Almond Facts, May-June 2021

retirement program to incentivize landowners to fallow land where needed and pivot to alternative uses for the land, which may include conservation, habitat, recreation, or other uses. We appreciate Gov. Newsom for proposing $500 million for a multi-benefit land retirement program in his water, drought, and climate package. This is a positive start to this enormous effort that we support to ensure land is not haphazardly fallowed. Food Production Investment Program (FPIP) The May Budget Revision includes $125 million in general fund dollars for FPIP. This is positive news, and our association is urging legislators to support this funding level. FPIP is an incentive-based grant program Ag Council helped create in 2017 during cap-and-trade negotiations with former Gov. Jerry Brown. FPIP provides competitive grants for food processors, via the California Energy Commission, to replace high-energy consuming equipment with advanced technologies and equipment to lower energy use and costs associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As many of you know, Blue Diamond was awarded a grant through FPIP allowing the cooperative to reduce natural gas consumption and GHG emissions. Ag Council also supports the following essential programs within Gov. Newsom’s May Budget Revision: Ag Burning Alternatives • $150 million to fund agricultural burning alternatives and incentivize farmers to transition to activities, such as whole orchard recycling. Pollinator Habitat Program • $30 million for pollinator habitat and forage on working lands. FARMER Program • $363 million over two years for this effective ag equipment replacement program providing grants for farmers to replace heavy duty trucks, tractors, harvesters, and other ag equipment to reduce emissions and improve air quality. Water-Use Efficiency • $60 million for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) grants to help farmers implement the latest irrigation technologies to reduce water use. • Ag Council is also advocating that food processors be allowed to access other water-use efficiency dollars within the $500 million in funding being proposed by the State Senate. Drinking Water • Gov. Newsom allocates $1.3 billion in state and federal dollars over two years for drinking water/ wastewater in his budget plan. The funds go to protect drinking water, support local ground water supply projects and planning, water recycling, as well as cleaning up contaminated groundwater and other efforts. The governor also includes $300 million to small rural and urban water suppliers for drought contingency planning and preparedness projects. The needs are clearly vast, and with a significant state budget surplus, Ag Council’s team is actively working to ensure our members like Blue Diamond Growers are part of the economic recovery, resiliency, innovation investments being decided upon during the state budget process. We look forward to working on your behalf to seize upon opportunities and help secure a prosperous future for the agricultural community. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me at emily@agcouncil.org with any questions or to discuss state policy issues. Emily Rooney, Ag Council President 2 1 M A Y – J U N E 2 0 2 1