In recognition of  September as Guide Dog Awareness Month, CDFA’s Disability Advisory Committee has been welcoming furry, trained canine guests to agency headquarters. A recent event was a collaboration with the California Association of Guide Dog Users, a division of the National Federation of the Blind of California. 

The session was led by association president Shannon Dillon, accompanied by her guide dog Irish, an eight-year-old German Shepherd. 

Guide dogs are trained to assist people with disabilities, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Shannon talked about how specifically dogs like Irish play an essential role in the lives of individuals who are blind or have low vision, which Shannon experiences.

Guide dogs can perform tasks that range from guiding their handlers safely through busy streets to helping them navigate daily obstacles. The dogs are trained to provide independence and mobility to people who are blind or visually impaired. 

“The dog will stop at the curb, and I give it a hand motion to go right or left, and it helps me walk to the curb,” said Shannon. “They can also help find escalators and look for elevators. Guide dogs can know the word ‘elevator’ and they can find them.”

Shannon also discussed how guide dogs learn to work in crowds, locate a ramp at light rail platforms, identify empty seats on trains and buses, find counters and trash cans in unfamiliar spaces, navigate revolving doors, and help their handler manage safely in areas with no sidewalks or paths.

She highlighted the importance of understanding that guide dogs are working animals, not pets, and distractions like petting or making eye contact can interfere with their ability to assist their handlers. She therefore stressed the need for increased public awareness for the safety of handlers and their guide dogs.

Guide Dog Awareness Month is as a reminder of the critical work performed by these animals. Through the efforts of organizations like the California Association of Guide Dog Users, progress continues to be made toward greater inclusion and understanding. 

As Shannon and Irish demonstrate, guide dogs are essential in maintaining the independence and safety of people with disabilities.

To learn more about guide dog programs or how to support these incredible animals, visit the National Federation of the Blind of California.

CDFA’s California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program brings proven economic and environmental benefits to California food producers and communities, according to a new report authored by researchers from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, UC Berkeley, the Food Insight Group, the Berkeley Food Institute, and the USDA.

“This independent evaluation shows that our California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program is working, and that we are empowering our schools and farms to collaborate for the good of our kids and our communities” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross.

Since 2021, the program has reached 49% of all California students through a total of $86 million invested in 375 projects, benefitting 2,850,196 students at 269 school districts.

This report evaluates the 2021 and 2022 rounds of grant funding. Highlights include:

• Fifty-seven percent of the program’s farmers made sales to schools between April and September 2023
• Three producer grantees reported that grant funding likely prevented them from going out of business
• All producers funded by the grant program use or plan to use climate-smart agricultural practices in their operations during the grant period

To read the full report, click here.

Several CDFA employees volunteered yesterday at the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services,  helping to bag fresh produce and sort non-perishable food items.

September is Hunger Action Month, and CDFA is proud to join forces in the fight against hunger in our community and support those in need, aligning with the agency’s commitment through its Ag Vision plan to promote access to healthy food for all Californians.  

The Sacramento Food Bank helps provide approximately 3.2 million pounds of food to 320,000 people each month! They’re always looking for volunteers to help sort, repack, and distribute food that comes through their distribution center. The Food Bank was founded in 1976 and is the largest hunger relief organization in Sacramento County.

Photo, from left — CDFA Director of Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Victoria Hornbaker; Deputy Secretary Arima Kozina; Director of Information Technology Fred Gomez; Acting Citrus Division Director David Gutierrez; and Director of Inspection Services Natalie Krout-Greenberg.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross has concluded a trip to Vietnam along with USDA Under Secretary Alexis Taylor and a business delegation. The group had a series of visits and meetings with government officials and importers of U.S. agricultural products.

A visit to Hanoi followed a severe typhoon in the city and surrounding areas that has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries and significant property damage. The USDA delegation offered a word of sympathy at each meeting in the region, and the federal government has committed to make donations for relief and recovery efforts.

The delegation’s arrival helped celebrate the one-year anniversary of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which includes increased trade collaboration and investment to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the countries. Vietnam is currently the tenth largest export market for U.S. agriculture and these products are recognized by the Vietnamese consumers, importers, and retailers for their reliability, quality and sustainability.

During the visit to Hanoi, the delegation had the opportunity to meet with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to further trade and climate relations. Vietnam has pledged targets of a 30 percent reduction in methane emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050. The U.S. is preferred partner in helping Vietnam to reach these goals.

The meeting at MARD also highlighted the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026.  Vietnam was a strong supporter and partner in helping to achieve recognition at the United Nations General Assembly. Women farmers have a vital role in agriculture, responsible for nearly half of the world’s food production.

Additional visits included a meeting with the Golden Gate Restaurant Group, a leading food and beverage operator with 500 restaurants in Vietnam. The company imports U.S. agricultural products to incorporate into prepared items delivered to restaurants, hotels and retail outlets — combining the flavors and cuisine of Vietnam with quality U.S. products.

The trade mission concluded with a visit to Klever Fruit, one of the first companies to bring imported fruit into Vietnam. Klever Fruit is a pioneer in the imported fruit market and specializes in retailing premium fresh fruit in Vietnam in more than 50 stores throughout the country. Continuing the company’s leadership in the imported fruit market, Klever Fruit assisted in bringing the first shipments of California peaches to Vietnam this year.

Vietnam is dynamic and growing market for U.S. agricultural products. Next year will be the 30^th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam – a great opportunity to further California’s engagement with this import market.

Welcome to National Honey Month! Celebrated each September, this is a month to focus more clearly on US beekeeping, the beekeeping industry, and the use of honey as a natural and beneficial sweetener.

California ranks third in the country in honey production, with a value of $31 million. That’s 13.6 million pounds each year!

CDFA supports beekeepers with its Apiary Board — an advisory body comprised mainly of beekeepers assisting the agency on all relevant issues.

Thank a bee today!

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross is in Vietnam this week as part of a USDA trade mission offering opportunities for U.S. companies to engage face-to-face with Vietnamese buyers to build new trade linkages, strengthen existing partnerships, observe U.S. products in the marketplace, and identify emerging trends in Vietnam’s fast-changing markets. 

While in Ho Chi Minh City, Secretary Ross visited a promotional event called “Discover United Tastes” at MM Mega Mart, one of the largest hypermarket chains in Vietnam.  Featured displays included table grapes, raisins, and cheese – highlighting some of the best of CA GROWN. Other visits included meetings with Dan On Food Corporation, a leading U.S. tree nut and dried fruit processor, and Janbee Corporation, a soybean processor featuring the Sustainable U.S. Soy label.

Exports of U.S. agricultural and related products to Vietnam are just under $3.5 billion, and California’s agriculture exports are valued at more than $336 million.

Secretary Ross is joined in Vietnam by representatives of the California Fresh Fruit Association, California Table Grape Commission, California Walnut Commission, and 11 California businesses.

As peach season continues in California, come with us to Placerville to visit Beals’ Orchards to learn about peaches and other produce heading for Certified Farmers’ Market as well as progressive water use to maintain a sustainable operation.

News Release from Governor Newsom’s Office

What you need to know: The Governor today ended the drought state of emergency in 19 counties where conditions have improved significantly, maintaining it in the remaining 39 counties to address continued impacts to local water supplies and facilitate ongoing recovery. Additional action today rolls back certain provisions of prior drought- and flood-related executive orders that are no longer necessary under current conditions. 

SACRAMENTO – With California’s water year drawing to a close later this month, Governor Gavin Newsom today took action to adapt the state’s response to the historic drought and flooding that Californians have experienced in recent years.

In response to improved water conditions following two wet winters, the Governor ended the drought state of emergency in 19 counties while maintaining it in the remaining 39 counties where it continues to support long-term recovery from the three driest years on record. 

This action builds on the rollback of some drought emergency provisions in March last year and is in keeping with how the state entered the drought state of emergency in phases by region.

The Governor also rescinded certain provisions of prior executive orders related both to the drought and to flooding caused by 2023’s late winter storms which are no longer necessary under current conditions. As California grapples with more extreme cycles of wet and dry, the state remains ready to respond to changing water conditions.

“As this week’s weather makes clear, California and the West experience extreme weather swings that exacerbate our water challenges and make it more important than ever that we build a climate-resilient water system,” said Governor Newsom. “This targeted action is responsive to current conditions while continuing the tools and support for work underway to help future-proof water supplies in the most impacted communities.”

The Governor has terminated the drought state of emergency in 19 coastal and desert counties that are collectively home to 70% of the state’s population: Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, and Ventura counties. A copy of the proclamation terminating the drought state of emergency in these counties can be found here. 

The state of emergency remains in effect in California’s remaining 39 counties, where significant impacts from the multi-year drought – including depleted groundwater supplies, domestic well failures and harm to native fish – persist in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins, the Tulare Lake basin, the Scott, Shasta and Klamath River watersheds, and the Clear Lake watershed.

The executive order rolling back several provisions of prior drought- and flood-related executive orders further narrows the drought state of emergency in the 39 counties where it remains in effect, while also rescinding orders related to flooding following the 2023 winter storms in 53 counties. The executive order rescinds provisions that are no longer necessary to respond to those emergencies without disrupting state agencies’ legal authority and funding to continue expedited work to improve access to clean drinking water and ongoing drought resilience planning work. A copy of the executive order can be found here. 

As California approaches the beginning of a new water year, the state remains ready to respond to changing water conditions, including the potential return of dry conditions. With estimates that hotter, drier conditions could reduce California’s water supply by up to 10% by the year 2040, the state is implementing an all-of-the-above approach to safeguard and boost water supplies as outlined in the California Water Plan, Water Supply Strategy and Water Resilience Portfolio. Leveraging historic state and federal funding, California is:

• Advancing clear, ambitious targets to build drought and flood resilience, including increasing annual groundwater recharge capacity by 500,000 acre-feet
• Fast-tracking groundwater recharge efforts by streamlining permits
• Maximizing stormwater capture through new projects
• Supporting reservoir repair and expansion to boost water storage above and below ground
• Modernizing water conveyance infrastructure across the state, including the Delta Conveyance Project

CDFA joined USDA officials and congressional staff members last week to watch a detector dog in action at a FedEx facility in Orange County, on a tour organized by the California Agriculture Commissioners and Sealers Association (CACASA).

“California operates an incredibly effective program utilizing dog teams that are able to detect plant material in packages that may contain a variety of incoming pests,” said Jose Arriaga, Orange County Agricultural Commissioner. “These dog teams are key to helping us identify packages containing plant material and potential hitchhiking pests that come into California from around the world, allowing us to deter pests from infesting our local agricultural industry, the natural environment and our gardens.”

The dog at the parcel facility was “Bear,” a chocolate Labrador working with handler Vanessa Ochoa to look for unmarked packages that can carry harmful pests and diseases threatening California’s food supply and the environment. Read more about Bear.

“What is most impressive with the canine teams, is that they can clear up to 8000 parcels a day in facilities like Fed Ex, making them fast and thorough,” said Victoria Hornbaker, CDFA’s Director of Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services. “The California Dog Teams are vitally important to the pest prevention system. If invasive pests become established, they could cause irreparable damage. I will add that Bear, in addition to being a hard worker, is a really handsome brown Labrador.”

Dogs selected for the state program have been screened for high food drive, sociability, intelligence, physical soundness, and low anxiety levels. Dogs and handlers must complete an intense 8-week training program at the USDA’s National Detector Dog Training Center in Newnan, Georgia prior to beginning inspections in California. Dogs are initially trained to detect the following five target odors in parcels: citrus, apple, mango, guava and stone fruit. Once the teams have mastered the five target odors, handlers work with their partners to increase their repertoire to plants, soil, insects, and more.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, along with the California Jobs First Council, recently toured the Livermore headquarters of GILLIG, the leading heavy-duty transit bus manufacturer in the United States. GILLIG’s commitment to investing in its workforce and pioneering clean, zero-emission buses illustrates how companies can be powerful economic drivers. This is precisely what the Jobs First Council aims to achieve through a grant program that will support regional projects around the state and create thousands of jobs. 

Governor Newsom launched the Jobs First Council earlier this year to help reshape California’s economic landscape. The council is co-chaired by Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development; and Stewart Knox, Secretary of Labor & Workforce Development. The council’s focus is fostering job creation and regional growth in 13 targeted areas across the state.

“I look forward to learning about the opportunities identified in the regional plans for jobs of the future in the rapidly evolving technologies in food and ag production, as well as environmental leadership on working lands, the circular economy, and building healthy, resilient local food systems”, said Secretary Ross.

With $182 million in grants available through the Governor’s Regional Investment Initiative, the council will accelerate economic and workforce projects across California. This funding will support diverse industries, driving innovation and job development throughout the state.