Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): california

Walnut grower Craig McNamara on water banking, hedgerows, and the birds and the bees

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 24, 2015

Craig McNamara on his farm in Winters, California.

Craig McNamara embodies agricultural leadership in California. He has farmed a 450-acre organic walnut orchard in Winters, California for the past 35 years. He’s been an innovator in implementing conservation practices on his land that both enhance wildlife and benefit his farming operation. He’s also the president of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, and an influential sustainable agriculture educator.

I’ve known Craig for about 10 years and have had the honor of serving with him on the State Board for the last two. I spoke with him about how he integrates farming with ecology and his plan for dealing with potential El Niño rains. Read More »

Posted in Wildlife Protection / Also tagged California State Board of Food and Agriculture, conservation, craig mcnamara, drought, ecosystems, El Niño, fertilizer, hedgerows, sustainable agriculture, water banking, water use, western water, wildlife | Comments are closed

Why a “Godzilla” El Niño won’t end California’s drought

By Ilissa Ocko / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 9, 2015

The original version of this post appeared on EDF’s Voices blog.

An El Niño advisory is now official, and scientists suggest there is a greater than a 90-percent chance that it will arrive this winter.

They also believe the developing El Niño could become one of the most powerful on record – rivaling its 1997-98 predecessor, which sent California twice as much rain and the Sierra Nevada double the snowpack it usually gets.

So news of another El Niño may sound like a blessing for California farmers, who help make the state the world’s eighth-largest economy, as they suffer through the worst drought in more than a millennium. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Also tagged aquifers, Climate, drought, ecosystems, El Niño, farmers, greenhouse gas emissions, Sierra Nevada, water use, western water | Comments are closed

3 ways drones can help take agriculture to new sustainability heights

By Stephanie Businelli / Published: August 19, 2015

A drone collects data while in flight. Photo credit

Drone technology has been around for decades, taking to the skies to capture movie sequences, collect scientific data and scout territory. But there’s another industry where drones are really beginning to take off: farming.

Agriculture is on tap to make up 80 percent of the market for unmanned aircrafts in the next couple of decades. With the invention of newer, more effective technologies, drones have the potential to launch the agriculture industry into a future of sustainability.

4 ways drones are helping people and nature prepare for climate change

Rules of the sky

In February of this year, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed long-awaited rules on the commercial use of small drones in the agricultural sector. The new regulations require operators to be certified, fly only during daylight and keep their aircraft in sight. Although this proposed legislation could take one or two years for final adoption, it marks a major step for the industry, as the guidelines provide the formal structure needed to legitimize drone use and advance the market for their production.

Although drone technology is still modifying production to increase ease of use and lower prices, these machines already have the potential to go a long way towards improving farmers’ bottom lines – and the environment. Here are three key benefits of drone use in agriculture: Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, algal bloom, cameras, crops, dead zones, drones, efficiency, Federal Aviation Administration, fertilizer, runoff, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, technology, vegetation, water quality, western water | Read 2 Responses

Note to Congress: Pitting fish against farms won’t solve California’s drought

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: July 15, 2015

(Updated July 16, 2015)

A bill to supposedly address California’s devastating drought, authored by Rep. David Valadao, cleared the House of Representatives today.

Unfortunately, this proposal – dubiously named the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015 – is yet another attempt to move more water through California’s vast Central Valley Project at a time when we can least afford it and at the expense of many water users.

Among other problems, the bill would permanently undermine science-based protections and regulatory assurances for at-risk species and ecosystems that are essential in providing reliable food, safe drinking water, and jobs to millions of Americans.

The proposed tradeoffs here are nothing new. Similar bills – H.R. 3964 and 5781 in 2014, both opposed by the White House and the State of California – also pitted fish against farms.

It’s time we move away from finger pointing and start finding collaborative solutions to the drought that increase the resiliency of our freshwater ecosystems while supporting agricultural communities in California’s Central Valley. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Also tagged agriculture, american food security act, bill, California drought, capitol, capitol hill, central valley, central valley project, Climate, climate change, Congress, conservation, drinking water, drought, farm, farmer, fish, food, groundwater, groundwater management, Kenneth Baerenklau, law, legislature, sustainable, sustainable groundwater management act, UC Davis, UC Riverside, University of California, water allocations, water market, water use, western water, White House | Comments are closed

What a visit with a California citrus grower taught me about agricultural sustainability

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 6, 2015

EDF’s Sara Kroopf smells the soil at a citrus nursery in Arvin, California.

Putting yourself in the boots of a California farmer will give you a whole new perspective.

That’s why I recently spent a few days alongside Matt Fisher, a citrus grower in Kern County, California – to better understand growers’ challenges and concerns, and to rethink how environmental groups and farmers can achieve shared goals.

The experience was part of a farm exchange program offered through the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, which facilitates learning opportunities on California farms.

With a record-breaking drought in California, tensions between environmentalists and farmers run high, and finger pointing is everywhere. But that isn’t getting us anywhere. The time I spent on Matt’s farm gave me new inspiration to break down barriers, put aside stereotypes, and work together. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, California agriculture, conservation, crop, drought, environment, erosion, farm, farmer, fertilizer, food, grower, Kern County, natural resources, Oakland, oranges, soil, sustainable, sustainable agriculture, water use, western water | Comments are closed

3 investment ideas to sustain water in the American West

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 1, 2015

The Arizona Canal brings water to sprawling desert communities near Phoenix.

The crippling drought in the American West is now making headlines daily and the stories are raising a collective awareness of the unfolding crisis – as The New Yorker did recently when it chronicled the plight of the Colorado in Where the River Runs Dry.

If there’s a silver lining to the Western water crisis, it’s that governors, state legislators and federal policymakers are finally taking action to ensure a reliable water supply.

These are welcome actions – except, top-down government mandates, while sometimes necessary, won’t result in the durable change we need to move from scarcity to sustainability.

Top-down mandates only work as long as there is political will to enforce them. In order to crack open the ossified structure that has dictated unsustainable water policy for more than a century, we need to build ground-level support for flexible solutions that benefit everyone – including cities, agriculture and, of course, the environment. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged Arizona canal, Aspen Ideas Festival, colorado river, David Festa, drought, ecosystems, groundwater, sustainable agriculture, The New Yorker, water use, western water | Comments are closed

It’s official! Rice farmers now eligible for carbon offset payments

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 25, 2015

Credit: Brian Baer Photography

The door is officially open for crop-based farmers to participate in carbon markets and earn new sources of revenue. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) just approved a new protocol for rice growers, representing the first ever carbon offset protocol for crop-base agriculture in a compliance market.

This means rice growers who implement conservation practices to reduce methane emissions can create and sell a greenhouse gas credit, commonly referred to as a “carbon credit.” Regulated California companies needing to reduce their emissions under California’s cap-and-trade program can now buy rice growers’ carbon credits.

The rice protocol milestone marks a new chapter for sustainable farming and shows the central role agriculture can play in solving the climate challenge.

ARB can now move forward in developing other agricultural offset protocols. The most interesting is a nutrient management protocol that would reward farmers who reduce nitrogen fertilizer losses to the air.

This “fertilizer protocol” has enormous potential for farmers and the environment – more than 400 million acres of cropland could be eligible for participation, and growers could contribute millions of tons of greenhouse gas reductions.

Here’s how the rice protocol works. Read More »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged agriculture, Air Resources Board, cap and trade, carbon offset, Carbon Offsets, climate change, conservation, credit, crops, data, drought, emissions, farming, fertilizer, growers, methane, nitrous oxide, protocol, rice, rice cultivation, sustainable agriculture, water use, western water | Comments are closed

Action by California farmers necessary to reach state’s new emissions target

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: April 30, 2015

Robert Parkhurst was in Los Angeles yesterday speaking at a conference on Navigating the American Carbon World. His panel is discussing the “Future Offset Supply.”

Robert Parkhurst was in Los Angeles yesterday speaking at a conference on Navigating the American Carbon World. His panel discussed the “Future Offset Supply.”

California Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order this week ramping up the state’s already ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goal, setting a new target to reduce emissions by 40 percent over 1990 levels by 2030.

“With this order, California sets a very high bar for itself and other states and nations, but it’s one that must be reached — for this generation and generations to come.” – California Governor Jerry Brown

This new target is a timely and significant step in securing a more resilient future for California, which is currently experiencing one of the most severe droughts in the state’s history. But it’s a tall order – and one that will require an array of aggressive strategies across all sectors.

Fortunately, crop-based farmers are well-positioned to help. Read More »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience / Also tagged California agriculture, carbon credits, Carbon Offsets, climate change, comport, ecosystems, emissions target, executive order, fertilizer, governor jerry brown, greenhouse gas emissions, Navigating the American Carbon World, rice farmers, sustainable agriculture, western water | Comments are closed

California’s drought is real, but it’s dusted up a lot of hot air

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: April 10, 2015

Credit: Shutterstock

Finger-pointing tends to sharpen during times of crisis.

Exhibit A: California, now entering its fourth year of drought.

If you’ve followed media coverage of the drought lately – which has spiraled to new heights since Gov. Jerry Brown ordered the state’s first mandatory cuts in urban water use last week – you’ve probably heard that agriculture was “spared” the knife.

An interview with Gov. Brown on PBS Newshour perfectly encapsulates the debate of the past week:

“Well, Governor, encouraging people to decrease watering their lawns seems like literally a drop in the bucket, when 80 percent of the water … is from the agriculture sector,” the reporter starts out. “We know that it costs an enormous amount of water to have a single almond to eat … Is it time for us to start zeroing in on the largest customers or users of water?”

While it’s true that agriculture is California’s biggest water user, and that some crops require more water than others, it’s unfair and inaccurate to suggest, first, that agriculture was passed over, and second, that a small nut is primarily to blame for sucking the state dry. It’s more complicated than that. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Also tagged agriculture, almonds, central valley, drought, ecosystems, farmers, food production, food security, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, water quality, water use, western water | Read 3 Responses

California governor reappoints EDF working lands director to state food and agriculture board

By Chandler Clay / Published: February 27, 2015

Eric Holst, director of EDF’s working lands program

Eric Holst, senior director of Environmental Defense Fund’s working lands program, has been reappointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture by Governor Jerry Brown.

Holst has served on the board – a fifteen-member state board appointed by the governor to represent a range of agricultural commodities, geographic regions and academic systems – since 2012. The board encourages public participation and input in all matters concerning agriculture and food policy within the state, from hunger and malnutrition to climate change and environmental markets. But the dominant focus over the last year has been drought and how to mitigate impacts on California agriculture.

A natural choice

Holst has been a leader in developing innovative partnerships with farmers, ranchers and foresters to improve environmental and economic performance on working lands for more than a decade, both in California and elsewhere across the country. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Habitat Exchange / Also tagged california state board, craig mcnamara, drought, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, eric holst, food and agriculture, habitat exchange, jerry brown, Partnerships, sierra orchards | Comments are closed