Rob Yraceburu of The Wonderful Company Elected New Western Growers Board Chair

November 10th, 2025

SAN DIEGO (Nov. 10, 2025) – Western Growers’ membership of family farmers and growers have elected Rob Yraceburu, President of Wonderful Orchards at The Wonderful Company, to serve as Chair of the Western Growers Board of Directors for a two-year term. Yraceburu’s long relationship with the organization, which represents two-thirds of America’s fresh produce, spans more than two decades going back to his many years as a senior banker at Wells Fargo focused on the agriculture industry and, more recently, more than a decade at The Wonderful Company as a grower. Yraceburu was first elected to the Board in 2016 and has served as Vice Chair since 2023.

“Agriculture is America’s single most important product and the world counts on our success, which is why the work of Western Growers will always be critically important,” said Yraceburu. “When growers stand shoulder to shoulder, we are the most powerful voice there is and, today, our collective voice has never mattered more. My commitment as chair will be to champion the tremendous momentum we have and support our talented leadership and staff in ensuring the agriculture business stays strong for the nation. As Western Growers approaches its 100th anniversary, it’s an honor to serve as chair and as the custodian of this work.”

Yraceburu’s roots in the Central Valley run deep as he was born and raised working on his family’s small farm growing almonds and producing raisins. His 40-year career at the intersection of finance and farming began at Wells Fargo, rising to executive vice president and head of the National Food & Agribusiness Division. During that time, he partnered with Stewart Resnick to finance many of the acquisitions that shaped The Wonderful Company – from early pistachio and almond acreage to FIJI Water, JUSTIN Vineyards, and Wonderful Citrus operations.

That deep history and his aspirations to return to farming led to Yraceburu joining Wonderful in 2015 as president of Wonderful Orchards, where today he oversees nearly 160,000 acres from Bakersfield to Madera County, and from the Sierra Foothills to Paso Robles. With more than 100,000 acres planted, Wonderful is the world’s largest grower of pistachios and pomegranates and one of the largest growers of almonds and wine grapes. At peak harvest, Yraceburu leads a workforce of more than 5,000 people.

In his role, Yraceburu also oversees Wonderful Bees, one of the largest beekeeping operations in the U.S. with more than 62,000 hives; Wonderful Nurseries, which specializes in the production of almond and proprietary pistachio trees; and Wonderful Laboratories, which provides agricultural analyses and supports growers across the industry.

“Our industry is facing formidable challenges but also an interesting set of potential opportunities flowing from our national dialogue around food and nutrition,” said Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia. “Rob is a thoughtful and focused leader in our industry, and we are fortunate that he has committed himself to lead the Western Growers Board of Directors for the next two years. I look forward to working even more closely with Rob as he takes the gavel. I also wish to thank Stuart Woolf as he steps down as Chair. His term coincided with an unusually active period for our Association as well as the larger industry and Stuart provided exceptional leadership and counsel throughout.”

Outgoing Western Growers Chair Stuart Woolf passed the gavel to Yraceburu during the Western Growers 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego. During the Annual Meeting, Stewart Resnick, The Wonderful Company Chairman, President and Co-Owner, received the Award of Honor, the association’s highest recognition of achievement, for his 50 years of agricultural excellence and community impact.

Besides Yraceburu, the other members of the Executive Committee of the Association are: Vice Chair Neill Callis, Turlock Fruit Company; Treasurer Don Cameron, Terranova Ranch; Executive Secretary Catherine Fanucchi, Tri-Fanucchi Farms; and Puglia. Rounding out the Western Growers Executive Committee are Past Chair Woolf, Woolf Farming & Processing; and Members at Large Albert Keck, Hadley Date Gardens and J.P. LaBrucherie, LaBrucherie Produce.

For more information, please contact:

Ann Donahue

(949) 302-7600

[email protected]

About Western Growers:

Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Western Growers’ members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce. Connect and learn more about Western Growers on Twitter and Facebook.

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Updated CPPA Regulations Impacting HR Compliance

November 7th, 2025

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) – specifically automated decision-making technology (ADMT) – becomes increasingly integrated into human resources processes, new California compliance requirements are taking center stage. Tools such as resume screeners, performance scoring systems, and scheduling software now fall under California Privacy Protection Agency (the Agency) regulations designed to protect employee rights and ensure data transparency. Here’s what HR professionals need to know—and do—to stay ahead of these changes. 

Background 

The CPPA is responsible for creating and enforcing California’s Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) regulations that initially took effect March 29, 2024. The CPRA amended and expanded the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) by, among other things, giving consumers – including employees – the right to correct inaccurate personal information collected by a covered business and to limit a covered business’s use and disclosure of “sensitive personal information” (e.g., social security number, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, genetic data, precise geolocation) to specific identified purposes. 

In its inaugural Enforcement Advisory No. 2024-01 (issued April 2, 2024), the Agency focused on the importance of data minimization. In its second round of regulatory enforcement, the Agency is focusing on ADMT as it applies to significant decisions in the employment and job applicant contexts.   

As discussed here, the employer’s first step toward compliance is to determine whether their business falls subject to the CCPA. This typically refers to for-profit entities operating in California that collect personal information from California residents. In general, the CCPA applies to a “business” that: 

  • Does business in the State of California, 
  • Collects personal information (or on behalf of which such information is collected), 
  • Alone or jointly with others determines the purposes or means of processing of that data; and 
  • Satisfies one or more of the following: 
    • Has gross annual revenue in excess of $25 million in the preceding calendar year (measured on January 1 of the calendar year) 
    • Annually buys, sells, or shares the personal information of 100,000 California consumers or households 
    • Derives 50% or more of its annual revenue from selling or sharing personal information. 

ADMT Specific Compliance 

When it comes to ADMT, specific triggers for compliance arise when an organization uses ADMT to make significant employment decisions, such as those related to hiring, promotions, or benefits. Compliance is also required for activities that present a high privacy risk—including selling or sharing personal information, processing sensitive personal data, or profiling employees or candidates.  

Additionally, businesses that meet certain size thresholds, such as generating more than $50 million in annual revenue, may be subject to cybersecurity audit requirements, with phased deadlines beginning in 2028. 

Entities not covered by these new regulatory requirements include non-profit organizations and any organization that does not fall within the scope of the CCPA—such as those not meeting the relevant thresholds or not handling the personal data of California residents. 

What Does it Mean 

Employers subject to the new CCPA regulations should consider the following key regulatory points and suggested best practices ahead of the regulations January 1, 2027 effective date:  

Key Regulatory Points: 

  • Clear Notice Requirements: Employers must provide transparent notices to employees before using ADMT for hiring, promotions, or other employment-related decisions. Notices should explain the purpose of the tool, outline employee rights (such as opt-out or appeal options), and describe how the technology works, including what data it uses. 
  • Mandatory Risk Assessments: Any use of ADMT for employment decisions requires a formal risk assessment, especially if sensitive data like location or personal traits are used. These assessments must be completed by December 31, 2027, and updated every three years or within 45 days of any significant changes. 
  • Employee Empowerment: Employees have new rights, including the ability to opt out of ADMT, appeal technology-driven decisions, and access information about how those decisions are made. 

Compliance Best Practices: 

  • Inventory and Update HR Tech: Conduct a thorough review of all HR technology, from screening tools to performance management systems. This includes any third-party vendors/platforms that utilize ADMT. Ensure that each tool’s use is documented and compliant with the new notice and employee rights requirements.  
  • Collaborate For Compliance: Work closely with your organization’s legal counsel, IT professionals, and internal compliance teams to document risks, submit necessary assessments to the Agency, and schedule cybersecurity audits if your organization meets the regulatory thresholds. As always, training impacted staff on these new requirements is essential for ongoing compliance. 

Although January 1, 2027, may seem a long way away, time has a way of passing quickly. It’s crucial to begin preparing now to allow ample opportunity for internal audits, necessary system updates, and coordination across teams. By acting early and engaging with compliance partners, employers can ensure they are fully prepared to meet these updated regulatory requirements. 

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Reminder: California’s Minimum Wage Increases January 1, 2026

November 7th, 2025

In August 2025, the California Department of Finance reported a 2.49% rise in the U.S. CPI-W from July 2024 to June 2025. The increase prompted a statutory change to California’s minimum wage which will rise by the same percentage from $16.50 per hour to $16.90 per hour, effective January 1, 2026.  

Consequently, this increase will also affect the minimum salary requirements for most full-time exempt employees (currently $68,640 per year or $5,720 per month).  Effective January 1, 2026, the minimum salary for a full-time exempt employee will increase to $70,304 per year or $5,858.67 per month.  

Some California cities and counties have local minimum wage ordinances that exceed the state rate. When employees work in one of those jurisdictions, the higher local rate applies for hourly pay. However, only the state minimum wage, not any local rate, is used to calculate the minimum salary required for exempt employees. 

To prepare for the upcoming increase employers should: 

  • Update Payroll Systems: Ensure that payroll systems are adjusted to reflect the new minimum wage rate beginning January 1, 2026. 
  • Budget Adjustments: Review and adjust budgets to accommodate increased labor costs. 
  • Employee Communication: Be prepared to inform employees about the wage increase and how it will affect their pay by posting updated mandatory notices.  
  • Compliance Check: Verify that all wage-related policies and practices comply with the new minimum wage requirements. This includes reviewing and adjusting as necessary premium pay calculations for reporting time, split shifts, and meal/rest period violations.

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OFLC Issues Shutdown Relief Guidance

November 7th, 2025

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has issued temporary relief measures for applications affected by government shutdown and the related suspension of the FLAG system. The November 5 guidance clarifies how OFLC will treat mailed filings, missed response deadlines, and emergency H-2A applications that could not be submitted while systems were offline.  

Here is what H-2A employers need to know. 

1. Mailed H-2A filings will be treated as timely 

Many employers mailed H-2A applications or responses because FLAG was inaccessible. 

  • OFLC will manually enter shutdown-period mail and commercial delivery submissions (postmarked October 1 through November 2) into FLAG once staff are fully back online. A case number and receipt notice will follow. 
  • Crucially, those submissions will receive a receipt date based on the postmark, not the later data-entry date. 
  • Email submissions during that period are deemed received on the date sent. 

What to do now: Employers who used U.S. mail should retain proof of mailing, tracking, and email transmittals. Once your case appears in FLAG, confirm that the receipt date reflects the postmark so your filing is treated as timely. 

2. Automatic 33-day extension for OFLC response deadlines 

If you had an H-2A related deadline that fell between October 1 and November 2 (for example, responses to Notices of Deficiency or Notices of Acceptance, additional information requests, or reconsideration requests): 

  • OFLC has automatically extended those deadlines by 33 calendar days. 
  • No separate extension request is required. 

What to do now: Calculate the new due date by adding 33 days to the original OFLC deadline and submit your response as soon as possible through FLAG. This extension applies only to OFLC deadlines. It does not modify any deadlines set by BALCA or other agencies.  

3. Use emergency H-2A filing procedures if your start dates are at risk 

For employers who could not file H-2A applications during the shutdown and now face start dates that conflict with the normal filing timelines: 

  • The existing H-2A emergency filing provision at 20 C.F.R. 655.134 remains available. 
  • OFLC’s announcement recognizes the shutdown as a circumstance outside the employer’s control and encourages use of emergency requests where appropriate. 
  • Employers must still document “good and substantial cause,” which can include the inability to access FLAG or obtain timely processing during the shutdown. 

What to do now: If your H-2A start date is approaching and you are outside the standard filing window, consult WG H-2A Services or counsel promptly about an emergency filing request that explains the shutdown-related barriers and ties them to specific dates and actions already taken. 

4. Practical steps for Western Growers members 

H-2A employers should: 

  • Review all H-2A application and response deadlines that fell between October 1 and November 2 and apply the 33-day extension. 
  • Confirm receipt dates in FLAG for any mailed filings and keep all mailing and email records. 
  • Evaluate upcoming start dates to determine whether an emergency filing is warranted. 
  • Coordinate H-2A filings with USCIS timing and any separate agency requirements, since OFLC’s relief does not automatically adjust those. 

Western Growers H-2A Services is monitoring these developments and can assist members in reviewing affected cases, documenting shutdown impacts, and structuring emergency filings where needed. 

Members with questions about OFLC’s emergency procedures should contact the Western Growers H-2A Services Team. 

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DOL Posts Wage Rates for Non-Range Occupations in the H-2A Program

November 7th, 2025

The U.S. Department of Labor 2025-2026 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for non-range H-2A occupations implementing its October 2, 2025 Interim Final Rule (IFR). The posting includes Skill Level I and Skill Level II AEWRs by state and SOC code, along with a new downward “housing adjustment” that may be applied only to H-2A workers who receive employer-provided housing at no cost. 

Here is what H-2A employers need to know. 

1. New methodology now in effect for new filings

Under the IFR, AEWRs for non-range occupations are no longer based on the USDA Farm Labor Survey. Instead, DOL uses BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) as the sole wage source. 

Key points: 

  • For most field and livestock worker positions, DOL has established two skill-based AEWRs within a combined “field and livestock workers” category. 
  • For all other non-range occupations (for example, shuttle drivers, first-line supervisors, mechanics), DOL sets two skill-based AEWRs for each SOC code. 
  • The applicable AEWR depends on both: 
  • The SOC code that matches the duties performed for “the majority of workdays” in the contract, and 
  • The minimum qualifications listed in the job order. 

The new wage structure applies to H-2A job orders for non-range positions submitted to the National Processing Center on or after October 2, 2025, including emergency filings. Job orders filed before that date continue to be governed by the prior FLS-based methodology for the life of that certification; no mid-contract recalculation is required. 

2. Skill Level I vs. Skill Level II: drafting now drives your rate

The IFR hardwires wage outcomes to how you classify and describe the job: 

  • Skill Level I (Entry-Level) AEWRs apply where the duties and stated qualifications reflect entry-level work, requiring less than two months’ experience. 
  • Skill Level II (Experience-Level) AEWRs apply where the job order requires higher skills, three months or greater experience, or supervisory duties. 

For H-2A employers, this means every added requirement (CDL, 3-months’ prior experience, specialized equipment, crew supervision, complex mechanical work) can move the position into a higher AEWR. Misalignment between the job duties, qualifications, and actual work performed may result in compliance issues. 

Before filing, H-2A employers should confirm that (1) the SOC code matches the duties performed on most workdays, and (2) minimum qualifications are limited to what is truly required. 

3. Housing-based downward adjustment

The IFR allows a downward compensation adjustment to the AEWR that may be applied only: 

  • To H-2A workers, 
  • Who are provided housing at no cost, and 
  • Only up to the amount specified for that state and occupation in the new AEWR table. 

This adjustment does not apply to U.S. workers in corresponding employment, and it does not permit wages to fall below any applicable federal, state, or local minimum wage. 

Employers interested in using the adjustment must: 

  • Verify the available state-specific adjustment, 
  • Apply it only to eligible H-2A workers with free housing, 
  • Maintain clear payroll and housing records to support the reduced cash wage. 

What H-2A employers should do now 

H-2A employers should: 

  • Confirm the correct AEWR for each position, state, SOC code, and skill level before filing. 
  • Review job orders and recruitment to ensure duties, qualifications, and SOC codes are consistent with the majority-of-workdays standard. 
  • For existing certified job orders filed before October 2, 2025, continue to pay under the prior AEWR methodology for the duration of the contract. 

Members with questions about applying the new AEWR rules should contact the Western Growers H-2A Services Team. 

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AgTech Workshop: Practical Tools for Smart Farming

November 5th, 2025

The transition from conventional to sustainable agricultural practices is leading to noticeable shifts in farm worker demands—requiring knowledge of cutting-edge technologies, such as drones, robotics, IoT and artificial intelligence (AI). This workshop facilitates the transition to new technologies for agricultural professionals.

During this two-day workshop, gain the knowledge and skills to embrace the next generation of agricultural innovation and remain competitive in the midst of a rapidly changing industry.

DETAILS

Title: AgTech Workshop for Industry

Date and Time: Nov. 21-22, 2025

Location: University of California, Davis

Who Can Attend: The workshop is open to industry professionals, including crop advisors, ag specialists and growers from the Western region of the U.S., which includes AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY, and island protectorates of American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia and Northern Mariana.

Cost: There is no cost to attend. A limited number of stipends is available to assist with expenses.

Lead Instructor:

Dr. Ali Moghimi, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis

Speakers:

Dr. Shamim Ahamed, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis

Dr. Andre Daccache, Associate Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis

Dr. Mason Earles, Assistant Professor of Viticulture & Enology and Biological & Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis

Dr. Farzaneh Khorsandi, Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension, GBSE Graduate Faculty Advisor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis

Dr. Hamed Pirsiavash, Associate Professor of Computer Science, UC Davis

Dr. Stavros Vougioukas, Associate Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis

Registration is open!

LEARN MORE AND APPLY

The AgTech Workshop for Industry is presented by the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems (AIFS) and the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.

To apply to attend the AgTech Workshop for Industry, click here. For a full schedule of events and to learn more about the sessions and speakers, click here.

 

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Date Change for CA Longitudinal Study (CALS) Industry Briefing 

November 5th, 2025

The CALS Industry Briefing, originally scheduled for December 11, 2025, has been postponed due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. The event, hosted by CDFA, will now take place on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 1:30 PM at the Monterey Conference Center. 

FDA and UC Davis researchers will present key findings from this multi-year study on foodborne pathogens in the Central Coast agricultural region, followed by discussions led by CDFA and California Ag Neighbors on next steps. More details and registration information will be shared soon. 

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The Food Safety Prisoner’s Dilemma  

November 5th, 2025

A scenario described in game theory is called the prisoner’s dilemma. Briefly, the prisoner’s dilemma involves two prisoners (A and B) who are being held independently for questioning. In the exercise, the potential outcomes are described based on each prisoner’s responses during interrogation, the options being to remain silent or confess. The tricky part is that the sentence for each prisoner is not only tied to their individual responses to questions, but also to the answers provided by the other prisoner.  

If the prisoners cooperate and do not provide any information, no one will be charged with the crime since there is no other evidence. However, if one prisoner blames the other, it significantly worsens the fate of the silent prisoner since they alone will be charged with the crime. If both implicate the other, there is a lesser sentence since the penalty is shared amongst the two.  The logic of this scenario is that there are obvious motivations for each prisoner to act in their own self-interest. But the best collective outcomes always originate from cooperation. Prisoners’ dilemmas are commonly discussed outside of game theory and are found in many situations far removed from crimes.  

The food safety prisoners 

In food safety, we discuss the complexities of producing food in agricultural environments where many factors cannot be controlled by the grower. These can be weather, adjacent land, wildlife, etc., and recent produce outbreak investigations have repeatedly generated evidence connecting adjacent operations and animals (both domestic and wild) to growers’ risk. With this knowledge, growers are acting upon the findings, improving their understanding with more data collection, and are increasingly building their own scientific data showing the real impact that adjacent operations like animal operations have on their crops’ risk. Growers’ proactive efforts come with high costs – they must spend more to collect data, invest in research on potential mitigations, and increasingly find themselves with buffer distances that cause a significant loss of production acreage.   

The mounting scientific data showing that contamination flows from animal and adjacent operations into produce fields is complicating the question of responsibility in the event of an outbreak. With this data, there are so many questions regarding land rights, regulatory authority, legal liabilities, and, ultimately, the ethical responsibilities for all parties. For the grower to protect their crops, they must invest in systems that better characterize their risk. This helps them fine-tune where resources need to go, how to manage potential contaminations, and when to manage them. In the process of better risk characterization, growers will also directly expose their neighbor’s contribution and liability to that risk, even if that operation may be unaware of their contribution to it. Conversely, if an adjacent animal operation is found to be a root cause in an outbreak, that operation has no say or knowledge on whether a grower did their part to minimize the risk to the crop. Is the contamination unavoidable from animal operations? Could they have done more to prevent it from leaving their site? Could the grower have managed the risk more appropriately on their side? Could either side sue the other for negligence contributing to the outbreak? Can the consumer sue both the grower and the adjacent and nearby animal operation? It’s most likely a ‘yes’ to all scenarios. 

In a food safety event, the grower and adjacent animal operations have the most to lose when either party (or an external party) generates more evidence and blame against the other. With current technology for microbial testing, genetic analysis, and recent investigations implicating the root cause/origin of a pathogen, the balance of evidence can be built independent of the grower and animal operations’ knowledge or participation (samples can be collected from shared space, product, water). Does this data imbalance indicating the contamination’s origin as the animal operation benefit the grower? Not really – the grower is still legally and ethically responsible for ensuring that they do not produce adulterated food, regardless of where the pathogen came from. As with the classic prisoner’s dilemma, both entities in this scenario (and the consumers, too) serve the maximum penalty. No one wins. 

In essence, those in the agricultural ecosystem stand at the crossroads of a real-world scenario of the prisoner’s dilemma, where each party’s rational self-interest for their business can increase their respective penalties and vulnerabilities and ultimately conflict with the collective goal to provide the safest food possible. While regulatory lines of oversight may end at the jurisdiction of the agency with assigned authority (FDA vs USDA vs EPA), the legal liability and potential lawsuits from all sides (grower, animal operator, consumers) do not.  

Cooperation and collaboration between growers and adjacent land operations have the potential to provide optimum outcomes. Properly collected and utilized data originating from both sides (growers, animal operations) can become driving information for determining how to minimize pathogens leaving an animal operation, how to reduce contamination in produce fields, and offer insight on how to develop overall best mitigations and controls. This effort lowers the potential risk for everyone. By cooperating and unifying to protect each other, growers and adjacent operations can minimize their respective risk, optimize outcomes for all, establish evidence proving that negligence by either party is not occurring, and, importantly, optimize public health outcomes.  

The agricultural ecosystem requires that we design mutual accountability frameworks. It’s not just that it is the right thing to do (our consumers deserve it) – it is necessary since a system built solely on self-interest is doomed to generate worse scenarios for all involved (growers, animal operations, consumers). The independent nature of science and testing will continue to accelerate the body of evidence on the origins of pathogens, and this evidence will lead to deleterious outcomes, lawsuits, and worst-case scenarios for all involved. But, with consistent and repeated activities built on cooperation and transparency, trust between these adjacent industries can compound into new ways to optimize each other’s fate and lead to measures that reduce the risk for everyone.  

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CDFA Now Accepting Applications for California State Organic Products Advisory Committee

November 4th, 2025

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is currently accepting applications for its California State Organic Products Advisory Committee (COPAC). Current openings include, but are not limited to, farmers and processors. The current COPAC includes WG members.

Time Commitments

The committee meets three times a year: January, May and September. The January meeting is being held at the EcoFarm Conference in Asilomar, Calif. and is in-person only. The May meeting takes place in Sacramento, while the September meeting location changes each year. Both the May and September meetings are held in person and via Zoom. There may also be subcommittee meetings, as needed. The subcommittee meetings are voluntary and are held in person and via Zoom. While committee members are not paid, they are reimbursed for travel expenses for attending the meetings.

Purpose of the Committee

In general, the committee members provide feedback from the organic industry and make recommendations to the secretary (State Organic Program) on issues and policies that impact the organic industry, which includes advice on education and outreach activities. The committee also reviews and approves the Program’s budget.

Individuals interested in the California organic industry and being considered for an appointment, should complete the Prospective Member Appointment Questionnaire (PMAQ) available at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/organicprogram/pdfs/copac/COPAC-PMAQ.pdf and obtain a letter of recommendation from an industry member. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

Applications should be sent to Kristi Garcia, CDFA Inspection and Compliance Branch, 1220 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, or via e-mail to [email protected].

For further information on the California State Organic Program and COPAC vacancies, contact Danny Lee via email at [email protected].

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AZDA Agriculture, Soil Health, and Water Efficiency Innovation Pilot Program Now Accepting Applications

November 3rd, 2025

The Arizona Department of Agriculture’s (AZDA) Agriculture, Soil Health, and Water Efficiency Innovation Pilot Program is now accepting applications. The purpose of the program is to provide a source of funding for agricultural landowners, beneficial owners of trust land, lessee of agricultural land or irrigation districts to implement and collect data for water-focused soil health innovations in agriculture.

To view the grant manual and to apply, you can visit the application portal here.

The following dates are important to consider:

November 25, 2025 – Grant Application Due
Late 2025 – Grant Award Announcement/Grant Award Agreement Execution
January 1, 2026 Onward – Projects To Start

You can read the original release below.

Phoenix, AZ – The Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) is pleased to announce the Agriculture, Soil Health, and Water Efficiency Innovation Pilot Program. A total of $1.8M will be available to agricultural land owners, beneficial owners of trust land, lessees of agricultural land, or irrigation districts. The purpose of this funding is to support the implementation and collection of data for water-focused soil health innovations in agriculture.

The improvement of soil health can lead to increased water use efficiency without requiring new irrigation infrastructure or nonnative soil amendments. By documenting and reporting on the measurable water savings and efficiency gains, the program helps secure Arizona’s water supply and manage its natural resources by making agricultural water use more sustainable and resilient to the effects of drought. The duration of the grant program will be a 2-year implementation period.

“With all the challenges that agriculture faces, I couldn’t be more pleased to offer this new soil health program to Arizona’s agricultural producers,” said Paul Brierley, Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture. “By allowing our farmers and ranchers to try novel methods of building soil health in order to become more water-efficient, we help them show the world how to sustainably farm in the desert. Investing in soil health will benefit all Arizonans and the future of farming in the State of Arizona.”

Soil health is an important component in agriculture. Maintaining a healthy soil provides the land with nutrients to produce the food we eat, sequesters carbon dioxide to feed carbon to the roots, which then releases oxygen into the atmosphere for the air we breathe, and most importantly, absorbs and retains water, resulting in water savings, increased water infiltration rate, reduced soil erosion, and ponding.

The Arizona Department of Agriculture anticipates that grant monies will be available to successful applicants by late 2025. AZDA may place a per-applicant cap on grant awards. Completed application packets are due no later than 11:59:59 p.m. (MST), Tuesday, November 25, 2025. For more information, and to submit your application, please visit bit.ly/azdasoilhealth.

 

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