Regenerative Agriculture Goes Beyond Changing a Farming Practice

By Tim Hammerich with the Ag Information Network

Regenerative agriculture is widely talked about these days. Clearly defining it, though, can be a bit of a challenge. One reason for that is it’s more of a holistic approach rather than any one prescribed practice. Paige Stanley is a Researcher and PhD student studying regenerative practices at the University of California Berkeley.

“I think of it as like suites of practices used in combination. That we know to have additive or multiplicative benefits. For example, you know, we know that no-till has lots of benefits. We know that cover cropping has benefits, but if used in isolation, the positive outcomes are limited,” said Stanley.

“When you use something like no-till, cover cropping, a diverse crop rotation, hedge rows. If you use that as a suite of practices or in combination with one another, You’re going to get benefits that you wouldn’t see from using any of those practices individually,” Stanley noted.

Stanley explained that the regenerative approach requires a different mindset: one focused on soil health.

“That level of experimentation, and having the practices in combination with one another is what I like to think of as regenerative versus just the addition of any one practice to meet a specific goal,” she said.

All Other Positive Psyllids for HLB  have Been Found in  In Residential Trees

An Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) sample – confirmed positive for Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the bacteria that causes Huanglongbing (HLB) – was collected from a commercial citrus grove in the Woodcrest area of Riverside County. HLB is an incurable plant disease that infects and kills all types of citrus trees and could devastate California’s $3.4 billion commercial citrus industry.

This single adult psyllid is the first CLas-positive ACP found in a commercial citrus grove in California.

While a positive ACP detection in a commercial grove is cause for serious concern, as of today, HLB has not been detected in any California commercial groves. That said, it is more crucial than ever that we stop the disease from spreading by eradicating the Asian citrus psyllid in commercial groves. The cost to manage the Asian citrus psyllid is far less than any potential costs or loss to the industry should HLB take hold throughout our state.

An expansion of the HLB quarantine zone will not be established as a result of the CLas-positive ACP detection and CDFA staff is swiftly conducting surveys and collecting samples per the ACP/HLB Action Plan  from the perimeter of all commercial groves and all residential HLB host plants that are located within a 250-meter radius around the find.

     While treatment is not mandatory as a result of the detection, all growers within 250-meters of the find site will be notified to apply insecticides to all HLB host material within the designated area with materials recommended by the University of California (UC).

     Currently, the best way to stop the disease from spreading is to stop the ACP. To stop the ACP, we must restrict its movement and suppress existing psyllid populations. It is critical to follow best practices and review recommendations from the UC on how to protect commercial citrus groves from HLB. Regulations are in place to help prevent the spread of the pest and disease. All growers, packers and haulers must comply with all California Department of Food and Agriculture, county and federal regulations, including quarantines.

     Growers in Riverside County may contact the County Agricultural Commissioner’s office or the CDFA Pest Hotline at 800-491-1899 for additional information. If you see or suspect ACP or HLB symptoms in your grove, please notify the CDFA hotline.

It’s the First Time Ever After Congressman Harder’s Bipartisan Push Nutria Eradication Funding

 After Representative Josh Harder (CA-10) led an effort to make California eligible to receive federal funding to eradicate invasive nutria, the House of Representatives passed legislation that allows the state to apply for millions of dollars in federal funding to combat the pest. The bill also increases the total amount allocated to three programs through the Fish and Wildlife Service which help states and local residents combat invasive species, including the nutria. The legislation must now be passed through the Senate or be included in the final “Conference Report” which irons out the differences between the two chambers’ versions of the bill and then signed into law.

“This is a huge win for farmers and environmentalists in the Valley,” said Rep. Harder. “Both groups are concerned about the swamp rat invasion and rightly so – if we don’t get these things under control in the next couple years, they will overrun our farms and wetlands. We brought together Democrats and Republicans to actually get something done in this area. Turns out working together on a commonsense problem can actually yield results.”

Nutria were originally introduced to the United States as part of the fur trade in the late 1800s but were eradicated from California in the 1970s. The invasive giant rat made a sudden reappearance in 2017. Over 1,500 have been taken from the wild since then. Nutria can devour up to 25 percent of their body weight daily and one female can lead to 200 offspring per year. These invaders threaten water infrastructure, certain crops, and indigenous wildlife. The state has funded efforts to combat the invaders, but experts note that federal assistance will be necessary to fully eradicate them.

In 2003, Congress passed The Nutria Eradication and Control Act, which established a fund to help states combat the invasive species. However, until now, the law only allowed Maryland and Louisiana to access it. Thanks to Rep. Harder’s efforts, California will be able to access this program and two others for the purpose of combatting the nutria once a House bill, which passed today, is signed into law. Today’s House Appropriations bill, H.R. 7608, the State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, includes an additional $1.2 Million in funding for the Nutria Eradication program, and accompanying language allows more states impacted by nutria to access these dollars. In addition to the Nutria Eradication and Control program, California will be able to apply to the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program and Wildlife Habitat and Management program.

Earlier this year, Rep. Harder worked to pass a separate bill he authored through the House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support, which would add even more funding to the Nutria Eradication and Control program and formally expand eligibility to include all nutria-impacted states. It has not yet passed the Senate.

Representative Harder has repeatedly pushed to pass his bill. In September, he brought a life-size taxidermy nutria to a Congressional hearing to illustrate the threat posed by the invader for his colleagues. In a separate hearing, he brought a graphic example of the invasion curve (colloquially referred to as a “#RatChart”) to demonstrate the need to act urgently.

The COFS results were collected through phone interviews with more than 900 agricultural workers across 21 counties by 6 farmworker-serving organizations: Líderes Campesinas, Central California Environmental Justice Network, Alianza Ecologista, Farmworker Care Coalition/Vista Community Clinic, Comite Cívico del Valle and the Centro Binacional para el Desarollo Indígena. The phone interviews asked about workplace conditions related to COVID-19 prevention, transportation to/from work, housing conditions, access to medical care, and income issues.

Preliminary data is drawn from an initial analysis of a partial data set and will be presented in more detail at a virtual press release on Tuesday, July 28th at 10 am (see registration info below). Full data briefs on Workplace Conditions, Transportation, Housing, Healthcare Access and Economic Issues will be released throughout the summer.

To register for the Zoom webinar go to:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2RPz-9ENR9K20FaRW95cKg

Registered participants will receive a press kit including the full Preliminary Data Brief and a CIRS Research Brief that describes the job loss and infection rate data in advance of the conference (available July 27 at 12pm).

Presentations by Ildi Carlisle-Cummins (California Institute for Rural Studies), Don Villarejo (Founder of CIRS), Nayamin Martinez (Central CA Environmental Justice Network), Fernando Serrano (Alianza Ecologista), Paola Illescas (Farmworker Care Coalition) and Oralia Maceda (Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena).