Author Archives: Office of Public Affairs

As CDFA carries forward with its essential work to promote and protect agriculture and natural resources, I’d like to express my appreciation for the partnerships that help make it possible. It all starts with our farmers and ranchers, and the remarkable bounty they produce for the world. They are resilient and innovative, and they have established California as a world …

Yesterday we learned the sad news of the passing of Yolo County farmer and agricultural leader Richard Rominger.  Rich was a passionate advocate for California agriculture, farmland conservation, and environmental stewardship. He served on countless boards in leadership positions throughout his long and distinguished farming and public service career.  Governor Jerry Brown appointed Rich to lead the California Department of …

Ok, I’m grateful for more than just the traps, but they represent an essential first step in our efforts to exclude invasive species from California, and then respond as effectively as possible if we find them.  Yellow sticky traps are used to detect pests such as Asian Citrus Psyllids and Glassy-Winged Sharpshooters, which are major threats to crops like citrus …

I am grateful for the important work of state government to ensure our programs and services can benefit every community of concern.  COVID-19 has starkly demonstrated disproportionate impacts to vulnerable populations, which makes Governor Newsom’s commitment to diversity and racial equity in his California For All initiative even more important. At CDFA we understand that we must bring an equity …

As the COVID-19 outbreak spread earlier this year and Californians were facing challenges brought-on by quarantine directives, certified farmers’ markets emerged as even greater essential hubs of local food availability. While initial disruptions in national and regional supply chains created empty packaged goods and toilet paper shelves in the center of supermarkets, our farmers kept on producing fresh and nutritious …

As a 4-H kid who loved the annual county fair growing up, I have a special appreciation for our state’s fairgrounds and the people who operate them.  I am especially grateful for the evolution of these properties into a critically important part of our infrastructure to support local communities in emergency situations.    In 2020, the impact of COVID-19 negatively …

Through the many challenges of 2020, I am exceptionally thankful for the leadership of California farmers and ranchers who are implementing climate-smart agriculture practices and embracing innovation for climate and water resiliency.  These adaptations are essential if California is to remain a world leader in food production throughout the 21st century and beyond.    At CDFA, our Office of Environmental Farming …

Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an executive order addressing a variety of issues in response to the pandemic, including extending the availability of housing for migrant agricultural workers, providing a 90-day extension on tax returns and tax payments for small businesses and updating Cal/OSHA requirements related to quarantine guidelines.  The order allows migrant farm labor centers managed by the Department of Housing …

The California Farmworker Foundation has joined a pilot project with the state of California to administer COVID-19 tests in the field for farmworkers. On October 30th, Governor Newsom announced the opening of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Valencia Branch Laboratory, designed to add additional testing capacity will allow California to better serve schools, health care providers and hard-to-reach communities …

Some of the good news to emerge from 2020 included the eradication of Virulent Newcastle Disease (VND), a deadly bird illness that poses a threat to avian populations across the country. The outbreak began in Southern California in 2018 and was eliminated after two years of hard work and cooperation between CDFA, the USDA, the California Animal Health and Food …