relationship between a crop and salinity varies based on the species. Some vegetation, like alfalfa, is highly tolerant of salt by nature. But the crux of our salinization issue is that many economically important crops veer on the side of salt-sensitive. 

450 miles southeast of Davis lies the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Salinity Laboratory in Riverside, California. Here, plant geneticist Devinder Sandhu is working to enhance the salt tolerance of another one of California’s most commercially important crops—the almond. California’s almond farmers produce 80 percent of the world’s almonds, a crop valued at $5.6 billion in 2018, according to most recent USDA data. Like grapes, almonds are sensitive to salt.

Funded partially by the Almond Board of California commodity checkoff organization, one of Sandhu’s current projects involves screening all commercially available almond rootstock and attempting to identify which genetic networks regulate salt tolerance. Once equipped with this genetic insight, breeders can then use a tool called “marker-assisted selection” to produce salt-tolerant rootstock more efficiently than conventional breeding. 

“With this approach, if we have some DNA-based markers, we can look at thousands of plants, take samples from each and isolate DNA out of that and test those,” Sandhu explains. “And then out of them, [we] come up with 20 that—based on our marker analysis—should be tolerant to salt. Then we go back to those 20, and test them in real situations.”

Scientists I spoke with stressed that the issue of soil salinity will be exacerbated by the ongoing climate crisis. They predicted that as droughts become more extreme and heat stress more common, those conditions will make water scarcer and crops thirstier. As a result, soil salinity will become a far more burdensome obstacle to overcome—which explains why researchers are increasingly interested in breeding salt-tolerant varieties.

In addition to his work on almonds, Sandhu has studied the salt tolerance of a wide range of other specialty crops, including strawberries, eggplant, spinach, and tomatoes. Other researchers at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service have looked into how different carrot germplasm and lettuce genotypes tolerate salinity. Scientists at Florida International University have found that adding microbes to snap bean roots can help them endure salinity. Scientists in Egypt want to do the same with fungus and tomatoes. Scientists in China are trying to understand rice’s ability to withstand salinization.

“In the next 10 to 15 years, the importance of this issue is going to only increase,” he says. “Drought and salinity are going to become big issues at the global level.”

In some parts of the world, salt is already devastating food production. In western Australia, for instance, soil salinity caused by poor land use management has severely impacted some 2.47 million acres of farmland and caused $347 million (USD) worth of damage. In Bangladesh, a coastal country, saltwater intrusion is spreading to non-coastal regions, too, with dire consequences on food production and its economy.

Many researchers also draw an ominous parallel between the issue of soil salinity today and the drought-linked downfall of Mesopotamia—the earliest civilization located in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East—4,300 years ago.

“What did they have [in the Fertile Crescent]? Like in California—a lot of sun,” says Julian Schroeder, professor of plant science at the University of California, Davis. “They were irrigating crops and [Mesopotamia] became a wealthy society. Well, guess what—they didn’t realize they were building up salt, the crops stopped growing, and the civilization collapsed.”

“This story of the Fertile Crescent is an example of what happens with salinity if people don’t watch out for what’s happening,” he adds.

n the approximate middle between Davis and Riverside sits a 9000-acre farm operation called Terranova Ranch, which produces a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. When it was first founded nearly 40 years ago, high soil salinity was a major issue, recalls farm manager Don Cameron. To deal with it, the farm first applied a mineral known as gypsum to the fields. A main ingredient in drywall, the substance can help replace sodium in soil with calcium, an essential plant nutrient that plays a role in cell development.

“We do continue to add gypsum and incorporate that into the ground,” Cameron says. The application of gypsum, however, is also costly, and its efficacy is limited if a farmer’s water supply is still high in salts. “There’s no replacement for good water quality and good soil quality.”

Terranova tried to adapt to salinization by experimenting with planting and harvesting schedules. For example, as Cameron tells it, his farm plants carrots in the winter rather than the summer to take advantage of increased precipitation. In fact, when I first reached Cameron for our scheduled phone interview, he was in the middle of dealing with a truck that had accidentally, spectacularly spilled 25 tons of harvested carrots onto the field. Additionally, crops generally extract water more easily when it’s cooler, as heat can drive evaporation.

Today, Cameron regularly takes soil and water samples from his fields and tests for salt and nutrient levels. These measurements go on to inform long-term planting decisions. For example, pistachios are far more tolerant to salt than almonds. “Our salt-sensitive crops we put on areas of the ranch where we know the salt levels are much lower, and we put the more salt-tolerant crops on the saltier ground,” Cameron says.

Cameron predicts that salt-tolerant rootstock would allow his farm to adapt to extreme weather patterns that he’s observed over the decades.

“We see it on our farm that our summers are hotter, our springs are coming earlier, and our falls are typically warmer than in the past. During the hottest portion of the summer, we see issues with crops that we didn’t use to have,” Cameron says. “So we’d love more heat-tolerant, salt-tolerant, disease-resistant plants.”

He adds drily, “We don’t want much.”

Sandhu, the Salinity Laboratory geneticist, expects that almond rootstock that is 15 to 20 percent more salt-tolerant will be commercially available starting in 2024. He also predicts that adoption will be gradual. First, farmers growing in high salinity regions will likely replace old almond trees with the more adaptive kind. Later, farmers who’ve never grown almonds because of salty soil might begin to experiment with the crop thanks to the new development.

In any case, the introduction of a salt-tolerant variety of almond—or rice, or wheat, or alfalfa, or carrot—will be only the first step in what experts expect to be an emerging area of research, one that will demand deeper refinement and innovation in decades to come. Just how exactly plants can survive salty soil is just one riddle among many. Like other effects of anthropogenic climate change—heat, drought, flooding, disease—salinization is a consequence we’re only beginning to grapple with.

Likewise, researchers don’t see salt-tolerant plants as a be-all-end-all solution to salinization. Rather, their work is part of a broader effort to widen our sense of what traits are “desirable” when it comes to producing food. Down the line, a singular focus on maximizing yields may no longer be the ideal—or even possible.

“With climate change, there’s going to be more and more salinity issues,” Walker says. “As things get hotter and drier, there’ll be need for more water. And the more water you pour on, the worse it gets sometimes. It’ll have to be a case where we readapt our agricultural practices to some extent.”

Link to story on The Counter web site

The Counter is a non-profit website reporting on what America eats and how it’s produced.


Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

CDFA at California Small Farm Conference

CDFA Farmer Equity Advisor Thea Rittenhouse speaking today at the 2020 California Small Farm Conference at Cuesta College in Paso Robles. Rittenhouse discussed an upcoming CDFA report on farmer equity and touched on important areas like land tenure, language barriers, market competition, and the accessibility of state programs.

Several CDFA programs staffed information booths at the conference, including the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. Pictured here are CDFA employees Crystal Myers (seated-right) and Monica Pedigo (seated-left).

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Secretary Ross meets with Vietnamese Vice Minister of Agriculture

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross with Vice Minister Le Quoc Doanh, Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

This afternoon CDFA Secretary Karen Ross met with a Vietnamese Delegation of government and business leaders led by Vice Minister Le Quoc Doanh of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. This meeting served as an opportunity to strengthen the collaboration and partnership between Vietnam and California on issues related to trade, climate and technology.

Vietnam is California’s tenth largest agricultural export destination valued at more $331 million. Leading exports to the market include: almonds, dairy, walnuts, cotton and table grapes.

Posted in Climate Smart Agriculture, Trade | Leave a comment

Central Valley farm advisor’s commitment to help Hmong farmers prosper – from the University of California

UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Michael Yang.

By Pamela Kan-Rice, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Keeping current on government regulations, agricultural marketing news and crop research advances can be challenging for California farmers, especially for those who speak English as a second language.

Hmong farmers in the San Joaquin Valley can tune in at 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoons to listen to farm-related news delivered to their radios in their native language from Michael Yang, UC Cooperative Extension small farms and specialty crops advisor for Fresno County.

For the past 22 years, Yang has hosted the one-hour Hmong Agriculture Radio Show on KBIF 900 AM in Fresno to promote prosperity in the largely immigrant, small-scale Southeast Asian farming community. Yang provides advice on crop production and marketing.

“Fresno County has a large number of small and diversified farms; we have over 1,300 Southeast Asian farms and over 900 are Hmong farmers, according to a survey we did in 2007,” Yang said. “I used to help 250 to 300 farmers every year, in the past couple of years it’s grown to about 400 farmers.”

Yang not only speaks their language, he shares their culture and history. After his father was killed for assisting the U.S. during the Vietnam War, Yang, his mother and three younger brothers spent 4 years of his childhood fleeing on foot through the jungles of Laos, subsisting on vegetation and wildlife, to reach safety in Thailand. The refugee family eventually made it to Fresno, where they took up farming.

The Hmong farmers grow Asian specialty crops including eggplant, lemongrass, long bean, squashes, bittermelon and moringa that they sell at farmers markets or to restaurants. Connecting Southeast Asian farmers to sell their produce at farmers markets has been a vital role for Yang, who serves as a translator and cultural interpreter between the immigrant farmers and farmers market managers. He explains the requirements for participating in the farmers markets and helps the farmers with paperwork and communication. Some growers drive as far as San Diego to get a higher price for their produce; the price can be three times as high at farmers markets in larger cities compared to Fresno.

Sales of Asian specialty crops grown by Hmong and other Southeast Asian farmers in Fresno County are valued at about $17.5 million annually, according to the Agricultural Commissioner of Fresno County. 

Although Yang and colleague Ruth Dahlquist-Willard, UC Cooperative Extension small farms advisor, offer workshops and field days to share information, the radio show is an important information source because farmers can listen to the show while they work in the field. Because Hmong Agriculture Radio Show is such a critical tool for bilingual outreach, Dahlquist-Willard continually seeks grants to pay the $75 per show to the radio station. Of the 69 Hmong farmers who responded to a 2015 UC Cooperative Extension survey, 80% said they regularly listened to Yang’s radio show.

Read more at this link on the UC ANR web site

Video with Michael Yang working with a Hmong farmer to explain how CDFA’s SWEEP program benefits his farm.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Bee theft in California continues to be a problem – from Mother Jones

Bees at an entrance to a hive.

By Oliver Milman

This story was originally published by The Guardian 

Mike Potts was aware he was at risk of being a victim of crime, he just didn’t think it would happen to him. But Potts is an owner of an increasingly valuable commodity that thieves are targeting with growing sophistication in the US: bees.

A booming demand for honeybees for pollination drew Potts, owner of Pottsy’s Pollination in Oregon, to load 400 hives of his bees on trucks and drive them down to California’s agricultural heartland last month. He unloaded them to a holding area just outside Yuba City and returned just a few days later to find 92 hives had been whisked away by thieves.

“I pulled in the yard and noticed that there was some stuff missing,” said Potts, who estimated the theft cost him $44,000. Police subsequently pulled over three suspicious beekeepers traveling late at night, to no avail. “I’ve heard that there had been some stealing but didn’t think it would happen to me. It’s frustrating because it’s getting harder and harder to keep bees alive. And then you transport them down and they just get taken.”

The theft is the latest in a string of beehive heists, often undertaken at the dead of night using forklifts and trucks. Hives are regularly split open or dismantled, interventions that can kill tens of thousands of the kidnapped bees. The problem has become severe enough in California that certain police officers now specialize in hive crime.

“Hive theft has always been an issue but it has definitely increased over the last eight years,” said Rowdy Freeman, a Butte county police officer who is commonly referred to as “bee theft detective.” Freeman has compiled figures showing there was an explosion in California hive thefts in 2016, with 1,695 being taken, compared with 101 in 2015. In 2017, the figure was 1,048 hives.

“The number fluctuates but it is definitely something that will continue and that will require resources and advancements in the use of technology to help prevent and deter theft.”

The center of beehive thefts is California’s Central Valley, a fertile stretch of agricultural land responsible for about a quarter of all the produce grown in the US. This huge output—of lettuce, grapes, lemons, apricots and more—requires pollination from far more bees than naturally live in the area.

The main driver of the demand for honeybees is the almond industry, which has doubled in size over the past two decades. There are currently 1.17m acres of almonds in California that require pollination which, at a standard rate of two beehives an acre, means the industry somehow needs to conjure up 2.34m beehives for a short window of time each February, when almond trees start to blossom.

Beekeepers from across the US congregate in the Central Valley in a sort of annual almond jamboree; more than two-thirds of the nation’s commercially managed honeybees sent on trucks to a 50-mile-wide strip of fertile land. Unlike native, wild bees like bumblebees, honeybees are carefully marshaled in hives and are now more valuable as contract pollination workers than as honey producers.

Read more on the Mother Jones website


Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

CDFA scientist: California moving towards less methane by 2030

A covered lagoon digester in Hanford, CA

By Geetika Joshi, CDFA Senior Environmental Scientist, in the Journal of Nutrient Management

Farmers and ranchers in California know that their Golden State is more than palm trees and beaches. It is the largest dairy producing state in the nation, and based on 2017 data, California housed 1.7 million cows and produced 39.8 billion pounds of milk on 1,331 dairies.

The overwhelming majority of our dairy cows — 91% — live in the Central Valley, while the remaining 9% reside in the northern coast and southern regions. These areas vary significantly in climate, water, and air quality, all of which play a role in on-farm animal and manure management methods. The cooler climates up north are well-suited to pasture-based operations, while larger feedlot-style, flush-based systems prevail in the Central Valley.

The methane challenge

California’s large number of cows contribute methane emissions, which result from the action of methanogenic bacteria that thrive in the cows’ guts. Methane from livestock comes from two main sources: enteric fermentation, such as cow belching, and storage of manure in anaerobic (wet) conditions, such as ponds and lagoons.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), and its emissions are responsible for about 20% of the global warming now driving climate change. In California, agriculture accounts for 8% of the total inventoried GHGs, and about 53%of that is from animal agriculture. Enteric fermentation contributes to 28% of our agricultural methane emissions, while 25% stems from manure storage.

State legislation passed in 2016, SB 1383, requires California’s dairy and livestock sector to reduce its methane emissions to 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. The statute requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB), in consultation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), to potentially adopt regulations beginning in 2024 to reduce methane from dairy and livestock manure management operations. SB 1383 also requires CARB to work with a broad range of stakeholders to identify and address challenges and barriers to the development of dairy methane emissions reduction projects.

While reducing enteric fermentation methane emissions remains a challenge that needs additional research and development, methods of manure management are well-researched and commercially available. One such method is establishment of anaerobic digesters to capture the methane produced from stored manure, which can then be used to generate renewable energy. There are also several nondigester technologies and practices that focus on eliminating wet storage conditions of manure to realize methane emissions reduction.

Funding for projects

California currently offers voluntary financial incentives for implementing measurable methane reductions at dairy and livestock operations. These incentives are provided through two CDFA-administered programs: the Dairy Digester Research and Development Program (DDRDP) and the Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP). These programs are funded through California Climate Investments, also known as the Cap-and-Trade program.

DDRDP was first developed and implemented in 2014-15 with an initial appropriation of $12 million. In its first year, the program funded six dairy digester projects in the Central Valley, where the captured methane was used to make renewable electricity. DDRDP to date has awarded approximately $181.6 million to implement 107 projects located on individual dairies throughout California. These projects generate renewable compressed natural gas (RCNG) fuel in addition to renewable electricity-generating projects. Thirteen dairy digester projects are now complete, and the remainder are in various phases of completion.

Funded dairy digester projects are located across seven counties in the Central Valley, and collectively they reduce approximately 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMTCO2e) annually, which equates to 420,000 cars being taken off the road each year.

AMMP was first developed and implemented in 2016-17 in response to stakeholder interest in non-digester management practices. The need for large amounts of digester feedstock, a 50% financial match, proximity to natural gas pipelines, and ease of connection to existing electric grids are some of the key factors attributed to successful digester projects. Subsequently, smaller or more remotely located dairy operations needed a menu of additional options to participate in California’s methane reduction efforts.

AMMP incentivizes nondigester-based manure management practices. This includes conversion from water flush systems to dry scrape systems; solid separation followed by drying or composting of manure solids; compost-bedded pack barns; and increasing the amount of time animals spend on pasture.

AMMP has funded 106 projects totaling $61.9 million. Of these, 28 projects are complete, and the remainder are in various phases of completion. Funded projects are located across 12 counties and collectively reduce approximately 200,000 metric tons of CO2e annually. This is equivalent to more than 42,000 cars being taken off the road each year.

In 2019, CDFA also funded three demonstration projects, totaling almost $2 million. The aim of these projects is to showcase new and innovative manure technologies as well as conduct outreach and educate dairy farmers.

Opportunities exist

With expectations for Cap-and-Trade funding to continue, California is poised to meet its target within the next decade for early and measurable methane reductions. In addition, many co-benefits exist that dairy producers can expect with a digester or alternative manure management practices. For example, digesters can provide an important revenue stream from the sale of renewable energy, which also contributes to climate change adaptation. Similar benefits may also be provided through production of compost.

Methods such as anaerobic digestion and drying of manure solids can potentially help reduce impacts to water quality, since these projects transform manure into a stabilized, easier-to-handle form. The resulting dried manure compost can be moved and used as a soil amendment benefiting plant and soil health.

Most importantly, these voluntary initiatives provide California’s dairy families with the tools and capacity to engage in climate change efforts. Dairy agriculture is an important economic and food contributor, and it is also playing a key role in California’s efforts to lead the nation in practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

For more information on CDFA’s Dairy and Livestock Methane Reduction Programs, visit: DDRDP and AMMP. Follow us on Twitter: @CDFAClimateNews.

Link to article on the Journal of Nutrient Management web site

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Look for CDFA this week at Small Farm Conference and Black Farmer Conference

Thirty Second California Small Farm Conference flier

California Small Farm Conference

CDFA is pleased to be part of this year’s 32nd annual California Small Farm Conference that runs from Thursday, February 27 through Saturday, February 29 at Cuesta College North County Campus, 2800 Buena Vista Dr, Paso Robles, CA, located in San Luis Obispo County.

This year’s conference theme is “Strength Through Diversity”, honoring the resilience of diversity in agricultural systems. The conference attracts family farmers, ranchers, farmers market managers and advocates for local food from across the state.

The keynote presentation on Friday will feature CDFA’s Farmer Equity Advisor Thea Rittenhouse. CDFA staff will be available at exhibition booths – look for information about CDFA’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation, the Certified Farmers’ Market Program, the California State Organic Program, the Produce Safety Program, the Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP), the Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Division, and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.

More information and tickets can be found at www.casmallfarmconference.org


USDA Growing Together flier

Black Farmer Conference with Urban Farmers

CDFA is also pleased to be part of the one-day statewide Black Farmer and Urban Farmer Conference that will take place on Saturday, February 29 from 7:30 am – 3:00 pm at the West Fresno Family Resource Center, housed in the Maxie Parks Community Center, 1802 E. California, Fresno, CA.

CDFA Farmer Equity Advisor Thea Rittenhouse will be at this conference, as well, and there will be representatives providing information about the Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation, the California State Organic Program, the Produce Safety Program, the Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP), the CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division, the Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Division, and the Animal Health Branch.

For more information and registration, visit: wfresnofrc.org/BlackFarmersConference

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Promoting Biodiversity: CDFA scientists at Biodiversity Museum Day

CDFA entomologist Dr. Martin Hauser shows off some of the “wow bugs” from the department’s California State Collection of Arthropods

UC Davis’ annual Biodiversity Museum Day earlier this month provided an excellent opportunity for CDFA’s Plant Pest Diagnostics Lab to show off some of its most prized posessions: the California State Collection of Arthropods.

Dr. Martin Hauser, Dr. Peter Kerr and Dr. Michael Forthman spent the day highlighting the important work they do for agriculture.

Besides displaying parts of entomological collections, these CDFA scientists spent their day fielding questions from an excited audience of all ages there to learn about biodiversity. One of CDFA’s roles is to collect and preserve these “reference collections” so that scientists, farmers and other stakeholders can accurately and quickly identify an organism to determine whether it is a pest or a beneficial insect, or whether it is a native or invasive organism. The diverse audience ranged from families with children, to young adults and students, to very interested retirees and citizen scientists.

CDFA’s collaboration with the university’s Bohart Museum of Entomology is indicative of the productive relationship the two organizations have across a broad range of scientific specialties relating to agriculture and the environment.

The displays included showy exotic insects, as well as pests of agricultural significance like the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) and spotted lanternfly, to various honey bee pests. Our other displays covered native insects and emphasized the great natural biodiversity of our state, introducing the dogface butterfly, our state insect. The live cockroaches and walking sticks were great attention-getters, especially for children, who were able to touch and handle these gentle insects.

Posted in Biodiversity | Leave a comment

Applications due March 1 for FARMER funding to upgrade agricultural trucks, equipment, reduce pollution

$4.65 million available — across 18 California air districts — for purchase of cleaner agricultural trucks, pump engines, tractors and more

From the California Air Resources Board

Funds to replace old agricultural equipment and vehicles are now available for 18 of California’s smaller air districts. Replacement with cleaner equipment helps reduce emissions of harmful diesel exhaust and greenhouse gases, and improves local air quality.

The statewide Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) program received $132 million in fiscal year 2018-19. Approximately $4.65 million is specifically designated for districts that each contribute less than 1 percent of total statewide emissions from agricultural equipment.

The first application period for the 18 “shared pool” districts kicked off Saturday, February 1, and runs through March 1, 2020. The second application period is set from May 1 to June 1, 2020. FARMER funding is administered by California’s regional air districts, and farmers apply by submitting an application to their local air district.

To be eligible, vehicles and equipment must be engaged in agricultural operations. Eligible project categories include:

  • • On-road heavy-duty trucks;
  • • Off-road vehicles, such as tractors;
  • • Stationary and portable engine sources, such as agricultural pumps;
  • • Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTV), or small tractors, (eligible for replacement with electric UTV); and
  • • Infrastructure engaged in, or supporting, agricultural operations.

Since the FARMER program first launched in 2018, projects implemented statewide will reduce 250 tons of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), 4,200 tons of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and 64,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases.

The FARMER Program is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.

The 18 shared pool districts were designated to ensure farmers in those smaller districts have the opportunity to access FARMER funding. The pool is managed by Placer County Air Pollution Control District.

The 18 districts are:

Amador County APCD
Antelope Valley AQMD
Calaveras County APCD
El Dorado County AQMD
Great Basin Unified APCD
Lake County AQMD
Lassen County APCD
Mariposa County APCD
Mendocino County AQMD
Modoc County APCD
Mojave Desert AQMD
North Coast Unified AQMD
Northern Sierra AQMD
Northern Sonoma County APCD
Placer County APCD
Shasta County AQMD
Siskiyou County APCD
Tuolumne County APCD

Find Your District

District Farmer Contacts

Application Information

See the original announcement on the CARB site

Posted in Climate Change, Climate Smart Agriculture, Environment | Leave a comment

Stockton fourth-grader grows prize-winning cabbage

Meet Lorenzo Bruno, a fourth-grader at Annunciation School in Stockton. His 57-pound cabbage was the California winner of the annual Bonnie Plants cabbage-growing contest. For his efforts he will receive a $1,000 scholarship award, a plaque, and a winner’s certificate. He’ll be honored on March 24 at his school. Congratulations, Lorenzo!
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments