Eight candid words define the emerging opportunity for agricultural technology, as stated by Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture:
“We have layers of regulations we didn’t have 15 years ago.”
Regulatory compliance is a hot ag tech niche for 2017.
Ross knows whereof she speaks. She has serious street cred as the former chief of staff for USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, executive director of the California Association of Winegrape Growers and a Nebraska farmer’s daughter.
California’s 10,000* or so enterprise farmers are under historic regulatory siege, Ross and other key authorities told agribusinesspeople at the recent Essential Elements conference at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, Calif., co-produced annually by West Hills Community College District and my firm, the Gualco Group Inc.
“We’re getting regulations faster than solutions,” said Greg Estep, CEO of Olam International, the multinational ingredients maker.
There you have it: Growers, packers, food processors and ag-related businesses need ag tech solutions. Now.
They need online interactive permit applications, monitoring and reports for water, fertilizers and pesticides. The State Water Resources Control Board in 2017 will implement new rules for surface water allocation, recycling, runoff (which includes fertilizer and pesticide compliance) and overall water quality.
Meanwhile, the Department of Water Resources will implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which requires meticulous accounting of groundwater use. “This is a game-changer,” Ross said.
Surface water and groundwater are tightly controlled. This leaves ag with no water unregulated. And water is essential.
Farmers need to work with CalOSHA — the state’s the Division of Occupational Safety and Health — on workplace safety. They need access to farm labor rules, especially the new payroll calculator. Reporting incidents and “heat days” would be good.
Row crop growers need to be able to send fields tests for food safety to CDFA and the California 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, will be visited by more 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 because missing a pest can lead to infestations and massive crop losses.
And it gets worse. “We’ve determined California regulators are not talking to each other,” said Glenda Humiston, vice president of of Ag and Natural Resources in the University of California Office of the President. So be prepared for the need to identify and converse with state agency regulatory program managers.
A national, and perhaps global, market for regulatory compliance will follow, noted Don Cameron, as “most regulatory systems are unique to California,” but are soon adopted internationally. Cameron is the innovative proprietor of Terra Nova Ranch in the San Joaquin Valley and a state Board of Food and Agriculture member.
How to succeed in the regulatory compliance sector? Here’s advice from Ed Lewis, associate dean at what could be the planet’s No. 1 ag tech research platform, the U.C. Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences:
“Take time to understand the real problem of your end user. Have patience to work with them through adoption.”
*There are about 10,000 farmers whose primary income is on-farm, according to CFDA, and another 70,000 who have day jobs or are ag hobbyists.
