CDFA Secretary Karen Ross recently announced new appointments to a CDFA advisory group, the Cannella Environmental Farming Act Science Panel. The panel is charged with reviewing agriculture’s impacts on the environment and creating a voluntary environmental farming program to provide incentives to farmers and ranchers whose conservation practices provide environmental benefits, including improved air and water quality and enhanced wildlife habitat.

At CalCAN, we are pleased not only that Secretary Ross has made it a priority to breathe life into the panel, which was established in law in the mid-1990s, but that she populated it with several knowledgeable and experienced members.

Three of the panel members have served in various advisory capacities with CalCAN: Ann Thrupp, PhD, is the Manager of Sustainability and Organic Development at Fetzer & Bonterra Vineyards; Brian Leahy from the Resources Agency, Department of Conservation; Louise Jackson, PhD, University of California Cooperative Extension (ex officio member). We look forward to supporting these and the other committee members in their efforts, and we commend Secretary Ross for devoting resources to the panel and its important work.