The selection has not only introduced Martinez to new ingredients, such as eggplant, but she’s learned to cook with them thanks to her children, who receive free classes through their school. “They make broccoli soup. They like cauliflower,” she says. “You don’t think of kids liking Brussels sprouts and these kids love them now.”

The pantry is just one location in Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County’s network of nearly 300 distribution sites; the 41-year-old organization serves an average of 430,000 people per month who are experiencing food insecurity.

About three years ago, the southern California food bank added something novel to its system: a 40-acre farm. 

At Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine, fresh produce is grown specifically to be distributed to Second Harvest’s partners such as the school pantry. Since its inception in August 2021, the property has produced more than five million pounds of nutritious food for the surrounding community.

“There is a symbolism in the fact that we are growing [locally] , that we are growing food right here that is going from farm to food bank to table in 48 to 72 hours,” says Second Harvest CEO Claudia Bonilla Keller. “Those that need the most help are getting some of the best food that we could ever hope to procure.”

Most food banks operate by gathering unwanted and donated food and distributing them to food pantries and other programs so the people who need the sustenance are able to access it. But those donations can be tenuous. Recently, inflation and supply chain issues have made it even more difficult to maintain operations—particularly at a level that addresses the rising need. 

Seventeen million US households experienced food insecurity at some point in 2022, according to the US Department of Agriculture, a number that grew as a result of the pandemic. 

Harvest Solutions Farm, which operates on University of California South Coast Research and Extension Center (REC) land, grows various crops throughout the year—from cabbage and broccoli to zucchini and watermelon—that is then harvested and driven two miles to the food bank’s warehouse, allowing the organization to quickly distribute the perishable goods throughout the county. 

It’s a symbiotic relationship. Second Harvest gains access to free land (the organization pays for water use and some equipment), and the soil health of UC’s otherwise unused plots is supported. Because the farm relies primarily on volunteers—an average of 170 per week—there’s also an educational component: The community has the chance to connect with farming and food in a way that shopping at a grocery store can’t offer. “People are losing touch with agriculture,” says Darren Haver, director of the REC system and interim director of South Coast REC. “This partnership allows a lot of volunteers that would have never set foot in an agricultural field to actually experience it and learn about it and have a greater understanding of that.” 

Volunteers, in turn, help make the project economically feasible. “The most innovative thing about it is the produce is affordable to a food bank, to us, because the labor is done by volunteers and that allows us to take [the food] in at prices that are competitive with the state co-op, (under 30 cents per pound on average, on par with the California Association of Food Banks),” says Keller. “It’s a relatively small part of our supply chain in all honesty, but it is one that we 100 percent control.”

The farm also reinforces Second Harvest’s mission to provide dignified access to food and nutritional security, which is not only making sure people like Martinez and her family have consistent access to food but ensuring that the fare is truly healthy. “It’s something that is not only going to feed your family but nourish your family,” says Keller.

Although Harvest Solutions isn’t the first of its kind (other farm-to-food-bank programs exist across the country, including at Seeds of Hope in Los Angeles, South Plains Food Bank in Texas and Golden Harvest Food Bank in Georgia), the scale of the farm is unique. And it’s something those involved think can be replicated elsewhere, particularly with strong partnerships in place.

“The model that we’ve had around the country and almost around the world is that our expired, rejected, quality-impacted foods are made available to food banks at discounted prices or for free and we pat ourselves on the back thinking that we’re addressing waste,” says A.G. Kawamura, the former secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture and chairman of the nonprofit Solutions for Urban Agriculture. Kawamura, a farmer himself, started other, smaller versions of Harvest Solutions and was integral in getting the project up and running. Within a season, he says, efforts like this one can “really attack the problem of hunger head-on and make such a big dent in it immediately.”

This matters to community members such as Martinez, who was homeless with her five kids for about two years. Some of the food banks she visited would give her canned food, for which she didn’t have the ability to open, eat or cook. She would return to the places that had fresh produce.

The family has been settled in an apartment for two years, and the school-based pantry has been incredibly beneficial to her, both for the convenience (it’s accessible year-round) and the quality and variety of the produce. Her kids sometimes walk straight to the kitchen to show her their latest cooking skills. The weekly box also allows her to stretch her budget to other necessities, such as proteins beyond chicken, which is what her budget limited her to before. “This program,” she says, “has helped me tremendously in a lot of ways.”

The post Spotlight On the Community Fridge and Pantry Growing Its Own Produce appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Fertilizer basics

The concept of soil fertilization likely extends back 8,000 years, when early farmers added manure and bones to their crops. Chemical versions weren’t invented until the 19th century, and their widespread use didn’t come about until the second half of the 20th century. Nowadays, fertilizers are an essential part of farming, and there are plenty of options: synthetic or organic (think: manure or seaweed), liquid or dry options, and a wide variety of formulations. 

All plants need fertilization. After sitting in the same soil week after week, they eventually eat up all of the nutrients, which then need to be replenished. Which fertilizer they need, however, requires some sleuthing. 

Most fertilizers are composed of three major nutrients: nitrogen, which stimulates the growth of healthy leaves; phosphorus, which encourages root and flower production; and potassium, which supports general health and disease resistance. (You’ll see these noted on bags of fertilizer as an NPK ratio.) Some fertilizers will also include micronutrients such as iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium. The best way to determine which nutrients your soil is lacking is via a soil test.

For home gardeners: Fertilizers can also be formulated for specific types of plants. There are versions for annuals, vegetables, turf grass, tropical houseplants, etc. Choose—or blend—the one(s) that best fit your greenery.

Fertilizers in agriculture

Of course, fertilizers are especially important when it comes to agriculture, and are responsible for boosting crop yields. Fertilizer application is believed to have been responsible for at least 50 percent increase in crop yield in the 20th century, according to an article published in Agriculture in 2022. Higher crop yields mean that less land is required for agriculture, which can benefit wildlife habitats and forests.

But fertilizer is a delicate addition to farming practices. Use too little and the crops lack critical nutrients. Apply too much, and you can offset the pH of the soil, thwart plant growth, increase pest attacks and cause topsoil erosion, among other issues. 

The use of chemical or synthetic fertilizers can also have serious environmental consequences. Their high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus can leach into and contaminate groundwater, cause algae blooms that harm aquatic ecosystems and remove healthy bacteria from the soil. One major example: the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone, where overwhelming amounts of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus have killed off marine life.   

Animals that eat fertilizer-treated plants can get sick, and some research shows that synthetic fertilizers are causing decreased fetal weight, neurological damage, diabetes, and cancer in humans. 

Globally, only about 35 percent of the nitrogen applied to plants is actually absorbed by them, leaving the rest to run off into the environment. Precision farming can help growers use fertilizers more efficiently so they get more of the benefits and less negative side effects.

It pays to be stringent about fertilizer use, not just for the health of the planet, but for the health of your wallet. Drastic jumps in fertilizer costs are hurting farmers’ bottom lines. The USDA forecasted that input costs for the 2024 growing season are expected to hit the third-highest level in history. Though fertilizer costs are expected to drop from their all-time high, the category remains a significant expense; for example, fertilizer accounts the largest single operating cost when growing corn. In short: Being smart about where fertilizer is applied, and how much, can have a major impact on budgets. 

Using fertilizer 

Adding fertilizer when a plant is in its dormant cycle can mess up its natural cycles. You’ll get the most out of fertilization at the start of spring when plants are generally in their active growth period. Depending on the plant, additional applications (every couple of weeks or so) may follow until fall; some indoor greenery also benefits from sporadic applications throughout the winter. 

As we’ve mentioned, just be cautious about how much you use—too much can have a contradictory effect, damaging the plants and the environment. 

Thankfully, there are safer alternatives available. 

Organic fertilizers are considered healthier for the environment and for us because they are made from living organisms (like fish emulsion). Two challenges that come with these options: They can be pricier, and they’re slow-release, meaning it’ll take days or weeks for the effects to become evident. 

Outside of the home, additional organic materials—like grass clippings, cover crops, or compost—can also help support soil health, suppress weed growth, and reduce soil erosion.

What do you want to know about fertilizer? Ask a question in the comments section below.

The post The Dirt on Fertilizer appeared first on Modern Farmer.

As with many eco initiatives, what was old is new again: Cover crops (or fallow season plantings; see more below) were first used during the Roman Empire as a way to boost the soil quality in vineyards. In the United States, the practice was relatively common from the 1860s through the 1950s before it was replaced by synthetic fertilizers and different crop management techniques.

But, as sustainability becomes increasingly important, the global agricultural community is turning back to the proven practice. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “the use of cover crops increased by 50 percent between 2012 and 2017.” Federal and state incentives are helping farmers fund these efforts at increasing rates, although they still comprise only a small percentage of the country’s cropland.  

What are cover crops?

Cover crops refer to vegetation planted in empty fields—covering the soil, get it?—at the end of growing seasons to enrich the ground and minimize erosion. They can also be added to crop rotations to improve soil health in fields that have been degraded from growing the same thing year after year. Cover cropping is a means of increasing soil fertility without chemicals.

How do cover crops work?

All cash crops (what farmers grow to sell) pull nutrients out of the soil as they mature. It’s important to replenish those nourishing substances after every harvest so future crops can also flourish. With cover cropping, farmers plant specific varieties that have the ability to pull nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus from the atmosphere and return them to the soil so future plants can absorb them. The cover crops are not harvested but instead tilled back into the ground, where they release these beneficial elements as they decompose. 

What plants make good cover crops?

Farmers have numerous options when it comes to cover crops, which primarily stem from the legume and grass families. Plants such as rye, alfalfa, winter wheat, clovers, radish, oats and mustard can work well depending on the specific goals for a landscape. 

What are the benefits of cover cropping?

Beyond its primary function of adding nutrients back into the soil, the practice of cover cropping has other benefits, too, including: suppressing weeds; reducing erosion; controlling pests and diseases while attracting pollinators; increasing soil’s moisture and nutrient content; enhancing biodiversity; and improving future crop yields. These plantings can broadly aid in improving a farm’s resilience, a growing need in the face of climate change. Many of these benefits become apparent within one year of using cover crops. 

What are the drawbacks of using cover crops?

Among their downsides, cover crops are an additional expense (financial and otherwise) for cash-and labor-strapped farmers. They can also overwinter and compete with cash crops, so it’s critical that farmers carefully choose the appropriate cover crops for their fields.

What do you want to know about cover crops? Ask a question in the comments section below.

The post The Dirt on Cover Crops appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Researchers from the US to Australia are using drones to handle health assessments of cattle from the air, developing a system to recognize the emotional states of farm animals and capturing the identities of cows based on their unique muzzle prints.  

This research aligns with climate-smart agriculture—increasing the sustainability and resilience of agricultural systems in response to climate change. When Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act last year, it included $19.5 billion to support these efforts in the US. “Agriculture is reactive; it’s not predictive,” says Dr. Sigfredo Fuentes, a visiting professor at the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico.

“[With] AI, we can transform agriculture to be a more predictive enterprise or industry rather than just reacting to climate change.”  

Building on current remote sensing technology, Fuentes and his team have developed algorithms that rely on noninvasive cameras and machine learning to help farmers both identify animals and monitor their biometrics (heart rate, body temperature, etc.), gathering critical intel on the volume and quality of milk, heat stress and general well-being. The goal is to help farmers make smarter decisions, detect illnesses earlier and ultimately strengthen herd welfare. 

“You need to have tools to manage those more efficiently. The only way we have now to assess animal by animal is having a veterinarian, which is really expensive, even for big countries,” says Fuentes. 

Typically, animal welfare tests are invasive (using tools such as blood tests and implanted contact sensors) and stressful for the animals, as well as costly and time-consuming for farmers. Noninvasive visual assessments by trained experts can be hampered by subjectivity. Digital tools—such as remote sensing, infrared thermal energy and AI—automate these exercises, limiting the impact on the animals themselves (which can bias results), reducing potential human error and allowing for more consistent monitoring of larger groups of animals. 

A research review Fuentes co-authored in 2022 showed that these technologies have been successful with early detection of respiratory diseases in pigs. The contactless technology was also 96% accurate in predicting metrics such as weight and somatic cells when tested with 102 dairy cows in Victoria, Australia in 2021 and 98% accurate in estimating the animals’ ages based on facial features. 

The data collection can be done as animals are moving through troughs or stepping onto transport vehicles and takes less than 10 seconds to capture. It requires basic hardware, such as a camera or a smartphone with a subscription app; it doesn’t even need Wi-Fi, a boon for rural farms. The new technology is an update on ear or RFID tags, which can fall off or be swapped. 

The University of Melbourne has licensed its algorithms to commercial businesses such as iTRAKassets, which builds GPS tracking solutions for Australia’s agriculture industry. It will be working with about 85 farms to trial the system on a commercial scale. iTRAK®ID—set to be released in the fall—combines facial recognition with retinal identification to accurately assess the age, body temperature and heart rate of cattle from a quick smartphone scan. “With the retinal [scan], we can identify an animal at birth and that identity is there for life,” says managing director Stewart McConachy. 

The company recently partnered with Nebraska-based HerdDogg to bring its biosecurity app BIOPLUS stateside. The technology helps farmers track livestock so, for instance, a disease outbreak doesn’t spread across fences or borders. In combination with HerdDogg’s Bluetooth tags, farmers will be able to access biometrics and tracking all in one place, in real time. The effort will eventually expand to sheep, goats and pigs. 

These emerging technologies have broader cultural implications: They can make the transportation of livestock safer and more humane. In 2017, 2,400 sheep died of heat stress en route from Australia to the Middle East. If these tools had been available at the time, they could potentially have alerted veterinarians to the growing heat or informed them of which particular animals were struggling. 

Accurate identification of animals also aids in traceability, ensuring farmers are receiving the animal(s) they intended to buy and offering clarity to consumers who want to know where their meals are coming from. (In Australia, the law requires that livestock identifications and movements are recorded; the US is less stringent.)

Interest in these capabilities is only growing. Global Market Estimates projects the worldwide market for AI in livestock farming will grow nearly 26% between 2021 and 2026. In short, the 85 iTRAK farms on which Fuentes’ creations are being piloted is just the beginning.  

The post Facial Recognition Technology Could Improve Livestock Health appeared first on Modern Farmer.

An associate professor of pomology—the science of growing fruit—at Colorado State University, Minas has spent the past six years developing a nondestructive sensor that can help farmers make smarter orchard management and harvesting decisions. The goal is to  cultivate the best products that will elicit premium prices and satisfy hungry peach-eaters. 

Colorado yields the sixth-most peaches in the country, with more than 2,000 acres of peach orchards producing 30 million pounds annually. Peaches also comprise about three-quarters of the state’s total fruit production, netting approximately $50 million in sales. 

While they may not adorn the state’s license plates like they do in Georgia, Colorado is well known for its tasty peaches, which are grown primarily in the southwestern agricultural town of Palisade. A combination of intense sunlight from the high elevation, alkaline soils, the Colorado River, reliable winds and the juxtaposition of hot days and cold nights nurture a sweeter, juicier fruit. The farm gate price for Colorado peaches regularly reaches $1 more per kilogram than the national average. “We have the highest-priced wholesale peach in the United States,” says Bruce Talbott, a fifth-generation farmer who co-owns Talbott’s Mountain Gold with his two brothers. He also participated in sensor trials with Minas.

Minas’ goal is to maintain the industry’s reputation for superior flavor by maximizing quality while minimizing crop loss. With a single scan of the device, growers can compile vital data that informs when the peaches are harvested, stored and shipped.

Quality analysis of peaches traditionally requires cutting into the product—and growers’ and sellers’ bottom lines—to measure fruits’ sugar content, color and maturity. In contrast, Minas’ handheld sensor, which looks a bit like an old-school tape recorder, requires someone to simply hold it up to the surface of a peach for a few seconds. It uses a broad spectrum of light, from visible to near-infrared, to gather multiple metrics on details such as: dry matter (a measure of how many carbohydrates are in the fruit, which correlates to its sweetness potential at harvest); chlorophyll index (which indicates maturity and picking time); °Brix (which indicates the current sweetness level); and possible internal disorders. 

Growers don’t have to assess every tree. Twenty to 30 scans are enough for Minas’ team to generate detailed reports on an entire orchard. The data can help farmers accurately predict optimal harvest dates—helpful when managing labor, which is a particular challenge these days—and packers determine how long to store and when to ship the peaches. Without destroying the fruit, XLSOR (it stands for “excellent sensor”) can evaluate if they have grown mealy or are too young to be enjoyed. The data can also be zoomed out to determine where in a tree canopy the sweetest fruit grows and if trees need to be thinned to ensure the remaining fruit is receiving appropriate nutrients and sunlight. 

“It can provide valuable information across the whole supply chain,” says Minas. “My goal is to develop technology that can make a difference for the growers. They’re struggling with so many things during the season, and all the decisions that they have to make are really fast and cost money. We are trying to develop a technology that can help them make better decisions.”

Talbott’s 400-acre orchard was among a handful of test sites at which Minas piloted XLSOR last summer. With decades spent in the field, Talbott relies primarily on experience rather than destructive quality control methods (he says those are more common in states such as California and South Carolina). Still, he found the sensor to be a beneficial check for his team, and he sees its potential as a helpful tool for newer growers who don’t have as much lived experience. “As far as background color, size, shape—the different things that cause us to know the fruit’s mature—that piece of equipment is a backup,” he says. “I see a value, but, at the moment, it’s more to give us more confidence in what we already think we know or to challenge our confidence.” Talbott says he’d be open to utilizing the sensor in his fields when it becomes available—depending on the price.

Minas is committed to making sure XLSOR is affordable and easy to use for growers. Based on feedback from Talbott and other area producers—as well as his father and brother back home—Minas is no longer planning on selling sensors directly to growers. Rather, his team is developing a subscription service that provides access to original data through borrowed sensors. It received seed funding to begin commercializing the product and is also supported by CSU’s Lab-to-Life Program, a startup incubator. 

This coming spring and summer, Minas will continue to fine-tune XLSOR with additional pilot trials with growers in Colorado and potentially California and elsewhere. He expects the sensor to become commercially available within the next year. In the future, small tweaks to how it’s calibrated could make XLSOR applicable to other produce, such as apples and grapes. The technology, he says, “can revolutionize the whole industry.” 

The post Can Technology Make Colorado’s Peaches Even Juicier? appeared first on Modern Farmer.