By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

On the second day of New Zealand’s 2035 Oceania Summit, I had an opportunity to meet with Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor to discuss the aligned values of California and New Zealand on climate change. This bilateral dialogue led to a signing of a Letter of Intent to lower emissions, expand market opportunities, and further climate resilience in agriculture through research, innovation, agricultural technologies, and nature-based solutions. This builds very positively on a memorandum of understanding signed by Governor Newsom and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in May.

Minister O’Connor and I agree on many things, including the fundamental understanding that we cannot have healthy farms without healthy ecosystems.

We signed the letter as New Zealand announced a pilot project for agricultural emissions pricing, which will make the country the first in the world to establish a financial system to mitigate emissions from livestock.

Other significant topics at the Summit included a discussion with Dr. Moses Amos (Vanuatu’s Minister of Agriculture) and Ms. Temarama Anguna-Kamana (Cook Islands’ Secretary of Agriculture) about the climate impact to Pacific island nations – from sea level rise and ocean acidification to more severe droughts, cyclones and floods. The Pacific island countries have done little to contribute to climate change but face the most dire consequences. The message was clear: “Provide us the opportunity to introduce agri-tech, so we leave no one behind.”

I had the pleasure of being one of the closing speakers for the Oceania Summit and shared the urgency of our need to collaborate on climate, water availability, food security, and energy. Challenges create opportunities, and California’s reality with a hotter, drier climate is a call to action for farmers, academia and governments.

I look forward to the week ahead as our delegation shares information and learns from growers in New Zealand, as we continue to work together to help foster and further innovate a climate-smart, resilient and regenerative food system.

Secretary Ross is in New Zealand this week for an exchange on climate change adaptation. Joining her in the delegation are representatives from agriculture and academia. This mission will serve as an educational program to help secure the long-term competitiveness of California specialty crops and enhance the competitiveness of the industry through more sustainable, diverse and resilient specialty crop systems.

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

With themes of collaboration, innovation, and local solutions, the 2035 Oceania Summit in Auckland, New Zealand opened with a traditional Māori Pōhwiri (welcoming), including an emphasis on the wisdom of sharing traditional Baskets of Knowledge from yesterday and today, in order to create new baskets to assist mankind in the future.

The day’s message was clear – climate change is stressing planetary boundaries and requiring action by the global population working in agriculture. To avoid the impact of global warming above 1.5°C, global carbon emissions must fall by 77 percent by 2030. The time for action is now and agriculture must have a roadmap to net-zero emissions from food production.

Day One of the conference focused on scientific advances in the research community, carbon farming, and empowering farmers to adapt to new ways of sustainable agricultural production – through technology, on-farm practices, and associated industry opportunities for reducing emissions. California’s Healthy Soils Program was highlighted as a model of leadership for the role of governments as facilitators for climate action.

The conference, which has more than 400 attendees from the Pacific region, is highlighting the lessons and knowledge necessary for local solutions to lessen global climate impact. California’s participation and engagement in the conference is helping to build bridges on climate action and serve as a foundation to connect New Zealand and California farmers, academia and governments to help achieve net-zero emissions.

Secretary Ross is in New Zealand this week for an exchange on climate change adaptation. Joining her in the delegation are representatives from agriculture and academia. This mission will serve as an educational program to help secure the long-term competitiveness of California specialty crops and enhance the competitiveness of the industry through more sustainable, diverse and resilient specialty crop systems.

The California Underserved and Small Producers Grant Program (CUSP) was created through the 2021-2022 Budget Act and facilitates direct assistance to individual small and mid-scale and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers who are facing challenges related to the current drought.

The program supports community based organizations, Resource Conservation Districts, Tribal governments and the UCANR small farm advisor network to provide direct technical assistance support and relief grants to small-scale socially disadvantaged producers.

In this video, we meet a Central Valley farmer who faces challenges related to the drought and we see the work undertaken by a network of local technical assistance providers to get the farmer the help she needs.

https://youtu.be/78Thbkv0TcE

The current application period for the CUSP program closes on October 31. The Asian Business Institute and Resource Center is the organization administering funds in this application period. To apply, please visit their website at http://fresnoabirc.org or call them at: (559) 402-0067

For more info on the CUSP program and to learn about future application periods, please visit www.cdfa.ca.gov/CUSP/

By Ian Le May, president, California Fresh Fruit Association

It’s easy to ignore system update notifications on our phones. With all of the pressures on growers today—drought, regulations, port closures, supply chains to name a few—the issue of upgrading technology to improve agricultural labor and output is put off as easily as delaying updates to newer versions of iOS. However, current conditions have growers stressed to the point where a little mechanization or automation can make the difference between staying in business and fallowing the family farm.

AgTech has the potential to deliver those savings and increase flexibility. However, farmers throughout the Golden State need to take a more proactive approach to cultivate growth for our individual laborers and update the agricultural system to ensure California’s agricultural longevity and economic well-being.

The recent investment of $65.1 million by the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge to build the F3 – Fresno-Merced Future of Food initiative will put into practice the foundational transition principles to upskill our region’s agricultural workforce and build new agrifood technologies that will expand opportunities for ag-skilled laborers and farms of all sizes. Growers and employees will want to work with researchers and industry to elevate AgTech implementation and innovation.

Humans are irreplaceable

The agricultural industry lacks consistent language that acknowledges the skills of the people who work in our fields, orchards, and ranches. The term “farmworker” does not adequately convey the incredible expertise of those who work in food production, processing and packing and who are correspondingly responsible for ensuring grocery stores remain stocked with the produce we take for granted.

AgTech offers our industry an opportunity to move beyond our outdated operating system and upgrade our human-computer interactions to provide safe, flexible, and environment-specific hardware (machinery to support) and software (systems to support) to a skilled workforce, our employees, that connects, decides, and uses their own unique skills and experiences to expedite production.

Agriculture has made advances in processing and packing to improve efficiency, but in the field, more could be done to use the three human components that have been irreplaceable: the mind, eye, and hand.

There are several areas ripe for assisting employees, and they are the most labor intensive and hardest to replace: blossom thinning, pruning and small fruit removals. Research at the University of California, Merced’s AgAID Institute funded by USDA is using the agricultural knowledge of tree-trimming laborers to inform artificial intelligence models and eventually the robotic systems to cut the right stems for optimal growth. These small-scale, singular interventions can make a tedious, costly pass through a field more efficient.

Yes, some positions will be lost. Those tasks—not the people—will be replaced through humans in-the-loop approach to AI, where people help computers make decisions. AgTech jobs reduce the most painful and dangerous activities, and tech can do things humans just cannot, like augmented computer vision that looks for diseases in fruits. But picking ripe fruit and gentle handling in a basket needs people.

AgTech offers our industry an opportunity to diversify our workforce and create lucrative career paths for thousands of students with degrees in computer science and engineering or cognitive and information sciences. Thanks to recent investments by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, UC Merced is working with regional partners and community colleges to build the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation Initiative that will create new career pathways in the digital transformation of agriculture.

The future of ag is in AgTech

AgTech is about promoting safety, efficiency, and health for our farms and our employees.

Instead of crop dusters, drone pilots can track and support plant health. Instead of hauling fruits down an aisle, robots can carry heavy loads to the truck. Instead of trimming vines, human-in-the-loop AI systems can support accurate and precise pruning cuts.

Hands-on fieldwork in the agriculture industry is not going anywhere, but it is due for an upgrade to make the whole industry operate with more efficiency and to support the state’s growing economy, specifically in these two key areas of farm labor and AgTech.

Read more on the Agri-Pulse web site

CDFA invites all Californians to join in celebrating October as National Farm to School Month.

Supported by the National Farm to School Network, this is a month for thousands of schools, early care education sites, farms, communities, and organizations across the country to celebrate food education, school gardens, and lunch trays filled with healthy, local ingredients.

It’s also a time for the CDFA Farm to School Program to celebrate grantees of the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program. Through the support of Governor Newsom and the California Legislature, $8.5 million in grant funding was awarded to 60 farm to school projects across the state in 2021. This funding is supporting local and regional farm to school projects that promote nutrition education, sustainable food production and procurement, and high-quality student experiences. Stay tuned for CDFA announcements coming soon about grantees in the 2022 California Fam to School Incubator Grant Program that will support projects that cultivate equity, nurture students, build climate resilience, and create scalable and sustainable change.

California is a leader in farm to school efforts as First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and CDFA Secretary Karen Ross convened the Farm to School Interagency Working Group and Advisory Committee to establish an equitable, resilient and scalable California farm to school movement. These groups’ efforts led to the release earlier this year of “Planting the Seed: Farm to School Roadmap for Success.” The roadmap offers tips to connect children to locally sourced whole foods in the cafeteria, classroom and garden, and it also provides critical resources to cultivate healthier, climate-smart, and more equitable communities.

“CDFA is proud to be one of the many statewide partners supporting farm to school efforts to connect students from every background with healthy, locally grown food to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables,” said Secretary Ross. “This leads to enhanced academic achievement, a lifelong relationship with nutritious food, and a connection to California’s many farmers and ranchers.”

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross welcomed Western Cape of South Africa agricultural minister Ivan Meyer today during his visit to California. Minister Meyer’s trip is dedicated to strengthen the existing collaboration between California and the Western Cape, and to further a recently-signed Memorandum of Understanding on climate concerns.

California and the Western Cape have committed to expanding exchanges of information as well as on-farm practices and technologies to support a robust and climate resilient agricultural sector. Additionally, the partners have committed to work collaboratively to further international engagement by sub-national governments on climate smart agricultural initiatives, with an emphasis on Mediterranean governmental entities.

CDFA deputy secretary Kevin Masuhara was recognized this week for his years of service to agriculture with the James A. Graham Award from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). The award is given annually for outstanding work by state employees providing service to farmers and ranchers.

Masuhara is Deputy Secretary for Administration and Finance at CDFA, serving the people of California and all of agriculture through leadership development, process improvement, emergency preparedness, and equity advancement. In addition, he serves as Chief Operating Officer for the department overseeing an organizational structure of more than 1,700 employees located throughout California.

Masuhara’s past assignments at CDFA have included management positions involved with dairy pricing policy, oversight of agricultural commodity board activity, pest detection and exclusion programs, and liaison to California’s 58 counties carrying out regulatory programs at the local level.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross: “Congratulations to Kevin for this richly-deserved recognition. I wish to express my gratitude for his professionalism, dedication and leadership. He is a trusted confidant and role model for the Department as he has helped us adapt to changing times and kept us on point as we continue to serve agriculture and the people of California, most notably through his commitment to equity and making sure it’s the way we do business.”

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) joins the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in recognizing today as the third annual International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.

In a world where the number of people affected by hunger is rising and tons of edible food are lost and/or wasted every day, curbing food loss and waste is essential. Food loss and waste puts unnecessary pressure on the environment, resulting in natural resource depletion and greenhouse gas emissions.

CDFA’s commitment to helping Californians reduce food loss and waste includes the CDFA Commercial Feed Regulatory Program promoting human food byproduct diversion to create animal feed; the CDFA Rendering Program promoting the process of breaking down animal byproducts for industrial uses; the CDFA Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation promoting compost through the Alternative Manure Management Program and Healthy Soils Program; and the CDFA Office of Farm to Fork increasing food access points.

Visit the FAO website for additional resources and publications about the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.

Visit the CDFA Food Recovery website to watch an Understanding Food Recovery and Food Upcycling video that relays how CDFA is involved in food recovery, as well as how all Californians can join the effort:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMAw7gR0L6s

(*Figures mentioned in this video may have changed since the video was created in 2020. Please reference the cited sources for accuracy.)

As drought and climate change continue to pose challenges for farmers and ranchers in the Central Valley and all of California, a family farm in Oakdale, Stanislaus County, may offer a window to the future with a water-efficient cactus farm. Meet Darlene Ruiz and her father, Salvador Ruiz, a former farmworker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB7YA_pXTz4

Video in Spanish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT1QLa3WNHw

CDFA’s Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program–referenced in the video–funds energy efficient refrigeration units in corner stores, small businesses, and food donation programs to stock California-grown fresh produce, nuts, dairy, meat, eggs, minimally-processed foods, and culturally appropriate foods.

The Ruiz cactus farm is an example of the essential contributions made by Latinos in California, as well as the type of water-efficient farming that fits California’s hotter, drier climate.