Ecological Farming
We work with farmers, policy makers, researchers, and local technical assistance providers to promote, improve and better understand the implementation of ecological farming throughout California.
What is Ecological Farming?
Ecological Farming practices help producers to manage their farm or ranch as a dynamic agroecosystem that interacts with the surrounding landscape and provides important services like pollination, pest management, water and nutrient cycling and soil carbon sequestration. Building these processes into the farm management strategy can lead to improved diversity, efficiency, and resilience in the face of challenges such as climate change, economic instability, and pest pressures.
CAFF’s Ecological Farming Program works collaboratively with farmers to improve soil health and implement alternative pest management methods in order to build on-farm resilience. We strive to support California farmers as they work towards a livelihood that is economically sustainable, ecologically sound, and socially equitable.
On-Farm Research and Demos
We conduct on-the-ground projects to bring together science and farmer experience to build better understanding around ecological best practices.
With expertise in soil health and integrated pest management, we facilitate farmer-to-farmer conversations and provide technical assistance to farmers interested in ecological farming practices.
Ecological Farming Practices
Ecological farming practices build soil health, conserve natural resources, reduce pest damage, and encourage agricultural biodiversity.
Field Days and Webinars
Through educational field days and virtual events, we highlight farmer expertise and encourage knowledge sharing.
Resources
From practical videos to scientific studies, we’ve gathered a variety of resources to help farmers enhance ecological practices on their farm.
Practices
Ecological farming is a holistic approach that includes a suite of practices that farmers and ranchers can employ based on their unique needs to help build soil health, steward our natural resources, sequester carbon and better adapt to a fast-changing climate.
A few key practices include the following:
A cover crop is a “non-economic” crop planted to benefit the soil and the cash crop by improving soil health, supplying nutrients for the cash crop, suppressing weeds, providing habitat for beneficial insects and pollinators, reducing erosion, runoff, and compaction. They can be planted in both annual and perennial cropping systems–as part of a row crop rotation, or between perennial crops like nut trees or vineyards. In CA, cover crops are most commonly grown over the winter months, and commonly include legumes, grasses and brassicas.
Compost can supercharge soil biology while improving soil structure and providing crops with essential nutrients that are steadily made available. As soil structure improves, we see added benefits like improved water retention, less runoff, and better tilth in many CA soil types. Compost also helps to close production energy loops by recycling materials, and concurrently stores carbon in the ground.
Farmscaping involves planting perennials like tree crops and vines, hedgerows, riparian buffer zones, vegetative filter strips, tailwater ponds, and insectary plantings on-farm. These plantings can help increase biodiversity of flora and fauna while offering additional benefits to the farm and providing ecosystem services to the surrounding environment.
By integrating livestock into cropping systems, the whole farm nutrient balance of imports and exports—fertility in, yields out—becomes more even. Integrating livestock can replace certain labor operations such as mowing, provide enhanced carbon and nitrogen cycling, build organic matter, help with disease suppression and amplify the benefits of cover crops.
While traditional tillage is effective for weed control and loosening compacted soil, it breaks up the soil’s natural structure and exposes the soil’s most nutrient-rich layer to oxygen, resulting in the loss of nutrients and carbon. In biointensive no-till systems, minimal disturbance combined with additions of organic material to the soil (such as compost, cover crops or crop residues) results in a healthy soil ecosystem of microorganisms and macrofauna that enhances nutrient cycling, carbon storage, resilience to drought and a host of other benefits.
Ways to Engage
Got questions about ecological farming? Email us at: ecologicalfarming[at]caff.org.
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