Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Category Archives: Conservation


Video – Rice fields and wildlife

Videos from the California Rice Commission Northern California rice fields demonstrate what are known as ecosystem services – multiple benefits gained from farming and ranching, including crop and livestock production. Please visit CDFA’s database of ecosystem services throughout the state.

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LUNDBERG FAMILY FARMS RECEIVES CALIFORNIA LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD

From the Sand County Foundation: Lundberg Family Farms has been selected as the recipient of the 2018 California Leopold Conservation Award®. Sand County Foundation, the nation’s leading voice for private conservation, created the Leopold Conservation Award to inspire American landowners by … Continue reading

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Leopold Award finalists announced for 2018

The Sand County Foundation, the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation are proud to announce the 2018 finalists for the prestigious California Leopold Conservation Award®. The award honors private landowner achievement in the voluntary stewardship and management of natural … Continue reading

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2018 Leopold Conservation Award seeks nominees

The Sand County Foundation, the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation are accepting applications for the $10,000 California Leopold Conservation Award. The award publicly honors California farmers, ranchers, foresters and other private landowners who demonstrate outstanding stewardship and management … Continue reading

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To Fight Climate Change, Heal the Ground – From the NY Times

California Today: To Fight Climate Change, Heal the Ground By:Mike McPhate The climate change fight has focused largely on cutting emissions. But California is now considering another solution: dirt. Whereas an overabundance of carbon in the air has been disrupting … Continue reading

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Video: Secretary Ross joins celebration of the formation of the California Farm Demonstration Network – from UC ANR

The newly formed Farm Demonstration Network is designed to increase the adoption of improved-performance conservation agriculture systems in California. Founding signatories, including CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, gathered on May 5 to launch the network with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): the … Continue reading

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California and Israel to co-host forum on Water and Agriculture Policy – May 25th in Sacramento

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will co-host a joint forum on shared issues related to water and agriculture. The forum will bring together Israeli and Californian government officials … Continue reading

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Governor Brown Lifts Drought Emergency, Retains Prohibition on Wasteful Practices

SACRAMENTO – Following unprecedented water conservation and plentiful winter rain and snow, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today (4-7-17) ended the drought state of emergency in most of California, while maintaining water reporting requirements and prohibitions on wasteful practices, such … Continue reading

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California to receive nearly $22 million in conservation partnership funding

The USDA has  announced that 88 high-impact projects across the U.S. will receive nearly a quarter billion dollars in federal funding as part of the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). In addition, partners have proposed to contribute up to … Continue reading

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SALC program preserves ag land for climate benefits – from the Strategic Growth Council

Its Second Year, Cap-and-Trade Funded SALC Program Commits $37.4 Million to Shield Agricultural Land from Development Twenty California properties may be permanently set aside for agriculture thanks to a first-of-its kind state program that invests in farmland conservation in order … Continue reading

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