From a California Department of Conservation News Release

The California Department of Conservation today announced the award of more than $40 million to regional organizations working to reduce groundwater reliance and create local environmental and economic opportunities through land-use changes. These organizations, which operate in five important agricultural counties, are the first recipients of funding from the Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program​, part of Governor Newsom’s multi-faceted response to the ongoing drought. 

Grant recipients

• The Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District was awarded $10 million to develop a comprehensive land repurposing program in a groundwater subbasin that has been designated as critically over-drafted by the Department of Water Resources (DWR). 

• The Pixley Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainability Agency, which operates in Tulare County and a portion of Kern County, received $10 million to facilitate strategic land retirement, develop habitat resources, and protect and enhance water resources in the Tule subbasin.

• The California Marine Sanctuary Foundation, headquartered in Monterey, was granted $10 million to fund land repurposing work by a broad coalition, including disadvantaged communities and tribes.

• The County of Madera received $10 million in funding to pay farmers to repurpose marginal agricultural lands in three critically over-drafted subbasins with historical groundwater level declines, land subsidence, and groundwater quality degradation.

• Visalia-based Self-Help Enterprises and the Environmental Defense Fund’s California Water team were awarded $2 million grant to provide support for the program’s block grantees with planning, project implementation, and community engagement services.

About the Program The Budget Act of 2021 allocated the California Department of Conservation $50 million to fund groundwater sustainability projects that reduce groundwater use, repurpose irrigated agricultural land, and provide wildlife habitat. For more information, visit the MLRP webpage.

The annual California Agricultural Statistics Review has been released and is available on the following webpage: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Statistics/.  This publication provides comprehensive data and information on California’s diverse agricultural economy for the 2020 crop year, including agricultural exports and organic production.

In 2020, California’s farms, ranches and plant nurseries earned $49.1 billion in cash receipts, which was down 3.3 percent from the prior year.  California’s revenue was led by the dairy industry, followed by almonds, grapes and pistachios.

California agricultural exports totaled $20.8 billion in value, which was 2.8 percent lower than 2019. However, California continues to lead the nation in agricultural exports.  In 2020, California exported approximately 32 percent of its agricultural production by volume.  California is the nation’s sole exporter of many agricultural products, supplying 99 percent or more of almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, garlic, kiwifruit, olives and olive oil, pistachios, prunes, raisins, table grapes, tomatoes for processing, and walnuts.

California organic product sales totaled more than $11.9 billion in 2020, an increase of 14 percent from the prior year.  Organic production site acreage increased 6 percent to just under 2.2 million acres in the state.  California accounts for 36 percent of all organic production in the U.S.

California remained the leading state in cash farm receipts in 2020 with combined commodities representing 13.7 percent of the U.S. total.  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 the 2020 crop year are:

1. Milk and Cream $7,466,612,000
2. Almonds $5,619,930,000
3. Grapes $4,481,297,000
4. Pistachios $2,873,750,000
5. Cattle and Calves $2,737,342,000
6. Lettuce, all $2,275,284,000
7. Berries, all Strawberries $1,989,170,000
8. Tomatoes, all $1,197,026,000
9. Floriculture $967,206,000
10. Walnuts $957,700,000

Note: A comprehensive report for the 2021 crop year will be assembled in late 2022. Data on California’s Top 10 Agricultural Commodities are reported and updated each August.

Agricultural producers and handlers who are certified organic, along with producers and handlers who are transitioning to organic production, can now apply for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Organic and Transitional Education Certification Program (OTECP) and Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), which help producers and handlers cover the cost of organic certification, along with other related expenses. Applications for OTECP and OCCSP are both due October 31, 2022. 

“By helping with organic certification costs – long identified as a barrier to certification – USDA has helped producers participate in new markets while investing in the long-term health of their operations,” said Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux. “We launched the Organic and Transitional Education Certification Program to build on the support offered through the Organic Certification Cost Share Program and provide additional assistance to organic and transitioning producers weathering the continued market impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, in response to stakeholder feedback, we have aligned the signup dates for these two organic programs and encourage producers to work with the local USDA Service Centers and State agencies to complete the applications. The FSA, and the USDA broadly, are committed to making sure our Nation’s organic producers and handlers have the tools they need to continue positively shaping our local and regional food systems.” 

How to Apply 

To apply, producers and handlers should contact the Farm Service Agency (FSA) at their local USDA Service Center. As part of completing the OCCSP applications, producers and handlers will need to provide documentation of their organic certification and eligible expenses. Organic producers and handlers may also apply for OCCSP through participating State agencies.   

Additional details can be found on the OTECP and OCCSP webpages. 

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USDA News Release

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disaster events in 2020 and 2021 will soon begin receiving emergency relief payments totaling approximately $6 billion through the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) new Emergency Relief Program (ERP) to offset crop yield and value losses.

“For over two years, farmers and ranchers across the country have been hard hit by an ongoing pandemic coupled with more frequent and catastrophic natural disasters,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “As the agriculture industry deals with new challenges and stressors, we at USDA look for opportunities to inject financial support back into the rural economy through direct payments to producers who bear the brunt of circumstances beyond their control. These emergency relief payments will help offset the significant crop losses due to major weather events in 2020 and 2021 and help ensure farming operations are viable this crop year, into the next growing season and beyond.”

Background

On September 30, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43), which includes $10 billion in assistance to agricultural producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms, and other eligible disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021. FSA recently made payments to ranchers impacted by drought and wildfire through the first phase of the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP). ERP is another relief component of the Act.

For impacted producers, existing Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data is the basis for calculating initial payments. USDA estimates that phase one ERP benefits will reach more than 220,000 producers who received indemnities for losses covered by federal crop insurance and more than 4,000 producers who obtained NAP coverage for 2020 and 2021 crop losses.

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