Land Love Letter Issue: Dove 4 - LOVE, SEEDS
February 2024
Dear Land Lover,
Welcome to the fourth issue of the Land Love Letter (L3): DOVE 4. The Land Love Letter is a collection of land, agriculture, and nature topics in bite-sized pieces. I hope to support the regenerative agriculture movement, speed up the matchmaking of conservation buyers and sellers, and rejoice in the love of the land. (Estimated reading time: 8 minutes.)
In this issue, you'll find:
- Four Ways to Learn to Love Regenerative Agriculture
- Alphabet Soup: NRCS, RCD, USDA and Grants
- What's a Bionutrient Meter?
- Some Seed Catalogs I Like
- Doves and Love
- Featured Conservation Organization: River Partners
- Featured Property: 603 Acres Dunnigan Hills
- Book your Summer Campsites
- Love Songs for Valentine's Day
- About Avis Kalfsbeek
Whatever we may know, or try to know, or think we know, about the nature of Life and our interconnectedness, most can agree to call it all Love. On this Valentine's Day 2024, I send peace and love to you and yours. I am grateful for you.
Four Ways to Learn to Love Regenerative Agriculture
Whether you are a true-blue fan or just starting to explore this "regenerative agriculture" thing, I believe it is always good to keep an open mind and to be a student of life. While there are many ways to deepen your knowledge of regenerative agriculture, I've listed four to consider.
I'd love to know how you have learned about regenerative agriculture. Will you please drop me a line about it, please?!
1) Learn from your pickup truck or tractor: John Kemp Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast has been a staple for many on their regenerative journey, including my own. I started at Episode #1, "How Insects Identify Unhealthy Plants," and am now at Episode #104, "Introducing Integrity Grown." The podcast is number one on Apple Podcasts in the Earth Sciences category.
If you are new to the podcast, I highly recommend getting started with Episode #100, where fourth-generation farmer James Johnson interviews John. In the episode, John says, "…when we start working with SAP analysis and testing to see what the crop actually needs -- speaking broadly, AEA today is a team of about 80 people working with dozens of crops in many different types of environments -- and across that whole macro context of experiences, we usually see nitrogen applications drop by 60-70% in the first year or two. We see potassium applications drop 70-80% in the first year or two and phosphorus 40-50%, sometimes more."
John Kempf also has courses and other resources on his Advancing Eco Agriculture website, https://advancingecoag.com/resources/ , including his blog, many free webinars from conferences and speaking engagements on YouTube, and other grower tools.
2) Learn with hands-on farming: Center for Land-Based Learning, Woodland, California
The Center for Land-Based Learning has several programs. Their part-time, intensive Beginning Farmer Training Program runs from February through September. This in-person program includes field experience with many field trips to regional farms. It also contains lessons on how to grow, market, and sell products, and the students write a business plan to set up a farm business. They offer scholarships each session. Learn more here: https://landbasedlearning.org.
3) Earn a Regenerative Agriculture Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) Certification at California State University Chico's Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems
Chico State's website says, "If you are looking to refresh your knowledge with the most current information and research on regenerative agriculture, are already a conservation planner, or are hoping to become a conservation planner, this program could be valuable."
As of February 2024, the coursework includes these three classes:
· Regenerative Agriculture Systems: Theory & Practice
· Introduction to Soil Health Management
· Whole Farm/Ranch Planning & Design;
And one elective from the following classes:
Ecological Range Management & Adaptive Grazing
Pollinator Habitat
Regenerative Forestry
Carbon Farm Planning
The individual online course cost at the time of this Land Love Letter issue is $650 per 6-week course. Learn more here.
However you learn about regenerative agriculture, please make it a lifelong endeavor. Our grandchildren and our earth cohabitants will thank us.
Alphabet Soup: NRCS, RCD, USDA and Grants
USDA Service Centers are designed to be a single location where customers can access the services provided by the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Rural Development agencies. Many locations also include the local Resource Conservation District office and access to California Department of Food and Ag (CDFA) grants.
Some of the types of grants and funding available at your local USDA Service Center are:
· Agricultural Conservation Easements
· Agricultural Land Easements
· Agricultural Management Assistance
· Conservation Innovation Grants
· Conservation Stewardship Program
· Environmental Quality Incentives Program (including "hoop houses," on-farm energy, organic transition, air quality, conserved ground and surface water, soil health, reduced erosion, increased wildlife habitat, drought mitigation, and weather resilience)
· Pollinator Habitat Program
· State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP)
And more! Click here for more details: NRCS programs, CDFA grants.
What's a Bionutrient Meter?
A clever group of people at the Bionutrient Food Association https://www.bionutrient.org is working on a relatively inexpensive (eventually, around $100) handheld device that a consumer can use to test a crop's nutrition before purchase. They expect that when this is available to consumers, it will shift the economic drivers of crop production.
Here is how they describe it:
"What is the Bionutrient Meter? In short, it is a handheld ‘spectrometer’ to measure the nutrient density in food and crops and carbon in the soil. It was made possible through the Bionutrient Institute lab in Michigan. Spectroscopy is a well-developed technology that can discern the makeup of materials using a noninvasive flash of light. Since 2018, we've been gathering thousands of soil, food, and crop samples through our Grower Partner and Citizen Science programs to calibrate the latest version of the meter. These samples are critical to calibrate the meter to offer readings or 'estimates' of the nutrient density values. The meter is only one part of the overall BFA strategy that includes an open-source data platform - owned by no corporate entity or individual, but instead, data remains in the "commons" for access to all." More on the Bionutrient Meter.
They also created a very cool chart of crops' variance of nutrition based on assessing 18-19 nutrient metrics in those crops, including antioxidants, polyphenols, Brix, protein (in grains only), and 15 individual elements. The chart shows "the average variation in those crops across all those nutrients. So, from the graph, the best butternut squash we found in the study had an average of 4 times as many of these nutrients in it as the worst one did. With beets, it was 9:1. You can find the chart here.
Even without the Bionutrient meter at the grocery store (I may need it to get a bit cheaper – they say we may someday have it on our phones), we can make whole food choices over processed foods. A potato over potato chips. (Baked potato tip: Add the new mother sauce, nut-based Bitchin' Sauce!)
Some Seed Catalogs I Like
Who doesn't love a good seed catalog? Below are a few I enjoy. I admit I was reluctant to share a couple of these because the seeds sell out quickly. Maybe you'll consider sharing your favorite sources for seeds! I'd also love to know if you are seed saving. Please send me a note here.
Experimental Farm Network Seed Store: https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org
I bought some quirky things like Hayayuki and Kyzyl Shala upland rice, sea plantain, blue beans, and kaleidoscopic perennial kale.
Kitazawa Seed Co. for Asian Vegetable Seeds: https://www.trueleafmarket.com/collections/kitazawa
I first bought the wonderful catalog! Then, I bought two specialty asian garden collections: the Japanese Heirloom Garden and the Asian Herb Garden.
The Kitazawa Seed Company, founded in 1917, is now sold through True Leaf Marke. True Leaf sells these great recyclable containers if you're selling at farmer's markets or your farmstand, or need containers for sharing your produce with family and friends. Check out the containers here.
Carmel Bella Farm: https://www.carmelbellafarm.com
Originally from Carmel, this Sandpoint, Idaho, farmer produces the most amazing heirloom tomato seeds, in addition to colorful tomato photography.
Southern Seeds: https://southernseeds.com
I was looking for popcorn corn and found it here.
Richters Herb & Vegetable: https://www.richters.com
I love that you can buy seeds or flats of plant starts. I've purchased drought-tolerant lavender and rosemary 'starts', and they have arrived in good condition and have done well once planted.
A few others:
The Living Seed Company https://www.livingseedcompany.com/collections
Sustainable, heirloom, non-GMO seeds, "dedicated to planting the seeds of World Peace."
Rare Seeds - Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds: https://www.rareseeds.com
Besides the beautiful catalog, they have a "Seed Bank" store in an old bank in Petaluma!
Seed Armory: https://seedarmory.com
Heirloom and Emergency Survival Seed Vaults
I haven't purchased from this company, but they specialize in value bags of seeds in a container that allows the seeds to last up to 25 years, so they claim.
Let’s get planting!
Doves and Love
I was curious why we associate doves with love. Livescience.com tells us, "Doves are a year-round symbol of peace and a romantic Valentine's Day staple of love. Why are these birds considered so, well, lovey-dovey? The association dates back to the Middle Ages when people believed that all birds chose their mates on Valentine's Day… The dove was singled out to represent romance because Greek mythology associated the small, white bird with Aphrodite, the goddess of love (known in Roman mythology as Venus)."
Speaking of doves, we have a lot of them in Northern California. Birdwatchinghq.com says there are seven types of doves in California: Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, White-winged Dove, Band-tailed Pigeon, Inca Dove, and Common Ground Dove.
If you'd like to listen to some lovely mourning dove cooing, the Audubon's field guide is a great site to visit: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/mourning-dove.
Featured Conservation Organization: River Partners
You’ve likely seen some of River Partners' projects in the news. While the word on the street is that their transactions and restorations take time, perhaps good things are worth the wait. They have offices in Chico, Sacramento, Modesto, and Colusa. They also have founded a seed company, Heritage Growers Native Seed and Plant Supply https://heritagegrowers.com , to help them keep up with their pace of restoration.
River Partners mission "is to bring life back to rivers by creating wildlife habitat for the benefit of people and the environment. We envision interconnected, thriving floodplains that sustain abundant wildlife, support productive farmland, preserve freshwater resources, enhance surrounding communities, and serve as the first line of ecological defense in a changing climate."
I love that CEO Julie Rentner is often speaking about the organization's projects and their impact on California's climate resiliency. In an interview last month, Julie tells interviewer, Lily Rothrock, that "…the natural forces of our planet are much stronger than our best engineering. We've learned our engineered environments are crumbling in the face of climate change. Over time, they fall apart. They need to be repaired. And they are dependent on continued investment from the public for generations. It gets harder and harder to compel public investment in repairing crumbling infrastructure. So, we want to instead start thinking about durability. We ask ourselves, seven generations from now, what investments in "infrastructure" are going to create spaces that are valuable to people, communities, economies, and to wildlife? What's going to create cleaner air, improve flood safety, and create healthier watersheds that will be resilient to changes over time? Perhaps building more dams and canals to try to hold water back and move it around isn't the most durable or desirable solution. That's where nature-based solutions and engineering with nature come in." Read more here.
You can learn more by subscribing to their newsletter. River Partners is working to double the pace of their restoration, and you can help them meet their goal by donating here.
Featured Property
603 Acres Highway 505 – Dunnigan Hills, Yolo County: This 603-acre rangeland property is located in the Dunnigan Hills AVA and is made up of four parcels on either side of Highway 505. It is four miles from Matchbook and Grindstone wineries. The property is zoned Agriculture (A-X), which includes, among other uses, crop production, orchards, vineyards, farm animals, apiaries, horse breeding, production of wine, beer, olive oil, barns, greenhouses, seasonal farmstand, small winery, small B&B. The zoning allows two residential dwellings and a caretaker's residence. Grape varietals planted nearby are Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Petite Syrah, Tempranillo, Tannat, Verdejo, and Chardonnay. The property has solar wells with water tanks and reservoirs. APN# 054-100-020: 73.23 acres; 054-160-012: 17.00 acres; 054-150-009: 122.88 acres; 054-180-020: 389.98 acres. Price: $2,926,400, $4,852 per acre.
Please call for a parcel map and more information on this property or for a personal search. Avis Kalfsbeek 707-210-2595 or email akalfsbeek@showcaseagent.com, Showcase Real Estate, DRE#01062009
Book Your Summer Campsite
Many campsites fill up quickly and don't open their spaces until 6 months before. We're already behind the eight ball on June and part of July. Book your summer camping fun now! Winter camping is fun too!
Reserve America
https://www.reserveamerica.com
Reserve California State Parks
https://www.reservecalifornia.com/Web/
Reserve Private Campsites on Hip Camp
Reserve Oregon State Parks
Love Songs for Valentine's Day and Beyond
When the Stars Go Blue, The Corrs and Bono
What You Don't Do (1st song of this Tiny Desk Concert), Lianne DeHavas
Cruisin' (Smokey Robinson cover), Handmade Moments
You (My Mind is Woo), Martin Sexton
Thinking 'Bout Love, Wild Rivers
Paris Nights New York Mornings, Corinne Bailey Rae
Thank you for reading the Land Love Letter. Are you a subscriber? If not, please click here to subscribe. If you enjoyed reading, will you please tell a friend? Thank you.
Slow down. Take the long view. Love (land) more.
Yours in peaceful love of the planet,
Avis Kalfsbeek 707-210-2595
Subscribe and Past Issues: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/landloveletter
Broker Associate DRE# 01062009
Showcase Real Estate
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I acknowledge that we are on the traditional, ancestral, unceded lands of the Wintun Indians from central California, including the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians.
Avis Kalfsbeek
Avis Kalfsbeek is a Real Estate Broker (DRE #01062009) with over 20 years of real estate experience. Her current focus is regenerative and conservation real estate with a special interest in helping new and small farmers find land. Avis holds a Master of Business Administration in Wine Business from Sonoma State University. She has represented buyers and sellers in land transactions in Northern California (Colusa, Sutter, and Napa Counties), including orchards, row crops, recreational and ranch properties, vineyards, and wineries. Her MBA coursework in marketing, financial statements, strategy, and sustainability and her business, legal, and hospitality work experience help her solve problems and guide clients in their property decisions. Avis writes an environmental adventure book series called Pedro the Water Dog Saves the Planet.
Land Lover Letter (L3) Copyright 2023.