Author Archives: Office of Public Affairs

In recognition of National Dairy Month (June), the Dairy Council of California has partnered with the San Francisco 49ers football club for an informative video about dairy’s important contributions to supporting nutrition security and healthy communities. California is the leading dairy-producing state in the country, and dairy is its highest-valued commodity at more than $7.5 billion.

CDFA environmental scientist Sarah Standiford–of the agency’s Produce Safety Program–recently appeared on a podcast for MyAgLife about Produce Safety Rule inspections and what farmers can expect. Topics included why CDFA conducts food safety inspections, the steps of an inspection, how a grower can prepare, and how CDFA inspectors take an educate-then-regulate approach. California farms with more than $25,000 in average …

CDFA Undersecretary Christine Birdsong was in Japan this week on a trade mission along with USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis M. Taylor, representatives from 10 other state departments of agriculture, numerous farm organizations, and 40 agribusinesses looking to connect with future business partners in Japan. The week included meetings with Japanese buyers seeking to import American …

A reminder that this is Invasive Species Action Week in California. CDFA works to prevent invasive species from threatening our environment and food supply in a number of important ways, including 16 Border Protection Stations positioned strategically around the perimeter of the state. Most years, more than 20 million private vehicles and 7 million commercial vehicles are inspected by Border …

As part of Pride Month activities, the USDA is hosting a webinar tomorrow (June 6), LGBTQI+ Mental Health in Agricultural Communities. This session will focus on the experiences of LGBTQ+ identifying people in agricultural and farming communities across the country. The webinar–occurring from 11 am to 12:30 pm PDT–will feature a special message from USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack as well as …

The United Nations has declared today World Environment Day, and it’s an opportunity to revisit challenges brought by our changing climate and explore practices to maintain sustainability in the decades ahead. In this video, Central Valley farmer and State Board of Food and Agriculture president Don Cameron shows us the work done on his Terranova Ranch to facilitate groundwater recharge. …

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross joined representatives from the dairy industry, food banks and Raley’s yesterday to kickoff National Dairy Month by announcing a partnership to increase donations of dairy foods to needy families in California. During the month of June, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) will match donations from Raley’s Food for Families Program for fluid milk for food …

From a USDA news release The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced public listening sessions and is soliciting public comments on possible changes to prevented planting crop insurance coverage.  USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) will hold in-person and virtual listening sessions from June through August, and written comments will be accepted until September 1. Prevented planting coverage provides producers valuable …