Call your Reps. and tell them to support sustainable agricultural solutions to climate change.
Good news! Governor Jerry Brown is staying the course and is again calling for $20 million for the new Healthy Soils Initiative. The State Legislature is taking up the Governor’s proposal. Now is the time to call your state representatives to support sustainable agricultural solutions to climate change. Phone calls are much more impactful than email and it takes only 45 seconds to leave a message.
The message is simple: “I’m calling to support funding for the Healthy Soils Initiative in the state budget. The program will provide crucial resources for farmers and ranchers to address climate change and improve our environment overall.” Give your name and town/city. Find your Senator and Assemblymember by clicking here.
Background: Last year, Governor Brown proposed the Healthy Soils Initiative to provide financial incentives and fund on-farm demonstration projects that improve carbon storage in our agricultural soils and reduce greenhouse gas emissions overall.
By enhancing soil organic matter through crop rotations, cover crops, mulch, compost and more, farmers and ranchers can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving crop yield and our air and water quality. For more information about “carbon farming” check out this recent article in ComStock Magazine, featuring Brock Dolman of OAEC, Renata Brillinger from CalCAN and author/instructor Erik Toensmier.
The Healthy Soils Initiative is a win-win for the farmers and the environment. Governor Brown proposes funding the new initiative with revenue from the cap-and-trade program.
The legislature is taking up the question of how to spend those cap-and-trade dollars and now is the time to call your state representatives.
Connection with SB 1350: Senate Bill 1350 complements the Governor’s budget request for the Healthy Soils Initiative by establishing the Healthy Soils Program at the CA Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). SB 1350 is now the Senate Appropriations Committee, waiting for a final vote. If the bill gets out of committee, it will head to the Senate Floor for a vote some time between May 31st and June 3rd. Stay tuned! We may be back asking you to call your Senator in support of SB 1350.
CalCAN’s is a sponsored project of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. For more on CalCAN’s work on the Healthy Soils Initiative and related legislative efforts, click here.
Make those calls! Let us know what you hear in response to your calls to your state Senator and Assemblymember. Drop us a line: .
is a coalition of sustainable agriculture and farmer leaders that advances
agricultural solutions to climate change.
