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California considers its farming future in midst of drought – from National Public Radio

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN: If there is a piece of fruit, a vegetable or even a nut or two on your dinner table tonight, there’s a good chance it was grown in California. That state has endured four years of extreme drought. And while some of California’s agriculture industry is suffering, a few farmers have found a way to adapt and even thrive in the dry conditions. Ben Bergman of member KPCC has this report.

BEN BERGMAN, BYLINE: Tom Rogers’ 175-acre orchard right in the middle of California might very well be the farm of the future, a future where almonds are likely to be the state’s number-one crop.

TOM ROGERS: These were some of the first almonds planted in this area, and this has been a good crop for us.

BERGMAN: In the ’70s, Rogers’ father made a prescient decision. He ditched the low-value cotton, cord and alfalfa his father grew and planted almonds. Thanks to strong demand from Asia, they’ve become a very lucrative crop. The downside is the trees require constant watering.

ROGERS: It’s a scary time. I mean, we’re very concerned about what’s going on.

BERGMAN: Because Rogers now relies 100 percent on groundwater.

ROGERS: By comparison, other years, groundwater amounted to maybe 10 to 25 percent of our annual water usage.

BERGMAN: And do you have an idea how much groundwater is left?

ROGERS: No. I’m going to be very honest – my bottom line answer is I have no clue how long the water’s going to last.

BERGMAN: So this year, Rogers made a major investment, installing a precise high-tech irrigation system that lets him stretch what little water he has as much as possible. In the middle of a row of almond trees, Rogers pulls a soil moisture probe out of the ground.

ROGERS: And up on top is a rain gauge and wind speed indicator. The panel out there measures the amount of sunlight.

BERGMAN: All the data gets uploaded to the Internet every 15 minutes, which allows Rogers to specify exactly how much water the trees need. Instead of getting soaked once a week with sprinklers, his nearly 15,000 trees get tiny doses of water every day.

HEATHER COOLEY: In essence, they’re spoon-feeding the tree.

BERGMAN: Heather Cooley is with the Pacific Institute, an environmental think tank. More efficient irrigation techniques and a shift towards more valuable crops like almonds are big reasons why despite spending her life studying water in California, Cooley is bullish on the state’s agricultural industry.

COOLEY: We can continue to have a very strong, robust agricultural sector in California using less water than we do today.

BERGMAN: In California’s Central Valley, fifth-generation farmer Philip Bowles has been installing more drip irrigation every year, and he’s happy with the results. He’s cut his farm’s total water use by about 25 percent in the last decade while doubling the per-acre yield.

PHILIP BOWLES: Water’s a big expense for us. We don’t want to use any more than we have to.

BERGMAN: Bowles is tired of farmers getting a bad rap these days for using 80 percent of the state’s water. Everyone needs to eat after all, and he says people are making much too big a deal out of the drought.

BOWLES: The system that we have can be adapted. It doesn’t have to be blown up. It doesn’t have to be abandoned. There’s still, you know, a lot of water in the state, and people overlook that.

BERGMAN: And it’s not just farmers who think that way. A team of researchers led by Jay Lund at the University of California, Davis used computer modeling to see what would happen if there was a 72-year mega-drought. Lund says they were surprised how minor the overall impacts would be.

JAY LUND: California, particularly with its very large infrastructure system that can move water around pretty well relative to other states, can accommodate some pretty big water shocks.

BERGMAN: Scientists recently announced it’s been more than 500 years since California has been this dry. Yet, last year, California’s agriculture industry had its second-highest revenues ever. For NPR News, I’m Ben Bergman in Los Angeles.

 

Link to NPR

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President grants reprieve to turkeys “Honest” and “Abe” from Modesto – from the Modesto Bee

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

BY KEVIN FREKING
The Associated Press / Modesto Bee

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama spared two turkeys named for one of the nation’s most admired presidents, continuing a White House tradition that provides a refreshing sense of amusement and bipartisan cheer no matter how troubled the times.

Obama pardoned Abe, the 2015 national Thanksgiving turkey, during a ceremony Wednesday in the Rose Garden. Abe gobbled right on cue as Obama finished his absolution.

Don’t fret for Honest, though, the second bird who was nearby if off camera. Both turkeys, which hail from Modesto, will spend their remaining days living it up on a Virginia farm.

Livingston-based Foster Farms provided the turkeys for the second time; the poultry giant first took part in the ceremony five years ago.

The birds are 18 weeks old and weigh in at about 42 pounds each. The names of the turkeys were chosen from submissions entered by schoolchildren in California. Honest has a red face and neck, while Abe’s crown features more extensive blue splotches.

Obama referred to Abe as TOTUS, or Turkey of the United States.

“America is, after all, a country of second chances, and this turkey has earned a second chance to live out the rest of his life comfortably on 1,000 acres of open land complete with a barn called the ‘the White House on Turkey Hill,’ which actually sounds pretty good,” Obama said.

George H.W. Bush was the first president to formally pardon a Thanksgiving turkey, though stories of spared turkeys date to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.

The National Turkey Federation is the turkey supplier for the event. The trade group and others have been providing turkeys for the first family going back to President Harry Truman, though not all the birds provided over the years shared a similar reprieve from the White House dinner table.

Obama was accompanied at the event by his daughters, Malia and Sasha. They didn’t look thrilled at last year’s turkey pardoning, and Obama thanked them for once against standing with him.

“They do this solely because it makes me feel good, not because they actually think that this is something I should be doing,” Obama said. “As you get older, you appreciate when your kids just indulge you like this.”

The event is typically filled with turkey jokes, “As you may have heard, for months there has been fierce competition between a bunch of turkeys trying to win their way into the White House,” Obama said.

Obama recognized that perhaps he’d told one too many at one point, when he noted that Honest was in an undisclosed location, ready to serve as TOTUS, if necessary.

“Oh, boy,” Obama sighed.

After the ceremony, the Obama family planned to serve a meal to homeless veterans in Washington, D.C.

Original article: http://www.modbee.com/news/article46521230.html

 

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Community Food Bank embodies the spirit of giving

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

Community Food Bank Blog ImageBy Andy Souza, CEO, Community Food Bank

This is a time when so many of us are thankful for good food, great friends, and our families as we celebrate the holiday season.  But for families having a difficult time making ends meet, it’s hard to share this joy when you’re not sure where your family’s next meal will come from.  Unfortunately, this is a reality facing one in four families throughout our communities.

Anyone can fall on hard times. The Community Food Bank is here to make sure that residents in our communities have a place to turn to when times are tough. We provide food to more than 200 agencies in Fresno, Madera, Kings, Kern and Tulare Counties and serve over 280,000 people each month. That equates to over 38 million pounds of food served in fiscal year 2015 – nearly a pound for every resident of California.

Community Food Bank offers several programs to provide access to food, especially healthy food, to our neighbors in need. We offer Pantry locations throughout our five county service area and we provide USDA Commodities distributions in Fresno County. Our Neighborhood Market and Mobile Pantry programs provide fresh produce and other food items in farmer’s market style distributions; our Backpack program provides 700 elementary school aged children with a backpack full of high-quality food to last throughout the weekend and our Nutrition on Wheels education program offers nutrition education to at-risk populations

Community Food Bank is successful because of the compassion and generosity of our partners in agriculture, business, and government as well as our many individual donors and volunteers. Next month we’re honored to host an event that will feature CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, and others, who will speak to the importance of your donations and why the giving spirit will prevail this year. Please consider making a donation today to Community Food Bank or your local food bank! Donate Here

This post is part of a series highlighting the efforts of Food Banks around California. On December 16th, Secretary Ross will participate in an event at the Community Food Bank in Fresno highlighting donations from agricultural producers to food banks and encourage farmers, ranchers and other Californians to give this holiday season. See her blog post here.

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Firebaugh farmer honored by White House for soil health techniques: from the Fresno Bee

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs
Sano Farms field manager Jesse Sanchez, 63, of Fresno, stands in a field filled with ground cover on Nov. 18 in Firebaugh. He recently won recognition from the White House for his contributions to the farming operation, including new soil and tilling techniques. The ground cover will be tilled into the soil which will enrich the soil with organic material to help the crop that will be planted in the spring. Silvia Flores, Fresno Bee.

Sano Farms field manager Jesse Sanchez, 63, of Fresno, stands in a field filled with ground cover on Nov. 18 in Firebaugh. He recently won recognition from the White House for his contributions to the farming operation, including new soil and tilling techniques. The ground cover will be tilled into the soil which will enrich the soil with organic material to help the crop that will be planted in the spring. Silvia Flores, Fresno Bee.

By Megan Ginise, The Fresno Bee

On the outskirts of the western San Joaquin Valley, amid one of the worst droughts in California history, Jesse Sanchez is making waves with his agricultural techniques.

Sanchez, 63, is the farm manager at Sano Farms, a 4,000-acre operation near Firebaugh and Mendota that grows garbanzo beans, garlic, almonds, pistachios, and processing and fresh market tomatoes.

By making soil health a priority at Sano Farms, Sanchez and current owner Alan Sano have reduced tillage overall, using less fuel and lowering the cost of their production; integrating off-season cover crops; and documenting many of the improvements they’ve had in soil health, quality and function. After 30 years earthworms have returned to the soil, a clear sign, Sanchez said, of the success of their practices. And he has shared his knowledge and experiences, leading tours of the farm with groups from as far away as Egypt. His efforts have been noticed.

Sanchez recently received the White House Champions of Change award in the sustainable and climate-smart agriculture category for his commitment to healthy soil practices and willingness to share the information with others. He was one of only 12 honored at a ceremony on Oct. 26 in Washington, D.C.

Jeff Mitchell, a crop researcher with University of California at Davis, who has done research throughout the San Joaquin Valley for the last 16 years, has watched Sano Farms flourish under Sanchez and Sano’s care.

“They’re very much pioneers, very innovative and persistent as well,” Mitchell said. “What they’ve done through the vision they have had, sticking with it, learning step-by-step how to improve the system, how to adjust things.” The result, he said, is state-of-the-art production systems that will lead to “the improvement and sustainability of farming systems here.”

Sanchez started working at Sano Farms in 1980. He moved from Michoacán, Mexico, to Mendota, where he worked during the day and took college classes at night. But Sanchez said his interests propelled him elsewhere. His wife, Lourdes, was working as a secretary at Sano Farms, where Sanchez met Sano for the first time.

What started as a family tradition for Sano Farms has grown into an intense desire to see that same tradition continue. Sano Farms started in the early 1960s near Le Grand, but moved to the west side in 1974. Sano has been working alongside his brothers since he graduated high school in 1980, about the same time Sanchez showed up to the farm.

Sanchez is the type of person who always likes a challenge, he said, and when he saw an opportunity at Sano Farms, he jumped on it.

“I see one thing and if I like it, I’m going to do it, and that’s how I started here. I see a challenge and want to work out the answer. When I started working with Alan’s father (Rinks Sano) back in 1980, I told him what I wanted to do and he liked the idea. We were a team.”

Sanchez has been innovative since the beginning, Alan Sano said. Right away, when Sanchez noticed a problem, he kept working on it, always trying to make things better.

When drier seasons hit the farm 15 years ago, they switched to drip irrigation, bringing water closer to the plants.

“(Sanchez’s) really aggressive as far as looking into new technologies, going ahead,” Sano said. “That’s a lot of how we got started.”

The farm used to rip the soil and work it every year behind tomato and cotton harvests. When Sanchez noticed the farm was losing topsoil every season the ground was leveled, he put crop-cover on the once empty plots to reintroduce nutrients into the soil and keep the topsoil grounded, returning some of the lost vitality from the drought.

The White House award recognized Sanchez for his attentiveness to soil health. Through the renovation of his entire farm system, Sanchez has lowered Sano’s use of diesel fuel and has lowered dust emissions, increased the soil’s nitrogen and carbon concentrations, and has brought new life back into the soil.

“By using minimal tillage, the air is clean, the tractors run less in the field, less dust and less fumes, so it helps to create a healthier environment in the whole system,” Sanchez said. “It helps everybody. We help the soil and it’s healthier for the human, more lasting energy for everyone.”

It’s all connected, Sanchez said, from the attention he pays to the plants to the final product that gets delivered, to the positive effect they are having on the environment, one small seed at a time. It’s a system that has taken years to develop and tweak, and every year brings a new challenge from the weather. Sanchez found answers to the challenges from his own roots.

His grandfather, Alberto, owned a small farm in Mexico more than 50 years ago, and Sanchez remembers growing up and playing there. Alberto used to have three harvests in one season, corn, beans and squash all in the same time. They used the soil differently then, and Sanchez said principles of taking care of the earth are what he remembers most.

Sanchez said he never expected to work in farming. He saw how hard his grandfather toiled, and figured he would go to school instead. But he enjoys working with the soil to see what he can create. The better products that come out, he said, the harder he works to keep improving.

Sanchez and Sano are looking toward the future, even as they battle the drought. Because of their zero water allocations from the Central Valley Project, they had to dig new wells last year. Water from the wells added salination to the soil, damaging the health of the plants. It’s a constant battle.

They plan on using drones next year for the first time for aerial inspections to see if the plants are stressed. They will look at coloring and potential disfigurations. The cameras can spot problems sooner than the naked eye.

Farmers don’t always like change, Sanchez said. Even he had to attend several conferences in Texas and Arizona throughout the years to help him believe in the new methods. As a farmer, he said, you have to believe.

“It’s kind of hard to change the system you farm,” Sanchez said. “So little by little we started to change, and now it’s changed the whole system.”

Read the original article and see additional photos here.

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Water solution lies underground – from Don Curlee at the Porterville Recorder

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

By Don Curlee, Ag At Large / Porterville Recorder

While the current drought-influenced thinking causes most of us to consider how water can be better stored, conserved and conveyed, one recent report emphasizes the importance of protecting, enhancing and using the supply that is below ground.

First of all it acknowledges that much of California’s groundwater has been depleted or widely degraded, and concludes that new regulations, some of them still emerging, are resulting in a historic shift in the way the state’s agriculture sector is helping manage and protect groundwater resources.

An introduction to this University of California research document appeared in the most recent (July-September) issue of California Agriculture, the university’s quarterly peer reviewed magazine. The body of the report was reserved for online presentation. Its author is Thomas Harter, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Specialist at UC Davis.

The author acknowledges that the demand for groundwater has increased steadily as more of the state’s agricultural acreage has advanced from rangeland and field crops to permanent crops. But the demand on the underground aquifers has come from municipal and industrial users as well as the population has exploded.

Because many people have been alerted to the importance and strategic necessity of the underground water supply by recent drought-related emphasis, previous steps taken to protect the aquifers is sometimes overlooked. Harter chronicles those, making readers aware of the many laws, regulations, organizations and restrictions already in place.

At the same time he points out the many reasons we have not restored those underground pools. Much of the diversion from underground replenishment has been done in the name of water conservation. Even lining with concrete the canals that used to leak water to the underground has had a part in the depletion of the underground pools.

Charts and illustrations in Harter’s article place significant emphasis on the Tulare Lake Basin, once the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi (and perhaps shallowest). As an area of intense agricultural production, with and without irrigation, it no longer sends water to the aquifers below it. The basin is perhaps the most extreme example of starving the underground.

To correct the steps that have been taken to shut off such leakage Harter states that all associations and alliances that have been established for that purpose will have to be utilized. He cautions that it probably will be inconvenient as some popular irrigation practices are modified if not discontinued, and expensive as equipment and procedures, not all of them invented or developed yet, are applied.

Hand wringing is not part of the solution, as Harter presents the opportunities ahead. What is a major aspect of the preservation and replenishment is cooperation. If that overrides the efforts he believes recovery of the underground basins is entirely possible, even probable.

New techniques and tools for measuring the recovery and the streams that support it can be expected. He reminds his readers of the consternation that once faced gasoline retailers as sophisticated instruments were developed that detected leakage from underground storage tanks. It was widespread and considered of little significance until the instrumentation told us otherwise.

Excavations to remove and then replace those leaky tanks were expensive. Marketing opportunities were forfeited, and customers of the affected retailers were upset. But the whole episode has been mostly forgotten or otherwise put behind us.

Harter foresees a day when the deep concerns about depleted underground aquifers and the expense and exasperation of correcting its causes are mere memories. Somewhere over the rainbow …

But a comforting word from an authoritative source may be just what is needed, today, tomorrow and far into the less thirsty future.

See the original article online here.

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Food brings us together all year – but Thanksgiving is special

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture

Thanksgiving quoteThanksgiving is built around a most basic blessing: food.

What stands out as the highlight of this day for me, though isn’t the food itself so much as the sharing of it. The people around our tables – friends and family members – are special to us, and more than a few are people whom we don’t see as often as we should. Sharing this meal and this day with them is something to look forward to, and to celebrate. Food is a fitting centerpiece for such an occasion (“shameless plug” alert), especially if it was grown in California.

This annual gathering is a great recipe for memories and stories, and for laughter. We “catch up.” We reconnect. We welcome new members into the family fold. As holidays go, Thanksgiving done right is a casual, comfortable affair that is just the right warm-up for the bustle to come.

For our farmers and ranchers, we are thankful this season for the hints of rain and snow that have begun to come our way at long last – may they be a sign of what’s to come.

Part of my Thanksgiving holiday tradition is to help prepare and serve a meal for the homeless hosted by my church in downtown Sacramento. It is a reminder for me that the things we are thankful for may bear a striking similarity to the things we shouldn’t take for granted, from prosperity and health to water, safe shelter, food and family. Not all of us – not even in bountiful California – are so fortunate. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve ALL Californians.

Around many tables this year, families will thank soldiers, past and present, for our safety. We will include parents and siblings, teachers and neighbors in our thoughts and thanks. My family will also thank our farmers, ranchers and farmworkers. They work hard for all of us and the fruits of their labor bring us together, at Thanksgiving and all year long.

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Secretary Ross joins other water leaders to discuss drought at Central Valley symposium – from the Fresno Bee

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs
Secretary Ross talking with Los Angeles Times reporter Peter King last week in Clovis as part of the Times' series, "The California Conversation." PHOTO - AG NET WEST.COM

Secretary Ross talking with Los Angeles Times reporter Peter King last week in Clovis as part of the Times’ public affairs series, “The California Conversation – Water in the West.”
Photo – AgNetWest.com

By Andrea Castillo

Some of the state’s top water officials, along with local farmers and activists, convened in Clovis on (November 18) to talk about agriculture and the impact of the drought.

Los Angeles Times reporters hosted the conversation, called “Water in the West,” as part of a series of talks around the state. Helping sponsor the event were the San Diego Union-Tribune and Netafim, an agriculture drip irrigation company.

Around 100 people showed up at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District building to listen to experts including Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Mark Cowin, director of the California Department of Water Resources, give an overview of the issues that have emerged during the drought.

Around 100 people showed up at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District building to listen to experts including Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Mark Cowin, director of the California Department of Water Resources, give an overview of the issues that have emerged during the drought.

Cowin said the past four years have given California a crash course in how to adjust to limited amounts of water. But he said the state still needs to become more efficient and invest more in its water systems.

“It’s a matter of preparing for the future,” he said. “These past few years have given us, I think, a preview of what we can expect more of in the next century. If scientists are correct, if global climate change affects California the way we now expect it to, we can expect more of these extended dry periods.”

Nikiko Masumoto is already preparing for climate change on her family’s organic peach, nectarine and grape farm in Del Rey. The Masumotos have experimented with deficit irrigation (limiting water) but grew smaller peaches as a result.

Masumoto said the marketplace isn’t in favor of small fruit. She said she hopes the drought leads people to understand that size doesn’t dictate value of food.

“We have a very narrow definition of what a perfect peach, for example, is,” she said. “It might not always be pretty.”

Times correspondent Peter King, a Fresno native and former Bee staff writer, moderated a separate question-and-answer session with Ross. He asked her to address the paradox between people hearing about the suffering of farmers and rural communities, while at the same time California is experiencing record crop production value.

Ross said farmers are resilient and becoming more productive with the water available by focusing on higher economic uses, such as nut trees. That adaptation cloaks the harsh reality that some have felt during the drought, she said.

“Agriculture is very site-specific and where the drought has impacted is very site-specific. We can’t let those numbers be a one-size-fits-all.”

But Sarah Woolf, a farmer and president of the water management service Water Wise, said there isn’t enough water to meet the demands of a growing population, environmental protection and the agriculture industry. She stressed the importance of being more efficient in water use and improving storage and groundwater supplies.

“There’s land not being farmed,” she said. “I don’t think, as a farmer and someone who recognizes the high demand of California food products, that we should decrease our agricultural footprint.”

Cowin agreed about the need for better drought preparation, but he said there’s no way to avoid its effects completely.

“I don’t mean to sound pessimistic here, but I do think it’s not likely that we’re going to make such investment that we’re going to be able to withstand a four- or five-year drought of the nature we’ve seen the last few years without some level of impact,” he said.

Link to article

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Cost of traditional Thanksgiving dinner up slightly in 2015 – from the American Farm Bureau Federation

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

Thanksgiving Marketbasket flyer

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 30th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $50.11, a 70-cent increase from last year’s average of $49.41.

The big ticket item – a 16-pound turkey – came in at a total of $23.04 this year. That’s roughly $1.44 per pound, an increase of less than 9 cents per pound, or a total of $1.39 per whole turkey, compared to 2014.

“Retail prices seem to have stabilized quite a bit for turkey, which is the centerpiece of the meal in our marketbasket,” AFBF Deputy Chief Economist John Anderson said. “There were some production disruptions earlier this year due to the highly pathogenic Avian influenza outbreak in the Midwest. Turkey production is down this year but not dramatically. Our survey shows a modest increase in turkey prices compared to last year. But we’re now starting to see retailers feature turkeys aggressively for the holiday. According to USDA retail price reports, featured prices fell sharply just last week and were actually lower than last year,” he added.

The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10. There is also plenty for leftovers.

Foods showing the largest increases this year in addition to turkey were pumpkin pie mix, a dozen brown-n-serve rolls, cubed bread stuffing and pie shells. A 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix was $3.20; a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.61; and two nine-inch pie shells, $2.47.

“Despite concerns earlier this fall about pumpkin production due to wet weather, the supply of canned product will be adequate for this holiday season,” Anderson said.

Items that declined modestly in price were mainly dairy items including one gallon of whole milk, $3.25; a combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (butter, evaporated milk, onions, eggs, sugar and flour), $3.18; a half pint of whipping cream, $1.94; and 12 ounces of fresh cranberries, $2.29. A one-pound relish tray of carrots and celery (79 cents) and one pound of green peas ($1.52) also decreased slightly in price.

The average cost of the dinner has remained around $49 since 2011. This year’s survey totaled over $50 for the first time.

“America’s farmers and ranchers are able to provide a bounty of food for a classic Thanksgiving dinner that many of us look forward to all year,” Anderson said. “We are fortunate to be able to provide a special holiday meal for 10 people for just over $5 per serving.”

Link to news release

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California nets nearly $700,000 in USDA farm-to-school grants

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

usda-farm-to-school-logo

The USDA has announced $4.8 million in grants for 74 projects spanning 39 states that support the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts to connect child nutrition programs with local farmers and ranchers through its Farm to School Program. Grant recipients in California will receive $672,795.

“Farm to school programs work—for schools, for producers, and for communities,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. “By serving nutritious and locally grown foods, engaging students in hands-on lessons, and involving parents and community members, these programs provide children with a holistic experience that sets them up for a lifetime of healthy eating. With early results from our Farm to School Census indicating schools across the nation invested nearly $600 million in local products, farm to school also provides a significant and reliable market for local farmers and ranchers.”

USDA’s Farm to School Grants fund school districts, state and local agencies, tribal nations, agricultural producers, and non-profit organizations in their efforts to increase local foods served through child nutrition programs; teach children about food and agriculture through garden and classroom education; and develop schools’ and farmers’ capacities to participate in farm to school. Awards ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 are distributed in four different grant categories: Planning, Implementation, Support Service, and Training.For the 2016 school year, grants will serve more than 5,211 schools and 2.9 million students, nearly 40 percent of whom are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

Farm to School programs help support California farmers and provide healthy, California-grown food to school children. CDFA strongly supports California’s Farm to School programs through its Office of Farm to Fork, which provides farm to school resources and helps California schools connect with California farmers through the online California Farmer Marketplace.

The California grant recipients are as follows:

Center for Ecoliteracy, Berkeley
Grant Type: Support Service; $100,000
“California Thursdays” is a collaboration between the Center for Ecoliteracy and a network of school districts to serve freshly prepared school meals made from California-grown food. The network includes 42 districts that collectively serve over 250 million meals annually. This project will implement two new efforts: (1) a two-day training program to build capacity and provide technical expertise to nutrition services leaders, and (2) a robust website that features a public interface to improve communications and access to resources among the network.

County of Sonoma Department of Health Services, Santa Rosa
Grant Type: Support Service; $94,580
The County of Sonoma Department of Health Services in California will work with key partners to expand farm to preschool programs at fifteen school-based pre-kindergarten sites serving low income families throughout Sonoma County. Activities will include Harvest of the Month educational tasting kits of farm fresh produce; procurement of locally grown foods into pre-kindergarten meal programs; increased hands-on learning in on-site gardens; and the development of comprehensive wellness policies that include farm to preschool language.

Konocti Unified School District, Lower Lake (Lake County)
Grant Type: Planning; $45,000
Konocti Unified School District will increase the use of locally-grown foods in school meals, and the number of students that participate in those meals, by embedding farm to school best practices into school culture. Strategies include working with multiple schools, increasing local foods in summer meals, revising policies to facilitate local procurement, increasing school vegetable production, aligning experiential education with Common Core state standards, and engaging the community through marketing and promotion.

National Farm to School Network, San Francisco
Grant Type: Training – National; $49,665
The National Farm to School Network will conduct advanced trainings to support school food service/nutrition directors and farmers/producers in sustaining and expanding their farm to school work. Training will be held in conjunction with the 8th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference happening June 2 through 4, 2016, in Madison, WI.

Pasadena Unified School District, Pasadena
Grant Type: Implementation; $100,000
Pasadena Unified School District, previously a FY 2014 USDA Farm to School planning grantee, will systematically link fresh food procurement and preparation through staff and teacher training; classroom curriculum; and experiential activities for students in cafeterias, school gardens, and field trips to create an integrated, well-coordinated, and district-wide farm to school approach.

Plumas Unified School District, Quincy
Grant Type: Planning; $45,000
Plumas Unified School District will develop a five year plan to expand the existing school gardens and production greenhouse to all 13 prekindergarten-12th grade public schools. Teachers, ranchers, farmers, social service agencies, and interested community members will be invited to provide input in developing a sustainable garden education and local procurement plan. Representatives from the three neighboring counties will be included to explore a regional approach.

Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento
Grant Type: Implementation; $100,000
Sacramento City Unified School District, in partnership with the Food Literacy Center and Soil Born Farms, designed a farm to school project to include procurement of fresh vegetables, garden education, and nutrition education. This project will introduce a new vegetable each month to students in three pilot elementary schools and then to students throughout the district.

The Edible Schoolyard Project, Berkeley
Grant Type: Training – National; $45,050
This project will pilot a new Edible Schoolyard Intensive professional development program for farm to school practitioners from across the country to increase the ability of maturing farm to school programs to sustain long-term success by educating participants about how to forge strong relationships between school food service staff, school leaders, and classroom, garden, and kitchen educators.

Yolo County Department of Agriculture, Woodland
Grant Type: Support Service; $93,500
Building on the last three years of operating a successful farm to school program focused on procurement, this project will engage with local school districts to (1) acquire data on the quantity and frequency of foods being served through the meal programs, (2) track crop data for translation into yield for local farms, (3) provide training and writing services with farms to obtain their Good Agricultural Practices certification, and (4) provide services such as curated farm tours, farm availability listings, and business guidance for producers.

Link to all grant recipients

Link to news release

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Fresh produce donations kick-off 2015 State Employees Food Drive

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs
State employees donating fresh produce last week at the kick-off event for the 2015 State Employees Food Drive, at the Department of Public Health in Sacramento. XXXX pounds of produce were donated, including contributions from local farms. A Sacramento Food Bank truck was on-hand to quickly transport the items back to its warehouse for distribution. CDFA is again serving as statewide coordinator for the food drive. An event later this week will collect frozen turkeys for the holiday tables of needy families.

State employees donating fresh produce last week at the kick-off event for the 2015 State Employees Food Drive, at the Department of Public Health in Sacramento. 6,550 pounds of produce were donated, including contributions from participating local farms. A Sacramento Food Bank truck was on-hand to quickly transport the items back to its warehouse for distribution. CDFA is again serving as statewide coordinator for the food drive. An event later this week, the annual Turkey Drive, will collect frozen turkeys for the holiday tables of needy families.

 

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