California Professional Development Program 2024-2026

Commodities

Practices

In order to streamline the execution
of the PDP program in California, we plan to continue using the
PDP award to fund mini-grants. We have an established advisory
committee to prioritize funding criteria and review submitted
proposals for this proposal’s funding cycle. We also have
assistance available through the UC Agriculture and Natural
Resources division to manage the mini-grant application and
funding processes. We plan to fund mini-grants ranging from
$5,000-$35,000 each that will be awarded through formal call for
proposal(s). 

The incredible diversity of
California’s agriculture creates an equally diverse need for
educational and professional development. Current high-priority
topics identified by the advisory committee
include: 

• Climate
  change 
• Fire: wild and
  prescribed 
• Nutrient management practices to
  minimize environmental (and especially groundwater)
  impairments  
• Water use
  efficiency 

• Integrated Pest Management,
  especially in the context of climate
  change  
• Alternative marketing approaches for
  the economic benefit of small-scale and underserved
  producers  
• Succession
  planning 
• Community-based food
  systems 

• Agricultural community disaster
  preparedness 
• On-farm alternative energy
  generation and use 
• Organic
  farming 
• Economic resilience of
  agriculture and natural resource businesses

 These identified topics
will help prioritize projects during the review of PDP mini-grant
proposals. 

Through the mini-grant process, we will select projects that have
clear project activities that lead to desired WSARE objectives
toward increasing knowledge and skills of our agriculture and
natural resource educators across the state. When reviewing
applications and assessing activities and objectives, sometimes
it is unknown what the true outcome will be, and whether that
outcome perfectly reflects original objectives. In past PDP
mini-grant reports, we have yet to be disappointed in the
outcomes of these projects, and often, although, not well
documented as "match", these limited WSARE funds go a long way
toward educating out educators. The purpose of this grant is to
fund mini-grants that the advisory committee sees as having the
greatest impact of increasing competency of agriculture educators
and professionals in the state. 

The overall objective of this plan is to increase the capacity of
Cooperative Extension advisors, NRCS field staff, and other
agricultural professionals to apply the principals of sustainable
agriculture while working with their clientele (Farmers,
ranchers, consumers, youth, businesses, government, and
communities). We estimate that 100 – 200 agricultural
professionals will increase their awareness of threats to
agricultural sustainability in California and approaches to
addressing these threats. A majority of these professionals will
also increase their knowledge about specific approaches and
practices, and increase their confidence in assisting producers
with specific sustainability issues