California Department of Food and Agriculture
Supported by a $565,470 grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Alternative Manure Management Program, Paul Danbom of Brindeiro & Danbom Dairy Farms in Turlock took a significant step towards improving the efficiency of his dairy operation and installed a new solid separation system. Instead of flushed manure being discharged directly into a settling pond and storage lagoon system, it is now pumped through a separator capable of capturing a large portion of manure solids, keeping that organic material from entering and decomposing in a liquid environment where it would produce methane.
In the heart of California, the San Joaquin Valley is a region where agriculture is not just an industry but a way of life for many. CARB’s Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures Emissions Reductions (FARMER) Program funds transformative initiatives that foster the adoption of innovative farming techniques, integrating advanced agricultural technologies, and promote community engagement and has been making monumental steps towards more sustainable agriculture across the valley.
The Association of California Community and Energy Services partner agencies replaced 1,090 washing machines and 855 dishwashers with water- and energy-efficient machines . These energy and water savings will continuously provide cost savings across various communities in Kern, Madera, Contra Costa, Kings, San Francisco, and Merced counties and other low-income homes in San Mateo, Shasta, and Tehama counties.
“For the community; by the community” is the motto of the South-East Madera County United (SEMCU), a non-profit mutual benefit organization in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. In May 2015, with a $218,594 grant from the DWR, members set out to provide water efficiency devices for approximately 75 percent of homes and businesses within SEMCU’s boundary, an area encompassing five disadvantaged community census tracts.
The Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) program provides up to 80 percent of funding for agricultural vehicle and equipment replacement and repower projects. Thanks to this program, Jannifer Mytych and Agri‑World Cooperative were approved by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to receive California Climate Investment funds for new tractors to help reduce emissions while maintaining their almond farms.
Dana Guzman is a resident of Casas de la Viña, a 56-unit affordable apartment rental community that serves low-income families and farmworkers. The mother of two boys, Dana moved to Casas de la Viña when she needed to find a new home. Self-Help Enterprises was able to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and make energy efficiency improvements at Casas de la Viña with Cap-and-Trade dollars.
The “Teakettle Experiment” continues important work that began over 20 years ago to quantify the effects of prescribed fire and thinning on the ecosystem in the Teakettle Experimental Forest in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. This long-term research project is examining six different treatment options, including different intensities of thinning and prescribed fire.
