National Apple Day falls in the midst of peak season for Northern California’s Apple Hill. Check out this video to see what’s happening there.

https://youtu.be/73-gongcWOA

By Dale Yurong

The future workforce on Valley farms will include more robots to plant, pick and weed.

The FIRA conference at the Fresno Convention Center features creations like The Amiga by Farm-ng, which offers different applications from towing to seeding.

“It’s really interesting when we bring this to a farmer and they say, ‘Oh, that’s so practical and they just start thinking of all these ideas like this compost spreader,” says CEO Ethan Rublee. “A farmer saw our base platform and said, ‘I want to spread compost with a machine.'”

What happens downtown could have a big impact on the direction the ag industry takes when it comes to automation.

Companies, scientists and visitors from 26 countries are here.

Weeding robots have drawn attention from farmers dealing with labor shortages.

“We’re really glad to see the weeding progress because we feel like that’s the first place the dam’s going to break open,” says Western Growers VP of Innovation Walt Duflock. “That’s the first place the market’s going to say okay, we can really do this at scale.”

Harvest automation has come a long way. Two companies have developed robots, which are picking apples in Washington

“There are two different ways,” says Jeff Cleveringa with the Starr Ranch Group. “One is using a small suction to grab the apple, then spin it and take it back, and then the other is a finger system, so they actually grab the apple and take it back.”

The sight of robots on the farm might worry workers who fear for their job, but Hernan Hernandez of the California Farmworker Foundation says that shouldn’t be the case.

“All of a sudden, you go from 100 individuals that are going to be able to harvest this season to now 10 that will harvest with a machine,” he said. “But the way we look at it is as well, when we talk to farmworkers and engage them, and we look at data, there is also opportunity. We know a lot of the farmworkers want opportunities to further their skill sets.”

The demonstrations will include 16 robots in all.

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During National Farm to School Month, CDFA continues to recognize and thank partners across California helping to improve the wellbeing of students through food-based education and equitable access to healthy food. One such partner is the McFarland Unified School District in Kern County, which is a grantee of the CDFA Farm to School Incubator Grant Program.

In 2021, the school district received funding to provide a healthy food curriculum to all students, exploring where their food comes from and how to make healthy choices. The funding also will help high school Ag Farm students learn how to produce and process almonds through an 80-acre Crop Science Field lab.

The school district is providing field instruction through a strong partnership with the McFarland chapter of Future Farmers of America (FFA). This partnership was recently featured in the PBS series “American Grown: My Job Depends on Ag.” The video highlights how important FFA and ag programs are for helping students gain insight for careers in agriculture.

Click here to view American Grown: My Job Depends on Ag | McFFArland, USA, and see how agriculture in McFarland is shaping young lives and how their world contrasts against other FFA programs in the Valley.

About six miles south of Fresno, in the small town of Easton, California, Yeu Tchieng has tended to a farm since 2007, but he’s been farming for a total of more than 50 years – most of his life. Born and raised in the Southeast Asian country of Laos, he farmed the traditional way, which consisted of slashing and burning vegetation away in the forest to clear the ground for his crops. He used no farming technology in Laos and had no access to any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. 

Tchieng wanted to pursue a State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) grant in 2018 to be more efficient with his water use and to make his pump more energy efficient. He was also interested in soil moisture sensors, a flow meter, and a data logger to support improved irrigation water management and to measure the amount of water used each season. 

Tchieng, who grows Opo Squash, Chinese Eggplant, Luffa, Bitter Melon and Sunchoke, has divided his fields into two sections and waters each using the drip system made possible by his SWEEP grant. 

Adapting to Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices 

“Other farms should use the drip system if it becomes available to them to save water and electricity,” Tchieng said.  

The agricultural technology available in California is new to Tchieng but he’s adapted to using it to his advantage. 

Helping Farmers Become Drought Resilient 

While he’s seen more than a couple of dry periods in California, the current and ongoing drought has started taking its toll. 

“The drought worries me, but I have a drip system that is working great,” Tchieng said. “I really like how it helps me save time and have more control when I irrigate different sections of my field.” 

Tchieng said he’d like to see more assistance made available to small farmers, so they can apply for program grants like SWEEP and the Healthy Soils Program, and improve their farms, especially when it comes to water use.  

“The drought is very severe right now, and a lot of small farms use flood irrigation since they do not have the financial capability to install drip irrigation, nor the knowledge on how to use it,” he said. “If all small farmers were able to install drip irrigation with financial assistance from CDFA, the drought would not be solved but less water would be used versus flood and furrow irrigation.” 

Yeu also received a Healthy Soils grant for composting and planting cover crops, with the assistance of the University of California Cooperative Extension, Fresno Small Farms team. The program is improving soil health while also bolstering the biodiversity present in the soil on Tchieng’s farm. Like SWEEP, the Healthy Soils Program helps Yeu reduce greenhouse gas emissions on his farm.  

California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones was awarded the Medal of Distinction this month by the United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) for her achievements in safeguarding animal health in California and across the nation, and her contributions as an officer of the USAHA.

Dr. Jones has served as State Veterinarian and CDFA’s Director of Animal Health and Food Safety Services since 2004, and has worked on outbreaks of Virulent Newcastle Disease, Avian Flu, and many other threats to animal health. She has also overseen the implementation of Proposition 12 in California, has established the Antimicrobial Use and Stewardship Program, and has overseen new egg safety standards as well as dairy food safety.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross: “Dr. Jones has demonstrated national leadership building on her experiences here in California and her innate ability as a leader who cares deeply about the constituents we serve.  This is well-deserved recognition of her record of accomplishments and service.  Congratulations, Dr. Jones!”

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

My week in New Zealand touched on the similarities between our countries and the shared climate challenges related to agricultural production and sustainability, workforce development, and water. We met with growers who are staying on the cutting edge of sustainability by enhancing on-farm practices to meet growing consumer demand while adapting to the changing dynamics of workforce availability.

One of our meetings was with Ray Smith, Director General of the Ministry of Primary Industries, which includes agriculture. He spoke of the vision New Zealand has for a sustainable future, called Fit For a Better World – including productivity, sustainability and inclusivity; and that was reflected by what we saw on the farm. 

As always, I enjoyed visiting with Ag and Trade Minister Damien O’Connor. Although our trip was focused on our similar horticulture crops, at all levels of government people were eager to learn about California’s ambitious goals for methane emission reductions and the significant progress made to date in addition to the state’s investment in Climate Smart Agriculture practices. 

It was an honor to participate in  New Zealand’s “Oceana Summit 2035” with a emphasis on climate change, agri-tech and workforce development. The momentum will continue when we welcome international leaders and innovators to a June 2023 meeting called the Salinas Summit, organized by Western Growers to concentrate on agri-tech as well as advances in biological solutions and opportunities for partnerships.

New Zealand is focused on improving sustainable horticultural production through “A Lighter Touch” – bringing the horticultural, wine, and arable crop sectors together to meet growing consumer demand for foods produced through sustainable pest management practices. With approximately 92 percent of the New Zealand’s food production exported – the country is seeking to be in alignment with its export partners to ensure the long-term sustainability of agriculture.

Agriculture is a primary industry in New Zealand, and we see the country as an inspiring collaborator on issues like climate change, methane reduction, biologicals, and ag tech/automation.

I want to thank the California delegation that joined me in New Zealand — State Board President Don Cameron; State Bord Member and UC ANR Vice President Glenda Humiston; Environmental Farming Science Panel Chair Jeff Dlott; CA Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance executive director Allison Jordan: and, State Board executive director Josh Eddy. In addition to making contacts with many agri-tech leaders from New Zealand and Australia at the Oceania Summit, we enjoyed two days of farm tours and a full day of government meetings in Wellington, starting with a stop at the U.S. Embassy and a visit with Ambassador Tom Udall.

This is a spectacularly beautiful country with fabulous food and people. California and New Zealand share not only a diversity of agricultural production but also a commitment to overall sustainability. I look forward to a long-lasting partnership! 

CDFA California Farm to School Program staff joined California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and local officials to tour Hoover High School in San Diego Unified School District earlier this week to see farm to school in action during Farm to School Month.

The group toured the school’s garden and culinary academy where students cook freshly harvested produce.

“Access to community gardens and cooking classes are so important for developing life-long healthy eaters,” Siebel Newsom said. “And the skills developed in the school’s culinary academy will help build future culinary and hospitality careers.”

As part of the tour, CDFA staff facilitated a roundtable conversation with leaders from Sweetwater Union High School District, Community Health Improvement Partners and SGG Organic Farms.

San Diego Unified School District also is a grantee of CDFA’s 2021 California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program, utilizing funds to expand local procurement for school meals, hire a full-time Farm to School Program specialist, and more.

Governor’s Office News Release

Less than a year after Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order targeted at relieving supply chain congestion, the pandemic-induced backlog of cargo ships at the state’s ports is rapidly fading. With the focus turning to long-term supply chain improvements, the California State Transportation Agency today issued final guidelines and a call for projects for the unprecedented $1.2 billion in one-time state funding for port and freight infrastructure projects to build a more efficient, sustainable and resilient goods movement system.

“California’s ports are critical to exporting and importing goods both abroad and throughout the United States,” said Governor Newsom. “After decades of neglect, we are finally making the critical investments needed to modernize our ports – helping us to keep up with demand in a way that is environmentally sustainable and brings our distribution process into the 21st Century.”

Finalized in the state budget at the end of June, the port and freight infrastructure program aims to make long-term upgrades that will increase the capacity to move goods throughout the state while lessening environmental impacts on neighboring communities.

“Thanks to Governor Newsom’s leadership, California is investing in our nation-leading supply chain infrastructure like never before to support a cleaner and more dynamic goods movement system that will power our economy for decades,” CalSTA Secretary Toks Omishakin said. “I look forward to identifying priority projects as we look to maximize this historic one-time investment.”

Seventy percent of the program funding will go to projects that support goods movement through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – the busiest ports in the Western Hemisphere – and 30 percent will fund ports and goods movement infrastructure in the rest of the state.

The Port and Freight Infrastructure Program is a direct result of the executive order Governor Newsom issued last October that called on state agencies to develop longer term budget proposals that support port operations and goods movement. The program builds off the successful short-term actions by the state to address supply chain congestion.

Project applications are due January 13, 2023, and CalSTA expects to announce the funding awards in March 2023. For more information visit here.