In the News

Please direct media inquiries to:
Kristine Rebiero, CalCAN Communications & Development Manager
kristine@calclimateag.org | 209-345-9096

RECENT MEDIA COVERAGE

of CalCAN’s work and its advisors and partners

Climate bond reflects water and sustainable ag priorities

Agri-Pulse, July 2024

Asm. Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, the other co-author, played a leading role with incorporating provisions on sustainable agriculture within the bond proposal, as outlined under Senate Bill 867.

Last year Wilson pushed for a $3.4 billion bond to support what she described as four pillars of the food system: climate-smart agriculture, farmworker well-being, healthy food access and regional food infrastructure. Her bill competed with three other climate bonds before it stalled in committee, as Governor Gavin Newsom pressured lawmakers to narrow their focus to a single mental health bond for the March primary ballot…

…The California Department of Food and Agriculture would gain $90 million from the bond, split among programs to support farmers markets, urban agriculture, equipment sharing and tribal producers. Similarly, the California Department of Conservation would have $30 million to address land access for socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers.

Many of those spending requests emanated from the California Climate and Agriculture Network.

The Farmers Leaning On Each Other’s Tools

Civil Eats, January 2024

There have been some recent efforts to support more robust farm equipment-sharing in the U.S. Earlier this year, California Assemblymember Steve Bennett introduced a bill aimed at funding regional equipment-sharing hubs for equipment needed for soil health and conservation practices, as well as storage and processing. It also would have provided training for farmers on how to design their own equipment cooperatives. The bill passed in both the Senate and House last spring, but it was vetoed by the governor due to budget concerns.

“It just makes sense to have it be a piece of equipment that gets rotated around and shared,” Assemblymember Bennett told Civil Eats.

Almonds are Under Threat. The Key to Saving Them Could Be in the Soil

Modern Farmer, July 2023

“I think that, especially in the case of water availability, the writing’s on the wall at this point,” says Renata Brillinger, executive director of the California Climate and Agricultural Network. “I think growers are pretty clear now that whether it’s water availability or regulations, they’re going to need to find ways to adapt and modernize their approach to farming.”

“The state of California has put in place quite a number of programs, not just in agriculture, but across the economy. They’ve got very ambitious targets that are in line with the scientific imperative,” they say. “It’s incredibly complicated. And when it comes to farming, which is operating in a biological system, it’s even more complex because it’s not mechanistic, like figuring out how to build a new electric car. And when we’re talking about working within the constraints of water and soil and biodiversity, then it’s even harder.”

Several climate and flood bonds are competing for ballot slots. Will the Central Valley be overlooked?
AgriPulse, April 2023

“California’s food and farming system is on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” said Asm. Lori Wilson of Suisun City, which borders the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, as she introduced Assembly Bill 408 in an Agriculture Committee hearing last week. “If the state wants to create a more climate-resilient agriculture sector, then it must act now to scale up investments.”

Of the $3.4 billion pitched in the measure, nearly $1 billion would restore climate-smart programs at CDFA to improve soil health and water-use efficiency, help farmers transition for organic certification, support technical assistance and enable demonstration projects.

With the California Climate & Agriculture Network cosponsoring AB 408, policy director Sandra Nakagawa said many farmers have been questioning whether they can continue to operate following recent winter storms.

Ahead of Fire Season Senator Limón Introduces Legislation to Expand Wildfire Mitigation Efforts
Office of Senator Monique Limón, February 2023

SB 675 is sponsored by the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN) and was developed in close collaboration with the Community Environmental Council, Fibershed, and local fire professionals, prescribed grazing practitioners, and rangeland ecologists across the state.

“Catastrophic wildfires have become the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, fueling a vicious cycle that has already taken a tremendous toll on farmers and farmworkers,” said Brian Shobe, Deputy Policy Director with the California Climate and Agriculture Network. “Prescribed grazing is a safe, climate-friendly alternative to other vegetation management tools, such as chemical herbicides and fossil-fuel powered equipment, and should be integrated in the state’s wildfire risk reduction programs and strategies.”

More media coverage.

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