CDFA Secretary Karen Ross today met participants in the Miss (and Mr.) Agriculture America Pageant. The organization is committed to promoting agriculture in California and around the nation. In a meeting at CDFA headquarters, Secretary Ross spoke to the visitors about their experiences with the pageant and asked them about their future aspirations, in the hope that some will choose one of the many career pathways available in agriculture and food production. The participants each shared products from their home farms or regions, including nuts, fruits, beef jerky, honey, coffee, and jams and jellies.
Agriculture interests from around the world gathered in Rome this week for a United Nations Food Systems Summit. The topics included reducing food waste, which, as shown in this video, can be a key element in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
https://youtu.be/ison6lQozDU
The USDA and the FDA are working together to try to reduce U.S. food waste by 50 percent by 2030. Californians generate approximately 6 million tons of food waste annually. Among the ways CDFA supports the reduction effort is a web page providing information about the issue and potential solutions.
M 80-style firecrackers are among illegal fireworks commonly seen in California
CDFA teamed up with the San Bernardino County Fire Department over a series of weekends in May, June and July to intercept illegal fireworks at the Mountain Pass Border Station (I-15).
The effort resulted in more than three-tons (6,133 lbs) being confiscated, the great majority intended for destinations in Southern California. Drivers of the vehicles were cited.
The team was on the lookout for items not classified as “safe and sane” by the California State Fire Marshal, and confiscated items were handed over to the Fire Marshal for disposal.
California’s Border Protection Stations (BPS) are the first line of defense in California’s pest exclusion efforts, and stations occasionally partner with other government agencies to focus on types of contraband outside of agriculture, like illegal fireworks.
Field training for the Nitrogen and Irrigation Initiative
As part of CDFA’s work to facilitate stewardship of water and natural resources, the agency is pleased to discuss recent developments in the Nitrogen and Irrigation Initiative.
A three-year, collaborative effort between CDFA’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, and UC Davis, the initiative is supporting research at seven UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) county offices.
The objective is to assist farms and ranches of all sizes through educational materials, on-farm trials, training events, and grower consultations aimed at establishing nutrient management and irrigation practices that produce fruits, nuts or vegetables without the overuse of fertilizer or water.
Significant milestones in the first quarter of 2023 included field staff training in conjunction with the UCCE Climate Smart Agriculture and Small Farms Community Education programs. Staff visited two Fresno County Asian vegetable operations to learn more about their irrigation systems and toured UCCE research fields.
Another milestone was the initiative’s first Stakeholder Advisory Group meeting. The group includes water coalitions, commodity organizations, resource conservation districts, Certified Crop Advisors, and environmental organizations. The purpose of the group is to enhance communication between program partners and organizations that work directly with farmers and ranchers.
A recent evaluation of GusNIP impacts shows how it increases fruit and vegetable consumption as well as food security
Two recently released reports detail how CDFA’s California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) improves opportunities for healthy diets and food security by helping more people purchase fruits and vegetables.
“CDFA is a proud partner in helping California’s underserved populations afford healthy produce grown by our farmers,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross “These reports from our state and national partners further demonstrate the importance of helping all Californians obtain access to a balanced and nutritious diet.”
CNIP addresses food insecurity and access to fresh fruits and vegetables among low-income Californians while simultaneously supporting and expanding markets for California farmers. This is done by offering a dollar-for-dollar match for every nutrition benefit dollar spent on California-grown produce at participating Certified Farmers’ Markets and other retail outlets, within specified parameters. CNIP supports shoppers using nutrition benefits such as CalFresh, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
CNIP funding comes from the State of California and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP). A recent GusNIP evaluation found that participants receiving assistance through GusNIP projects reported higher fruit and vegetable intake than the average U.S. adult.
A recent University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) Nutrition Policy Institute study discovered through surveys and interviews with CalFresh shoppers and food store managers that CNIP influenced the kinds of fruits and vegetables shoppers bought and allowed them to buy more.
“I feel like the … program has incentivized us to buy locally grown produce,” one CalFresh shopper told the Nutrition Policy Institute. “I also feel like the … program has made locally grown produce more affordable. And I most likely wouldn’t have made the effort to choose those products before.”
CNIP has “enabled me to double my purchases,” another CalFresh shopper said. “Not only can I get my regular staples, but I can also try new products or new fruits and vegetables that I never thought to use in my everyday cooking.”
“Everyone in the store really likes the program,” a store manager told the Nutrition Policy Institute. “It feels good to press that button and see $20 come off someone’s produce bill.”
Click here to learn more about CDFA’s California Nutrition Incentive Program.
Today (July 11) has been declared the inaugural National State Fair Food Day, and while that conjures-up images of corn dogs, deep-fried veggies, BBQ and ice cream, the California State Fair and Food Festival–starting this Friday the 14th and continuing through the 30th–expands those offerings to include fresh fruit, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken wings, Greek and Fijian cuisine, and several cooking contests featuring professional chefs, junior chefs, supermarket employees, and US Postal Service mail carriers!
And if you can’t get to the State Fair this year there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy delicious fair foods at local fairs throughout the state this summer and fall!
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds producers of the July 14 deadline to apply for both the Emergency Relief Program (ERP)Phase Two and the Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP). These revenue-based programs help offset revenue losses from 2020 and 2021 natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic.
ERP and PARP offer a holistic approach to disaster assistance and provide economic support for producers who bear the financial brunt of circumstances beyond their control.
“With a focus on revenue-based assistance, our goal is to provide all producers of eligible crops and livestock, including new and underserved producers, with the financial support they need to recover from the compounded, adverse economic impacts of market and weather instabilities,” said Blong Xiong, State Executive Director for FSA in California. “Applying this holistic approach to assistance acknowledges the myriad of crises that producers have faced in recent years, from the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic to the more frequent and intense natural disaster events that have devastated farms, ranches and communities across rural America.”
Eligibility: To be eligible for ERP Phase Two, producers must have suffered a decrease in allowable gross revenue in 2020 or 2021 due to necessary expenses related to losses of eligible crops from a qualifying natural disaster event. Assistance will be primarily to producers of crops that were not covered by Federal Crop Insurance or NAP, since crops covered by Federal Crop Insurance and NAP were included in the assistance under ERP Phase One. To be eligible for PARP, an agricultural producer must have been in the business of farming during at least part of the 2020 calendar year and had a 15% or greater decrease in allowable gross revenue for the 2020 calendar year, as compared to a baseline year.
FSA offers an online ERP tool and PARP tool that can help producers determine what is considered allowable gross revenue for each respective program. Through cooperative agreements with FSA, nine organizations are also providing free ERP Phase Two application assistance to producers across the United States and territories.
Did you know that CDFA’s Shipping Point Inspection (SPI) Program inspected 3.81 billion pounds of fresh product in fiscal year 2021-22?
SPI inspects fresh fruits and vegetables in a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and in voluntary inspections to make sure that produce meets industry-developed standards like US grade standards or other written government or private specifications for fresh products. Bottom line — these inspections help ensure that consumers receive high-quality products!
Click here to visit the SPI webpage and learn more about services offered by the branch, as well as fees and the Shipping Point Inspection Advisory Committee.
