Monitoring

AB 552 (Bennett) Regional Farmer Equipment and Cooperative Resources Assistance Program

Status: Vetoed by Governor
Farmers in Rockingham County, Virginia check the results of no-till farming in their fields on September 9, 2008, as part of their participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI).

Under existing law, the Department of Conservation administers various programs relating to agriculture including the California Farmland Conservancy Program. Existing law authorizes the program to offer financial assistance, including grants or contracts, for projects and activities on agricultural lands that support agricultural conservation and sustainable land management, including, among other projects and activities, the acquisition of agricultural … Read more

Monitoring

AB 404 (Connolly) Small and mid-scale farmer reporting requirements

Status: Vetoed by Governor
Farmworker

Existing law establishes the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and charges it with various duties and obligations. This bill would require the CDFA to evaluate duplicative reporting requirements that affect small and mid-scale farmers and farming operations and would require the CDFA, on or before January 1, 2025, to submit a report to … Read more

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New report on climate impacts in SoCal makes urgent case for agricultural climate adaptation tools bill

Day workers by Linnaea Mallette from publicdomainpictures.net

by Brian Shobe, CalCAN Highlights A new study by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and Climate Science Alliance emphasizes the need for climate adaptation tools and training for farmers due to climate impacts Assembly Bill 1071, the Agricultural Climate Adaptation Tools Bill, would provide the tools and training needed in order for farmers … Read more

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Regenerative agriculture’s climate mitigation potential: a California perspective

from CalCAN Highlights Changing agricultural practices can allow soils to become regenerative, which can help California reach negative emissions Regenerative Agriculture helps farmers sequester carbon from the atmosphere and bury it deep below ground, directly helping to slow the climate crisis Cap and Trade funds in California help to financially support regenerative ag programs within … Read more

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Climate mitigation potential of regenerative agriculture is significant

Farmers in Rockingham County, Virginia check the results of no-till farming in their fields on September 9, 2008, as part of their participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI).

from Tropical Agriculture Association Highlights A group of scientists from the Regenerative Agriculture Foundation rebuked a recent report published by the World Resources Institute that claimed regenerative agriculture and carbon sequestration provided little to no benefits for climate change mitigation The Regenerative Agriculture Foundation states that regenerative agriculture creates healthy soils and reduces carbon dioxide … Read more

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Cap-and-trade is failing to provide adequate funding to California farmers

Photo by Karen Preuss

by Nicole Pollock, Inside Climate News Highlights Due to a decrease in revenue from California’s cap and trade program, many agriculture-based climate programs may receive funding cuts or no funding at all The cap and trade program typically makes $600 million and $800 million from major polluters in the state through allowance auctions, but due … Read more

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Soil professor receives $250k prize for helping farmers fight climate change

Photo by IFPRI -IMAGES

by Jessica Craig, NPR Highlights Rattan Lal, professor and director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at Ohio State University, has been recently named the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate for his research on healthy soils. Lal has been the champion of farming techniques that keep and add nutrients in the soil and his … Read more

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COVID, the California legislature, and climate policy for healthy soils

by Renata Brillinger, CalCAN Highlights The coronavirus pandemic is affecting farmworkers, food system resilience, and climate change impacts. The legislative session will be more constricted and fewer bills will be advance, but partners such as the California Climate and Agricultural Network will continue to work for healthy soils initiatives. Two bills are key: AB 1071 … Read more

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Cargill-led fund to pay U.S. farmers for carbon capture, exchange credits

Todd and Arliss Nielsen inspect their ryegrass cover crop in Wright County, Iowa. USDA photo.

by Karl Plume, Reuters Highlights Cargill Inc is paying farmers to sequester carbon in their soils and prevent fertilizer runoff, becoming the first effort to monetize environmentally friendly farming practices.  The Soil & Water Outcomes Fund, a partnership with the Iowa Soybean Association and third-party verification company Quantified Ventures, will sell the environmental credits created … Read more