California Department of Food and Agriculture

Steve Edwards hadn’t been back to Paradise since the Camp Fire destroyed much of the town and surrounding areas in November, including his home. When he returned to see the aftermath earlier this week, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“I was devastated. Once I saw everything I just broke down into tears,” Edwards said.

Immediately after the fire, Edwards said, he had no plans to move back to the area effected by the wildfire that killed 86 people and claimed more than 153,000 acres of land. But that changed after he had returned for the first time recently.

“I wasn’t planning on moving back, but now that I’ve seen it, I’ve realized it’s my home,” said Edwards, who grew up in a military family before joining the service himself. “That was my first real home having moved around so much in my younger years. Even if I don’t end up rebuilding, I’ll still be up there helping others rebuild.”

For the time being, Edwards is living in a trailer at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds. His temporary residence is located at the tip of an eastern lot at the site, amongst 39 other trailers either occupied by displaced Camp Fire victims or soon to be occupied.

Edwards signed up to live in the trailer on Nov. 21 through a program offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that supplies temporary housing to victims of a natural disaster. Wednesday was his move-in day.

“I cannot believe the support I’ve received since everything happened. I would’ve never dreamed of people being this supportive. Every step of the way, people have been there and willing to step up and help,” Edwards said.

Dave Dillabo, CEO of the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds, said FEMA has been setting up the brand-new trailers for move in for the past couple weeks and they are beginning to house Camp Fire victims at the site. As more and more trailers become available for move in, he said, the location will slowly begin to fill up.

FEMA reached out to Dillabo and staff to see if the Yuba City facility would be willing to house temporary mobile units. They also set up similar sites in Chico and Glenn County, Dillabo said. 

“While fairs are typically a four-day event, this is an example of the importance of having a fairgrounds in a community. It allows us to provide these types of services after a disaster,” Dillabo said. 

The current contract allows for the trailers to remain at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds for up to six months, Dillabo said.

Throughout the entire region, FEMA has more than 350 units set up at various locations to help Camp Fire victims with temporary living quarters, said Michael Hart, a FEMA spokesperson. FEMA has 40 trailers at the fairgrounds in Yuba City and another 23 mobile housing units in Yuba County.

For those displaced by the Camp Fire and in need of temporary housing, Hart said there are three ways to register. He said they can either call the FEMA helpline at 1(800)-621-3362, visit www.disasterassistance.gov, or by going into one of FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Centers – one is located at the Chico Mall inside the former Sears store and another is located at 2140 Feather River Blvd., Oroville. 

Pasta fundraiser planned to assist Camp Fire victims

While many have already donated to assist Camp Fire victims recover from the devastation that occurred in Butte County late last year, Yuba-Sutter residents will have another opportunity to help in February.

Pasta for a Purpose, a fundraiser for Camp Fire victims, is planned for Feb. 7 at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds. The event is being put on by the fairgrounds, Recology Yuba-Sutter, Stephens Farmhouse and 4G Foundation.

“It’s been amazing to see the outpouring of support and donations from this community since the fire,” said fairgrounds CEO Dave Dillabo. “This event is a great opportunity for the community to get involved and help.”

The fundraiser will be held at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds Main Hall from 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. The event will include a spaghetti feed and dessert. 

Community members can donate either through gift cards or cash. Donations will be collected at the door and attendees are asked to give what they can, according to the Facebook event.

Link to story

The California Agricultural Statistics Review for crop year 2017 has been released. It reports that California’s farms and ranches received more than $50 billion in cash receipts for their output. This represents an increase of almost 6 percent compared to 2016.

California’s agricultural abundance includes more than 400 commodities. Over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts are grown in California. California is the leading US state for cash farm receipts, accounting for over 13 percent of the nation’s total agricultural value. The top producing commodities for 2017 include:

• Dairy Products, Milk — $6.56 billion
• Grapes— $5.79 billion
• Almonds— $5.60 billion
• Strawberries— $3.10 billion
• Cattle and Calves — $2.53 billion
• Lettuce— $2.41 billion
• Walnuts— $1.59 billion
• Tomatoes— $1.05 billion
• Pistachios— $1.01 billion
• Broilers— $939 million

California agricultural exports totaled $20.56 billion for 2017. Top commodities for export in 2017 included almonds, dairy and dairy products, pistachios, wine and walnuts. Export statistics are produced by the University of California, Davis, Agricultural Issues Center.

Link to report

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has reached a milestone: 2019 is our centennial year, the 100th anniversary of the Legislature’s decision to establish the protection and promotion of agriculture as necessary and important for our state’s success. 

The generations of farmers who have worked the land over the past century have achieved remarkable success. CDFA’s challenge has often been to keep pace with – and in many cases to encourage – the progress driven by these innovators. We protect farms and the larger California environment from pests and diseases that would pose a risk to the food supply, to our plants and pets and livestock, and to our citizens. We help maintain a fair and efficient marketplace, both for consumers and for our farmers and ranchers and the many businesses that serve and support this great industry. We invest in research, demonstration projects and the development and deployment of key on-farm innovations that keep our growers on the cutting edge of agriculture.

CDFA’s centennial provides an excellent opportunity to take stock of these achievements as well as the goals and aspirations that lead our focus ever forward. Keep watching this blog for examples. This is a fitting time to honor the innovative nature of our California farmers and ranchers, who show the nation and the world what is possible – and it’s also a chance to acknowledge the value of steady leadership, collaborative progress, and a bright future.

Happy 100th, CDFA!

#CDFACentennial

The California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Food and Agriculture today released a California Water Action Plan implementation report outlining five years of progress toward sustainable management of California’s water resources.

Issued at the direction of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in January 2014 and updated in 2016, the California Water Action Plan set forth 10 priority actions that guide the state’s effort to create more resilient, reliable water systems and to restore critical ecosystems. The actions are:

1. Make conservation a California way of life;
2. Increase regional self-reliance and integrated water management across all levels of government;
3. Achieve the co-equal goals for the Delta;
4. Protect and restore important ecosystems;
5. Manage and prepare for dry periods;
6. Expand water storage capacity and improve groundwater management;
7. Provide safe water for all communities;
8. Increase flood protection;
9. Increase operational and regulatory efficiency;
10. Identify sustainable and integrated financing opportunities.

“California has embraced an all-of-the-above portfolio of actions to combat our most urgent water supply challenges while building a more resilient future,” California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird said.“Using the Water Action Plan as a blueprint, we have coordinated efforts and made strategic investments to move the needle on sustainable water management.”

“The California Water Action Plan has guided our water conservation efforts for five years, including during the worst drought in modern California history,” said Matthew Rodriquez, California Secretary for Environmental Protection. “The plan continues to be relevant today and provides necessary direction and policy guidance as we strive to improve our water storage alternatives in the face of climate change, while also working collaboratively to balance the needs of water users and the environment in areas like the fragile Bay-Delta ecosystem.” 

“California’s farmers and ranchers have been strong partners in the push for water sustainability,” said California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. “From participating in water-saving programs through California Climate Investments to embracing the essential nature of groundwater management, agriculture is once again showing its commitment to collaboration and innovation.”

The implementation report released today shows significant progress toward reaching the broad objectives of the Water Action Plan, including taking major steps to bolster water supply resiliency and prepare the state for a changing climate. Even as the state careened from five years of severe drought to record-breaking rainfall and flood emergencies, advances were made on all 10 priority actions.

Highlights include:

• Investing in more than 1,100 projects through voter-approved Proposition 1 of 2014, including conditionally awarding nearly $2.7 billion in water storage projects that would boost California’s water storage capacity by 4.3 million acre-feet. In total, $6.6 billion in Proposition 1 funding has been appropriated and committed to various projects as of December 2018.
• Weathering the deepest drought in modern history while providing emergency drinking water supplies in critical areas and funding water recycling, safe drinking water and other projects to create resiliency needed for future droughts and climate change.
• Working with stakeholders to create a framework for eliminating water waste, improving water use efficiency and drought-proofing local and regional water supply portfolios. 
• Advancing a critical upgrade to the state’s water infrastructure through California Water Fix, which marked several key implementation milestones.
• Accelerating habitat restoration and enhancement in the Delta by breaking ground on numerous projects on the way to restoring at least 30,000 acres by 2020 through the California EcoRestore initiative.
• Implementing the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 and meeting key milestones in helping local agencies strengthen groundwater management and meet new sustainability goals.
• Investing $1.5 billion in urban flood risk reduction projects, enhancing flood protection for 1.2 million people, more than $100 billion in assets and more than 560,00 acres of property.   

More information on the California Water Action Plan is available at http://resources.ca.gov/california_water_action_plan/.

The January 2019 Draft California 2030 Natural and Working Lands Climate Change Implementation Plan is now available and can be accessed through the Natural and Working Lands webpage.

The plan is a multi-agency joint collaboration by the California Natural Resources Agency, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board (CARB), and Strategic Growth Council. This plan aims to integrate management objectives wherever possible,coordinating all natural and working lands programs under a united approach that will move us toward our combined goal of maintaining a resilient carbon sink and improved air and water quality, water quantity, wildlife habitat, recreation, and other benefits. By moving toward an integrated multi-benefit approach that considers carbon, other critical ecosystem services, biodiversity, public health, and the economy, we can leverage efforts for maximum and sustained benefit. 

The objectives of this plan are to:

• Expand the use of natural and working lands for climate mitigation and adaptation by integrating climate goals into State-funded natural and working land conservation, restoration, and management programs;
• Significantly increase and improve conservation, restoration, and management of California’s natural and working lands through State programs and other means, to enhance their resilience to worsening climate change impacts, sequester carbon, and reduce GHGs;
• Identify next steps for taking a more comprehensive approach to addressing the policy challenges facing our natural and working lands, including their contributions to achieving carbon-neutrality and meeting our long-term climate objectives.

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In addition to tracking progress and estimating the benefits and impacts of the activities implemented to meet the 2030 goal, implementation will rely on programs and structures in place to monitor progress toward the long-term objective of achieving resilient net zero or negative emissions. Accordingly,this Plan coincides with the release of the CARB’s Natural and Working Lands Inventory (NWL Inventory), a quantitative estimate of the existing state of ecosystem carbon stored in the State’s land base. The NWL Inventory provides a retrospective estimate of carbon stocks, stock-change, and resulting greenhouse gas flux associated with stock change in California’s landscape, and attributes stock changes to disturbances. The NWL Inventory will serve as the inventory of record for this sector, tracking sector-wide progress toward the long-term objectives.

REPORT: “California Agriculture: A Constant State of Innovation”

By Karen Ross
CDFA Secretary

As we publish this report, CDFA has just begun its centennial year. The story of California agriculture over the past century is a tale of growth and success.

The engine of all of that productivity is, in a word, innovation. CDFA’s challenge has been to keep pace with – and in many cases to encourage – that progress. We provide an important framework that protects consumers; maintains a safe and efficient food supply; ensures fairness in the marketplace and in the avenues of commerce; and helps growers continue to innovate, modernize, and deliver the fruits of their productivity.

My eight years with CDFA have shown me the breadth and depth of this agency’s service to consumers, farmers and ranchers; and also in terms of fostering an agricultural industry that embraces its role as a global leader on everything from the most technical aspects of farming to the broadest environmental imperatives.

We offer this report to take stock of how CDFA fulfills its mission, and also to honor the innovative nature of California farmers and ranchers and all who support them. They show the nation and the world what is possible.

Link to report

As part of this year’s Rose Parade festivities, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross once again joined the Buy California Marketing Agreement (California Grown) and the California Cut Flower Commission to bestow a certification of “California Grown” on qualifying parade floats, including entries from Cal Poly, Blue Diamond Almonds, Wells Fargo Stagecoaches, the California Highway Patrol Mounted Patrol Unit, the Blue Shadows Drill Team, Mini Therapy Horses, and the Pasadena Police Department’s motorcycle unit. Additionally, all FTD-sponsored vehicles for parade officials were certified, as was the University of Washington football team’s float, which was sponsored by the Tournament of Roses.    

The California Grown Certification recognizes parade floats and VIP vehicles built with a minimum of 85 percent of cut flowers and greens from the Golden State.

The float from Cal Poly, called Far Out Frequencies, won the Tournament of Roses “Extraordinaire” award for most extraordinary float in the parade. Cal Poly has been invited to participate for 71 consecutive years. Students from San Luis Obispo and Pomona campuses team-up for the effort.   

 

By Andy Fell

Plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, have discovered a way to make crop plants replicate through seeds as clones. The discovery, long sought by plant breeders and geneticists, could make it easier to propagate high-yielding, disease-resistant or climate-tolerant crops and make them available to the world’s farmers. 

The researchers published their findings Dec. 12 in the journal Nature. 

Since the 1920s, many crops have been grown from hybrid seeds created by crossing two varieties. These hybrids can have superior qualities in areas such as yield or pest resistance. But the seeds of hybrid crops do not produce plants with the same qualities. 

The ability to produce a clone, an exact replica, of a plant from its seeds would be a major breakthrough for world agriculture. Instead of purchasing expensive hybrid seeds each year, which is often beyond the means of farmers in developing countries, farmers could replant seeds from their own hybrid plants and derive the benefits of high yields year after year. 

About 400 species of wild plants can produce viable seeds without fertilization. Called apomixis, this process seems to have evolved many times in plants — but not in commercial crop species.   

The discovery by postdoctoral researcher Imtiyaz Khanday and Venkatesan Sundaresan, professor of plant biology and plant sciences at UC Davis, and colleagues at UC Davis, the Iowa State University and INRA, France, is a major step forward. 

“It’s a very desirable goal that could change agriculture,” Sundaresan said. 

‘Baby boom’ gene is key

Khanday and Sundaresan discovered that the rice gene BBM1, belonging to a family of plant genes called “Baby Boom” or BBM, is expressed in sperm cells but not in eggs. After fertilization, BBM1 is expressed in the fertilized cell but — at least initially — this expression comes from the male contribution to the genome. 

BBM1, they reasoned, switches on the ability of a fertilized egg to form an embryo. 

The researchers first used gene editing to prevent the plants from going through meiosis, a type of cell division that results in four daughter cells each with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell. Instead, the egg cells form by mitosis, inheriting a full set of chromosomes from the mother. 

Then they caused these egg cells to express BBM1, which they would not normally do without fertilization. 

“So we have a diploid egg cell with the ability to make an embryo, and that grows into a clonal seed,” Sundaresan said. 

So far, the process has an efficiency of about 30 percent, but the researchers hope that can be increased with more research. The approach should work in other cereal crops, which have equivalent BBM1 genes, and in other crop plants as well, Sundaresan said. 

“The beauty of this work is that it addresses fundamental questions in plant biology about how a fertilized egg begins to develop into a new plant,” said Anne Sylvester, a program director at the National Science Foundation, which supported the research. “This basic understanding, combined with new asexual breeding technologies, opens the door for breakthroughs in plant agriculture by avoiding the loss of beneficial traits that can occur through sexual reproduction.”

Other authors on the paper are Debra Skinner at UC Davis, Bing Yang at Iowa State University, and Raphael Mercier, INRA, Versailles, France. 

The work has been funded by the Innovative Genome Institute, a joint venture between UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco that focuses on applying genome editing to solve global problems, and by the National Science Foundation.

Link to story

See this video

From Morning Ag Clips

The results are in for World Ag Expo’s® Top-10 New Products Competition. The winners will be showcased February 12-14, 2019, during the World Ag Expo® in Tulare, California.

A large and impressive field of cutting-edge, cost-saving, and resource-managing products were submitted for the contest by exhibitors of the largest annual agricultural show of its kind. The contest judges were made up of farmers, ranchers and industry professionals. 

Winners will be noted on show maps, marked with “Top-10 Winner” flags at the show and recognized at an awards session at World Ag Expo® Opening Ceremonies on Tuesday, February 12, 2019.

The competition is conducted annually by the International Agri-Center®, in conjunction with World Ag Expo®, which draws more than 1,400 exhibitors and an estimated annual average of 100,000 individuals from 70 countries. Exhibitors must nominate their products for judging by the October 31 deadline to be eligible. For more information on the contest and winners, including contacts and photos, please email media@farmshow.org.

Andros Engineering Corporation – Wide Trellis Pre-Pruner

The Andros Engineering Wide Trellis Pre-Pruner cuts and strips excess canes from table grape vineyards grown on a wide “Y” trellis. The Andros Pre-Pruner attaches to the front of a tractor with a three-point hitch, utilizes the tractor hydraulic system, and has a one-handed controller. Dual cutters can be adjusted for pressure sensitivity, cutter speed, head height, and head angle.

Website: www.andros-engineering.com

Exhibit Space: N46, N48, N50

Location: Paso Robles, CA

Automated Ag Systems – The Cyclone

This vacuum machine was designed to aid in the efficiency of harvest, alleviate worker fatigue, and reduce bruising during harvest. As fruit is being picked, pickers place the fruit into the padded bucket, attached to the bucket are fabric lined tubes, the vacuum creates suction to the tubes which then takes the fruit into the decelerator, placing each piece of fruit into an individual “cup”, then “drops” the fruit into the bin filler, where it is placed gently and quickly into the bin. As the bin fills, the electronic eye slowly lowers the bin, allowing the bin to fill without damaging fruit in the process. We can create better time efficiency during harvest, speeding up the per bin harvest time compared to traditional ladder pick.

Website: www.automatedag.com

Exhibit Space: Q36, Q38

Location: Moses Lake, WA

Calf-Tel – Calf-Tel Plastic Floor

The Calf-Tel plastic floor was designed and developed as a critical component of a calf raising system. The flooring can be dropped into existing, standard wood bases, replacing the common wood slat floors currently in use. Wooden floors are inherently porous, absorbing bacteria and other bioburdens that are harmful to calf health and break down the wood over time. Calf-Tel floor is made of a structural, plastic foam that provides flexible cushioning under the calves’ weight for added comfort under hoof and while laying down. The floor was designed with more open area than wooden floors, resulting in better waste pass-through and superior ventilation. Easier to clean and far less maintenance than existing floors resulting in labor efficiency for calf raisers.

Website: www.calf-tel.com

Exhibit Space: DS108, DS110

Location: Germantown, WI

Eco Transportation Products – ETP Tire Sealant Pumping System

In partnership with Ingersoll Rand, we developed a system to pump Monster Seal Tire Sealant into a 11R-22.5 truck tire in one minute. Along with the intellectual ETP installation gun, we can quickly and efficiently get our Monster Seal Tire Sealant into a pneumatic tire.

Our two-line sealant and air hose connection kit comes with a meter and air pressure gauge, which will allow you to quickly monitor air pressure settings to maintain correct PSI and record the correct amount of Monster Seal Tire Sealant installed. We also designed it to be used with your stationary air source, compressor truck or portable air source.

Website: www.ecotransportationproducts.com

Exhibit Space: 4305

Location: Long Beach, CA

Groupe Anderson, Inc. – RBMPRO 2000™ – Self-Loading Wrapped Silage Bale Mover

The new Anderson self-loading bale carrier, RBMPRO 2000™, is the perfect solution for picking up, carrying and unloading round wrapped silage bales. The RBMPRO 2000™ is fully automatic and features an innovative plastic care free loading arm including an in-motion loading system, a rotating grabber and a telescopic member. Wrapped bales can be grabbed at a speed of 3km/h without damaging the plastic. Bales can be collected vertically or horizontally, when travelling the same path as the baler-wrapper. The RBMPRO 2000™ also features an adjustable roller bed platform that allows the equipment to carry up to 20 bales from 4×4 feet to 5×5 feet, and rear hydraulic stoppers that allows to unload bales on their flat end or on their side. The RBMPRO 2000™ is the new time efficient and cost-effective way of transporting wrapped bales.

Website: www.grpanderson.com

Exhibit Space: DS149

Location: Chesterville, Quebec, Canada

KEITH Manufacturing – KEITH WalkBox Unloader

The KEITH® WalkBox™ horizontal unloader is a moving floor system installed on a truck chassis. It incorporates WALKING FLOOR® technology, which is a series of floor slats powered by a hydraulic drive that “walks” material out the back of the truck body, with no tipping. Unlike a dump truck, the WalkBox system unloads horizontally. This enables the WalkBox™ system to unload in areas inaccessible to dump or tipping trailers/truck bodies, such as under utility lines and trees; inside buildings; on uneven ground and during windy conditions. Accessories include a manual tarp system that automatically sweeps material out with no need to clean out the box with a broom. A cover tarp also keeps material inside the box while in transit.

Website: www.keithwalkingfloor.com

Exhibit Space: S37, T32, U31

Location: Madras, OR

Semex – Immunity Female Genomic Test with Elevate™

Semex is excited to offer a genomic test that ranks and selects cows based on their individual Immunity+ genomic test results through its Elevate testing program. This genomic test of Immune Response determines the capability of females to respond to disease challenges.

With Elevate and the Immunity+ genomic test, there’s no more guess work as to which cows will better resist disease. Armed with both genomic information and Immunity+ results, producers can make faster genetic progress towards a stronger, more disease resistant herd, reducing losses and drug use. Immunity+ heritability is 30%, similar to that of milk production. Semex is excited to be the only AI company to deliver uncompromised herd health gains that can be made by identifying both female immune response and utilizing Immunity+ sires.

Website: www.semex.com

Exhibit Space: 6414, 6415

Location: Madison, WI

SBM – Low Pro Cab 532

SBM Low Pro Cab for Case and New Holland Orchard Tractors

SBM fully welded unibody ROPS Certified Orchard Cab is used on CNH Tractors and designed to endure the toughest Walnut, Almond and other trees. With driver comfort and safety in mind, we designed a Low Profile Cab that keeps the driver safe from branches and other hazards as well as chemicals.

Fully powder coated, air conditioned and ergonomic controls begin the list of great features. The SBM Cab also comes standard with a radio, Hehr bullet proof glass, Cabinair pressurizer and limb lifters. Work lights and a roof scratch guard add to this already well optioned cab.

Website: www.sutterbuttesmfg.com

Exhibit Space: SS15, SS17

Location: Gridley, CA

Vinduino – Wireless Irrigation Valve Controller with Volumetric Feedback

Vinduino provides long-range wireless technologies that help farm communities manage irrigation better under changing climate conditions. We improve profitability with lower water cost, higher yield, and better-quality fruit. Our system provides on-line irrigation guidance, “how much and how often to irrigate”, and feedback from soil moisture sensors in the field. Our newly added product improves irrigation accuracy by replacing manual operation (and labor) by wireless LoRa valve controllers, and remotely measuring the amount of water applied to the crops. This also serves to detect leaks and obstructions in the irrigation system, saving labor on irrigation inspections in the field.

Website: www.vinduino.com

Exhibit Space: 2130

Location: Temecula, CA

XL Lifts (a Wiggins Lift dealer) – Wiggins Ag eBull

Large capacity lithium electric forklifts are here, and XL Lifts is proud to be one of the first to offer them to the agricultural (AG) industry. The Wiggins AG eBull is the industry’s first commercialized large capacity lithium electric forklift for the AG industry manufactured exclusively in the United States. The Wiggins eBull has capacity from 30,000 to 88,000 lbs. and is designed to utilize 12 and 14 pallet attachments in the produce industry. The new large capacity lithium electric forklift uses fast charging lithium ion batteries making them the first high-capacity zero emissions forklifts to run continuous shifts. With built-in onboard Level 1 and 2 charging, and optional DC quick charge option, forklift downtime is minimized.

Website: http://xlliftsinc.com/product/electric-produce-handler/

Exhibit Space: 3302, 3303, 3304, 3402, 3403, 3404

Location: Ventura, CA

Link to story

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

Wherever you will be this week and next, my wish for all of you is that you’ll be with family.  While my husband, Barry, and I won’t be with family in the Midwest, we will be with our “family of friends” here in Sacramento.  For many of us, this time of year brings back a lifetime of memories about holiday traditions, the place where we came from, and the family we grew up with – for me that place is a farm in western Nebraska.  As you can tell from this picture of me with my three younger brothers, Dan, Steve and Ben, that was quite a while ago!! 

I believe the concept of family extends far beyond blood relatives. In my eight years at CDFA I have come to regard the agency and its employees as family. I have deep admiration for the work we do together to facilitate the modern miracle that is California agriculture.

This agency is blessed with hundreds of talented, dedicated professionals committed to programs like Asian Citrus Psyllid/Huanglongbing (ACP/HLB), Virulent Newcastle Disease, the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule, and many others. 

Each and every holiday season I have had an opportunity to visit CDFA offices (see photo gallery below) to view decorations and learn more about our employees’ support for the many worthy causes in our region. I came away this year feeling like I always do – in awe of their compassion and commitment, and very, very proud of them – proud like family.   

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