California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones has granted a 24-hour permit clearing all brand inspection and health requirements for nine reindeer scheduled to visit California on the evening of December 24 and in the early morning hours of December 25.
The permit application was filed via email and followed by a Zoom meeting bringing together CDFA Animal Health Branch staff and a rotund, jolly man with a red suit, white beard, and a pocketful of candy canes. The signature on the application reads, “K. Kringle.”
State law mandates that all animals entering California be individually identified. The nine reindeer named on the permit are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen and Rudolph.
The permit was granted with two conditions: the nine reindeer may not co-mingle with other reindeer in the State of California, and the visiting reindeer may not be used for breeding purposes while in the state. They are, however, invited to partake of the Golden State’s famous and varied agricultural bounty if they need to refuel.
“We are pleased to issue this permit to Mr. Kringle,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “We wish him safe travels and plenty of California milk and cookies as he and his reindeer make deliveries to the good children of our state.”
With COVID-19 firmly in mind, Santa Claus recently shared the safeguards he is taking to meet health and safety requirements around the world.
Earlier today CDFA updated one of its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to Proposition 12. All the existing FAQs, first published in March 2021, remain in effect. The update includes an addition to an existing FAQ emphasizing that CDFA’s implementation priority has been and remains focused on the upcoming January 1, 2022 effective date for requirements for cage-free for hens and twenty-four square feet per breeding pig. The updated FAQ is available here.
Over the past week or so, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary Karen Ross, Undersecretary Christine Birdsong, and members of their senior staff have been making the rounds, visiting each of our Sacramento-area offices and laboratory facilities.
Sharing a cup of hot chocolate, adding to the department’s collection for the annual food drive, and swapping stories about work and family have become part of CDFA’s holiday tradition over the years. We also share thoughts of the many farmers and ranchers around our state who are gathering with their farmworkers, neighbors, friends and family during this season, in barns and cellars, over potlucks and around barbecue pits, celebrating the season’s harvest and the many more to come. From our CDFA family to yours, happy holidays!
Secretary Ross shares a story with the administrative staff in the lobby at CDFA Headquarters
Cat-themed holiday attire was a big hit with the Administrative Services Division staff this year! Gay Faivre (left) and Sinead Clark (center) with Secretary Ross.
Secretary Ross visits with the Administrative Services Division
Secretary Ross with the Marketing Services Division
Secretary Ross (gesturing) and Undersecretary Christine Birdsong (center) visit with the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division
The Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division
CDFA’s Division of Measurement Standards
Division of Measurement Standards – from left: Clark Cooney, Secretary Ross, Kristin Macey, Rebecca Bland and Kevin Schnepp
Secretary Ross visits with the Information Technology staff
Secretary Ross (left) with IT staff Peggy Blincoe, Sharon Buenafe and Jarrett Heather
Secretary Ross visits with staff at the Plant Pest Diagnostics Center
CDFA Undersecretary Christine Birdsong addresses staff at the Plant Pest Diagnostics Center
CDFA’s Plant Pest Diagnostics Center
Secretary Ross (right) visits the Marketing Services Division
Animal Health and Food Safety Services Division
CDFA Undersecretary Christine Birdsong (right) with Animal Health staff members
Secretary Ross with Center for Analytical Chemistry lab staff
Secretary Ross takes a moment to appreciate the “Chemis-Tree” on display at the Center for Analytical Chemistry
CDFA leaders (from left) Inspection Services Division Director Natalie Krout-Greenberg, Secretary Karen Ross, Center for Analytical Chemistry Branch Chief Barzin Moradi, and Undersecretary Christine Birdsong
At “The Chem Lab” – CDFA’s Center for Analytical Chemistry
Secretary Ross with CDFA veteran and Senior Environmental Scientist Vincent Arellano
CDFA’s Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Division
A total of nearly $40 million has been requested so far in the full application period, which began on November 1st. Up to $67.5 million is available in this round of funding.
As a reminder, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until 5 PM on February 25, 2022 or until available funds are expended. Don’t delay! Get your application in today!
Hailing from the nearby small town of San Joaquin, Fresno State junior Alejandra Valdez admits that the adjustment to a 25,000-student campus could have been a little intimidating.
However, through a shared love of agriculture with her fellow Plant Science Club students and advisers, she found a supportive family that is equally committed to community outreach.
The impact of those activities were instrumental in helping the 70-member club recently win its seventh President’s Trophy Contest since 2012 against many of the nation’s most distinguished collegiate agricultural programs.
The event was held in Salt Lake City, Utah and sponsored by the Students of Agronomy, Soil and Environmental Sciences organization at the tri-societies annual conference for agronomy, crop and soil science professionals.
Valdez made a five-minute presentation that showcased the club’s long list of professional opportunities, activities, community education, industry partnerships and fundraising the past year.
The presentation also featured its half-acre campus farm plot that the club manages year-round. Students have donated 250 pounds of vegetables this summer and fall from the plot to the Amendola Family Student Cupboard on campus and other area food assistance organizations.
“It was such an unbelievable experience to be able to share these experiences with industry leaders at the contest and get their feedback,” Valdez said. “Our club is so tied to the Central Valley, so being able to help feed other students or community members dealing with food insecurity is a core value of our members. Our campus plot is also an integral way that our students can apply the agronomy principles from our classes that we can hopefully use in our careers, while teaching others the importance of agriculture in all our lives.”
In the final contest standings, Fresno State edged teams from Auburn University, Chico State, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Midwestern University, North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University, Purdue University, Texas A&M University and the University of Wisconsin.
Judges evaluated the club’s problem-solving skills, innovation, teamwork, productivity, creativity and delivery.
Previous winning Fresno State presentations were made by then-students Sara Alatorre (2012), Armando Guzman (2014), Elizabeth Diaz (2016), Vivian Maier (2017), Ignacio Mendoza (2018) and Tyler Armbrister (2020).
The club placed second two other years in that span and did not travel to the Texas-hosted event in 2019 due to travel restrictions.
During the week-long conference, Valdez and eight other Fresno State students also competed in a quiz bowl, soil and crop judging contests and attended other professional presentations and networking activities at the conference.
In an oral presentation contest, senior Omar Abulghanam (Clovis) finished in fourth place for his seven-minute presentation on how changing climate conditions affect a vision for a more sustainable planet. The topic was provided five hours before the competition, which proved less time than many of his competitors, since he competed in the soil judging competition that day.
Fresno State’s first competitor in the event was judged on his voice quality, physical manner, speech structure, content development, language, value and effectiveness.
Senior Gurbinder Kang (Fresno) also made a poster presentation on his research related to the efficacy of gibberellic acid treatments to aid cotton plant growth and physiology in high salinity soils. Junior Samantha Corchado (Fresno) also created a poster with an overview of the club’s activities that was similar to Valdez’s presentation.
Other students that attended the conference included seniors Bianey Medina (Salinas) and Paola Vidales (Salinas), juniors Israel Rangel (Marina) and Ignacio Valdez (Gonzales), and freshmen Gagan Gade (Nagpur, India) and Curtis Lefler (Hanford).
Plant science faculty members and club advisers Dr. Ranjit Riar and Dr. Jacob Wenger have served as key resources for the conference and other club projects, which offer independent study class credit and give practical, hands-on experience for students.
Additional support for the club for the trip and throughout the year have come from Associated Students Inc., Belmont Nursery, Culture H20, Dexter and Malen Estrada, Gar & Esther Tootelian Charitable Foundation, Gazebo Gardens, Green Valley Recycling Co., Helena Chemical Co., Hortau, Mazzei’s Nursery, Mendoza Berry Farms, Michael Borboa, My Job Depends on Ag, Netafim, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Olam, Rangel Berry Farms and the University Agricultural Laboratory.
Also invited to attend the conference was plant science student Mario Lemus as a Golden Opportunity Award recipient. The senior from Lindsay is a Jordan College Honors Research Cohort member and was recognized for his outstanding contributions to agronomy through education, service and research.
PDP is a federal partnership with nine states that monitors pesticide residues in the U.S. food supply. PDP data helps demonstrate the high quality of the U.S. food supply — analyses show that pesticide residues are lower than the limits established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in nearly all food samples (typically >99%).
The partnership between the agencies started with a screening list of 28 pesticide compounds. It has since expanded the scope to detect and quantify more than 515 compounds.
Partnering in this project has helped the CAC Food Safety program model its quality system framework into one that generates the highest-quality data for enforcement and regulatory purposes. Innovation was fostered through CAC scientists applying novel analytical methods and custom-made software to automate data processing and review.
“These endeavors opened doors to continuous technical improvement and enabled us to significantly increase our capability to generate high-quality, defensible data in a fast-turnaround work environment,” said CAC Environmental Program Manager Tiffany Tu. “The benefit gained from collaborating with other agencies in the pesticide analysis field in impactful scientific projects helped further our goal of being in the forefront of the pesticide analysis arena, which also ensures CAC Food Safety program’s relevance in our mission of promoting and protecting California agriculture.”
California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom (seated) is joined by CDFA Secretary Karen Ross during a recent farm to school tour in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District in Contra Costa County. CDFA’s Office of Farm to Fork coordinated the tour to demonstrate the importance of integrated farm to school programs that connect climate-smart, California-produced food in cafeterias to food education in classrooms and gardens, as well as at farms and in local communities.The Office of Farm to Fork is administering a grant program approved by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Newsom to expand these opportunities. The First Partner and Secretary Ross have visited a number of school districts together to learn more about their farm to school programs and plan to continue doing so.
Now that we’re in the midst of holiday season, many families are venturing out to cut-your-own tree farms in search of the perfect tree, and California’s tree farmers are extending the welcome mat!
On the west steps of the California Capitol this afternoon, Virginia Jameson (right) was sworn in as the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Deputy Secretary for Climate and Working Lands, with California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross (left) administering the oath of office. Jameson has been Climate and Conservation Program Manager at the California Department of Conservation since 2018. She was Deputy State Director for the American Farmland Trust from 2015 to 2018, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development Program Coordinator for the American University School of International Service in 2014 and Graduate Admissions Office Student Assistant for the American University School of Communications in 2014. Jameson was a Management Specialist for the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office in 2012, a Board Aide for Monterey County Office of District 4 Supervisor Jane Parker from 2011 to 2012 and Associate Director for Girls Incorporated of the Central Coast in 2011. She was Associate Director of the Ag Land Trust from 2009 to 2011, where she was a Conservation and Development Analyst from 2007 to 2009. Jameson earned a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs and Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from American University.
The Federal-State On-Farm Compost Work Group is pleased to announce the launch of an On-Farm Compost Resource Website. The resources on this website include information and tools to help farmers and ranchers compost agricultural byproducts, including manure, and maintain compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
The website is hosted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and was developed as part of a larger collaborative working group that was co-led by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), US Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA NRCS), and California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) as well as eleven additional state and regional regulatory bodies. The working group was formed in 2019 to help reduce barriers and clarify regulatory requirements for producers wishing to co-compost off-site agricultural waste.
“California farmers and ranchers have long understood the benefits of this proven practice, just like those who embrace composting at home” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “This multi-agency effort will help meet farmer demand for more on-farm composting to ensure safe, nutrient rich soil, and this new on-line resource provides a single location to show our producers how to put it all together in compliance with California environmental regulations.”
“California will dramatically cut a major source of climate warming gas when we launch food and yard waste composting statewide in 2022,” said California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Jared Blumenfeld. “Using this compost on our agricultural and rangelands will add to that greenhouse gas reduction and help drought-ravaged soil retain water.”
“The tools created by the On-Farm Compost Work Group will help promote the composting of agricultural materials in California,” added EPA Pacific Southwest Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Jordan. “Composting is an alternate pathway for agricultural materials, which will reduce ag burning in California, thus protecting air and water quality.”
“Application of compost is a common soil health practice, that can help farmers in our arid climate maintain and build soil carbon,” said NRCS California State Conservationist Carlos Suarez. “Compost application improves plant health and crop yields, increases water retention and infiltration, and sequesters carbon. This effort helps create valuable soil amendments from diverse on-farm resources. It’s a win-win for California agriculture”
The resource website launch falls during California’s Healthy Soils Week which continues through Dec. 10. Please visit the calendar of events focused on the value of soil and the benefits that healthy soil management practices, including compost, have for improving California’s drought resilience.
