CDFA has filed an appeal of a recent Superior Court decision invalidating portions of CDFA’s Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for Pest Prevention and Management. The appeal, filed in the Third District Court of Appeal for California, seeks to overturn the lower court order. CDFA will also request that the court lift an injunction on certain CDFA activities. Going forward, the Department is committed to fulfilling its legislative mandate to prevent the spread of harmful pests while complying with the California Environmental Quality Act to ensure the protection of agriculture, the environment and other natural resources.

The final numbers for 2017 State Employees Food Drive are in and we are very pleased to note an increase in food donations compared to 2016!

CDFA and its Office of Farm to Fork coordinated the food drive from late September to early February, along with their partners at the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services and 108 different assistance agencies statewide.

We set an ambitious goal for the year–800,000 pounds–and almost got there. The 2017 total was 783,683 pounds, the equivalent of 648,000 meals to needy families! It’s an amazing accomplishment and on behalf of Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, I want to thank all state employees for making this possible.

The need for food in California is substantial. According to the California Association of Food Banks, 5.4 million Californians contend with food insecurity, which is defined as the occasional or constant lack of access to the food one needs for a healthy, active life. More than two-million of those people are children. That need is what motivates California state employees to commit to this effort each and every year!

– The 2017 crush totaled 4,239,836 tons, up 0.5 percent from the 2016 crush of 4,217,154 tons. Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed, at 2,248,260 tons, down 1.4 percent from 2016. The 2017 white wine variety crush totaled 1,765,424 tons, up 0.8 percent from 2016. Tons crushed of raisin type varieties totaled 94,268, up 4.6 percent from 2016, and tons crushed of table type varieties totaled 131,884, up 38.2 percent from 2016.

The 2017 average price of all varieties was $777.90, up 1.9 percent from 2016. Average prices for the 2017 crop by type were as follows: red wine grapes, $965.54, up 5.1 percent from 2016; white wine grapes, $587.73, down 1.8 percent from 2016; raisin grapes, $252.86, up 18.4 percent; and table grapes, $178.37, up 16.5 percent.

In 2017, Chardonnay continued to account for the largest percentage of the total crush volume with 14.5 percent. Cabernet Sauvignon accounted for the second leading percentage of crush with 14.2 percent. Thompson Seedless, the leading raisin grape variety crushed for 2017, was only 1.8 percent of the total crush.

District 13, (Madera, Fresno, Alpine, Mono, Inyo Counties; and Kings and Tulare Counties north of Nevada Avenue (Avenue 192)), had the largest share of the State’s crush, at 1,403,145 tons.  The average price per ton in District 13 was $304.47.

Grapes produced in District 4 (Napa County) received the highest average price of $5,225.04 per ton, up 11.4 percent from 2016. District 3 (Sonoma and Marin counties) received the second highest return of $2,806.07, up 8.3 percent from 2016. The 2017 Chardonnay price of $923.67 was up 4.2 percent from 2016, and the Cabernet Sauvignon price of $1,552.83 was up 5.6 percent from 2016. The 2017 average price for Zinfandel was $591.05, down 2.2 percent from 2016, while the French Colombard average price was up 2.5 percent from 2016 at $267.39 per ton.

The entire Grape Crush Report is available online at www.nass.usda.gov/ca. The 2017 Census of Agriculture, going on now, will provide more data on producers and grapes at the county level when published in 2019.

Dozer reporting for duty

Dozer the Detector Dog made an appearance at the State Capitol yesterday to encourage legislators and staff to attend California Ag Day at the Capitol March 20, 2018.

Recently retired, Dozer spent his career protecting California and its agriculture from invasive plant pests, diseases and weeds that could otherwise become established our state and result in damaging and expensive infestations and quarantines.

A joint effort between USDA and CDFA, California’s dog teams spend their working hours nosing around package-delivery facilities, detecting parcels that contain fruits, vegetables, plants and other agricultural materials that may not be labeled correctly.

Dozer spreads goodwill among State Capitol staff

Since the program began dog teams have intercepted thousands of mislabeled or otherwise illegal packages, including shipments containing hundreds of actionable insect and weed pests.

Don’t forget to visit us at the Capitol on March 20. Tell ’em Dozer sent you.

Secretary Ross greets Dozer

March 5-9 is Food Waste Prevention Week

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Californians throw out around 5.6 million tons of food every year, accounting for about 18 percent of the state’s waste stream. In fact, an estimated 40 percent of food in the United States goes to waste, the equivalent of tossing $165 billion into landfills each year.

But we are making progress. Governments, non-profits and private industry are working collaboratively to reduce food waste. On the forefront of this charge are California’s farmers and ranchers.  Here are some ways in which the people responsible for growing our food are helping to prevent it from going to waste:

Imperfect Produce

Having grown in popularity in recent years, the imperfect or “ugly” fruit movement continues to develop in supermarkets across the country. The concept is simple. Certain commodities must meet industry cosmetic standards. In the past, food that didn’t make the cut, despite being perfectly edible, was either recycled or tossed. Some estimates suggest that depending on the crop, anywhere from one to 30 percent of food grown by farmers doesn’t make it to the grocery store. But that is changing. Increasingly, growers in California are partnering with companies like the Bay-Area based Imperfect Produce, which aims to sell that food at a discounted price. Founded in 2015, the company now has a presence in both Northern and Southern California, and continues to expand its network by partnering with growers across the state. According to the group, their imperfect produce can cost 30 to 50 percent less than retail price, providing affordable fresh fruits and vegetables to communities’ that typically have limited access to nutritious produce.

Social media

California’s farmers and ranchers are no strangers to social media. They use these platforms to share pictures of their crops, exchange information, and–more recently–to save food.  A few years ago, Bloomfield Organics, an organic farming operation in Sonoma County figured out a way to sell its excess via social media. By sharing the availability of their remaining product with an already robust online community, the farm was able to sell produce that would have otherwise gone to waste.  These efforts ultimately evolved into the site, CropMobster, where growers can help build communities that focus on food waste prevention and resource sharing based on geographical locations.

Value-added use

California’s almond industry is finding innovative ways to make use every part of the tree fruit.  According to a 2017 report by the Almond Board of California, in addition to the 2.1 billion pounds of almonds produced in 2016, trees also produced 4.2 billion pounds of hulls and 1.5 billion pounds of shells.  The hulls and shells, along with the woody biomass of trees, serve as co-products for nutritious cattle feed, livestock bedding, and energy production. Hulls in particular, have become a valuable ingredient for livestock feed.

California’s farmers and ranchers are committed to the fight against food waste. However, the most effective way to save food begins on the individual level.  To learn more about tips and strategies to reduce food waste in your community please visit: https://www.savethefood.com.

Secretary Ross with Dutch Counselor for Agriculture Ton Akkerman.

One person can make a difference and sometimes we don’t have the time to say goodbye. It is with great sadness we say goodbye to our dear colleague and friend from the Netherlands, Mr. Ton Akkerman who passed away suddenly last month.

Ton was Dutch Counselor for Agriculture at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington D.C. He was instrumental in our first Climate Smart Agriculture mission, which was to the Netherlands in 2015. This mission was important to further our understanding of how agriculture is adapting to climate change in other regions of the world. Ton sat beside the Netherlands Minister of Agriculture during our discussions and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, and he guided us through every stage of our visit in the Netherlands.

Ton Akkerman (far right) during a visit to CDFA headquarters last September.

We remember Ton’s warm smile, his intellectual thinking, and how he made the delegation feel comfortable and welcome through every aspect of our trip. Since then he had continued to work with us closely to further our relationship.

Ton opened other key collaborations at the Dutch Consulate in San Francisco that we continue to develop very closely. He will be greatly missed but we know he has left us in good hands, and we will always remember him in the years to come as we continue our work to build our international collaboration. He certainly made a big difference in our lives.

Secretary Ross discusses Food Waste Prevention Week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA-8Ts_RDNQ

CDFA, in coordination with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, the Strategic Growth Council, the California Department of Public Health, and other partners, is pleased to announce March 5-9, 2018, as “Food Waste Prevention Week” in California.

Forty percent of all food waste occurs at the individual or household level, and 90 percent of Americans throw away food too soon due to unfamiliarity with confusing expiration date labels.  According to ReFED, a nonprofit specializing in reducing food waste in the United States, 52 million tons of food is sent to landfills annually. As it sits, food decomposes and releases methane – a climate pollutant 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period.

Food Waste Prevention Week aims to raise awareness and educate California consumers on how they can limit food waste in their homes, workplaces and communities.

Some solutions might include reducing portion size, seeking out imperfect produce, or asking for composting bins to be installed at an office or community center.

For more information on how to store, save and use food, please visit SaveTheFood.com