Sustainable Practices Program Development: Strategic Planning

1. Sustainable Practices Program Development: Strategic Planning North Coast 2008 Pear Research Meeting Ukiah, CA February 11, 2009

2. Today’s Agenda • 2008 Project Background • Sustainable Practice Programs • Practice “Checklist” Availability • Pursuing a Multi-Commodity Sustainable Practices Program • Summary & Next Steps – 2009 Project

3. Sustainable Practices – Lots of Activity

4. Sustainable Practices-Based Branding

5. Project Justification and Background We need a strategic plan to develop a sustainable practices program to address a rapidly evolving market and regulatory environment driven by environmental, social, and economic concerns. Three forces acting on the industry are: • Regulatory Compliance • Meeting existing & evolving regulatory requirements • Regulatory/Financial Incentives • Qualifying for public/private incentives targeted at improving or recognizing sustainable practices (e.g., NRCS EQIP, Insurance, etc.) • “Commercial” Compliance • Meeting market demands/opportunities

6. Business Process Leading to Practical Results 2007 Project 2008 Project Business process management approach to the integrated design, development and implementation of sustainable practices programs

7. Strategy Development What? • Industry leadership team formed • Research - 3 crop groups + 8 UC researchers • Strategic planning meeting Why? • Decision making formalized • Explore crop group cost sharing opportunities • Determine potential UC resources • Strategic plan lays out program “roadmap” Continue?

8. Summary of Practice Program Strategy • Scope = California growers only • California pear industry program goal will be to provide initial benchmarking and to continue to show leadership in specialty crop sector • Start with environmental practice areas using a combination of Yes/No and 4-Level Least-to-Most questions • Utilize existing “free” practice checklists • Explore working with other tree crop groups • Analyze historical production research from a sustainability perspective

9. Key Potential Program Benefits Industry • Public relations – proactive effort + part of “good story” • Identify grower education & outreach opportunities • Regulatory incentives via collaboration with agencies • Industry-level source for sustainably grown fruit Grower • Operational cost reductions – improved practices • Private incentives – insurance, lending • Regulatory relief via program participation • Favorable contracts for sustainably grown fruit

10. Sustainable Practice Programs/Frameworks • Various models to choose from • Different models require different levels of effort and resources to develop • Framework selection depends on short- and long-term goals – what is appropriate for the California pear industry?

11. Current Sustainable Practice Programs SYSCO Sustainable/IPM = Soil, Water, IPM, nutrients, recycling, HR (little bit of many things…)

12. Example: Sustainable Winegrowing Program

13. Pear Specific Example: Food Alliance • Whole farm + crop specific practices • Levels of sustainability

14. Example: Positive Points for Citrus • Developed by UC Extension with citrus industry • Evaluation of usage of sustainable practices

15. UC Sustainable Ag Support Structure Agricultural Sustainability Institute UCD Researchers UC ANR - UCCE SAREP • Early organizational stage: prioritizing activities • Laundry list of “Sustainability Solutions” (topics to be addressed) • No immediate tools, but will come… Tom Tomich very interested in pear process

16. “Checklist” Summary * Economics = UC cost/return studies across many practice areas

17. Sustainable Practice “Checklist” Availability • UC Resources • IPM, water conservation, water quality, air quality, nutrient management • SYSCO Sustainable – can use as long as proper credit is given • Sustainable Winegrowing Program – no-fee licensing agreement to use their content • Very few others are immediately usable

18. Pear Industry Practice Program • Use available checklists – UC IPM, SYSCO, SWP • Focus on environmental practice areas and maybe several practices from other areas • Create simple checklists for initial industry benchmarking

19. Pear Industry Benchmarking Potential

20. Multi-Commodity Practice Program • Contacted cherry, dried plum, pistachio, walnut, and stone fruit association executives and most are interested in getting together to discuss a program • Great Valley Center grant from Columbia and Heller Foundations to explore potential • Can pear industry leverage this cross commodity funding opportunity? • What the process might look like…

21. Multi-Commodity Practice Program Concept Tree Crop Overlap Orchard Mgmt Pest Mgmt Ecosystem Mgmt Water Conservation Water Quality Harvest Air Quality Soil Quality Energy Efficiency Harvest Human Resources Neighbors/Community

22. Next Steps – Benchmarking & Analysis Business process management approach to the integrated design, development and implementation of sustainable practices programs

23. Select Practices from Existing Sources • Growers • Processor/Packer • UCCE Committee Review California Pear Industry Sustainable Practices

24. Industry Benchmarks in 2009 California Pear Industry Sustainable Practices Data Capture Survey Aggregate Results Generate Reports Individual growers All growers • Industry averages • Grower vs. industry average • Year-to-year comparison

25. Continue “Good Story” Background Work What? • Link historical research to Sustainability • Results/benefits conveyed in “sustainable-ese” • Incorporate into future research decisions How? • Compile historical research project info • Analyze each project against resources & “3 E’s” • Analyze final results for communication needs

26. Questions?