Jesse Voremberg with UCARN and California Department Food and Agriculture

Supported by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), ten Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) educators were deployed around the state to help farmers and ranchers improve soil health, irrigation practices, and manure management. Implementation of these practices are funded by three-year grants through the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program, Healthy Soils Program and Alternative Manure Management Program. In order to show growers that these practices are economically viable, I am spearheading case studies of at least three farms (each from a different geographic region), part of which highlight cost-benefit analysis of implementation of a climate smart practice. While my contribution to the case studies will be the cost-benefit analyses, I am serving as a project manager for the studies, ensuring that the project is completed in a timely manner. These case studies will not only be disseminated to growers, but also serve as a tool for CDFA to determine if the CSA program should receive more funding.