Light Brown Apple MothThe fight against invasive insects that threaten crops is a big concern in California. Now a proposed statewide environmental planning document for that effort is threatening to trigger another fight over how it should be conducted.

Groups that oppose pesticide spraying, such as Pesticide Watch and Nan Wishner's Stop the Spray East Bay, tend to view the California Department of Food and Agriculture with a good measure of skepticism, seeing it as unresponsive and stuck in the past.

In her day job, as a technical writer, Wishner herself drafts environmental impact reports. That experience has given her a keen understanding of the inner workings of that process, as spelled out in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). And she's concerned that CDFA, as the "lead agency" that drives the process, will manipulate the eventual outcome of the planned programmatic EIR through the way they define their goals at the beginning.

The state's 2010 EIR specifically for light brown apple moth eradication can be seen and downloaded here.

Using chicken manure to create electricity, and the benefits of getting to know your local farmer. These were among the myriad topics covered at a conference yesterday on "Preserving Agriculture in the Face of Climate Change."

Farming organically is a good thing, says Paul Kaiser of Sebastopol's Singing Frogs Farm (speaking in a windy corner outside the conference). But it's not necessarily the same thing as farming sustainably.

Sonoma County's small farms are impressively productive, Kaiser adds. That's the good news. The downside is that most of that produce gets shipped out of county, eroding the benefits of growing it locally.

CSA subscriptions have seen enormous growth in the past decade, benefiting small farmers here and across the country. Yet they are still often seen as an expensive, luxury purchase, which Kaiser contends is exactly backwards.

The manure-fueled methane plant is more officially known as a "bio-gas" generating facility. Amy Bolten of the Sonoma County Water Agency says the basic process is being implemented at various sites across the county. But this one adds a new wrinkle.

In a small bountiful community garden in Sebastopol, the goal is not producing food, but harvesting seeds to be shared with others for future growing seasons.

Saving and sharing seeds goes hand in hand with the local food movement, says Sara McCammant, co-founder of the West County Seed Bank. Her organization is part of a trend toward the diversification of seed saving itself.

McCammant believes that the act of saving seeds is more important than pristine storage conditions, and the community seed bank embodies that philosophy.

Volunteers at work in the Community Seed Garden in Sebastopol. Information about workdays, classes and other activites can be found here.

If we value the agricultural diversity that abounds beyond the vineyards in Sonoma County, would be we willing to tax ourselves to sustain and benefit from it?

It's worth remembering that the full title of the existing entity is the Sonoma County Agriculture and Open Space District, notes Michael Dimock, Executive Director of Roots of Change. He points out that one important sector of the local agriculture economy was among the first to benefit from that district's formation 31 years ago.

Michael Dimock