The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), the marketing order representing California dairy producers, today announced the addition of Cynthia Kindle as Marketing Manager, U.S Retail supporting the organization’s retail brand initiatives and consumer engagement strategies.
Kindle brings more than five years of experience in managing and optimizing digital presence, executing integrated marketing campaigns, and coordinating cross-functional projects to drive brand alignment and growth. She joins CMAB from InnovAsian Cuisine, where she served as Associate Brand Manager, reporting monthly brand performance, leading e-commerce content optimization, agency management and executing shopper marketing campaigns. Prior to InnovAsian, Kindle contributed to marketing efforts at Nature’s Bakery and Nestle USA, where she gained valuable experience in reporting and analytics, cross-functional collaboration, and project and budget management.
In addition to her corporate experience, Kindle has managed freelance digital marketing projects for clients where she created targeted marketing strategies, built customer personas, and maintained brand presence across social media and online platforms.
Kindle holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Pepperdine University’s Graziado School of Business Management.
“Cynthia’s ability to connect data-driven insights with creative marketing strategies makes her an extremely valuable addition to our team,” said Lizzie Werber, Director of U.S Retail of the CMAB. “Her expertise will help us further strengthen visibility for Real California Milk products and engage consumers in new and innovative ways.”
“I’m passionate about real food and the way it connects people to health, tradition, and community,” said Kindle. “I’m thrilled to be joining CMAB and to play a role in sharing the story of California dairy while supporting the farm families who make it possible.”
California is the number one dairy state with more than 1,000 family dairy farms focused on delivering the wholesome goodness of California milk while creating a more sustainable future for dairy in the state.
About Real California Milk/California Milk Advisory Board
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world. Connect with the CMAB at RealCaliforniaMilk.com.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins has announced eligible livestock producers will receive disaster recovery assistance through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program for 2023 and 2024 Flood and Wildfire (ELRP 2023 and 2024 FW) to help offset increased supplemental feed costs due to a qualifying flood or qualifying wildfire in calendar years 2023 and 2024. The program is expected to provide approximately $1 billion in recovery benefits. Sign-up begins on Monday, September 15. Livestock producers have until October 31, 2025, to apply for assistance.
“We are providing continued support for livestock producers whose livelihoods and way of life have been disrupted by catastrophic floods, wildfires, and poor forage conditions in 2023 and 2024. Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA is standing shoulder to shoulder with America’s farmers and ranchers, delivering the resources they need to stay in business, feed their families, and keep our food supply strong,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “This announcement builds on the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) and the historic levels of assistance we have rolled out over the last few months, once again proving that this administration is working as quickly as possible to get help out the door and into the hands of livestock and dairy producers. USDA will continue to put farmers first and ensure they have the relief they need to weather storms and build for the future.”
Congressman David Valadao (CA-22) added,“The flooding of Tulare Lake in 2023 was devastating for the Central Valley, and I’ve worked for years to make sure our producers have the tools they need to recover. Dairy farmers faced heavy property damage, feed losses, and transportation costs from moving livestock, and today’s USDA announcement is a major step forward. Expanding the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) will help address these losses and move us closer to making our farmers and dairymen whole. I’m grateful to USDA for their partnership throughout this process and look forward to working directly with the administration to make sure we get relief into the hands of CA-22 producers as soon as possible.”
Qualifying Disaster Events
To streamline program delivery, FSA has determined eligible counties with qualifying floods and qualifying wildfires in 2023 and 2024. For losses in these counties, livestock producers are not required to submit supporting documentation for floods or wildfires. A list of approved counties is available at fsa.usda.gov/elrp.
For losses in counties not listed as eligible, livestock producers can apply for ELRP 2023 and 2024 FW but must provide supporting documentation to demonstrate that a qualifying flood or qualifying wildfire occurred in the county where the livestock were physically located or would have been physically located if not for the disaster event. FSA county committees will determine if the disaster event meets program requirements.
Livestock and Producer Eligibility
For ELRP 2023 and 2024 FW, FSA is using covered livestock criteria similar to the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) which includes weaned beef cattle, dairy cattle, beefalo, buffalo, bison, alpacas, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, ostriches, reindeer, and sheep.
Wildfire assistance is available on non-federally managed land to participants who did not receive assistance through LFP or the ELRP 2023 and 2024 for drought and wildfire program delivered to producers in July of this year.
Payment Calculation
Eligible producers can receive up to 60% of one month of calculated feed costs for a qualifying wildfire or three months for a qualifying flood using the same monthly feed cost calculation that is used for LFP.
ELRP 2023 and 2024 for drought and wildfire and ELRP 2023 and 2024 FW have a combined payment limit of $125,000 for each program year. Producers who already received the maximum payment amount from ELRP 2023 and 2024 for drought and wildfire will not be eligible to receive an additional payment under ELRP 2023 and 2024 FW. Eligible producers may submit form FSA-510, Request for an Exception to the $125,000 Payment Limitation for Certain Programs, to be considered for an increased payment limit of $250,000.
Supplemental Disaster Assistance Timeline
USDA is fully committed to expediting remaining disaster assistance provided by the American Relief Act, 2025. On May 7, we launched our 2023/2024 Supplemental Disaster Assistance public landing page where the status of USDA disaster assistance and block grant rollout timeline can be tracked. The page is updated regularly and accessible through fsa.usda.gov. Contact your local FSA county office for more information.
A landmark law – representing one of the most revolutionary changes to groundwater management in California history – was passed more than 10 years ago. But many farmers across the state still have not even heard of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA.
Building on the relationships cultivated by the Small Farms Network of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, a new team of educators will help small farmers understand the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Photo by Elena Zhukova
Jarin Tasnim Anika started as a SGMA technical assistance community educator for small farms with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources earlier this year. She said that of the dozens of small-scale farmers she has spoken with, “an extremely small fraction” of them had heard of SGMA.
Photo Caption: Building on the relationships cultivated by the Small Farms Network of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, a new team of educators will help small farmers understand the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Photo by Elena Zhukova
“I’ve been driving around Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties – the counties I cover – and for almost all of the small farmers, I can honestly say that I was the first person who has talked about SGMA with them,” Anika said.
GSAs are making progress toward this goal. They’re developing strategies to prevent overdraft of groundwater and are addressing a host of related problems for farmers, residents and the environment – from wells running dry to poor water quality to land subsidence.
But while GSAs are required by law to consider all “beneficial users” in the implementation of SGMA, many of them overlooked a major subset of groundwater users: small farmers. Nearly 80% of farms in California can be categorized as small-scale farms, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s definition of small farm (a farm with annual gross cash farm income between $1,000 and $350,000).
In 2022, UC ANR and a coalition of partners published a report, “SGMA and Underrepresented Farmers,” that analyzed, through the lens of small farmers and socially disadvantaged farmers, the Groundwater Sustainability Plans developed by the agencies.
“We reviewed these 20-year plans to see if small-scale farmers are incorporated into that planning, and the results were alarming,” said Ngodoo Atume, one of the authors of the report. “We found that across all 14 plans we reviewed, none of those agencies were considering small-scale farmers.”
The result is that many small farmers (predominantly tenant farmers) with whom Atume has met are wholly unfamiliar with SGMA.
“We asked many questions: ‘Have you heard of SGMA? Have you heard of this groundwater regulation? Have you heard of the potential cutbacks? Has the landowner shown you any notice to attend a meeting?’” Atume said. “And we get ‘no’ across the board.”
Because the impacts and benefits of SGMA for small farmers are not addressed in those plans, the 2022 report recommended more focused engagement of those stakeholders. So this year, UC ANR hired a dedicated team to provide technical assistance, education, policy analysis and outreach for small farmers.
Atume serves as the statewide coordinator, and Anika is one of five regionally based SGMA educators for small farms, part of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.
The others are Erik Rodriguez (Fresno and Madera counties), Luis Paniagua (Tulare and Kings counties) and Sonia Rios (Riverside and San Bernardino counties). Another educator is currently being recruited for Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey counties.
The team of regional SGMA educators for small farms currently comprises (from top left) Erik Rodriguez, Jarin Tasnim Anika, Sonia Rios and Luis Paniagua.
Economists studied farmland parcels along the borders of neighboring GSAs, some with greater baseline overdraft (and ostensibly subject to more stringent SGMA restrictions) than others. Parcels near the administrative borders experience similar hydrological, climactic and agronomic conditions – the only difference being the expectation of greater future regulation.
The researchers then compared the differences in the planting of new perennial crops and the drilling of new wells between neighboring parcels of farmland, at a time before SGMA passed in 2014 and after SGMA, in 2020 and 2021.
“We found that SGMA had no statistically significant effect on the differences,” said Ellen Bruno, associate professor of Cooperative Extension in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley.
In other words, farmers didn’t seem to be altering their practices in the face of impending regulation. Bruno and co-author Nick Hagerty concluded it appears that, in SGMA’s early years, potential restrictions were perceived to be so far in the future that short-term considerations – like well-drilling in response to drought or planting due to favorable markets – were taking precedence.
“The implication of people continuing business as usual so far is that the groundwater will continue to be overdrafted,” Bruno added. “And, of course, the point of SGMA is to try to correct that and bring the basins into sustainability.”
She said that Atume’s community education team can help small farmers learn more about groundwater management and take appropriate action.
“There’s a lot of variation in what people know; big farmers have many more resources to plug into changing regulations,” Bruno said. “I think Ngodoo’s team could be really instrumental in helping everybody stay informed – both on how they’re going to be regulated and what they can do to respond to the regulation.”
SGMA education team sees uneven implementation across agencies
Management actions outlined in the Groundwater Sustainability Plans include groundwater allocations, taxes or fees based on users’ extraction, pumping restrictions, and efficiency incentives, among other policy instruments (see a database summarizing strategies in those plans).
And while the agencies have laid out their long-term plans and actions, implementation has been uneven and inconsistent.
“It’s a very small percentage of GSAs that are actually implementing actions right now that might impact the stakeholders,” Atume explained. “In that sense, SGMA is still at the very beginning stages, and so people are not worried about it.”
Nevertheless, the team wants to begin a step-by-step education process. Piggybacking on personal networks and events established by their UC ANR peers, the regional educators are finding opportunities to introduce themselves and build trust with local farmers. They are planning workshops for later this year.
Eventually, they want farmers to see them as people to contact if they have questions about groundwater.
“If you have any questions related to a random fee that you’re getting, or somebody came out and told you that you have to install this specific thing on your irrigation infrastructure, you can call me,” said Rodriguez, the educator for Fresno and Madera counties. “I’ll help you figure it out and explain it.”
Some farmers are already reaching out, such as a small farmer in Merced County who recently experienced quite a shock. According to Anika, the local GSA sent an invoice to the farmer with a penalty of $15,000 for overextraction of groundwater. She was referred to Anika, who explained that the notice was sent to make the farmer aware of her potential penalty.
Communication barriers a major challenge for small farmers
Beyond the task of distilling the complex, technical wording of SGMA into an easy-to-understand format, language barriers are another challenge.
For example, the majority of small farmers Anika has met with are Hmong, and she expressed gratitude for the linguistic help of staff research associate Vong Moua. Other members of the UC ANR Small Farms Network who speak non-English languages have helped with outreach to speakers of Spanish, Iu Mien, Punjabi and Cantonese.
A complicating factor is that GSAs will usually send flyers and mailings only to the owners of land – not the tenant farmers.
“Reaching tenant farmers is difficult because it requires very targeted outreach in their language to engage them,” Atume said. “Even for GSAs that have made a lot of progress with outreach, most times those materials still stop at the landowner, and then the responsibility then lies with the landowner to communicate that information to the small farmers.”
On their end, the community educators are also struggling with a dearth of information for crops grown by their clientele. According to Anika, Hmong farmers, for example, cultivate herbs, spices and seasonal vegetables under mixed cropping systems that have not been studied extensively by California academics, in terms of crop water use.
While growers of almonds have a lot of research-backed information about their crops’ water requirements, small-scale farmers often lack those resources.
“As a scientific team, we always try to give data-based recommendations, but at this point, I can only provide theory in our discussions – not data – so that’s another challenge I face all the time,” Anika explained. “I think people are trying their best to gather more information, but there’s just not a lot of research on these crops that are very culturally focused.”
Ngodoo Atume, SGMA technical assistance for small farms coordinator, said that the team is planning workshops to spread awareness of the historic groundwater law. Photo by Evett Kilmartin
SGMA educators cultivate partnerships with GSAs
Another key task for the SGMA education team is engaging with the Groundwater Sustainability Agencies themselves. The team members regularly attend agency meetings to share feedback and farmer perspectives.
“For some of these GSAs, there is – for the first time – someone consistently attending the meetings and providing small-farmer input on agenda items,” Atume explained. “That’s a huge part of the team’s work.”
Rodriguez, in Fresno and Madera counties, said he is first familiarizing himself with the GSAs (and their respective Groundwater Sustainability Plans) before reaching out to small farmers to explain the nuances of SGMA. He wants to know the details of those plans and the exact scope of his role – and then prepare the most relevant and accessible resources for when he approaches the growers.
“We’re finally at a point now where we’re starting to consult with different GSAs on how their work is conveyed in the outreach materials,” Rodriguez said. “We’re trying to make these materials GSA- or subbasin-specific, and we want their seal of approval and logo on it.”
One community educator said more research is needed on the water requirements of culturally significant crops for small farmers. Photo by Elena Zhukova
Building and strengthening relationships with the GSAs is a high priority for the SGMA team members, as they get a better sense of the unique political pressures, legal situations or local interests that each agency must navigate. Anika noted that some GSAs have been eager to learn more about the needs of small farmers, and Rodriguez has found that agencies in his area are receptive to hearing from the community.
“They are open – they do answer questions, they do schedule meetings,” he said.
As the team assists GSAs in communicating with under-engaged stakeholders, Atume believes small farmers can be incorporated more meaningfully in the implementation of SGMA. She hopes all groundwater users contribute to a future where water is available for communities, agriculture and ecological health.
“Personally, I think everyone should comply with SGMA; I don’t think some stakeholders should comply and others shouldn’t,” she said. “But at the same time, I do think that there should not be disproportionate impact on any particular group of stakeholders. Overall, we all need to move towards sustainability.”
The SGMA education team is supported by funds from the state Legislature through the California Department of Water Resources’ Underrepresented Communities, California Tribes and Small Farmers Groundwater Technical Assistance Program. — By Michael Hsu, UCANR
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources brings UC information and practices to all 58 California counties. Through research and Cooperative Extension in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, economic and youth development, our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians. Learn more at ucanr.edu.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins issued a new memorandum to modernize and strengthen America’s wildfire prevention and response system. This policy direction enacts common-sense reforms that modernize and streamline federal wildfire system. Concurrently, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum issued his own memorandum to streamline capabilities and strengthen federal, state, and local partnerships.
“Time and time again, we have witnessed the devastating consequences of wildfires caused by mismanagement and a lack of preparedness. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are taking bold action to modernize wildfire response systems, streamline federal wildfire capabilities, and strengthen their effectiveness. We started this work in the spring and have continually updated our policies and programs to properly manage our forests through common-sense timber production and management, protecting our national forests and grasslands for generations to come,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “Secretary Burgum and I are committed to leading a bold transformation of the federal wildfire system to help our communities, neighbors, and partners better prepare for, respond to, and recover from wildfires.”
“For too long, outdated and fragmented systems have slowed our ability to fight fires and protect lives. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are cutting through the bureaucracy and building a unified, modern wildfire response system that works as fast and as fearlessly as the men and women on the front lines,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “By streamlining federal capabilities and strengthening our partnerships with state, tribal and local teams, we will deliver the common-sense reforms needed to safeguard our communities, our lands and our future.”
The memorandum marks a decisive shift away from outdated systems and fragmented responses that have too often hindered federal firefighting and wildfire response efforts. In response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14308 – Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response, USDA will unify operations, strengthen partnerships with state, Tribal, and local governments, and modernize tools and training to better protect American communities from the escalating threat of wildfire.
A Unified Federal Effort
Through this plan, USDA and DOI will work in lockstep to unify federal wildland fire capabilities, eliminate fragmentation, and deliver a forward-looking, mission-ready system that prioritizes common sense, efficiency, and results.
The California Walnut Commission is announcing its newly elected commission board members who will serve two-year terms beginning Sept. 1, 2025, and ending Aug. 31, 2027. The commission’s board consists of eight producer members and four handler members, as well as alternates for each seat. For this upcoming term, seven new individuals will be joining the board as noted below.
DISTRICT 1
Producer Member: Jay Colombini, Linden
Producer Alternate: Jack Vickery, Winters
Producer Member: Ashley DeValentine McKenzie, Rio Oso
Producer Alternate: Donald Norene, Rio Oso
Producer Member: R. Davin Norene, Woodland
Producer Alternate: Henry Gilbert, Wheatland (New)
Producer Member: Kali Dittrich, Clements (New)
Producer Alternate: John Heier, Live Oak (New)
DISTRICT 2
Producer Member: Darrell Cordova, Denair
Producer Alternate: Gordon Heinrich, Modesto
Producer Member: Andrew Souza, Crows Landing (New)
Handler Member: Christopher Cromwell, Stockton (New)
Handler Alternate: Matt Langford, Stockton
“Our new commission board members represent the next generation of leadership for California Walnuts,” said Robert Verloop,Executive Director and CEO of the California Walnut Commission. “Their expertise, vision, and dedication will be key as we work to grow global demand, support innovation and ultimately drive grower prosperity.”
Commission board members will help advance the strategic priorities outlined in the industry’s strategic plan. These include delivering the best quality California walnuts; international trade and consumer marketing, supporting global retail and foodservice sales; fostering walnut innovation; defining sustainability as a point of differentiation; and conducting nutrition and health research and more.
About the California Walnut Commission
The California Walnut Commission (CWC) represents more than 3,700 California walnut growers and approximately 70 handlers, grown in multi-generational farmers’ family orchards. California walnuts, known for their excellent nutritional value and quality, are shipped around the world all year long, with more than 99% of the walnuts grown in the United States being from California. The CWC, established in 1987, promotes the usage of walnuts through domestic and export market development activities as well as supports health research associated with consuming walnuts.
To explore recipes and learn more about California walnut growers, industry information and health research, visit walnuts.org.
As the fall and winter seasons approach, the global marketing campaign executed by the California Table Grape Commission (commission) highlights the many ways to share, prepare, and enjoy Grapes from California all around the world.
California grapes are available now through January with opportunities to promote grapes among festive holiday celebrations. The ongoing campaign offers a comprehensive suite of tools and incentives to encourage retailer promotions including: bonus opportunities, digital promotions, contests, point-of-purchase materials, and in-store sampling. To encourage shoppers to purchase California grapes, the campaign features advertising on multi-retailer shopper apps, digital coupons and rewards, influencer and RD collaborations, and targeted social media advertising that highlights recipes, snacking ideas, and the health benefits of California grapes.
The execution of a dynamic global marking campaign requires not only a dedicated commission staff, but a network of keen export market representatives. One such representative, Francis Lee, was recently recognized with a service award to honor his 30 years of service to the California table grape industry. “In-country market representatives are exceptionally important to the success of the commission export marketing program,” said Ian LeMay, commission president. “Francis’ work over the past three decades has helped solidify Grapes from California as a globally recognized brand known for its quality, exceptional taste, and safety,” said LeMay.
The 2025-26 California forecast for only the Tango and W. Murcott Afourer Mandarin varieties is 33.0 million 40-lb. cartons. This forecast is based on the results of the 2025-26 Mandarin Objective Measurement (O.M.) Survey, which was conducted from July 1 to August 28, 2025. Estimated fruit set per tree, fruit diameter, trees per acre, bearing acreage, and mandarins per box were used in the statistical models estimating production.
Survey data indicated a fruit set per tree of 504, down 24% from the previous year. The average diameter from the survey was 1.359 inches, up 1% from last year for these varieties. Bearing acreage is estimated at 35,000, which results in a yield of 943 40-lb. cartons per acre.
Funding for the survey was provided by the California Citrus industry.
SURVEY HISTORY
This is the third year the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Pacific Regional Office has published a production forecast of Tango and W. Murcott Afourer Mandarin varieties. Fruit counts and size measurements have been collected each year since 2020 to build the dataset for the statistical models.
SURVEY SAMPLE
A sample of 337 Tango and W. Murcott Afourer Mandarin groves were randomly selected proportional to county and variety bearing acreage, with 332 of these groves utilized in this survey. Once a grove was randomly chosen and grower permission was granted, two trees were randomly selected from each grove. For each randomly selected tree, its trunk was measured along with all connected branches. A random number table was then used to select a branch, and then all connected branches from the randomly selected branch were measured.
This process was repeated until a branch was reached with no significant limbs beyond it. This randomly selected branch, called the terminal branch, was then closely inspected to count all fruit connected to it, as well as all fruit along the path from the trunk to the terminal branch. Since each selected path has a probability of selection associated with it, a probability-based method was then applied to estimate a fruit count for the entire tree.
In the last week of the survey period, fruit diameter measurements were collected on the right quadrant of four trees surrounding the two sampled trees. These measurements were used to estimate an average fruit diameter per tree.
The initial 2025-26 California Navel orange forecast is 80.0 million cartons, up 6% from the previous year. These forecasts, by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, are based on the results of the 2025-26 Navel Orange Objective Measurement (O.M.) Survey, which was conducted from June 12 to August 21, 2025. Estimated fruit set per tree, fruit diameter, trees per acre, bearing acreage, and oranges per box were used in the statistical models estimating production.
This forecast includes production of conventional, organic, and specialty Navel oranges (including Cara Cara and Blood orange varieties).
Survey data indicated a fruit set per tree of 375, down 9% from the previous year. The average diameter from the survey was 2.179 inches, up 6% from last year. Bearing acreage is estimated at 109,000, which results in a forecasted yield of 734 cartons per acre.
Funding for the survey was provided by the California Citrus industry.
CARA CARA PRODUCTION FORECAST
Cara Cara variety production is forecast at 10.0 million cartons. Survey data indicated a fruit set per tree of 290, down 4% from the previous year, but 8% above the five-year average of 269. The average diameter from the survey was 2.216 inches, 3% above the previous year and 2% above the five-year average of 2.171 inches.
SURVEY SAMPLE
A sample of 804 Navel orange groves was randomly selected proportional to county and variety bearing acreage, and 753 of the groves were utilized in this survey. Once a grove was randomly chosen and grower permission was granted, two trees were randomly selected.
For each randomly selected tree, the trunk was measured along with all connected branches. A random number table was then used to select a branch, and then all connected branches from the randomly selected branch were measured.
This process was repeated until a branch was reached with no significant limbs beyond this point. This randomly selected branch, called the terminal branch, was then closely inspected to count all fruit connected to this branch, as well as all of the fruit along the path from the trunk to the terminal branch. Since each selected path has a probability of selection associated with the path, a probability-based method was then applied to estimate a fruit count for the entire tree.
In the last week of the survey period, fruit diameter measurements were made on the right quadrant of four trees surrounding the two trees of every third grove. These measurements were used to estimate an average fruit diameter per tree. Of the 753 utilized groves, 133 were in Fresno County, 420 were in Tulare County, 174 were in Kern County, and 26 were in the remaining counties.
SURVEY HISTORY
A Navel Orange Objective Measurement Survey has been conducted in the Central Valley every year since the 1984-85 crop year, except for the 1991-92 season due to a lack of funding. The data from the first two years were used for research purposes in developing crop-estimating models. The Cara Cara forecast was undertaken at the request of the California Citrus Advisory Committee starting with the 2018-19 crop year.
Beginning in the 2023-24 crop year, only state level forecasts will be published, and the Central Valley forecasts will be discontinued.
Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) expanded its reach by opening a new Santa Barbara County office and adding student and community learning programs during the 2024-25 school year.
SEEAG is a nonprofit organization with a mission to connect youth and communities to the farm origins of their food and inspire the next generations of agricultural ambassadors.
During the last school year, 4,225 students took part in 515 hours of STEM education. Nearly 500 high school students participated in SEEAG’s first year of STEM Career Pathways in Agriculture, a three-part experience including hands-on STEM-in-Ag labs, career guidance workshops and field trips to local agri-businesses.
Elementary-age students in 72 schools from 27 School districts, from West Hills toSanta Maria, participated in immersive learning experiences in classrooms and on farms through SEEAG’s Farm-to-Food Lab. SEEAG’s Youth Wellness Initiative organized seven Produce Pop-Ups where 7,700 pounds of donated produce weredistributed to students and their families, with priority to students at Title 1 schools. Besides receiving seasonal fruits and vegetables, families received nutrition handouts, recipes and reusable shopping bags.
In addition to SEEAG’s annual Farm Day in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, where farms, ranches and agricultural organizations open their doors to the public, the nonprofit introduced Farm Day Every Day in 2025. From January through May, Farm Day Every Day took place on designated Saturdays, enabling community members to tour five Ventura and Santa Barbara county farms. Over 12,000 Central Coast residents and visitors engaged with local farms firsthand through Farm Day events.
“In a time when people are more disconnected from their food than ever before, agricultural labor and resource issues are growing, and too many community members on the Central Coast lack access to the fresh produce grown around them, SEEAG’s role is more critical than ever. SEEAG educates, inspires, and empowers youth and communities to become stewards of a more equitable and sustainable agricultural future,” says Caitlin Palus Case, SEEAG executive director.
For a report on SEEAG’s 2024-25 activities, click here. To learn more about SEEAG or to make a donation, go to https://www.seeag.org.
Golden State Farm Credit (GSFC) is joining the fight against hunger this September in recognition of Hunger Action Month, by partnering with local food banks in the communities it serves.
In partnership with CoBank’s matching efforts, GSFC has provided $5,000 each to North State Food Bank and Central California Food Bank, to help expand food access in rural communities throughout Northern and Central California. Furthermore, GSFC has also contributed an additional $10,000 to Central California Food Bank in support of its 12th Annual Feeding Families Fund Drive, hosted in partnership with GAR Bennett, where every dollar donated will receive a 50% match from GAR Bennett.
Community members can also join the initiative by donating online throughout September or by visiting The Market in Fresno, on Friday, September 19, 2025. GSFC representatives will be on-site in the afternoon to present a check, which will help Central California Food Bank feed over 300,000 people each month throughout Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings, and Kern counties.
“GSFC remains deeply committed to supporting the rural communities that we serve, and no time is more important than Hunger Action Month,” said Rob Faris, president and CEO of Golden State Farm Credit. “47 million people in America face hunger every day, and we are proud to play even a small role in supporting solutions that further the mission of these local food banks.”
In addition to financial contributions, GSFC employees made a direct impact in helping provide food access locally by volunteering their time earlier this month. As part of GSFC’s greater Hunger Action Month efforts, a team of staff members volunteered at a food distribution site in Chico, providing food boxes for 300 families throughout the community.
About GSFC:
Golden State Farm Credit (GSFC) is a lending institution of the Farm Credit System with offices in Northern and Central California that service the counties of Butte, Glenn, Tehama, Shasta, Trinity, Fresno, Kings and Tulare. The GSFC administrative office is located at 3013 Ceres Avenue, Chico, CA 95973. The Farm Credit System (System) is a nationwide network of borrower-owned lending institutions that provides loans, leases, and related services to farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, agribusiness, agricultural and rural utility cooperatives, and Young, Beginning and Small Farmers nationwide. Congress established the System in 1916 to provide a reliable source of credit for the nation’s farmers and ranchers. Today, the System provides more than one-third of the credit needed by those who live and work in rural America. For more information about Golden State Farm Credit, call (530) 895-8698 or visit us online at www.goldenstatefarmcredit.com.
