Field Crops

BioConsortia Invents the Future

BioConsortia Plans New Ag Bio Products

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Associate Editor

Marcus Meadows-Smith is with BioConsortia, a research and development biodiscovery company in Davis, Calif. He and his company have big plans to invent the future for Ag.

“The company was founded about 20 years ago in New Zealand and was funded by a U.S. private equity,” said Meadows-Smith. “We decided to globalize the technology, and I became the founding global CEO of the company as it was established in the U.S. about 1 year ago.”

The company in New Zealand is called BioDiscovery. For many years, it was a contract research company that was very successful in the microbial space, working with companies like Monsanto and Syngenta. Then Biodiscovery made a R&D breakthrough. “We have totally restructured the company so that the global headquarters and global R&D are now run out of the United States,” noted Meadows-Smith, “and the New Zealand company has become the subsidiary that handles complementary R&D functions.”

Meadows-Smith mentioned that UC Davis and surrounding areas such as West Sacramento are teaming with bioscience researchers. “It’s turning into a bit of a hub for microbial expertise with several of the big players. Obviously you’ve got UC Davis, which is always credited as being the number one U.S. agricultural university. I’ve heard that it is now the world’s best agricultural university, so it’s a great place to be.”BioConsortia Logo

“We’ve got an excellent team of scientists in Davis, and the historic team in New Zealand has a lot of experience. They’ve been working together now for about five years, so the R&D down there is really humming at a great pace,” said Meadows-Smith.

“We’ve been able to rapidly bring together a group of scientists in the U.S.,” said Meadows-Smith, “that have jelled. We have set up a series of experiments, and we’re putting discoveries together. It’s a very exciting time to be doing pure research in the lab.”

“The other very exciting progression for us is we have just planted our second year of field trials, having completed our first year of field trials in 2014–just after the company was established,” he said.

The company is biological- and microbial-based. “We are looking at teams of microbes to improve plant traits and increase plant yield . We are developing products for fertilizer-use efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance, and biotic stress,” said Meadows-Smith.

“Pests and disease control are important, as well as metabolite expression,” he continued. “We’ve identified teams of microbes that instruct or enable the plant to deposit more sugar. As you can imagine, this provides the double productivity benefit of increasing both yield per acre and sugar content per plant.”

“While getting the plant to have increased sugar deposited in its leaf structure is a good thing; but that is actually not our main focus,” Meadows-Smith said. “We look at all the crops we want to target and ask what are the biggest needs today?”

“Fertilizer, for example, is a significant cost for the grower, so fertilizer-use efficiency products, we believe, would experience a large demand,”  Meadows-Smith stated. “There are also concerns about fertilizer leaching into groundwater, so the more efficient you can make plant take up the fertilizer, the better,” he added. “And of course, living in California, we are acutely aware of the importance of drought, so we are working on that as well. We are hoping for a yield increase per acre for the grower in everything we do.”

“We are moving products down the pipeline as we speak,” he commented, “and, obviously, we want a large body of data to demonstrate to growers how to best use our products. We are looking for two years of good field trial results and then we’ll go through the registration process. So we are expecting to get our first product on the market by 2017.

“We are developing products that contain beneficial bacteria, beneficial fungi, and good plant colonizers,”  Meadows-Smith declared. “Some will colonize the root system, and some the outside of the plant. Still others, endophytes, that will actually grow through the plant tissue. Just as we humans have microbes in our guts to aid digestion, plants actually have beneficial microbes, bacteria and fungi growing within the plant tissue,” Meadows-Smith explained.

Meadows-Smith said BioConsortia’s revolutionary platform will take biologicals to the next level “by assembling teams of microbes that perform complementary functions; so while some microbes will enhance the root system, others will aid the root in nutrient uptake,” he said. “This will bring consistency and superior performance to the marketplace. It’s a very exciting time for the industry as a whole,” he said.

“We are looking to transform food production in a way that is sustainable, bringing benefits to the grower and feeding the world with nutritious, affordable food. That’s what we are in this industry for. These are very exciting times!” Meadows-Smith said.

Featured photo: Marcus Meadows-Smith, with Bio Consortia Scientists.

2016-05-31T19:28:13-07:00June 20th, 2015|

ADAMA Captan Gold ® 4L Now Registered in California

ADAMA Captan Gold ® 4L Fungicide Gets EPA “Go Ahead” for California Strawberries, Tree Fruits

 

Adama LogoADAMA has received EPA approval for Captan Gold 4L liquid fungicide for use on strawberries, tree fruits and other specialty crops. A multi-site contact fungicide, Captan Gold 4L penetrates fungal spores, protecting high-value crops against tough diseases like anthracnose, botrytis (gray mold), brown rot and scab.

“ADAMA Captan Gold 4L is the only liquid captan with a ‘Caution’ signal word,” states the company’s national marketing leader Sara Zinck. “Backed by more than 50 years of captan manufacturing experience, Captan Gold 4L delivers excellent efficacy through its multi-site mode of action, making it a trusted partner in fungicide resistance management.”

Gray Mold on Strawberry, UC IPM

Gray Mold on Strawberry, UC IPM

 

Captan Gold 4L on strawberries

For use on California strawberries, Captan Gold 4L is labeled for applications at 2 to 3 quarts per acre. Early applications at pre-bloom and bloom offer the best fruit protection from botrytis. Follow up applications can be applied at 7 to 14 day intervals up to harvest. Application rates are not to exceed 24 quarts per acre per crop cycle.

# # # # #

ADAMA Agricultural Solutions Ltd (formerly Makhteshim Agan Industries) is a leading global manufacturer of crop protection solutions. With a comprehensive range of high-quality, differentiated and effective products, ADAMA strives to provide accessible, easy-to-use solutions that simplify the user experience while improving crop yields.

For more information, call 866-406-6262 or visit Adama.com.

Always read and follow label directions. Captan Gold® is a registered trademark of an ADAMA Group Company. ©2015 Makhteshim Agan of North America, Inc. d/b/a ADAMA.

Featured photo: Strawberries, UC IPM

2016-05-31T19:28:14-07:00June 16th, 2015|

The Water Chase for Harris Farms Onions

Harris Farms Onions Diversify to Chase Water

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Associate Editor, CaliforniaAgToday.com

Some farmers facing very little or zero water deliveries in the Central Valley are investing in crops in areas where water is more plentiful. Steve Hamm, controller for Harris Farms near Coalinga in Fresno County, noted that Harris Ranch has taken this bold move and is now reaping benefits from farming in Kern County.

Hamm told California Ag Today, “We own a couple thousand acres of land in a little town called Mettler, near the intersection of 99 and I-5,” at the foot of a grade known as ‘The Grapevine’ that starts at the mouth of Grapevine Canyon and ascends the canyon to the Tejon Pass in the Tehachapi Mountains. “It is more of a gas stop; you’ve probably breezed by it many times heading to Los Angeles.”

“Despite the name ‘Grapevine Region,’ we do not grow any grapes. We grow crops similar to what we grow on the Westside, starting with almond trees, of course. These days, especially given over-priced water and an increase in fallowed ground, record almond prices is really the only thing keeping us afloat. Like almonds, we also grow melons, carrots, onions, tomatoes and lettuce down there,” Hamm noted.

“Although we duplicate a number of crops, farming in Mettler is unique. I’ll use onions as an example. We have an onion processing plant down there to process the onions as soon as they come in from the field, so they don’t  sit around for month–as in a bin. With onions, we are looking to getting through a certain tonnage per year and this is our window,” said Hamm.

“If we took onions from everybody on the Westside in Fresno County or northward,” Hamm explained, “processing them would not work efficiently. Harvest deliveries would arrive at the processing plant at the same time, resulting in a backup, and we would have to push the crop through the plant as fast as possible.”

Hamm says this inefficiency in delivering a large volume to market at one time would greatly impact prices. “What you are really looking for is a location at which you can harvest a crop when the market reaches its highest price. So, Kern County, especially south Kern County, right at the Grapevine but not quite at the granite mountain, still has good-enough soil to grow row crops like you do here in Fresno County. But Mettler is at a higher elevation, by hundreds of feet, and is also further south in latitude. Surprisingly, this combination places the Grapevine onion harvest first. So we harvest it down there, transport it up here to our packing shed, and that keeps us plenty busy for weeks until the local Fresno harvest, and that’s a huge volume.”

“These days the wholesale produce folks are looking for a year-round supply,” he continued. When they talk with an onion salesperson, they want a twelve-month supply. So our onion salesman looks into Mexico to start off the season, chasing it northward and all around California, wherever it becomes available. At the end of the season, we end up in Washington, even Canada. And when it gets too cold up there, we return to Baja Mexico. We may or may not pack each harvest, but when we geographically spread our supply, our market timing improves.”

In explaining the water chase for Harris Farms onions, Hamm said, “Kern County also has a very different water situation than the Westside of Fresno County, which is supplied by the Westlands Water District, a Federal system that delivered a zero percent water allocation last year. Our water systems in Kern County are Arvin-Edison and Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa, part of the state program, which delivered about a fifteen percent water allocation this year and five percent last year. And, unlike the Westside where the water district owns no wells, these Kern County districts have wells.”

“In addition,” he said, “we are actually part of a water bank in Kern, plus we have our own private wells, like most farmers there. But, here on the Westside, we have only two water sources; groundwater, of course, and our canal allocation that has been zero. So our Westside land is down to a single water source, not including free market trade. We are doing as much as we can in Fresno County on wells, but they have a maximum capacity–you can only run them 24 hours a day.”

“Even without buying water on the open market, we gain a lot more flexibility by diversifying with farms in Kern County that have these four water sources,” Hamm concluded.

 

Sources: California Ag Today interview with Steve Hamm; Harris Farms website; Wikipedia, “The Grapevine”

Featured Image: UCANR

2016-05-31T19:28:14-07:00June 13th, 2015|

Ag Stories for Wegmans Customers

Dave Corsi with Wegmans Encourages More Ag Stories to Bridge Gap with Consumers

 

By Laurie Greene, Editor, California Ag Today

Customers love stories and Agriculture sure has them. What could be better for the bag of broccoli florets, carrots or even pistachios and almonds to have an image of the farmer who grew them?

Ag needs to have this connection with consumers; ag stories help bridge the gap between the growers and consumers.

California Ag Today caught up with Dave Corsi at a recent meeting. Corsi knows something about customers connecting with agriculture; he’s vice president of Produce and Floral at Wegmans, a higher end east coast grocery store chain, which purchases a lot of product from California growers. He said it’s way bigger than farm local and buying local.

“The customer wants to know the face behind the name. It is important for the customer to know who the growers are, and what do they do? What is their food safety philosophy and food safety best practices? What kind of varieties are they growing? What are the flavor profiles of crops they are developing to provide a better experience for our customers?”

“All that is very meaningful. And it doesn’t matter if the farm is ten miles away, three thousand miles away, or even around the world. The customer wants to understand who the person is behind the product being grown,” said Corsi. “That’s the story we love sharing with our customers.”

He noted that customers are really interested in the knowledge learned from ag stories, “so they can feel more comfortable about their purchase because they know how dedicated our growers are to food safety, traceability, and food quality.  They even want to know about the social side of business, such as the growers themselves.”

 

2016-05-31T19:28:16-07:00May 18th, 2015|

Tasteful Selections Opens Cal Green Potato Facility

Tasteful Selections Opens Cal Green Potato Facility in Arvin, CA

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Associate Editor

Bob Bender, a partner with CSS Farms, in Watertown, South Dakota, came out to Kern County several years ago to grow many different crops including chip potatoes, garlic, onions and bell peppers, as well as black-eyed peas. “We were looking for an opportunity in California to diversify our company so that we were not so dependent on the chip potato income.”

Bender said he was always looking for crops in which he could diversify, and in 2007, he had the opportunity to grow some baby, bite-sized potatoes for a Canadian company. “This worked out well for a few years, and then we decided in 2009 to pack the baby potatoes under our own CSS Farms label,” Bender said.

“That business started taking off a lot bigger than we expected, and in 2010, we saw that the business was growing to be too much for us to handle. We needed some marketing help because we did not know  much about it,” said Bender. “Plus, we were packing everything in 50-pound cartons, and we knew there would have to be more margin to the product if we sold directly to retail.

Bob Bender, Tasteful Selections

Bob Bender, Tasteful Selections

“That’s when we teamed up with the Wysocki family, owners of the Bancroft, Wisconsin-based RPE Company and experts in packing and marketing,” said Bender. “The marketing took off, and they built our first packing shed in a leased facility in Bakersfield. They sold product in smaller mesh bags for the consumer retail market under the Tasteful Selection brand,” noted Bender, who is now president and general manager of Tasteful Selections.”

Fast forward to March. 18, 2015 when CSS, along with RPE, and Stevens Point, Wisconsin-based Plover River Farms Alliance, Inc. partnered together and opened a new, stainless steel, 200,000 square foot facility in Arvin, near Bakersfield—all dedicated to Tasteful Selections specialty potatoes.

The expansion increases Tasteful Selections’ production capacity from eight to 12 packaging lines, doubles the potato washing capacity and adds more shipping docks and improved refrigeration and storage to meet the company’s double digit growth (over the past five years), leading the specialty potato category.

In all, the company sells eight flavors of potatoes in one-, two- or three-bite sizes, plus offers a medley of flavors in each bite size. The potatoes have unique flavors, creamy textures and tender skins. The products are pre-washed, so consumers do not have to clean or peel the product. And the small sizes equate to faster cooking times.

“Fifty percent of our team is marketing, so we’re not just growing and packing the potatoes. RPE handles all of our marketing and sales, which has been so instrumental in our growth,” said Bender, who now oversees the day-to-day operations in California. RPE has been a tremendous asset to Tasteful Selections; the fact that we are in all fifty states, in 52 percent of all grocery stores, with growth in every store, says a lot about RPE,” Bender noted.

The fact that the facility was built with all stainless steel components is an invaluable addition to our operations and food safety protocols.  The facility’s design honors Cal Green Certification Standards. The Cal Green Certification ensures that we are maximizing our efficiency while reducing our environmental impact. Not only does this benefit us, it also helps the surrounding communities in promoting water savings, environmental responsibility, cost effectiveness and a healthier place to live and work for its currently 257 employees.

Tasteful Selections

Tasteful Selections

Milt Carter is CEO and President of CSS Farms, which grows all the potatoes for Tasteful Selections. “We are co-owner of the company, along with RPE, and the grand opening of our facility is a big day for us as we continue our journey to bring unique potatoes to the potato category and to the table,” said Carter.

“We particularly like the qualities of our baby potatoes, including unique flavors and better taste than the average potato. The uniform sizes we pack allow for uniform cooking times, making cooking easier for the consumer. And the growth we have seen reflects that consumers really like them.”

“When we started Tasteful Selections in 2010, we knew we had something amazing, and even we were surprised by the success that we had,” said Russell Wysocki, President and CEO of RPE. “The opening of this new plant shows that we are consistently investing in our future in specialty potatoes,” he said.

“The new plant will allow us to bring in new product lines, do a better job in precise-sizing, and maintain our high quality standard,” noted Wysocki. “On the farm, Bob and Milt bring us five separate crops a year; we have the ability to deliver the freshest potatoes with the best quality to our customers throughout the country and throughout the season.”

“The one-, two- or three-bite Tasteful Sections potatoes in the one pound or 1.5 pound bag are very popular with consumers.” said Wysocki. “It use to be that you would sell a lot of potatoes in a 10-pound bag, but that’s getting a lot harder to do. However, this product offers consumers a package from which they can get multiple meals, without taking five weeks to consume and perhaps resorting to the garbage can to get rid of them.”

“The baby potatoes are immature potatoes, before they grow bigger, but they still contain all the nutrients found in the larger potatoes,” said Wysocki.

Carter explained, “Our signature flavor Honey Gold baby potatoes are proprietary to Tasteful Selections, and they have a very unique flavor. A high percentage of people the taste distinctive in taste tests, and most like it very much.”

“It’s a great product,” noted Wysocki. “We basically took product that was being discarded in the market 10 years ago. We saw the quality of what was culled, and we felt it was something significant we could bring to the marketplace. So we considered the possibility, then brought it to market, and we have had phenomenal growth,” he said.

2016-05-31T19:30:24-07:00May 17th, 2015|

New IPM App

Surendra Dara UC IPM AdvisorFree Download of IPM Info App Now Available

Extending research information is a critical service of Cooperative Extension. Using modern technology and channels of communication is important to successfully convey that information to growers, PCAs, and other key players in the agriculture industry.

UC IPMInfo App Logo

UC IPMInfo App Logo

Smartphone usage has become widespread and smartphone applications are becoming popular in agriculture as they provide quick and easy access to information, help growers monitor a diverse set of variables, and facilitate decision making. However, there have been no such applications to assist California strawberry and vegetable growers.

In an effort to provide simple access to important pest and disease information for various crops readily available to the agricultural industry , Surendra K. Dara, UC Cooperative Extension San Luis Obispo County, developed IPMinfo—the first IPM information app from University of California.

First released in December, 2014 and updated in April, 2015, this new IPM app is now available for free download for iPhones on App Store, featuring extensive pest and disease information generated by Dara’s strawberry and vegetable extension program. With one-touch access, agricultural professionals can learn the biology, symptoms of plant damage, and management options for pests and diseases.

 

2016-05-31T19:30:24-07:00May 15th, 2015|

Crop Production Service’s Justin Dutra on Pest Control

Justin Dutra on Pest Control

Cal Ag Today recently caught up with Justin Dutra, a crop consultant in pest control for the Hanford branch of Crop Production Services (CPS) to discuss some of the crops he looks after, including, “row crops, dairy crops, cotton, nuts and tree crops.

CPS logo”The staff and management at CPS are focused on providing their customers with the products and services they need to grow the best crops possible,” said Dutra. “They do this by providing an extensive selection of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides that farmers need to keep their crops pest-free.” Dutra reported the  leaffooted bug is causing concern for a few growers in his region.

CPS conducts year-round research and training to order to stay up-to-date on crop protection products and provide their members with accurate information on their use, benefits and limitations. While his region has seen relatively low levels of the leaffooted bug, Dutra noted some other bugs that are worrying growers, such as, “leafhoppers on tomatoes and stink bugs.”

Adult leaffooted bug, Leptoglossus zonatus. Note the two yellow spots on the pronotum behind the head, characteristic of this species. (Photo by David R. Haviland, UC Statewide IPM Program)

Adult leaffooted bug, Leptoglossus zonatus. Note the two yellow spots on the pronotum behind the head, characteristic of this species.
(Photo by David R. Haviland, UC Statewide IPM Program)

The problem with leafhoppers is they puncture the underside of plant leaves and extract much-needed nutrients. Their saliva can cause spotting or yellowing of the leaves and stunting or distortion of the plant. The bigger concern growers have is leafhoppers can also transmit disease. Commenting on the disease that has been most problematic for farmers, Dutra said, “Curly top used to be just a virus you would see every once in a while; now it can wipe out a field.” Dutra noted when they started realizing leafhoppers were becoming a problem two years ago, and again this year, “We are starting to treat for them, and they are beginning to die down now, but they are still there to be reckoned with.”

While the shortage of water has affected growers up and down the state, Dutra noted, “I’m on the East Side and the West Side, and there are more tomatoes coming in on the East Side because of water restrictions on the West Side.”

2016-09-09T10:00:47-07:00May 12th, 2015|

Nimitz Nematicide Now Registered In California Fruiting Vegetables

New Nematicide is A Game Changer for Vegetable Growers

ADAMA, a world leader in customer-focused agricultural solutions, announced today that NIMITZ nematicide received state registration in California for use on tomatoes, peppers, okra, eggplant, cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupe and squash.

NIMITZ, a revolutionary product, delivers an unmatched combination of efficacy, simplicity and safety for control of plant-parasitic nematodes on commercial vegetables.

With its fast-acting and unique mode of action, NIMITZ raises industry standards. As a truer, more complete contact nematicide, it also fills a void in the absence of methyl bromide.

Power of simplicity

NIMITZ represents the first new chemical nematicide to be introduced in more than 20 years. The product’s label carries the least restrictive signal word – ‘Caution’.

In contrast to fumigant nematicides, NIMITZ simplifies nematode management by lessening complex handling practices and application restrictions. The result is no Fumigant Management Plans, no 24-hour field monitoring, no buffer zones, no re-entry interval (REI), no specialized equipment and minimal personal protective equipment (PPE).

“NIMITZ is a contact nematicide, not a fumigant,” says Herb Young, ADAMA brand leader. “And because of its residual activity, NIMITZ’s control of nematodes often exceeds the commercial standards. The distinct advantage over other nematicides is that it frees growers from complications, liabilities, and dangers associated with fumigants.”Nimitz Logo

A better solution

As a non-gas formulation, the active ingredient in NIMITZ is distributed through the soil and into contact with nematodes through irrigation or rainfall. Unlike older chemistries, there is no mandatory tarping or specialized machinery requirement. Applications may include broadcast or banding with mechanical incorporation or through drip-injection.

As a ‘true nematicide’, NIMITZ causes irreversible nematicidal activity which results in pest mortality within 48 hours of application, rather than temporary nematostatic (immobilizing) activity as seen with organophosphates and carbamate nematicides.

“NMITZ is lethal to nematodes. As a result, we see greatly improved root health all season which leads to yield enhancement,” says Young.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wrote in the Federal Docket on July 24, 2014 that, “Fluensulfone (NIMITZ) represents a safer alternative for nematode control with a new mode of action and a much simpler and straightforward product label.”

A secondary crop tier has been submitted to the EPA for future registration on potatoes, strawberries, carrots, tobacco and turf.

As new tool for California vegetable growers, NIMITZ has the potential to bring safety and simplicity to the nematode control arena which is constantly under increasing regulatory pressure.

2016-05-31T19:30:27-07:00March 16th, 2015|

Beet Curly Top Virus Alert for Growers

BCTV Grower Alert

by Laurie Greene, California Ag Today reporter

California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Beet Curly Top Virus Control Program (BCTVCP) personnel observed very high sugar beet leafhopper (BLH) counts the first week of March. BLH were mostly nymphs between the 2nd and 4th instar (a developmental stage of  insects, between each moult) with few spring adults.  BLH counts averaged 30-50 adults and nymphs per 10 sweeps. In some locations, counts have been as high as 100 BLH per 10 sweeps. A “normal” spring count would be an average of 10-12 adult BLH and 5-6 nymphs per 10 sweeps. These current conditions follow a devastating year for BCTV in California crops.

Treatment is currently focused on Fresno and Kings Counties where BLH populations are high. BLH counts are minimal at this time in Kern, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus Counties.

Treatment preparations were made last week and the spring treatment campaign began on March 9, 2015. The spray campaign will face several challenges, such as, wind, rain, and heat.  However, the Program is exploring all available options to treat as much of the population as possible. The Program has identified a total of 54,974 acres to be treated so far.

The BCTBCP’s objective is to reduce the incidence of beet curly top virus (BCTV) infection in susceptible crops below a level of economic importance, through the use of integrated pest management techniques. BCTV is an extremely serious plant virus affecting several hundred varieties of ornamental and commercial crops in California. The Curly Top Virus Control Board advises the Secretary on this Program.

The only known vector of this virus the BLH  is an introduced pest and migratory by nature. Populations develop in selected habitats within the San Joaquin, Imperial, Sacramento and Intra coastal Valleys of California as well as moving into California from contiguous states and Mexico. The BCTVCP utilizes intensive surveys to locate and monitor BLH populations throughout the year. As much as 100,000 acres of rangeland and idle agricultural lands are treated annually to control breeding BNL populations on a variety of host plants prior to the migration of adult leafhoppers into susceptible crops. Winter, spring and fall treatment periods coincide with the reproductive biology of BLH. The Program has emphasized the use of biological control by funding research in the exploration and establishment of BLH egg parasites in California.

Just last month, BCTVCP issued the following alert:

The Beet Curly Top Virus Control Program would like to remind growers to disk weedy areas as (soon as possible) prior to the 2015 tomato season. Good weed management prior to having tomatoes transplanted is ideal. When possible, sweep surveys should be conducted to identify the beet leafhopper is present and then an insecticide should be applied prior to disking the weeds. Mowing and disking weedy areas disturbs the beet leafhopper causing it to relocate to other suitable habitat. Although tomato plants are not an ideal host for beet leafhoppers, the leafhoppers will filter through tomato fields, transferring the curly top virus, while they are in the process of looking for another suitable host. The Program also encourages growers to get to know their neighbors and relay the message of good weed management.

 

2016-05-31T19:30:27-07:00March 11th, 2015|

AFT Research Shows Farmland Conservation can Reduce Greenhouse Gases

A new study from American Farmland Trust’s California Office, titled A New Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from California Agricultural and Urban Land Use [PDF], shows that urban land uses generate an average of 58 times more greenhouse gases per acre than the production of California’s leading crops.

This means that conserving farmland by preventing its development is an effective strategy for alleviating climate change. The AFT research, spearheaded by Steve Shaffer, AFT’s principal environmental consultant in California, found that emissions from seven crops grown on four million acres of the state’s farmland – including rice, tomatoes, lettuce, almonds, winegrapes, corn and alfalfa – averaged 0.89 tons of CO2 equivalent per acre, while those from residential, commercial and industrial land uses in 13 California cities averaged 51 tons per acre.

“If California farmland conversion could be reduced by half (from 39,500 to 19,750 acres per year), within a decade we would avoid the emission of 55 million metric tons of greenhouse gases,” said Shaffer, “That’s equivalent to taking almost 200,000 cars off the road or driving around the Earth’s equator 5 million times,” he added, noting, “Of course, AFT would like to do even better than that.”

2016-05-31T19:30:29-07:00February 25th, 2015|
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