This summer, CDFA is asking farmers what this drought means for their farms, their families, and their ongoing efforts to reduce water use and improve efficiency. Almond and walnut grower Manpreet Sandhu of Sandhu Farms in Corning (Tehama County) is a grant recipient from CDFA’s State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP).

What does this drought mean to you, and what are you doing to adapt? 

“We’re still weathering the storm. We’re not sure which direction we’re going. Everyone in the farming community is struggling right now. Their product is cheaper and not selling for the right price. The best advice is to save. The fewer expenses you have, and the less water you need to use will directly connect with your energy usage. If you’re applying water in the right places, you’re not watering weeds. Once you start looking at it from a savings perspective, you’ll start asking, ‘What options do I have?’ The simplest option is to install irrometers (soil moisture sensors) and use them to strategically water. If you want to take those measures a step further, you’ll want to look at pressure chambers, which manage water use for specific areas. You can water those small areas and not have to over-water the entire area.” 

NOTE: These water savings measures were made possible through a SWEEP grant. 

What would your advice to others be for reducing water use and improving efficiency? 

“These SWEEP operations which I am doing, I personally feel, drought or no drought, everybody should be doing it like this. If it’s not a very wet winter, we should look at how we can resupply groundwater with surface water, so that groundwater levels at least come up. Otherwise, it’s a one-way street if groundwater levels keep going down. We should have certain incentives to put more water back into the soil. The way I see it is that rainwater, specifically in the wintertime – we should harvest that.” 

Upcoming California Farm Bill Listening Sessions

August 10, 2022 – 9:00-11:00 am (Virtual)

Virtual Listening Session (Registration Required)

 Register for the event on Zoom

August 16, 2022 – 12:00-2:00pm (San Diego) — NOTE — This listening session has been postponed to a time TBD.

(In-Person and Virtual Event)

Neighborhood House Association
5660 Copley Dr.
San Diego, CA 92111

 Register for the event on Zoom

August 23, 2022 – 12:00-2:00pm (Fresno)

Fresno County Farm Bureau
1274 W. Hedges Ave
Fresno, CA 93728

September 7, 2022: 9:00-11:00am (Richmond)

Urban Tilth North Richmond Farm
323 Brookside Dr.
Richmond, CA 94801

Public Comments may be submitted in writing to: farmbill@cdfa.ca.gov.

Farm Bill programs support farm competitiveness, help to revitalize rural communities, ensure affordable and healthy food to those who need it most, and promote conservation and environmental stewardship on working lands.

Learn more on CDFA’s Farm Bill page

During this National Farmers Market Week (August 7-13, 2022), CDFA encourages all Californians to visit their local Certified Farmers Markets. Farmers markets help rural and urban communities connect while creating more equitable economic opportunities. They’re a great opportunity to build relationships with local farmers.

View the video below for a message from CDFA Secretary Karen Ross about the benefits of farmers markets.

Hank Giclas, who tirelessly served the produce industry for 30 years at Western Growers, has passed away. CDFA Secretary Karen Ross remembers Giclas with deep appreciation:

“Hank was a very special kind of leader – one of the quiet ones, willing to toil behind the scenes doing the heavy lifting of bridging science, technical expertise, and policy objectives to bring people together with a focus on practical implementation for successful outcomes. 

“I worked with Hank for more than two decades in the Sacramento world of advocacy. He and I were part of a number of collaborative efforts that led to the establishment of the California Roundtable on Agriculture and Environment, and the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops. 

“Hank’s dedication to growers, passion for the produce sector, and commitment to science was instrumental in the creation of the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement to implement and verify the highest standards of food safety to protect public health and prevent potential sources of contamination in California-grown leafy-greens. 

“I was fortunate to know and work with Hank and join his many friends in agriculture who mourn his loss.  My condolences to his family and his colleagues at Western Growers.”

Link to statement by Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia

Scientists from CDFA’s Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis (OPCA) have been recognized by the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) for co-authoring a paper recently published in the Journal of Economic Entomology. 

The paper, titled Balancing Bees and Pest Management: Projected Costs of Proposed Bee-Protective Neonicotinoid Regulation in California, received the award for “Outstanding Published Paper Which Significantly Contributed to Transdisciplinary Work of Specialty Crops Industries,” and was presented to OPCA scientists as well as researchers with University of California (UC) Cooperative Extension and the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

There has been a recent effort from state and national governments to regulate neonicotinoids — a critical crop protection tool for many pests.  Without mitigation measures, they can be harmful to managed pollinators, including bees.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) began crafting regulations in 2018 to mitigate neonicotinoid dangers to managed pollinators. OPCA’s consultative services were used to outline potential regulatory impacts on production agriculture. As a result, three papers were written estimating potential economic impacts on California farmers for mitigating neonicotinoid risk. Those findings were then incorporated as CDPR began finalizing the regulations. The second of the three papers on neonicotinoids received the award. 

CDFA’s State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) provides financial assistance in the form of grants to implement irrigation systems that allow California farmers and ranchers to reduce greenhouse gases and save water.

In this video we see how University of California Cooperative Extension staff members provide specialized and impactful technical assistance to Asian-American farmers in the Central Valley, made possible by the funding allocated to SWEEP.

The SWEEP program has invested $123 million over the last eight years, leading to an estimated water savings of 1.5 million acre-feet, or nearly 50 billion gallons. Additionally, nearly 94,000 metric tons of CO2-equivalent are reduced each year, which is like removing more than 200,000 vehicles from the road.

Learn more about SWEEP at this link.

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

The first cohort of the Sonoma County Winegrape Growers Foundation Leadership Academy for Vineyard Employees has graduated! I spoke to this group at their first get-together several months ago, and their final installment for this innovative program was a visit to CDFA headquarters in Sacramento, so we were honored to be the “bookends” for them. I thoroughly enjoyed a chance to sit down with them and hear each one of their stories and what the program meant to them.

This first class of graduates is comprised of 15 local vineyard employees, each nominated by their employer. The goal of this first-of-its-kind program is to create future community and business leaders. The Academy class attended eight half-day sessions and two field trips, all focused on advancing skills and empowering vineyard employees to seek leadership roles within their organization or in the community. The program goes beyond farming to advance communication skills, financial literacy, and business knowledge.

It was so inspiring and touching to listen to these employees’ experiences in the program, and about how much they love agriculture and working in the vineyards. A common thread was how important it is to be treated with respect by their employers. They all have more than ten years working in the vineyards of Sonoma County, many of them with the same employer. A number of them started in harvesting and progressed to more responsibility with specialties like irrigation and operating tractors, and some are now supervisors.  

They also shared stories and spoke about their children as the reason they work so hard, and that is something I hear so often as I speak with California’s agricultural workers. One class member expressed such gratitude for being invited to CDFA, and it really made me remember and appreciate just how fortunate we are to be considered “leaders” and to do that work for California’s agriculture industry. It really is something special and I am excited to support these new leaders! 

For the growers out there who nominated these dedicated employees, you’ve done something meaningful by participating in this program and empowering your very best to become even better. And for the graduates, I hope you embrace your newfound leadership skills. Your farms, your industry and your state will be better for it!

The Leadership Academy will be held annually and will soon be taking nominations for the 2023 Class.

From a USDA news release

Today, during a visit to the Yolo County Food Bank in Woodland, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has signed a cooperative agreement with California under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA).

The LFPA is a program authorized through the President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which invested $400 million to make food more affordable for more Americans and help stabilize agricultural supply chains, with $43 million coming to California. Through LFPA, the California Department of Social Services will seek to purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers.

“Providing access to new markets for more producers and helping more Americans experiencing food insecurity is going to take new partnerships, new innovations, and new ways of thinking – and the best solutions can often be local,” said Secretary Vilsack. “This program provides tribes, states, and U.S. territories the ability to work in new and creative ways with their local partners, establishing connections between their producers and underserved communities. The food purchases made through LFPA will provide consistent access to locally and regionally sourced food, helping provide economic stability for farmers, producers and families, and improve health outcomes through nutrition and increased food security.”

The Department of Social Services will partner with CDFA, the California Department of Public Health, and the California Association of Food Banks to purchase food from local and underserved farmers throughout the state

“Through this innovative program, California will be able to support local and underserved farmers while expanding access to farm-fresh foods for families in need,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “We look forward to working with federal, state and local partners to strengthen the state’s food systems and support communities across California.”

Note: Secretary Ross spoke at today’s event.