Quantifying the Risk Reduction Value of Soil Health
Diversifying crop systems can reduce risk of hazards like floods and extreme heat. With grants from USDA and FFAR, Tim Bowles and colleagues are working to quantify that risk reduction and bring the dollar value back to farmers.
From the Field
The Next Pandemic Could Strike Crops, Not People
Genetic uniformity is central to modern farming. It leaves us vulnerable to plant disease breakouts.
BFI in the Media
Disasters’ Great Divide: Sonoma County Heatwaves Hit Seniors, Farmworkers Hardest
The workplaces of farmworkers — the vineyards of Sonoma County — are only becoming less hospitable. Sonoma County faced its hottest year in its history in 2020 — bringing with it new temperatures that have rewritten the record books with increasing frequency.
BFI in the Media
Why You Should Care About the Farm Bill
The legislation affects hunger, food security and climate — and it begins expiring next month.
BFI in the Media
Undergraduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities Visit UC for Summer Session
Four undergraduates from Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Tuskegee University participated in the UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management HBCU Environmental Scholars Program.
BFI News
Chicago Aims to Boost Pay for Thousands of Restaurant Workers
Advocates hail potential for “historic moment” as city council bill bids to increase pay from $9.48 an hour for tipped employees.
BFI in the Media
Nina F. Ichikawa: I Am Stepping Down After Eight Transformative Years
Proud of the work we’ve accomplished, optimistic about our future, we are looking for the next ED of the Berkeley Food Institute.
BFI News
The Farm Bill Could Address Climate Change and Structural Racism
The legislation has strayed far from its initial model of labor-minded price floors and supply management to creep into the corners of federal institutions where structural racism thrives.
BFI in the Media
USDA Commits $500 Million for Wildlife Conservation on Working Lands
“Most of America’s biodiversity, sensitive species, landscape connectivity, and natural carbon storage opportunities depend heavily on private working lands,” said Arthur Middleton, a wildlife biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and Senior Advisor for Wildlife Conservation at USDA.
BFI in the Media
Preserving Forests to Protect Deep Soil From Warming
An innovative, decade-long experiment in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains shows that carbon stocks buried deep underground are vulnerable to climate change.
BFI in the Media