Search Results for: SB 1350

Town Hall in Yolo County Focuses on Local Farming Solutions for Local Climate Impacts

October 3, 2018 by Lauren Lum 2 Comments

Left to Right: Sri Sethuratnam, Center for Land-Based Learning, Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa), Assemblymember Cecila Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), former state Senator Lois Wolk, Sean McNamara, Sierra Orchards, Emma Torbert, Cloverleaf Farm

On a recent September evening, CalCAN hosted its first “Town Hall on Climate Change and Agriculture,” which brought together a diverse group of farmers, students, academics, advocates and state representatives. We wanted to hear from farmers about what’s working and what’s not with the implementation of the state’s Climate Smart Agriculture programs. We also wanted to hear from state representatives working on these issues what can be done to scale up Climate Smart Agriculture.

The event was moderated by former state Senator Lois Wolk, who has been an advocate of the Climate Smart Agriculture programs since 2010 and a key proponent of SB 1350 which established the Climate Smart Agriculture programs in 2016. To learn more about Lois Wolk’s involvement, read the “Climate Smart Agriculture Timeline” on this page.

The event began with three farmers sharing their agricultural practices to increase soil organic matter, build biodiversity and increase water use efficiency in the fields.

Sri Sethuratnam, Director of the California Farm Academy, a farmer training program for the Center for Land-Based Learning, emphasized how farmers want to do the right thing and a barrier for beginning farmers is that they often lack the necessary resources to farm and mitigate climate change. Sri noted that the Healthy Soils grant enabled him to add compost and plant cover crops, turning his farm into a carbon sink and work with nature’s natural cycle to reduce carbon in the atmosphere. Sri manages an urban farm with heavily compacted clay soil and is able to teach beginning farmers the process of building healthy soil through low impact methods (To read more about the Center for Land-Based Learning Healthy Soils grant.)

In order to scale up healthy soils practices and assist farmers who want to do the right thing, Sean McNamara, Operations Manager for Sierra Orchards, said the programs need more money. McNamara will be planting sixteen different types of cover crop seeds as a way to build nutrient rich soil that can be a host to many beneficial microbes, but noted that his Healthy Soils grant will only partially cover the cost of his cover crop seed. He also reiterated how important it is for the programs to be fully funded each year in order to be more accessible for growers and allow more farmers to try new practices that can increase soil organic matter, build biodiversity and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Farmers offer valuable solutions to mitigate climate change, but are also some of the most vulnerable people to its effects. In just the past couple years, we have seen unprecedented wildfires devastate crops and rangeland, severe heat days scorch fields and intensify work conditions, floods significantly disrupt and delay planting schedules, etc.

Emma Torbert of Cloverleaf Farm spoke to how these impacts are a severe threat to farmers and farmworkers alike, especially socially disadvantaged farmers who lack the economic resources to rebound after such an event. Cloverleaf Farm lost an apricot crop last year because of the unusual number of extreme heat days, and Emma spoke to how difficult it is to keep farming with low profits and little income.

The conversation then turned to Senator Bill Dodd (D – Napa) and Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D – Winters) to address how the legislature can further support farmers and ranchers in adapting to these challenges and implementing innovative farming practices. Both legislators recognized that farmers and ranchers often need financial and technical support as they work to implement new farming practices. The representatives also spoke about the importance of educating fellow legislators and bringing farmers to the table as they make decisions on policy.

Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry addressed the comment on support for socially disadvantaged farmers by mentioning that she authored a bill last year–AB 1348, The Farmer Equity Act–to specifically address the needs of farmers of color and women farmers. She spoke to the importance of including socially disadvantaged farmers in all state programs and policies.

Both Senator Dodd and Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry invited constituents to visit their district offices to discuss the climate smart agriculture programs and what is needed to continue to scale up agricultural solutions to climate change. The legislators also expressed interest in attending farm tours and being able to learn from the producers on their farms and ranches to be able to better understand their work and the importance of the innovative agricultural practices.

Want to educate your legislators about what’s happening on your farm/ranch and how the state can better support your operation? Let us know, and we can help connect you! Send a note to: lauren@calclimateag.org

Filed Under: Featured - Sidebar, Healthy Soils, Impacts of Climate Change

Environmental Farming Panel Expands, Considers Healthy Soils and Water-Energy Programs

December 2, 2016 by Adam Kotin 2 Comments

Click to view our most recent group recommendations on the Healthy Soils Program.

Exciting things are afoot at the panel tasked with advising on California’s climate-smart agriculture programs.

The Environmental Farming Act Science Advisory Panel, or ‘EFA SAP’, is playing an increasingly important role as the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) spends millions of dollars to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agriculture sector through voluntary actions.

On Friday, November 18^th, the EFA SAP held a meeting in Modesto to discuss CDFA’s new $7.5 million Healthy Soils Initiative, the continuation of its State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP), and a joint water use efficiency project with the Department of Water Resources (DWR).

This was the first EFA SAP meeting since the passage of Senate Bill 859 earlier this year, which established the Healthy Soils Program and expanded the panel’s membership from five to nine.

SB 859 built on two previous bills authored by Senator Lois Wolk – SB 367 (2015) and SB 1350 (2016) – which CalCAN and CAFF played a key role in shaping. [Read more about SB 859 here.]

New Panel Members

CDFA has moved expeditiously to appoint new members to the panel, already bringing in several climate and agriculture champions to fill the seats created by SB 859.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross has appointed Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm and Vicky Dawley of the Resource Conservation District of Tehama County to serve on the panel.

Judith is a member of CalCAN’s Farmer Advisory Council and a pioneering organic farmer in Yolo County with deep expertise in biologically-integrated and climate-friendly farming systems.

Vicky has also contributed greatly to CalCAN’s mission over the years, publicly making the case for climate-smart agriculture incentives as well as outreach and technical assistance. She and her husband Frank are owners of Big Bluff Ranch, where they raise their grassfed animals based in holistic management.

Additionally, Resources Secretary John Laird has appointed Julie Alvis, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Natural Resources Agency, to the panel. Julie played an integral role in the development of the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program and was a panelist at CalCAN’s 2014 Climate & Agriculture Summit.

Together, we hope these esteemed new panel members will help to produce even more successful outcomes for farmers and the climate as CDFA continues to expand its work in this area.

Healthy Soils Update

Dr. Geetika Joshi, Senior Environmental Scientist at CDFA, provided an update on the Healthy Soils Program now that it has officially been funded.

The Air Resources Board (ARB), which oversees all of the state’s cap-and-trade-funded programs, is currently developing a tool (‘Quantification Methodology’) that will be used to estimate the GHG reductions from implementing healthy soils practices. The list of eligible healthy soils practices is still under consideration, as are several aspects of the program’s design.

To read recommendations on the Healthy Soils Program from CalCAN and a group of other stakeholders, click here, here, and here.

We were disappointed to learn that the roll out of the Healthy Soils Program will be delayed until the second half of 2017. CDFA expects to take public comment and develop the grant solicitation guidelines over the next six months or so.

If you would like to weigh in on the program, Healthy Soils is sure to be a major topic of discussion at the coming EFA SAP meetings – the next of which is scheduled for January 19, 2017 in Sacramento. Mark your calendars.

SWEEP Program Update

CDFA recently announced that it will be awarding nearly $22 million for 167 agricultural operations to reduce their water use and greenhouse gas emissions through the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP). These grants come atop the 360 on-farm projects that SWEEP has already funded since the program’s creation in 2014.

You can read our previous blogs about this important climate-smart agriculture program here, here, and here.

CalCAN has previously shared some recommendations for the program, in order to increase SWEEP’s accessibility to California’s diverse grower population and to ensure the wisest multi-benefit use of limited public dollars.

In particular, we recommended that CDFA lower its cap on the amount of money an individual project can receive. In the most recent rounds, the cap had risen to $200,000 – a move which our data analysis suggests may be associated with fewer total operations benefitting from the program overall.

At the EFA SAP meeting in Modesto, CDFA proposed to lower the cap to $100,000, noting that the agency now has the staff and resources to handle the higher number of successful grants that this move is likely to bring.

The Panel members approved this change on a voice vote, and CalCAN delivered public comment supporting this important improvement to the program.

Also at the EFA SAP meeting, ARB staff announced some changes to the usability of its Quantification Methodology (QM) tool. A required component of the SWEEP application, the QM has led to some confusion amongst growers seeking assistance from the program. A draft QM is open to public comment until December 9^th. Click here for details.

The next round of SWEEP grants will be open to applications beginning in January 2017. See CDFA’s website for a full timeline: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/sweep/

Staying Up-To-Date

Expect more exciting developments from the EFA SAP as we enter into the new year. We will be updating you here, but you can also track the Panel and the programs it advises upon by using the links below:

EFA SAP Webpage: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/efasap/

Healthy Soils Webpage: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/

SWEEP Webpage: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/sweep/

Filed Under: AB 32 Implementation, California Policy, Featured - Sidebar, Healthy Soils, Water Tagged With: AB 32, EFA SAP, environmental farming panel, healthy soils, oefi, SWEEP

Healthy Soils Initiative Funded

September 7, 2016 by Jeanne Merrill Leave a Comment

New Climate Smart Agriculture Program to Launch this Year

In the final hours of the session last week, the Legislature passed a funding package for the state’s climate change programs. Among the funded programs was the Healthy Soils Initiative, a CalCAN supported effort to provide resources for farmers and ranchers to increase carbon stores in agricultural soils and reduce greenhouse gas emissions overall.

Last week, we posted our news release where we celebrated this important victory for sustainable agricultural solutions to climate change. Here we offer greater detail on the outcomes of the legislative session for the Healthy Soils Initiative.

Stay tuned. In the coming weeks we will post more on the outcomes for the legislative session, including more on dairy methane issues and a roundup on relevant bills.

Dr. Louise Jackson (center) highlights healthy soils climate solutions at Dixon Ridge Farms, Dec. 1, 2015.

Climate Politics

Central to the funding decisions of last week was the fate of California’s comprehensive climate change law, AB 32. Passed ten years ago, AB 32 requires that California reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

Last year, SB 32 was introduced by Senator Fran Pavley to extend the state’s climate change law to the year 2030 with a new target of a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gases below the 1990 level. CalCAN supported the bill. However, with significant industry opposition the bill did not pass out of the legislature last year and instead was held over until this year.

The fate of SB 32 seemed uncertain in the final weeks of session until a coalition of environmental and business groups rallied behind it and its new companion bill, AB 197. Also in the final weeks of session, Governor Brown announced a new political action committee (PAC) to explore putting the extension of the cap-and-trade program, a key component to the state’s climate change law, on the ballot in 2018. This seemed to shake loose the stalled talks on the climate bills as well as negotiations on the fate of funding for climate change programs like Healthy Soils.

The Cap-and-Trade Connection

A suite of programs fall under AB 32, including the cap-and-trade program, which requires regulated entities to hold allowances (i.e. permits) for their greenhouse gas emissions and reduce emissions over time. Regulated companies, like the oil industry, purchase a portion of their allowances at state auction. Auction proceeds fund numerous projects across California that help reach the state’s emissions target, including the climate smart agriculture programs.

Poor showings at this year’s cap-and-trade auctions meant there was growing support in the Legislature to cut funding for climate change programs. In the final funding package passed last week, a few programs had their funding cut entirely, including wetlands conservation and some of the energy efficiency programs. However most received reduced funding allocations, including the Healthy Soils Program ($7.5 million), and a handful of programs received increases, including the Dairy Methane Program which will provide funds to reduce potent methane emissions on dairies (more on this topic in a future blog).

Healthy Soils Program Defined

In addition to the funding allocations, the Legislature passed SB 859, which includes key policy provisions for a number of new climate change programs, including the Healthy Soils Program.

Earlier this year, Senator Lois Wolk introduced SB 1350, the Healthy Soils bill, at the behest of CDFA. The bill built upon earlier efforts by Senator Wolk and CalCAN, including SB 367 from last year. Language from SB 1350 helped inform SB 859 and establish the Healthy Soils Program. Key provisions include:

Establishes the Healthy Soils Program at CDFA to provide incentives to farmers “whose management practices contribute to healthy soils and result in net long-term on-farm greenhouse gas benefits”.

Enables financial support for on-farm demonstration projects that “result in greenhouse gas benefits across all farming types with the intent to establish or promote healthy soils”

Defines healthy soils as “soils that enhance their continuing capacity to function as a biological system, increase soil organic matter, improve soil structure and water-and nutrient-holding capacity, and result in net long-term greenhouse gas benefits.”

Increases the current make up of the Science Advisory Panel of the Environmental Farming Act from 5 to 9 members. Adds members with expertise in climate change and agriculture science and practice along with expertise in agriculture conservation planning and management. Adds farmer members, including a certified organic producer.

Establishes the Science Advisory Panel as the body to advise CDFA on the Healthy Soils and State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program.

Next Steps on Program Framework

Organic producer John Teixeira holding his compost.

CDFA recently released their updated framework for the Healthy Soils Program. The new framework outlines the kinds of farm practices that may be eligible for financial incentives as well as practices under consideration for inclusion in the program. The framework also discusses parameters for the farm demonstration projects. For more on the draft framework click here (scroll past the SWEEP update).

CalCAN has been engaging with CDFA on the program guidelines and framework. We are seeking a program that complements federal efforts to support healthy soils by leverages federal funds through existing USDA/NRCS farm bill conservation programs and builds upon current technical assistance resources in agricultural communities by working with Resource Conservation Districts and Cooperative Extension.

Programs like Healthy Soils work best if they reach the diversity of farm operations in the state and provide powerful incentives and resources to support transformative agricultural management. Healthy soils can not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration, but also provide tangible benefits to agricultural producers and their communities.

Stay tuned

There will be multiple opportunities to engage in the development of the Healthy Soils Program. CDFA will announce public workshops on the program, which we will also announce on our blog. You can sign up for Healthy Soils Program email updates from CDFA by clicking here.

Filed Under: AB 32 Implementation, California Policy, Farmer Resources, Featured - Sidebar, Healthy Soils Tagged With: California cap and trade, healthy soils, SB 1350, SB 32

Sweeping Climate Legislation Will Help Grow Crops and Local Economies

September 1, 2016 by Adam Kotin 2 Comments

State lawmakers create Healthy Soils program, pass historic climate bills

SACRAMENTO – Farmers and ranchers throughout California commend the legislature for its recent actions on climate change. The passage of key climate bills, alongside the appropriation of more than $65 million for climate-smart agriculture programs, will provide needed resources for farmers and ranchers to address a changing climate.

“Farmers have a lot at stake in a changing climate as our extreme drought reminds us,” said Tom Willey at T&D Willey Farms in Madera. “We experience the impacts of climate change on our farm every day. I commend the California legislature for continuing down the path of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and investing in the continued success of California agriculture.

Yesterday, legislators passed a pair of budget bills (AB 1613 and SB 859) which include $65 million for programs that provide resources for growers to lower greenhouse gas emissions, store carbon in soils and offer multiple benefits to agricultural producers and the environment. The budget allocation includes $7.5 million for the new Healthy Soils Program; $7.5 million for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program; and $50 million for the Dairy Methane Program. Also funded separately with a continuous appropriation is the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program, a farmland conservation and climate change program.

Since 2014, $130 million in state funding has financed more than 400 projects that improve on-farm water use efficiency, conserve agricultural land at risk of development, and reduce dairy methane emissions. These programs are among the first in the country to recognize that agriculture offers significant climate solutions.

“Many farmers really want to reduce water use and greenhouse gas emissions, but we need programs like these to adopt new practices,” said Judith Redmond, co-owner of a diverse organic farm in Guinda. “These programs will surely end up being good for everyone in the community.”

The newly created Healthy Soils Program will reward growers who employ multi-benefit practices that treat their farms and ranches as carbon sinks. SB 859 sets program parameters and updates the Environmental Farming Act of 1995, which guides the Department of Food and Agriculture’s work on these issues. The leadership of Senator Lois Wolk (D – Davis)—who authored multiple bills over the years to create a state climate change and agriculture program, including SB 1350 (2016) and SB 367 (2015)—was critical in the establishment of the Healthy Soils Program.

With the passage of SB 32 and AB 197 last week, the legislature re-affirmed the state’s commitment to reducing emissions through 2030 and sent a clear message to California’s 76,000 farms and ranches that their help is needed in the fight against climate change.

“The legislature’s action can help us pull carbon out of the air and reduce the impacts of climate change,” said Greg Rawlings at Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo Inc. in Pescadero. “Our farm’s livelihood and California’s ability to continue to be a leader in world food production is threatened if we don’t act now on climate change.”

“We work with farmers and ranchers who demand action on climate change,” said CalCAN Policy Director Jeanne Merrill. “The Governor and the Legislature’s actions this week will further empower farmers and ranchers to develop needed solutions to the climate crisis.”

* * * * *

This post was adapted from a September 1, 2016 CalCAN press release.

Filed Under: AB 32 Implementation, California Policy, Farmland Protection, Featured - Sidebar, Healthy Soils, SALC Program News, Water Tagged With: GGRF budget, healthy soils, SALC, SB 1350, senator lois wolk, SWEEP

Overview of Climate Smart Agriculture

The state of California currently has four Climate Smart Agriculture programs that provide resources for California farmers and ranchers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon in soils and trees, while providing multiple benefits to agriculture and the environment. The programs are funded with proceeds from the state’s cap-and-trade program.

CalCAN continues to advocate to make these important programs accessible to a wide diversity of California growers. We summarize the above programs, including funding, impacts, and a sampling of profiles of grant recipients in this fact sheet.

Below is a summary of the state’s climate smart agriculture programs and a timeline of policy developments, including CalCAN’s role and influence since 2010.

California Climate Smart Agriculture Programs

Healthy Soils Initiative (HSI) – The Healthy Soils Initiative was proposed by Governor Brown in 2015 and received initial funding of $7.5 million in 2016. The Initiative provides funding for farmer and rancher incentives to increase carbon storage in soils and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions through practices that build healthy soil such as compost application, cover crop, reduced tillage, conservation plantings and more. The program will also fund on-farm demonstration projects to provide growers, researchers and other ag professionals strategies for mitigating climate change in agriculture. Read More…

Total funding to date: $7.5 million

State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program (SWEEP) – The program funds growers to improve their irrigation management practices to save water and energy and reduce related greenhouse gas emissions. Eligible project activities include pump upgrades and solar pump installation; conversion to drip or micro irrigation; improved water storage and/or recycling, soil moisture monitoring and irrigation scheduling. Read More…

Total funding to date: $67.5 million

Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALCP) – The program funds local government projects and permanent easements on agricultural lands at risk of development to prevent sprawl. Read More…

Total funding to date: $79 million

cattle & oaks copy Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP) – The program funds non-digester dairy manure management strategies that reduce methane emissions, including pasture-based management, solid separation and flush to scrape (including new manure storage to reduce methane emissions). Read More…

Total funding to date: $9.8 million

For more on “climate smart agriculture” click here.

Climate Smart Agriculture Timeline

2017 — CDFA collects stakeholder input on two new Climate Smart Agriculture programs in preparation for launching them in Summer 2017 with a call for proposals from farmers and ranchers. The programs are the Healthy Soils Initiative ($7.5 million for grants to improve soil health, GHG reductions and carbon sequestration), and the Alternative Manure Management Program ($9 – 16 million for manure management alternatives to manure lagoons).

June 2016 — The legislature agrees on a 2016-17 cap-and-trade budget totaling $900 million. It funds the Healthy Soils Program for the first time with $7.5 million. CalCAN successfully proposes language in a budget trailer bill that guides the implementation of the Healthy Soils Program and identifies the opportunities for reducing methane emissions on dairies using diverse strategies beyond a sole focus on anaerobic digesters.

June 2016 — CalCAN submits comments to CDFA to provide recommendations on their draft framework for the Healthy Soils Initiative.

May 2016 — CDFA releases a draft framework for the Healthy Soils Initiative and proposes how it would spend almost $18 million for on-farm practices and demonstration projects that improve carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, funding has not yet been secured. SB 1350 is held in suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

April 2016 — CalCAN and over 30 agriculture experts submit comments to CDFA to provide input on the Healthy Soils Initiative design and implementation.

February 2016 — Senator Wolk introduces SB 1350, a bill establishing the Healthy Soils Program, backed by CDFA.

January 2016 — Governor Brown, for a second time, proposes funding a Healthy Soils Initiative with $20 million from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in FY 2016-17.

December 2015 — A diverse coalition of conservation, transit, housing, environmental justice, business and sustainable agriculture groups came together to call on Governor Brown and legislative leaders to finish the job of investing in climate change solutions in our communities.

August 2015 — The legislature delays a decision to allocate over $1 billion in cap-and-trade funds for a range of climate change programs, including the Governor’s proposed Healthy Soils Initiative. SB 367 is held in Assembly Appropriations.

March 2015 — CalCAN releases its “Blueprint for a California Program on Agriculture and Climate”, outlining the framework for a state program to incentivize, demonstrate and research soil building and other climate-friendly farming practices.

February 2015 — Senator Wolk introduces SB 367, co-sponsored by CalCAN and our coalition partner, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. The bill supports the Governor’s proposed Healthy Soils Initiative budget and updates the Environmental Farming Act of 1995. SB 367 garners strong bi-partisan support in both the Senate and the Assembly, and a long list of supporters (see below).

January 2015 — In his inaugural address and budget, Governor Brown proposes $20 million to launch a landmark program called the Healthy Soils Initiative. Using cap-and-trade funds, it would incentivize farming practices that increase the soil organic matter in California’s agricultural lands, resulting in GHG reductions, carbon storage in soils and multiple co-benefits. This proposal echoes the intent of Senator Wolk’s CalCAN-sponsored bills from 2010-12. CalCAN releases “Growing Solutions: Climate Change and Agriculture Recommendations to the California Governor”.

2014 — CalCAN successfully advocates for a new focus on agricultural solutions to climate change, including organic farming systems, in updates to the AB 32 Scoping Plan, which outlines how California will meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals. CalCAN shares the results of its Blueprint interviews with members of Governor Brown’s administration.

2013 — CalCAN is a founding member of the Natural and Working Lands Coalition, which advocates for state investment in agricultural and natural resource solutions to climate change. Coalition founding partners include The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, California ReLeaf and Pacific Forest Trust. CalCAN initiates the Blueprint for a State Climate Change and Agriculture Program project, including interviews with dozens of farmers, researchers and other agricultural professionals.

September 2012 — Governor Brown signs AB 1532, a bill supported by CalCAN and a coalition of agriculture and environmental partners, authorizing eligible investments of cap-and-trade funds, including sustainable farming and ranching practices that reduce GHG emissions and sequester carbon.

2011-12 — Senator Lois Wolk re-introduces the Agriculture Climate Benefits Act as SB 237. Though support for the bill increases, the bill does not pass out of the Senate.

2010 – Senator Lois Wolk introduces the CalCAN-sponsored SB 1241, the Agriculture Climate Benefits Act. SB 1241 describes the eligible uses of cap-and-trade funds for research and demonstration, technical assistance and financial incentives for agricultural practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support climate change adaptation. The bill passes out of Senate Agriculture and Environmental Quality Committees, but does not clear the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Budget, Legislature Act to Support Sustainable Agricultural Solutions to Climate Change

May 13, 2016 by Jeanne Merrill Leave a Comment

Sacramento has seen lots of important action recently on climate change and agriculture issues:

Today, Governor Jerry Brown released his May revise budget. The updated state budget proposal holds the line on climate smart agriculture funding, keeping with what the Governor proposed back in January with $115 million for new and existing climate smart agriculture programs. (More details below.)

Also this week: the Healthy Soils bill, Senate Bill 1350, was amended following successful negotiations between California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN), Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Senator Lois Wolk, author of the bill, and her staff brokered the discussions and were crucial to the groups finding common ground. (Details on the recent amendments to the bill are below.)

On Tuesday, CalCAN released its progress report on the state’s climate smart agriculture and drought program, the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP). Click here if you want to see how farmers are responding to the program and how your county ranks in terms of SWEEP funding.

Source: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Budget – Climate Smart Agriculture Investments:

Governor Brown’s May Revise budget maintains his January proposal for climate-smart agriculture funding, including:

Healthy Soils Initiative: $20 million
State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP): $20 million
Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program: $40 million
Dairy Methane: $35 million

CalCAN will continue to advocate in support of the Governor’s climate-smart agriculture package.

Call your Senator and Assemblymember to let them know you support climate-smart agriculture programs in the budget. The message is simple: “I’m calling to support (name the programs – Healthy Soils, SWEEP, etc.) funding in the budget. These programs provide crucial resources for farmers and ranchers to address climate change.” Give your name and town/city. Find your Senator and Assemblymember by clicking here.

Organic producer John Teixeira holding his compost.

Healthy Soils – Senate Bill 1350:

SB 1350 updates the Environmental Farming Act of 1995 and establishes the Healthy Soils Program, a climate-smart agriculture program, at CDFA. In April, the bill passed with bi-partisan support out of the Senate Environmental Quality and Senate Agriculture Committees. Members of both committees asked Senate Wolk to work with stakeholders and CDFA to provide more details on the Healthy Soils program. The recent amendments do just that, including:

SB 1350 increases the membership of the Environmental Farming Act Scientific Advisory Panel (EFA SAP) from 5 to 7 members. The new members include one member with training and field experience in climate change and agriculture, one member who is a certified organic producer and another member with expertise in conservation planning and management. This expertise will be crucial as the SAP takes on providing input on the development and implementation of the new Healthy Soils Program.
SB 1350 defines the Healthy Soils Program, which will provide incentives and resources to support agricultural management practices and on-farm demonstration projects that increase soil carbon storage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The new amendments provide for greater clarity on the parameters of the program and define healthy soils as “soils that soils that enhance their continuing capacity to function as a biological system, increase soil organic matter, improve soil structure and water- and nutrient-holding capacity, and result in net long-term greenhouse gas benefits”.

The bill goes next to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where it will likely be placed on the suspense file. We will know by the end of this month if the bill survives and moves on to the Senate floor for a vote sometime between May 31 – June 3^rd.

Want your Senator to support Healthy Soils? Call them today. The message is simple: “California farmers have solutions to offer for climate change. We need resources like the Healthy Soils Initiative. Please support Senate Bill 1350.” Give your name and town/city. Find your Senator by clicking here.

Filed Under: AB 32 Implementation, California Policy, Farmer Resources, Healthy Soils Tagged With: California Budget, Governor Jerry Brown, healthy soils initiative, SB 1350, SWEEP

Climate Smart Ag in 2016 Legislative Session

April 21, 2016 by Renata Brillinger Leave a Comment

Thanks to our partner, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), for permission to repost this blog. On April 19th, SB 1350 passed out of its second committee, the Senate Agriculture Committee, with a unanimous vote of support following discussions between the committee and the author on possible amendments.

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The California Legislature is in the midst of a heavy hearing schedule on legislation introduced earlier this year, and CAFF is working on several bills of importance to family farmers and sustainable agriculture advocates, including work to promote climate smart agriculture.

Senator Wolk, author of SB 1350

Last year CAFF co-sponsored SB 367, by Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis), which earmarked $20 million from the state’s cap and trade program to create incentives for farmers to adopt climate friendly farming practices that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon in soils and biomass. That bill made it almost all the way to the Governor last year, and is still alive in 2016 and poised to move to its final votes.

But the biggest impact of the bill has been on Governor Brown and the CA Dept. of Food and Agriculture. The Governor’s proposed FY 16-17 budget, introduced in January, includes $20 million for a Healthy Soils Program at CDFA. And CDFA approached Senator Wolk soon after to carry SB 1350, which creates the Healthy Soils Program at CDFA. Both these moves are in direct response to SB 367, and they demonstrate that the Administration now sees the value of working with farmers to help meet the state’s aggressive GHG emission reduction goals.

While these are very positive developments, CDFA’s proposal, embodied in SB 1350, still needs improvement. CAFF and our partner, CalCAN (the California Climate and Agriculture Network), are in active negotiations with CDFA to ensure that SB 1350 creates a robust Healthy Soils Program that actually promotes outcomes, like increased soil organic matter and improved soil moisture retention, that will create long-term GHG reductions and other agricultural and environmental benefits. Many of the environmentally friendly practices known to reduce or sequester carbon emissions in agriculture have long been adopted by CAFF farmers and others who practice sustainable agriculture.

We also are urging CDFA to reform its Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming to include farmers, scientists and technical advisors with expertise in climate smart farming practices and the impacts of climate change on agriculture.

We are fortunate to have Senator Wolk as the author of SB 1350: she has been part of CAFF and CalCAN’s efforts on this issue for years and received CAFF’s Legislator of the Year award in 2015. With Governor Brown and CDFA also now on board, the prospects are very good in 2016 for a landmark climate smart agriculture program in California.

Filed Under: AB 32 Implementation, California Policy, Healthy Soils Tagged With: climate smart agriculture, healthy soils initiative, SB 1350

Climate and Agriculture Bills to Watch in 2016

April 8, 2016 by Adam Kotin 1 Comment

California State Capitol Building. (Source: PeteBobb)

It’s that time of year when CalCAN reviews legislation that may help, or hinder, farmers and ranchers in addressing climate change. We are pleased to support a slate of sensible policy measures that will each in their own way help to unlock sustainable agricultural solutions to climate change.

Senate Bill 1350 (Wolk): Healthy Soils

SUPPORT WITH AMENDMENTS

As we noted in our recent blog, Senator Lois Wolk (D –Davis) has introduced a new bill that would create a Healthy Soils program at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. This bill follows in the footsteps of last year’s CalCAN and CAFF-sponsored SB 367, as well as years of other legislative efforts to promote farming practices with proven climate benefits. We are currently in conversation with CDFA and Senator Wolk’s office to strengthen and clarify some aspects of the bill, but hope to fully support this important legislation as it moves forward. Read more here…

SB 1350 was heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on April 6^th, where it passed with a vote of 6 – 0. It will next be heard in the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 19^th.

Senate Bill 1386 (Wolk): Natural and Working Lands

SUPPORT

Last January, Governor Brown declared natural and working lands, including farms and ranches, to be a key ‘pillar’ in the state’s efforts to battle climate change. His administration has made strides to invest climate change funds in strategies that capitalize on the protection, restoration, and improved management of natural and working lands for their climate benefits. This timely bill would make it the policy of the state of California that “the protection and management of natural and working lands are a key strategy in meeting the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals”. By embedding this in statute, the bill will ensure that future Governors have an obligation to consider strategies like farmland protection and improved farm management practices as viable, multi-benefit climate mitigation and adaptation activities. SB 1386 is sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife, one of our partners in the Natural and Working Lands Coalition.

SB 1386 was heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on April 6^th, where it passed with a vote of 6 – 0. It now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Senate Bill 1247 (Jackson): Agricultural Innovation Zones

SUPPORT

Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson’s (D – Santa Barbara) bill would create Agricultural Innovation Zones and a voluntary incentive program to support climate-smart agricultural farming practices on fields located near sensitive areas, such as schools and childcare centers. It would build upon the Healthy Soils Initiative by promoting practices such as cover cropping, compost application, mulch, drip irrigation, and reduced fossil fuel inputs, providing multiple benefits to our farms and our communities.

SB 1247 has been referred to the Senate Environmental Quality and Agriculture Committees. It will be heard in the Agriculture committee on April 19^th.

Senate Bill 1317 (Wolk): Aquifer Protection Act

SUPPORT

Many of California’s aquifers are in a crisis. With the extended severe drought, farmers have heavily relied upon their local groundwater supplies, but have often been forced to draw on this important underground ‘savings account’ in unsustainable ways. In 2014, CalCAN supported the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which will for the first time begin to regulate groundwater use in the state and ensure the long-term health of our aquifers. But as SGMA goes into effect, in some regions of the state wells continue to be drilled with little oversight or strategic planning, threatening water supplies of nearby farmers and residents. Senator Wolk’s SB 1317 will tighten the local issuance of well permits, providing a sensible follow-up to SGMA in the near-term. Without adequate regulation of groundwater resources, less-resourced growers will be unable to keep up with the drilling bonanza (particularly during drought years) and groundwater supplies will be severely impacted.

SB 1317 will be heard in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on April 12^th.

Assembly Bill 1826 (Stone): Organic Food & Farming Act

SUPPORT

This bill, sponsored by CalCAN coalition member California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), is intended to help the state’s organic producers by streamlining paperwork and reducing fees associated with the State Organic Program. Additionally, it would update the role of the Organic Program to focus on education and outreach as well as support for organic transition. Scientific research has repeatedly demonstrated that agricultural systems like organic farming that rely on reduced synthetic inputs and biological management offer some of the best solutions to climate change. Supporting a reformed State Organic Program that better meets the needs of the state’s organic producers is an important way to expand sustainable agricultural solutions to climate change.

AB 1826 will be heard in the Assembly Agriculture Committee on April 13^th.

Assembly Bill 2725 (Chiu): Food Waste

SUPPORT

Every year, uneaten food and other organic waste rotting in landfills contribute about twenty percent of California’s methane emissions. As CDFA Board President Craig McNamara emphasized in his keynote at the 2015 CalCAN Summit [click to listen], the issue of food waste has a strong (and often overlooked) climate change connection. This bill, sponsored by Californians Against Waste and the Natural Resources Defense Council, would standardize food date labels to reduce consumer confusion and prevent the unnecessary and premature disposal of many food products.

AB 2725 will be heard in the Assembly Agriculture Committee on April 13^th.

Assembly Bill 1815 (Alejo): Technical Assistance to Disadvantaged Communities

SUPPORT

Through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), California is investing billions in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make our communities more resilient to a changing climate. However: without technical assistance, many of the benefits of GGGRF programs will pass by some of our urban and rural communities because they do not have the resources to develop projects and successfully apply for these funds. CalCAN has noted that small-scale, limited resourced farmers in low-income communities may be unable to access programs like CDFA’s State Water Enhancement and Efficiency Program (SWEEP) because they cannot afford to work with expensive irrigation consultants to apply for the program, as many farm operations currently do, or may simply be unaware of the program. By making available technical assistance funds to work with potential GGRF recipients in disadvantaged communities, we help level the playing field and achieve the multiple benefits of GGRF investment throughout our communities.

AB 1815 passed out of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on April 4^th with a vote of 7 – 2. It will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Assembly Bill 2715 (Garcia E., Dodd, Alejo): Energy Efficiency in Farmworker Housing

SUPPORT

This bill would create a new program to improve the energy efficiency of farmworker housing, provide related energy savings, and foster greater resilience to heat waves and other extreme weather events. The money would come from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. In our 2015 Recommendations to Governor Brown, CalCAN highlighted the need for programs that help farmworker communities prepare for the impacts of climate change. AB 2715 would take an important step in that direction.

AB 2715 has been referred to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, but a date for its first hearing has not yet been set.

Assembly Bill 2339 (Irwin and Low): Net Energy Metering

SUPPORT

This bill will allow more farmers and ranchers to generate on-farm renewable energy by expanding access to the Net Energy Metering (NEM) program within irrigation districts and other publicly-owned utility (POU) territories. California farmers already generate more on-farm renewable energy than their counterparts in any other state, but there is still tremendous untapped potential for solar, wind, and biogas technologies. However, irrigation districts and other POUs have been operating under a different set of rules than the large investor-owned utilities, allowing them to prematurely refuse NEM service to their customers. AB 2339 simply extends the same definition of a NEM cap to POUs, allowing additional customers to generate grid-tied renewable energy and reduce their carbon footprint.

AB 2339 was heard in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee, but faced significant opposition. A vote has yet to be taken on the measure.

Filed Under: California Policy, Featured - Sidebar, Healthy Soils, Renewable Energy, Water Tagged With: 2016, ab 1815, ab 1826, ab 2339, ab 2715, ab 2725, bills, legislature, sb 1247, sb 1317, SB 1350, sb 1386

Healthy Soils Legislation Gets Senate Hearing

March 25, 2016 by Jeanne Merrill 3 Comments

New state legislation proposed by Senator Lois Wolk, Senate Bill 1350, would create the Healthy Soils program at the CA Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). The bill would also modernize the Environmental Farming Act by expanding the program’s Science Advisory Panel to include experts in climate change and agriculture.

SB 1350 builds upon past efforts—including last year’s SB 367, legislation sponsored by CalCAN and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF)—to create a climate change and agriculture program at CDFA. The goals of the Healthy Soils program are to work with California’s farmers and ranchers through outreach, education, demonstration and incentives to implement a host of farming practices that increase carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, reduce potent greenhouse gas emissions and improve agriculture’s resilience to a changing climate.

SB 1350 will have its first hearing on April 6^th in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. CalCAN and CAFF have been in conversation with CDFA and Senator Wolk’s office to discuss amendments to the bill that would strengthen and clarify provisions dealing with the make up of the Environmental Farming Act’s advisory council, which will provide input into the development of the Healthy Soils program. We are also in conversation regarding amendments that address goals and parameters for the Healthy Soils program. We are optimistic that we can come to agreement and fully support the bill moving forward.

We will provide regular updates on SB 1350, including how you can voice your support for sustainable agricultural solutions to climate change!

Filed Under: AB 32 Implementation, California Policy, Healthy Soils Tagged With: AB 32, CDFA, Environmental Farming Act, healthy soils, SB 1350

Healthy Soils Initiative

The objective of the Healthy Soils Program is to build soil carbon and reduce agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by providing incentives to farmers and ranchers for the adoption of new management practices with climate benefits. The program is coordinated by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

tilled field & hedgerow

Program Summary

Year launched: 2017
Funding level to date: $7.5 million
Total projects funded: 112
Total greenhouse gas reductions per year: equivalent of 18,360 metric tons CO₂, or the equivalent of removing almost 4,000 cars off the road for one year
Status of grant rounds: Two rounds completed.

Click here for a CalCAN fact sheet on the program.
Click here to view the CDFA website for more information.

Background

In his January 2015 inaugural address, Governor Brown announced the launch of a new Healthy Soils Initiative, a program long championed by CalCAN. This landmark effort seeks to increase carbon storage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our agricultural lands, providing a crucial set of solutions to our climate crisis.

In addition to the significant climate benefits of increasing soil organic matter, CDFA cites the multiple co-benefits of enhanced soil organic matter on our agricultural lands, including improved water retention, which is especially beneficial during periods of drought, as well as improved soil stability and nutrient use efficiency, which can help to improve our air and water quality by reducing nutrient run-off and related air emissions.

Governor Brown initially proposed $20 million from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (derived from cap-and-trade revenue). In 2016, the State Legislature allocated $7.5 million for the Healthy Soils Program in its first year. CalCAN continues to advocate for this program’s funding and provide input to CDFA as it designs and refines the program.

SB 859 (2016)

In August 2016, the state legislature allocated $7.5 million in initial funding for the Healthy Soils Initiative. It also passed SB 859, a budget trailer bill included language to establish the Healthy Soils Program that built upon previous legislative work by CalCAN and CAFF (see SB 1350 and SB 367 below). Key provisions include:

Establishes the Healthy Soils Program at CDFA to provide incentives to farmers “whose management practices contribute to healthy soils and result in net long-term on-farm greenhouse gas benefits.”
Enables financial support for on-farm demonstration projects that “result in greenhouse gas benefits across all farming types with the intent to establish or promote healthy soils.”
Defines healthy soils as “soils that enhance their continuing capacity to function as a biological system, increase soil organic matter, improve soil structure and water-and nutrient-holding capacity, and result in net long-term greenhouse gas benefits.”
Increases the current makeup of the Science Advisory Panel of the Environmental Farming Act from 5 to 9 members. Adds members with expertise in climate change and agriculture science and practice along with expertise in agriculture conservation planning and management. Adds farmer members, including a certified organic producer.
Establishes the Science Advisory Panel as the body to advise CDFA on the Healthy Soils and State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program.

SB 1350: Healthy Soils Program Act (2016)

In the 2016 legislative session, Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) introduced SB 1350, a bill sponsored by CDFA that updates the Environmental Farming Act of 1995 and defines the Healthy Soils Program at CDFA. This bill follows in the footsteps of last year’s bill SB 367, sponsored by CalCAN and California Alliance of Family Farms (CAFF) (see more below), as well as years of other legislative efforts to promote farming practices with proven climate benefits. CalCAN and CAFF worked closely with CDFA and Senator Wolk’s office to strengthen and clarify aspects of SB 1350. See our support letter here.

SB 1350 increases the membership of the Environmental Farming Act Scientific Advisory Panel (EFA SAP) to include greater climate change and agriculture expertise. The bill also defines the parameters of the healthy soils program, as well as a clear definition of healthy soils: “soils that enhance their continuing capacity to function as a biological system, increase soil organic matter, improve soil structure and water- and nutrient-holding capacity, and result in net long-term greenhouse gas benefits.” The bill complements the Governor’s budget proposal for the Healthy Soils Initiative by providing greater detail on eligible projects and program design.

SB 1350 passed with bi-partisan support out of the Senate Environmental Quality and Senate Agriculture Committees, but was held in suspense in Senate Appropriations.

SB 367: Agriculture Climate Benefits Act (2015)

SB 367 would have created a climate change focus for the Environmental Farming Program at CDFA, including new members of the Advisory Panel who have expertise in climate change and agriculture issues. SB 367 also proposed up to $40 million for farmland conservation and $25 million for on-farm practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon.

SB 367 Supporters

Co-sponsors:
California Climate and Agriculture Network
Community Alliance with Family Farmers

42 farmers in 20 counties

Alameda County Resource Conservation District
Almond Hullers and Processors Association
American Farmland Trust
Association of Compost Producers
Audubon California
Big Sur Land Trust
Cachuma Resource Conservation District
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Compost Coalition
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Food Policy Council
California Institute for Rural Studies
California League of Conservation Voters
California State Grange
Californians Against Waste
Catholic Charities Diocese of Stockton
Center for Biological Diversity
Central Valley Farmland Trust
Coastal Environmental Rights Association
Community Environmental Council
Defenders of Wildlife
Ecological Farming Association
Environment California
Environmental Defense Center
Environmental Entrepreneurs
FarmLink
FarmsReach
Greenbelt Alliance
Land Trust of Santa Cruz
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
Marin Resource Conservation District
Mendocino County Resource Conservation District
National Hmong American Farmers, Inc.
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Open Space Authority of Santa Clara Valley
Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association
Peninsula Open Space Trust
Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County
Resource Conservation District of Tehama County
Roots of Change
San Mateo County Resource Conservation District
Sonoma Resource Conservation District
StopWaste
Sustainable Agriculture Education
Sustainable Conservation
The Center for Food Safety
The Trust for Public Land
Valley Land Alliance
West Marin Environmental Action Committee
Wild Farm Alliance

Search Results for: SB 1350

New Panel Members

Healthy Soils Update

SWEEP Program Update

Staying Up-To-Date

State lawmakers create Healthy Soils program, pass historic climate bills

California Climate Smart Agriculture Programs

Climate Smart Agriculture Timeline

Budget – Climate Smart Agriculture Investments:

Healthy Soils – Senate Bill 1350:

SUPPORT WITH AMENDMENTS

SUPPORT

Assembly Bill 1826 (Stone): Organic Food & Farming Act

Program Summary

Background

SB 859 (2016)

SB 1350: Healthy Soils Program Act (2016)

SB 367: Agriculture Climate Benefits Act (2015)

SB 367 Supporters

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