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As the summer heat reaches its zenith, August brings peak abundance for many late-season crops. The fields are teeming with beneficial insects and the pests they seek. In this newsletter, we are happy to launch our revamped Farmland Flyways Trail Map, showcasing farms that support beneficial birds and providing guidance for growers across the country on how to join the trail. We share details about our new sustainable pest management webinar course with 12 lessons running through March of 2025. We also highlight recent program activities and thank GrizzlyCorps fellow Tenaya Bearmar for her term of service. Finally, we give an update on the Inflation Reduction Act’s impact for climate-smart agricultural practices and ask for your support in our Wild Sustainers’s Club. Enjoy this month’s News from the Wild! New and Improved Farmland Flyways Trail Map Whole Farm Sustainable Pest Management Webinar Course Farmland Programming Highlights Celebrating the Two Year Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act |
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New and Improved Farmland Flyways Trail MapWFA is excited to release an updated version of our Farmland Flyways Trail Map. The Trail highlights farms across the country that support beneficial songbirds and raptors with the installation of nest boxes and perches. It also helps to track our progress towards our 2050 vision goal of inspiring 10% of U.S. farms to install an average of 5 nest boxes and/or perches each, leading to 1 million structures. There are now 3 billion fewer birds in North America than in 1970 due to habitat depletion from agriculture and development, climate chaos and pesticide use. But these birds are valuable partners on the farm as voracious insect-eaters or rodent hunters. Putting up perches and nest boxes gives songbirds and raptors more places from which to hunt pests and to nest in the spring. And having a variety of pest-eating birds on the farm is always a plus, because they consume different kinds of prey. We need your help to grow the number of farms participating in the trail and inspire others to support beneficial birds!
Whole Farm Sustainable Pest Management Webinar CourseWFA is pleased to offer a free 12-lesson virtual course for PCAs, CCA, scouts, growers and other agricultural professionals about whole farm pest management. Bring your pest management actions into compliance with CA Dept of Pesticide Regulation's Sustainable Pest Management Roadmap efforts by learning how to support beneficial organisms above and below ground, using biopesticides and augmentative releases effectively, and scouting and making informed whole farm decisions. Covering the latest research, the sessions are given by experts in entomology, plant health, plant pathology, microbial pest control, ecology, avian pest control and whole farm management. The first lesson, Optimizing Beneficial Insects and Their Habitat, is coming up on September 24. It has been approved for 1 CE credit from California Department of Pesticide Regulation and American Society of Agronomy. Click Here for More Details and to register for the first lesson on September 24.
Farmland Programming HighlightsThis summer, Wild Farm Alliance has been active in supporting farmers and farm policies. We are happy to share a few highlights of our work. Nick Filannino, our Technical Advisor/Ecologist, is overseeing a pollinator habitat project funded by California Department of Food and Agriculture. We are working in conjunction with two other organizations, Pollinator Partnership and Community Alliance with Family Farmers, to increase habitat for pollinators across California agricultural landscapes. Ashley Chesser, our Communications Director, presented to the North American Fruit Explorers in July about how to support raptors and other beneficial birds in fruit growing operations to manage pest birds and rodents. Co-presenter Dr. Catherine Lindell from Michigan State University shared results of her team’s studies to investigate the value of attracting predatory American Kestrels with nest boxes to diminish the number of fruit-eating birds in cherry orchards. Deputy Director Shelly Connor and Program Associate Courtney Tchida attended the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) annual meeting where they connected with NSAC members from around the country, toured farms (Sharing Our Roots and Seeds Farms), participated in strategic planning for the organization and joined campaigns around the farm bill.
Thank you, Tenaya!In July, WFA said farewell to GrizzlyCorps Fellow Tenaya Bearmar. During her year-long term with us, Tenaya was an incredibly valuable part of our team, with her contributions making a myriad of projects more successful. She helped coordinate field days, prepare conservation plans, plan and install hedgerows, review scientific literature and improve systems for communicating with farmers. Tenaya also helped lead the overhaul of the Farmland Flyways Trail Map released this month (see above). Tenaya enthusiastically supported the wild farming mission and her positive energy was infectious. We are so grateful to be part of Tenaya’s career path and wish her the best in her next adventures.
Celebrating the Two Year Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction ActAugust marks the two-year anniversary of President Biden signing the largest investment in farm and ranch conservation since the Dust Bowl into law, through the Inflation Reduction Act. Since then, billions of dollars have been committed to give thousands of farmers and ranchers the tools to adopt climate-smart agriculture practices, but this is just the beginning. Now, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle continue negotiations through the new year, we need to be as clear and loud as possible so that this once-in-a generation opportunity cannot be missed. If the Farm Bill isn't passed until next year, billions of dollars of long-term, climate-smart conservation funding could be lost. Congress must follow through for farmers and ensure that this funding is protected and made permanent. Quickly and easily call or email your representatives in Congress and ask them to protect the $20 billion in climate-smart agriculture in the Farm Bill. Click Here to Use National Wildlife Federation’s Action Portal to Contact Your Representatives
Wild Sustainers ClubMany thanks to the new members of our Wild Sustainers Club! This is the final month to join and receive a WFA journal or hat. Become a Wild Sustainer today with a monthly gift and provide a critical source of reliable income for wild nature programming. Donating just $10 per month translates to the purchase of plants for 120 feet of a hedgerow each year. |
