USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced $30 million in funding for 22 projects to help citrus producers combat Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening, a devastating citrus disease that threatens U.S. citrus production. The money will fund promising projects that could offer near-term solutions as well as research funding that may develop long-terms solutions. The promising near-term tools and solutions are funded through the HLB Multiagency Coordination Group while the research projects are funded through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative Citrus Disease Research and Education (CDRE) program, which is made available through the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill).

“Our HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group has worked closely with the citrus industry to select and fund projects that we think will make a real difference for growers against HLB,” said Vilsack. “Funding these projects through cooperative agreements puts us one step closer to putting real tools to fight this disease into the hands of citrus growers.” Vilsack continued, “Through the CDRE research we are announcing today, we are also investing in long-term solutions to diseases that threaten the long-term survival of the citrus industry.”

USDA’s HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group funded fifteen projects that support thermotherapy, best management practices, early detection, and pest control efforts for a total of more than $7 million. All of them are designed to provide near-term tools and solutions to help the citrus industry fight HLB. The projects include:

Two projects to provide improved delivery of thermotherapy to HLB infected trees, a promising treatment that has shown to help infected trees regain productivity after treatment. One of these projects will test thermotherapy on a grove-wide scale.

Six projects to provide citrus producers with best management practices in Florida citrus groves.

One project will focus on lowering the pH of the irrigation water and soil to strengthen the root systems of citrus trees to help them better tolerate HLB infection.

Three projects will support different combinations of integrated management approaches for sustaining production in trees in different stages of infection.

Two projects will test strategies for preventing tree death due to HLB infection. One of those will field test rootstocks that have shown ability to tolerate HLB infection. The other will use technologies to rapidly propagate the tolerant material for field use by the industry.

Three projects to increase early detection of HLB.

One project will train dogs to detect HLB infected trees. Detector dogs have proven to be highly adept at detecting citrus canker and early results suggest they will be an effective early detection tool for HLB.

One project will develop a root sampling and testing strategy.

One project will compare several promising early detection tests.

Four projects to provide tools to kill the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), the vector of HLB.

One will produce and release the insect Diaphorencyrtus aligarhensis as a second biological control agent in California.

One project will use a biocontrol fungus to kill ACP adults.

One project will use a trap to attract and kill ACP adults.

One project will increase the use of field cages for the production of the insect Tamarixia radiata in residential areas, especially those that are adjacent to commercial groves in Texas. Tamarixia has already proven to be an effective biological control agent for ACP. Using field cages will enable the wider use of this effective ACP control.

In addition to these projects, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture funded more than $23 million dollars for research and education project to find lasting solutions to citrus greening disease. Examples of funded projects include developing HLB-resistant citrus cultivars, the development of field detection system for HLB, using heat as a treatment for prolonging productivity in infected citrus trees, creating a new antimicrobial treatment, among others. A fact sheet with a complete list of awardees and project descriptions (PDF, 316KB) is available on the USDA website. Fiscal year 2014 grants have been awarded to:

• University of California, Davis, Calif., $4,579,067
• University of California, Riverside, Calif., $1,683,429
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $4,613,838
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $3,495,832
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $3,338,248
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $2,096,540
• Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., $3,734,480

CDRE is a supplement to the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). The focus of this year’s funding was specifically on citrus greening disease. Because there are wide differences in the occurrence and progression of HLB among the states, there were regional as well as national priorities for CDRE. These priorities, recommended by the Citrus Disease Subcommittee, fall within four categories: 1) priorities that deal with the pathogen; 2) those that deal with the insect vector; 3) those that deal with citrus orchard production systems; and 4) those that deal with non-agricultural citrus tree owners.

The Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past six years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.

Link to news release

By Seth Nidever

Sure, you can still see the huge tractors and the weird-looking equipment. You can still test-drive a four-wheel-drive truck. You can still eat sandwiches stuffed with fresh barbecue.

As has been the case for several years, there will be tens of thousands of visitors, roughly 1,500 exhibitors and 2.6 million square feet of exhibition space at the world’s largest agricultural trade show scheduled for Tuesday-Thursday (this week) at the International Agri-Center in Tulare.

But if you look a little deeper, you’ll see the changing face of California agriculture.

Case in point: Drip-irrigation pioneer Netafim. The Israeli company has been attending the expo for years, tucked away into a booth in the irrigation pavilion.

This year, on Wednesday, the company is holding a press conference at the show to discuss a worldwide shift toward smart irrigation solutions to fight a scarcity of food, water and land.

The days of gravity-driven flood or row irrigation in the San Joaquin Valley are fading fast as a multi-year drought continues with no end in sight.

One company — Lindsay Corp. — is trying to persuade square-block farmers to shift to central pivot irrigation. That would mean a radical transition from squared-off fields to huge crop circles, with slices of uncultivated land in between.

Some Westside farmers have experimented with the method, but it hasn’t caught on in Kings County.

Another company, Livestock Water Recycling, will be on hand to discuss ways dairies can recycle manure water and concentrate organic nutrients into ultra-rich fertilizer.

Some of the most proactive Kings County dairies reuse water several times over before it’s finally sent to the lagoon.

Another business, AGCO, is focused on finding ways for California producers to comply with stringent air quality regulations in the San Joaquin Valley. Engine requirements are often tricky and difficult to navigate, especially with used equipment.

The Propane Education & Research Council will be promoting the concept of switching to pumps powered by propane instead of diesel or electricity.

To give attendees even more opportunity to deepen their knowledge, there are dozens of seminars.

Still, the show has a lighter side.

There’s an “after-hours party” on Wednesday featuring the band Leaving Austin. There a separate arena dedicated to product testing and live demonstrations. There’s a “Farmers Lunch” scheduled for noon on Thursday.

And yes, you can still get behind the wheel of a tractor and take it for a test drive.

Link to article

Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden has announced over $9 million in grant funds will soon be available for outreach and technical assistance to minority and veteran farmers and ranchers. This funding will enable community-based organizations, eligible higher education institutions and tribal organizations to work directly with these groups to successfully acquire, own and operate farms and ranches and to access all USDA programs and services. These funds are being provided through the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program, also known as the “2501 Program”.

Through the 2501 Program, outreach and technical assistance is provided to minority and veteran farmers and ranchers through partnering organizations, including 1890 Land Grant Institutions, 1994 Land Grant Institutions, other American Indian Tribal community colleges and Alaska Native cooperative colleges, Hispanic-serving and other institutions of higher education, Tribal governments and organizations, and community-based organizations.

“To stay competitive, America’s farmers and ranchers must be diverse in experience, background and skills. Every farmer and rancher has something to contribute to America’s agriculture. Community partnerships can help farmers and ranchers reach their full potential,” said Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden. “As we celebrate the first anniversary of the 2014 Farm Bill, programs like these are evidence that an investment in all of America’s farmers and ranchers is an investment in our future.”

Applications for the 2501 program must be submitted through www.grants.gov. More information about the 2501 Program, including forthcoming grant notice and application deadlines is available at: http://www.outreach.usda.gov/grants/index.htm.

The Deputy Secretary also announced the formation of a Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center dedicated to collecting and analyzing data, developing policy recommendations, and evaluating policy concerning socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers including minorities, veterans, and Native Americans. This one-time competitive program is open to any eligible 1890 Land-Grant Institution interested in hosting the Center.

The Deputy Secretary made the announcement at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, which was awarded a 2501 Grant last year to conduct training, outreach, and technical assistance to minority and veteran farmers and ranchers.

Since 2010, the 2501 Program has distributed more than $66 million to 250 partners. The program is administered by the USDA’s Office of Advocacy and Outreach. The 2014 Farm Bill reauthorized the program and expanded assistance to include military veterans.

The 2014 Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.

Link to news release

Lake Oroville, 2014

By Fenit Nirappil, Associated Press

The federal government is making available up to $50 million in drought-relief funds for western states, with the largest portion earmarked for parched California, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday.

The additional funding includes about $20 million for the Central Valley Water Project for efforts such as water transfers, drought monitoring for endangered species and diversifying water supplies. California is entering its fourth year of drought.

“California is ground zero for the drought. There is no state that is worse off,” Jewell said.

Farmers and local water departments can also compete for another $14 million for projects to help reduce water use and develop response plans to continuing drought conditions.

The funding announcement came as the first major storm of 2015 moved into Northern California, bringing with it the potential for up to 10 inches of rain in places. It arrived after an exceptionally dry January. Last week’s survey of water in the snowpack, California’s primary water source, found only a quarter of its normal level.

The Department of Interior funding is a sliver of previous drought-relief commitments. Last February, President Barack Obama pledged $183 million, mostly for farmers who lost livestock and food banks to help unemployed agriculture workers. Brown in March signed a $687 million drought-relief package, including for emergency drinking water and accelerating infrastructure supplies.

Efforts to pass a federal drought-response bill in Congress failed late last year. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans say the Obama administration’s approach to dry conditions continues to prioritize fish over farmers and other residents in California.

The State Water Resources Control Board announced this week that Californians cut monthly water use by 22 percent in December, meeting Brown’s call to slash residential water use by 20 percent for the first time. The board may impose further limits on outdoor water use as the state tries to protect supplies, but Brown said he’s not ready for mandatory restrictions statewide.

“I’m reluctant to expand the coercive power of state authority,” Brown said. “In a democracy, it is fundamental that citizens be the driving force. It’s my job to encourage and inspire and monitor, but before we have, you know, full-scale rationing we have to have a few more problems than we currently have.”

California is only delivering 15 percent of the water requested from the state’s vast reservoir system to farmers and local agencies this year. The Interior Department will announce how much water it will send to Central Valley farmers under a separate reservoir system later this month.

Link to story

Registration is open for the Western Governors’ Drought Forum Webinar Series, which will feature regional experts on water and drought management.

The series will offer five in-depth discussions on topics that have arisen during the first six months of the Drought Forum, the Chairman’s Initiative of Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval. In addition to providing a closer examination of the emerging challenges in drought management, the webinars will enable the Drought Forum to reach a wider audience of those facing drought in the West.

Each of the five webinars will include a 40-minute panel discussion by three expert panelists, followed by a 20-minute opportunity for questions and discussion for all attendees. The schedule:

• Feb. 11: “Once Marginal, Now Crucial: The Growing Demand for Re-used, Produced, and Brackish Water” will explore the technological and regulatory obstacles to utilizing re-used, produced, and brackish water. Panel moderator will be Michael Teague, Oklahoma Secretary of Energy & Environment. The panelists: Dr. Jeri Sullivan Graham: New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s Brackish Water Work Group/Los Alamos National Laboratory; Paul Swaim: Vice President, Senior Principal Technologist and Global Technology Leader for Water Treatment, CH2M HILL; Ken Knox, Senior Advisor & Water Resources Manager, Noble Energy.
• Feb. 25: “Community Outreach and Consumer Technology for Municipal Water Use” will highlight how utilities, technology developers, NGOs, and citizens are teaming up to reduce municipal consumption of water. Panel moderator will be Dave McGimpsey, Host of the Water Values Podcast and Special Counsel, Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP. Panelists will be Robb Barnit, Founder & CEO, Dropcountr; Jeff Tejral, Manager of Water Conservation at Denver Water.
• March 11: “Tip of the Spear: The Horizon for Drought Data, Modelling, and Mapping Technology” examines how scientists use data to understand drought and help policymakers anticipate dry conditions. Register.
• March 25: “Managing Forest Health for Water Resources” explains the latest science on forest management for water resource needs as well as best practices to add security to water portfolios.Register.
• April 8: “One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Why Variation in Hydrology and Legal Structures means that Drought Looks Different across the West” will highlight how solutions tailored to the needs of specific communities can be utilized across the region.

 Register

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 55 counties in California as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought.

The counties are: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Kern, Kings,  Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino,  Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo and Yuba.

Farmers and ranchers in Del Norte, Imperial and San Francisco counties in California also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties and city in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:

Arizona
La Paz and Mohave

Nevada
Carson City, Clark, Douglas, Esmeralda, Lyon, Mineral, Nye and Washoe

Oregon
Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lake

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Feb. 4, 2015, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

Additional programs available to assist farmers and ranchers include the Emergency Conservation Program, The Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) have announced a partnership through the Agricultural Marketing Service Technical Assistance (AMSTA) Project to conduct workshops that will help potential grant applicants understand, develop, and submit their federal grant applications for the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program.

“The Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program is a key to USDA’s efforts to revitalize rural economies by supporting local and regional food systems,” said AMS Administrator Anne Alonzo. “The grant workshops will ensure that more communities and businesses across the country can participate in the competitive grant process with proposals that create real economic opportunities and help meet the growing demand for locally and regionally produced food.”

Cooperative Extension System educators will provide training in all regions of the country, and NIFA will conduct outreach to raise awareness of AMS grant opportunities and increase participation in the programs. The AMS and NIFA collaborative effort for this innovative national training project will be directed by Dr. Stephan J. Goetz of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development based at Penn State University.

A list of upcoming grant workshop dates and locations can be found at http://www.amsta.net. More workshops will be added soon, and the State representatives listed on the website can be contacted for additional information about upcoming workshops. Some of the workshop sessions will be recorded and available for online viewing for those not able to attend in person.

With $30 million authorized annually by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) through fiscal year 2018, AMS’s Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program awards competitive grants to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local and regional markets. The Farmers Market Promotion Program supports farmers markets and other direct producer-to-consumer activities, while the Local Food Promotion Program supports enterprises that aggregate, store, distribute and process local and regional food.

USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative (KYF2) coordinates USDA’s support for local and regional food systems. Projects aligned with these efforts can be found on the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass. For more information on AMS visit www.ams.usda.gov, and for more on NIFA visit www.nifa.usda.gov.

Link to news release

By Katie Orr

California’s urban water conservation rate reached 22 percent in December, exceeding the 20 percent conservation goal set by Governor Jerry Brown. Heavy rain led to reduced outdoor watering. But the State Water Board’s Katheryn Landau says nature isn’t the only explanation for the savings.

“It also indicates that the water conservation efforts that we’ve taken, such as turning off the outdoor sprinklers, not over watering our lawns and etc, are having a really positive impact on our conservation efforts,” she says.

The water board reports daily water use is also declining statewide. In December the average person used about 67 gallons of water per day. That’s down from about 89 gallons in November.

But an exceedingly dry start to 2015 has officials reminding Californians they must continue conserving. Governor Jerry Brown says while California is doing its part to save water, the drought is far from over.

The water board says it is likely emergency conservation regulations will be extended and possibly tightened. Water board staffer Eric Oppenheimer says local regulations vary widely.

“Not all mandatory restrictions are created equal,” he says. “And some of these mandatory restrictions are limits on, you know, you can’t water during the day. While others go as far as limits on days of the week and minutes per station.”

The current emergency regulations expire in April.

Link to article

US Trade Representative Michael Froman

On Monday, February 2, US Trade Representative Michael Froman spoke to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture at its Winter Policy Conference. 

Link to speech

Excerpts of speech:

…”American agriculture creates positive ripple effects through the whole economy, value added at every step between farm and table. In 2012, for example, every dollar of agricultural exports stimulated another $1.27 in business activity elsewhere in the economy.

“This positive ripple effect is precisely why our record-setting ag exports have been such an important driver of our overall economic comeback. Since 2009, U.S. ag exports have increased roughly 40 percent. In 2013, which is the most recent year we’ve got full-year data for, exports hit nearly $150 billion, the record high, and we’re still waiting on the data for 2014, but we expect that those numbers will be even higher. Taking all these exports together, U.S. exports contributed one third of our overall recovery since 2009.

“It’s not just the macro figures, not just the GDP contribution, it’s the kind of jobs these exports support. In total, our exports supported 11.3 million jobs, an increase of 1.6 million jobs since 2009. And ag exports supported over a million jobs. We know that on average, export-related jobs pay up to 18 percent more than non-export related jobs. So we’re supporting more jobs, and these are good, high-paying jobs helping to increase wages for millions of Americans. At a time when so many Americans haven’t seen a bump in their paychecks in far too long, our trade policy has an important role to play in increasing wages and strengthening the middle class across the country.

“In 2009, there were 525 million middle-class consumers in the Asia Pacific region. That number is expected to grow to over 3 billion in by the year 2030. Put differently, in just 15 years, two out of every three middle class consumers in the world will call the Asia Pacific their home.  And we know that the first thing that middle class consumers want is more protein, better nutrition, and safer foods.

“So to win in the future, we need to serve not only tables here at home, we need to get into the markets where 95 percent of the global consumers live outside the United States.

“As President Obama said recently, we’re now into the fourth quarter of his presidency, and as we saw last night (Sunday night – the Super Bowl), exciting things happen in the fourth quarter. With the contours of a final TPP agreement coming into focus and strong expressions of bipartisanship support for increasing ‘Made-in-America’ exports, it’s looking like some of that excitement will be in the area of trade policy.

“An important part of our fourth-quarter push involves working with Congress to secure Trade Promotion Authority- to renew that, update it, make it relevant for the 21^st century. Beginning with FDR and the New Deal Congress, Democrats and Republicans have worked together for decades to forge trade deals that support good jobs.

“To borrow from football, TPA is a playbook for putting the national interest above narrow special interests. It’s how Congress helps define our negotiating objectives, how Congress determines how we work with them before and during the negotiations, and how Congress sets out the process by which it will approve or disapprove an agreement when it’s finally done and after it’s been broadly and publicly debated.

“The fact is, Congress hasn’t updated Trade Promotion Authority since 2002, before the digital economy emerged as a major factor in global trade, before state-owned enterprises began to play the role they play in the global economy, and before there was a recognition that labor and environmental standards should be a major part of any trade agreement.  It’s time to update the playbook.”