{"id":63604,"date":"2025-05-05T01:00:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T08:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=63604"},"modified":"2025-05-13T10:20:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T17:20:53","slug":"the-future-of-californias-climate-smart-farming-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/05\/05\/the-future-of-californias-climate-smart-farming-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of California\u2019s Climate-Smart Farming Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first part of this article originally appeared in The Deep Dish, our members-only newsletter.\u00a0Become a member today<\/a>\u00a0and get the next issue directly in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

In 2019, as California\u2019s historic drought hit its peak, the well on Lilian Thaoxaochay\u2019s 20-acre family farm, GT Florists and Herbs<\/a> in Fresno County, looked close to drying up. With rows of Armenian cucumbers, budding dahlias, and blooming jujube trees at risk, the only fix, it seemed, was to dig the well deeper\u2014at a cost of $20,000. \u201cIt almost tanked us,\u201d Thaoxaochay recalls of the crisis that threatened her family\u2019s livelihood.<\/p><\/div>

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Then came a reprieve: the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program<\/a> (SWEEP), a state initiative to help farms adapt to California\u2019s increasingly erratic climate. Using the $58,000 grant, the Thaoxaochays switched their farm from full-flood irrigation to a drip system fed through trenched water lines and monitored by moisture sensors.<\/p>\n

As part of the upgrade, they also installed a flow meter to help comply with California\u2019s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act<\/a> (SGMA), which requires farms to track groundwater use. The changes slashed not just water use, but also the energy costs of running the pump, leaving the farm far better equipped for the next drought\u2014which arrived just three years later.<\/p>\n

While California farmers aren\u2019t immune to the fallout, the Golden State offers a level of support not found in much of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The farm also secured a $23,000 grant through the state\u2019s Healthy Soils Program<\/a> (HSP), an initiative that helps growers integrate composting, cover cropping, and reduced tillage\u2014practices that enhance soil health and increase its capacity to retain water and sequester carbon. In addition to boosting field productivity, the changes helped cut the farm\u2019s reliance on synthetic fertilizers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the lifeline we needed,\u201d says Thaoxaochay of the two programs. \u201cWe\u2019ve been completely resilient since,\u201d she adds, unlike many small farms that have been forced to seek emergency state relief<\/a> due to erratic weather conditions.<\/p>\n

In recent months, U.S. farmers have watched climate-related support wobble under political pressure. The Trump administration froze more than $1 billion in USDA funding<\/a> for programs aimed at climate resilience and social equity, then reissued several with political strings<\/a> including scrubbing references to climate change and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion).<\/p>\n

A federal judge has since ordered reinstatement of the funds<\/a>, but the episode has only deepened the fragility of national climate policy, casting a long shadow over efforts to help farmers brace for a future of worsening droughts, floods, and wildfires.<\/p>\n

While California farmers aren’t immune to the fallout, the Golden State offers a level of support not found in much of the country. In addition to SWEEP and HSP, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) oversees a suite of several climate-smart agricultural programs<\/a> that cut emissions and build on-farm resilience.<\/p>\n

These include the Alternative Manure Management Program, which funds systems that dry manure into compost rather than flushing it into methane-emitting lagoons; the Biologically Integrated Farming Systems Program, to promote low-input, plant-based farming methods; and the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALCP), to fund conservation easements that permanently protect farmland, preserving them as carbon sinks. (See \u201cCalifornia\u2019s Climate-Smart Farming Programs<\/a>,\u201d below, for details.)<\/a><\/p>\n

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Lilian Thaoxaochay said a recent drought “almost tanked” her family’s farm. A California initiative, funded by the state’s Cap-and-Trade program, helped them switch to a drip system. (Photo courtesy of GT Florists & Herbs)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

All these initiatives are funded through California\u2019s Cap-and-Trade Program<\/a>, which channels billions of dollars towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and spurring economic growth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Enacted in 2006 and implemented in 2013, Cap-and-Trade requires major polluters like oil refineries and manufacturing facilities to buy \u201callowances\u201d at quarterly auctions to offset their carbon output. The proceeds flow into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), which pays for the state\u2019s climate-smart agricultural programs\u2014along with more than 80 other climate initiatives<\/a> across transportation, housing, and energy. Together, these investments support California’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions<\/a> by 2045, positioning California as a national model for integrated, climate-resilient policy.<\/p>\n

Eleven Northeastern states also cap power-sector emissions through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative<\/a>. Yet California Cap-and-Trade is the only program that directly accounts for emissions from agriculture, the leading global source<\/a> of atmospheric methane and responsible for 8 percent<\/a> of California\u2019s carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

Despite these significant emissions, the climate-smart agricultural programs designed to reduce them receive just 5 percent of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) allocations. That imbalance, says Brian Shobe, policy director at the California Climate & Agriculture Network<\/a> (CalCAN), overlooks agriculture\u2019s outsized potential<\/a> to sequester carbon and build climate resistance: Healthy fields, pastures, and orchards enhance biodiversity, improve water retention, and help buffer farms against extreme weather.<\/p>\n

With federal funding cuts hitting California\u2019s farmers\u2014and Trump’s recent executive order seeking to\u00a0nullify state cap-and-trade systems<\/a>\u2014advocates are pushing for more than just a renewal of Cap-and-Trade\u2019s existing allocations. As the program moves toward reauthorization in 2030,\u00a0a coalition of agricultural and environmental groups, including CalCAN, has started\u00a0urging lawmakers to lock in 15 percent of GGRF revenues<\/a>\u00a0for agricultural climate programs.<\/p>\n

And, in mid April, Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas pledged to\u00a0extend the program<\/a>, framing it as a chance to \u201cdemonstrate real climate leadership\u201d on the national stage.<\/p>\n

A Quick Guide to Cap-and-Trade<\/div>