World Soil Day (today, Dec 5) was designated by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) to recognize the importance of soil as a critical component of the natural system, and as a vital contributor to human life through its connection to food, water, and energy security.
The designation was formally endorsed in 2013 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. World Soil Day is an opportunity to raise awareness on the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the increasing challenges in soil management and, raising the profile of healthy soil by encouraging governments, organizations, communities and individuals around the world to engage in proactively improving soil health.
CDFA and its partners inside and outside of government have aligned with this through a series of events this week promoting soil health. Today, the California Compost Coalition, CalCAN, and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) will facilitate a tour of a local compost facility and farms employing healthy soils practices.
Jorge Reyes Salinas, Communications Director for Assemblymember Monique Limón, receives a lemon today from CalRecycle staffer Alexandra Rosado. The lemon was grown in a composted garden.
The lemons were delivered to legislative offices as part of Healthy Soils Week 2019. Each one carried a message about the importance of soil health and composting.
The lemons were donated through CalEPA’s Crop Swap. A CalRecycle crew of four made the deliveries. From left, Allegra Curiel, Alexandra Rosado, Angel Fong and Elicia Hoffman.
California’s Healthy Soils Week (December 2-6) continued today with a briefing at the Capitol for legislators and staff about the science and value of healthy soils. The briefing began with a demonstration of soil health properties: Farmer Victoria Robles with Robles Farms (left forefront) and CDFA Senior Environmental Scientist Natalie Jacuzzi dropped different soil samples into water-filled cylinders. The demonstration was led by Regional Soil Health Specialist Zahangir Kabir (rear left) and State Soil Scientist Tony Rolfes, both with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, who explained that the healthier soil (left) retained its structure, its ability to sequester carbon, and its ability to absorb and filter water, while the other sample broke apart quickly.
Fresno-area farmer Marvin Meyers, who served on the California State Board of Food and Agriculture during the administrations of governors Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, has passed away at age 85.
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross: “Marvin Meyers was a generous visionary and truly one of a kind. It was a privilege to work with him on the State Board of Food and Agriculture. May he Rest In Peace.”
Healthy soils mean more food, including notable increases in yields for farmers using soil management practices, according to USDA case studies. That’s critical as agriculture looks to feed an expected world population of more than 9 billion by 2050! www.cdfa.ca.gov/healthysoilsweek #HSW2019
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross (right), the ribbon on the Healthy Soils Week display at the State Capitol. The banners will be on display outside the Governor’s Office all week. Healthy Soils supporters gathered today at the State Capitol to unveil a set of banners proclaiming “Healthy Soils Week” December 2-6. From left: California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN) Associate Policy Director Brian Shobe, Community Alliance with Family Farmers Executive Director Paul Towers, Assembly Committee on Agriculture Deputy Chief Consultant Victor Frankovich, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Carlos Suarez, Assembly Committee on Agriculture Chair Susan Talamantes Eggman, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, CDFA Undersecretary Jenny Lester Moffitt, and Mary Kaems, Principal Consultant with the Assembly Speaker’s Office.
Healthy Soils Week continues with these scheduled events:
Tuesday, Dec. 3: A legislative briefing plus an informational session with the State Board of Food and Agriculture.
Wednesday, Dec. 4: A regional workshop, “Building our Food Resilient System,” in Santa Barbara. Also, CalRecycle will deliver fruit grown in a composted grove to state legislators.
Thursday, Dec. 5: World Soil Day as well as a tour for legislative staff and partner agencies that will include farms that employ healthy soils practices and a local compost facility.
Friday, Dec. 6: An event, “Rebuilding Urban Soil with Three Sisters Gardens” in West Sacramento.
CDFA has introduced a webpage to promote Healthy Soils Week, starting today and extending through Friday, December 6. CDFA has joined with several partner agencies and non-governmental organizations to promote awareness about the importance of soil health to fight climate change, enhance food security, and conserve California’s natural resources.
The website provides details about the following daily events:
Today, Monday, Dec. 2: Ribbon cutting at 11 am to unveil large display panels at the State Capitol near the Governor’s Office.
Tuesday, Dec. 3: A legislative briefing plus an informational session with the State Board of Food and Agriculture.
Wednesday, Dec. 4: A regional workshop, “Building our Food Resilient System,” in Santa Barbara. Also, CalRecycle will deliver fruit grown in a composted grove to state legislators.
Thursday, Dec. 5: World Soil Day as well as a tour for legislative staff and partner agencies that will include farms that employ healthy soils practices and a local compost facility.
Friday, Dec. 6: An event, “Rebuilding Urban Soil with Three Sisters Gardens” in West Sacramento.
Healthy soil is quite literally
the foundation of sustainable food, water, air and biodiversity. Restoring and
preserving healthy soil results in:
Improved plant health and yields
Increased water infiltration and retention
Sequestered carbon and reduced greenhouse gases (GHGs)
Reduced sediment erosion and dust
Improved water and air quality
Improved biological diversity and wildlife habitat
Hashtags
for Healthy Soils Week: #HSW2019 and #HealthySoilsWeek2019
One of the many things Californians have to be grateful for this Thanksgiving is that we live in a state that produces an abundance of fresh food that not only feeds but nourishes, our families. At a recent Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) seminar Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture talked about California farmers’ “sense of purpose to help feed people, and not just feed them calories, but to nourish them. . . the kinds of crops California grows are so foundational to the best nutrition. . . that’s what we do here and we do it better than anyone else.”
California’s food diversity
We’re also fortunate that the variety of foods grown throughout California reflects the diversity of the state itself. With more than 71,000 farms producing 400 different commodities, pretty much every region of the state hosts farming, making year-round access to the foods we love something we tend to take for granted. Let your imagination be your guide.
Most of us are aware that, in addition to turkeys, the Central Valley produces an abundance of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and dairy products. But California farming is much bigger than that and keeps healthy food within easy reach. From the Central Coast Californians can count on strawberries, artichokes, lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower; you can head south for avocados for your salad as well as flowers for your holiday table; or head north for milk, cheese and other dairy products; stop in the Bay Area for garlic; and if you’re a sushi lover, the rice may well have come from the Sacramento Valley. Looking for bok choy or other Asian vegetables to have on your table? They are grown abundantly from Salinas to Santa Maria. A variety of mushrooms sprout in Santa Clara and Monterey. Apples are grown north of Los Angeles, east of San Diego, in the Central Valley and the North Coast. And if you have wine with dinner, it now comes from many regions, including Napa and Sonoma, the San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast, and Sierra foothills.
California is the nation’s No. 1 farm state
As the nation’s largest agricultural producer, there aren’t many parts of the state that don’t host farms or farm-related businesses. Again, from Secretary Ross, California farms, “produce an astonishing array of products and achieve the highest standards in quality, food safety, and environmental stewardship.”
And California farming itself is a diverse business. It not only employs people growing and harvesting the food, but it also provides jobs throughout the state to people who transport, process and distribute the food in addition to companies that support farming by providing advanced irrigation, new technology, updated equipment, management services and more. According to a recent study put out by the University of California, agriculture employed more than 1 million people in 2018, paying them $68 billion in wages.
Safe and nutritious food for your family
So, when you survey your Thanksgiving table remember that a large part of the food your family will enjoy is likely California-grown, which is not only part of who we are, it’s healthy and safe, good for the economy and better for the environment because it doesn’t have to be shipped or trucked from another country. And that’s truly something to be grateful for.
See the original post on the California Farm Water Coalition site.
CDFA Deputy Secretary Arturo Barajas, California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson, and Western Fairs Association President Pat Conklin at a ribbon cutting ceremony today at the Yuba Sutter Fair to recognize new animal pens for the housing of animals sheltered at fairgrounds due to emergencies like fires and floods. The Farm Bureau and CDFA split the cost to purchase a total of 280 pens for sheep, goats and swine. Some pens have already been deployed to house animals in the path of recent California wildfires.
CDFA has introduced a webpage to promote the week-long Healthy Soils Week, December 2-6, 2019. CDFA, several partner agencies, and non-governmental organizations have joined forces to promote awareness about the importance of soil health to fight climate change, enhance food security, and conserve California’s natural resources.
The website provides details about the following daily events:
Monday, Dec. 2: Ribbon cutting to unveil large display panels near the Governor’s Office.
Tuesday, Dec. 3: A legislative briefing plus an informational session with the State Board of Food and Agriculture.
Wednesday, Dec. 4: A regional workshop, “Building our Food Resilient System,” in Santa Barbara. Also, CalRecycle will deliver fruit grown in a composted grove to state legislators.
Thursday, Dec. 5: World Soil Day as well as a tour for legislative staff and partner agencies that will include farms that employ healthy soils practices and a local compost facility.
Friday, Dec. 6: An event, “Rebuilding Urban Soil with Three Sisters Gardens” in West Sacramento.
Healthy soil is quite literally
the foundation of sustainable food, water, air and biodiversity. Restoring and
preserving healthy soil results in:
Improved plant health and yields
Increased water infiltration and retention
Sequestered carbon and reduced greenhouse gases (GHGs)
Reduced sediment erosion and dust
Improved water and air quality
Improved biological diversity and wildlife habitat
