The Healthy Soils Program (HSP) Block Grant Pilot is designed to promote widespread adoption of healthy soils practices. Healthier soils provide more nutrients, retain more water, are more resilient to extreme weather, and sequester more carbon. Through a competitive selection process, CDFA awarded 14 HSP Block Grants to recipient organizations in December 2023. These organizations have been working closely with growers on developing healthy soils project proposals and proper completion of practices. They have also been innovating new ways to provide technical assistance, in the field and beyond.
Soil sampling at Martin Family Farm. Matt Tooney – Project Manager and Conor Higgins – Mobile Irrigation Lab Manager, Yolo County Resource Conservation District, Katie Brazelton
Solano County Farm Bureau partnered with Solano and Contra Costa Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) and has awarded 68 healthy soils projects to farmers. Together, the partners have been providing several technical assistance services, including language assistance, on-site soil sampling, plant ordering and distribution, and detailed practice implementation recommendations. The Healthy Soils Program requirement for soil sampling has served as a great opportunity to demonstrate to the growers how they can sample their soil and interpret results of soil health metrics. The team guides farmers through checklists of the practice and documentation requirements, as well as providing practice recommendations – for example, counseling on species for plantings and hedgerow maintenance planning. For farmers making plantings, they have combined orders and bought plants directly from wholesalers on behalf of the growers, making the prices per plant cheaper and taking the onus of quality control off of the farmers. And for Spanish- and Hmong-speaking farmers, they have been able to provide translation services, even coordinating compost purchase and delivery on behalf of the growers. Lastly, they share their knowledge and experience of other support opportunities, from federal to local agencies.
Soil sampling with the Harveys. Farmer Rita Harvey; Conor Higgins – Mobile Irrigation Lab Manager, Yolo County Resource Conservation District
Farm Bureau staff member Katie Brazelton has found that growers tend to feel more confident in tackling their HSP projects when they see a team of people ready to help them succeed, especially when those team members are farmers too (as the Farm Bureau is farmer-led): “My husband is a 4th generation farmer, so I approach the grant with that perspective in mind. I’m here to help you be successful so don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I don’t know all the answers, but I have a team of people that will help us, and I can always double check with CDFA when necessary.” Through this process, they are cultivating relationships between farmers, the Farm Bureau, the RCDs, and the UCCE that will last beyond the HSP grant term. These are resources that growers can add to their “toolbox” for their farming operations going forward.
Kautz Family Farms, a 147-acre winegrape operation in Lodi, received a 2019 State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) grant award of $84,000. The SWEEP grant, part of California’s effort to promote sustainable farming practices, supports growers in adopting energy-efficient technologies and water conservation practices that reduce their environmental impact.
The Kautz’s SWEEP grant supported the installation of a 50-horsepower surface water pump and variable frequency drive, allowing the farm to use surface water instead of groundwater. This reduces water extraction from the critically over-drafted groundwater basin and requires less energy than their groundwater pump. The farm also installed a flow meter, soil moisture sensors, and a remote telemetry unit on the new pump. These irrigation water management tools help the farm managers remotely measure and monitor water use and make better decisions about the timing and frequency of irrigation.
Recently, local technical assistance organization, Atlas Consulting, reached out to Kautz Family Farm to follow up on the outcomes of their SWEEP project. Atlas Consulting is one of twelve SWEEP technical assistance providers (TAPs) currently funded through OARS’ Climate Smart Agriculture Technical Assistance program. SWEEP TAPs work with producers to develop plans for irrigation projects, help them apply for funding and guide them through the implementation of their grant-funded projects. TAPs also play a very important role supporting communication between OARS and awardees, verifying the completeness of projects, and following up on the outcomes. TAPs are the boots-on-the-ground local resource for producers engaging in SWEEP.
Through their deeper look at the outcomes of Kautz Family Farm SWEEP project, Atlas Consulting estimates that the farm has reduced energy costs by 19% and saved approximately 45% of water compared to pre-project. In addition to providing technical support, Atlas Consulting also created this video spotlight to celebrate the outcomes of Kautz Family Farm’s SWEEP project.
As the 2025 irrigation season is upon us in California, farmers can consider reaching out to a technical assistance provider funded by the OARS Water Efficiency Technical Assistance (WETA) program. WETA provides funds to technical assistance providers to complete irrigation system evaluations and pump efficiency tests, as well as provide training on water use efficiency and nutrient management practices.
An irrigation system evaluation is the inspection and testing of an irrigation system to inform if repairs are needed and to see if water is being distributed evenly throughout the field. When a producer implements the recommendations from an irrigation system evaluation, they often save water and money and improve their crop yields. Similarly, a pump efficiency test, performed by a pump technician, can help a producer identify when a pump needs to be serviced or replaced, which can result in energy efficiency improvements and cost savings. WETA-funded technical assistance providers can also help a producer fine-tune their irrigation system and water management practices.
OARS first received funding to provide WETA grants in 2021. Currently there are approximately 25 funded WETA technical assistance providers. Many of these grants will be expiring in 2026 so make the most of these services while they are available. To find out if there is a WETA service provider in your area and what types of assistance they are offering, please visit the program website at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oars/technical/weta.html
This grantee Q&A was conducted by Dr. Alyssa Louie with the help of Mr. Robert Camozzi and Ms. Stephanie Dehner (Triple C Dairy) in November 2024 to develop an AMMP project profile in partnership with the California Air Resources Board Climate Investments Policy Section.
Owner and operator of Triple C Dairy, Bob Camozzi.
Triple C Ranch, an organic dairy in Sonoma County, utilized these funds to:
Install a new compost bedded pack barn to house a portion of the herd during winter months
Automate scrape collection of manure from barn alleyways
Add a solid-liquid separator that would reduce the amount of collected manure entering anaerobic storage.
These improvements allowed for manure composting and reuse for bedding and fertilizer. By reducing the amount of manure entering a liquid environment and removing the need for manual scraping of alleyways, the project reduced both diesel and methane emissions. The project, which was completed in spring of 2022, also improved pasture management by providing more housing for the herd.
Can you share with us your name and your role on this project? Robert J Camozzi, 4th generation dairy farmer and owner/operator of Triple C Ranch.
Tell us about the area where your dairy operates in Sonoma County. How has the community supported your dairy and other small, local farms? The area has a number of small farms but one of its strengths is that it also has a lot of processing capability – our milk travels just a few miles down the road for processing at Bellwether Farms. This is a great benefit, as the community needs access to local organic products.
Compost bedded pack barn installed as part of the AMMP project.
We’d love to hear more about the project. What did it do? What benefits did the project provide for your dairy? The project had multiple components: construction of a new compost bedded pack barn; automated cable scrapers that would replace use of a diesel-fueled skid steer for cleaning concrete lanes in the new and existing barns; a reception pit and screw press separator to process scraped manure and separate solids from liquids. The results help improve water quality, air quality, the efficiency of the operation, and produces a quality soil amendment. The separator keeps more manure out of storage ponds, allowing the liquid to be used for sprinkler irrigation instead of hauling slurry to fields. The composted manure can be used on our fields and hauled up to our other ranch that grows alfalfa, essentially replacing the compost we would have had to buy previously. It can also be used as a source of bedding so we can move away from buying sand. The automated chain scrapers have led to a reduction in diesel use as well as labor – personnel can be redirected to other activities. The additional housing for the herd during winter months allows us to better manage pastures and reduces the amount of potential runoff and exposure of manure to rainwater.
What impacts do you hope to see in your community as a result of this project? We hope the project leads to people recognizing that we are doing our part to prevent global warming and improve environmental stewardship through reducing our fossil fuel use and composting. We are excited about the barn and its innovative management and are happy to host tours for visitors and those in the community – other dairy producers in the area have already asked about our experience with the AMMP grant, and seeing implemented practices may encourage others to pursue them as well.
What has been challenging in carrying out the project, and what have you learned from those challenges that could be useful for others to know? One of the lessons learned is to keep the full costs of a project in mind – don’t go into it thinking everything will be covered. There are upfront costs, the wait time for reimbursement, and then maintenance costs after implementation. It’s important to be practical and think through who can service the equipment, and to recognize that you can get some state-of-the-art equipment but ultimately all equipment will need maintenance.
What are some elements of the project you think others should consider incorporating into their projects? This is hard to say because every project is so unique to each dairy.
What advice do you have for others applying for funds? What have you learned from the application process that would be useful for others to know? Factor in upfront costs; get your bids and complete your project in a timely manner so it is done within the grant time frame and costs of equipment and labor don’t increase significantly past the original bids.
Any closing thoughts to leave us with on why you chose to pursue this grant and what it means for you and the dairy? I pursued this project because I want to pass the dairy on to the next generation. In order to do that, infrastructure is necessary and part of that is modernizing the dairy. Dairies are not always seen in a good light, but we want to do our part – we are environmentalists too. California is investing a lot to try and help, and we felt an AMMP project was a good opportunity to modernize the dairy and bring it to the next level of management for protecting the environment. It is putting ourselves in a better position for the future. We don’t always know how things will work out, but I was in the new barn the other day thinking we couldn’t run the dairy today without this – a lot of cows were calving, and they were dry and comfortable under cover instead of out in the rain. It has made a huge difference.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA’s) Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis (OPCA) was formed in 1992 following the formation of CalEPA’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). Prior to this time CDFA was responsible for pesticide regulation in the state. OPCA’s primary role is to provide DPR with impact analyses of proposed pesticide regulations, specifically actions detailed in Food and Agriculture Code (FAC) Section 11454.2. The consultative arrangement was established primarily to ensure that the economic impacts on California’s agricultural industry would be evaluated before the adoption of new pesticide regulations. OPCA is funded through the pesticide mill assessment collected by DPR for CDFA.
Currently, OPCA consists of five scientists with backgrounds mainly in agricultural entomology. We work closely with UC Cooperative Extension scientists and agricultural economists while doing analyses. Despite our office being in the back of the building, we welcome stakeholder communication; we will happily talk your ear off about analytical methods, data, and regulatory frameworks.
Our analyses are specifically focused on assessing the immediate impact of the proposed regulation on pest management costs and effectiveness. We use pesticide use reporting data to estimate future use based on historical trends and to predict how the loss of specific active ingredients might affect those use trends. This methodology was developed by Dr. Rachael Goodhue, the chair of Agricultural Resource Economics at UC Davis, OPCA, and a host of other collaborators and published in 2017 (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/bk-2018-1283.ch020).
In the past five years, OPCA has completed reports related to the withdrawal of chlorpyrifos, multiple iterations of the neonicotinoid mitigation regulations, and multiple iterations for both sets of 1,3-Dichloropropene (non-occupational bystander and occupational bystander) safety regulations. Public reports, publications, and white papers are available on our website https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oars/opca/publications.html.
In a world of rapidly changing pest threats, we are adapting too! Our “Proactive IPM Solutions” program is now “Adaptive IPM for Invasive Agricultural Pests”, moving beyond “proactive” to a more responsive, dynamic, and inclusive approach. Our program focuses on developing and implementing adaptable IPM strategies that enable swift action against emerging invasive pests in California, whether they are newly introduced, resurging, or expanding their range. We are dedicated to refining existing methods and exploring new solutions, especially where pesticide resistance poses a challenge.
