Note — The 6th annual meeting of the Soil Health Institute was held last week.

Story by Lee Allen

Organizers called it “Enriching Soil, Enhancing Life,” because soil is a living, life-giving natural resource — one that needs to be respected in order for it to keep working properly.

“As world population and food production demands rise, keeping soil healthy and productive is of paramount importance,” according to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“By farming, in accordance with soil health principles and systems that include no-till, cover cropping and diverse rotations, more and more farmers are actually increasing their soil’s organic matter and improving microbial activity. As a result, farmers are sequestering more carbon, increasing water infiltration, improving wildlife and pollinator habitat—all while harvesting better profits and often better yields,” they report.

The Soil Health Institute, charged with safeguarding and enhancing the vitality and productivity of soils, and members of the agriculture industry held their 6th annual meeting (last) week by offering a variety of plenary sessions.

“We’re at a critical juncture in the fight against climate change,” according to the Institute’s CEO, Dr. Wayne Honeycutt, who said recent science behind soil health could empower implementation of practices that would not only benefit farmers livelihoods, but significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient runoff.”

Pretty much everyone agreed that health soils were the foundation for rejuvenating the land to mitigate the effects of climate change and help agriculture meet both environmental and production goals at scale.

Read more here

By Spencer Chase

The nation’s largest beef industry group says it wants to demonstrate the sector’s ability to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas production in less than 20 years.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association rolled out sustainability goals Thursday at the Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, where the group’s leaders underscored the importance of producer involvement in achieving the goals.

“We’ve got to be bold and audacious,” Marty Smith, the organization’s past president, said as he unveiled the goals Thursday. “If we’re going to do this, let’s do it and let’s hit it hard.”

The nation’s largest beef industry group says it wants to demonstrate the sector’s ability to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas production in less than 20 years.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association rolled out sustainability goals Thursday at the Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, where the group’s leaders underscored the importance of producer involvement in achieving the goals.

“We’ve got to be bold and audacious,” Marty Smith, the organization’s past president, said as he unveiled the goals Thursday. “If we’re going to do this, let’s do it and let’s hit it hard.”

The projection is also limited in its consideration post-harvest; Sawyer said his estimates did not include “packaging and further distribution.”

“I needed a place to draw a line,” he said. “It was more convenient to be able to translate that on a carcass basis rather than trying to attribute that to the multiple number of SKUs that are derived from a carcass.”

The metrics used to determine climate neutrality are still being determined.

The organization also has goals to improve its communication of efforts already underway in the industry, including a goal to “enhance trust in cattle producers as responsible stewards of their animals and resources by expanding educational opportunities in animal care and handling programs to further improve animal well-being.” There’s also the economic goal to “create and enhance opportunities that result in a qualifiable increase in producer profitability” by 2025 and an effort to “continuously improve the industry’s workforce safety and well-being.”

“As producers, we have talked about sustainability for years now, and we have been all over the board,” NCBA CEO Colin Woodall said Thursday. “We’ve talked about it from the eye of being skeptical and just being a fad; we know it’s not a fad, it’s not going away. It’s here to stay. 

“We’ve talked about it from the perspective of seeing this as more rules, regulations, bureaucratic red tape being placed on us,” he added. “Now, I think we’re seeing it for what it truly is, and that’s an opportunity to showcase what we’re doing.”

Other ag sectors and companies have also rolled out sustainability efforts, notably the dairy industry’s goal to achieve net-zero production by 2050.

Link to story on Agri-Pulse web site.

Congratulations to CDFA Undersecretary Jenny Lester Moffitt, who has been confirmed as USDA’s new Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs!

We are all so proud of our friend and colleague, Jenny Lester Moffit, who has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Undersecretary for USDA’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs! Jenny joined the CDFA team seven years ago as Deputy Secretary and then became Undersecretary.  Her experience working with her father managing the family organic walnut farm and processing operation brought valuable insight to CDFA, as did her service on the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Jenny has an attention to detail combined with a collaborative problem-solving approach that makes her a joy to have as a partner on our executive team.  Most importantly, Jenny brought the heart of a farmer into the major policy discussions that so directly impact every farming and ranching family in California, and she has a passion to serve all who are part of California agriculture!

I am grateful to Jenny for her wise counsel these past seven years and for her friendship.  Thank you Jenny for all you have done for us at CDFA and for the people of California.  I am excited to watch the next chapter of your impressive career.  Wishing you and your family all the best! 

–CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

When Jenny transitioned from a Deputy Secretary to Undersecretary a few years ago, her collaborative style was the glue that helped us cement a very cohesive executive team.  There were only three of us for a period of time; Secretary Ross , Jenny and myself.  Over time we were able to bring additional executive team members on board to help us spread our responsibilities out in a more sustainable manner.  The collaborative spirit and highly effective communication she practiced established a standard of high functioning teamwork that will greatly benefit USDA.

–CDFA Deputy Secretary Kevin Masuhara

Jenny has a deep and intrinsic knowledge of how policy can impact agriculture in practice. She is also incredibly hardworking and has a knack for finding the positive. I’ve been so lucky to have her as a colleague and as resource on major pieces of legislation, such as the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund and the establishment of CDFA’s Climate Smart Agriculture Technical Assistance Grants Program. I am going to miss Jenny greatly and am sending her a huge congratulations as she embarks on the next adventure in her career.

–CDFA Deputy Secretary for Legislative Affairs Rachael O’Brien

Thank you for your support of CDFA Climate Smart Agriculture efforts, including the Healthy Soils Program, and ensuring that the programs are applicable and practical to all farmers and ranchers in the State of California. Wish you the best in your new position at USDA.

–CDFA Science Advisor to the Secretary Amrith Gunasekara

Jenny has been a delight to work with because of her vision and collaborative abilities. These attributes were on full display during the pandemic when the state desperately needed personal protective equipment (ppe) and isolation housing for COVID-impacted farmworkers. Jenny’s leadership and work with the counties to implement a distribution plan for PPE and the development of the Housing-For-the-Harvest program was invaluable and unparalleled.

–CDFA County-State Liaison Hyrum Eastman

California has been lucky to have Jenny working for us throughout the pandemic. She worked tirelessly both to ensure that farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers had the support they needed, and to connect farmers with food banks to ramp up their ability to support our hardest-hit communities. Her passionate devotion to protecting our food supply and ensuring access to healthy, farm-fresh food makes her a perfect fit to serve as Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at USDA.

–Special Assistant to the Executive Office Arima Kozina

By California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones

Due to outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in Europe, Asia and the Dominican Republic, and the presence of Classical Swine Fever (CSF) virus in the same region,  there are serious concerns over the potential risk of introduction of ASF in the United States and countries in the Western Hemisphere. Early detection could be complicated because the symptoms of both viruses often resemble more common diseases of swine.

Therefore, the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Animal Health Branch and the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS), working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Services and Wildlife Services divisions, have enhanced surveillance for ASF and CSF over the past several years. The interagency cooperative surveillance plan targets higher-risk populations, sick pigs, and mortality in commercial and feral swine. CAHFS is testing diagnostic samples from high-risk animals and all suspect cases are being investigated.

ASF is a highly contagious and deadly disease affecting both domestic and feral pigs. It does not affect human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans. ASF has never been detected in the United States.

Resources: 

USDA:  Swine Disease Information

CDFA:  Swine Health Information

Note — This program is utilizing funds from the California Underserved and Small Producers Program (CUSP), administered by CDFA.

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With many small farms still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, and deepening impacts felt from the drought, Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) is relaunching its California Family Farmer Emergency Fund for farmers in crisis.

The current drought is sending shock waves through California’s food system; as wells go dry, reservoirs sit empty, and the state begins shutting off access to water, thousands of farmers have begun fallowing their fields. And after more than a year of pandemic-induced market disruptions, from which many small businesses have yet to fully recover, the onset of yet another disaster has small farms questioning their future.

“It’s not just tractors that run the risk of breaking down; many of our farms are on the brink,” said Paul Towers, Executive Director of CAFF. “The pandemic was challenging enough. With the addition of drought and the prospect of wildfires, family farmers are wondering if they’ll make it to next season. Emergency fund efforts can make the difference between whether they stay in business or not, and that impacts all of us.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, California is already losing four farms per day on average. And despite record-high subsidies for agriculture–driven in large part by efforts to make up for recent trade wars and pandemic relief–a report by the Environmental Working Group shows that over the past few decades, the biggest 20% of farm subsidy recipients claimed over 90% of federal aid and the top 1% claimed more than a quarter. “This support,” says Towers, “is not finding its way to the folks showing up at your local farmers market.”

To make up for this disparity, CAFF’s fund will focus on smaller operations and those not served by existing assistance efforts, with at least 50% of the funds granted to farmers of color, immigrant and undocumented farmers. 

“These funds provide temporary relief,” said Cheyenne Stone of the Big Pine Paiute Tribe and CAFF’s Policy Committee Co-Chair. “State and federal policymakers need to advance bolder policies to address the threats of climate change and invest in farm, water and fire resilience, starting with those historically underserved farmers,”

The twin funds — for pandemic and drought relief — are part of the larger California Family Farmer Emergency Fund, which may release a third category to provide wildfire relief to farmers in the coming weeks, as it has done in previous years. In 2020, the California Family Farmer Emergency Fund provided over $650,000 in total grants to 207 farmers, farmworkers and their families impacted by the pandemic or fire. 

Diverse advisory committees are reviewing the applications on a rolling basis to get resources to the most vulnerable farmers and their families. The fund is housed at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, and all grants, which will be $5,000, will be made through CAFF. Applications are due by August 31st, with potential additional rounds pending fundraising.

More information about the fund is available here: https://www.caff.org/cafamilyfarmeremergencyfund/ 

https://youtu.be/NV_aAuVGGPA

Video in Spanish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0wsZDxOiE0

Visit this link for a list of Certified Farmers’ Markets in California.

From a USDA News Release

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $15 million for a new drought pilot to assist agricultural producers impacted by worsening drought conditions in the Klamath River Basin. The announcement comes as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture will travel to the state for events focused on drought and wildfire resiliency on Tuesday.

“As ongoing drought conditions in the West continue to worsen, we need to find ways to do things differently in order to provide help and assistance to producers, Tribes, and communities,” said Gloria Montaño Greene, USDA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. “We recognize that current USDA programs and services are not enough to meet this historic challenge, and this pilot will help us find more tools to add to our toolbox.”

The Klamath Project’s “A” Canal will remain closed this year because of a lack of water supply. The canal, a major component of the Klamath Project, typically provides access to Upper Klamath Lake, supplying water for over 200,000 acres of farmland.

The block grant to the Klamath River Drought Response Agency (Klamath DRA) will provide payments to producers to reduce irrigation demand. This will assist in allowing the limited supply of water to be used for other practices that are vital to the region’s food supply and to reduce adverse impacts to producers in the region and supply and distribution chains. Producers will apply for funding through the Klamath DRA.

USDA will evaluate the outcomes to help inform future program design and will continue to monitor basins and drought conditions to determine where additional may best provide immediate economic support and relief to producers.

Additional Drought Assistance
The pilot is part of a broader suite of programs available to producers to help recover losses from drought. Disaster assistance programs and loans are available to help producers offset losses and get financing to help with recovery. Producers should visit farmers.gov, where they can use the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool or Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet to learn more about program or loan options.

Drought Coordination
USDA is coordinating with federal agencies, state governments, Tribes, and others to address the impacts of drought. This includes a new interagency working group created in April by the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Climate Task Force to address the worsening drought conditions in the West and support farmers. USDA co-chairs the task force with the Department of Interior.

“Drought significantly impacts agriculture, and the ability for farmers and ranchers to help transform water into food and fiber for our nation,” Montaño said. “USDA is partnering with an array of groups for a government-wide approach to addressing drought.

Read more on the USDA web site