California agriculture officials told lawmakers Tuesday that a proposed 28% reduction in USDA funding could jeopardize pest prevention, food safety, market access and research, while the state continues to push local food procurement and climate-smart agriculture spending.
At an April 22 Assembly Budget Subcommittee hearing, Virginia Jameson, deputy secretary for climate and working lands at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said the department is working to expand local food infrastructure and farm-to-school systems, including food business centers and other investments meant to get more California food into schools, health care institutions and other public buyers.
Jameson and other officials said the proposed USDA cut could affect pest prevention, food safety, marketing and research. They also said California agriculture still faces the long-term task of replacing lost export opportunities, including after disruptions in the Chinese market, and that USDA market access funding helps build new markets overseas.
The hearing also surfaced several state budget figures. Speakers cited a $90 million state allocation for local food procurement, with a little over $11 million going to CDFA, and said a proposed $5 million startup effort would help launch work on July 1. Other proposed funding would support a tribal sovereignty program, a mobile farmers market program and a year-round farmers market.
Another official said California’s climate bond allocates $300 million over its lifetime for climate-smart agriculture across multiple state departments. The excerpt available from the hearing shows the item was heard, but does not show whether lawmakers approved, modified or deferred any budget request tied to the programs discussed.
