CDFA Announces Stakeholder Engagement Opportunity for the Healthy Soils Program
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has scheduled a public meeting on August 23, 2019 to hear from stakeholders and the public about the Healthy Soils Program. CDFA encourages farmers, ranchers, technical assistance providers, agricultural associations, university and state university partners, commodity groups, agricultural support service organizations, and other agricultural stakeholders–including the members of the public–to engage in this opportunity for dialog about the program itself and approaches for outreach and engagement.The meeting will cover several important topics, including feedback on developing partnerships, information sharing and engagement with socially disadvantaged farmers, conservation practices, and program recommendations. Workshops to gather feedback on new changes for the next release of the Healthy Soils Program Request for Proposals will be held in September.
The meeting will be held on Friday, August 23, from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Main Auditorium, 1220 N Street, Sacramento. Click here to register to attend remotely.
Cargill announces commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its North American beef supply chain
Global demand for protein is rising rapidly, challenging farmers, ranchers and agribusiness to feed a growing population while protecting the planet. Across the food and agriculture industry, there is a pressing need to do more with less impact. To help address this need, Cargill is launching BeefUp Sustainability, an initiative committed to achieving a 30% greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity reduction across its North American beef supply chain by 2030. Read more here.
NRCS CIG Update: Final Report from Mountains-to-Bay (M2B) Grazing Alliance
The Mountains-to-Bay (M2B) Grazing Alliance shared the final report from their multi-state USDA NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant focused on promoting rotational grazing in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and quantifying the environmental benefits. In addition, they received a recent National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant to build on, and expand, their partnership, and launched a web page that provides details on the M2B Grazing Alliance (e.g., partners and steering committee members) as well as resources about grazing, including this report and another that provides more details on their assessment of the environmental benefits.
CDFA Accepting Applications for Climate Smart Ag Technical Assistance Funding
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is now accepting applications for 2019 Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Technical Assistance Funding. Eligible organizations may request up to $120,000 to provide technical assistance to applicants and awardees of the 2019 Alternative Manure Management Program and the 2019 Healthy Soils Program. A description of the technical assistance program and links to the application materials can be found here. Applications are due August 30, 2019 at 5 p.m. PT.
California Air Resources Board (CARB) Workshops
Carbon Neutrality: Scenarios for Deep Decarbonization: CARB staff will host a public workshop on August 15th on scenarios for achieving deep decarbonization of California’s economy and to discuss implications for meeting California’s carbon neutrality goals. The workshop will consist of a moderated panel discussion that brings together experts who have constructed economy-wide, deep decarbonization scenarios and will address key aspects of these scenarios that lead to economic transformations needed to achieve carbon neutrality goals.
Social Cost of Carbon and Affordability: CARB staff will host a public workshop on August 16th related to the social cost of carbon and the considerations for affordability in meeting California’s carbon neutrality goals. The workshop will consist of a moderated panel discussion that brings together experts who continue to evaluate the social cost of carbon estimates or assess affordability considerations as part of deep decarbonization.
More information on both workshops is available here.
Conservation in Action on the August 20-21 Tour in Iowa
The Conservation at the Leading Edge tour will include a packed program of farm visits, facility tours and informative presentations in central Iowa on August 20-21. Highlights will include prairie strips, cover crop interseeding, corn stover harvest, a sprayer training simulator, bioreactors and drainage water management. The tour is expected to draw more than 200 farmers, crop consultants, conservation specialists, scientists, agribusiness leaders, policy makers and non-profit organization staffers from across the country. That creates an outstanding networking opportunity in addition to the chance to explore real-world conservation practices up close. ESMC will share highlights in our next newsletter.