By Lucy M. Stitzer

THE DIRT

Life on earth would not survive without soil. Whether we live in a city apartment or on the farm, our lives depend on this seemingly mundane piece of earth. Yet it is not boring and dull at all – it is full of minerals, water, air, organic matter, and microscopic creatures that give life to almost all the food we eat. Let’s take a few minutes to better understand and appreciate our living soil…

What is Soil?

It is a natural body on the land surface of Earth, made up of minerals and organic matter. Soil has many jobs, including:

• Providing our plants with the minerals and nutrients needed to give them proper nourishment which then keeps us healthy
• Holding in moisture, preventing flooding, giving us groundwater, and keeping water intact for crops to grow
• Modifying the atmosphere by providing a massive carbon sink for the Earth’s CO2 cycle by emitting and storing CO2, water vapor, and other gases
• Purifying the water as it enters the ground
• Providing a habitat for everything, from groundhogs and gophers to bacteria and fungi
• Recycling nutrients so they can be used over and over again
• Finally, it is also the foundation for photosynthesis, which is needed to grow our food

Soil vs. Dirt

Soil is found in layers with the “litter zone” on top. This layer is what we can see and where we find matter, like twigs and leaves. After that, there’s the topsoil, the subsoil, and rock fragments and bedrock at the bottom. That is a lot more than just a pile of dirt!

The most important layer is the topsoil, where all plant growth takes place. But it is a long, slow process. Because it is made from crushed rock and decaying plants and animals, it can take thousands of years in colder climates and hundreds of years in hot, wet climates to make just one inch of topsoil. Crushed rock is the time-consuming part.

Think of the rich, dark soil that was formed by the glaciers when they came down across North America and other parts of the world. A combination of glacial pressure, wind, rain, and basic weathering broke down the rocks into smaller fragments. As they break down, the minerals from the rocks dissolve into the earth.

Take a look at the soil in your hand, rub it between your fingers. Those shiny particles could be crushed rock from the glaciers millions of years ago.

Soil is also formed by decaying roots, old plant material, and living organisms, which help break it down.  As dying material degrades into the soil, it provides nutrients for vegetation, as well as enriching the microbiome. These microbiomes are arguably the most important part of the soil.

The Soil Microbiome

When you hold soil in your hand, what you can’t see with the naked eye are the billions of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and other microorganisms. These are known as microbes and, this collection is commonly referred to as the soil microbiome.

Microbes act like a fertilizer. They help plants change nitrogen from the air for growth and maturity, absorb phosphorus for health and vigor, and can protect a plant from fungal disease, like botrytis, or gray mold. This is the fungus we see most on our spoiled, inedible strawberries.

A diverse microbiome is an essential ingredient to healthy food and nutrition and is responsible for the micro and macro ingredients for our daily 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables, protein in wheat, and healthy animal feed for our protein. The more microbe diversity in your gut, the healthier your gut and overall immune system. A spoonful of soil? It is generally thought that by working in the garden, you inadvertently ingest soil – and healthy microbiomes for your gut.

Ever wonder how some plants grow in dry conditions? Microbiomes! The microbiome in and around the roots of that plant helps it survive amidst drought and heat. Scientists can isolate these microbes and apply them to crops with drought conditions. For example, the company Indigo Ag has developed microbial-treated seeds for wheat to increase plant health in the face of water stress.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Soil health is the key to human and environmental life and health. With its layers and microbiomes, it is our most precious resource. Next time you put your shovel in the garden, thank all the little creatures, minerals, and nutrients that are providing us with our life.

Some Fun Topsoil Facts:

• One earthworm can digest 36 tons of soil in one year – that is equal to five elephants!
• There are over 70,000 kinds of soil in the U.S.
• Five tons of topsoil spread over an acre is as thick as a dime

Link to story on Dirt to Dinner web site

Governor announces support for workers to isolate and quarantine outside their home

Unveils new actions to increase outreach and education to slow the spread and reduce the risk for COVID-19 at work, at home, and in the community 

Announces new resources for employers to support a safe, clean environment for workers and customers

SACRAMENTO — Building on previous actions to protect California’s front-line workforce, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced a host of new safeguards for California workers who face the greatest risk of COVID-19. In addition to support for workers, including agricultural and farmworkers, to isolate and quarantine, Governor Newsom unveiled a robust education campaign for workers and employers. He also committed to working with the Legislature and key stakeholders to expand critical protections like paid sick leave.

“Stopping the spread of COVID-19 depends on keeping our workers safe,” said Governor Newsom. “The vital work they do every day puts them and their families at higher risk for exposure and infection. Taking action to protect them will help protect all Californians. Working with the Legislature, we will advance new initiatives to support these key workers and their employers.”

Helping Workers Isolate and Quarantine

Isolation and quarantine are proven public health interventions fundamental to reducing COVID-19 transmission. Many who contract COVID-19 have mild to moderate symptoms, do not require hospitalization, and can isolate at home. Providing safe, suitable places for isolation outside a home can help stop the spread to other household members. This is especially important for people who live in multigenerational households.

The state will allocate existing federal funds to local public health departments and community-based organizations to assist with supportive services for isolation and quarantine.

A new program, Housing for the Harvest, provides safe, temporary isolation spaces for agricultural and farmworkers who test positive or were exposed to the virus, which limits the risk of spreading COVID-19 to their coworkers or households. This program will operate in partnership with counties and local partners in the Central Valley, Central Coast, and Imperial Valley – the regions with the highest number of agricultural workers.

These efforts build on the state’s experience with already-established isolation programs, including Hotels for Health Care Workers serving COVID-19 positive patients and Project Roomkey, the non-congregate shelter program for COVID-19 positive, exposed or vulnerable homeless Californians.

Outreach and Education

Building on California’s public awareness campaign to #WearAMask and #StoptheSpread, the campaign will expand its reach to employers, to workers and to their families to inform them of ways they can break the cycle of spread and reduce their risk for COVID-19 at work, at home, and in their community. This effort will leverage the public service media campaign, and build a more comprehensive community engagement strategy to include work with community-based organizations, promotoras, labor unions and worker advocacy groups to directly reach workers.

Support for Employees

Governor Newsom will work with the Legislature to build on previous executive action and advance worker protections. Expanded paid sick leave will provide workers financial security so they are able to stay home when sick. Similarly, workers’ compensation access helps ensure that front-line workers can quarantine and stay home from work when ill.

Employer Resources

As California businesses work to reopen, a new Employer Playbook released today will guide them on how to provide a clean environment for workers and customers to reduce risk. Proactive education efforts led by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) will provide information and support to businesses to help them come into and stay in compliance, including technical assistance and a model training program. Additionally, the state will provide employers information to share with their workers regarding health insurers’ COVID-19 testing coverage and eligibility requirements.

Strategic Enforcement

Cal/OSHA and the Labor Commissioner’s Office have strategically targeted investigations in high-risk industries, where the state has seen the most workplace outbreaks. Expedited enforcement authority and advanced reporting of health and safety hazards at work will improve enforcement outcomes. Requiring employers to report outbreaks to their local health departments will help track county transmission. Governor Newsom will work with the Legislature to establish this authority.

Today’s actions and proposals build on ongoing efforts to protect workers from the first days of this crisis. In addition to strengthening supports like paid sick leave for workers in the food sector and expanded child care, the administration has built a pipeline of personal protective equipment to help these workers stay safe on the job. The state has also expanded testing and health plan reimbursement for the essential workforce, in addition to requiring health plans to reimburse all COVID-19 testing for high-risk essential workers. Finally, the administration has released robust workplace safety and health guidance that emphasizes masks, distancing, cleaning, hand washing, screenings and staying home if feeling sick.

Watch the new PSAs about how we can all do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 and keep California healthy here:

• Make It Happen (English)
• Juntos (Spanish)

Listen to radio spots for essential workers about how to safely transition from work to home here:

• Essential Workers (English)
• Essential Workers (Spanish)

By Kevin Hechtman

Making planting decisions for fall and winter vegetables is hard enough without a pandemic and ever-changing shutdown orders dimming the crystal ball.

The state ordered indoor restaurant dining to cease again July 13 as coronavirus cases spiked around the state, prompting even more uncertainty for vegetable farmers in a growing season already rife with it.

“Up until a couple of weeks ago, we felt reasonably confident putting together a planting schedule that was fairly similar to previous years,” said Steve Brazeel of SunTerra Produce, based in Orange County. “As we get closer, these decisions become more critical, as it looks like it will come down to the last minute.”

He’ll have to decide within the next couple of weeks what winter-vegetable crops to plant in the Imperial Valley. Ordinarily, those would include iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, green and red leaf lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower.

Brazeel said planting decision making normally starts with talking to customers about their expectations.

“What’s going on now is, those initial conversations are just not clear, because of the situation of opening and closing and opening and closing,” Brazeel said, noting he’s likely looking at an across-the-board reduction of as-yet-undetermined scope.

The original shelter-in-place orders in March caused food-service orders to vanish seemingly overnight, forcing some farmers to plow under their crops. An economic study commissioned by the California Farm Bureau Federation and other organizations and conducted by ERA Economics found some Imperial Valley growers lost entire leafy-green crops worth millions.

Markets have been up lately, but they have begun to decline again, said Mark Shaw, vice president of operations at Markon in Salinas. Its main line of business is supplying fresh fruits and vegetables to the food-service sector.

“We just came out of a high market,” during which iceberg lettuce sold for $18-19 per carton, and romaine for $25 or so, Shaw said. “Both of those markets are declining now—have been declining for the last two weeks.”

The latest shutdown order restricts restaurants to outdoor dining, takeout and delivery.

“It is going to take away the food-service demand for lettuce, romaine, broccoli and cauliflower,” Shaw said, adding that the shutdown will keep markets low, “lower than basic growing costs.”

The latest shutdown order doesn’t have an expiration date, leading Shaw to predict depressed markets could last into August, as restaurants don’t know when they’ll be able to resume indoor dining.

Brazeel said he’s ready for a wild ride.

“I fully expect roller-coaster markets this winter on the wet vegetables, because of the reduced plantings, and then pockets of resurgence of volume—of restaurants reopening or schools utilizing it,” Brazeel said. “I think that there’s just as good of an opportunity of the market being really high as opposed to disastrous like it has been, just because decreased supply obviously will result in higher pricing.”

Shaw said some farmers reduced plantings of leafy greens as the first round of shelter-in-place orders took hold.

“It’s typically a 90-day crop from seed to emergence to harvest,” he said, noting that people started backing off on acreage in March and early April. “That reduction started hitting about June 15.”

With food service reduced and unemployment soaring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the Farmers to Families Food Box program, which seeks to purchase farm products without any other market and route them to families in need via food banks. The program has invoiced 41.5 million boxes as of July 17, according to the USDA.

“That had an effect as well, driving those markets up because you had all these produce boxes that were being produced,” Shaw said. “They were taking up available supply out of the Salinas Valley for lettuce and romaine and broccoli and cauliflower.”

One Sacramento wholesaler, Produce Express, began putting together consumer boxes and selling them directly to the public shortly after the first shutdown order came. The boxes feature fruits and vegetables that otherwise had lost their markets.

“We’ve never done them before,” said Jim Boyce, who runs the business his parents started in 1984. “We’ve been asked to do them quite often in the past.”

The boxes, he said, were created out of several needs—moving produce that otherwise had lost its market, keeping his employees busy, and filling a void in the community at a time when going to the store was dicey because of long lines and product shortages.

Demand for boxes has declined from about 400 a day at the zenith to about 25 a day, Boyce said, adding that he doesn’t foresee strong demand for them again until late fall or early winter.

“The reason I say that is because grocery stores, retail stores struggle with getting enough product on the shelves the farther product comes away from home,” he said. “Right now, it’s pretty easy to get broccoli overnight.”

Boyce said he figures that as people return to work, they’ll be less inclined to cook at home and will seek out takeout or delivery.

“What we’re seeing is the people that are buying the boxes, and continue to buy the boxes, are more of what we call a ‘foodie,'” he said. “They want a good-quality meal that they’re going to fix with all-natural ingredients and do it their way.”

He said he doesn’t think the latest shutdown will affect box demand much, because restaurants can take advantage of summer weather to expand outdoor seating. He’s concerned, however, about the farmers who supply his business.

“I can tell you the ones that I’ve talked to, they’re as frustrated as I am,” Boyce said. “We don’t know how to plan for the future, let alone for tomorrow.”

Brazeel said he’s trying to maintain a sunny outlook for the winter crop.

“We have optimism and excitement going into the winter, just like we do every winter,” he said. “There’s always optimism when you plant, and then realism when the harvest time comes.”

Link to article on Ag Alert web site

USDA News Release

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced approximately $15 million in available funding to help socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers own and operate successful farms. Funding is made through the USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the 2501 Program). The program is administered by the USDA Office of Partnerships & Public Engagement (OPPE).

For 30 years, the 2501 Program has helped reach socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers who have experienced barriers to service due to racial or ethnic prejudice. The 2014 Farm Bill expanded the program to veteran farmers and ranchers. The 2018 Farm Bill increased mandatory funding for the program through fiscal year 2023. With 2501 program grants, nonprofits, institutions of higher education and Indian Tribes can support socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers through education, training, farming demonstrations, and conferences on farming and agri-business, and by increasing access to USDA’s programs and services.

Since 1994, 484 grants totaling more than $119 million have been awarded. Among recent FY 2019 grantees, Developing Innovation in Navajo Education, Inc. was awarded funds to improve the operations and profitability of Arizona’s Navajo socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers, and increase the local production and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy food. The Mississippi Association of Cooperatives helped socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers and youth own and operate viable agricultural enterprises through an educational outreach program on farm management practices, financial management, and marketing.

Eligible 2501 program applicants include not-for-profit organizations, community-based organizations, and a range of higher education institutions serving African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander communities.

The deadline for applications is August 26, 2020. See the request for applications for full details.

The Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement will host an upcoming teleconference during the open period of this announcement, and more sessions may be added. No registration is required to participate.

• July 28, 2020, 2 p.m. EDT
• Telephone Number: (877) 692-8955
• Passcode: 6433267

By Natalie Parletta

US researchers have calculated that accessing untapped freshwater around the world would allow farmers to feed 620 to 840 million more people without depleting water resources or expanding agriculture into natural ecosystems.

Agriculture uses 90% of the world’s water and is thus by far the biggest driver of water scarcity, a serious problem as the planet faces increasing droughts as a result of climate change.

This water scarcity doesn’t just have physical constraints but also economic limitations to harnessing available water for agriculture, with most severe impacts on vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.

Lorenzo Rosa, from the University of California and colleagues call this “agricultural economic water scarcity”, defined as “lack of irrigation due to limited institutional and economic capacity instead of hydrologic constraints”.

To explore this, they used a hydrological model to simulate monthly global crop water demand and estimate the amount of freshwater that is sustainably available for local agriculture, publishing their findings in the journal Science Advances.

They found that half of irrigated land is unsustainable, depleting groundwater and environmental flows – stream flows needed to conserve aquatic habitats – but is a major food source.

“Alarmingly, unsustainable irrigation produces food for 1.3 billion people globally,” says Rosa. “However, we also find that 140 million hectares of croplands are suitable for sustainable irrigation expansion and with potential to feed 800 million more people.”

Two thirds of regions with economic water scarcity are in Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Overall, results showed that expanding sustainable irrigation in 19 low-income countries would increase calorie production by at least a third.

Importantly, by using sustainable irrigation practices, they show that agricultural output can be intensified without deforestation and cropland expansion into pristine habitats.

This would involve building small reservoirs to store water locally during months when there is excess run-off, which can then be used during seasons with water shortfalls.

Other approaches include minimising water evaporation, using indigenous farming methods to increase soil moisture and reduce runoff, mulching, no-till farming and providing shade – a win-win here would be using solar panels to block sun while generating energy.

It would also be prudent to plant less water-intensive crops.

Beyond improving agricultural productivity, they note that other ways to feed humanity sustainably include cutting food waste, reducing red meat consumption and employing sensible strategies to reduce population growth.

Link to article in Cosmos Magazine.

The farm profiled in this video received a grant from CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program for the planting of hedgerows and cover crops.

A report issued today identifies alternatives for California growers to the banned pesticide chlorpyrifos and calls for continued work towards safer, more sustainable pest management practices.

Following California’s historic decision to end use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos in 2019, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) convened the Alternatives to Chlorpyrifos Work Group to evaluate potential alternatives. The work group’s report outlines actions that can further support agriculture and the health of local communities, farmworkers and the environment.

“This report highlights current alternatives to chlorpyrifos, but it also underscores the need to continue our combined efforts to provide safer and more sustainable crop protection tools to California’s farmers,” said DPR Director Val Dolcini. “Working with community organizations, other agencies, agricultural producers, and UC scientists, we will continue our work to develop a roadmap that can be used by all Californians to manage pests more safely and sustainably.”

“Partnerships will be key as we move forward with economic recovery,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “We need collaboration to implement this ambitious roadmap and deliver innovative, pragmatic solutions to the complex array of issues farmers and the ag workforce confront every day as they strive to produce high-quality agricultural crops to meet consumer expectations.”

The report, Towards Safer and More Sustainable Alternatives to Chlorpyrifos: An Action Plan for California, identifies:

• Nonchemical and synthetic alternatives for growers and the relative toxicities of the alternative pesticides.
• Biopesticides alternatives to chlorpyrifos derived from natural materials.
• A five-year action plan to strategically manage pests using safer, less-toxic alternatives.

“California leads the nation in advancing more sustainable pest management practices, and this report makes clear the need to continue that important work,” said Jared Blumenfeld, California Secretary for Environmental Protection. “The Governor’s 2020-2021 Budget contains funding that will allow DPR and CDFA to continue this dialogue and build on the momentum begun by the Chlorpyrifos Alternatives Work Group.”

DPR and CDFA plan to convene a successor group this year to focus on system-wide safe, sustainable pest management practices.

The Work Group included a wide cross-section of leaders and experts – including representatives from agricultural organizations, scientists focused on pest management and public health, environmental justice groups, farmworker advocates, and pest control advisors. Over the course of five months, the group conducted three statewide public roundtable discussions and received extensive public input during.

Visit the DPR website for more information on the chlorpyrifos action.

The implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and and other anticipated water restrictions pose major challenges for California agriculture. Without effective solutions, economists have estimated that up to one million acres of farmland will be fallowed, resulting in a revenue loss of $7.2 billion per year. As the state’s top agricultural commodity, dairy farming is an important part of the SGMA challenge. Fortunately, dairy farmers have an excellent track record for water savings and are continuing to adopt innovative strategies to advance environmental sustainability and help meet the water conservation challenges ahead.

According to researchers at University of California, Davis, the amount of water used per unit of milk produced in the state has decreased more than 88 percent over the past 50 years. This is primarily due to improved feed crop production and water use efficiency. A large portion of the water savings can be attributed to the use of byproducts as feed.

More than 40 percent of feed ingredients used on California dairy farms are byproducts of other agricultural and food production processes, which are provided as dairy feed without any additional water needed for production. This includes materials such as almond hulls, tomato and citrus pulp, cotton seed, and brewer’s grain, which could otherwise be wasted. Dairy farmers work with nutritionists to incorporate these materials into well-balanced, nutritious rations for cows. In this way, dairy farms work in harmony with the state’s other agricultural and food production industries—making for efficient use of water resources.

While dairies typically grow the majority of their non-byproduct feed ingredients using recycled water from the dairy, feed is also grown out-of-state, further reducing in-state water use by more than 30 percent. Over the past 50 years, California dairy farmers have also significantly increased the amount of feed crops they grow per acre of land, providing tremendous environmental benefits—reducing the amount of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides needed, while also reducing the energy to irrigate crops, and the amount of fuel used by tractors. Water use and feed production will remain an important topic moving forward, which is why California dairy farmers continue to implement new strategies and technologies to boost water use efficiency and promote overall sustainability.

One example of these efforts was recently awarded a prestigious sustainability award from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. Sustainable Conservation and Netafim partnered with De Jager Dairy and two other California dairies to develop and demonstrate a new way to grow dairy forage crops: a subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system that uses manure effluent. The system delivers plant nutrients found in dairy manure beneath the soil surface, improving irrigation water use efficiency and nutrient use efficiency, while providing other environmental benefits. Thanks to this partnership effort and grant funding now being provided by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), more dairy farms will soon be able to implement this approach.

The manure SDI system will serve as an important tool in the implementation of SGMA for two reasons: the conservation of water (nearly 40 percent more crop produced per drop of water) and a more efficient use of manure nutrients as fertilizer. As acres of farmland will need to be fallowed to meet SGMA requirements, dairy farmers will need to ensure manure nutrients produced on their farms continue to be used in ways that best to protect water and air quality, while helping build healthy soils. The organic matter and nutrients found in dairy manure have potential to help improve the health and water-holding capacity of soils throughout the state.

Dairies are an integral part of any sustainable food system. The state’s dairy farms play an important role—from providing nutritious dairy foods and180,000 year-round jobs, to utilizing thousands of tons of byproducts as feed, while offering a source of organic matter that can help promote healthy, more resilient soils. California dairy farms also continue to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability—reducing water use by adopting innovative practices.

Likewise, dairy farms will continue to be an important part of the conversation—as farmers, stakeholders, and officials at both the local and state level continue developing plans to achieve sustainability in groundwater use and protect the environment.

Link to story on Dairy Cares web site

California agriculture is vital to the nourishment of our citizens, our economy and our environment. From the farm, to the packing and/or processing plant, and into the hands of consumers, California’s bounty is in high demand this time of year.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) acknowledges the hard work and dedication that it takes to bring these products to our table, and it is our priority to help ensure that all of agriculture is putting the health and wellness of our agriculture workers front and center as we continue to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

We know it is important to have outreach and educational materials available to agriculture stakeholders. To help distill the latest guidance and resources, CDFA has created two flyers for farmers, ranchers and farmworkers, in English and Spanish.

COVID-19 Awareness for Agriculture (in Spanish) offers straightforward advice on how to prevent, educate and respond to COVID-19. Prevention includes wearing a mask, cleaning and sanitizing frequently, and maintaining physical distance – including keeping everyone healthy by limiting visitors. Education includes staying up to date on the best prevention measures and sharing that information with California’s agriculture workforce in a way that is easy to understand and can be applied and reinforced at work and at home. Responses include knowing what to do if an employee tests positive for COVID-19, who to contact, and how employers can help support employees. 

TIPS: Educating Farmworkers on COVID-19 (in Spanish) reinforces and broadens the education component through highlighting what actions have worked best in the field for farmworker education.

CDFA is distributing these flyers to division/program contacts, CDFA marketing boards and commissions, affiliated associations, county agricultural commissioners and others. CDFA field staff also will carry copies.

Visit CDFA’s COVID-19 Resources for Food and Agriculture to view these and additional materials that are part of CDFA’s continuous effort to support California’s vibrant farming and ranching community.