CDFA Secretary Karen Ross joined the trade group WUSATA last week for a trip to Vietnam to discuss export opportunities and climate smart agriculture. Here are some of the highlights of the trip.

By Adele Peters

Every February, semi trucks packed with honeybees—a fleet of around a million hives in total—heads to California’s almond orchards, where billions of rented bees fly from flower to flower to pollinate the crop. More than a half million local hives join them.

But as bee populations decline, and California farmers plant more acres of almond orchards, the cost of renting those beehives keeps going up. So an increasing number of farmers are planting some almond trees that can handle pollination on their own.

The Independence Almond doesn’t technically need bees to survive. It is cross-bred with a variety of peach tree and can self-pollinate. The tree is now so popular that farmers are on waiting lists as long as two years to get it. “When the pollination time comes, a breath of air will pollinate that crop,” says Harbir Singh, a sales representative for the Dave Wilson Nursery, which sells the Independence almond exclusively.

Honeybees continue to struggle with disease, pesticides, and other stresses. Native pollinators are also struggling; 40% of food-pollinating wildlife now faces extinction. If the number of pollinators continue to drop, could the almond, and other crops that traditionally rely on pollinators, survive by switching to “self-fruitful” varieties?

The short answer: not very well, at least not at this point. Out of the 115 most commonly grown foods around the world, 87 crops use animal pollinators. A salad bar in a world without bees would look pretty sad. (Those foods that don’t need pollinators—like rice and sugarcane—also tend to be less nutritious; one recent study concluded that in some developing countries, as much as half of the population would lack important nutrients like vitamin A if bees no longer pollinated crops).

For 13 crops, including most varieties of squash, cantaloupe, and cocoa, pollinators are essential. Thirty other foods, such as apples, cherries, and avocados, are highly dependent on pollinators, meaning that crop yield could drop as much as 65% without them. The fruit that is produced might also not be as good. Raspberry plants, for example, can pollinate themselves, but the resulting raspberries are tiny without the help of honeybees, bumblebees, or other pollinators.

For the Independence almond, even though the nursery says it could be grown without bees, it’s most commonly used with them—just fewer than usual. “The company is correct in saying that it will set a commercially viable crop, but what we do know is that we will set a much higher crop if we do have bees,” says David Doll, with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Merced. “Some research out of Europe suggests a 30% to 40% increase per crop.” Most farmers use one hive per acre (up to 60,000 bees) with Independence trees, versus two hives an acre with typical almond trees.

Crops without pollinators also don’t always produce the same yields year after year. “You’re never certain, particularly with climate change, with the much warmer January temperatures, whether that’s going to be consistent,” says Thomas Gradziel, who has been breeding self-compatible almonds at the University of California-Davis for decades. “If it’s not consistent, you’ve just lost a major portion of your crop and one of your major years where you should have been using that money to pay back your loan to the bank.”

Right now, most farmers only plant the Independence almond in a portion of their orchards, along with other varieties of trees, to hedge their bets. “We’re at a stage of testing, experimentation, as far as where self compatibility, self-pollination, fits into our cropping system,” says Gradziel.

Most consumers also expect to buy the “nonpareil” variety of almond, which is self-sterile. Other varieties that have been developed may be better at pollinating themselves, but may not taste or look the same. In Spain, for example, most almond varieties are self-pollinating, but they have hard shells and aren’t considered to have the same quality as the typical California almonds.

The result: Even as farmers plant self-fruitful trees, they’re still very aware of how much they need bees. “The majority of almond farmers, if not all the farmers, are very aware of the importance of bees, and have modified their practices in order to make sure that they’re providing a safe habitat and safe ‘working environment’ for bees,” says Doll. “This includes spraying at different times, not spraying when bees are in the field, those types of things.”

Researchers still continue trying to make new self-fruitful and self-compatible varieties of crops; Gradziel uses traditional breeding to work on the almond, while others use modern genetic engineering or gene editing methods to work on crops like walnuts. It’s possible that eventually some varieties might not need bees at all, though Gradziel thinks that shouldn’t necessarily be the goal.

“It’s not only that almonds need bees, but the bees need almonds,” he says. In the current system, commercial honeybees lead a nomadic life, moving from almonds to apples or vegetable crops. “Those bees come to California to pollinate the almond crop, but those bees also come to California because this is the first good pollen source for those beehives. For beekeepers, this is a very important stop to get their hives up to strength and start that season of basically making that pollination throughout the country.”

For wild pollinators, too, like the bumblebee, crops like almonds can be an important source of food. “There’s work here at Davis where they’re looking to reintroduce the bumblebee,” he says. “Then the almond bloom early in the spring would be a huge asset to get these natives back up and running.”

Doll agrees that truly pollinator-independent crops are still a distant goal, and that it’s best to try to protect existing pollinators. “I think that’s the holy grail,” he says of self-pollinating crops. “But the bee is a wonderful insect to commercial agriculture, whether you’re a five-acre grower, whether you’re growing blueberries or almonds. I think there always will be a benefit to having bees around. Now, will we be able to reduce our reliance on bees? Maybe, I think so. But I still believe that the pollinator will be critical to all of agriculture, especially fruits and nuts, for the foreseeable future.”

Link to article

Secretary Ross with a Vietnamese reporter last week in Ho Chi Minh City.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross visited Vietnam last week as part of a delegation of the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA), a non-profit formed in 1980 by the 13 western state departments of agriculture as well as the territorial departments in Guam and Samoa. For more than three decades, WUSATA has offered programs and services to assist exporters of high-value food and agricultural products.

Translated from Vietnamese:

The Western Association of the United States Agricultural Trade (WUSATA – Western US Agricultural Trade Association), accompanied by a delegation of 13 agricultural services Midwestern states, conducted his visit to Vietnam from April 4 to 8, to confirm that the Vietnamese agricultural market presents many opportunities for US exporters.

The information was released on April 7 at a press conference given in Ho Chi Minh City by WUSATA in following a meeting with representatives of Vietnamese ministries of Agriculture and rural Development, and Industry and Commerce, earlier this week in Hanoi. Objective: discuss final points supervised by the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), promoting trade and cooperation between Vietnam and the western states of the United States in the agricultural sector.

At the press conference Andy Anderson, executive director of the WUSATA, stressed that the quality of part of Vietnam in the TPP would give a boost to its agricultural market, already booming, especially with regard to imports of American goods up range.

“Companies specializing in agriculture in the US western states keen to enter the Vietnamese market and increase exports to Vietnam through agreements such as the TPP which is awaiting ratification,” announced M . Anderson, adding that the WUSATA had gone to Vietnam to draw up an inventory of opportunities to seize.

Andy Anderson insisted that once the ratification acquired, the removal of customs barriers and technical benefit to agricultural exporters in both countries, and thus to their producers. “This is an opportunity to present a wide variety of agricultural products upscale American western states in the Vietnamese market,” added Andy Anderson.

Strengthen trade partnership the representative of WUSATA reaffirmed that Vietnam remains an important trading partner of the United States, and that exchanges and discussions have taken place during this visit would cement relations between the two countries, but also accelerate the ratification of the TPP.

Jim Barbee, director of the agricultural Service of the State of Nevada and President WUSATA, said that Vietnam would need a large number of American agricultural products quality and it was time especially for SMEs in the American West, export to Vietnam. at that time, 13 US companies have met many Vietnamese importers and distributors to engage in trade cooperation. the US agricultural exports to Vietnam increased from 1, 5 billion in 2010 to 2.6 billion in 2015, making Vietnam the 11th market for US exports last year. As for Vietnamese exports of agricultural products, were $ 2.6 billion.

Link to article

Legislation by Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) to support agricultural practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon in soil, trees and plants was approved on a 6-0 bipartisan vote of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee this week.

“Agriculture is a vital part of our state’s economy already threatened by rising temperatures, limited water resources and other effects of climate change. Agriculture can also play an important role in addressing climate change, something the Governor has acknowledged,” said Wolk, D-Davis. “My bill provides farmers and ranchers greater access to funding and other resources to help them adapt to the state’s changing climate while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and storing carbon in the soil, providing additional environmental, health and other benefits.”

Wolk’s Senate Bill 1350 will establish a Healthy Soils Program to support projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural operations and increase carbon sequestration, or storage, in agricultural soil. Benefits to increased health of agricultural soils include the ability to store more carbon and other greenhouse gases, provide more nutrients for plants, retain more water, and reduce erosion — resulting in improved air and water quality, water conservation, enhanced wildlife habitat and healthy rural communities.

SB 1350 also appropriates $20 million in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund monies to set up the program, which would be operated by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the bill’s sponsor.

“Climate Smart Agriculture isn’t just a concept in California – it’s something our farmers embrace and employ as they make their daily decisions in the field,” said California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. “These measures reinforce the agricultural community’s commitment to help the state ‘move the needle’ toward its climate change goals, and they provide specific strategies to accomplish that.”

The proposed program would provide support such as loans, grants, research, technical assistance, educational materials and outreach to farmers whose management practices contribute to healthy soils and result in net long-term greenhouse gas benefits.

SB 1350, which will next be heard by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, is supported by groups including California Farm Bureau, Environmental Working Group, National Audubon Society, Carbon Cycle Institute, California Trout, Californians Against Waste, and California League of Conservation Voters.

Link to article

Photo from Futurity.org

A study from Stanford University:

Atmospheric patterns resembling those that appeared during the latter half of California’s ongoing multiyear drought are becoming much more common, a new study finds.

“The current record-breaking drought in California has arisen from both extremely low precipitation and extremely warm temperature,” says Noah Diffenbaugh, associate professor of earth system science at Stanford University.  “In this new study, we find clear evidence that atmospheric patterns that look like what we’ve seen during this extreme drought have in fact become more common in recent decades.”

Diffenbaugh and colleagues investigated whether atmospheric pressure patterns similar to those that occurred during California’s historically driest, wettest, warmest, and coolest years have occurred with different frequency in recent decades compared with earlier in California’s history.

The scientists focused on the northeastern Pacific Ocean and far western North America, encompassing the winter “storm track” region where the vast majority of California precipitation originates.

hey used historical climate data from US government archives to investigate changes during California’s October to May “rainy season.” They identified the specific North Pacific atmospheric patterns associated with the most extreme temperature and precipitation seasons between 1949 and 2015. Their analysis shows a significant increase in the occurrence of atmospheric patterns associated with certain precipitation and temperature extremes over the 67-year period.

In particular, they found robust increases in the occurrence of atmospheric patterns resembling what has occurred during the latter half of California’s ongoing multiyear drought.

“California’s driest and warmest years are almost always associated with some sort of persistent high pressure region, which can deflect the Pacific storm track away from California,” says Daniel Swain, first author of the study published in the journal Science Advances and a graduate student in Diffenbaugh’s lab.

“Since California depends on a relatively small number of heavy precipitation events to make up the bulk of its annual total, missing out on even one or two of these can have significant implications for water availability.”

FEWER ‘AVERAGE’ YEARS

Blocking ridges are regions of high atmospheric pressure that disrupt typical wind patterns in the atmosphere. Scientists concluded that one such persistent ridge pattern—which Swain named the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge (the Triple R)—was diverting winter storms northward and preventing them from reaching California during the state’s drought. In 2014, researchers published findings that showed that the increasing occurrence of extremely high atmospheric pressure over this same part of the Northeastern Pacific is “very likely” linked to climate change.

The group next wanted to investigate whether the particular spatial pattern associated with the Triple-R has become more common—a question not asked in the original 2014 study. The new study provides a more direct answer.

“We found that this specific extreme ridge pattern associated with the ongoing California drought has increased in recent decades,” Swain says.

Despite the fact that the number of very dry atmospheric patterns in California has increased in recent decades, the number of very wet atmospheric patterns hasn’t declined.

“We’re seeing an increase in certain atmospheric patterns that have historically resulted in extremely dry conditions, and yet that’s apparently not occurring at the expense of patterns that have historically been associated with extremely wet patterns,” Swain says. “We’re not necessarily shifting toward perpetually lower precipitation conditions in California—even though the risk of drought is increasing.”

That might sound contradictory, but it’s not, the scientists say. Imagine looking at a 10-year period and finding that two of the years are wet, two are dry, and the rest experienced precipitation close to the long-term average. Now imagine another decade with three very dry years, three very wet years, and only four years with near-average precipitation.

“What seems to be happening is that we’re having fewer ‘average’ years, and instead we’re seeing more extremes on both sides,” Swain says.” “This means that California is indeed experiencing more warm and dry periods, punctuated by wet conditions.”

Link to Futurity.org

CDFA is scheduled to begin treatments this month for two Japanese beetle infestations in California, in the Carmichael-area of Sacramento County and in the Bay Area community of Sunnyvale. The following interviews are with four people with experience or knowledge about a potentially devastating pest that requires an estimated $460 million a year for ongoing control programs in the eastern US. In California, the approach is to eradicate Japanese beetle infestations so control programs aren’t necessary.

More information about the Japanese Beetle

A vertical greenhouse in Jackson, Wyoming

By Claire Martin

The Wyoming soil, iced over for eight months of the year, is not particularly hospitable to heirloom tomatoes, baby basil or lettuce plants. Instead, vegetables are trucked in from California, Mexico and other more fecund parts of the world. Yet starting this spring, Vertical Harvest, a farm in the resort town of Jackson, will begin churning out a projected 100,000 pounds of fresh produce a year. Vertical Harvest uses hydroponic farming methods inside a three-story greenhouse on a 4,500-square-foot downtown lot. It is engaging in a relatively new practice called vertical farming. The company employs 15 people who have conditions such as Down syndrome, autism, seizure disorders and spina bifida; they share 140 hours of work a week under a customized employment model. Vertical Harvest is a public-private partnership with the town of Jackson and it uses a low-profit business model, which means its investors will see a modest profit and it won’t come quickly.

Missouri dairy farmer Aubrey Fletcher

Aubrey Fletcher knew she wanted to work on a dairy farm ever since she was a little girl.

“I do remember my mom asking, ‘Are you sure that’s what you want to do?’” Fletcher recalls.

Fletcher knew the work was tough, she grew up milking cows every day. After college she and her husband wanted to return to his family farm, but it wasn’t making financial sense.

“The farm couldn’t necessarily  provide both of us with salaries,” says Fletcher. “So we thought, ‘Why not take our premium milk and take that a little further?’”

The Fletchers started Edgewood Creamery outside of Springfield, Missouri, last August. They recently opened a storefront on the farm selling their milk and cheese.

Between the new business, milkings, feedings, and fixing things that need to get fixed, there is a lot to do.

“There’s always something to be done on the farm. And very rarely my house gets clean,” Fletcher says laughing.

Aubrey Fletcher is one of thousands of women stepping out of the shadows of the male-dominated farm world to take more leadership roles on the farm. In the past 15 years the fraction of women who are taking the lead has nearly tripled to about 15 percent of all U.S. farms. Nearly one-third of farms in this country are run by couples working together.

Despite the busy workload, Fletcher has been meeting regularly with a new group of women dairy farmers in her area. She says having a space to come together with other women has been huge.

“Because they can relate to you,” Fletcher says. “They understand that, ‘Oh, you had three calves this morning and you didn’t get your kids to school on time.’ They understand the struggles of being a dairy-farm-wife-slash-mom, and it’s easy to just talk to them about the struggles, and the good times.”

Women-Focused Extension Groups

Groups designed for farm women are not just about the social and emotional support. They serve an educational role as well.

Reagan Bluel, a dairy specialist for the University of Missouri Extension who runs the group of women dairy farmers in Southern Missouri, says she started it out of a growing need she was hearing from women in her area.

“This is another forum to gather information both from extension but also from their peers to see what is successful on those farms,” says Bluel.

The daily grind of agricultural work can make it hard for farmers to get off the farm, Bluel says.

“It can be very isolating,” Bluel says. “And so sometimes it takes scheduling yourself to leave the farm.”

In the next few months she’ll program sessions about everything from calf-raising to stress management.

Many women are used to standing out at big farm shows or meetings, and that’s why Rebecca Connelly started a group for women in dairy in Pennsylvania.

“The role of women on farms has always been there it’s just now women are looking for more information off the farm.”

Connelly says women want more training, they’re seeking out more entrepreneurial opportunities like starting a creamery, and they’re trying to bring a competitive edge to their farm. They also see the value of networking on social media and through these groups. Connelly and her colleagues are organizing a national conference for women dairy workers this year so they can come together to learn from experts and each other.

“Women want to meet other women in agriculture,” Connelly says. “Sometimes they don’t necessarily get out there to see their neighbors or across counties. So this is a great way to meet other women in their area, as well as finding out more resources that are available to them.”

Link to article

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a significant increase in the number of certified organic operations, continuing the trend of double digit growth in the organic sector. According to new data, there are now 21,781 certified organic operations in the United States and 31,160 around the world.

“Organic food is one of the fasting growing segments of American agriculture,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “As consumer demand for organic products continues to grow, the USDA organic seal has become a leading global standard. The increasing number of organic operations shows that USDA’s strong support for the vibrant organic sector is helping to create jobs and opportunities in rural communities.”

According to data released by the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP), the number of domestic certified organic operations increased by almost 12 percent between 2014 and 2015, representing the highest growth rate since 2008 and an increase of nearly 300 percent since the count began in 2002. The total retail market for organic products is now valued at more than $39 billion in the United States and over $75 billion worldwide.

Along with consumer demand for organics, increasingly they are asking for local foods. Under Secretary Vilsack, USDA has supported providing consumers a stronger connection to their food with more than $1 billion in investments to over 40,000 local and regional food businesses and infrastructure projects since between 2009. Industry data estimates that U.S. local food sales totaled at least $12 billion in 2014, up from $5 billion in 2008. More information on how USDA investments are connecting producers with consumers and expanding rural economic opportunities is available in Chapter IV of USDA Results on Medium published today.

USDA has also established a number of resources to help organics producers find technical and financial resources to help them grow domestically and abroad. The site www.usda.gov/organic creates a one-stop-shop for operators, and USDA has made market and pricing information for approximately 250 organic products available free of charge through USDA’s Market News. In 2015, USDA made more than $11.5 million available to assist organic operations with their certification costs.

The data announced today are publicly available as part of the recently launched Organic Integrity Database, a modernized system for tracking certified organic operations.  Additional information about USDA resources and support for the organic sector is available on the USDA Organics Resource page.

Link to entire news release