The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is announcing three vacancies on the Feed Inspection Advisory Board. The board makes regulatory and enforcement recommendations to the department to help ensure commercial feed inspections contribute to a clean and wholesome supply of milk, meat and eggs.
The vacancies are for three commercial feed industry representatives. Click here to read a CDFA press release that includes further details and directions on how to apply to be a member of the Feed Inspection Advisory Board.
U.S. food waste is estimated to be 30-40 percent of the food supply and Californians throw away approximately 6 million tons of food waste annually. To help reduce food waste and increase food recovery, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is announcing a Food Recovery webpage.
“California’s agricultural industries already are doing so much for food recovery for animal feed, industrial uses and composting,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “This webpage highlights the significance of that work and offers tools to help consumers understand how they can join the effort.”
One section examines the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Food Recovery Hierarchy, which prioritizes actions to prevent and divert food waste.
The Food Date Labeling section outlines best practices the industry is advancing to reduce food waste due to confusion over date labeling, such as favoring a “best if used by” date over a “sell by” date.
The Resources section offers infographic fact sheets, food donation resources, helpful links to state and federal partners.
Register now for the virtual California Farm to School Conference March 10-12.
Take a 5-minute network member survey to help the California Farm to School Network understand how to better facilitate connection and collaboration among California’s farm to school leaders.
The Edible Schoolyard Project celebrates Black History Month.
Farm to school success of Westminster High School FFA and Orange County Food Bank partnership.
Farm to school and school garden resources, funding and events.
The California Farm to School Network is composed of farm to school practitioners and enthusiasts statewide. Click on the newsletter subscribe button to also receive these monthly updates that include information about grants, resources, research, webinars, events and news from the National Farm to School Network. The California Farm to School Program is part of the California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) in the Division of Inspection Services.
Environmental Scientist Cristina Jimenez speaks about the CDFA Produce Safety Program during the sixth annual Latino Farmer Conference.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) co-sponsored, attended and presented at the sixth annual Latino Farmer Conference on February 11. The virtual conference presented in Spanish was held to facilitate the creation of networks and provide pertinent information and resources to the Latino farming community. It was hosted by the National Center for Appropriate Technology in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
CDFA Farmer Equity Advisor Thea Rittenhouse gave a presentation about the CDFA Farmer Resource Portal, which is designed to help farmers and ranchers learn about CDFA grant programs, regulations that affect farmers, CDFA boards and commissions, and resources CDFA offers for farmers and ranchers in multiple languages.
“I specifically mentioned our Climate Smart Agriculture programs and how to find a technical assistance provider to apply and implement the projects, as well as the prioritization of small-scale farmers, Latino farmers and other socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers,” said Rittenhouse.
CDFA Environmental Scientist Cristina Jimenez gave a presentation about inspections in CDFA’s Produce Safety Program, including what to expect during an inspection, record requirements, and a farmer questionnaire available in Spanish that farmers may complete to find out if they are subject to compliance with the federal Produce Safety Rule.
“I think it was received very well,” Jimenez said of her presentation. “It also was a good learning experience to hear points of view from other sides of the agricultural world.”
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross gives the 2020 Nutrient Management Conference welcoming address to approximately 150 attendees of the October 28-29 virtual conference. Videos of every conference presentation and the pictured conference Proceedings booklet are now available online.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announces that all session recordings of the 2020 Nutrient Management Conference are now available on CDFA’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) website. Also available is access to the 2020 conference Proceedings booklet, which includes a synopsis of FREP’s latest achievements, summaries of current FREP-funded projects and relevant research, and a list of completed FREP projects. A FREP blog series also highlights the most common questions and answers from each presentation’s Q&A session.
For more than 25 years, FREP has presented pioneering fertilizer research at the annual Nutrient Management Conference. Since 2007, FREP has collaborated with the Western Plant Health Association (WPHA) to create a conference that balances technical research with discussion on practical application. Presenters from academia, industry and agricultural consulting provide general and technical information, current research and data, and practical applications addressing statewide and regional nutrient management issues.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) announces $2.18 million in grant funds are being awarded to agricultural organizations and universities as a result of the 2020 cycle of the competitive FREP Grant Program.
These grants will fund 11 research projects to improve the efficiency of nitrogen (N) fertilization in California agriculture, reduce the associated environmental impacts, and advance farmers’ understanding and implementation of best management practices (BMPs) for fertilizer application in farmlands.
Click here to read a CDFA press release that names each project, its principal investigators and how much each project is funded.
One month left to apply for the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program
The California departments of education and health care services released results of the 2017-19 Biennial Statewide California Healthy Kids Survey
Farm to school practitioner resources, grants, events and job postings
The California Farm to School Network is composed of farm to school practitioners and enthusiasts statewide. Click on the newsletter subscribe button to also receive these monthly updates that include information about grants, resources, research, webinars, events and news from the National Farm to School Network.The California Farm to School Program is part of the California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) in the Division of Inspection Services.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Produce Safety Program is now actively performing inspections of California produce farms to verify compliance with food safety regulations under the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule.
These new regulations apply to most California fruit, nut and vegetable farms, but there are some exceptions. Click here to read a Produce Safety Program blog about which farms and produce items are not covered under the Produce Safety Rule. The blog includes links to questionnaires farmers may submit to verify exemption or learn more about the Produce Safety Rule.
This is a blog for the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Inspection Services Division (ISD). Read here for the latest news about how ISD is providing Californians professional services that support and contribute to a safe, abundant and quality food supply; environmentally sound agricultural practices; and an equitable marketplace for California agriculture.
