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Video – Secretary Ross Talks About Ag Day 2013

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Office of Public Affairs

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Ag Day at the Capitol: A Beautiful Day to be a Farmer!

Posted on March 20, 2013 by CDFA Staff

Farmers love rain – so when Ag Day at the Capitol started out a little soggy, nobody really minded. Our aggies shared what they do with legislators, staffers and the public – including several hundred local school kids who enjoyed lunch courtesy of the “World’s Largest School Lunch Tray.”

Special thanks to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s partners in organizing Ag Day, the California Women for Agriculture and the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom.  Thanks also go to our emcee, Laura McIntosh with the PBS TV program Bringing It Home, as well as event sponsors the California Farm Bureau Federation, California Grown, the California Poultry Federation, Calpaca, the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program, Del Monte Foods, Foster Farms, and John Deere.

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Ag Day Spurs Innovative Outreach Ideas

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

World's largest school lunch tray on display during Ag DayToday is the annual California Ag Day at the State Capitol, a time to celebrate everything that farmers and ranchers bring to our state, and a time to reach out to people with our story of innovation and success.

It is our responsibility to tell that story with the understanding that it must motviate our younger generations to carry the torch forward with healthy eating habits and, hopefully, the exploration of careers in agriculture. If California is to embrace opportunities and continue to thrive in a future that will include dramatic growth in world food demand, our young people must be encouraged to enter the field.

We’re finding there are some innovative and fun ways to do that. At Ag Day, we will be introduced to the World’s Largest School Lunch Tray, measuring eight-feet by 10-feet and capable of feeding hundreds of children. Serving healthy lunches from the tray symbolizes that nutritious food and school meals are not mutually exclusive, and that’s an important message for our children to internalize.

Another innovative outreach program is happening outside the Ag Day umbrella but is something I’m following with interest. It’s called The Change Game, and it’s a project that encourages young people to work together to understand how our world works and then move as a group to initiate positive changes. The areas of focus include food, as outlined in a fascinating video presentation. This type of effort gives me hope that our next generations will flourish and thrive, and that the human condition will continue to improve for many years to come.

So happy Ag Day! If you’re in the Sacramento-area today, the grounds at the Capitol open to the public at 11:30 am, rain or shine – please stop by!

As we celebrate today, I wish to thank our great farmers and ranchers for making all this possible and express my gratitude to the people of California for helping to build this tremendous legacy of healthy food.

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Growing California video series – Salad Bar Superstar

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Office of Public Affairs

The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Salad Bar Superstar,” a profile of Riverside Unified School District food service executive Rodney Taylor and the work he, the school district and local farmers have done to bring more fruits and vegetables to cafeterias. Mr. Taylor is also a member of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture.

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Perishable Pundit special edition on school salad bars

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Office of Public Affairs

Kids getting food from a buffetAs the nation and California prepare to celebrate their annual Ag days (March 19 and 20), the produce blog The Perishable Pundit has issued a special edition with a series of reports on school salad bars. It highlights the United Fresh Produce Association’s campaign to increase their numbers, called Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools.

The Planting Seeds blog will follow this up tomorrow with a feature on school salad offerings and healthy meals in its ongoing Growing California video series, and then on California Ag Day (the 20th), we will be introduced to the world’s largest school lunch tray, which will dispense healthy meals to several hundred school children. It’s a perfect time for the salad bar concept to generate new momentum. Long may it run.

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Video – Profile of CDFA/USDA Medfly Sterile Release Program in Southern California

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Office of Public Affairs

This video content is no longer available.

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California Ag Day set for March 20 at State Capitol

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Office of Public Affairs

The California Advantage flier

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News Release – California to Host Two Listening Sessions on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Proposed Fresh Produce and Preventative Control Rules

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Office of Public Affairs

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/egov/Press_Releases/Press_Release.asp?PRnum=13-007

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will be hosting two listening sessions on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Proposed Fresh Produce and Preventive Control Rules. The Proposed Fresh Produce Rule will be presented on Tuesday, April 9 in Tulare, CA and both the Proposed Fresh Produce and Preventive Control Rules will be presented on Thursday, April 11 in Woodland, CA. The listening sessions are sponsored by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF); California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF); Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF); and Western Growers Association (WGA).

The listening sessions are scheduled as follows:

April 9 – Proposed Fresh Produce Rule from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the International Agri-Center, 4500 S. Laspina Street, Tulare, CA 93274.

April 11 – Proposed Fresh Produce Rule from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., and Proposed Preventive Controls Rule from 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Heidrick Ag History Center, 1962 Hays Lane, Woodland, CA 95776.

The FDA FSMA was signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. It aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to incidents to preventing them. On January 4, 2013, FDA issued two major proposed FSMA rules regarding preventive controls in human food and produce safety. The California Department of Food and Agriculture will be hosting public listening sessions in California concerning the two proposed rules. The purpose of the listening sessions will be to provide industry an overview of the proposed rules, solicit comments, respond to questions, and inform the public about the rulemaking process.

Invited speakers include: Michael Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods & Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Dr. Jeff Farrar, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs & Partnerships, Office of Foods & Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Barbara Cassens, ‪Senior Advisor/Acting Director, Office of Partnerships, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Sandra Schubert, Undersecretary, CDFA; James R. Gorny, Ph.D. Senior Advisor for Produce Safety, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Jenny Scott, Senior Advisor, Office of Food Safety, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Rick S. Jensen, Director, Division of Inspection Services, CDFA; and, Patrick Kennelly, Chief, Food Safety Section, California Department of Public Health.

For more information about the FSMA listening sessions, including agenda and registration, visit: www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/fsma.html. Due to limited space you must pre-register; there is no cost for registration.

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Growing California video series – Love on the Vine

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Office of Public Affairs

The latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is Love on the Vine, a story about a family that started as farmworkers and now owns and operates a Napa Valley winery.

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Ag Day’s lessons taught year-round at San Jose garden

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, seated center, joins second graders from St. Leo the Great School in San Jose for an edible garden tour.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, seated center, joins second graders from St. Leo the Great School in San Jose for an edible garden tour.

California Ag Day, our annual celebration of food and farming, is coming up soon, scheduled for March 20 at the State Capitol. While Ag Day is a great opportunity to share our story with the State Legislature and other parts of the Capitol community, it is also a perfect time to educate our children, and we always look for ways to make sure they’re included.

Fortunately, the learning experiences aren’t limited to Ag Day. More and more schools are embracing food and farming, and they’re finding some innovative and fascinating approaches. I recently had the chance to visit a garden in San Jose, called the ELSEE Garden Laboratory, that works with local schools to teach about the environment and the benfits of raising and preparing food.

The day I was there, I was able to meet and share the experience with second graders from St. Leo the Great School. We explored ELSEE’s beautiful grassland garden and learned about native California plants that can nourish and sustain us. Then we had a delicious lunch that was harvested from the garden!

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be with children in such a natural setting. They were relaxed, happy to be outdoors, and filled with wonder and awe as they learned about their world. They are open books, ready to take in the knowledge that is offered. My compliments to the staff at ELSEE for the great work they do. It will be a pleasure to carry their mission forward as we greet the children attending Ag Day.

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