CalCAN



AUTHOR’S NOTE: Below you will find templates for responses to the narrative questions in the Healthy Soils Incentives Program application. This is only a guide. It is always best to use your own words, but here we offer examples of the kinds of responses that are relevant to the application questions. We strongly suggest you work with a local Resource Conservation District, Cooperative Extension office, or other agricultural professional to review your application before submitting it to CDFA.

Healthy Soils Application Narrative Questions Response Templates

SECTION 3. BASELINE DATA

a. Provide the cropping history for the past three years (July 2014 - July 2017) for all APNs that will be impacted by the project. [max 1000 characters]

Sample response to this question:

APN ______: almonds (2014-2017)

APN ______: lettuce (2014-2015), strawberries (2016-2017)

APN ______: diversified vegetables, including cole crops, brassicas and tomatoes (2014-2017)

b. Provide the management practice history for the past three years (July 2014 - July 2017) for all APNs that will be impacted by the project. [max 1000 characters]

You don’t need to describe every management decision you’ve made over the past few years. The goal here is twofold: 1) to give reviewers a basic understanding of your operation and 2) to identify the current management practices that you’re proposing to change as part of your project.

As such, think about covering the basics (e.g. nutrient management, irrigation, weed control, pasture management) and any other current management practices that you’re planning to change as part of the proposed project. For example, if you’re proposing to chip your pruned orchard branches and apply them as mulch, you should mention what you previously did with them (e.g. burned them).

Sample response to this question:

APN ______: fertigation through drip lines, mechanical cultivation for weed control, maintained bare soil year-round in orchard, burned orchard waste

SECTION 8. PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY

All of the following must be addressed:

a. Explain why this project is important to the agricultural operation. [max 4000 characters]

A basic formula for answering this question is this: problem(s) + solution(s) (i.e.proposed practice)

Below is a table of some common problems farms face and eligible Healthy Soils practices that can address them.

|Problem(s) |Solution(s) |

|Drought, water unreliability, groundwater |1) Cover crops increase water infiltration |

|overdraft, and subsequent increase in cost of |2) Compost increases soil organic matter, which increases soil’s water holding |

|irrigation |capacity |

| |3) Mulch reduces evaporation from soil |

| |4) Reduced tillage preserves soil moisture content |

|Pest and disease pressure and associated loss in |1) Hedgerows increase habitat for beneficial insects and contribute to IPM |

|productivity and increase in pest/disease control |strategy |

|costs |2) Soil management practices increase nutrient availability and soil ecology, |

| |thereby improving plant resiliency and reducing soil-borne pests/pathogens |

|Soil erosion and associated increase in water |1) Soil management practices increase soil aggregation, water infiltration and |

|quality issues and associated regulatory costs |storage capacity, and reduce soil capping, resulting in less runoff and erosion |

| |2) Herbaceous and woody cover practices reduce water and/or wind erosion by |

| |slowing down runoff, increasing infiltration, and/or creating a barrier to wind |

|Insufficient and/or increasing cost of pollination |1) Hedgerows and many herbaceous and woody cover practices provide forage and/or |

| |habitat for native pollinators |

|Increased reliance on and cost of fertilizer |1) Soil management practices increase nutrient availability and cycling |

|Diminished forage and livestock production |1) Rangeland compost application stimulates greater forage production |

| |2) Silvopasture and windbreaks provide shelter and shade for livestock and prevent|

| |soil erosion |

Sample response to this question:

The drought was hard on our farm. Our costs for irrigation increased significantly, our pests increased in number, and our crops and bottom line suffered. This year’s extremely wet winter also caused problems. We lost a lot of soil to erosion, were delayed in working our fields due to flooding, and faced increase disease pressure in some of our fruit trees.

These problems have caused us to look for ways to become more resilient to extreme weather and keep our farm running.

The practices proposed in our project (compost application, cover crops, and hedgerow planting) will help us improve our soil organic matter and overall soil health, which will in turn help our soils store more water and our crops defend themselves against pests. The cover crops will also help us prevent erosion and flooding. The hedgerows should help us build up our local population of beneficial insects, which should help with pest pressure. All of these will help us to be better stewards of our land and to keep our business strong through the ups and downs of the seasons.

b. Describe how the project will be sustained beyond the project term. Include anticipated learning or successes from the implemented management practices and how this will affect future adoption (e.g., continuing the practice(s) in the long-term (>3 years) and/or adding the practice(s) to new fields). [max 4000 characters]

One way to think about this question is: What might you take away from your proposed practices that would help you continue them after the project is over?

Some examples:

• The best time of year and/or weather conditions in which to implement the practices

• The best equipment or combination of equipment to implement the practices

• The amount of labor it takes to establish and maintain the practices, as well as the most efficient way to manage that labor

• The amount of water cover crops, herbaceous, and woody covers require for establishment and maintenance

• The amount of weed control establishing and maintaining perennial plantings require

• The full costs of implementation, including inputs and labor

Sample response to this question:

In order to continue implementing, maintaining, and expanding these practices in the long term, I know I need to account for the practices’ equipment, input, labor, and water costs and requirements. I also know I need to plan to implement them at the right time and under the right conditions.

This grant will help me fine tune my understanding of those costs and best management practices so that by the time the project is over, I will have figured out the most efficient, cost-effective way to continue the practices on my farm.

[If you’ve had any specific concerns about your proposed practices in the past that you think this grant will help you overcome, mention that here.]

c. Describe how you plan to assess and measure possible changes and impacts after project

implementation. [max 4000 characters]

Different practices will have different impacts on your farm. Here are a few ways you could assess and measure those impacts:

• Compare yields: You will monitor yields and compare them to either past years or fields where the practices are not being implemented

• Compare quality: You will monitor the quality of your crop, livestock, or forage and compare it to either past years or fields/pastures where the practices are not being implemented

• Compare soil tests: You will test your soil for things like soil organic matter, bulk density, water infiltration, water holding capacity, aggregate stability, pH, or biological properties, and compare your tests to either past years or fields/pastures where the practices are not being implemented

• Compare irrigation: You will monitor your irrigation frequency and/or volume and compare it to either past years of fields/pastures where the practices are not being implemented

• Compare observations: You will observe things like erosion and flooding during precipitation events, wildlife activity (including native pollinators and beneficial insects), and soil moisture and tilth, and compare your observations to either past years or fields/pastures where the practices are not being implemented

SECTION 10. ENVIRONMENTAL CO-BENEFITS

Describe environmental benefits achieved through implementing the proposed project in the short (within three years) and long-term (beyond three years). Describe how the proposed project will improve soil health. Provide a qualitative description of the environmental co-benefits of the proposed project such as water and air quality improvements, and ecosystem services. [max 4000 characters]

Below is a table of some examples of environmental co-benefits for each eligible practice, as described in the USDA NRCS Conservation Practice Standards. You can read the standards yourself by clicking on the blue links behind each eligible practice in the table below. All of the benefits listed in those standards are backed by peer-reviewed scientific research.

|Practice |Environmental Co-Benefits |

|Cover Crop (USDA NRCS CPS 340) |Reduce erosion from wind and water • Promote biological nitrogen fixation and reduce |

| |energy use |

| |• Increase biodiversity • Suppress weeds |

|Mulching (USDA NRCS CPS 484) |Reduce energy use associated with irrigation • Provide erosion control • Reduce airborne |

| |particulates |

|Residue and Tillage Management – No-Till |Reduce sheet/rill and wind erosion • Reduce tillage-induced particulate emissions • Reduce|

|(USDA NRCS CPS 329) |energy use • Provide food and escape cover for wildlife |

|Residue and Tillage Management − Reduced |Reduce sheet, rill and wind erosion • Reduce tillage-induced particulate emissions • |

|Till (USDA NRCS CPS 345) |Reduce energy use |

|Compost Application to Annual Crops, |Reduce erosion • Increase soil biodiversity • Improve water infiltration • Divert organic |

|Perennials, Orchards, Vineyards, or |waste from landfills |

|Grassland | |

| |[These benefits are listed in CDFA’s Compost White Paper] |

|Contour Buffer Strips (USDA NRCS CPS 332) |Reduce sheet and rill erosion • Reduce water quality degradation from the transport of |

| |sediment and other waterborne contaminants downslope |

|Field Border (USDA NRCS CPS 386) |Reduce erosion from wind and water • Protect soil and water quality • Manage pest |

| |populations • Provide wildlife food and cover • Improve air quality |

|Filter Strip (USDA NRCS CPS 393) |Reduce sediment and particulate organics in runoff and surface irrigation tailwater • |

| |Restore, create or enhance herbaceous habitat for wildlife and beneficial insects |

| |• Maintain or enhance watershed functions and values |

|Herbaceous Wind Barrier (USDA NRCS CPS 603)|Reduce soil erosion • Reduce soil particulate emissions to improve air quality |

|Riparian Herbaceous Cover (USDA NRCS CPS |Provide or improve food and cover for fish, wildlife and livestock • Improve and maintain |

|390) |water quality • Increase water storage on floodplains • Reduce erosion and improve |

| |stability to stream banks and shorelines |

|Vegetative Barriers (601) (USDA NRCS CPS |Reduce sheet and rill erosion • Improve water quality by trapping sediment |

|601) | |

|Hedgerow Planting (USDA NRCS CPS 422) |Provide habitat, including food, cover, and corridors for terrestrial wildlife • Enhance |

| |pollen, nectar, and nesting habitat for pollinators • Provide substrate for predaceous and|

| |beneficial invertebrates • Intercept airborne particulate matter and reduce chemical drift|

| |and odor movement |

|Riparian Forest Buffer (USDA NRCS CPS 391) |Create shade to lower water temperatures to improve habitat for aquatic organisms • Create|

| |or improve riparian habitat • Reduce excess amounts of sediment, organic material, |

| |nutrients and pesticides in surface runoff |

|Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (USDA |Reduce soil erosion from wind • Enhance wildlife habitat • Improve air quality by |

|NRCS CPS 380) |reducing and intercepting air borne particulate matter, chemicals and odors |

|Silvopasture (USDA NRCS CPS 381) |Improve water quality • Reduce erosion • Enhance wildlife habitat • Improve biological |

| |diversity |

Regarding the short versus long-term part of the question, a simple way to answer it is that all of the Healthy Soils practices begin to accrue benefits in the short-term, but they accumulate the longer the practice is maintained. Of course, perennial tree and shrub plantings take the longest time to mature and achieve their full benefits.

Sample response to this question:

The practices proposed in this project (compost application, cover crops, and hedgerow planting) will have many environmental co-benefits. They will reduce wind and water erosion, which will in turn improve water quality in our nearby stream. They will improve soil health and soil biodiversity by increasing nutrient availability and soil organic matter, which will stimulate biological activity in the soil. The cover crops and hedgerows will provide much needed habitat and year-round food sources in our area for birds, pollinators, and beneficial insects. The hedgerows will also reduce the amount of dust coming off our farm when we cultivate the soil, which will have a positive impact on our air quality in the region. We also believe that by applying compost, we will be helping to divert valuable organic waste from landfills.

Some of these practices will have more immediate impacts, like planting cover crops, which will reduce erosion as soon as it is established next fall. We expect the compost to stimulate greater soil health and diversity in its first season as well. We expect those benefits to continue and accumulate every season. Some of the faster growing plants in the hedgerows will begin to provide habitat benefits early on, but we recognize that the full benefits (including reducing wind erosion and intercepting dust) won’t occur until the hedgerows have reached maturity, which will likely occur after the 3 years of this project.

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