Welcome

We welcome you to the Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation (CASI) website. CASI brings together farmers, business leaders, public agency representatives, university and environmental group membership to chart long-term goals for sustainable agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley and to develop appropriate conservation agriculture production systems.

Conservation agriculture goals are met through the application of farming principles that have been documented and demonstrated by research and experience. These principles include:

• Minimum soil disturbance
• Preservation of residues that provide permanent soil cover
• Diverse crop rotations
• Use of cover crops
• Integrated pest management
• Reliance on precision, highly efficient irrigation
• Controlled or limited mechanical traffic over agricultural soils

There are many potential benefits of conservation agriculture, including:

We welcome your participation and encourage your comments and inquiries.

Conservation agriculture news

World experts convene at four Central California conservation agriculture meetings in August
Posted 5/18/2012 - Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation (CASI) is pleased to sponsor interactive conferences on conservation agriculture and controlled traffic farming at four locations in the Central Valley on Aug. 28, 29 and 30. Presenters will...

2012 research update
Posted 5/18/2012 - A brief update here on recent progress and implementation activities related to our 2012 overhead / drip cotton and tomato fields.  2012 Tomatoes The processing tomato variety ‘N6397’ was transplanted on April 30.  Virtually...

Rain-fed winter cover crops offer multiple benefits at low cost
Posted 3/9/2012 - Even on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, where average rainfall is a mere 7 inches per year, farmers can reap the benefits of winter cover crops without the expense of irrigation, University of California research has found. Growing a winter...

Local conservation ag expert featured in No-Till Farmer magazine
Posted 3/6/2012 - A longstanding member of the UC Conservation Agriculture Systems Initiative, Monte Bottens, is featured with his father in the March 2012 issue of No-Till Farmer magazine. Monte and Bob Bottens are a father-son no-till team in Cambridge, Ill. The...

Looking ahead to conservation agriculture success
Posted 3/20/2012 - The UC Conservation Agriculture Systems Initiative challenges Californians to look 100 years, or even 500 years, into the future and imagine how today’s common agricultural practices will have impacted the environment and society. The United Nations...