California Ag Network

Tag: Environmental Defense Fund

  • Ben Thomas of Environmental Defense Fund Joins Leading Harvest Board of Directors

    Leading Harvest, a leader in promoting sustainable agriculture through its universalFarmland Management Standard, today announced that Ben Thomas, Senior Policy Director for Agriculture at the Environmental Defense Fund, has joined its Board of Directors. Leading Harvest’s board is composed of three equally represented chambers – economic, environmental, and social; Thomas fills a vacancy in the environmental chamber.

    “Ben Thomas’ background in agriculture, having grown up on a farm in Texas, his work in agricultural policy at both the state and federal levels, along with his passion for conservation and sustainable land management, make him a valuable addition to our Leading Harvest Board of Directors,” said Suzy Friedman, Vice President for Policy for the National Alliance of Forest Owners, a Leading Harvest board member and chair of the Board’s Nominations Committee. “Throughout his career, Ben has brought a collaborative approach to efforts to improve farming practices and achieve measurable, certifiable results. He will be a tremendous asset in advancing Leading Harvest’s mission.”

    At the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Thomas focuses on creating innovative and pragmatic solutions to address environmental risks from agriculture through collaboration with farming stakeholders and policymakers. Prior to joining EDF, Thomas served as the director of the Montana Department of Agriculture. He previously served as deputy undersecretary for Marketing and Regulator Programs at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) during Secretary Tom Vilsack’s first tenure leading the department. As chief of staff for the Farm and Foreign Services mission area at USDA, Thomas focused on implementing changes to farm programs, conservation programs and crop insurance provisions from the 2014 Farm Bill.

    “Growing up on a farm in Texas, I learned early on that it takes more than hard work to get ahead. It also takes innovation, creativity, and teamwork. Leading Harvest’s Farmland Management Standard is bringing all that to farmers around the world, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to help them succeed,” said Thomas. “For too long, farms like the one I grew up on practiced conservation and sustainability, but did not have a common, certifiable standard to measure their operation. Leading Harvest is offering landowners the ability to demonstrate to the marketplace, consumers and the supply chain positive agriculture outcomes we all care about – from clean air and water to healthy soil, to biodiversity and productive relationships with farm workers the communities where we live and operate. This is not just good for the farmer – it is good for the land, environment and food we all share.”

    Leading Harvest provides assurance programs comprised of standards, audit procedures, training and education, and reporting and claim offerings that are optimized for flexibility, scalability, and impact.

    The inaugural Farmland Management Standard is designed by and for stakeholders and their diverse needs, ensuring that it is credible and readily available to everyone across the agricultural landscape and supply chain. The organization also offers ongoing training and education that is rooted in sound sustainability principles, designed to address critical environmental and social issues, and create lasting results in communities.

    In its first year, over 1.2 million acres spanning 29 states and more than 90 crop types were enrolled in Leading Harvest’s Farmland Management Standard.

    About Leading Harvest

    Leading Harvest is a nonprofit organization committed to increasing adoption of sustainability practices in agriculture. It was formally organized in April 2020 by and for all stakeholders across the agricultural value chain—from farmland owners to companies to communities. More information can be found at www.leadingharvest.org.

  • Collaboration on CA Groundwater Accounting Platform and Data Standards

    State water agencies, the California Water Data Consortium (Consortium) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced a new partnership today to make an open-source groundwater accounting platform freely available to help groundwater sustainability agencies manage the transition to sustainable supplies. 

    Collaborative efforts are underway among the Department of Water Resources (DWR), the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board), the Consortium and EDF to adapt and scale the groundwater accounting platform that was co-developed by EDF and Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District with technical support from Sitka Technology Group, OpenET, WestWater Research, and Olsson Engineering and funding from the Water Foundation, among other supporters. Use of the groundwater accounting platform is entirely voluntary. 

    “Our goal is to help groundwater managers more easily and cost-effectively track water use across their agencies and coordinate within and across basins to find the most effective approach for enabling sustainable groundwater management,” said Steven Springhorn, acting deputy director at DWR for statewide groundwater management. “The accounting platform developed by EDF is a valuable tool for local decision making, and the Water Data Consortium is a natural fit for ensuring the platform meets local and state needs long term.”

    “An accounting system is the crucial backbone to managing groundwater and balancing supply and demand — you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” said Christina Babbitt, senior manager of EDF’s California Groundwater Program. “Bringing groundwater supplies into balance is a challenge that demands new, innovative solutions and partnerships, like the one announced today.”

    “This project is a great opportunity to build local capacity to support data-driven water management decisions. We look forward to this unique partnership that will help state and local agencies to continue protecting groundwater in California.” said Tara Moran, president and CEO of the Water Data Consortium. “A common accounting platform could provide consistency and reduce costs for local and state agencies.” 

    The open-source platform enables water managers and landowners to track water supplies and use, create water budgets, model scenarios, and trade allocations of water within a district or basin. EDF, an international environmental organization, has been working with Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District in Kern County since 2018 to develop and pilot use of the platform in order to facilitate innovative water management and protect disadvantaged communities and ecosystems. 

    DWR and the Water Board are working with EDF and the Consortium to ensure that the platform is compatible with the online electronic portals that local agencies use to submit data to the state, such as DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Portal and the Water Board’s Groundwater Extraction Annual Reporting System (GEARS). 

    The partners are working to expand the platform’s features to provide a cost-effective option for local agencies. State agencies do not require use of the accounting platform. Local agencies will continue to have the option to develop and use other accounting and trading platforms.

    Under the historic Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of 2014, more than 250 local agencies have been formed to bring groundwater basins into sustainable conditions over the next two decades. The law was enacted in the midst of severe drought in which overpumping groundwater caused hundreds of drinking water wells to go dry and land to sink, damaging canals, roads, and bridges. 

    Since the last drought, the state has made significant investments to support local groundwater sustainability agencies as they work to bring basins into sustainable conditions through a variety of approaches, including finding additional supplies to recharge basins; reducing water use through efficiency measures, changing cropping patterns, or strategic fallowing of farmland; and efficient and equitable groundwater trading.

    State agencies, the Consortium, and EDF intend to engage stakeholders as they expand the open-source platform to meet local needs and define and encourage adoption of data standards consistent with the Open and Transparent Water Data Act (AB 1755). 

    To enable local agencies and the broader community to share ideas on how platform features and design can best accommodate local needs, a public workshop on the open-source accounting platform will be held on June 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Please register for the workshop here.

    Other state efforts complement this work. DWR has created a Water Budget Handbook, a reference guide to help water managers create water budgets that account for historical conditions and how future changes to supply, demand, hydrology, population, land use, and climatic conditions may affect an area. Such budgets are useful for planning and evaluating potential management actions. Use of DWR’s handbook could help ensure consistency in the data that populate an online accounting platform.  The Water Board’s GEARS platform, which will only be used if state intervention is triggered, can also inform the need for sound accounting principles as a key groundwater management component; carrying these principles to an open-access, third-party system will help GSAs reduce costs, communicate with groundwater users and other stakeholders, and will ultimately help implement SGMA successfully. Joaquin E. Esquivel, Chair of the Water Board, is a member of the California Water Data Consortium steering committee. 

    The state also is weighing how to ensure that any groundwater trading that develops in response to SGMA protects disadvantaged communities, ecosystems, and other water users. Well-designed water trading programs are one of many tools that local agencies are considering for managing groundwater sustainably, and an accounting system is the first step for such programs.

    The California Water Commission is expected to begin public workshops on water trading this summer and distill conclusions from the public discussions by the end of the year.

    Additional resources:

    Online interactive guide to accounting platform

    California Water Data Consortium

    California Department of Water Resources Handbook for Water Budget Development

  • Josette Lewis Joins Almond Board of CA as Director of Ag Affairs

    In her role, Lewis will leverage more than 20 years of government, academic, nonprofit and corporate experience in agriculture research and policy.

    The Almond Board of California (ABC) welcomes Josette Lewis, PhD, to the organization as new director of Agricultural Affairs. In her position, Lewis will focus on the development, funding and strategy of ABC’s research program. Lewis most recently served as associate vice president of Sustainable Agriculture at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

    Lewis holds a PhD in molecular biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her career in agricultural research and policy spans the government, academic, nonprofit and tech-based corporate sectors. Prior to EDF, she was associate director of the World Food Center at the University of California, Davis. Lewis began her career at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She currently serves on advisory committees for the James Beard Foundation and the International Life Sciences Institute, and has served on an advisory committee for the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

    “My colleagues and I are thrilled to welcome Josette Lewis to the ABC team. She not only complements our existing skill sets and experience — she adds many new and valuable dimensions,” said Richard Waycott, president and CEO, ABC. “Her acumen and expertise will serve the California almond industry very well as we navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie before us.”

    Research is an important area of focus for the Almond Board as it fuels key initiatives like the Almond Orchard 2025 Goals, which set industry-wide targets in the areas of water efficiency, zero waste, environmentally friendly pest management and air quality. In her new role, Lewis will oversee ABC’s multi-million dollar annual investment in research projects exploring next-generation farming practices including optimal use of everything almond orchards grow.

    “My career has centered on the interface of research and action — interpreting research findings to create solutions that people can use,” Lewis said. “Building on the strong legacy of Bob Curtis, I look forward to advancing almond research that ultimately puts knowledge, tools and practices in the hands of growers, processors, policy makers and other important audiences. I am fascinated by almond production and excited to join the dynamic group at ABC.”

    Robert Curtis retired in 2018 after spending more than 45 years directing agricultural affairs at ABC. Since 1973, almond farmers and processors have invested $80 million in research through the Almond Board to improve understanding of almonds’ impact on human health, ensure food quality and safety, and improve farming practices while minimizing environmental impacts.