Welcome to Ag Innovations Network
Ag Innovations Network brings people together to build a food system that works for all. We are facilitators of crucial conversations, conveners of meetings that matter, and enablers of change.
Our role is unique. We care deeply about creating a more economically viable, socially just, and environmentally sound way to grow and distribute food. We believe the best way to accomplish that goal is to create opportunities for individuals, farmers, businesses, and communities to better understand the changes that are needed and discover solutions that make sense. Our work is about bringing more democracy to decision-making about the future of food and farming.
We have three central programs:
- The Alliance Project: A growing network of California county-based alliances of food system stakeholders that meet monthly to work together to strengthen farms, improve access to good foods, and improve the infrastructure to support regional food distribution. These groups make policy recommendations and create local projects.
- The Roundtable Project: We convene and facilitate two California-based coalitions of statewide agriculture, environmental, and community organizations that are focused on finding shared policy solutions for the food system. The California Roundtable on Agriculture and the Environment focuses on issues that are of common concern to agriculture and environmental organizations including Farm Bill reform, climate change, land use, and food safety. The California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply focuses on the critical challenge of water use and availability for farms, cities, and the environment.
- Facilitation/Consulting Services: We offer facilitation and consulting services globally for organizations and government entities that are seeking to engage stakeholders, run more effective conferences, and understand the challenges facing the food system. Our core competency is cutting-edge facilitation and meeting design.
Thanks for visiting us. We hope you find our work and our site of benefit.
The Latest From the Field
News from our Alliances
Endorse the Food Action Plan!
To learn more about how you can endorse the Sonoma County Healthy and Sustainable Food Action Plan, follow the link to view and download the Declaration of Support.
Read More »Agricultural Buffer Zone Ordinance Approved in Santa Barbara County
Apr. 2013. The Santa Barbara County Agricultural Buffer Ordinance, initially drafted by SBAFA, was unanimously adopted by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.
Read More »Sonoma County Healthy & Sustainable Food Action Plan
The Sonoma County Healthy and Sustainable Food Action Plan provides a road map with a shared community vision and goals for our local food system.
Read More »News from our Roundtables
CRAE Releases Policy Considerations for Managing Agricultural Nitrogen
May 2013. The California Roundtable on Agriculture and the Environment reached consensus on a set of policy guidelines for decision-makers as efforts move forward to address the long-term impacts to groundwater from agricultural nitrogen.
Read More »CRAE Releases Ecosystem Services Guidelines
Nov. 2012. On Nov. 14, 2012, the California Roundtable on Agriculture and the Environment launched a new paper entitled Guidelines for Creating Effective Ecosystem Services Incentive Programs and Policy.
Read More »CRWFS Releases Report on Water: From Storage to Retention
Nov. 2012 On Nov. 13, 2012, the California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply released From Storage to Retention: Expanding California’s Options for Meeting Its Water Needs.
Read More »News and Events
Summit on Regulations Affecting Agriculture
June 2013 Ag Innovations Network held a successful Summit on Regulations Affecting Agriculture on June 12, 2013 in Davis, CA. Over 50 representatives of agriculture, conservation, and government agencies convened for a day-long meeting to build a common understanding of the key regulatory issues related to agriculture, and work together to identify potential short- and long-term improvements to the regulatory system that address the needs of all affected stakeholder groups. The Summit will inform a report that will be published on this site in late summer 2013.
DPR-commissioned Nonfumigant Strawberry Production Working Group Releases Action Plan
April 2013 A Working Group of industry and scientific leaders convened by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation released an action plan detailing research priorities for developing cost-effective management tools and practices for soilborne pests of strawberries in the absence of conventional fumigants.
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