The California Roundtable on Agriculture and the Environment (CRAE) is California’s preeminent forum for agricultural and environmental leaders to resolve conflict, find common ground, and work together to support agriculture and improve environmental outcomes. In celebrating CRAE’s 10th anniversary, founding member Paul Martin from Martin Family Ranch, described the organization as a place where members have an unwavering “commitment to collaborative problem solving.”
“CRAE is a unique and extremely valuable forum that brings together members of the agriculture and environmental communities to work towards sustainable agriculture and sustainable ecosystems for California. Members believe strongly that we can work together to make progress on our share objectives.”
CRAE’s long list of policy accomplishments include:
- Successfully advocating for increased Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP) funding for California
- Advocating for effective and environmentally sound invasive pest management policies
- Creating joint support for immigration reform between agricultural and environmental organizations
- Developing principles to mitigate the unintended environmental impacts of food safety practices on farms that were ultimately included in federal legislation
CRAE’s reports and sign-on letters have particular weight in California, as they represent the careful and thorough thought of diverse leaders.
In 2014-15, CRAE has focused on a range of issues, including better management of the Sierra headwaters to increase available water in the state, policy for managing privacy and information exchange issues created by the emergence of big data in agriculture, and collaborative solutions to the California drought that benefit both agriculture and the environment.
CRAE reflects Ag Innovations’ deep commitment to, and skill in convening, collaborations with impact. We carefully construct agendas to assure the group finds common ground and effectively summarize the group’s views into reports and sign-on letters. We pursue outreach and communications efforts to disseminate recommendations and encourage adoption by relevant agencies, and we provide essential backbone services to enable and empower CRAE to accomplish its goals.
RESULTS
A Call to Action to Preserve California Agricultural Land
A Call to Action to Preserve California Agricultural Land describes a suite of policy recommendations for slowing the rate of farmland conversion.
Policy Considerations for Managing Agricultural Nitrogen to Reduce Groundwater Contamination in California
Policy Considerations for Managing Agricultural Nitrogen to Reduce Groundwater Contamination in California communicates both a set of key facts important to building policy regarding nitrate in the agricultural context, and a set of key considerations to support effective policy-making.
Guidelines for Creating Effective Ecosystem Services Incentive Programs and Policy
Guidelines for Creating Effective Ecosystem Services Incentive Programs and Policy is a synthesis of best practices to support ecosystem service programs in developing successful and comprehensive conservation incentives.
Permitting Restoration: Helping Agricultural Land Stewards Succeed in Meeting California Regulatory Requirements for Environmental Restoration Projects
Permitting Restoration: Helping Agricultural Land Stewards Succeed in Meeting California Regulatory Requirements for Environmental Restoration Projects provides a set of recommendations to facilitate the permitting processes for on-farm environmental restoration projects. Four case studies accompany the report.
