With one of the largest and most diverse agricultural sectors in the United States, California is encouraging its producers to adopt sustainable farming practices to help mitigate climate change. While many state incentive programs have been introduced in recent years, we have a long way to go in order to fully understand the potential benefits of climate smart farming and to implement these regenerative practices on a wider scale. This episode of Terra Verde explores the growing field of climate smart agriculture, shedding light on research gaps, policy barriers and the most pressing challenges confronting California’s producers today as they strive to invest in long-term sustainable land stewardship.
Tune in as host and producer Hannah Wilton speaks with Jamie Fanous, Policy Director at Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), and Jessica Chiartas, a Project Scientist at University of California, Davis and Founder of Soil Life, whose research focuses on the long-term impacts of agriculture on soil carbon, soil health and ecosystem services. Together, Jessica and CAFF recently published a scientific literature review titled, Understanding the Science Behind Climate Smart Agriculture in California, which explores key climate smart practices within a California context while identifying knowledge gaps in the field.