By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

The first cohort of the Sonoma County Winegrape Growers Foundation Leadership Academy for Vineyard Employees has graduated! I spoke to this group at their first get-together several months ago, and their final installment for this innovative program was a visit to CDFA headquarters in Sacramento, so we were honored to be the “bookends” for them. I thoroughly enjoyed a chance to sit down with them and hear each one of their stories and what the program meant to them.

This first class of graduates is comprised of 15 local vineyard employees, each nominated by their employer. The goal of this first-of-its-kind program is to create future community and business leaders. The Academy class attended eight half-day sessions and two field trips, all focused on advancing skills and empowering vineyard employees to seek leadership roles within their organization or in the community. The program goes beyond farming to advance communication skills, financial literacy, and business knowledge.

It was so inspiring and touching to listen to these employees’ experiences in the program, and about how much they love agriculture and working in the vineyards. A common thread was how important it is to be treated with respect by their employers. They all have more than ten years working in the vineyards of Sonoma County, many of them with the same employer. A number of them started in harvesting and progressed to more responsibility with specialties like irrigation and operating tractors, and some are now supervisors.  

They also shared stories and spoke about their children as the reason they work so hard, and that is something I hear so often as I speak with California’s agricultural workers. One class member expressed such gratitude for being invited to CDFA, and it really made me remember and appreciate just how fortunate we are to be considered “leaders” and to do that work for California’s agriculture industry. It really is something special and I am excited to support these new leaders! 

For the growers out there who nominated these dedicated employees, you’ve done something meaningful by participating in this program and empowering your very best to become even better. And for the graduates, I hope you embrace your newfound leadership skills. Your farms, your industry and your state will be better for it!

The Leadership Academy will be held annually and will soon be taking nominations for the 2023 Class.

From a USDA news release

Today, during a visit to the Yolo County Food Bank in Woodland, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has signed a cooperative agreement with California under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA).

The LFPA is a program authorized through the President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which invested $400 million to make food more affordable for more Americans and help stabilize agricultural supply chains, with $43 million coming to California. Through LFPA, the California Department of Social Services will seek to purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers.

“Providing access to new markets for more producers and helping more Americans experiencing food insecurity is going to take new partnerships, new innovations, and new ways of thinking – and the best solutions can often be local,” said Secretary Vilsack. “This program provides tribes, states, and U.S. territories the ability to work in new and creative ways with their local partners, establishing connections between their producers and underserved communities. The food purchases made through LFPA will provide consistent access to locally and regionally sourced food, helping provide economic stability for farmers, producers and families, and improve health outcomes through nutrition and increased food security.”

The Department of Social Services will partner with CDFA, the California Department of Public Health, and the California Association of Food Banks to purchase food from local and underserved farmers throughout the state

“Through this innovative program, California will be able to support local and underserved farmers while expanding access to farm-fresh foods for families in need,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “We look forward to working with federal, state and local partners to strengthen the state’s food systems and support communities across California.”

Note: Secretary Ross spoke at today’s event.

CDFA Undersecretary Christine Birdsong recently joined representatives from the California Fresh Fruit Association, California Olive Committee, California Milk Advisory Board, Raisin Administrative Committee, Wine Institute and the California Agricultural Export Council in promoting California Grown agricultural products in the Philippines.  The Philippines is California’s 10^th largest agricultural export market, valued at more the $300 million.

Speakers featured in the video below include Undersecretary Birdsong, Mark Hanzel (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service) and Elizabeth Carranza (California Olive Committee).

Undersecretary Birdsong was in the Philippines as part of a USDA Agricultural Trade Mission. The purpose of the visit was to help build economic partnerships and foster stronger ties between the United States and the Philippines. The Taste of California event was supported by the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association and CAGROWN.

From a USDA News Release

The USDA today announced an increase in funding to help schools continue to serve kids healthy meals this coming school year and provide financial relief for schools and child care providers.

Effective July 1, 2022, the reimbursement schools receive for each meal served will increase by approximately $0.68 per free/reduced-price lunch and $0.32 per free/reduced price breakfast. Other reimbursement rates, including rates for paid school meals and child care meals, are available online.

The action will provide support for schools and child care providers dealing with rising food costs, and is part of the Biden Administration’s work to lower costs and provide American families some additional breathing room.

This increase includes both a required annual adjustment in reimbursement rates to reflect the cost of food and an extra temporary per-meal boost in reimbursements from the recent Keep Kids Fed Act. Combined, this will pump an estimated $4.3 billion more into school meal and child care meal programs across the nation this school year, in addition to the nearly $2 billion in additional funding USDA has already provided. Note — California will receive more than $720 million in additional funding.

State-by-state breakdown of support for child nutrition program operators

“The boost in reimbursements will help provide financial relief for schools so they can continue serving high-quality meals to students amid higher food costs and persistent supply chain challenges,” said Stacy Dean, deputy under secretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services.

Learn more about CDFA’s Farm to School Program

By Kim Chipman

California’s historic drought may leave the state with the largest amount of empty farmland in recent memory as farmers face unprecedented cuts to crucial water supplies.

The size of fields intended for almonds, rice, wine grapes and other crops left unworked could be around 800,000 acres, double the size of last year and the most in at least several decades, said Josue Medellin-Azuara, an associate professor at University of California Merced.

The figure is preliminary as researchers continue to look at satellite imaging and other data. An official estimate remains a few weeks away, said Medellin-Azuara, who is leading an economic study on farm production and droughts with funding from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Much of the idle land is in California’s Central Valley, which accounts for about a quarter of US food production. Mile after mile of farmland reveals withered crops next to fields of lush green plants, a testament to the tough decisions growers are forced to make on how much and what to produce, and whether to keep farming at all.

Surface water rights are seeing sharp cuts amid the drought and reserves are declining because of critically low snowmelt and depleted storage from last year.

“What’s really concerning is for the first time we are fallowing at least 250,000 acres in the Sacramento Valley,” Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said in an interview. “Those are the most senior water rights holders.”

Last year, some California farmers were stunned to find their so-called senior water rights restricted. Water laws in the state are governed by a complex system that dates back to the Gold Rush era. Senior rights holders — which include companies, growers and cities with claims that were acquired before 1914, and landowners whose property borders a river — are the last to see their supplies curtailed.

Sacramento Valley typically “acts a funnel” that provides key water supplies to the broader region, according to the Northern California Water Association.

New regulation of the use of groundwater is also complicating the supply picture in the state, Medellin-Azuara said.

California has roughly 9 million acres of irrigated land. Drought last year directly cost the local agriculture industry and state about $1.7 billion, according to UC Merced researchers.

Link to story at Bloomberg.com