The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Growing Together,” a profile of closely-knit farmers flourishing in the Central Valley.

California’s dairy farmers have joined together with the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory at UC Davis–a joint venture with CDFA–to fund research through the California Dairy Research Foundation that has brought a much more rapid detection system for foot-and-mouth disease. The Foundation is funded largely by the California Milk Advisory Board, a marketing agreement overseen by CDFA and supported by assessments of the dairy industry.

Folsom Lake

By Dale Kasler and Phillip Reese

El Niño might put a dent in the drought after all.

In a revised forecast Thursday, the National Weather Service said Northern California stands a decent chance of getting significant precipitation from this winter’s El Niño weather pattern, a development that could help ease the state’s four-year drought.

Until now, forecasters have been saying this winter likely would bring heavy rains to Southern California, which is typical for El Niño, but they’ve been less certain about the outlook for the northern half of the state. Because the state’s major reservoirs are in the north, that’s where the rain and snow need to fall to substantially bolster the state’s water supplies.

Michelle Mead, a forecaster in the agency’s Sacramento office, said Sacramento and the Sacramento Valley have at least an 80 percent chance of seeing average precipitation this winter. The chance of above-average precipitation has been pegged at 34 percent to 40 percent, she said.

“Not that it will be a deluge and everybody needs to stop conserving water,” she said. The bulk of the precipitation will fall in December, January and February, she said.

William Patzert, a climate expert at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, was less circumspect, saying he’s convinced El Niño will be felt in Northern California. “At this point – at this particular time – this is too large too fail,” he said. “People like to be conservative. They don’t want to stick their neck out. But this is definitely the real deal.”

If history is a guide, California will see big snow in the northern mountains along with rain in the south, Patzert said. “The last two El Niños that were of this magnitude hosed all of California,” he said. “If you look at the snowpack for those two El Niños, you had double the snowpack, too.”

What’s changed since the weather service’s previous forecasts? Mead said analysts took a fresh look at previous winters and concluded that strong El Niños tend to bring heavy rains in the north. Other forecasters noted the persistence of this year’s El Niño and said temperature anomalies in the South Pacific are favorable to Northern California’s rain outlook.

“Moderate El Niños tend to get Southern California wet, and the strong ones get all of California wet,” said Jeffrey Mount, a water specialist at the Public Policy Institute of California. Mount said he’s encouraged that the so-called “ridiculously resilient ridge,” the high-pressure system that kept rain and snow from falling on California, is breaking down.

But Mount and Jay Lund, an engineer and watershed specialist at UC Davis, noted that the relative scarcity of strong El Niños – just six since 1957 – means it’s difficult to get too comfortable with the latest forecast.

“We have a small sample size,” Lund said. “There’s still a substantial probability that we’re going to be in a drought next year.”

State climatologist Michael Anderson, who has urged caution as El Niño fever has risen in the last few months, said he, too, thinks there’s a better chance of significant precipitation in Northern California. “As we get closer, we are seeing trajectories move in a more favorable outcome,” he said.

Anderson nonetheless encouraged Sacramento residents to continue to conserve water. He and others noted that the drought is so severe that even a huge rainfall year will not fully erase its effects. Plus, he said, “We want to wait until we actually see it.”

Mead said Sacramento received 13.8 inches of rain last winter, about 68 percent of average.

El Niño is a phenomenon linked to above-average water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Mead said the temperature is expected to peak at 2.5 degrees Celsius above normal this winter, ranking this among the strongest El Niños on record.

The latest forecast put the chance of El Niño striking at 95 percent, the same as a month ago.

Link to story

California celebrates National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day today on the cusp of a transportation revolution that will lead to cleaner air and fewer greenhouse gas emissions as more drivers turn to zero-emission vehicles.

The U.S. Senate has declared Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015, National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day, referencing hydrogen’s standard atomic weight of 1.008 and in recognition that hydrogen is an abundant source of fuel, as well as cleaner and more efficient than petroleum.

California is a leader in developing and deploying hydrogen fuel cells for passenger vehicles, industrial vehicles and backup power for cell phone towers.

“California has long supported hydrogen and fuel cells as a vital zero-emission technology,” California Air Resources Board (ARB) Chair Mary D. Nichols said. “Transit customers in the Bay Area and Coachella Valley have enjoyed clean, quiet and powerful hydrogen fuel cell electric buses for years. California companies operate more efficiently by using hydrogen fuel cell electric forklifts in warehouses. Marking the first National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day in 2015 is particularly appropriate as auto companies begin selling consumer fuel cell electric vehicles to Californians.”

The California Energy Commission has provided funding for 49 retail hydrogen refueling stations anticipated to open over the next two years.

“Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are an important part of the portfolio of technologies and fuels the State is pursuing to address our ambitious climate and air quality goals,” said Janea A. Scott, the lead commissioner for transportation at the Energy Commission. “Through an Energy Commission program, the State is investing in an initial network of up to 100 hydrogen stations to provide the needed fueling infrastructure to support fuel-cell electric vehicles.”

California’s investments in alternative fuel vehicles, like hydrogen fuel cell electric cars, are fueling the state’s economy and leading to cleaner air.

“Hydrogen and fuel cells are poised to play a significant role in California’s economic growth well into the future,” said Panorea Avdis, chief deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GOBiz). “Together, hydrogen and fuel cells demonstrate that improving our environment is good for business.”

GOBiz provides vital assistance in the hydrogen fueling station permit process and helps station developers locate and expand in California.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Division of Measurement Standards (CDFA DMS) evaluates and tests new hydrogen dispensers for suitability and accuracy, enabling retail stations to sell fuel to customers.  CDFA DMS is also the agency responsible for providing fuel quality sampling and laboratory analysis, which ensures the best possible vehicle performance.

“Instituting early marketplace oversight of hydrogen sold at retail will be a key component to successful consumer acceptance of this fuel,” said Kristin Macey, director of CDFA DMS.

The ARB partners with transit agencies to advance the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. AC Transit operates 12 fuel cell electric buses in the San Francisco East Bay Area, and SunLine Transit operates four fuel cell electric buses in the Coachella Valley. Fuel cell electric buses are poised to enter the commercial market in California with larger pilot projects that may compete for funding under the ARB’s Low Carbon Transportation Program.

The ARB and the Energy Commission are founding members of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, a public-private collaboration committed to promoting fuel cell electric vehicle commercialization. The State also participates in H2USA, a public-private partnership to promote the commercial introduction and widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles across America. California participates in H2FIRST, an initiative of U.S. Department of Energy’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Sandia National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, to support customer-friendly fueling stations and advance hydrogen fueling technology for a commercial market.

About the California Energy Commission

The California Energy Commission is the state’s primary energy policy and planning agency. The agency was established by the California Legislature through the Warren-Alquist Act in 1974. It has seven core responsibilities: advancing state energy policy, encouraging energy efficiency, certifying thermal power plants, investing in energy innovation, developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, and preparing for energy emergencies.

About the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)

GO-Biz was created by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. to serve as California’s single point of contact for economic development and job creation efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more.

About the Air Resources Board

ARB’s mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.

About the California Department of Food and Agriculture

The California Department of Food and Agriculture promotes and protects California’s food supply and environment, and it ensures fair and accurate commerce through oversight by its Division of Measurement Standards. California’s $54 billion agriculture industry leads the nation, providing nearly half of US-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables, and about 20 percent of its dairy products.   

Link to news release at California Energy Commission

The USDA has released a series of fact sheets illustrating how the newly reached Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement can boost the U.S. agriculture industry, supporting more American jobs and driving the nation’s rural economy. Created by the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the fact sheets graphically depict how each state and individual commodities stand to benefit from increased agricultural trade with the 11 other TPP countries.

Trade ministers from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam concluded TPP negotiations on Oct. 5 in Atlanta, Ga. Trade with these countries accounted for 42 percent of U.S. agricultural exports in 2014, contributing $63 billion to the U.S. economy.

Here is the fact sheet for California.

This is a reprise post from our Growing California video series. Apple Hill is now open for its annual fall run in El Dorado County.

Sorghum at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, where field testing will take place next year. (Photo by Peggy Lemaux)

By Sarah Yang

UC Berkeley is leading a $12.3 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to examine the role of epigenetics in allowing plants to survive in drought conditions, an increasing concern for agriculture as the effects of climate change are felt in California and globally.

UC Berkeley researchers will partner with scientists at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Energy Department’s Joint Genome Institute and that agency’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on the five-year project, called Epigenetic Control of Drought Response in Sorghum, or EPICON.

The grant comes in the midst of a historic drought in California. Over three years of field testing, researchers will dissect mechanisms by which sorghum, a close relative of corn, is able to survive water deprivation.

Peggy Lemaux, cooperative extension specialist at UC Berkeley’s Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, is heading the entire project. Co-investigators are Devin Coleman-Derr, Elizabeth Purdom and John Taylor from UC Berkeley; Jeffrey Dahlberg and Robert Hutmacher from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources; Chia-Lin Wei from the DOE Joint Genome Institute; and Christer Jansson from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

“Historically, the genetic manipulation of crops, which has been critical to increasing agricultural productivity, has concentrated on altering the plant’s genetic sequence, encoded in its DNA,” said Lemaux. “However, recent studies have shown that environmental stresses – in our case drought – can lead to epigenetic changes in a plant’s genetic information. Because epigenetic changes occur without altering the underlying DNA sequence, they allow plants to respond to a changing environment more quickly.”

Over the next three years, a variety of observable plant traits will be followed, such as plant height and grain yield. In addition, leaf and root samples will be taken to investigate responses to drought at the molecular level, including how gene expression changes and which proteins and metabolites are altered.

Researchers will also be tracking changes in the sorghum-associated microbial communities to determine whether they correlate with changes that directly contribute to the crop’s drought tolerance. It is now well known that associations of specific bacteria and fungi with plants and animals have positive effects on host fitness. For example, microbes in both plants and humans are known to help fight disease and, in the soil, can help deliver nutrients and other resources to plants.

EPICON efforts will generate a variety of large datasets, which will be shared via an open, online platform that will include methods and results.

“Availability of this data in an open forum will enable comparative genomic studies by other scientists,” said Coleman-Derr, a UC Berkeley adjunct assistant professor in plant and microbial biology. “Being able to analyze the large datasets in an integrated fashion will enable a more thorough understanding of the complex and interconnected processes responsible for sorghum’s ability to respond positively to drought.”

The researchers expect that the project will allow better predictions of how sorghum and other cereal crops are affected by future climate scenarios, and will lead to approaches to improve growth and production of sorghum and other crops under water-limiting conditions in commercial fields and on marginal lands.

The Energy Department’s Genomic Science Program is funding this project through its Office of Biological and Environmental Research.

Link to item at UC Berkeley web site

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations to fill a vacancy on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) for an environmentalist or resource conservationist.  The board positions are specifically designated to represent various sectors of the organic community, including those who have expertise in areas of environmental protection and resource conservation, own or operate an organic production or handling operation, or own or operate a retail establishment with significant trade in organic products.

The NOSB, established under the Organic Foods Production Act and operating in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, is responsible for reviewing materials and/or recommending changes to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, and advising the Secretary of Agriculture on other aspects of the USDA organic regulations.

The environmentalist or resource conservationist selected to fill the current vacancy (created by a recent resignation) will serve from January 24, 2016 to January 23, 2020, the remainder of the former board member’s term.  On April 8, 2015, USDA invited nominations for an additional five vacancies on the NOSB.  All six board appointments will serve terms beginning on January 24, 2016, and will be announced in the near future.

Written nominations, with cover letters, resumes, and a required form (available on the USDA website), must be postmarked on or before October 29, 2015.  All applicable information should be sent to Michelle Arsenault, National Organic Program, USDA–AMS–NOP, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 2648, Ag Stop 0268, Washington, D.C. 20250.

To learn more about the NOSB and the nomination process, visit the AMS website.  For more information, contact Michelle Arsenault at (202) 997-0115 or via email at Michelle.Arsenault@ams.usda.gov.

Link to news release