Monthly Archives: May 2023

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and CDFA recognizes that stressors felt by farmworkers, farmers and ranchers are real and may require outside assistance. The agency maintains a webpage with mental health resources for those in need. Suicide rates among farmers and ranchers are well above the national average, while mental health services are less available and accessible in rural areas, according …

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross (center in photo) today welcomed a delegation from the Western Cape of South Africa as it begins a week-long visit to California. The meeting included a discussion of a memorandum of understanding between the Western Cape and CDFA signed in March of last year. The MOU focuses on expanding exchanges of information about on-farm practices and …

CDFA recently visited Sweet Mabel’s Farm in West Sacramento, owned by Elle Huftill, an urban flower farmer. She takes us through her journey in farming and her passion for sustainable agriculture, as well as her commitment to community with fresh, locally-grown flowers.

The US Supreme Court has upheld California’s Proposition 12, an animal confinement initiative approved by voters in 2018 and subsequently challenged.  Californians voted to adopt Proposition 12 by an overwhelming margin (63%-37%), which established minimum confinement standards for the sale of certain animal products within California borders. CDFA issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court decision: “CDFA …

Did you know that inspections of imported table grapes are conducted annually by California county and state personnel to ensure they meet the same high standards of California-grown fruit? Inspections ensure that table grapes look good, taste good, are nutritious; and that labels accurately describe what consumers are purchasing.   (PHOTO — Standardization Southern District Supervisor Anna Carrasquillo conducts table …

The California dairy sector is on a mission to innovate how manure is recycled—boosting water quality outcomes and soil health. An initial roadmap has been drawn. Several projects are already under way. Millions of additional public and private investments will soon support the adoption of more advanced manure management practices on California dairy farms. (Photo — worms in use to …

The USDA today announced investments in 12 Regional Food Business Centers–including one in California–that will provide coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building to help farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses access new markets and navigate federal, state, and local resources. In addition, the USDA announced a Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI) to fund innovative projects designed to invest in …

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross (at lectern) and CDFA Deputy Secretary for Climate and Working Lands Virginia Jameson (inset) welcome attendees to the State of the Science Summit: Feed Strategies to Reduce Enteric Emissions, at UC Davis this morning. This was the start of a two-day conference co-hosted by CDFA and the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to …