WASHINGTON, DC - International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) held the Climate Smart Field Day this month as a part of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Grant, bringing together experts, grant participants and more dedicated to advancing climate-smart practices across the industry.

“We know that the sustainability of our industry depends on our ability to address the impacts of a changing climate,” said IFPA Vice President of Sustainability, Tamara Muruetagoiena. “With all of the pressures our industry deals with, trying something new can be a big risk. The USDA grant provides an incentive that can mitigate the risk of taking on new production practices. We’re so grateful for the participation and investment from the USDA and our participating growers.”

This month’s Field Day in Arbuckle, CA, was one of 12 Field Days that will take place under the lifetime of the grant. Producers who are participating in the grant project, titled “A Vibrant Future”, will attend at least 2 Field Days. One of the main goals of the Field Days is to help producers become familiarized with data collection central to the grant and to connect participants with each other and relevant industry and USDA experts.

While each field day has a different agenda, December’s event which took place at Chamisal Creek Ranch, focused on three main areas for orchards: soil health and nutrient management, water management strategies, and biodiversity and pollinator habitats. Speakers included experts from Henderson Farms, Andaman Ag, UC Davis and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, Evans Ag Consulting, Holloway Ag, McAbee Ag Consulting, Gemperle Orchards, Kamprath See, and the Almond Board of California.

In addition to on the ground experts, Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture and Eric Hansen, of Farm Production and Conservation at the USDA provided their outlook on the state of the industry.

The grant itself is a $15 million investment from the USDA over 5 years (4 years for participant growers), where growers are choosing to pilot one of 6 climate smart agricultural practices. These practices include:

• No Till and Reduced Tillage Cultivation
• Cover Crops
• Crop Rotation
• Irrigation Water Management
• Soil Amendments
• Nutrient Management

Grant partners not only committed to recruiting 100 specialty crop growers, but to also develop a system to trace climate smart outcomes and create the demand and a marketplace for climate smart produce overtime. These grant partners include:

• Measure to Improve
• CropTrack
• Geovisual Analytics
• Trimble
• Qlever
• Alcorn State University
• Frehner-Jens
• Totem
• University of Florida

For more information about the grant, please see the IFPA website. Keep reading ANUK for more industry updates.