CDFA outlines proposed 2025–26 budget priorities, details Prop 4 rollout and lab staffing needs

Deputy Secretary Grama Cousina told the State Board that the governor’s proposed 2025–26 budget, released Jan. 10, includes program-specific reductions and a set of requested investments, and that the fiscal picture remains subject to change ahead of the May revise and mid‑May revenue updates.

Cousina said the administration proposed targeted operational reductions for CDFA that total about $21.3 million in current-year and ongoing budget authority; the department also faces proposed vacancy reductions that would eliminate 70 position authorities and produce about $9.8 million in savings when fully realized in the budget year. The department has sought to protect programs tied to the ongoing avian influenza emergency, Cousina said.

Cousina described five general‑fund budget change proposals (BCPs). The largest single item is a proposed one‑time $24.9 million general‑fund investment in farm‑to‑school initiatives for fiscal year 2025–26; the request would fund an incubator grant program, Climate Smart technical assistance tied to farm‑to‑school demand, and elements of the recently published Farm to School Roadmap to Success. The deputy secretary said the administration’s proposal included IT funding to address a prior data breach and related security vulnerabilities and asked for additional staff to operate the new Turlock North Valley Animal Health Laboratory, which the department plans to open in January 2026.

Deputy Secretary Cousina described CDFA’s proposed implementation of funds from Proposition 4 (approved by voters in November). For year one of the measure the department proposes to allocate the following (figures presented by department staff): $18.8 million for the Urban Agriculture Grant Program; $35.9 million for the Healthy Soils Program; $37.6 million for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEAP); $19.9 million to the Invasive Species Council projects; and $37.6 million for fairground community resilience upgrades. The department also proposed to phase in four new programs from Prop 4 (certified mobile farmers markets and year‑round certified farmers markets, a Tribal Food Sovereignty Grant Program, and a Regional Farm Equipment Sharing Program) with modest planning and administrative funds in the first year and the bulk of operating funds in a second year.

Cousina said the Prop 4 rollout assumes an APA (Administrative Procedure Act) exemption for timely implementation and that the department is working with industry on how to coordinate expenditure of remaining milk‑producer and processor assessments for dairy marketing and pooling branches.

Board members asked whether Prop 4 funds could be used for on‑farm physical infrastructure such as wash stations or small‑scale aggregation; Cousina said some farm‑to‑school and farmers‑market tracks explicitly allow infrastructure needs tailored to small-scale producers and that program design will consider aggregation and storage where appropriate.

Cousina asked board members to note the calendar for the budget process: the May revise in mid‑May when tax‑receipt data gives a clearer revenue picture, additional committee hearings, and a final legislative budget in mid‑June to reconcile with the governor’s proposal. She thanked board members and staff and said CDFA will continue to update the board as the budget process evolves.