I love cover crops. I really do. No, I don't think they are the solution to everything or that they work magic in every scenario. But for the scenarios they work in, they are marvelous. Why are these plantings so interesting, you ask? Well, let me tell you about my love interest with cover crops.

First of all, cover crops are one of the most cost effective ways to build soil organic matter. You can get cover crop seed for a few dollars a pound, grow it up, and terminate it once it goes to seed. All of that seed goes right back into the soil, giving a nice seed bank to reseed next season. Compare that to the cost of purchasing, transporting, and spreading mulch or compost and you have yourself a deal.

Cover crops can be selected for multiple benefits and to unique environments. Let's take an orchard system for example. In an orchard situated in certain temperature zones, there may be an increased risk of frost. Planting tall cover crops that come to maturity during the coldest days of the year put the orchard at greater risk for frost. Instead, this risk can be minimized by seeding low stature cover crops in January. The winter rains will assist in establishment, but the growth will be minimal during those frost-prone days of February. Come March and April, a fully established cover crop will provide erosion control and increased infiltration rates to keep rain onsite for the orchard.

Subterranean clover. Photo courtesy of University of California.

Another thing to love about cover crops is their role in nutrient management. Nitrate leaching is a problem of excess fertilizer making its way below the root zone and into water systems. Think regulatory agencies, public health and environmental concerns, and paperwork. Grasses and brassicas are excellent nitrogen scavengers, helping prevent nitrate leaching to groundwater. These grasses and brassicas take up nitrogen and then slowly decompose, releasing that nitrogen back to the soil as a biologically available form for the cash crops to utilize. Legumes, on the other hand, work in an entirely different way to impact nitrogen. Utilizing nitrogen fixing nodules in their root systems, legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen and exude it as biologically available nitrogen for other plants to use. With a greater level of soil nitrogen available, less added nitrogen is required for optimal crop growth.

Weeds and pests. Carefully selected cover crops can use their super hero powers to combat villains that threaten crop viability. Want to suppress weed competition? Maybe plant a cereal rye or a mustard. Grow that up, knock it down, and create a nice mat to stifle weed growth. Aphids got you down? Try planting some legumes such as cowpea to attract lady beetles.

Yellow mustard. Photo courtesy of University of California.

Soil structure. Oh, soil structure! Cover crops can provide multiple benefits here as well. Cover crop roots prevent erosion, keeping soil in place. In addition, they add organic matter to the soil as they grow and decompose. Roots of various cover crops, especially those in the daikon radish and sugar beet variety, have deep penetration and can break up compacted soil layers. In the process, cover crops increase soil porosity and infiltration, allowing water to move into and stay in the soil profile instead of running offsite. The change in soil structure to one of fluffier, porous, organic material provides habitat for increased soil biodiversity of microorganisms and decomposers. These guys help with nutrient cycling to maintain soil healthy and productivity. Over time, cover crops build soil tilth, soil porosity, soil organic matter, soil biodiversity, and overall soil structure that is easier to work with and produce in.

I could go on. The point is not that cover crops are the answer to everything, but rather that they provide multiple benefits for a good price. Cover crops are a low investment practice to test out when building healthy, resilient soils that will last for future generations of farmers.  

Climate smart agriculture encompasses management practices that increase soil carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve yields and efficiencies, and promotes climate resilience. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) supports three funding opportunities in climate smart agriculture: the Healthy Soils Program, the State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program, and the Alternative Manure Management Program. 

In a collaborative partnership, CDFA and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources have teamed up to support 10 community education specialists throughout the state to provide technical assistance and outreach for the climate smart agriculture programs. As one of these technical assistance providers, my role is to promote and support the adoption of these programs in Ventura County. If you are interested in working with me, please contact me at amrowe@ucanr.edu.

This week the California Department of Food and Agriculture released the much anticipated Healthy Soils Program awards. Statewide, a grand total of $12.48 million will be supporting 217 projects that build soil health, increase soil organic matter, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions through agricultural land management practices. On a national scale, this funding represents the country's largest investment in building healthy soils as a climate mitigation strategy. This is great news for farmers, ranchers, and the soils of California.

The program funds farmers and ranchers to implement practices such as cover crops, reduced tillage, mulch application, development of grazing management plans, compost application, and the establishment of windbreaks or hedgerows. The awards support both incentive projects and demonstration projects under the umbrella of the Healthy Soils Program. CDFA selected 194 incentives projects to receive $8.7 million in funding across 45 counties and 23 demonstration projects to receive $3.8 million in funding across 16 counties.

So, what happened in Ventura County? I am sure you are eagerly awaiting the local news! In our county, we have 1 demonstration project and 3 incentive projects that received funding. That is a huge increase from the previous round in which Ventura County only received 1 incentive grant. See below for details on the projects funded for the county.

Incentive Projects

Demonstration Project

For a full list of projects and project descriptions, please go to the websites for the CDFA Healthy Soils Incentive Program and the CDFA Healthy Soils Demonstration Program.

Stay tuned for updates on how these projects progress and opportunities to come see Healthy Soils in action in Ventura County!

Ventura County. Photo Credit Jeremy Kirsch.

Climate smart agriculture encompasses management practices that increase soil carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve yields and efficiencies, and promotes climate resilience. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) supports three funding opportunities in climate smart agriculture: the Healthy Soils Program, the State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program, and the Alternative Manure Management Program.

In a collaborative partnership, CDFA and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources have teamed up to support 10 community education specialists throughout the state to provide technical assistance and outreach for the climate smart agriculture programs. As one of these technical assistance providers, my role is to promote and support the adoption of these programs in Ventura County. If you are interested in working with me, please contact me at amrowe@ucanr.edu.

By Andre Biscaro

Join us on Thursday, June 12, 2019 from 9 am-10:30 a.m. at Crisalida Berry Farms in Oxnard for this important free field day.

• Learn how different nitrogen fertilizer rates and sources affect strawberry yield, fruit quality and shelf-life
• Visualize treatments effects on plots and discuss results
• 1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEU) applied for Certified Crop Advisers (CCA)
• Simultaneous Spanish translation available

Please register here

Check out the flyer below for more information and map 

Thanks to special guest author Shulamit Shroder for a glance at a Healthy Soils Program grant in action. Shulamit is Kern County's UCCE climate smart agriculture specialist. 

Quaker Oaks Farm is a small nonprofit farm in Tulare County, near Visalia. About half of its 21 acres are devoted to restoring and maintaining a native wetland and riparian oak forest area. The rest is a diverse organic farming operation, with areas devoted to annual vegetable crops, grazed grasslands, and a small orchard. 

As farm manager, Steven Lee applied for and received a Healthy Soils grant in 2017 to plant cover crops and hedgerows, apply compost and mulch, and establish a silvopasture area.

He believes that this investment in the farm's soil will pay off in the long term, so that the next generation can continue to enjoy the services provided by the nonprofit's complex landscape.

Between March 2018 and March 2021, the farm plans to:

-       Plant cover crops on 4.5 acres

-       Plant hedgerows on 0.3 acres

-       Establish a 2.5 acre silvopasture area

-       Apply mulch to 2 acres

-       Apply compost to 6 acres

Benefits

Water usage: Dr. Lee reported that the mulch has helped keep young plants from wilting in the hot sun and that their overall water usage has decreased.

Energy usage: They have reduced their tillage operations, which has decreased their energy use and their carbon footprint.

Pests: Dr. Lee has witnessed an increase in beneficial insects since the start of the project, especially ladybugs. In 2018, the ladybugs did not migrate away from the farm during the hottest part of the summer like they had in previous years. The farm also did not have to spray organic pesticides in 2018, unlike in 2017. In addition, the increase in native pollinators should help to pollinate the fruit tree orchard, since the farm does not have its own beehive.

Disadvantages

Labor: Implementing these practices takes time, and Dr. Lee does most of the on-farm labor himself. He ended up prioritizing the Healthy Soils project over production during the past year, since the grant has offset his labor costs.

Learning curve: Determining optimal timing has been the steepest learning curve so far, such as figuring out when to plant the native hedgerow plants and when to replace the ones that died.

Quaker Oaks cover crop ready for mowing

Climate smart agriculture encompasses management practices that increase soil carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve yields and efficiencies, and promotes climate resilience. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) supports three funding opportunities in climate smart agriculture: the Healthy Soils Program, the State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program, and the Alternative Manure Management Program. 

In a collaborative partnership, CDFA and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources have teamed up to support 10 community education specialists throughout the state to provide technical assistance and outreach for the climate smart agriculture programs. As one of these technical assistance providers, my role is to promote and support the adoption of these programs in Ventura County. If you are interested in working with me, please contact me at amrowe@ucanr.edu.