AB 491 (Connolly) – Natural & Working Lands Climate Targets

This bill, which is sponsored by Pacific Forest Trust, puts the state’s nature-based climate solutions targets, which were established last year by the Newsom administration as required by AB 1757 (C. Garcia, 2022), in statute so they have some staying power after Governor Newsom terms out in 2026. As a reminder, those targets include the following:

• Increase certified organic acreage to 10% by 2030, 15% by 2038, and 20% by 2045
• Increase healthy soils practice adoption on 140,000 additional acres/year by 2030; 190,000 additional acres/year by 2038; and 190,000 additional acres/year by 2040
• Conserve 12,000 additional acres/year of croplands by 2030; 16,000 additional acres/year by 2038; and 19,500 additional acres/year by 2045
• Conserve 33,000 additional acres/year of grasslands by 2030 & sustain that rate through 2045

AB 947 (Connolly) – Climate Smart Ag Technical Assistance

This bill would make a number of changes to the Climate Smart Agriculture Technical Assistance Program, initially established by AB 2377 (Irwin, 2018) that have been proposed by stakeholders based on their experience with the Program over the past seven years, including the following:

• Expands the definition of technical assistance and list of eligible technical assistance activities to include conservation planning, matching funds coordination, translation, access to equipment, and environmental compliance.
• Clarifies that technical assistance grants can be used to provide assistance to farmers and ranchers over multiple grant application cycles (e.g. if the Healthy Soils Program, State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program, or Alternative Manure Management Program have grant solicitations multiple years in a row).
• Allows the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to support training and capacity building within technical assistance provider organizations and coordination between organizations to improve the quality, consistency, and reach of technical assistance to farmers and ranchers across the state and to help farmers and ranchers access all relevant state and federal programs.

AB 937 (Connolly) – Organic Transition Program

This bill, which is sponsored by CalCAN member California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), will make a number of changes to the state’s Organic Transition Pilot Program based on experience with the program to-date, including the following:

• Increases the amount allowed for administrative costs to 25% to account for the complexity of providing comprehensive support to farmers, including one-on-one technical assistance and business planning.
• Allows for more comprehensive organic transition support by combining the organic transition components of the Conservation Agriculture Planning Grant Program into the Organic Transition Pilot Program.
• Builds capacity for organic technical assistance providers to ensure robust backbone support for farmers transitioning to organic. 

SB 279 (McNerney) – On-Farm Composting Regulations

This bill, which is co-sponsored by several advocacy and commodity groups, removes a number of longstanding regulatory barriers to increasing the production and sale of compost on farms and ranches, including the following:

• Increases the volume of on-site feedstock materials allowed from 100 to 500 cubic yards for composting operations which fall under the “excluded tier” (the lowest tier) under CalRecycle regulations (see section 17855 of Title 14 of the CCR)
• Makes the composting of ag materials from a “large-scale biomass management event,” including orchard/vineyard removal and crop rotation, and the blending of those materials with manure an excluded activity under CalRecycle regulations
• Increases the volume of compost a composting operation may sell from 1,000 to 5,000 cubic yards annually while still remaining in the “excluded tier” (where applicable under section 17855) or “enforcement agency notification tier” (for composting operations on agricultural land per section 17856(d)(1) of Title 14 of CCR)

AB 411 (Papan) – Livestock Carcass Composting

This bill, which is sponsored by the California Cattlemen’s Association, would authorize small-scale on-farm composting of routine livestock mortalities and butcher waste under best management practices (BMPs) adopted by CDFA in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board and CalRecycle.