USDA News Release

In the middle of California’s drought, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is meeting with landowners, Tribal representatives, and agencies to assess resource concerns and offer assistance to farmers and ranchers, as well as, forest and Tribal land managers. Programs through NRCS include the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the newest pilot program, EQIP-Conservation Incentive Contracts (EQIP-CIC).

“Although we still have CDC coronavirus related health precautions in place for the safety of our customers and employees, we strongly encourage you to call the nearest office and schedule an appointment,” said Carlos Suarez, NRCS California state conservationist. “Our field conservationists are available to assess your resource concerns and we have a variety of conservation practices and programs to help agricultural producers.”

The new pilot program, EQIP-CIC, can provide long-term support to address drought on agricultural and other lands. NRCS is taking applications through July 12 and encourages interested land managers to contact their local offices for more information.

Specifically through this new pilot program (EQIP-CIC), six high priority areas were identified:

1.  San Joaquin Valley (cropland);

2.  Statewide (cropland);

3.  Klamath Basin (cropland);

4.  Statewide (range, pasture);

5.  Statewide (forest); and

6.  Statewide Tribal Land (cropland, range, pasture, forest).

In addition to these high priority areas, NRCS conservationists are available to discuss best conservation practices and enhancements for cropland, rangeland, forestland, pastureland, and tribal land, which can result in development of a conservation plan. A conservation plan is a roadmap to the natural resources stewardship of your land that helps you to successfully implement your conservation improvements. 

NRCS can help you develop a plan that is right for your operation. Starting with healthy soil as the foundation of a healthy environment, landowners can use mulching or cover crops to minimize erosion and improve soil health. With the new pilot EQIP-CIC, landowners would also be able to receive reimbursement for their efforts to decrease tillage intensity and increase plant-available moisture, for example, with complimentary practices.

Plants are the natural solution for many conservation challenges. For example, landowners can install hedgerow and other plantings to establish multi-purpose wildlife habitat. With the new pilot EQIP-CIC, land managers could receive reimbursement for planting cover crops for pollinators while improving soil health and for planting trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs to create habitat for beneficial insects and Monarch butterflies, while reducing soil erosion or improving livestock well being. 

As a western drought state, California landowners may reduce risks of wildfires while protecting homes and communities by using conservation practices such as brush management, fuel break, woody residue treatment, and forest stand improvement. With the new pilot EQIP-CIC, landowners would also be able to receive reimbursement to continue the longer term management of these best conservation practices for reducing the height and density of forest understory to limit wildfire risk.

 Landowners can efficiently use water resources by implementing practices such as irrigation ditch lining, irrigation pipeline, or micro irrigation. Through the new pilot, irrigation scheduling technology can be included in a conservation plan to help farmers explore new technology with agricultural innovations to help decrease energy and water use.

For more information on the new pilot EQIP-CIC and the July 12, 2021 application deadline, contact a local field office to schedule an appointment. Our office locator is available at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/ca/contact/.

BY CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

With July 1 and the new fiscal year comes the consolidation of the state’s cannabis programs into the Department of Cannabis Control — part of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.  That means the CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division of CDFA will be moving to the new Department.  It has been an honor to work with the talented, dedicated CalCannabis professionals who have worked so hard to stand-up a brand new program to support a newly legalized industry these past five years.  I want to recognize their achievements which – by the numbers – are impressive!

— 7,632 currently active cultivation licenses

— Completed 485 fee deferrals of license renewal fees due to impacts from the pandemic and wildfires

— Responded to more than 75,000 public inquiries via telephone

— Provided training on the state licensing process and procedures to more than 140 local jurisdictions that allow commercial cannabis cultivation

— Collaborated with more than 70 local jurisdictions to craft locale-specific CEQA pathways for annual licensure

In addition, the program has created a virtual library of reference material for applicants, licensees, and local jurisdictions covering topics such as how create a premises diagram and CEQA documentation.

Governor Newsom announced plans to consolidate the three state licensing entities into a single Department in January 2020 in an effort to improve access to licensing and simplify regulatory oversight of commercial cannabis activity.  Establishment of a stand-alone department with an enforcement arm will centralize and align critical areas to build a successful legal cannabis market, by creating a single point of contact for cannabis licensees and local governments.  The CalCannabis appellations program and the OCal organic program will remain part of CDFA.

Thank you to CalCannabis Division Director Richard Parrot and the entire CalCannabis team for your innovative, enthusiastic “can-do” spirit to help California cannabis growers through the regulatory maze of legalization. I am so proud of what you have accomplished and wish you continued success in your new home at the Department of Cannabis Control. 

By Savannah Sicurella

Drugs, artwork, luxury watches. If there’s a high value good, there’s a black market for it.

But nuts?

Organized agricultural crime rings have long targeted California’s pistachio and almond growers, and theft is becoming more of a serious concern as production has increased in recent years.

Just a few weeks into the early summer growing season, California’s Tulare County reported its first tree nut crime of the year. A truck driver was charged with stealing 42,000 pounds of pistachios with the intent to resell them in smaller bags. The nuts didn’t travel far — investigators said they discovered his tractor trailer filled with over $170,000 worth of cargo in a nearby lot.

A theft involving thousands of dollars’ worth of pistachios may seem outlandish. And indeed the California’s man’s arrest went viral. But it wasn’t a standalone caper.

Nut Thieves Are Increasingly Sophisticated

Nuts are a big deal in California. Growing conditions — dry, rain-free summers — are ideal. The state is the top nut grower in the U.S. leading the way in almonds, pistachios and walnuts.

Almonds alone brought in $6 billion in 2019. They are the state’s second-most valuable farm commodity, trailing only dairy products. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates the 2021 almond crop will become the largest on record.

“When there’s value and increased value, there’s going to be some illicit activities around or people trying to make a quicker, easier dollar,” says Joseph England, a sergeant with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.

Nuts are remarkably suitable for the black market trade. Of course, they don’t have serial numbers or QR codes. They’re less perishable than other crops. So thieves can store them for lengthy periods of time. And pricy pistachios are a tempting target, more valuable per pound than other crops, according to Richard Matoian, president of the American Pistachio Growers.

Losses From Nut Thefts Are Crushing For Growers

Stealing nuts is not an easy business, and thieves have become more sophisticated over time, says England.

For a nut to go from tree to table, there’s a lot of moving logistics involved. After coming off the tree, nuts must be cleaned, pasteurized, roasted or seasoned. Each step is normally completed at a different facility, which makes nut cargo more vulnerable to theft.

To prevent heists facilities have installed surveillance cameras and specialized tags on trucks. But thieves can still outwit growers: it’s not uncommon for thieves to hack into trucking companies’ computer systems, generate fake load orders and leave with thousands of dollars’ worth of cargo, England says.

Losses from large-scale nut thefts are crushing to farmers, says Don Stuhmer, the president of the California Rural Crime Prevention Task Force and a deputy with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.

“Every load of nuts for these farmers is very important. They’re chasing that bottom line, and that bottom line is getting thinner and thinner,” Stuhmer says.

Link to story on NPR web site

By Dusty Baker

A deadly citrus tree disease is resulting in the release of beneficial wasps in San Luis Obispo County.

Citrus trees have been under attack from the tree disease Huanglongbing (HLB). To combat HLB, a series of wasp releases are taking place this week in the county.

“Relatively recently we’ve been doing releases in San Luis Obispo County and that’s because the insects are slowly moving north,” said California Department of Food and Agriculture Environmental Program Manager David Morgan.

“In San Luis Obispo, we’ve had a few infestations of the Asian Citrus Psyllid and we probably have had three, four or five releases of these wasps throughout the county,” said San Luis Obispo County Agricultural Commissioner Martin Settevendemie.

The releases of Tamarixia, also considered small wasps, will take place periodically this week.

“Around the Nipomo area, there were a small number of insects identified a few years ago and so we know that the Asian Citrus Psyllid has been there in the past,” Morgan said.

“Our department will help to release them where the wasp will have the greatest impact on the pest,” Settevendemie added.

Thousands of these beneficial wasps are being released to fight the Asian Citrus Psyllid that carries HLB.

“The insects we release are actually better at finding the pests than we are,” Morgan said.

“We’re not finding a lot of these pests in the county, so our hope is we keep these populations down so we don’t have a bigger problem in the future,” Settevendemie said.

The Tamarixia is considered environmentally friendly in urban areas and will only attack the Asian Citrus Psyllids. “We’re protecting our local landscapes. Almost everybody has a citrus tree in their yard and if we can protect the county from the Asian Citrus Psyllid, we’re also protecting the community and their landscape plans,” Settevendemie said.

A release of these wasps can be anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 wasps a day in the affected areas. They’re incredibly small and cannot bite or sting people.

The releases have taken place for the last decade, protecting commercially grown citrus, which contributes $7 billion to the state’s economy.

Link to story on KSBY website

Note — CDFA shot the following video previously with Dr. David Morgan when wasps were released in San Jose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfkPfz14k0w&t=1s

Farm Credit news release

Over the past seven years, former farmworker Aldo Gonzalez has expanded his farm business from five to 44 acres, helped by annual operating loans from California FarmLink, an Aptos-based nonprofit that since 2013 has also operated as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

He grew up on a family farm growing vegetables in Oaxaca, Mexico, and as a farmworker in the U.S. was determined to have his own business. Now, Gonzalez Organic Farms in Monterey County specializes in growing strawberries, which he sells at farmers markets in Cupertino, San Juan Bautista, Oakland and Sunnyvale, and is also a valued grower for large strawberry shippers.

Gonzalez is just one of a growing number of Latino farmworkers who have become successful farmers in the U.S., said Reggie Knox, FarmLink’s executive director.

“The overall number of farms is going down, while the proportion of Latino farmers is going up,” Knox said. “We want to serve this community and see it as important for the future of farming in California.”

In fact, the USDA Agricultural Census found there are more than 14,000 registered Latino farmers and ranchers in California, and Latino farmers are growing at twice the rate of traditional farmers despite being historically underserved.

As part of its ongoing commitment to encourage diversity in agriculture, Farm Credit has sponsored FarmLink and its annual Farm Finance Expo, held virtually in late 2020. Supporting Farm Credit institutions American Ag Credit, CoBank, Farm Credit West and Fresno Madera Farm Credit are part of the nationwide Farm Credit System, the largest provider of credit to American agriculture.

Knox said the support of Farm Credit and other sponsors is essential to FarmLink’s success.

“The earned income we get from making loans is not enough to support operations, so we supplement that with grants and sponsorships,” he said. “We appreciate the support from Farm Credit.”

Keith Hesterberg, President and CEO of Fresno Madera Farm Credit, noted that FarmLink has expanded its efforts in the Fresno area.

“FarmLink is now working with a number of small-scale Hmong farmers in the Fresno area, and as part of Farm Credit’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion we applaud FarmLink’s efforts and look forward to working with these beginning farmers in the future,” he said.

Mark Littlefield, President and CEO of Farm Credit West, said supporting FarmLink is just one way Farm Credit supports diversity in agriculture.

“For the past six years, Farm Credit has also been a proud sponsor of the Latino Farmer Conference, which drew some 300 participants in 2019, before COVID-19, and returned this year with a series of webinars,” Littlefield said. “Nurturing beginning farmers is part of our mission and we’re happy to support FarmLink’s work.”

Knox said since establishing the CDFI, FarmLink has loaned $31 million to more than 300 borrowers, 60% of whom are Latino and between 30- and 35% are women.

FarmLink works closely with ALBA – the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association – an incubator program in the Salinas Valley that provides land and support for beginning farmers. During the six-month course, ALBA provides a half-acre of land to learn to grow crops on. Once the farmer graduates, FarmLink comes in.

“When the beginning Latino farmer comes out of the incubator, we may help them with their first lease and provide an initial operating loan of $10,000 to $20,000 to get started. The next year the farmer may require $25,000 to $50,000 to scale up. Whenever possible, those leases include a first right of refusal for the farmer to purchase the property, because we encourage people to build a pathway to ownership so their businesses can generate multi-generational wealth,” he said.

Knox added that he believes Farm Credit can help farmers achieve that goal.

“Farm Credit is the largest lender across the country, helping farmers of all sizes. We really appreciate the partnership and hope to work closely with its associations in the future, to make sure they are there when farmers graduate from our programs and are in need of a larger loan,” he said.

The California Agricultural Neighbors (CAN) group invites all interested stakeholders to read its interim report, “California Agricultural Neighbors: Neighbor-to-neighbor best practices to help enhance localized food safety efforts,” as well as attend a three-part webinar series to learn about CAN and hear food safety recommendations from scientific experts. This effort is led cooperatively by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and Monterey County Farm Bureau.

Food safety is a shared responsibility. Continued outbreaks of pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 associated with leafy greens in California’s Salinas Valley necessitates a robust response from the agricultural community and local, state and federal regulators.

Membership in CAN includes representation from the agricultural production community (leafy greens, cattle ranching, viticulture, compost), academia, associations (industry, consumer/retail), and government (local, state, federal).

CAN provides a roundtable forum to foster collaboration and discuss enhanced neighborly food safety practices when agriculture operations are adjacent to one another. The program will include information sharing and the development and refinement of a near-term food safety action plan.

Click the following links to learn more about and register for webinars to be hosted by the California Farm Bureau Federation in partnership with the Monterey County Farm Bureau and CDFA:

• Reservoirs of E. coli O157:H7 and other STEC – 1–2:30 p.m. (PDT) June 30 – Details & Registration: https://cfbf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p3GFEq5dQ5SIL2VSXTBc6A
• Off-farm factors that may affect STEC movement on the landscape – 9–10:30 a.m. (PDT) July 7 – Details & Registration: https://cfbf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_l1lsNiWTQAaXURGmkfioxw
• On-farm factors that may affect STEC survival and contact with produce – 9–11 a.m. (PDT) July 14 – Details & Registration: https://cfbf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qaVf0oSzRyGCC5IDMFrtTg

BY CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and California Department of Conservation Director David Shabazian

While California is known for its world-famous entertainment industry and ever-transforming tech sector, agriculture is the often-overlooked backbone of our diverse state and one of its earliest economic engines. 

Our state’s multigenerational farmers and ranchers not only feed Californians, but also supply one-third of our country’s vegetables and two-thirds of its fruits and nuts, while also leading the nation in milk production.

Yet as other parts of our economy spring back to post-pandemic life, farmers and ranchers are facing major water shortages in the second straight year of drought — the new norm in a changing climate. Some farmers already are making difficult choices about which crops to grow and are even tearing out orchards.

Thanks to an enormous budget surplus, however, California is uniquely poised to help the agricultural sector adapt to increasingly scarce water supplies while also benefiting rural communities and wildlife — if our state leaders take action.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal includes a bold $5.1 billion investment in drought response and water resilience. Of that, $500 million is proposed to help farmers repurpose fields to more water-efficient uses that deliver new benefits, such as open space for rural communities, recharge basins to store water, habitat corridors for wildlife and lands to store carbon.

While $500 million may sound like a lot, it’s just the start of what’s truly needed to address the scope of the challenge facing the state, particularly the Central Valley.

During the last drought, state leaders passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act to address decades of unregulated groundwater pumping, which caused land to sink, infrastructure to crumble and drinking water and irrigation wells to go dry. The law requires regions to balance groundwater supply and demand within 20 years, and ensure there is enough water to sustain agriculture and communities into the future. 

Unfortunately, bringing groundwater use into balance could mean decreasing the agricultural footprint of California’s Central Valley by 500,000 to 750,000 acres — the size of Yosemite National Park and 10% to 15% of total farm acreage. During this transition, it is absolutely crucial that local communities and landowners have funding to work collaboratively and determine how best to manage these lands. 

Without strategic planning, these lands could become a haphazard patchwork of dusty fields infested with weeds and pests, affecting remaining agricultural lands and further impairing air quality. However, with all hands on deck working together, we have an opportunity to help farmers voluntarily repurpose these fields into new positive uses.

Link to article on CalMatters web site

June 21 to June 27, 2021 is Pollinator Week!

When we think of pollinators, perhaps many of us first think of the honeybee. Honeybees have a reputation of hard work and are associated with symbolism of industry, community and abundance — images that reflect the agricultural community as well. Because of the astonishing migration of managed honeybee colonies to California in the winter months, many Californians know just how important honeybees are to food production. Studies estimate that honeybee pollination contributes several billion dollars in agricultural productivity throughout the United States each year.

In addition to honeybees, many other animals perform the necessary job of pollinating plants. Insects including flies, wasps, bees, beetles and butterflies are pollinators. So are birds, bats and other mammals. With their combined impact, one in three bites of food are a result of pollinators.  

Habitat loss, climate change, pesticide exposure, and other factors negatively impact pollinators. Recent news articles indicate that monarch butterfly populations have declined 99% in the last three decades — a truly astounding loss.

CDFA supports pollinators

CDFA is engaging with many partners to support and protect pollinators. In one effort, CDFA, agricultural and environmental partners have joined to form the California Pollinator Coalition to identify strategies to increase habitat for pollinators and  improve pollinator health. Here are a few of the other efforts CDFA is taking to support pollinators:

• CDFA’s Plant Health Division hosts a Pollinator Protection website with resources for landowners and apiaries.
•  The Bee Safe Program helps protect managed honeybees from theft, disease and pesticide exposure.
• Through the most recent funding round of the Healthy Soils Program (HSP), CDFA’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation supported planting of over 7,000 acres of pollinator habitat on 129 projects throughout California. The practices identified as having pollinator benefits include cover cropping, field borders, hedgerow planting, riparian herbaceous cover, and others.
• CDFA’s Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis has revitalized a research program, the Biologically Integrated Farming Systems Program (BIFS) to provide outreach of innovative, biologically integrated plant-based farming systems that reduce chemical insecticide inputs.

As California ramps up efforts to protect its unique and precious biodiversity, CDFA will be working closely with partner agencies to find and implement further actions that support pollinator health.

In honor of Pollinator Week, consider planting native plant species with pollinator benefits on your farm or garden landscape, evaluate your integrated pest management strategy in light of pollinator population declines, and take a moment to ponder the essential and amazing relationship that we have with pollinators.

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CARB news release

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is seeking public comment on a Draft Analysis of Progress toward Achieving the 2030 Dairy and Livestock Sector Methane Emissions Target. The draft Analysis is available on CARB’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutants resources webpage, and members of the public may submit comments via the docket linked below until 5:00 p.m. on July 14, 2021. CARB developed this Analysis in accordance with Senate Bill (SB) 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016), which requires CARB to conduct an analysis on the progress the dairy and livestock sector has made toward overcoming barriers to achieving the 2030 methane emissions target of forty percent below 2013 levels. 

Background

Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), including methane, are powerful climate forcers that have relatively short atmospheric lifetimes but high global warming potentials. SB 1383 codified targets for multiple SLCPs, including a target for the dairy and livestock sector to reduce its methane emissions by up to 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030. SB 1383 also requires CARB, in consultation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, to analyze the progress that the sector has made toward achieving the 2030 methane emissions reductions target, including progress made in overcoming technical and market barriers to implementing methane emissions reductions practices identified in the Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Strategy. On May 21, 2020, CARB staff hosted a public webinar to discuss the proposed plan to develop the Analysis including identification of potential data sources and information gaps. Following the webinar, an informal comment period allowed stakeholders to submit written comments and additional information for consideration. CARB staff reviewed and incorporated the comments into the Draft Analysis as appropriate.

Make comments here

Amid a major heat wave that is stressing energy grids in states across the western United States, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an emergency proclamation to free up additional energy capacity. In preparation for the extreme temperatures, California energy agencies are calling on individuals and businesses to “flex their power” by reducing energy use in the evenings, through Friday.

The proclamation suspends certain permitting requirements, allowing the use of back-up power generation and freeing up additional energy capacity to help alleviate the heat-induced demands on the state’s energy grid.

For the next several days, much of the West and Southwest are expected to see triple-digit heat, making it imperative that individuals take precautions to stay safe from the heat and do what they can to conserve energy.

The text of the proclamation can be found here.

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Thermostat story from the Mercury News, by George Avalos

An Oakland energy company wants to help people beat the heat now that torrid temps loom in California by giving away for free 1 million smart thermostats.

OhmConnect has launched the thermostat giveaway through what the energy company calls its End CA Blackouts campaign.

“Not only will you get a free smart thermostat, but you will save money on your electricity bill, and you can get paid to become, essentially, part of a virtual power plant,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said.

People who register with the End California Blackouts campaign become eligible to receive the free thermostats.

“This campaign will dramatically increase the number of participating households and dramatically decrease energy use to help prevent blackouts this summer,” said Cisco DeVries, chief executive officer of OhmConnect.

Oakland-based OhmConnect offers people an app that they can use to connect smart devices in their homes and coordinate the devices so they save energy.

The app also connects the devices to a California-wide network so energy use can be reduced during heat waves in a coordinated fashion. That, in turn, could make power failures less likely.

By helping the California electricity grid manage swings in demand for energy, OhmConnect gets paid by utilities or government agencies and then passes along some of the savings to customers.

“The grid needs resources to be as flexible and as responsive as they can possibly be, in order to support the reliability that we need,” said Andrew McAllister, a member of the California Energy Commission.

Link to article on Mercury News web site