From a USDA news release

In response to the severe drought conditions in the West and Great Plains, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced plans to help cover the cost of transporting feed for livestock that rely on grazing. USDA is updating the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP) to immediately cover feed transportation costs for drought impacted ranchers. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will provide more details and tools to help ranchers get ready to apply at their local USDA Service Center later this month at fsa.usda.gov/elap.

ELAP provides financial assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish for losses due to disease, certain adverse weather events or loss conditions as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.

ELAP already covers the cost of hauling water during drought, and this change will expand the program beginning in 2021 to cover feed transportation costs where grazing and hay resources have been depleted. This includes places where:

• Drought intensity is D2 for eight consecutive weeks as indicated by the U.S. Drought Monitor;
• Drought intensity is D3 or greater; or
• USDA has determined a shortage of local or regional feed availability.

Cost share assistance will also be made available to cover eligible cost of treating hay or feed to prevent the spread of invasive pests like fire ants.

Under the revised policy for feed transportation cost assistance, eligible ranchers will be reimbursed 60% of feed transportation costs above what would have been incurred in a normal year. Producers qualifying as underserved (socially disadvantaged, limited resource, beginning or military veteran) will be reimbursed for 90% of the feed transportation cost above what would have been incurred in a normal year.

A national cost formula, as established by USDA, will be used to determine reimbursement costs, but will not include the first 25 miles and distances exceeding 1,000 transportation miles. The calculation will also exclude normal costs to transport hay or feed. For 2021, the initial cost formula of $6.60 per mile will be used (before the percentage is applied), but may be adjusted on a state or regional basis.

To be eligible for ELAP assistance, livestock must be intended for grazing and producers must have incurred feed transportation costs on or after Jan. 1, 2021. Although producers will self-certify losses and expenses to FSA, producers are encouraged to maintain good records and retain receipts and related documentation in the event these documents are requested for review by the local FSA County Committee. The deadline to file an application for payment for the 2021 program year is Jan. 31, 2022.

From a USDA news release

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that $700 million in competitive grant funding will be available through the new Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) grant program to help farmworkers and meatpacking workers with pandemic-related health and safety costs.

The program will provide relief to farmworkers, meatpacking workers, and front-line grocery workers for expenses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This relief is intended to defray costs for reasonable and necessary personal, family, or living expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as costs for personal protective equipment (PPE), dependent care, and expenses associated with quarantines and testing related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funds will be awarded through grants to state agencies, tribal entities, and non-profit organizations serving farmworkers and meatpacking workers. The USDA is setting aside $20 million for at least one pilot to provide targeted support to front-line grocery workers. Eligible entities must demonstrate the capacity to reimburse farmworkers and meatpacking workers for up to $600 for expenses incurred due to the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The grant program requires applicants to show connectedness to hard-to-reach worker populations either directly or in partnerships with other local organizations. Applicants should be able to describe how they will partner with smaller organizations to facilitate financial relief to such populations.

The Request for Application (RFA) will be announced in early Fall and will be open for 60 days. Additional information, including technical assistance for applying for these grants, will be provided by USDA when the application period opens.

For more information about upcoming webinars, grant eligibility, and program requirements, visit the FFWR webpage at www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/ffwr, or contact the USDA at ffwr@usda.gov.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Center for Analytical Chemistry (CAC) is assembling a CoResponse team to handle urgent analytical testing requests that may arise due to emergencies, including wildfires.

CoResponse’s first task is setting up instruments and validating the smoke-taint method in preparation for the possibility that assistance is requested by the wine grape industry and commercial labs to test grapes for the presence of smoke from wildfires, as was requested of the CAC last year. In 2020, the CAC analyzed 148 wine grape samples for the presence of seven smoke-taint compounds between October 1 and December 1.

The CAC’s CoResponse team is composed of scientists with diverse backgrounds and expertise representing all CAC programs. They will work on multiple instrument platforms to be able to respond to any analytical emergencies that might arise.

CDFA’s Center for Analytical Chemistry is a branch of the Inspection Services Division.

The USDA is hosting an online workshop on September 13 for prospective applicants for cooperative agreements to support historically underserved farmers and ranchers with climate-smart agriculture and forestry.

The Racial Justice and Equity Conservation Cooperative Agreements are available to entities and individuals for two-year projects that expand the delivery of conservation assistance to farmers who are beginning, have limited resources, are socially disadvantaged, or are veterans.

Eligible projects include:

• Improvement of soil health;
• Improvement of water quality;
• Providing habitat for local wildlife species of concern;
• Improvement of the environmental and economic performance of working agricultural land; and
• Building and strengthening local food projects that provide healthy food and economic opportunities.

Projects should remove barriers to access and reach historically underserved groups through a combination of program outreach and technical assistance in managing natural resources that address one or more of the following four Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) priority areas:

• Addressing local natural resource issues;
• Using climate-smart agriculture practices and principles;
• Encouraging existing and new partnerships; and
• Developing state and community-led conservation leadership for historically underserved agricultural producers, including educating and training students for careers in natural resources management.

Who Is Eligible

Entities and individuals who provide outreach assistance to historically underserved groups are eligible, including:

• Native American tribal governments and organizations
• Nonprofit organizations
• Private and public institutions of higher education
• Individuals

How to Apply

Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on October 25, 2021. See the grants.gov announcement for details and application instructions.

Online Workshop

The workshop for prospective applicants will be held on September 13, 2021 from 11 am to 1 pm (PST). Interested parties are asked to join the workshop via Microsoft Teams.

Questions may be addressed to christine.chavez2@usda.gov or victor.hernandez@usda.gov

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

Today is California Biodiversity Day, and CDFA is pleased and proud to recognize this day along with the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other government agencies and partners that spend every day working hard to restore, to preserve and enhance California’s biodiversity.

Our state is a biodiversity hotspot — we have 1,500 species that are only found here in California, the most of any other state; we have a fabulous Mediterranean climate, one of only five in the world; we have the highest point and the lowest point in the continental US; and we have multiple microclimates that contribute to our biodiversity.

Biodiversity is the foundation for healthy, thriving agricultural production system. Our farmers are right there on the edge of natural working landscapes, food security, and interacting with our natural environment, and it all starts with soil. We sometimes forget that a quarter of diverse species are under our feet… in soil. One handful of soil contains more microorganisms then all the people on the globe. That’s pretty remarkable!

Our farmers take care of that soil with a number of different practices. They are always looking to sequester organisms that will give them longer-term productivity by storing carbon in the soils, and that increases water holding capacities, stops erosion, and helps to preserve biodiversity. It also improves the resiliency of our plants and helps us fight climate change.

I’m really pleased that CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program is a key part of the state’s biodiversity initiative across agencies. We have been able to invest more than $40 million in incentive grants to our farmers to use compost to sequester carbon and plant cover crops, hedge rows, riparian habitat and pollinator habitat, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building up our productivity and sustainability.

Here are a couple of specific examples, out of many — almond growers have put in hundreds and hundreds of acres of pollinator habitat, and rice growers have spent the last two decades making their rice fields a winter home to a multitude of species along the Pacific Flyway.

In closing I would like to reiterate that biodiversity is essential in California. It makes our state a special and unique place, and I call on all of us to share a commitment to preserve it, restore it and enhance it. Let’s celebrate our biodiversity today and every day!

This video was shot at Davis Ranch in Sloughhouse, Sacramento County.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fCQEsZprrg

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

Last week it was my pleasure to participate in an event at Reedley College called AgTechX.  It was co-sponsored by Western Growers, which earlier this year announced an exciting new collaboration—the Global Harvest Automation Initiative–aiming to automate 50 percent of ag harvests within 10 years.

The technologies that were discussed during the AgTechX session were a diverse set of innovations to lead us into the future – from the collection of data for making better decisions, to easing work in the field for highly perishable specialty crops. And they also included robotics!

At the meeting, Western Growers CEO Dave Puglia introduced a new Agtech career development pipeline in partnership with community colleges like Reedley as well as the University of California and California State University systems. It is critical that we invest NOW in training our current workforce in ag tech and specialized certifications for everything from food safety to water conservation practices. We have the potential to create career ladders for farmworkers and attract the next generation to agricultural careers, so a highly skilled workforce is available as new technologies are implemented. Bottom line:  No one should be left behind as we transition to the food and agriculture climate-smart economy!

California’s community college system plays a crucial role in making opportunities available for all. It was an honor to spend time with Reedley College President Dr. Jerry Buckley and discuss the amazing programs offered by a college in the center of the country’s most productive agricultural region!

As inspired as I was by my time at Reedley College, I spent the following day with McFarland Unified School District Superintendent S. Aaron Resendez and Assistant Superintendent Ambelina Garcia Duran and their passionate team members.  What I saw surpassed my expectations and left me very enthusiastic about the future and the youth who will be leading it!

We have heard from a number of Silicon Valley veterans that the second language of our future is – coding!  I saw that at work in McFarland, starting at Browning Road STEAM Academy (science, technology, engineering, agriculture, math).  Of course, I can’t visit a grade school without meeting a few of the youngest students being introduced to agriculture – kindergartners planting pumpkins, making the connection to where food comes from, and also learning about seed spacing and growth!

When I met with some 4^th, 5^th and 6^th graders I watched them coding and utilizing 3D printers!  And one of the students presented me with a prosthetic hand the class produced with a 3D printer! The students have utilized this technology to make a prosthetic arm for a local child in need.  Talk about inspirational! 

I also visited McFarland’s middle school and high school and found equally inspiring and compelling stories about how dedicated, visionary administrators and teachers, working with the hardworking families of the community, have identified pathways for a better future for their children.  One pathway is a partnership with Bakersfield City College featuring multiple opportunities for early college credits and career readiness.   

My trip left me excited and optimistic about our future!  The possibilities of new technologies, the energy and innovation of our youth, and the collaboration of our private sector with educators are the essential ingredients for a healthy, vibrant agricultural sector that will make California a better place to live because of what we grow and how we grow it.  The work I saw in Reedley and McFarland makes me confident that California agriculture can create the solutions to our many challenges and will seize the opportunities before us.  

Today, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross met with Governor-Elect of Baja Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda to discuss agricultural cooperation, workforce development, climate smart agriculture, and technical assistance. California and Baja share many agricultural characteristics and opportunities for collaboration. The Governor-Elect is the first woman popularly elected as Governor in Baja California.

A total of five California horses have tested positive in recent weeks for West Nile Virus, all in the Central Valley. One of the horses is deceased, and only one had been vaccinated.

Horse owners are encouraged to have their animals vaccinated to make sure they are maximizing protection against the disease. And once vaccinations occur, horse owners should be checking regularly with their veterinarians to make sure they stay current.

Californians can also do their part to prevent the disease by managing mosquitoes that carry West Nile Virus. Here are some tips:

• Draining unnecessary standing water found in wheelbarrows, tires, etc.
• Cleaning water containers at least weekly (i.e., bird baths, plant saucers)
• Scheduling pasture irrigation to minimize standing water
• Keeping swimming pools optimally chlorinated and draining water from pool covers
• Stocking of water tanks with fish that consume mosquito larvae (Contact local mosquito control for assistance) or use mosquito “dunk” available at hardware stores.

It’s important to remember that mosquitoes become infected with the virus when they feed on infected birds. Mosquitoes then spread the virus to horses.  Horses are a dead-end host and do not spread the virus to other horses or humans. For more information on West Nile Virus, please visit this link.

https://youtu.be/x5d6ycq_zos