Groundwater sustainability plans that have been submitted to the state are now online at the DWR SGMA Portal.
Plans are open to public comment for 75 days after they were posted online. Below is a table of the submitted plans, the counties they cover and details about the public comment period for that plan.
Information about how to comment on a plan can be found in a new fact sheet in English and Spanish. Public comments are welcomed and encouraged – a SGMA Portal account is not necessary.
Two members of CDFA’s Information Technology staff were honored this month at the 2020 Public Section CIO Academy Awards ceremony in Sacramento. In the category of IT Leadership, the CDFA awardees were:
Marc Grijalva – Customer Delivery Unit Manager
Marc Grijalva has made substantial improvements in the delivery of projects within CDFA. He’s established, implemented, monitored and improved the project management process. He established a quality control program with quality assurance for continual improvements to existing practices. He applied a similar approach to the Enterprise Test Office. The testing processes, procedures, and standards he implemented have significantly reduced defects. While there are organizational change issues that remain to be remediated, Marc’s management and leadership is making very clear progress in this area.
Sherri Winfree Budgets, Business Operations and IT Contracts Manager
Sherri Winfree recently acquired responsibility for IT Asset Management, a critical and challenging function due to the high number of field staff at CDFA and the frequent movement of IT assets. Sherri implemented a top-down review of how asset management was performed and identified gaps. With her team, she restructured the processes to be consistent with LEAN processes. Her leadership has led to significant improvements.
Congratulations to Marc and Sherri!
New research published in the Journal of Dairy Science finds the climate footprint of milk production in California has been significantly reduced over the past 50 years (1964 to 2014). The amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced per unit of milk was reduced by more than 45 percent. Scientists at the University of California, Davis conducted a life cycle environmental assessment (cradle to farm gate) of California dairy farm production, using the latest scientific models and international research standards.
“The study documents the productivity, efficiency, and overall sustainability of milk production in California and the critical role dairy cows play in regenerative agricultural practices and sustainable food systems,” said Dr. Ermias Kebreab, Professor at UC Davis and Sesnon Endowed Chair, who led graduate student Anna Naranjo in completing the research project.
The study’s key findings are as follows:
“The study shows we are producing milk more efficiently and sustainably, minimizing our climate footprint in the process,” said Richard Wagner, a San Joaquin Valley dairy farmer and chairman of the California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF). “While there is always more work to be done, the findings show a significant overall improvement in environmental performance, producing more wholesome, nutritious milk and dairy products with fewer natural resources, less water, less energy, and fewer fossil fuels.”
Over the past 50 years, California dairy production has undergone significant advancements, from animal feeding and housing practices to overall animal and crop production efficiency. The researchers expect that as milk production per cow continues to increase through improved feed formulations, reproductive efficiency, and management techniques, it will lead to further improvements in dairy farming’s environmental footprint.
As the study documents, more than 40 percent of dairy feed ingredients in California are byproducts of other agricultural and food production processes, such as almond hulls, citrus and tomato pulp, culled carrots and other similar products that are not suited for human consumption but make healthy, nutritious feed for cattle. As a result, nearly half of the feed needed to produce California milk—which represents about 20 percent of all U.S. milk—is being provided without a single drop of additional water. Dairy cows are efficient recyclers, making use of food and agricultural byproducts that are either indigestible or undesirable for humans and avoiding the need to landfill or otherwise dispose of these materials.
“Cows are natural bioprocessors and upcyclers of nutrients,” said Dr. Kevin Comerford, Chief Science Officer for CDRF. “As a result, cows will continue to play essential roles in healthy and sustainable food systems all over the world. This study demonstrates the environmental benefits in California, where dairy farmers have been especially successful in recycling and repurposing resources.”
While the analysis demonstrates significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions intensity (more than 45 percent), these estimates can be considered conservative, and more progress toward climate-smart practices continues to be made. The research does not factor in the implementation of large solar panel arrays, which has occurred on more than 150 dairy farms in California and represents a significant shift toward renewable energy. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has also reported that through the implementation of dairy methane reduction projects, California’s dairy farms will soon be more than halfway to achieving the state’s world-leading target (a 40 percent reduction in manure methane emissions), equating to millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions each year.
“California dairy farms have made major improvements in environmental performance over the past 50 years,” said Denise Mullinax, Executive Director of CDRF. “We know our farms are continually increasing their overall efficiency. This study advances our understanding of the environmental benefits and verifies that farmers are on a path toward continued improvement.”
This research was supported by California Dairy Research Foundation and the Sesnon Endowment fund of University of California, Davis.
By Karen Ross, Secretary
California Department of Food and Agriculture
As I walked the (enormous) grounds of the World Ag Expo in Tulare earlier this week, I was impressed by how well this event truly shows how big – and yet how intricately connected – agriculture is.
It is a SYSTEM that starts with farmers and ranchers and employees, and then it extends into so many other titles and job descriptions and varieties of expertise before that raw agricultural commodity gets to its ultimate consumer and satisfies its purpose.
Visiting the exhibits and booths at the expo, I was reminded of the full range of vendors and partners and suppliers and value-adders out there, working every day with our farmers and ranchers on so many facets and functions of agriculture. Bankers and managers. Students and teachers. Scientists and engineers. Processors and entrepreneurs.
Even with all of this help, the modern farmer has to know a lot about a lot of things. They are planters, and waterers, and harvesters. They are investors and borrowers and employers. They are fence-fixers and on-the-spot inventors of tools. They are self-taught recyclers and reducers and reusers. Mathematicians and prognosticators of weather.
Put simply, they are wearers of hats – many hats. They do what the day requires.
And all of you who call “agriculture” – job, whether you work on a farm or not, are also consumers; that may be easy for folks to overlook, but the farmers and ranchers and everyone who works with them are all eaters and wearers and users of the crops and commodities that they produce, just like the rest of us. They appreciate a good meal – and a good deal – just as much as the next person.
There was a lot to take in at the World Ag Expo this week, from shiny tractors and futuristic innovations to feed, fertilizer and everything in between. But most of all, there were farmers and there were ranchers, and there were thousands of people who share the calling that is “agriculture.”
So this Valentine is for all of you. Every job you do and every title you hold contributes to the food we eat and the clothes we wear and the futures we build every day. And to the special occasions – the meals we eat with loved ones, and even the flowers we send on Valentine’s Day.
You remembered, right? Because a farmer grew those for you.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
CDFA Undersecretary Jenny Lester Moffitt joined farmers, ranchers and leaders from throughout California’s agricultural community this morning at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, coming together as alumni of the famed California Agricultural Leadership Foundation program known simply as “Ag Leadership.” The breakfast featured a presentation by best-selling sports author Ross Bernstein.
The Foundation is a non-profit public benefit corporation committed to leadership training and transformational learning experiences in partnership with four California universities: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; Cal Poly, Pomona; California State University, Fresno; and the University of California, Davis.
The Ag Leadership program is the longest continuously-operating leadership training experience of its kind in the United States, boasting more than 1,300 alumni. The program inaugurated its first class in 1970, and its 50th class includes – for the first time – an equal number of men and women.
More than a dozen countries are represented in this year’s World Ag Expo in Tulare, California. The three-day event that runs from February 11 – 13 draws thousands of visitors from all reaches of the state and from throughout the United States and the world.
Among the more than a dozen nations exhibiting at the expo are Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the Netherlands.
The World Ag Expo is the largest show of its kind, covering almost three million square feet of show space and attracting the latest in agricultural products, research, innovation and presentations.
Look for our CDFA booths and stop by and meet with our staff.
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross toured the exhibit grounds this afternoon at World Ag Expo in Tulare, including visits to CDFA booths and conversations with farmers and ranchers who traveled from throughout the state and beyond to take in the annual event at the International Agri-Center.
The expo began today and runs through Thursday, Feb. 13.
CDFA is pleased to be part of this year’s 53rd World Ag Expo that runs from Tuesday, February 11 through Thursday, February 13, 2020 at the at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, California.
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross will be at the Expo on February 11, participating in the California State Board of Food and Agriculture meeting. The Board will meet from 10 am – 1:30 pm at the International Agri-Center, located at 4500 S. Laspina St. (Theater) in Tulare. The Board will discuss Central Valley agricultural issues, farm to school programs, the Fresno Merced Innovation Corridor, and agricultural workforce.
CDFA staff will be available at information booths. Look for CDFA’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation, Produce Safety Program, State Organic Program, Fertilizing Materials Inspection Program, Fertilizer Research and Education Program, Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division, Division of Marketing Services, and information about the Farmer Resource Portal.
CDFA Exhibition Booths:
Inspection Services Division (ISD) and Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI)
Corteva Agri Science Center (Pavilion C)
Booths 3801 and 3802
Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division and Marketing Division
Pavilion A Booths 1514 and 1515
The 2020 show theme, “Focusing on Ag,” was chosen to reinforce the expo’s purpose. The World Ag Expo is a chance for farmers, ranchers, and ag business people to come to the show and spend time seeing new technology, solutions for their operations, and develop new relationships.
The World Ag Expo is the largest annual outdoor ag tradeshow in the world. In 2019, the show saw 102,800 attendees from 48 states and 65 countries. With more than 1,400 exhibitors and 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, World Ag Expo provides a platform for networking, education and business in one of the most productive ag counties in the United States. The annual show is organized by the International Agri-Center, a non-profit focused on agriculture education year-round.
Located in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, Staten Island has 8,500 acres of farmland where the Nature Conservancy is researching wildlife-friendly agriculture and irrigation techniques that promote bird conservation in this essential habitat.
About 25 percent of the western populations of greater and lesser sandhill cranes call this area home every winter, as do other migratory birds in this important corridor on the Pacific Flyway.
A US Environmental Protection Agency News Release
SANTA YNEZ, Calif. – Today, in Santa Ynez, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) met with federal and state agencies and leaders from the region’s agriculture and food production industries to make progress on on-farm composting. Representatives from Central Coast farm and producer organizations joined a roundtable discussion with representatives from EPA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
The roundtable focused on enhancing communication with Central Coast growers on healthy soils practices and sharing lessons learned from environmental successes. Participants heard from growers to better understand barriers to implementation of healthy soils practices. The agencies also announced the launch of a new multi-agency work group that will address permitting challenges and create incentives to support on-farm composting.
“Meeting with local farmers is an opportunity for EPA to listen, learn, and develop new approaches to environmental challenges,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Jordan. “We are excited to announce the creation of the interagency On-Farm Compost Work Group, which will support California’s farmers, ranchers, and food producers and help bring about more efficient ways to work together as stewards of our natural resources.”
“We are excited to announce the launch of the On-Farm Compost Work Group. This group of 15 federal, state, and regional agencies is committed to supporting California’s agricultural community in their efforts to improve soil health,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “Healthy soil is key to sequestering atmospheric carbon while improving nutrient management, water management and agricultural productivity.”
“Healthy soils are the foundation of a productive agricultural system and a key part of our efforts to fight climate change,” said California Secretary for Environmental Protection Jared Blumenfeld. “California’s EPA looks forward to working with our local and federal colleagues in supporting our state’s farmers and ranchers in adopting carbon farming practices.”
“I am very pleased that we will have stakeholder input from the very beginning,” said NRCS state conservationist in California Carlos Suarez. “Our farmers and ranchers have always been very conservation minded and understand very well the value of good land stewardship”
The On-Farm Compost Work Group, co-led by CDFA, NRCS, California Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. EPA, will include 15 federal, state, and regional agencies. The group will develop a regulatory pathway to address permitting challenges and create incentives for on-farm composting in order to decrease nutrient loading, reduce agricultural burning, and improve soil health.
For more information on the On-Farm Compost Work Group announced today, please visit this link.
