Positive. Productive. Creative, collaborative, cooperative … CDFA staff, from scientists and veterinarians to inspectors and technicians, embody these characteristics as they undertake a variety of projects and programs on behalf of the agriculture industry and the people of the Golden State. A new report, Agriculture Emerging: Balanced Budgets, Big Decisions, Bright Future, is our opportunity to share our recent successes and provide updates on many ongoing efforts.

Agriculture has its share of challenges, starting with the drought. Looking ahead, though, global demand for California’s commodities is on the rise, and food and nutrition are front-and-center in the media and on the minds of consumers. Whether their crops, livestock and other products are headed for the produce aisle, the commodity exchange, international export or the local farmers’ market, California’s farmers are well-positioned to take advantage of these conditions.

Among the most significant changes at CDFA is the department’s addition this year to the governor’s Strategic Growth Council, which also includes agencies and departments within Business, Consumer Services and Housing, Transportation, Natural Resources, Health and Human Services, and Environmental Protection, along with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. This core group provides local assistance grants and coordinates activities that support sustainable communities by emphasizing strong economies, social equity and environmental stewardship. When diverse agencies embrace these fundamental values and goals, the results are powerful. The inclusion of agriculture in this process is an important step as we embrace the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century.

With Governor Brown’s leadership, the State of California is again on the rise. The budget is balanced. Businesses are getting back on track. Slowly but steadily, confidence is being restored. Throughout this recovery, agriculture has been a steady fixture in the state’s economy.

This report is by no means a full account of the department’s activities, but it does take stock of many of our efforts and achievements over the past few years. Like the farmers we support, CDFA has earned a reputation for innovation and effectiveness. I am proud of the people here who make that possible.

Sand County Foundation, the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation are proud to announce Full Belly Farm as the recipient of the prestigious 2014 California Leopold Conservation Award^®. The award honors private landowner achievement in the voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources.

Full Belly Farm is co-owned by Andrew Brait, Paul Muller, Judith Redmond and Dru Rivers plus second-generation owners Jenna Clemens and Amon Muller. It has been a certified organic farm since 1985 and is a pioneer for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) marketing. Located near Guinda in Yolo County, Full Belly Farm produces a variety of crops sold year-round directly to consumers through their CSA program, at farmers markets, in restaurants and stores, and to distributors.

The owners are dedicated to exceptional land stewardship and strive to balance the farm’s bottom line with environmentally sound practices. They are committed to fostering sustainability on all levels, from soil fertility and care for the environment to stable employment for their employees. Full Belly Farm has an extensive education and outreach program, including popular on-farm tours, events, children’s summer camp and a farm internship program.

“When it comes to farming in ways that promote the long-term health of California’s land, water, wildlife and food economy, there’s no better example than Full Belly Farm,” said Ashley Boren, Executive Director of Sustainable Conservation. “They’ve pioneered a truly sustainable approach to growing food that prioritizes soil health, natural inputs, water efficiency, and wildlife-friendly practices. They also have a long history of inspiring new generations of California farmers to find innovative ways to balance a healthy environment with thriving agriculture.”

“Responsible care for our land and other natural resources has allowed California farmers and ranchers to sustainably produce the food and farm products we all depend upon,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Paul Wenger said. “The Leopold Conservation Award recognizes outstanding examples of the stewardship that family farmers and ranchers perform every day.”

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the Leopold Conservation Award recognizes extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage, which he called “an evolutionary possibility and an ecological necessity.”

The Leopold Conservation Award program inspires other landowners through these examples and provides a visible forum where farmers, ranchers and other private landowners are recognized as conservation leaders.

The 2014 California Leopold Conservation Award will be presented December 8 at the California Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Meeting in Garden Grove.

Link to news release

ABOUT THE LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD ®

The Leopold Conservation Award is a competitive award that recognizes landowner achievement in voluntary conservation. The award consists of a crystal award depicting Aldo Leopold and $10,000. Sand County Foundation presents Leopold Conservation Awards in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

With Thanksgiving coming next week, CDFA presents “What does California Grown mean to you?” It’s the latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown.

By Sammy Caiola

“Fresh fruits and veggies! Fresh fruits and veggies!”

Like a jovial street merchant from days of old, a bearded Collin Samaan stood on Liestal Row between 17th and 18th streets Friday in Sacramento, vending healthy foods out of his newly christened West Sac Veggie Trike.

The pedal-powered produce-mobile has three wheels, one in front of Samaan’s bike seat and the other two behind him, supporting the bed of a miniature farm stand. In the back are stashes of persimmons, onions, Apple Hill apples, artisan garlic salts and even kiwis. A cooler holds carrots and rainbow chard, most of it harvested that morning.

Samaan’s haul comes from a handful of farms in the Sacramento area, including Abbott Organics, where he and wife Aimee Benner grow garlic and greens and where the tricycle lives when not in action. For the past six weeks, he’s brought seasonal goods like apple and pumpkin pies from Bodhaine Ranch in Camino and jars of honey from Arden’s To Bee Young Apiaries to the midtown spot, hoping to catch lunchers passing by.

During the summer months when days were longer, Samaan had been pedaling the tricycle, which weighs a few hundred pounds loaded, all over Sacramento and West Sacramento trying to sell produce on residential streets. It’s decked out with a megaphone that he uses to play gypsy jazz as he cruises by at 8 to 10 mph.

“I’m roaming, playing, announcing and catching the squint of blinds,” he said. “I’m waving, they’re looking straight at (the tricycle), and usually that person will come out. … Every single person gets a smile and a wave and positivity. It feels good doing that.”

Now that daylight is waning earlier, Samaan is shifting from the “ice cream truck” model to a slightly more stationary method. On weekday afternoons, he bikes the goods in from West Sacramento and parks them in front of partner businesses downtown, such as Edible Pedal bike shop and delivery service, where he was Friday, and La Bonne Soupe Cafe at Eighth and J streets.

The timing is ideal considering that several farmers markets held downtown midweek recently closed for the season, said Benner. The young entrepreneurial couple hope to fill the gap that those markets left and continue providing organic produce options to customers year-round.

Dan Best, manager of more than a dozen Certified Farmers’ Markets in Sacramento County, said he has to close some of his locations during the winter because demand drops below a point of sustainability. The pedestrian markets, as he calls the downtown markets, draw people less consistently than community markets, such as the Sunday market held under the freeway, which survive year-round because people drive there to do the bulk of their grocery shopping.

“At the pedestrian markets, people just come check it out and maybe don’t buy much or anything at all,” he said. “There has to be enough customer base. We know it’s not penciling out, so we sometimes make the decision that this market is not supporting the farmers.”

But Samaan, a part-time farmer and part-time bike-building enthusiast, said he believes he can at least break even with community collaboration and the right advertising.

One couple who stopped by Friday said they put off going to the grocery store so they could visit the Veggie Trike. Rick Houston, a regular at Edible Pedal, took a photograph of the produce display and posted it on Facebook, hoping to draw more people to the stand.

“It’s indicative of where our priorities and our ethos are headed, in terms of eating properly … now it’s more accessible,” he said. “Obviously you’re not going to be able to have enough food for 100 people to get their groceries, but it’s nice for people to be able to come pick something up. It’s close. It’s clever.”

The Veggie Trike, which is licensed as a business through the city of West Sacramento, was constructed by Cycle Trucks, a West Sacramento business specializing in cargo bikes that are made for carrying loads. Samaan said he intends to work with the company to build a coffee tricycle, which he’ll use to tote local brews around the Capitol in the mornings.

For many in Sacramento, the concepts of quality food and quality bicycles go hand in hand. In addition to its function as a bike shop, Edible Pedal handles deliveries for Magpie Cafe, Hot Italian, Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates and other “slow food” institutions around Sacramento. Edible Pedal owner John Boyer said the Veggie Trike fits perfectly into the shop’s mission.

“It’s probably senior to the bikes here, the delivery of good quality food, especially to the workaday world down here,” he said. “We want to feed them right so they don’t fall asleep on their desks at 3 o’clock.”

Link to story

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 29th 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 $49.41, a 37-cent increase from last year’s average of $49.04.

The big ticket item – a 16-pound turkey – came in at $21.65 this year. That’s roughly $1.35 per pound, a decrease of less than 1 cent per pound, or a total of 11 cents per whole turkey, compared to 2013.

“Turkey production has been somewhat lower this year and wholesale prices are a little higher, but consumers should find an adequate supply of birds at their local grocery store,” AFBF Deputy Chief Economist John Anderson said. Some grocers may use turkeys as “loss leaders,” a common strategy deployed to entice shoppers to come through the doors and buy other popular Thanksgiving foods.

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 were sweet potatoes, dairy products and pumpkin pie mix. Sweet potatoes came in at $3.56 for three pounds. A half pint of whipping cream was $2.00; one gallon of whole milk, $3.76; and a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, $3.12. A one-pound relish tray of carrots and celery ($.82) and one pound of green peas ($1.55) also increased in price. A combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (butter, evaporated milk, onions, eggs, sugar and flour) rose to $3.48.

In addition to the turkey, other items that declined modestly in price included a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.54; 12 ounces of fresh cranberries, $2.34; two nine-inch pie shells, $2.42; and a dozen brown-n-serve rolls, $2.17.

The average cost of the dinner has remained around $49 since 2011.

“America’s farmers and ranchers remain committed to continuously improving the way they grow food for our tables, both for everyday meals and special occasions like Thanksgiving dinner that many of us look forward to all year,” Anderson said. “We are blessed to be able to provide a special holiday meal for 10 people for about $5.00 per serving – less than the cost of most fast food meals.”

The stable average price reported this year by Farm Bureau for a classic Thanksgiving dinner tracks closely with the government’s Consumer Price Index for food eaten at home (available online at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm), which indicates a 3-percent increase compared to a year ago.

A total of 179 volunteer shoppers checked prices at grocery stores in 35 states. Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers are asked to look for the best possible prices, without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals, such as spending $50 and receiving a free turkey.

Shoppers with an eye for bargains in all areas of the country should be able to purchase individual menu items at prices comparable to the Farm Bureau survey averages. Another option for busy families without a lot of time to cook is ready-to-eat Thanksgiving meals for up to 10 people, with all the trimmings, which are available at many supermarkets and take-out restaurants for around $50 to $75.

The AFBF survey was first conducted in 1986. While Farm Bureau does not make any scientific claims about the data, it is an informal gauge of price trends around the nation. Farm Bureau’s survey menu has remained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons.

Link to full story