CDFA’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI) administers Climate Smart Agriculture grant programs, and the COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped this team’s commitment.
Staff members are working safely from their homes, ensuring that grant recipient invoices are paid in as timely a manner as possible, and that new grant awards, contracts and notices are being issued.
In addition, a new online project verification process has replaced in-person verifications. During a recent Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP), the farmer was unable to log in to the scheduled teleconference. OEFI staff had a “make it work” moment, shown here, with one staffer patching in the farmer in via FaceTime to verify construction of a compost-bedded pack barn and other measures. The result was a completed verification and happy farmer!