All posts in ecological farming

Farming Through Wildfire Season

Farming Through Wildfire Season

The Key Role of Farmers in Building Wildfire Resilience By: Katie Brimm and Natalia Pinzón Jiménez Wildfire becomes more a part of agriculturalists’ (farmers, ranchers, orchardists, grazers etc.) lives across the world everyday. Climate change, combined with years of fire suppression

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Spreadwing Farm: Compost on a Diversified Small Farm

Spreadwing Farm: Compost on a Diversified Small Farm

Spreadwing Farm, located in the Capay Valley, utilizes compost in their vegetable crops to improve the quality of the soil and provide plant available nutrients. Learn more about the benefits, tradeoffs, and challenges Liz Schroeder of Spreadwing Farm has seen

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Grazing Sheep in Vineyards case study with Pennyroyal Farm

Grazing Sheep in Vineyards case study with Pennyroyal Farm

As part of our work in Ecological Farming and more broadly as an organization, CAFF aims to share stories of California growers and ranchers and the incredible work they do as land stewards. Pennyroyal Farm in Boonville provides one example

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Getting the Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) demonstration project off the ground!

Getting the Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) demonstration project off the ground!

The BIOS project is underway! CAFF’s Ecological Farming team has been busy the past several weeks setting up the Biologically Integrated Orchards Systems (BIOS) project at six demonstration sites located in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. We are excited

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Integrating Sheep into Walnuts: a case study on Sierra Orchards

Integrating Sheep into Walnuts: a case study on Sierra Orchards

Want to find out more about the benefits and tradeoffs of integrating sheep into orchard systems? Check out our newest case study on Sierra Orchards of Winters, CA. Sean McNamara and Jeremy Shepherd share their experiences on integrating sheep into

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Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) for Almonds guide

Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) for Almonds guide

The Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) project was a collaboration between CAFF, farmers, pest control and crop advisors, and the UC Cooperative Extension in the 1990s and early 2000s. BIOS emphasized a systems approach to orchard management and pest control

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CAFF’s Cover Crop Decision Guides

CAFF’s Cover Crop Decision Guides

  We’re excited to share two new resources for growers: our Cover Crop Decision Guide for Perennial Systems and Cover Crop Decision Guide for Annual Systems created in collaboration with the Freshwater Trust. These practical guides are designed to walk

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