CDFA undersecretary Christine Birdsong and deputy secretary Rachael O’Brien this week joined Assembly speaker Robert Rivas, Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, Cal-EPA secretary Yana Garcia, and Department of Pesticide Regulation director Julie Henderson on a tour of farms along California’s central coast. The objective was to to learn more about sustainable pest management and the collaborative work needed to support safe, effective and sustainable pest management in agriculture.
The tour was also an opportunity to discuss California’s Sustainable Pest Management Roadmap, a plan that utilizes the principles of integrated pest management (IPM) as well as community and equity to achieve sustainability through a whole-farm approach.
At one of the stops, Taylor Farms, the group learned about on-farm IPM practices that include the rearing of beneficial insects to control invasive species, a biocontrol approach CDFA utilizes widely in statewide programs.