Projects & Partnerships

The work of the Coalition's farmers and ranchers on the Central Coast is the result of close collaborations with partnership organizations.

Technical Assistance

Coalition coordinators assist growers with accessing sources of funding and technical assistance for the design and implementation of water quality protection practices.

• Technical Services include, but are not limited to analysis, recommendations and assistance with such projects as:

Cover Cropping
Irrigation Distribution Uniformity
Irrigation efficiency evaluations
Row Arrangement

Coalition, RCD, NRCS, CAFF, and ALBA partners evaluate one of our conservation cover crop plantings on a hillside avocado orchard. (Photo by Chris Goodson)

Irrigation Efficiency

Starting in 2009, the Coalition will offer irrigation efficiency evaluations to growers in select Central Coast watersheds. Each evaluation will include a thorough evaluation of the ranch irrigation system with the foreman and irrigator, troubleshooting of the system, and measurement of distribution uniformity (DU). Upon completion of any suggested system upgrades, we will return to repeat the evaluation, measure the improvements made, and estimate the environmental and economic benefits gained in doing so. Follow-up meetings with growers, foremen, and irrigators will review all of the information gathered.

Distribution uniformity is a matter of how evenly the cups are filled. This concept can be adapted to all types of irritation systems. (Photo from www.turfgrass.com )

Soil Moisture Management

The Coalition can connect growers with soil moisture management equipment and training. Using soil moisture probes and data loggers, irrigators and foremen are provided with the information they need to improve their water use efficiency. Coupled with weather station data, growers can schedule their irrigations such that they improve crop health while conserving water.

A typical soil moisture tensiometer bank installation at two depths of the crop root zone. (from Publication PNWO475, Washington State University Cooperative Extension)

Soil Nutrient Management

The Coalition is available to help growers with soil nutrient management. High nutrient concentrations in some Central Coast watersheds are attributed to surface runoff and soil leaching losses of agricultural fertilizers (visit www.waterboards.ca.gov for 303(d) and TMDL information). Growers are countering this problem with nutrient budgeting. The first step is to collect multiple seasons of soil nutrient, soil moisture, and crop yield data. With sufficient data and adaptive management, growers can adjust the rates and timing of their fertilizer applications. The goal of this program is to help growers balance high crop yields with low nutrient losses.

A well mixed composite of soil sub-samples for nutrient analysis. (from hort.cals.cornell.edu).

Row Arrangement

Coordinators are available to help growers arrange beds across hill slopes to reduce soil erosion and runoff. By measuring slope angles, the Coordinator and grower can lay out the first few rows of each block, thus providing guidelines for the tractor drivers that make the beds.

Rows were arranged across the slope in the background but not on the planted rows in the foreground. (photo by Chris Goodson)

Vegetative Management Practices

Vegetative Management Practices improve farm runoff quality. These practices include critical area plantings, cover crops, hedgerows, grassed waterways, and treatment wetlands that help reduce nutrient, sediment, and pesticide loads to waterways. Cost sharing, design, and implementation assistance for these practices is available for growers in the Pajaro River, Elkhorn Slough, and Salinas River Watersheds. This works is done in collaboration with Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and local Resource Conservation Districts

• Currently funding is available in the Pajaro River, Elkhorn Slough, and Salinas River Watersheds.

• In collaboration with Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and local Resource Conservation Districts

Hedgerow of native Californian shrubs

A 17 acre cover crop, grassed access road and water bar

Cover Crops

Cover crops are used as a winter ground cover to protect fallow soils from the erosive power of rains. They usually consist of a mixture of legumes and grasses that are seeded in the fall. These plants help prevent soil nitrate losses from leaching out by "banking" it in their tissue. In this way, cover cropping is a cost-effective practice that helps growers to balance their soil nutrient budgets. Additionally, they increase soil carbon, tilth, and microbial diversity. Contact the Coalition for cover crop information and cost sharing program information.

A cover crop of bell beans, vetch, and barley.

Flail mowing a bell bean cover crop before tilling it under

Tilling under winter cover crops of cereals and legumes.

Young lettuce coexists with a grassed waterway.

Hedgerows

Hedgerows are lines or groups of native trees, shrubs, perennial forbs, and grasses that are planted along field edges, fences, roadways, drainages, and other non-cropped areas. Their primary functions include:

Stabilization of soil and providing ground cover
Improving water quality by reducing sediment, nutrient, and pesticide runoff
Creating wildlife habitat
Providing beneficial insect habitat
Suppressing weeds

Hedgerow Planting: This 1500 foot native plant hedgerow is being planted adjacent to strawberry fields on right and leafy greens on left. Serve as windbreak & soil erosion protection.

This hedgerow is a couple years old.

This is a mature hedgerow (left) comprised of shrubs that are shorter in stature.

Riparian Forests/Buffers

Riparian forests are lines or groups of riparian trees and shrubs that are planted near on-farm creeks, drainage ditches, reservoirs, and other perennial or intermittent streams that:

Stabilize channel banks
Reduce sediment, nutrient, and pesticide loads entering the stream
Create wildlife habitat
Providing beneficial insect and predator habitat

Riparian Forest and Grass Buffer Strip: This is a semi-mature planting. Planted at farm edge and adjacent to riparian corridor (at right). Provides both soil and water quality protection.

Grassed Waterways

Grassed waterways are drainages vegetated with perennial grasses, rushes, sedges, and other water plants that:

Improve water quality by filtering sediment and nutrients from runoff water

Prevent soil erosion while allowing water to drain from the agricultural field

Before Photo: A typical, bare agricultural ditch known to be very prone to erosion, particularly during winter rains. Sections of the banks were smoothed and seeded.

After Photo: Taken 4 months later. These intermittent plantings help to slow water velocities, stabilize the ditch banks, and filter out nutrients and sediments.

Food Safety & Water Quality Compatibility

The Coalition has initiated and developed a comprehensive research and implementation program aimed at gaining a better understanding of the compatibility of water quality and food safety protection.

• In-field and on-farm research trials are being conducted to investigate water quality management practices, including grassed waterways, hedgerows, polyacrylamide, and vegetated treatment systems/wetlands.

• Research trials are investigating:

The effects of vegetative management practices on nutrient and sediment loads in runoff
The effects of vegetative management practices on the transport of pathogens

• This work is implemented in collaboration with a team of experts from University of California Cooperative Extension, University of California Davis, and California State University Monterey Bay.

Young lettuce coexisting with a grassed waterway.

Wildlife coexisting with agriculture: a frog finds a wet spot inside of a rain gauge. Photos by Chris Goodson.

Links to Additional Food Safety Resources

For updates on food safety issues, visit the Western Growers Association website:
http://www.wga.com/

California Department of Food and Agriculture has information on California food safety regulations and links to the latest research:
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/ah/food_safety.htm

The Organic Center offers information on how organic leafy greens growers can deal with food safety issues:
http://www.organic-center.org/

Western Institute for Food Safety & Security in collaboration with the newly formed Center for Produce Safety act as the clearinghouse for produce safety research and plans to fund new scientific studies that investigate food safety risk reduction; more information:
https://wifss.ucdavis.edu/index.php

Resource Conservation District of Monterey County has conducted a literature and grower survey on the conflict between environmental protection and food safety:
http://www.rcdmonterey.org/

Our crew (Arnette Young, University of California Cooperative Extension and Sam Earnshaw, Community Alliance with Family Farmers) planting plugs of perennial native grasses for research trial to investigate the attenuation of sediments, nutrients and pathogens. Photos by Ruthie Schafer.

Michael Cahn, University of California Cooperative Extension, demonstrating how systems such as sediment basins and vegetative waterways function to improve water quality. Photos by Ruthie Schafer.

In the wake of E.coli 0157:H7 outbreaks, increasing pressure has been placed on growers to control the access of wildlife to production systems. Photos by Ruthie Schafer.

Outreach & Education

The Coalition provides a variety of educational opportunities for growers, including:

Watershed Working Group Meetings
Water Quality Workshops

Fertigation Workshops
Organophosphate and Pyrethroid Pesticide Workshops

Farm Water Quality Planning Short Courses

In partnership with University of California Cooperative Extension, the National Resource Conservation Service, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Regulatory Compliance Assistance

Free help every third Thursday at the Coalition Office in Soquel. Contact Chris Goodson for details at 831-227-5404 or chris.goodson@agwaterquality.org

Discussing erosion control strategies with Spanish-speaking growers

Demonstration of furrow dikes at the USDA Spence Research Station

Michael Cahn, Richard Smith (UCCE, left) and growers review impressive runoff water quality data from their furrow cover cropping research.

Photos above were taken by Christopher Goodson.