A Farmer Focused Voice
For Climate Policy
Who We Are
CalCAN is a statewide network of farmers, ranchers, agricultural experts, researchers, and non-profit partners. Since 2009, we have advanced public policies that provide financial and on-farm resources to farmers implementing sustainable and organic practices.
Re-envisioning how we grow our food must be one of our highest and most urgent priorities.
Strategies for Climate Resilience
Farmworker Well-being
Climate change is having profound impacts on California’s farmers and farmworkers. We believe that a thriving agricultural system must prioritize the people who grow our food and their communities. Policy change can deliver resources to safeguard our food supply, keep family farmers on the land, and improve working and living conditions for farmworkers and low-income rural Californians.
Stories from
Our Network
Rosie Lee, Merced County
Rosie’s farm is an island of biodiverse food production in a sea of almond orchards. The SWEEP program from CDFA improved the efficiency of her farm and of each family’s business so they can continue producing healthy fruits and vegetables while using less resources.
Brindeiro & Danbom Dairy Farm, Stanislaus County
Paul Danbom is a fifth-generation farmer near Turlock with a 900-head dairy, hay, cattle feed, and almond operations. His AMMP grant funded a manure management system that aerates liquid waste to minimize methane, then mechanically separates solids from liquids. He applies the liquid manure to his fields while the solids are composted with almond prunings and applied back to his orchards. This reduces his fertilizer costs and supports beneficial insects.
JW Farms, Monterey County
Esteban Martinez has grown organic strawberries on 21 acres in coastal Monterey County for 20 years, where rolling hills and sandy soils make the land prone to erosion. Through two Healthy Soils Program grants, he planted native hedgerows, plus edible trees, to reduce erosion, improve soil health, and store carbon.
“It is smart to conserve. We need to save ground water to avoid digging deeper wells and draining out all of the water.”
“Getting the AMMP award sped up our plans to modernize our manure management system by about 10 years. Dairy farmers in the San Joaquin Valley are chomping at the bit to get more tools that improve their environmental sustainability”
“The current hedgerows have helped with erosion control. But they also attract pollinators and beneficial insects, beautify the farm, and act as a barrier to the synthetic inputs from the adjacent farm.”
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