Posts Tagged: natural resources

Benefits of Trees for Climate Change Mitigation

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. – Chinese Proverb What is your happiest memory that involves trees? Hopefully, most of those memories are positive. Trees provide a multitude of benefits that are hard...

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First Annual VC Weed & Wildflower Show - April 22-24

UCCE Ventura collaborated in this first annual three-day event held at the Museum of Ventura - Agricultural Museum April 22-24. Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner/Weights & Measures (VC-AC/WM) initiated and directed the show, with cooperation from the museum, CE-Ven, Ventura County Master Gardeners (MG), Channel Islands Chapter - California Native Plant Society (CNPS), and Santa Barbara Botanical Garden (SBBG).

 

The family event included museum garden tours hosted by MG, a mason bee house construction activity by the Museum, iNaturalist participatory-science nature reporting led by SBBG, invasive weed posters created by VC-AC/WM, and the weed and wildflower show display coordinated by VC-AC/WM, CNPS, and CE-Ven.

 

Several hundred people attended the three-day event. One-hundred twenty weed and wildflower specimens were collected by CNPS and VC-AC/WM. 

 

The maiden event is likely to become an annual springtime occurrence in Ventura County!

 

 

Climate Change: What does it mean for Southern California?

Last month, the Thelma Hansen Fund hosted a three-day series to inform about climate change and the science behind it. In an effort to raise awareness of current and predicted impacts on Southern California, the impressive line up of UC...

Healthy Soils Grants Announced!

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!

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.

 

Spotlight on Healthy Soils: Quaker Oaks Farm

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.

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.

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