California farmers could soon receive grants for three additional climate-friendly practices under the state’s Healthy Soils Program.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is on track to approve proposals to add strip intercropping, whole orchard recycling with biochar, and perennial hedgerow planting with pollinator habitat enhancements as eligible practices. All three are designed to improve soil health and sequester carbon, while also offering co-benefits like water retention, biodiversity and erosion control.
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According to CDFA staff at a recent advisory panel hearing, strip intercropping would help row-crop farmers alternate strips of cash crops with cover crops or perennials, boosting soil organic matter and reducing nutrient losses. Whole orchard recycling with biochar builds on the program’s existing whole orchard recycling practice but adds biochar to increase carbon storage and improve soil structure. Perennial hedgerow planting with pollinator habitat enhancements would expand current hedgerow options to include native plants and wildflowers that support pollinator populations and beneficial insects.
The environmental farming advisers described the practices as the next generation of soil-health innovation and recognized the need to ensure measurable greenhouse gas reductions and flexibility to adapt to diverse regional conditions.
The department plans to develop practice standards and cost estimates for the three additions, which could be incorporated into grants next year. Industry and conservation groups urge CDFA to provide outreach and technical assistance so that small farms and socially disadvantaged farmers can access funding for the new practices.
CDFA expects to bring the final proposals back to the panel later this year before seeking approval from the department’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation. Overall CDFA received 16 proposals for 13 practices for consideration.
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