Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA
  1. CDFA Home
  2. Planting Seeds Blog
  3. Category Archives: Environment

Category Archives: Environment

From USDA: Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces $150 Million, New Partnership to Support Water Quality and Quantity in Drought-Stricken California

June 24, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

Resilient Lands and Waters partnership will focus public and private resources towards conserving and restoring the Sierra-Cascade California Headwaters Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today joined Interior Deputy Secretary Mike Connor and California Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird to announce a new partnership focused on conserving and restoring the Sierra-Cascade California Headwaters, as part of President Obama’s Resilient Lands and …

Read More
Posted in Climate Change, Drought, Environment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Modesto Bee editorial: Pope, farmers have more in common than they know

June 19, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

From the Modesto Bee editorial board: Two stories caught our interest this week that centered on folks who might not seem to have much in common – Pope Francis and some Central Valley farmers. The first story was a look at the document first leaked, then released, by the Vatican containing Pope Francis’ plea for all of mankind to take …

Read More
Posted in Climate Change, Dairy, Environment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

CDFA’s commitment to eradicate the Japanese Beetle

June 8, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is currently working on a pair of Japanese Beetle eradication projects in Sacramento County, in the communities of Carmichael and Fair Oaks. The beetle has been called perhaps the most devastating pest of urban landscape plants and turf grasses in the eastern United States; that region is generally infested with the pest, while …

Read More
Posted in Environment, Invasive Species, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Preliminary report on drought impacts to agriculture in 2015

June 2, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

Drought conditions in crop field near Woodland, Calif. By Richard Howitt, Duncan MacEwan, Josue Medellin-Azuara, Jay Lund and Daniel A. Sumner The drought is expected to be worse for California’s agricultural economy this year because of reduced water availability, according to our preliminary estimates released today. The study, summarized below, estimates farmers will have 2.7 million acre-feet less surface water …

Read More
Posted in Drought, Environment, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

California agriculture: it’s worth the water – Op-ed co-authored by Secretary Ross in the LA Times

June 2, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

By Karen Ross and Daniel Sumner Pundits here in drought-stricken California have become fond of proclaiming that farms consume 80% of the state’s water and generate only about 2% of its gross domestic product. “Why devote so much of our water to an industry that contributes so little fuel to our economic engine?” they ask. Both of those figures are …

Read More
Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Drought, Environment, Trade, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Water Wisdom – from the Growing California video series

May 19, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

The latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Water Wisdom,” a profile of Central California farmer Don Cameron and his innovative water management to lessen the pain of the drought.  

Posted in Climate Change, Drought, Environment, Growing California, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Governor’s May Revise budget doubles-down on CDFA drought and climate change programs

May 14, 2015   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

Governor Brown’s revised budget for May, released today, makes great strides in helping agriculture adapt to the ongoing drought and climate change. The Governor proposes to provide substantial assistance to farmers to increase their water efficiency, reduce greenhouse gases, build dairy digesters and increase soil resilience. The State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) would receive $40 million in the …

Read More
Posted in Climate Change, Drought, Environment, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Healthy Soils Initiative: A foundation for agricultural sustainability and climate change resilience

May 13, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

Ask a shopper where their food comes from, and the answer might be “the supermarket” or “the farmers’ market,” or maybe even “a farm” or “a farmer.” Those are all true, but of course they aren’t the whole story. Ask a farmer the same question, and you’re likely to hear “the soil.” Ah, now we’re getting somewhere… In his recent …

Read More
Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Fertilizer, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Day in Marin: Farmers Share a Passion for a Place Called California

April 30, 2015   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

“A day in Marin.” Say that out loud to someone from California’s Bay Area, then stand back and watch the reaction. “Well, I could reschedule that meeting, move some things around…” It’s something you want to do, someplace you want to be. And agriculture is a big part of the reason that’s true. California is dotted with locales like this, each …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Education, Agricultural Marketing, Conservation, Dairy, Environment | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Earth Day & Invasive Species: Sacramento-area students meet “Hungry Pests”

April 21, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

Sixth-graders from Cowan Fundamental Elementary School joined students at nearby Mira Loma High School in the Sacramento area this morning for an energizing and educational event built around the themes of Earth Day (April 22) and invasive species. CDFA Secretary Karen Ross applauded the students’ efforts to learn about the science behind efforts to detect and deter invasive pests and …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Education, Environment, Invasive Species | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment