California Department of Food and Agriculture
Supported by a $565,470 grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Alternative Manure Management Program, Paul Danbom of Brindeiro & Danbom Dairy Farms in Turlock took a significant step towards improving the efficiency of his dairy operation and installed a new solid separation system. Instead of flushed manure being discharged directly into a settling pond and storage lagoon system, it is now pumped through a separator capable of capturing a large portion of manure solids, keeping that organic material from entering and decomposing in a liquid environment where it would produce methane.
The COVID‑19 pandemic has exacerbated existing food insecurity in the Watts community in Los Angeles, where the Transformative Climate Communities Program in 2017 made a $33.25 million investment of California Climate Investment funds to implement the Watts Rising vision. To ensure continued access to fresh produce throughout the pandemic, the Watts Rising collaborative partners harnessed their existing virtual community engagement events as a platform to distribute food and critical public health information.
With support from CDFA’s State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP), the Desert Fresh project lowered irrigation water use by nearly 15 percent while producing the same yield using precision agriculture technology. The system also uses soil moisture sensing technology to identify when the crop needs water and know exactly how much to apply—taking the guesswork out of irrigation.
In the fifth round of its Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation program, the California Strategic Growth Council approved a $1,550,000 grant from California Climate Investments to the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County to purchase an easement that will permanently protect the 999‑acre Jalama Cañon Ranch. This year, with support from the California Department of Conservation and in partnership with the White Buffalo Land Trust, the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County focused on laying the groundwork for the agricultural easement so it can protect these agricultural and natural lands from conversion to more greenhouse gas‑intensive uses.
The Brazelton family, in partnership with the Solano Land Trust, will ensure the Brazelton ranch in Vacaville remains intact in perpetuity by placing their property under a conservation easement. Conservation of farmlands that surround urban areas helps promote infill development, avoid GHG emissions, and maintain a viable agricultural economy in the region.
The Cecchinis worked with a local land trust that was willing to purchase an easement on their property, and the land trust secured Cap-and-Trade dollars through the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program to purchase the conservation easement and permanently protect the land. The easement holder, Central Valley Farmland Trust, extinguished development rights on the property while the landowners retained ownership of the land.
Westside Elementary School in the Coachella Valley relied solely on well water for its drinking water. The well had an unfortunate history of both contamination and the inability to provide adequate water supplies to prevent fires. Thanks in part to a nearly $370,000 from California Climate Investments through the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, these problems have been solved.
The North Coast Resource Partnership is a unique coalition of North Coast Tribes and seven counties that represent the North Coast and Klamath/Interior Coast Ranges ecological regions, both of which are important carbon storage areas in California. To help protect the health of forests in this territory, the North Coast Resource Partnership is using $4,037,500 of California Climate Investments funding through the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program to develop a regional priority plan that will generate implementation‑ready projects and provide funding for demonstration projects.
Oya Organic Farms, an organic vegetable farm in Hollister, received a $76,446 grant from California Climate Investments through the Renewable Energy for Agriculture Program that, together with a 76 percent match from the farm, will finance the installation of solar panels to power an irrigation pump and storage/office building. Their new 27‑kilowatt solar system allows the farm to use zero‑emission electricity for their domestic well and re‑invest energy savings towards the farm. Furthermore, a standalone 6.4‑kilowatt solar system coupled with battery storage will power the off‑grid produce storage room and office on the farm.
The Shasta County Air Quality Management District is doing its part to restore resilient, carbon‑storing, and wildfire‑resistant forests and protect public health across northern California with help from a $159,000 grant from California Climate Investments through the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Prescribed Fire Reporting and Monitoring Program. The program supports state forest management and wildfire resilience goals by providing local resources that improve the prescribed burn planning, smoke monitoring, and air quality data collection. These improvements facilitate the implementation of prescribed burning, while also providing the Shasta County Air Quality Management District and the public better information on smoke in order to protect human health.
