United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Rural Business-Cooperative Service Administrator Karama Neal today unveiled a new grant program to help rural communities create good-paying jobs and support new business opportunities in high-growth fields.
Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) is intended to help rural communities identify and maximize local assets and connect to networks and industry clusters within their region. The new grant encourages a regional, innovation-driven approach to economic development.
“USDA is innovating the way we do business,” Neal said. “The RISE program ensures that critical funding supports long-term and sustainable economic growth in the rural communities and regions that need it most.”
RISE provides grants of up to $2 million to consortiums of local governments, investors, industry, institutions of higher education, and other public and private entities in rural areas. The funds may be used to form job accelerator partnerships and create high-wage jobs, start or expand businesses, and support economic growth in the rural areas of their region.
Funding may also be used to establish and operate innovation centers and partnerships, such as integrating rural businesses into new supply chains, providing workforce training and identifying community assets.
To help ensure long-term and sustainable community and economic development, award recipients must support projects for at least four years.
Applicants are encouraged to contact their nearest USDA Rural Development State Office ahead of the application deadline for more information about the program or the application process.
Starting June 16, 2021, applications will be accepted electronically at Grants.gov. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Aug. 2, 2021. Information about the application process is available in a notice in the Federal Register (PDF, 276 KB). For additional information about the program, see the final rule on page 31585 of the June 15 Federal Register (PDF, 377 KB).
USDA is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time to help stakeholders and potential applicants learn more about this funding opportunity. To register, please visit: attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9046642451030677262.
Of all the challenges farmers face year after year, the most daunting challenge may be figuring out how to navigate the farm business succession process. If you’re a farmer or rancher planning to retire in the near future, the path toward a successful farm land and business transition may seem insurmountable.
Retiring farmers with identified successor generations, related or not, are invited to submit an application to participate in California FarmLink’s new succession program, The Regenerator: A Year of Farm Succession Planning. This 12-month course, starting in November near Sacramento, will work with a small cohort of farm families and their successors – ‘teams’ – to generate plans that support transition to the next generation. Participants will convene monthly to learn from professionals, compare notes with their peers, and work step-by-step to plan for their financial and family well-being, and the health and continuity of their working farms and ranches.
The Regenerator takes a multi-faceted approach to farm succession planning. Participants will work with their own farm operators, identified successors and family members to create a personalized succession plan. Monthly meetings will feature in-depth presentations by professionals covering a range of topics including:
Communication, intention setting and team-building
Business valuation, structure, and transition of management
Retirement, estate and tax planning
Farmland conservation planning
Creative approaches and financing strategies for land and business transfers
Participants will gain an understanding of the essential components of a good farm succession plan, strategies and creative tools to reach goals, and a plan that’s ready to launch. California FarmLink’s intention is to build farmers’ resilience by facilitating plans that will sustain farms and ranches into the next generation.
California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom (center) joins CDFA Secretary Karen Ross (right) during a tour of Three Sisters Gardens in West Sacramento this week to better understand the benefit of farm to school programs for small urban farms. Three Sisters Garden farmer and founder Alfred Melbourne describes how he works to engage and empower youth through agriculture and promoting food sovereignty at his farm site. Governor Newsom’s proposed budget for 2021-2022, the California Comeback Plan, contains $20 million for grants to schools that establish programs that coordinate local and California-grown food procurement in school meals, as well as food and agriculture education in classrooms.
In response to historic drought conditions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering $41.8 million through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to help agricultural producers in Arizona, California, Colorado and Oregon alleviate the immediate impacts of drought and other natural resource challenges on working lands. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will make available this funding through Conservation Incentive Contracts, a new option available through EQIP. Signup for this targeted funding begins today, and NRCS will accept applications through July 12, 2021.
Through EQIP, NRCS offers conservation practices that help producers recover from the impacts of drought as well as build resiliency. These practices provide other key benefits, including mitigating impacts from climate change as well as preventing and recovering from wildfire.
“As ongoing drought conditions in the West continue to worsen, we knew we needed to increase our support to farmers and ranchers in dealing with drought and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow,” said NRCS Chief Terry Cosby. “EQIP is our flagship conservation program, and with the expanded benefits the Conservation Incentive Contracts offer, it enables producers to deploy conservation activities that strengthen existing efforts on their land to help during times of drought. Additionally, by targeting this program in several states, we can make any needed adjustments before rolling out Conservation Incentive Contracts nationwide in fiscal year 2022.”
Conservation Incentive Contracts
While Conservation Incentive Contracts are available in select states in fiscal year 2021, NRCS will roll out nationwide in fiscal year 2022, using this pilot to refine implementation of this new option.
The 2018 Farm Bill created the new Conservation Incentive Contracts option to address high-priority conservation and natural resources concerns, including drought. Through 5- to 10-year contracts, producers manage, maintain and address important natural resource concerns and build on existing conservation efforts.
Conservation Incentive Contracts offer conservation activities that producers implement to address resource concerns.
NRCS will set aside $11.8 million directly for drought-related practices. Practices include forest management plans, tree/shrub establishment, brush management, prescribed grazing, pasture and hay planting, wildlife habitat, livestock watering systems and cover crops.
How to Apply
To learn more about Conservation Incentive Contracts, visit the EQIP webpage. Producers in Arizona, California, Colorado and Oregon who are interested in this targeted funding should apply by July 12, 2021 by contacting their local USDA Service Center.
While USDA offices may be closed to visitors because of the pandemic, Service Center staff continue to work with agricultural producers via phone, email, and other digital tools. To conduct business, please contact your local USDA Service Center. Contact information can be found at farmers.gov/service-locator. .
Western Growers (WG) has teamed with Karen Ross, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary, to launch a statewide initiative aimed at developing a future workforce with the skills and knowledge to navigate emerging on-farm technology.
The AgTechX Ed initiative will bring together universities and colleges, farming and agricultural partners, and technology companies across California to transition the agriculture workforce to master rapidly developing agricultural technology (agtech).
“As we face chronic and worsening labor shortages, escalating labor costs and legislative mandates, and dwindling access to water, crop protection tools and other inputs, the rapid development and deployment of technology is our best hope to preserve California’s farmland and regional agricultural economies,” said Dave Puglia, Western Growers president and CEO. “AgTechX Ed is an exciting and critical initiative that can help advance the tech-expert workforce we must have to continue producing healthy California-grown foods.”
The initiative will be anchored by four AgTechX Ed events in key rural areas across California. Each event will feature a dialogue between leading farming and technology companies around the specific skills they need in their workforces, along with training opportunities available in their organizations. Additionally, local California Community Colleges and California State Universities will be on hand to share how they are revamping their curriculum and adding new educational pathways in an effort to build tomorrow’s agtech workforce.
The linchpin of each event will be a keynote conversation and networking session with Secretary Ross who will provide insight into the importance of partnerships between industry, government and academia to adapt education to the changing needs of agriculture.
“To rise to the occasion of feeding a global population of 10 billion people in the next 30 years with fewer resources and labor, we need to start investing in preparing tomorrow’s agricultural workforce today,” said Ross. “Education starts in the classroom, and that’s where agriculture prominently needs to be. As the development of technology rapidly accelerates, initiatives such as AgTechX Ed lays the foundation for new tech-based education training platforms that will build an adequately trained workforce.”
The first AgTechX Ed event will be August 25–26, 2021, at Reedley College. The remaining events will be held in Imperial Valley, Monterey County and the greater Sacramento area. In addition to the events, AgTechX Ed will facilitate internship/apprenticeship opportunities, job shadow programs and regional career mixers. The initiative will also build on existing WG workforce development programs that encourage youth to pursue careers in agriculture, including Careers in Ag and Junior AgSharks.
Registration for AgTechX Ed at Reedley College will be available later this summer at www.wga.com.
Note — It’s Invasive Species Action Week in California through June 13. CDFA is partnering with other government agencies and environmental groups to discuss the threats posed by invasive species.
CDFA’s Report a Pest Program
Have you seen a new or unusual plant or pest in your area? If so, you can play an important role in protecting California agriculture and your environment by reporting the sighting of a plant or pest that you suspect may be a new invasive species in your area.
How can you help?
If possible, take photographs of the plant or pest. Tips: including something of commonly known size in the photo for comparison is helpful; taking photos of the immediate environment where the sighting occurred and key landmarks for finding the site is also often helpful.
Photos can be attached to the Report a Pest Sighting Form either electronically or in hard copies (see below for online and hard copies of this form).
If you wish to collect a specimen to assist with identification, it is important to keep the specimen secure to avoid the spread of the collected species, or any organism that may be attached to it. Please keep a record with the specimen of the location and date that it was collected.
Toxonomic groups
Invertebrates (for example: insects, snails) – Invertebrates should be collected into a closed vial or jar with enough rubbing alcohol included to keep the tissue moist.
Plants – Plant specimens should include the stem with intact leaves and, if available, intact flowers and/or fruits. The plant should be placed in a plastic bag* with the top folded over and secured.
Plant Diseases – Submit multiple plant specimens exhibiting the symptoms of concern. These should be collected into a plastic bag and loosely sealed (e.g., folded over at the top).
Vertebrates (fish, for example) – Seal in a plastic bag and freeze. Please contact your local county agriculture department or the Department of Fish and Game to report this sighting.
Alert: sending specimens by mail is not recommended. Before doing so, please contact your local county agriculture department for mailing instructions. (See “Find Your Local County Agriculture Department.”)
Or, report a pest by calling the CDFA Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899.
Or, download and complete the CDFA “Report a Pest Sighting Form” and mail to the address provided at the top of the form. Note: sending specimens by mail is not recommended. Contact your local county agriculture department for instructions before doing so.
Reporting Tip: the CDFA Report a Pest Sighting Form can be downloaded and completed for use as a prep tool when contacting your local county agriculture department or when calling the CDFA Pest Hotline. The form provides you with the type of questions you may be asked by your local county agriculture department or by the CDFA Hotline operator.
A drive-thru vaccine clinic for farmworkers in Monterey County. Photo from the Washington Post
By Laura Reiley and Melina Mara
Last summer, coronavirus raged among Salinas Valley farmworkers, who were three times more likely to be infected by the coronavirus than other workers last summer, according to the Monterey County dashboard tracker.
Deemed essential, farmworkers planted, harvested and packed produce right beside co-workers, often relying on employers for crowded transportation and accommodation in camp-style housing. In many cases, protective gear, including masks, were in short supply. Testing didn’t begin until many migratory workers had moved on to harvests elsewhere.
A year later, much has changed.
D’Arrigo California, a longtime Salinas Valley company that grows 35,000 acres of mostly vegetables, was approved as the first site for mass vaccination for farmworkers in Monterey County this spring. D’Arrigo partnered with the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California and Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas, a community-based health-care provider, and received a supply of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines directly from the federal government.
Three hundred workers were vaccinated at the first drive-through clinic; the next Saturday that number was 3,000, according to Christopher Valadez, president of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California. As the number of people seeking vaccination grew each weekend, the clinic moved first to the Salinas Sports Complex that houses the California Rodeo Salinas, and then to the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds in King City.
Valadez says his group, having just completed its 13th clinic, has vaccinated 30,000 farmworkers; other clinics at pharmacies and hospitals have vaccinated 15,000 more. He said more than two-thirds of farmworkers in Monterey County have been vaccinated and others have herd immunity from having contracted the virus during last summer’s harvest. By comparison, according to CDC data, 54 percent of people over 18 in Monterey County overall are fully vaccinated.
As infection numbers spiked last summer, the Grower-Shipper Association established a quarantine housing program with 60 private beds available each month. This year, Valadez says, the capacity of the program has expanded but they are averaging just five workers per month, an indication that vaccinations, PPE and other protocols have led to plummeting infection rates.
Valadez says the availability of housing has increased “but the demand just isn’t there.”
At grower D’Arrigo’s headquarters, school buses that transport farmworkers to the fields line up before dawn, many hauling flatbeds of portable hand-washing stations. Last spring these were scarce in the Salinas Valley, despite CDC guidance that hand-washing was crucial for minimizing transmission. At D’Arrigo, which grows Andy Boy brand broccoli, broccoli rabe, cauliflower, fennel and romaine hearts, bus drivers now wait to greet workers, asking questions about workers’ health while spraying their hands with sanitizer and taking temperatures.
An agricultural city of 155,000 people that produces a significant portion of the nation’s lettuces, and broccoli, Salinas saw significant outbreaks of covid-19 last growing season. A Berkeley public health study reported that between mid-July and November 2020, 13 percent of the farmworkers enrolled in the study tested positive for the virus, compared with only 5 percent of California’s population overall.
Last harvest season, California’s state agencies and growers were slow to require mandatory personal protective equipment, to determine how and when to test workers and what protocols to adopt when workers tested positive. The farmworkers included seasonal H-2A work visas, some American migrant workers, and many more undocumented workers largely from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Many became infected while living in group housing and traveling to work sites in crowded buses and vans. In many cases, workers who knew they were infected couldn’t afford to stay home.
Now, masks and other protective equipment are routine for the roughly 60,000 farmworkers in Salinas Valley, often called “the Salad Bowl of the World.” At the D’Arrigo registration office where workers apply for jobs or talk to human resources, social distancing is strongly encouraged, with floor markers to establish appropriate spacing between people.
This growing season, all of D’Arrigo’snearly 2,000 workers, regardless of immigration status, are required to take classes that demonstrate how to safely pick a crop, how to properly socially distance in the field and what to do if workers fall ill. In January, Monterey County also began a six-month outreach program, paid for by federal pandemic relief funds and tax revenue, to educate farmworkers on coronavirus testing and vaccination, with money available to pay for quarantine expenses and medical costs.
D’Arrigo California, with a patent on the name “broccoli rabe,” is the largest commercial grower of this vegetable in the country, harvesting more than 4,000 acres annually. With broad ruffled leaves and skinnier stems than regular broccoli, broccoli rabe, also known as broccoli raab or rapini, is a relative of the turnip.
In D’Arrigo fields this spring, workers are spaced widely andthe field manager periodically spreads his arms out to show the six feet required between workers. Gloves and face coverings are required. Last spring, according to Valadez, “you couldn’t find a face covering,” which prompted the Grower-Shipper Association to purchase a million masks for farmworkers; Monterey County purchased 750,000 more face coverings, 300,000 of which went to Salinas Valley farmworkers.
D’Arrigo California was the site of the first mass farmworker vaccination in February. Since then, growers survey their employees to determine how many are interested in becoming vaccinated, offering time off and transportation to the vaccination sites. The Grower-Shipper Association of Central California organizes the logistics of each weekend’s clinic and Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas provides nurses and doctors to administer the shots.
Producers who have crop insurance coverage may qualify for premium support up to $5 per acre in a new USDA assistance program if they planted cover crops for the 2021 crop year.
The Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday some cover crop acreage could be eligible for the Pandemic Cover Crop Program offered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency.
Qualifying cover crops include cereals, grasses, legumes, brassicas, non-legume broadleaves, and mixes of two or more cover crop species planted at the same time.
“Producers use cover crops to improve soil health and gain other agronomic benefits, and this program will reduce producers’ overall premium bill to help ensure producers can continue this climates-smart agricultural practice,” RMA Acting Administrator Richard Flournoy said.
According to RMA, the program provides premium support to farmers who insured their spring crop and planted a qualifying cover crop for the time period. Premium support is $5 per acre but not more than the full premium owed.
Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois already have programs for producers to receive a premium subsidy for planting cover crops and if a producer already participates in one of those, they may receive an additional benefit through PCCP, according to USDA.
Producers must report acreage to USDA’s Farm Service Agency by June 15 to qualify for PCCP and must match what was reported to their crop insurance company.
It’s been open for (just a week,) but the Lab@AgStart already has reservations or commitments for half of its lab benches.
AgStart, a Woodland-based incubator for agriculture and food technology startups, celebrated the grand opening of its new $1.5 million facility in Downtown Woodland last Thursday.
The 4,800-square-foot space includes coworking space for startups; the Yocha Dehe Lab, a wet chemistry laboratory space with 28 benches; and the Raley’s Food Lab, a certified food facility that will allow startups to take ingredients they develop and experiment on recipes and formulas for new food products.
“Having the food facility and the wet lab under the same roof allows them to do that closed-loop development, testing and commercialization,” said John Selep, president and board chair for the AgTech Innovation Alliance.
Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, attended Lab@AgStart’s opening event. She said facilities like the Lab@AgStart are vital to solving the biggest challenges in agriculture, including drought and climate change.
“We’re becoming so dependent on science, math and engineering as part of the multidisciplinary approach to solve these really big issues,” Ross said. “So having this space to do that kind of experimentation, to prove out the concepts, and then get it ready for scaling up for commercialization is huge to our ability to not only feed people better, with better nourishment, but with a smaller environmental impact.”
Six startups have already signed commitments to move into the lab, including Pheronym, a biological pest management technology company.
“We are so happy for this lab space,” said Pheronym co-founder and CEO Fatma Kaplan. Before now, the company had been working out of the HM.Clause Life Science Innovation Center south of Davis.
“We knew we were going to grow, we knew we needed to move to another place, but there wasn’t the next step for us,” Kaplan said. “In this place, it is going to be a lot easier to expand.”
For years, the Sacramento region has faced a shortage of wet lab space, which is necessary for working with biological samples.
“There is a critical need for wet lab space in the region,” said Trish Kelly, managing director of Valley Vision, a research and advocacy nonprofit focused on the Sacramento region economy. “Companies cannot scale in the region, because the current lab space is way undersupplied.”
Existing local incubators are bursting at the seams, Kelly said. “We have companies coming to us, begging for space.”
The opening of the Lab@Agstart has doubled local wet lab capacity.
“We know we have this great concentration of assets, and this is going to give us the ability to take things to the next level,” Kelly said. “It’s a world-class piece of infrastructure.”
Beyond the equipment, Kelly said the lab will also bring startups and researchers together.
“It’s our innovation ecosystem that we’re trying to build here,” Kelly said.
Selep said there will likely still be demand for lab space after the Lab@AgStart fills up. He said AgStart is already thinking about another facility.
“Because of the demand that we’re seeing, again, half the space is spoken for, we’ve had discussions with the folks at the Woodland Research and Technology Park,” Selep said. “Our long-term vision is, if we can demonstrate that we are able to open and operate a lab here successfully, financially successfully — as a nonprofit we need to be able to cover our costs — we can start to have a conversation about a new expanded facility at the Woodland Research and Technology Park two or three years down the road.”
