California is once again at the forefront of national climate change
policy. California’s Department of Natural Resources recently issued
the nation’s first state-wide strategy of its kind that lays out a blue
print for how California should adapt and respond to the impacts of
climate change. Many of these impacts, including severe drought,
increased wildfires and floods, and prolonged warmer temperatures are
already being felt across the state. The plan puts forth key recommendations across seven different sectors, including agriculture.

Unfortunately, the action plan for agriculture leaves out one
critical proven strategy for coping with extreme weather events: the
promotion of organic agricultural practices that will make soils
healthier and more productive, while also conserving water and reducing
greenhouse gas emissions. The draft adaptation strategy points out what
most critics of federal and state climate change legislation constantly
fail to acknowledge: That taking no action to address climate change
now could cost key sectors in the state “tens of billions of dollars
per year in direct costs.”

When it comes to agriculture, we can not afford these costs. Besides
lost production and reduced yields, there are many other potential
impacts, including threats to food security and wildlife, increases in
pests, diseases and invasive species, increased soil erosion, and
reduced soil and water quality, to name a few. Unfortunately, the draft
strategy fails to even include agriculture among its top twelve
priority actions.

At a public hearing last week in Sacramento, the Environmental Working Group (EWG)
offered its suggestions
for strengthening and prioritizing organic and sustainable agricultural
practices among the adaptation measures proposed for the agriculture
sector. First and foremost, the adaptation strategy should give higher
priority to the promotion of proven, cost-effective soil management
strategies—such as cover cropping, conservation tillage, mulching,
nutrient management and organic agriculture—which will make soils more
productive, farms more resilient, and at the same time reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. These practices will deliver numerous other
benefits for farmers and the environment, including better water
quality and enhanced soil, water and biodiversity conservation.