EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 1994, Assembly Bill 3383 (Bornstein, Brown, and Snyder) and again in 1998, Assembly Bill 1998 (Thomson) requested that the Regents of the University of California establish (or in 1998 continue) a pilot demonstration program to provide extension services, training, and financial incentives for farmers who voluntarily participate in pilot projects to reduce their use of agricultural chemicals. The resulting program is known as Biologically Integrated Farming Systems (BIFS). In addition to the funding provided by these bills, funding has also been provided by the University of California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Agricultural chemical use/risk reduction is a central focus of BIFS projects, which is accomplished through demonstration of an alternative farming system based on biological processes. Fertility, irrigation, cultural practices, marketing, pest and fertility monitoring, wildlife and beneficial insect habitat, watershed and groundwater protection, and economics, where appropriate are integrated into the farming systems.

The BIFS farming systems show great potential to reduce dependence on the most toxic pesticides and the overuse of fertilizers. For example, the Walnut BIFS project has reduced nitrogen fertilizer application rates by an average of 53 lbs./acre, with no apparent effect on yield. This can help protect groundwater from nitrate pollution. The Prune BIFS project has eliminated wintertime sprays of organophosphate insecticides. Eliminating these sprays protects California rivers from toxicity problems. Other BIFS projects have also shown dramatic reductions in targeted pesticides, and increases in farming practices that reduce offsite movement of agricultural chemicals. Included in this report are mid project results as well as evaluations of each project's accomplishments.

Each BIFS project is funded for three years, at approximately $100,000 per year, although some projects are smaller. Projects working with nine different crops have been funded since the inception of BIFS. Projects in winegrapes and cotton ended in 1998. As of December 2000, seven BIFS projects are active: rice in Butte County, walnuts in San Joaquin County, citrus in Fresno County, strawberries on the Central Coast, apples in Contra Costa County, prunes throughout the Central Valley, and dairies, also throughout the Central Valley. The apple and dairy projects will end in 2002 and the others end in 2001. Although all BIFS projects are funded to their end dates, no further state funds have been identified for new projects and only limited US EPA funds may be forthcoming. Additional component research, as requested in AB 1998, has also been funded for four proposals related to specific BIFS projects.

The BIFS projects use an extension approach that involves public-private cooperation; this approach is often called a "farmer-to-farmer" method of information sharing. It brings scientists, farmers and consultants together in a collaborative, "co-learning" environment that enables participants to learn and adapt integrated farming practices to local conditions. It is patterned after the Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) project, initiated by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF). BIFS project participants develop reduced pesticide and fertilizer practices that are economically sound. Each BIFS project has enrolled between 8 and 33 farms. Enrolled farms are used for testing new methods, demonstrating proven techniques, and hosting field days. Field days are used by the projects as an outreach tool, because one of the main project goals is to increase the adoption of BIFS practices.

As of 2000, approximately 2.2% of California farmland is farmed by BIFS growers. If the increased adoption of BIFS practices continues, the use and risks of pesticide and fertilizer applications will be reduced. In California, systematic analysis of selected pesticides of environmental concern reveals usage to be fairly constant since 1992, with no large decreases or increases in use. If the majority of farms adopt BIFS practices, there would be a dramatic reduction in pesticide and fertilizer use. As BIFS farming systems are developed for each crop, increased outreach, over the long term, is necessary to continue to increase the adoption of environmentally friendly agriculture.

This is the third BIFS biennial report to the Legislature; the first report covers activities from January 1995 through December 1996 (available at http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/bifs/bifs97/), the second from January 1997 to December 1998 (available at http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/bifs/bifs99/). This third report describes the implementation of the BIFS program between January 1999 and December 2000.