- Author: Caddie Bergren
- Author: Valerie Perez
Ten years ago, Rob Schuh was on the verge of retiring. As a lifelong farmer, he had become disillusioned by how his work had become a series of numbers – adding and subtracting pounds of fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide every year. Then he discovered the concept of regenerative farming, alongside his son-in-law Andrew Carroll. Regenerative farming gave Schuh a newfound appreciation for agriculture and the land.
The more he learned, the more regenerative farming made sense when combined with his decades of experience treating his 210 acres of almond orchards in Chowchilla, California as a living, complex ecosystem. Schuh began to develop a more holistic approach for his orchard that led him to implement...
- Author: Lauren Dunlap
It's intuitive that wildfires can affect ecosystems, harm wildlife, and contaminate streams and rivers. But wildfires can also have complex, severe, and direct effects on our water supply and infrastructure—effects that have only become clear in recent years. Scientists and policymakers must integrate insights and experience from many disciplines and sectors to understand and address the consequences.
In September, 23 scholars and practitioners with a diversity of water and fire expertise came together to answer a critical question: How can California proactively protect its water supply from fires? Their findings, combined with the insights of the author team, form the basis of a new
- Author: Dana Yount
When liquid manure sits in storage lagoons on dairies or other livestock operations for too long, methane can form and contribute to climate change. To address concerns about methane emissions, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) developed the Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP), which supports farmers in reducing their methane emissions with both financial and technical assistance.
The objective of CDFA's AMMP is to encourage dairy and livestock producers to adopt climate smart practices to reduce methane emissions in animal agriculture systems. The program incentivizes the development of manure...
- Author: John Karlik
By John Karlik, UC Cooperative Extension, Environmental Horticulture/Environmental Science Advisor, Kern County
In a previous article, I noted another dry year is underway. Excessive landscape irrigation is wasteful and can lead to turf and landscape diseases. However, rarely is it necessary to do a landscape makeover to save water, nor will modifications necessarily result in water savings.
The key to saving water outdoors is irrigation scheduling. Modifications to a landscape are of no benefit for water conservation unless the irrigation amount is...
- Author: John Karlik
By John Karlik, UC Cooperative Extension, Environmental Horticulture/Environmental Science Advisor, Kern County
As California enters another dry summer, the supply and use of water are once again becoming topics of immediate concern. Statewide, agriculture dominates use of developed water — meaning water which is moved through pipes at some point. In urban areas, about half of developed water is used outdoors, and of that fraction about half is used for landscape irrigation.
That half is an important fraction in Los Angeles and other urban areas. Across the state, homeowners may be interested in saving money on water...