In a special convening with California’s agricultural, regulatory and academic research leaders, the pro bono AgTech Roundtable gathers today, Feb. 28, in Sacramento to find applied agricultural technology solutions to the unprecedented onslaught of new regulations looming in 2017-18.
California’s entire, literal food chain — growers, packers, processors and ag-related businesses — needs integrated ag tech solutions. Now.
They need online interactive permit applications, monitoring and reports for water, fertilizers and pesticides. Water is the most critical, of course: The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in 2017 will implement new rules for surface water allocation, recycling, runoff (which includes fertilizer and pesticide compliance), salt and nitrate management, and overall water quality.
Meanwhile, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) will implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which requires meticulous accounting of groundwater use.
Surface water and groundwater are tightly controlled. “This is a game-changer,” according to California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary Karen Ross. California growers already are doing their parts, she said, noting farmers are using 8 percent less water than 20 years ago to generate a 96 percent increase in economic value and 57 percent increase in yield.
“Every input — fertilizer, pesticides — must be precisely managed,” to prevent runoff and groundwater contamination, especially drinking water in disadvantaged rural communities, Ross said during a recent ag tech conference at Harris Ranch in sunny Coalinga.
Increase your velocity of innovation, Ross told ag tech developers. “Go faster. Farmers need whole systems.”
There’s much more …
Row crop growers need to be able to send field tests for food safety to CDFA and the Department of Public Health. This is literally a matter of life and death. Detecting food-borne bacteria is vital, and missing food-borne bacteria kills people.
California, due in part to climate change, is central for invasive pests (bug and plant). Farmers need to be able to send a photo of an invasive species for instant identification. This is another urgent issue: Missing a pest leads to infestations and massive crop losses.
Brian Leahy, director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and a pioneering organic farmer, advocated for application hardware and software that “keeps powerful chemicals on target, in the right amounts.” This is essential, he said, because “every time we turn around, we have new pests.”
And farmers need to work with CalOSHA on workplace safety. They need access to farm labor rules, especially the new payroll calculator. Reporting incidents and “heat days” would be good, and Greg Estep, president of Olam U.S., a leading ingredients maker, cited an ongoing need for niche tech to train sophisticated, specialized food-processing workers; to facilitate regulatory compliance and reporting; and to manage energy costs.
And ag tech must facilitate state agency coordination. “We’ve determined California regulators are not talking to each other,” said Glenda Humiston, vice president of agriculture and natural resources in the UC Office of the President. So be prepared for the need to identify and converse with state agency regulatory program managers.
How to succeed in ag tech and regulatory compliance? Advice from Ed Lewis, associate dean at the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES): “Take time to understand the real problem of your end user. Have patience to work with them through adoption.”
A national and, perhaps, global market for regulatory compliance will follow, noted Don Cameron of Terra Nova Ranch, and “most regulatory systems are unique to California,” but are soon adopted internationally.
Cameron, a notorious innovator and State Board of Food and Agriculture member, delivers blunt words for our task today:
“Someone visits us nearly every day with a product to sell — most often developed for Midwest farmers. Don’t deluge me with data. Tell me where and when the problem is, and the options. Help me make the best decision.”
That’s our job on Feb. 28.
I will report back to you, hopefully with specific direction. The AgTech Roundtable is “a place to build relationships between farmers and regulators and build solutions,” in the words of William Bourdeau, the executive vice president of Harris Farms.
