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Category Archives: Environment

Address all factors to improve salmon numbers – from the Sacramento Bee

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Office of Public Affairs

By Don Bransford and Fritz Durst Special to the Sacramento Bee For most people traveling on Interstate 5 in Northern California, Lake Shasta is viewed as a recreational jewel along their journey. The fact is the reservoir is a major … Continue reading →

Posted in Drought, Environment | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Hmong farmers getting help from UC Cooperative Extension to weather the drought – from UCANR

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Office of Public Affairs

By Jeannette Warnert, UC Agriculture & Natural Resources After the Central Valley Hmong Agriculture radio show aired, the phones at the UC Cooperative Extension office in Fresno County were buzzing non-stop with farmers anxious to apply for state grants to … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Drought, Environment | Tagged , | Leave a comment

NRCS making air quality incentives available to agricultural producers

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Office of Public Affairs

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is making air quality funds available to help agricultural producers improve and maintain air quality within designated nonattainment areas of California. Funding for the National Air Quality Initiative (NAQI) is available through the Environmental … Continue reading →

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Video: Earth Day @ CDFA

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Jay Van Rein, CDFA Office of Public Affairs

Happy Earth Day from CDFA! This video provides a brief look at just a few of the programs and projects at the California Department of Food and Agriculture that help farmers protect the environment. From healthy soils and dairy digesters to alternative … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Fertilizer, Healthy soils, Hydrogen, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Invasive Species, Measurement Standards | Tagged | 1 Comment

The “Iron Wolf” and whole orchard recycling – from the California Almond Board

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Office of Public Affairs

California almond growers are examining new ways to deal with tree biomass produced by the removal of old orchards other than cogeneration burning. While sending the biomass to cogeneration converts the wood to electricity, returning the wood back to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Healthy soils, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Snowpack’s Water Content Far Greater than One Year Ago, But It’s Still Too Soon to Know Whether Drought Will Be Broken

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

From the California Department of Water Resources The Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted the winter’s first media-oriented manual snow survey today, and despite the higher-than-average water content for the statewide snowpack, officials said snowfall during the remainder of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Drought, Environment | Tagged | 1 Comment

COMET-Farm: Science-based Tools to help Specialty Crop Growers

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Dr. Amrith Gunasekara, CDFA Science Advisor

Agricultural food production and the relationship with the air, water and soil systems is complex, both from scientific and practical perspectives. Bringing the scientific interrelationships into a user-friendly on-line tool to help agricultural producers understand their entire farming operation’s carbon … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Healthy soils | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Firebaugh farmer honored by White House for soil health techniques: from the Fresno Bee

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

By Megan Ginise, The Fresno Bee On the outskirts of the western San Joaquin Valley, amid one of the worst droughts in California history, Jesse Sanchez is making waves with his agricultural techniques. Sanchez, 63, is the farm manager at … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Healthy soils | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Farmers Are Embracing Sustainability – You Just Aren’t Hearing About It (From The Huffington Post)

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Jay Van Rein, CDFA Office of Public Affairs

“Things are changing. It’s just how do you get them to change fast enough?” By Joseph Erbentraut Senior What’s Working Editor, The Huffington Post When farmers make the news in relation to climate issues like droughts, floods or extreme heat, … Continue reading →

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GMO Testing Pilot Project to ensure compliance with National Organic Program

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture

By Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture and Jenny Lester Moffitt, Deputy Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture It has been said that “California is the capital of organic.” The strength of that statement is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Farmers' Markets, Nutrition | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment