Today is National Poinsettia Day! As shown in the accompanying graphic, California leads the nation in poinsettia production.
There’s a grower in the Central Valley that supplies tens of thousands of poinsettias each year. CDFA visited Duarte Nursery in Hughson, Stanislaus County to learn more about the operation.
During a recent session at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP28 in Dubai), CDFA secretary Karen Ross discussed the ways the climate crisis is affecting the state’s farmers and opportunities to overcome these challenges.
The conversation was organized by Food Tank in partnership with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Producers Trust, and the Forum for Farmers and Food Security (3FS) at the Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas Pavilion.
Since becoming Secretary in 2011, Ross explains that she has lived through two historic droughts in California. In addition to water shortages, farmers are grappling with invasive species, extreme heat, and, when droughts are not an issue, flooding.
“We’re living our future and our future is happening now,” Ross says. “This is why it’s so important that we work together and think about how we continue to nourish people in a changing climate. And status quo isn’t going to do it.”
Interventions are important not only for farmers’ livelihoods, but for the state as a whole. According to Ross, even before value-added products are taken into account, the value of the state’s agriculture sector is just under US$56 billion.
To support producers, The state is eyeing the groundwater basin. “Recharging,” Ross says, “is the only way for us to survive in the future. It’s that below ground storage, above ground storage, using every drop as preciously as we possibly can, and recycling.”
The CDFA is also investing in climate-smart agriculture practices in an effort to scale their adoption. Cover cropping, composting, and the planting of hedge rows for pollinators are particularly attractive, Ross says. “These are things to build up resiliency. Healthy soils that continue to be productive, that are adding soil organic matter…[they are] improving the nutrient cycling and the biodiversity.”
And while the climate crisis will affect all producers, Ross is mindful that the ability of producers to adapt varies considerably, and smaller farmers are more likely to struggle. Around 70 percent of producers are growing crops on less than 100 acres of land, Ross says. “It’s very important to focus on those people who don’t have the same level of resources to withstand the shocks to the system.”
Watch the full conversation below.
Culminating Healthy Soils Week 2023, a hearing on soil biodiversity was held today at the State Capitol in association with the Assembly Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
The hearing focused on CDFA’s recently released report: Soil Biodiversity in California Agriculture: Framework and Indicators for Soil Health Assessment.
CDFA Deputy Secretary for Legislative Affairs Rachael O’Brien moderated a panel of leading soil scientists delivering a presentation about soil biodiversity, soil health, and sustainable agricultural practices. The briefing was attended by nearly 30 legislative staff and set the stage for a discussion to share insights into innovative farming approaches focused on biodiversity and soil health.
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By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross
I am pleased to be part of the California delegation in Dubai this week at COP28, the United Nations conference on climate change. CDFA Deputy Secretary for Climate and Working Lands Virginia Jameson is traveling with me.
The nations of the world are working together to both adapt and try to keep the average global temperature within 1.5 degrees Celsius–or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit–of pre-industrial levels, a goal set out in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
Our California colleagues attending the early part of this year’s conference were able to finalize and announce the expansion of a coalition of subnational governments committed to reducing methane. There are now a total of 15 signatories, including the US and California. Recently-added signatories are from Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Bolivia, Germany and Spain.
Another example of California’s leadership is an additional coalition–a new one–to enhance efforts to reduce methane emissions following a pledge by more than 100 countries and subnational governments at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
This year’s conference will also build upon a topic that began to surge to the international forefront last year — the essential nature of agriculture to ensure food and nutritional security, which is threatened by climate change. The challenges of water availability and water quality, and strategies to address them, are featured in a number of sessions.
I welcome the opportunity to participate in panel discussions to share our experiences as well as learn from others. We’ll discuss the interconnectedness of healthy soils and biodiversity for resilient food systems, learn about a variety of efforts to simplify and harmonize soil carbon data, share California progress on reducing livestock methane emissions, talk about the importance of natural working lands in meeting climate goals and 30×30 biodiversity goals, and learn more about what nations are doing to reduce plastic waste streams.
It is an honor to participate in COP28 and I look forward to sharing more about the highlights when I return early next week.
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and Doug McKalip, Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, had an opportunity to meet with participants at this year’s annual Almond Conference, taking place in Sacramento at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center. The three-day event is significant for California’s almond growers, researchers, and industry professionals as they look to exchange knowledge and seek information about new technology.
“Ambassador McKalip and I were pleased to tour the main floor of the Almond Conference,” said Secretary Ross. “We had a chance to see some of the impressive innovations to improve almond production and efficiencies. I’m proud of the Almond Board’s aim to help educate growers on a range of subjects, and to help growers and handlers in their operations.”
The Almond Conference is expected to draw approximately 4000 attendees. In 2022, almonds were California’s fourth leading-valued commodity — $3.52 billion.
It’s World Soil Day — an essential component of California’s annual Healthy Soils Week. In this video, we meet farmer Scott Park of Meridian, Sutter County, and we learn about the steps he follows for improved soil health in the production of corn, processing tomatoes and rice, among other crops. Park’s approach to nutrient management focuses entirely on keeping soil healthy, which increases water holding capacity and infiltration rates, increases soil fertility, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering carbon.
From a California Air Resources Board News Release
California officially kicked off a new international climate initiative that creates a partnership of subnational governments that are committed to reducing methane at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) hosted in Dubai.
The effort, which was initially announced in September during Climate Week, has expanded to 15 signatories, which include additions from Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Bolivia, Germany, Spain, and the United States.
The Subnational Methane Action Coalition creates collaboration with jurisdictions that oversee and regulate key sources of methane such as agriculture, energy and landfills to share goals and best practices in reducing the short-lived climate pollutant that accounts for almost 30% of current global warming and is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
“The science is clear that tackling methane emissions is one of the best investments we can make to fight climate change now and produce benefits in the near future to leave a better planet for generations to come,” said Liane Randolph, Chair of the California Air Resources Board. “California is ready to partner with governments across the world to implement actionable and effective solutions.”
“With leadership from our dairy families, California agriculture has been working to reduce methane emissions for a number of years. In addition, our efforts will require global solutions, bold ideas, and international partnerships to achieve the maximum reductions needed to accomplish our shared climate change goals,” said Karen Ross, California Secretary for the Department of Food and Agriculture.
California set a goal to reduce 40% of its methane emissions by 2030 compared to 2013 levels, and is leading the country with innovative solutions, including $100 million in funding to support a constellation of satellites that can monitor for large methane plumes. The California Air Resources Board (CARB), California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) collaborate in the state’s international engagements on methane.
Since methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a short atmospheric lifespan, methane emissions reductions can reduce the effects of climate change in the short term, and are critical for putting the world on a path to limiting warming by 1.5°C.
Signatories of the Coalition include:
Other partners in the effort include the Climate Group, which convenes subnational governments for climate action through the Under2 Coalition, and the UC Berkeley Center for Law, Energy, and Environment, which will work with state agencies and Initiative members to create action plans, track progress, organize regular peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and share best practices.
Research shows that lowering methane emissions can prevent up to 0.3°C of warming by 2050. While over 150 countries have agreed to collectively reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030 through the Global Methane Pledge of 2021, meeting this target will require significant efforts from subnational jurisdictions.
Welcome to Healthy Soils Week 2023! We kick off the week with a video featuring CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. This year’s theme is “Common Ground: Soil Supports Us All!”
Throughout the week, CDFA will join key stakeholders to highlight various trainings and events focused on soil health.
Please visit the CDFA’s Healthy Soils Week 2023 page for more information about each of the week’s events.
Some of the Highlights
Visit the Healthy Soils Week 2023 webpage to learn more.
Collaborative Project in Sacramento Valley increased outreach, regional cooperation
Note — CDFA will join partners from around California to observe Healthy Soils Week, Dec 4 – 8.
By Linda J. Forbes
Director of Strategic Communications, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
In 2020, agencies and experts in Colusa County came together for a project evaluating winter cover crops (planted in the fall and terminated in late winter or early spring) in annual crop rotations. This project had a large outreach component and various cover crops were planted each year to demonstrate how well they grew in the region.
During the three-year project, the team has significantly increased soil health outreach in the middle Sacramento Valley region and built a strong regional collaboration that continues for other projects. The research findings will be published upon completion of analysis.
Funded by CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program, the collaboration involved measuring changes in soil health between two cover crop treatments and a fallow control and led to innovation in outreach methods to make healthy soil practices more accessible.
Promoting soil health during a pandemic was a major challenge for the project team, comprising Sarah Light, UC Cooperative Extension agronomy farm advisor; Liz Harper, executive director of the Colusa County Resource Conservation District; Davis Ranch; Richter Ag; and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).
Unable to conduct in-person field days or workshops, Light and Harper created a YouTube channel called “The Soil Health Connection” and produced 29 episodes in English and five in Spanish. These episodes featured soil health experts from around the state. In addition, field demonstrations were recorded including soil sampling demonstrations, a cover crop field tour, and soil health field assessments following NRCS protocols.
“The collaboration was effective not only in sharing information on how to manage cover crops, but also allowed us to continue to extend knowledge and do outreach during COVID, when regular in-person programming was not available,” Light said.
Interviewees included researchers, farmers, ranchers, industry representatives, technical assistance providers and natural resource conservation agency representatives. The YouTube channel has over 200 subscribers and won the 2021 Conservation Education Award from the California-Nevada Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.
NRCS collaborated on six of the episodes and featured them in their statewide Soil Health newsletter. Participants included Resource Soil Scientist Jacqueline Vega-Pérez, Regional Soil Health Specialist Kabir Zahangir, California Plant Material Director Margaret Smither-Kopperl, Colusa County Soil Conservationist Brandi Murphy, California State Conservationist Carlos Suarez, and USDA Research Soil Scientist Claire Phillips.
Other innovations included hosting a virtual field day with continuing education credits and two drive-by, in-person field tours. The project itself was innovative in terms of conducting virtual and in-person outreach in Colusa County.
“We were one of the first in the region to organize virtual soil health events and because of our strong project team were able to quickly pivot to comply with state and local regulations during the pandemic,” Light said.
