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.

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.

Water Measurement and Reporting Course

This training will be held on Friday June 7^th, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

At the Santa Ynez Community Services District, 1070 Faraday St., Santa Ynez, CA 93460

Senate Bill 88 requires that all surface water right holders who have previously diverted or intend to divert more than 10 acre-feet per year (riparian and pre-1914 claims), or who are authorized to divert more than 10 acre-feet per year under a permit, license, or registration, to measure and report the water they divert.  Detailed information on the regulatory requirements for measurement and reporting is available on the State Water Resources Control Board “Reporting and Measurement Regulation” webpage.The legislation as written requires that for diversion (or storage) greater than or equal to 100 acre-feet annually that installation and certificationof measurement methods be approved by an Engineer/Contractor/Professional.  Diverters across CA were concerned about this requirement.  

California Cattlemen's Association heard from their membership and worked with Assemblyman Bigelow on a bill that would result in a self-certification option.  Assembly Bill 589 was passed and became law on January 1, 2018. This bill, until January 1, 2023, allows any diverter, as defined, who has completed this instructional course on measurement devices and methods administered by the University of California Cooperative Extension, including passage of a proficiency test, to be considered a qualified individual when installing and maintaining devices or implementing methods of measurement. The bill requires the University of California Cooperative Extension and the Board to jointly develop the curriculum for the course and the proficiency test. 

At the workshop you will:

• Clarify reporting requirements for farms and ranches.
• Understand what meters are appropriate for different situations.
• Learn how to determine measurement equipment accuracy.
• Develop an understanding of measurement weirs.
• Learn how to calculate and report volume from flow data.

Registration is required; there is a fee of $25. Registration link here.

   (https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=27389)

For questions, please contact Matthew Shapero at (805) 645-1475 or mwkshapero@ucanr.edu. For other helpful resources regarding water measuring, reporting, and AB 589, please visit: https://ucanr.edu/sites/AB589/

Petty Ranch, a story of cover crops in Ventura County. 

“All of the lemon trees were dying.” Sigh. Another distressing story about agriculture in the face of climate change, rising land values, difficult economies, and soil degradation. Or is it? Chris Sayer, owner of Petty Ranch, walks me through his 50-acre property of figs, lemons, and avocados. In addition to his trees, Chris has a whole other system growing. Cover crops.

I am personally a huge fan of cover crops or green manure. Planting cover crops keeps the soil covered, which reduces the loss of topsoil to wind and rain. Additionally, cover crops are an inexpensive way to build soil carbon and improve soil structure. Depending on the cover crop chosen, root systems help penetrate and break up plowpan layers created from tractor compaction, increase water infiltration, reduce runoff, and improve nutrient cycling for cash crops. Many cover crop systems include legumes, which have the amazing power of fixing atmospheric nitrogen. In an association with bacteria, legumes “fix” nitrogen from the atmosphere into a biologically available form in the soil that plants can use. In this way, cover crops with legumes mixed in can increase nitrogen levels in the soil, allowing farmers to reduce fertilizer inputs.

Nitrogen Fixing Legumes. Photo courtesy of permaculture.co.uk

Back at the fig trees, Chris picks up a shovel. He easily scoops up a nice shovelful of soil, maneuvering the shovel into the earth with little effort. Chris explains to me that before they started cover cropping, this particular area was so compact couldn't get a shovel down even a few inches. Not even a plow could break ground below six inches. Daikon radishes and sugar beets helped improve soil structure in these heavy soils by breaking up compaction with their deep root structures. Triticale and barley add to the success by adding plentiful organic material and carbon to the soil.

Chris started cover cropping in 2005 in an attempt to build up his soil organic matter. His lemons were suffering on a heavy soil that had been compacted and degraded by years of production. When he got to the point where the trees were no longer productive, Chris decided to remove an area of lemon orchard and replace it with figs. After taking the lemons out, adding steer manure and gypsum to the soil, he planted cover crops for the first time.

Today, the entire 50-acre property has cover crops growing in between lemons, avocados, and figs. In Ventura County's climate, it makes sense to establish cover crop in the late fall when the first rains arrive, let them grow during the wet season, and terminate them when the rain disappears in the spring. On Petty Ranch, Chris lets some cover crop go to seed, saving him the money of repurchasing seed the following year. Once he terminates the cover, the plant matter decomposes and adds its organic material right back into the soil. Daikon radish, I learned while hanging out with Chris, acts like a sponge as it decomposes. Its structure holds water, improving overall soil moisture by allowing a slow release of water as the radish disappears.

Petty Ranch Cover Crops and Mulch

The extremely cool part about Chris's cover cropping is the noticeable change in organic matter and water flow on the ranch. Before he started cover cropping, Chris's soils measured about 2.5% organic matter, which is typical for Ventura County. Since he has been cover cropping, that number has increased to 5.5%. With the increase in organic matter, Chris has seen an increase in porosity, improved infiltration, and decreased runoff.

Cover crops are one strategy to build soil organic matter, increase water infiltration, and reduce greenhouse gas emission on agricultural lands. In addition, they have been shown to improve crop yields, increase biodiversity, attract beneficial pollinators, and act as weed suppressants. You can learn more about the benefits and types of cover crops through the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) learning center. The California Department of Food and Agriculture's Healthy Soils Program provides funding to farmers interested in practices such as cover cropping, alleviating some of the initial costs associated with starting the practice. For more information about cover crops or the Healthy Soils Program, please reach out to me or your closest UC Cooperative Extension community education specialist:

Mendocino County: Britta Baskerville – blbaskerville@ucanr.edu

Glenn County: Dana Brady – dmbrady@ucanr.edu

Yolo County: Emily Lovell – ejlovell@ucanr.edu

Santa Cruz County: Valerie Perez – valperez@ucanr.edu

Ventura County: Alli Rowe – amrowe@ucanr.edu

San Diego County: Esther Mosase – enmosase@ucanr.edu

Imperial County: Kristian Salgado – kmsalgado@ucanr.edu

Kern County: Shulamit Shroder – sashroder@ucanr.edu

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