CDFA Secretary Karen Ross today at the United Nations COP26 climate change conference in Scotland. In the top photo Secretary Ross is with Pippa Hackett, state minister for agriculture at Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. In the photo at the lower left Secretary Ross is speaking at a panel discussion on water resilient food systems. And in the photo at the lower right she is with Mairi Gougeon, Scotland’s secretary for rural affairs and islands. Secretary Ross is participating in COP26 activities throughout the week, sharing information about California’s Climate Smart Agriculture programs and learning more about climate change approaches around the world.
I am grateful for the opportunity to join California’s delegation in Scotland for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) from November 9th through the 12th. The conference presents an opportunity to meet with many colleagues from around the world in our common pursuit of climate-change solutions while meeting the essential food security needs of our communities.
While on the ground in Scotland, I’ll be focusing on the ways our farmers and ranchers in California and around the world can be – and in many cases already are – accomplishing meaningful progress toward our climate goals. California is accustomed to leading, but we are also constantly learning. That’s what this trip is about – leading, but also learning how to do it better. Specifically, I’m focusing on issues and elements such as:
Supporting farmers and ranchers as part of the solution on climate change
Building climate resilience in our natural and working lands
Scaling up technologies and practices that are already proven
Bolstering research efforts to keep those solutions coming
I am looking forward to a meeting with the Irish minister for land use and biodiversity as well as meetings with the Scottish and English ministers for agriculture. And I’m honored to be making presentations at several events to provide information about California’s Climate Smart Agriculture programs. Our state is home to amazingly innovative farmers and ranchers! I am proud to share their success stories and eager to hear from our partners around the world.
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross (front-center) met today with fair executives at the Annual Fall Managers Conference, hosted by the California Fairs Alliance in Sacramento. Secretary Ross thanked managers and their fairs for stepping up to serve their communities during times of crisis, including wildfires and COVID-19, and she touched on other issues of concern to fairs. Also in the photo, to the right of Secretary Ross, is CDFA deputy secretary for fairs Michael Flores.
Deputy Secretary Flores provided fair managers in attendance with certificates of appreciation for their service to local communities and the state.
Cover crops, typically planted in early fall, deliver a host of agricultural and conservation benefits. But many growers have gone away from planting them due to technical challenges and extra costs associated with the practice. In partnership with the Contra Costa County Resource Conservation District, two University of California Cooperative Extension advisors collaborated to support farmers’ cover cropping efforts and reduce costs.
Kamyar Aram, UCCE specialty crops advisor for Contra Costa and Alameda counties, and Rob Bennaton, UCCE Bay Area urban agriculture and food systems advisor, developed online project content for a free educational series on cover cropping, which entails growing non-cash crops to add beneficial biomass to soils.
The series – comprising 10 webinars and five virtual farm-site visits – features UC farm and urban agriculture advisors and some of California’s foremost experts on cover cropping. It helps growers overcome their hesitations about the practice, which provides benefits such as alleviating compaction, improving water retention and increasing organic matter and nutrients in the soil.
“Our site visit videos include a diversity of cropping systems, operation types and scales, and levels of experience with cover crops, so we really capture a variety of perspectives,” Aram said. “Now, with the videos online, I hope that they will serve as tools for other farm educators, as well as a resource for growers directly.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic scrapped plans for in-person workshops and visits, the series organizers pivoted to online webinars, starting in fall 2020, which drew more than 150 participants. The recorded videos – which cover basic methods, financial assistance, tips for orchards and vineyards and more – expanded the potential reach and impact of the series far beyond Contra Costa County.
“Each video, whether it’s a webinar recording or a virtual site visit, emphasizes different aspects, and the titles are designed to help viewers find the resources they are most likely to benefit from,” said Aram. “There really is something for everyone.”
The United States and United Arab Emirates have officially launched the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), alongside 31 countries and more than 48 non-government partners. In remarks at the World Leaders Summit at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), President Biden announced that the United States intends to mobilize $1 billion in investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation over five years (2021-2025).
Previewed at President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate in April, AIM for Climate is a pioneering initiative uniquely focused on increasing investment and enabling greater public-private and cross-sectoral partnerships, intended to both raise global climate ambition, and underpin transformative climate action in the agriculture sector in all countries. AIM for Climate has already begun to bear fruit, garnering an “early harvest” of $4 billion in increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation over five years.
AIM for Climate partners are mobilizing this investment to close the global investment gap in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation. Climate-smart agriculture is an approach that helps to guide actions needed to transform and reorient agricultural systems to tackle three main objectives: sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes, while adapting and building resilience to climate change and/or reducing/removing greenhouse gas emissions. AIM for Climate seeks to create incentives for, and mechanisms for maximizing the impact of, new investments toward an agriculture sector that is ready to face a changing climate.
Government partners are providing the crucial foundation of AIM for Climate, through a wave of public investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation. Other sectors, including business, philanthropy, and other non-government partners are invited to build upon that foundation with “innovation sprints” – investments in specific, impactful, measurable, expedited efforts – or by providing critical knowledge for identifying investment gaps, challenges, and opportunities.
AIM for Climate has three primary objectives:
Demonstrate collective commitment to significantly increase investment in agricultural innovation for climate-smart agriculture and food systems over five years (2021-2025);
Support frameworks and structures to enable technical discussions and the promotion of expertise, knowledge, and priorities across international and national levels of innovation to amplify the impact of participants’ investments; and
Establish appropriate structures for exchanges between Ministers, chief scientists, and other stakeholders as key focal points and champions for cooperation on climate-related agricultural innovation, to engender greater co-creation and cooperation on shared research priorities.
Surrounded by her family on the south steps of the California Capitol this morning, Christine Birdsong was sworn in as Undersecretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture by Secretary Karen Ross. Birdsong has been Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Director of People and Culture for the Sun Valley Rice Company since 2016. She was General Counsel for the National Cotton Council of America from 2011 to 2016, Counsel for the Committee on Agriculture for the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2010, and Federal Government Affairs Leader for CropLife America from 2004 to 2005. Birdsong earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
For nearly 60 years, Apple Hill has delighted visitors with delicious, crisp apples, fresh squeezed apple cider, and beautiful scenic views. Located along the Sierra foothill of Placerville, between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, the Apple Hill Growers Association represents 50 local, family farms dedicated to supporting our state’s agricultural community. Apple Hill began in 1964 and today it’s grown to include vegetable and fruit farms, bakeshops, wineries, hospitality, flower gardens, and Christmas tree farms.
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary Karen Ross welcomes attendees Wednesday morning to the 29th Nutrient Management Conference hosted by the CDFA Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) and Western Plant Health (WPH) at Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo. Secretary Ross’ comments included an update on State Budget impacts to CDFA and FREP, as well as funding opportunities and new initiatives important to the crop advisors, academics and industry representatives in attendance. The annual FREP/WPH Nutrient Management Conference brings together industry professionals and academic researchers to learn about and share the latest research and innovative management practices for fertilizing materials.
Visit www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/frep/FREPConference.html to view this year’s conference agenda and see current and past conference proceedings. Conference protocols are adhering to state and local health guidelines.
The USDA is profiling its Hungry Pests program this fall and in this video CDFA Secretary Karen Ross shares California’s support for the program as well as CDFA’s commitment to protect the state’s crops and natural resources from invasive species, underscoring that we are all in this together as Plant Health Champions.
It was recently announced that an additional $60 million from the state budget has been allocated to sustain and expand the grant program through 2023. Visit CDFA’s California Farm to School Program page for grant updates.
San Luis Coastal Unified connects local food into nutrition and lessons
San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s farm to school activities will continue and grow through the CDFA Farm to School Incubator Grant Program.
CA Farm to School Incubator Grantee San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) does it all! From procuring local foods for school meals to teaching students about where their food comes from, SLCUSD has been a driving force in the farm to school community and we are so excited to see its work grow through CDFA’s Farm to School Incubator Grant! For its grant project, SLCUSD will procure foods from local farms and school gardens, integrate these foods into recipes for the school meal program and tasting opportunities for students, teach students about the local foods served in school meals through classroom lessons that connect to Common Core Standards, maintain school gardens and provide garden lessons, and coordinate Meet the Farmer events for students.
Farm to Institution Center supports Oceanside Unified and Fallbrook Union High School districts
Farm to Institution Center staff (Instagram: @f2icenter)
The Farm to Institution Center is using grant funds to establish the Inspiring Local Food Connections (ILFC) program. A partnership between Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD) and Fallbrook Union High School District (FUHSD), the project supports and expands farm to school procurement and education to inspire the next generation of food system advocates. As part of the ILFC program, nutrition service staff members at OUSD and FUHSD received “fresh five” bags from Foodshed (a 100% farmer-owned operation!) before autumn equinox. These bags included a variety of local produce including kale, Japanese eggplant, corn, red pears, kohlrabi microgreens, green onions, cherry tomatoes and honeydew melon!
Ocean View Elementary School District implements an Edible Education Program
Ocean View School District Presents Edible Education at Baby Root Farm
Ocean View Elementary School District (OVESD) is using its Farm to School Incubator Grant funds to implement an Edible Education Program that will bridge the gap between the local food items served in school meals and what students are learning in the classroom. In partnership with Edible Ojai and Ventura County, OVESD is developing and distributing monthly Edible Education units that include: lesson plans for teachers with suggestions for connecting the unit to the school meals in the cafeteria; farmer trading cards for each K-8 student featuring the farmer who provided the local food served at lunch; accompanying farmer posters for the cafeterias; Edible Education booklets with an in-depth profile of the farmer and their climate smart agricultural practices; and recipes highlighting the local food item that the district purchased from the farmer. Check out these Edible Education units the district has developed so far:
