Several years ago, the late public television personality Huell Howser produced a series of reports called California’s Golden Fairs. One of the segments featured the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, which begins its 17-day run today.
California’s Golden Fairs #109 – ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIR from Huell Howser on Vimeo.
The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “For the Love of Olives.”
Four California communities have placed in the Top-15 fittest cities in the country, according to the 2013 American Fitness Index. The Bay Area, defined as San Francisco, Oakland and Fremont, placed fourth; the Sacramento area was seventh; the greater San Jose area placed 10th; and San Diego finished 14th.
The index considers a number of factors in determining fitness, including the percentage of the population consuming more five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day and access to farmers’ markets. The number of farmers’ markets per capita was mentioned as a factor for all four of the California communities mentioned above.
Please visit CDFA’s web site for more information about California’s Certified Farmers’ Markets, including a listing of their locations.
Northern California’s Feeding Crane Farms, founded in 2011, is an example of the new farming operations and farmers needed in California and the U.S.
Farm demographics continue to change in California. The average age of a farmer is 58 years old, relatively few heirs are willing to take over farms, and fewer people are interested in becoming farmers because of a variety of challenges. This dynamic is made more troublesome by the fact that food demand is expected to double worldwide by the year 2050. As a result, the opportunity and need for California farmers will be significant, and the cultivation of new farmers and ranchers is more important than ever.
Because of this, the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, which first embraced this subject in a meeting in 2011, devoted its June 4th, 2013 meeting to continue the discussion of programs that assist new farmers and ranchers. Presentations were heard from the Center for Land-Based Learning and the California Farm Academy, founded by board president Craig McNamara; the Agriculture and Land Based Training Association (ALBA); California FFA; the California Department of Veterans Affairs; and the Farmer Veteran Coalition.
One of the beginning farmers who participated in the ALBA program spoke of the difficulties he faced as a new farmer, primarily in the distances he must travel in order to sell his products. This was met by a suggestion from board member Rodney Taylor that the farmer contact his local school district in order to acquire a more local customer, a path the farmer said he had never thought to explore. Farm to school programs are a growing opportunity for small farmers to develop a volume-consistent customer.
The theme of the meeting was clearly established – identifying ways the board could assist the development of the next generation of farmers and ranchers. Whether they come from programs such as ALBA, are veterans returning from combat, or high school students who are excited about a life in farming, the board is committed to creating a place for each of them in California agriculture and doing all it can to facilitate their success.
The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is part two of “Blossom Buddies,” a story about honey bees in California and the challenges to their health in recent years.
Dairyman Ron Koetsier tends to his cattle during feeding time at his dairy. Koetsier is in the process of restoring a 28-year-old power generating methane digester that has remained idle for about a decade. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dairy-digester-20130609,0,878419.story
By Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times
Dairy farmer Ron Koetsier’s 1,200 cows produce roughly 90 tons of manure daily, and for the last three decades, he has tried unsuccessfully to turn the stinky dung into energy to power his 450-acre farm in Visalia.
He installed a nearly $1-million renewable energy system in 1985 that used the methane from manure to create electricity for his farm. In 2002, he replaced that system with newer technology, but he hit a snag when air-quality standards called for expensive retrofits to reduce air pollution; he eventually shut down the system in 2009.
In a few weeks, however, Koetsier’s renewable-energy efforts will get a reboot as a new company replaces his current system with one that is expected to satisfy strict air standards in the highly polluted San Joaquin Valley.
A decade or so ago, dozens of California dairy farmers built million-dollar systems called methane digesters that convert manure into power. Then, unexpected pollution problems, regulatory roadblocks and low rates of return killed most such digester systems, leaving only a handful in operation.
All that could be changing as renewable energy companies develop new ways of running digesters to boost profits. They’re improving technology to meet tough smog-control rules. At the same time, the state is trying out a streamlined permitting process to help remove costly regulatory hurdles.
Koetsier will be the first dairy farmer to install a digester under the state’s program. He said he is optimistic that this go-around — his third attempt to make a system work — will finally pay off.
After hearing of the technological and other advances, he decided to “give it another whirl,” Koetsier said.
State officials are pushing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and that is causing utilities to pursue more renewable energy sources. Experts say digesters show particular promise in California, the top dairy producing state with 1.8 million cows.
“If these digesters run properly, they can reduce odors associated with manure, stabilize nitrogen and have a number of environmental benefits,” said John Blue, climate change advisor for the California Environmental Protection Agency.
The systems “add to California’s goal of renewable power generation. We’d like to see dairy digesters as part of the mix.”
One California renewable energy company, CH4 Power Inc., said it plans to build more than 40 digester systems over the next year. It’s set to begin construction on its first digester on Koetsier’s dairy in the coming weeks. Other firms are expected to follow.
The challenge, however, may be trying to persuade weary dairy farmers to give digesters another try, especially after some tough years in the dairy industry.
Dairy farmers have plenty of manure lying around to convert to energy. A typical cow can produce as much as 150 pounds of dung daily. That presents a continuing challenge for farmers to dispose of waste and control the methane — a greenhouse gas — produced by decomposing manure.
Digesters seemed like the perfect solution only a few years ago. Manure is fed into a digester, which extracts methane from decomposing organic material, removes impurities and burns it to produce energy.
But many farmers ran afoul of air pollution regulations because their generators emitted nitrogen oxide, or NOx, a component of smog.
Retrofitting digesters with catalytic converters was expensive, costing about $150,000, and put additional strain on the engines that run the systems.
The current generation of digesters has improved technology that should alleviate that concern, experts said.
With those advances in mind, officials are trying to kick-start new projects by turning to a consolidated permitting program on the books since the mid-1990s but never used.
It took the collaboration by the state Department of Food and Agriculture, Cal/EPA, and local air and water quality boards to figure out how to permit new digesters.
The goal is to involve all the various permitting agencies in the beginning of the process to ensure there are no surprises later, Cal/EPA’s Blue said.
On behalf of CDFA, I am pleased to present the agency’s 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. While strategic planning is essential to any organization, it is often misunderstood, considered by many as merely an internal plan to reach goals and objectives. The truth is quite different, especially at a government agency.
Our stakeholders—including anybody who eats—are vital to the success of our strategic plan. Because our programs serve the people of California and beyond, it is critical that we engage in strategic planning to make sure we serve them effectively, including program conception and communication. This plan sets objectives to guide us in the fulfillment of our mission and establishes performance measures to chart our progress.
In light of significant cuts to our budget, it is important to maintain focus on our core mission, while strategically positioning CDFA for its role in a bright and promising future for California agriculture. This will require investment in our people and appropriate technologies that will result in an even more efficient, transparent, customer-focused organization that is fully engaged with all of its stakeholders.
CDFA is fortunate to have an intelligent, experienced and passionate staff. As Secretary, I look forward to working closely with these talented, committed employees to achieve our goals through the execution of this strategic plan.
Several years ago, the late public television personality Huell Howser produced a series of reports called California’s Golden Fairs. One of the segments featured the San Diego County Fair, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which begins its 24-day run tomorrow.
Once a year the California Wine Institute assembles in San Francisco for a seminar to review promotional programs and discuss new export opportunities for California vintners. It’s called California Wines on the World Stage, and it is intended for new-to-exporting wineries as well as established exporters. This year’s event will be held on July 23rd.
The Wine Institute is assembling an export superstar vintner panel which will include seasoned exporters of large and small wineries to present the “best new markets” for 2013 and take questions about any other market in the world. Expect perspectives on Brazil, Columbia, India, Dubai, and China.
The seminar will also examine the award-winning statewide California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance program and how it compares to the “green” programs of our competitors from around the world.
Additionally, there will be information about the Matching Funds Program, which provides California wineries and exporters of California wines with funding that can assist with marketing activities such as trade shows, advertising, retail programs and more. This program offers up to 50 percent cost reimbursement on eligible marketing activities. NOTE – the application deadline for this year’s round of funding is June 17th.
For registration and further information please visit California Wines on the World Stage or contact the California Wine Institute’s International Program at (415)512-0151.
http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDAOC-7dd9fd
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, calling on others across the food chain—including producer groups, processors, manufacturers, retailers, communities, and other government agencies − to join the effort to reduce, recover, and recycle food waste.
Food waste in the United States is estimated at roughly between 30 to 40 percent of the food supply. In 2010, an estimated 133 billion pounds of food from U.S. retail food stores, restaurants, and homes never made it into people’s stomachs. The amount of uneaten food in homes and restaurants was valued at almost $390 per U.S. consumer in 2008, more than an average month’s worth of food expenditures.
“The United States enjoys the most productive and abundant food supply on earth, but too much of this food goes to waste,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Not only could this food be going to folks who need it – we also have an opportunity to reduce the amount of food that ends up in America’s landfills. By joining together with EPA and businesses from around the country, we have an opportunity to better educate folks about the problem of food waste and begin to address this problem across the nation.”
“Food waste the single largest type of waste entering our landfills — Americans throw away up to 40 percent of their food. Addressing this issue not only helps with combating hunger and saving money, but also with combating climate change: food in landfills decomposes to create potent greenhouse gases,” said EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe. “I’m proud that EPA is joining with USDA today to announce the U.S. Food Waste Challenge. With the help of partners across the country, we can ensure that our nation’s food goes to our families and those in need – not the landfill.”
The goal of the U.S. Food Waste Challenge is to lead a fundamental shift in how we think about and manage food and food waste in this country. The Challenge includes a goal to have 400 partner organizations by 2015 and 1,000 by 2020.
As part of its contribution to the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, USDA is initiating a wide range of activities including activities to reduce waste in the school meals program, educate consumers about food waste and food storage, and develop new technologies to reduce food waste. USDA will also work with industry to increase donations from imported produce that does not meet quality standards, streamline procedures for donating wholesome misbranded meat and poultry products, update U.S. food loss estimates at the retail level, and pilot-test a meat-composting program to reduce the amount of meat being sent to landfills from food safety inspection labs.
Through its Food Recovery Challenge, EPA will provide U.S. Food Waste Challenge participants with the opportunity to access data management software and technical assistance (www.epa.gov/smm/foodrecovery/) to help them quantify and improve their sustainable food management practices.
To join the Challenge and learn more about USDA’s activities and the activities of those who have already joined, visit: www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/index.htm
