By Kevin Hechtman

Making planting decisions for fall and winter vegetables is hard enough without a pandemic and ever-changing shutdown orders dimming the crystal ball.

The state ordered indoor restaurant dining to cease again July 13 as coronavirus cases spiked around the state, prompting even more uncertainty for vegetable farmers in a growing season already rife with it.

“Up until a couple of weeks ago, we felt reasonably confident putting together a planting schedule that was fairly similar to previous years,” said Steve Brazeel of SunTerra Produce, based in Orange County. “As we get closer, these decisions become more critical, as it looks like it will come down to the last minute.”

He’ll have to decide within the next couple of weeks what winter-vegetable crops to plant in the Imperial Valley. Ordinarily, those would include iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, green and red leaf lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower.

Brazeel said planting decision making normally starts with talking to customers about their expectations.

“What’s going on now is, those initial conversations are just not clear, because of the situation of opening and closing and opening and closing,” Brazeel said, noting he’s likely looking at an across-the-board reduction of as-yet-undetermined scope.

The original shelter-in-place orders in March caused food-service orders to vanish seemingly overnight, forcing some farmers to plow under their crops. An economic study commissioned by the California Farm Bureau Federation and other organizations and conducted by ERA Economics found some Imperial Valley growers lost entire leafy-green crops worth millions.

Markets have been up lately, but they have begun to decline again, said Mark Shaw, vice president of operations at Markon in Salinas. Its main line of business is supplying fresh fruits and vegetables to the food-service sector.

“We just came out of a high market,” during which iceberg lettuce sold for $18-19 per carton, and romaine for $25 or so, Shaw said. “Both of those markets are declining now—have been declining for the last two weeks.”

The latest shutdown order restricts restaurants to outdoor dining, takeout and delivery.

“It is going to take away the food-service demand for lettuce, romaine, broccoli and cauliflower,” Shaw said, adding that the shutdown will keep markets low, “lower than basic growing costs.”

The latest shutdown order doesn’t have an expiration date, leading Shaw to predict depressed markets could last into August, as restaurants don’t know when they’ll be able to resume indoor dining.

Brazeel said he’s ready for a wild ride.

“I fully expect roller-coaster markets this winter on the wet vegetables, because of the reduced plantings, and then pockets of resurgence of volume—of restaurants reopening or schools utilizing it,” Brazeel said. “I think that there’s just as good of an opportunity of the market being really high as opposed to disastrous like it has been, just because decreased supply obviously will result in higher pricing.”

Shaw said some farmers reduced plantings of leafy greens as the first round of shelter-in-place orders took hold.

“It’s typically a 90-day crop from seed to emergence to harvest,” he said, noting that people started backing off on acreage in March and early April. “That reduction started hitting about June 15.”

With food service reduced and unemployment soaring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the Farmers to Families Food Box program, which seeks to purchase farm products without any other market and route them to families in need via food banks. The program has invoiced 41.5 million boxes as of July 17, according to the USDA.

“That had an effect as well, driving those markets up because you had all these produce boxes that were being produced,” Shaw said. “They were taking up available supply out of the Salinas Valley for lettuce and romaine and broccoli and cauliflower.”

One Sacramento wholesaler, Produce Express, began putting together consumer boxes and selling them directly to the public shortly after the first shutdown order came. The boxes feature fruits and vegetables that otherwise had lost their markets.

“We’ve never done them before,” said Jim Boyce, who runs the business his parents started in 1984. “We’ve been asked to do them quite often in the past.”

The boxes, he said, were created out of several needs—moving produce that otherwise had lost its market, keeping his employees busy, and filling a void in the community at a time when going to the store was dicey because of long lines and product shortages.

Demand for boxes has declined from about 400 a day at the zenith to about 25 a day, Boyce said, adding that he doesn’t foresee strong demand for them again until late fall or early winter.

“The reason I say that is because grocery stores, retail stores struggle with getting enough product on the shelves the farther product comes away from home,” he said. “Right now, it’s pretty easy to get broccoli overnight.”

Boyce said he figures that as people return to work, they’ll be less inclined to cook at home and will seek out takeout or delivery.

“What we’re seeing is the people that are buying the boxes, and continue to buy the boxes, are more of what we call a ‘foodie,'” he said. “They want a good-quality meal that they’re going to fix with all-natural ingredients and do it their way.”

He said he doesn’t think the latest shutdown will affect box demand much, because restaurants can take advantage of summer weather to expand outdoor seating. He’s concerned, however, about the farmers who supply his business.

“I can tell you the ones that I’ve talked to, they’re as frustrated as I am,” Boyce said. “We don’t know how to plan for the future, let alone for tomorrow.”

Brazeel said he’s trying to maintain a sunny outlook for the winter crop.

“We have optimism and excitement going into the winter, just like we do every winter,” he said. “There’s always optimism when you plant, and then realism when the harvest time comes.”

Link to article on Ag Alert web site

USDA News Release

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced approximately $15 million in available funding to help socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers own and operate successful farms. Funding is made through the USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the 2501 Program). The program is administered by the USDA Office of Partnerships & Public Engagement (OPPE).

For 30 years, the 2501 Program has helped reach socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers who have experienced barriers to service due to racial or ethnic prejudice. The 2014 Farm Bill expanded the program to veteran farmers and ranchers. The 2018 Farm Bill increased mandatory funding for the program through fiscal year 2023. With 2501 program grants, nonprofits, institutions of higher education and Indian Tribes can support socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers through education, training, farming demonstrations, and conferences on farming and agri-business, and by increasing access to USDA’s programs and services.

Since 1994, 484 grants totaling more than $119 million have been awarded. Among recent FY 2019 grantees, Developing Innovation in Navajo Education, Inc. was awarded funds to improve the operations and profitability of Arizona’s Navajo socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers, and increase the local production and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy food. The Mississippi Association of Cooperatives helped socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers and youth own and operate viable agricultural enterprises through an educational outreach program on farm management practices, financial management, and marketing.

Eligible 2501 program applicants include not-for-profit organizations, community-based organizations, and a range of higher education institutions serving African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander communities.

The deadline for applications is August 26, 2020. See the request for applications for full details.

The Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement will host an upcoming teleconference during the open period of this announcement, and more sessions may be added. No registration is required to participate.

• July 28, 2020, 2 p.m. EDT
• Telephone Number: (877) 692-8955
• Passcode: 6433267

By Natalie Parletta

US researchers have calculated that accessing untapped freshwater around the world would allow farmers to feed 620 to 840 million more people without depleting water resources or expanding agriculture into natural ecosystems.

Agriculture uses 90% of the world’s water and is thus by far the biggest driver of water scarcity, a serious problem as the planet faces increasing droughts as a result of climate change.

This water scarcity doesn’t just have physical constraints but also economic limitations to harnessing available water for agriculture, with most severe impacts on vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.

Lorenzo Rosa, from the University of California and colleagues call this “agricultural economic water scarcity”, defined as “lack of irrigation due to limited institutional and economic capacity instead of hydrologic constraints”.

To explore this, they used a hydrological model to simulate monthly global crop water demand and estimate the amount of freshwater that is sustainably available for local agriculture, publishing their findings in the journal Science Advances.

They found that half of irrigated land is unsustainable, depleting groundwater and environmental flows – stream flows needed to conserve aquatic habitats – but is a major food source.

“Alarmingly, unsustainable irrigation produces food for 1.3 billion people globally,” says Rosa. “However, we also find that 140 million hectares of croplands are suitable for sustainable irrigation expansion and with potential to feed 800 million more people.”

Two thirds of regions with economic water scarcity are in Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Overall, results showed that expanding sustainable irrigation in 19 low-income countries would increase calorie production by at least a third.

Importantly, by using sustainable irrigation practices, they show that agricultural output can be intensified without deforestation and cropland expansion into pristine habitats.

This would involve building small reservoirs to store water locally during months when there is excess run-off, which can then be used during seasons with water shortfalls.

Other approaches include minimising water evaporation, using indigenous farming methods to increase soil moisture and reduce runoff, mulching, no-till farming and providing shade – a win-win here would be using solar panels to block sun while generating energy.

It would also be prudent to plant less water-intensive crops.

Beyond improving agricultural productivity, they note that other ways to feed humanity sustainably include cutting food waste, reducing red meat consumption and employing sensible strategies to reduce population growth.

Link to article in Cosmos Magazine.

The farm profiled in this video received a grant from CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program for the planting of hedgerows and cover crops.

A report issued today identifies alternatives for California growers to the banned pesticide chlorpyrifos and calls for continued work towards safer, more sustainable pest management practices.

Following California’s historic decision to end use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos in 2019, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) convened the Alternatives to Chlorpyrifos Work Group to evaluate potential alternatives. The work group’s report outlines actions that can further support agriculture and the health of local communities, farmworkers and the environment.

“This report highlights current alternatives to chlorpyrifos, but it also underscores the need to continue our combined efforts to provide safer and more sustainable crop protection tools to California’s farmers,” said DPR Director Val Dolcini. “Working with community organizations, other agencies, agricultural producers, and UC scientists, we will continue our work to develop a roadmap that can be used by all Californians to manage pests more safely and sustainably.”

“Partnerships will be key as we move forward with economic recovery,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “We need collaboration to implement this ambitious roadmap and deliver innovative, pragmatic solutions to the complex array of issues farmers and the ag workforce confront every day as they strive to produce high-quality agricultural crops to meet consumer expectations.”

The report, Towards Safer and More Sustainable Alternatives to Chlorpyrifos: An Action Plan for California, identifies:

• Nonchemical and synthetic alternatives for growers and the relative toxicities of the alternative pesticides.
• Biopesticides alternatives to chlorpyrifos derived from natural materials.
• A five-year action plan to strategically manage pests using safer, less-toxic alternatives.

“California leads the nation in advancing more sustainable pest management practices, and this report makes clear the need to continue that important work,” said Jared Blumenfeld, California Secretary for Environmental Protection. “The Governor’s 2020-2021 Budget contains funding that will allow DPR and CDFA to continue this dialogue and build on the momentum begun by the Chlorpyrifos Alternatives Work Group.”

DPR and CDFA plan to convene a successor group this year to focus on system-wide safe, sustainable pest management practices.

The Work Group included a wide cross-section of leaders and experts – including representatives from agricultural organizations, scientists focused on pest management and public health, environmental justice groups, farmworker advocates, and pest control advisors. Over the course of five months, the group conducted three statewide public roundtable discussions and received extensive public input during.

Visit the DPR website for more information on the chlorpyrifos action.

The implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and and other anticipated water restrictions pose major challenges for California agriculture. Without effective solutions, economists have estimated that up to one million acres of farmland will be fallowed, resulting in a revenue loss of $7.2 billion per year. As the state’s top agricultural commodity, dairy farming is an important part of the SGMA challenge. Fortunately, dairy farmers have an excellent track record for water savings and are continuing to adopt innovative strategies to advance environmental sustainability and help meet the water conservation challenges ahead.

According to researchers at University of California, Davis, the amount of water used per unit of milk produced in the state has decreased more than 88 percent over the past 50 years. This is primarily due to improved feed crop production and water use efficiency. A large portion of the water savings can be attributed to the use of byproducts as feed.

More than 40 percent of feed ingredients used on California dairy farms are byproducts of other agricultural and food production processes, which are provided as dairy feed without any additional water needed for production. This includes materials such as almond hulls, tomato and citrus pulp, cotton seed, and brewer’s grain, which could otherwise be wasted. Dairy farmers work with nutritionists to incorporate these materials into well-balanced, nutritious rations for cows. In this way, dairy farms work in harmony with the state’s other agricultural and food production industries—making for efficient use of water resources.

While dairies typically grow the majority of their non-byproduct feed ingredients using recycled water from the dairy, feed is also grown out-of-state, further reducing in-state water use by more than 30 percent. Over the past 50 years, California dairy farmers have also significantly increased the amount of feed crops they grow per acre of land, providing tremendous environmental benefits—reducing the amount of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides needed, while also reducing the energy to irrigate crops, and the amount of fuel used by tractors. Water use and feed production will remain an important topic moving forward, which is why California dairy farmers continue to implement new strategies and technologies to boost water use efficiency and promote overall sustainability.

One example of these efforts was recently awarded a prestigious sustainability award from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. Sustainable Conservation and Netafim partnered with De Jager Dairy and two other California dairies to develop and demonstrate a new way to grow dairy forage crops: a subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system that uses manure effluent. The system delivers plant nutrients found in dairy manure beneath the soil surface, improving irrigation water use efficiency and nutrient use efficiency, while providing other environmental benefits. Thanks to this partnership effort and grant funding now being provided by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), more dairy farms will soon be able to implement this approach.

The manure SDI system will serve as an important tool in the implementation of SGMA for two reasons: the conservation of water (nearly 40 percent more crop produced per drop of water) and a more efficient use of manure nutrients as fertilizer. As acres of farmland will need to be fallowed to meet SGMA requirements, dairy farmers will need to ensure manure nutrients produced on their farms continue to be used in ways that best to protect water and air quality, while helping build healthy soils. The organic matter and nutrients found in dairy manure have potential to help improve the health and water-holding capacity of soils throughout the state.

Dairies are an integral part of any sustainable food system. The state’s dairy farms play an important role—from providing nutritious dairy foods and180,000 year-round jobs, to utilizing thousands of tons of byproducts as feed, while offering a source of organic matter that can help promote healthy, more resilient soils. California dairy farms also continue to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability—reducing water use by adopting innovative practices.

Likewise, dairy farms will continue to be an important part of the conversation—as farmers, stakeholders, and officials at both the local and state level continue developing plans to achieve sustainability in groundwater use and protect the environment.

Link to story on Dairy Cares web site

California agriculture is vital to the nourishment of our citizens, our economy and our environment. From the farm, to the packing and/or processing plant, and into the hands of consumers, California’s bounty is in high demand this time of year.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) acknowledges the hard work and dedication that it takes to bring these products to our table, and it is our priority to help ensure that all of agriculture is putting the health and wellness of our agriculture workers front and center as we continue to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

We know it is important to have outreach and educational materials available to agriculture stakeholders. To help distill the latest guidance and resources, CDFA has created two flyers for farmers, ranchers and farmworkers, in English and Spanish.

COVID-19 Awareness for Agriculture (in Spanish) offers straightforward advice on how to prevent, educate and respond to COVID-19. Prevention includes wearing a mask, cleaning and sanitizing frequently, and maintaining physical distance – including keeping everyone healthy by limiting visitors. Education includes staying up to date on the best prevention measures and sharing that information with California’s agriculture workforce in a way that is easy to understand and can be applied and reinforced at work and at home. Responses include knowing what to do if an employee tests positive for COVID-19, who to contact, and how employers can help support employees. 

TIPS: Educating Farmworkers on COVID-19 (in Spanish) reinforces and broadens the education component through highlighting what actions have worked best in the field for farmworker education.

CDFA is distributing these flyers to division/program contacts, CDFA marketing boards and commissions, affiliated associations, county agricultural commissioners and others. CDFA field staff also will carry copies.

Visit CDFA’s COVID-19 Resources for Food and Agriculture to view these and additional materials that are part of CDFA’s continuous effort to support California’s vibrant farming and ranching community.

Tulare County pesticide inspector Juan Rangel (left) delivers masks for farmworkers at a farm in Exeter. This is an example of the State of California and local governments working collaboratively to provide face masks to farmworkers and employers during the COVID-19 crisis. To date, nearly 13 million masks have been delivered to county agricultural commissioners offices for direct distribution within the farm community. 
Farmworkers or agricultural employers in need of surgical face masks are asked to contact their local county agricultural commissioner’s office for more information.

The challenges and anguish of 2020 have impacted us all and exposed deep-seated disparities affecting people of color across all aspects of our society, which must be urgently addressed to create a more just and caring state and nation.

CDFA stands with the Black Lives Matter movement and recognizes the history of institutional and systemic racism in agriculture and its continued role in the present agricultural system. CDFA wishes to emphasize this with a statement of values about equity (viewable in English and Spanish through links and below) that was authored by a team of CDFA employees and shared in draft form for input from employees across the agency. The statement declares that racism and all other forms of bias and discrimination will not be tolerated. The agency will take the following actions to address this:

• Recognize and acknowledge the historic contributions of people of color to agriculture and food systems: Create an outreach and communications plan to feature people of color, farmers of color, and farmworkers on CDFA platforms, and highlight the important historical contributions of farmers of color to California agriculture as well as the history of systemic and institutional racism in agriculture in California.
• Prioritize recommendations contained within the Farmer Equity Report to address increasing the voices of farmers of color in decision-making processes, programs, boards and commissions. 
• Create a task force of CDFA employees who will work with the CCORE (Capitol Cohort on Racial Equity) group to create a racial equity action plan. This will be a collaborative space where all staff can share resources and engage in meaningful conversation.
• Provide educational and training opportunities for all staff:  CDFA will offer implicit bias training for all CDFA staff and research other potential training opportunities that could be offered to all staff.

CDFA will have a series of discussion forums about racism and equity, including an invited speaker series featuring perspectives from people of color and marginalized communities.

Here at CDFA, the work we do every day is vital to the nourishment of people, our economy and our environment. Over the next few months we will be engaging our employees and the public directly for input on how we as an agency can increase our understanding of the role of racism in the history of agriculture and the many ways in which we can affect change through our programs and our actions to ensure an end to racism. 

The recent killings of George Floyd and other people of color underscore how historical systemic and institutional racism perpetuates violence against Black Americans, robbing families of their fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters at an alarming rate. CDFA is taking the actions described above in the quest for meaningful change.  

CDFA statement on racial equity:

Ongoing systemic and institutional racism and inequality continues to be experienced by Black people, other people of color, and marginalized groups on a regular basis. This is a plague in our country, and it must end.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) recognizes that there is a history of racism within agriculture and food systems, the effects of which are still present today. As a Department, we are committed to changing that reality and doing better on behalf of communities of color in California. This includes an ongoing steadfast commitment to eliminate institutionalized racism and inequity in all areas within the Department. 

CDFA and its employees reject and condemn racism in its many forms, from the overt to the subtle. CDFA stands for reform, for inclusion, and for increased tolerance and understanding. CDFA is committed to an open and active pursuit of racial equity. We will move forward with the acknowledgment that there is much more we can and must do. We will start by evaluating the equity of our current activities, including opportunities in the workplace, access to programs that provide assistance, and sensitivity in interactions with the communities we serve.  

We will seek advice from, listen to and partner with those impacted by racism and inequity. We are eager to do this work, to create genuine opportunities and ensure that our state is a California for All. In this time of heartbreak and despair, we stand with all of those who are suffering. We see you. We hear you. We support you. As a Department, we are committed to ongoing learning, improvement, and action as we move forward together.

In Spanish:

El racismo y la desigualdad sistémica e institucional sigue siendo sentida por la comunidad negra y otras personas de color y grupos marginados constantemente y esto sigue afectando a nuestro país. 

El Departamento de Alimentos y Agricultura California (CDFA) reconoce que hay una historia de racismo dentro del sector agropecuario y en los sistemas alimentarios, cuyos efectos todavía están presentes hoy en día. Como agencia y departamento estatal, estamos comprometidos a cambiar esa realidad y hacerlo mejor en nombre de las comunidades de color en California. Esto incluye un compromiso constante y firme de eliminar el racismo institucionalizado y la inequidad en todas las áreas.  

CDFA y sus empleados rechazan y condenan el racismo en todas su formas, desde lo más abierto hasta lo sutil o implícito. CDFA lucha por la reforma, inclusión y mayor tolerancia y comprensión. CDFA está comprometido a una búsqueda abierta y activa de equidad racial. Seguiremos adelante con el reconocimiento de que hay mucho más que podemos y debemos hacer. Comenzaremos evaluando la equidad de nuestras actividades actuales, al igual que las oportunidades en el lugar de trabajo, acceso a los programas que proporcionan asistencia y sensibilidad en las interacciones con las comunidades a las que servimos.  

Buscaremos asesoramiento, escucharemos y nos asociaremos con aquellos afectados por el racismo y la inequidad. Estamos ansiosos por hacer este trabajo, para crear oportunidades genuinas y asegurar que nuestro estado es una California para Todos.  

En este tiempo de angustia y desesperación, estamos con todos los que están sufriendo. Te vemos. Te oímos. Te apoyamos. Como departamento, estamos comprometidos al aprendizaje continuo, el mejoramiento y la acción a medida que avanzamos juntos.