USDA and CDFA Host Joint Summit on Healthy Soils

DAVIS, Calif., Dec. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The public is invited to a Soils Summit hosted by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) on healthy soil and climate smart agriculture. The meeting provides an opportunity to explore roles and collaborative opportunities for managing California soils for health and natural fertility while reducing greenhouse gases. The meeting will be held at the CDFA Auditorium on Jan. 11, 2017, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

"The vital role of soil in feeding a hungry world has been recognized for millennia," says Carlos Suarez, state conservationist for NRCS in California. "Our Agency was established during the Dust Bowl to protect soil from erosion and exploitation. Now our aim is to go beyond stemming erosion to enhance and build the health of the soil to sustain it –and us—for generations to come."

"Today we understand that soil has the transformative power to help us stabilize our changing climate," said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross.  "By capturing greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere and storing them underground, through the assistance of living plants and microbes, we improve both the atmosphere and the soil."

Both NRCS and CDFA have Healthy Soil initiatives available to interested farmers. NRCS programs are ongoing while CDFA's initiative is slated to begin in 2017. Additionally, numerous agencies, universities, non-profits and organizations are currently researching or pursuing paths to soil sustainability. The soil summit will hear from a number of these groups. An open microphone discussion will finalize the day's events. 

The CDFA is located at 1220 N St, Sacramento. For more information on the meeting see https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/.

SOURCE USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service