Erin DiCaprio, associate professor of cooperative extension at the Department of Food Science and Technology at University of California, Davis has summarized information and resources for assessing crop food safety after a flooding event.
The publication includes links to the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement flood fact sheet and also a presentation made by Trevor Suslow, emeritus UC Cooperative Extension specialist.
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Although the final regulations have yet to be released, the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) will soon implement a new rule called Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE). NOP has stated that they will publish the rule in a matter of weeks. Once the rule is published, there will be a one-year implementation timeline before full compliance is required. This rule will increase oversight of organic products throughout the supply chain.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has established a new goal that 20 percent of California’s cultivated land be farmed organically by 2045.
Beginning January 1, 2023, all growers with ranches located in Groundwater Phase 1 Areas must start maintaining records for all nitrogen applied to crops, total nitrogen removed during harvest, and irrigation management information. This information will be used to submit the Irrigation and Nutrient Management Plan (INMP) summary report, which is due March 1, 2024.
Underscoring more than a half century of pioneering work in organic farming, University of California President Michael V. Drake announced today that UC Santa Cruz will be designated as an Agricultural Experiment Station (AES).
UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced are the first campuses to receive this designation in 50 years and join UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and UC Riverside as AES campuses.
As regenerative agriculture is reshaping how food is grown, a panel of organic industry leaders will address the trends and standards of regenerative organic marketing and certification at the Organic Grower Summit 2022, presented by Western Growers and the Organic Produce Network (OPN), slated for November 30–December 1 in Monterey, California.
Dr. Brian Hogg at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service based in Albany, California, is seeking sites for research on a parasitic wasp that his team recently discovered attacking bagrada bug eggs in California.
The wasp can attack eggs in soil, where the bagrada bug lays most of its eggs, and is almost certainly helping to control bagrada bug. The wasp develops within bagrada bug eggs and is quite tiny.
Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the details of a $300 million investment to support organic and transitioning farmers, and to address targeted organic market challenges. The Organic Transition Initiative is consistent with many recommendations made to USDA by the National Organic Coalition (NOC) to increase support for organic agriculture to help build a more ecologically sound, resilient, and climate-friendly food and farm system.
The National Organic Certification Cost Share Program is now open for 2022 applications!
All currently certified organic entities in the United States are eligible to apply for a refund of 50% of their certification-related costs, including inspection fees, up to a maximum of $500 per certification or certified scope between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022. Eligible scopes are crops, wild crops, livestock, processing/handling. Operations located in California can also receive a refund of their State Organic Program registration fees.