Today California Governor Gavin Newsom released his 2023-24 May Revision Budget proposal. While we commend the Governor for addressing the devastating effects of climate change on the agriculture community, with severe swings from drought to flood, we are disappointed by the cuts to infrastructure investments meant to enhance California’s small-scale and underserved farmers’ resiliency and sustainability.
“We thank the Governor for recognizing the urgent need to address flood impact with an increase of $290 million for a flood risk reduction package to reduce risk and enhance system resilience. However, in order to reach those who need it most and in a timely manner, we believe those investments should include $5 million for the California Underserved Small Producers (CUSP) Program and grant the program flexibility to address the range of climate disruptions that small family farmers currently face.” – Dave Runsten, CAFF Water Policy Director
“While we appreciate the Governor for maintaining investments in sustainable agriculture and the new investment for DPR’s Sustainable Pest Management Roadmap implementation, we are disappointed by the Governor’s limited commitment to the infrastructure needs of California’s small and underserved farms. We urge the Administration to support the Senate’s proposal to restore cuts to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Farm to Community Food Hub and Urban Agriculture programs.” – Jamie Fanous, CAFF Policy Director
We continue to urge the Administration and Legislature to prioritize the following critical investments to support California’s family farmers
- $5 million to CDFA’s California Undeserved and Small Producer program (CUSP) for emergency winter storm relief
- Recover the $15 million cut to the CDFA’s Farm to Community Food Hub Program
- Recover the $5.8 million cut to CDFA’s Urban Agriculture program
- Recover the $5 million cut to CDFA’s Beginning Farmer & Farmworker Training Program (BFFTP)
