Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Program | California Institute for Water Resources

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Supporting Climate-Smart Agriculture Across California

Technical assistance, education, research support, and outreach helping farmers and ranchers strengthen climate resilience, improve water-use efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The UC ANR Climate Smart Agriculture Program is a statewide program developed in 2018 through a partnership between UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and the California Department of Food and Agriculture to promote the adoption of science-based climate-smart agricultural practices.

What Is Climate-Smart Agriculture?

Agricultural systems are vulnerable to climate change while also contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) helps farmers and ranchers respond to these challenges by balancing agricultural productivity with climate adaptation and mitigation.

Climate-smart practices can strengthen on-farm resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon, improve soil health, and increase water-use efficiency.

In California, many of these practices are supported through state incentive programs that help agricultural producers invest in soil health, irrigation efficiency, manure management, and other strategies that improve long-term farm and ranch resilience.

Climate-Smart Agriculture Supports

Soil Health & Carbon Sequestration

Water-Use Efficiency

Greenhouse Gas Reduction

On-Farm Climate Resilience

UC ANR Climate Smart Agriculture Program

The program is housed within the California Institute for Water Resources at UC ANR and brings together program leadership, Regional Advisors, and Community Education Specialists who provide locally relevant support across California.

UC ANR partners with CDFA's Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability (OARS) to help farmers and ranchers understand, apply for, and successfully implement Climate Smart Agriculture incentive programs.

Explore CDFA Incentive Programs →

CDFA Climate Smart Agriculture Incentive Programs

UC ANR technical assistance helps farmers and ranchers navigate project planning, applications, implementation, monitoring, and verification.

Healthy Soils Program (HSP)

Supports soil-health practices that build soil organic matter, sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen resilience.

Compost · Cover Crops · Hedgerows · Reduced Tillage · Soil Health

State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program (SWEEP)

Supports irrigation improvements and technologies that increase water-use efficiency while helping reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Efficient Pumps · Soil-Moisture Sensors · Irrigation Scheduling · Drip & Low-Pressure Systems

Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP)

Supports alternative manure-management practices that reduce methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from dairy and livestock operations.

Solid Separation · Composting · Alternative Storage · Pasture-Based Management

What We Do

The UC ANR Climate Smart Agriculture team connects incentive programs, research, and practical support with farmers and ranchers across California.

Technical Assistance

Support project design, applications, implementation, monitoring, verification, and connections with available funding opportunities.

Education & Outreach

Lead workshops, field days, trainings, grower meetings, on-farm visits, and develop case studies, factsheets, blogs, videos, and other educational materials.

Research Support

Participate in field studies, demonstrations, data collection, soil-health assessments, and research collaborations that connect science with on-farm practice.

Accessible & Local Support

Provide locally relevant assistance, multilingual outreach, translation services, computer access, and tailored support for small-scale and historically underserved producers.