for science and research Sowing seeds
In the second year after its relaunch, the California Bountiful Foundation , the 501(c)(3) nonprofit scientific, research and education arm of the California Farm Bureau, built on its research initiatives and outreach programs to support farmers, ranchers and timber producers.
One of the programs receiving funds through Foundation-generated grants is Expanding Our Roots—Farm Bureau’s Beginning Farmer & Rancher program that connects farmers and ranchers with fewer than 10 years’ experience with mentors in agriculture.
Grant funds will also support a pilot program, backed by Farm Bureau, to enroll a select number of farms in a program designed to quantify carbon stored in orchard and grapevine crops in California. Other grant funds awarded from the Healthy Soils Program will support carbon-sequestration management practices on 20 to 45 citrus orchards in 10 California counties . The Foundation continues to partner with Californians for Smart Pesticide Policy in supporting economic studies and analyses of agriculture and water resources in California. In addition, the California Bountiful Foundation supported 2 new studies in 2023. It awarded over $500,000 to a scientific team at California Polytechnic University, Humboldt for a five-year research project on the benefits of grazing in wetlands. The Foundation also initiated a data-based analysis of water use in California agriculture, which showed that farmers and ranchers use only 15% of total water that the state receives. It is working to publish the research findings, which contradict oft-repeated stereotypes for agricultural use.
In 2023, the Foundation secured over
in grants and applied for additional funding for new endeavors. $6 million
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