Delta Fish Friendly Farming Program

Working in collaboration with farmers, the Delta Fish Friendly Farming (FFF) Program was designed to encourage best management practices and improve water quality around working lands in the Delta.

The Delta Conservancy, supported by funding from the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), contracted nonprofit California Land Stewardship Institute (CLSI) to implement the program.

The Delta FFF Program sought to implement best management practices to comprehensively manage pesticide inputs and improve water quality around Delta working lands (land used to support livelihoods). The FFF Program certification can be used by the farmer in marketing and is widely recognized as an exceptional sustainability program. Additionally, the SWRCB approved the FFF Program as an alternative compliance pathway for the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, meaning enrollment in the program helps streamline growers’ regulatory burden.

More than 10,000 acres of farmland were enrolled in the Delta FFF Program. Water quality improvement projects included a water recirculation pump and native hedgerows to reduce pesticide drift.

| Video Highlight | Staten Island Recirculation Pump in Rice Production

Certification visits took place from December 2023 through February 2024 to review each site’s farm plan and water quality improvement project (if applicable).

Learn more about the Delta FFF Program by visiting CLSI’s website and reading this Delta Protection Commission article on sustainable agriculture.