Biodiversity on the farm is nothing new, as growers and resource professionals will attest. But an increasing number of growers, who have long shown a sense of stewardship, are integrating wildlife habitat into their farming.
"Farmers and ranchers have always recognized that taking care of the environment is
essential to their economic success," said Secretary Ann M. Veneman of the California
Department of Food and Agriculture. "They pride themselves on being the original
environmentalists."
For all of its intrinsic values, however, creating wildlife habitat requires some effort, and poses some risk. The effort is in changing old ways and implementing new practices: the risk, in the eyes of some farmers, is the possibility of attracting endangered species.
"This project has the potential to help growers learn more from each other about total resource management, and promote understanding among urban communities about farming in an environmentally sensitive and economically sound manner," said Betsy Reifsnider, the bureau's program manager for water conservation.
Total resources management enables all of the resources - soil, water, air, plants, and animals - to operate in harmony, thereby sustaining greater efficiency and a better quality of life.
Twenty farms are participating in five RCDs - Yolo County, Pond-Shafter-Wasco (Kern County), West Stanislaus, Cachuma (Santa Barbara County), and the Kings River Conservation District.
"Our goal is to integrate natural resources with farming, and to expand understanding of farmers and public agencies about how biodiversity and agriculture are interconnected," said Rich Engel, manager of the Model Farm program for the RCD in Yolo County. "We hope the program will help shift attitudes and change practices toward more efficient use of resources."
In Yolo County, where close to 96 percent of the land is in agricultural or range use, about 5 percent of the growers are integrating habitat and biodiversity into their farming, Engel said.
Among the best known is John Anderson, a zoologist, veterinarian, and avid hunter, who farms native grasses on part of his 600-acre farm near Winters. He began to integrate wildlife habitat into his farming practices almost 20 years ago.
"There's no question that it's working," Anderson said. "A small percentage of farmers realize that wildlife habitat and farming are quite compatible and have a positive impact on their operation. Once other farmers see this, they will come around. It will have a tremendous impact over time."
Hedgerows - the vegetated corridors between fields and along the edges - are replacing bare soil. Planted with native grasses, shrubs, trees, and other vegetation, they provide a home for a multitude of species, prevent soil erosion, and block out invasive weeds such as yellow star thistle, which can spread into a field and ruin the crop. Native grasses attract insects that feed on crop-eating aphids and other "pests." Once established, they are low maintenance, requiring only occasional mowing. With the right seed mix, grasses grown beside the road stay green all year, serving as a fire retardant and weed suppressant.
Native grasses and rushes planted on the banks of streams, canals, and natural sloughs
control erosion and leave no room for cattails and bulrushes that choke waterways and hamper
flood control. They are desirable as cover crops in orchards and vineyards because they avoid the
expense of discing, retain moisture in the soil, increase organic matter, and reduce the need for
fertilizer.
Rotating crops, such as wheat, beans, and tomatoes, is economical because it keeps a field producing, retains nutrients, and reduces soil loss from runoff. Crop rotation, a conservation practice regularly used by most farmers, also is the most effective method of limiting soil diseases and pest problems.
Soil loss, commonly occurring at the rate of 2 tons per acre per year, will claim 70 tons from a 35-acre field in Yolo County in one year and dump the sediment into the Sacramento River, Yolo Bypass, or the Delta, Engel said.
Working hand-in-hand with the RCDs is the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly the Soil Conservation Service. This federal agency is shifting to holistic, ecologically based planning, and has developed strategies used in the Model Farm program.
"In the past, we focused on soil quantity and how to reduce soil loss," said Phil Hogan, NRCS district conservationist. "Now we are concerned with the quality of soil as well as the quantity."
"Farming is still a for-profit business. Any suggestions we make must be weighed against
the bottom line, or farmers will reject them," said Bill Power, an associate director of the West
Stanislaus RCD.
Bruce Rominger, a leader in Yolo County farming, says farmers need to be shown that total resource management works and will provide long-term economic benefits.
"Most farmers would say 'Why should I do that?'" Rominger said. "Farmers are trained to treat non-farmed areas a certain way, and it's an effort to do something different."
The CARCD, which represents 110 RCDs statewide, says the grant will help pay for a team of specialists to analyze the innovations and reduce the risk to the growers' livelihoods.
"This project allows farmers to test innovative practices and document what works and what doesn't," Stephanie McGovern, CARCD outreach director, said. "The outreach portion of this challenge grant gives RCDs the ability to become the liaison between farmers and the state and federal agencies. If we can build those relationships and maintain them after the project has ended, we can claim success."
Besides promoting the Model Farm program, the CARCD is interested in reasons some farmers reject its practices.
"If growers say no, we want to know why. That's part of the learning process," McGovern said.
"We need the regulatory agencies to look at the ultimate purpose of providing habitat, and reduce the punitive load on farmers for being innovative," said Carolyn Richardson, an environmental lawyer for the California Farm Bureau Federation. She believes farmers would be more willing to create habitat on their farms if they didn't have to worry about running afoul of the law or losing future flexibility in their land management.
To remove the regulatory roadblock and protect growers who wish to create habitat, the agencies that enforce the federal and state endangered species acts - the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) - are working together with the American Farmland Trust on a "safe harbor" agricultural wildlife habitat conservation plan.
Under the safe harbor program, to be operated by the CDFG on behalf of both agencies, farmers would sign a cooperative agreement protecting them from legal jeopardy if harm befell a listed species that took up residence on land they had converted to wildlife habitat and later wished to farm again.
"We were looking for a way to make it really easy for farmers who want to create habitat," said Gail Presley, a CDFG wildlife biologist who is coordinating preparation of the plan. "The cooperative agreement is simple and short. We intend it to be a streamlined process and a regulatory incentive."
The program protects property owners only for "takings" of species that arrived after the habitat was created or enhanced. It does not allow reducing the original number of species or individual creatures that dwelled on the land.
Ryan Broddrick, manager of CDFG's Sacramento valley and central Sierra region, says farmers who develop and manage wildlife habitat and later decide to plant crops on it won't have to worry about being penalized.
"When people take the initiative to develop biodiverse habitat, the last thing we want to say to them is 'Thanks, we appreciate it, but now we're going to put you under a regulatory microscope,'" Broddrick said.
Peter Cross, chief of the Fish and Wildlife Service's Central Valley branch, said the program also will protect adjoining property owners who aren't participating in the agreement.
Other areas are devising habitat management plans. Yolo County, for example, expects to produce a draft plan this fall that was developed to save the endangered Swainson's Hawk, but also benefits more than 30 other listed species. The plan shares the Model Farm program's goal of habitat-friendly farming.
"The plan recognizes that habitat loss will impact species, and growth in the cities will adversely affect these habitats and needs to be mitigated," Planning Director Stephen Jenkins said. "We would rather have the Department of Fish and Game send their biologists than their lawyers."