ALSO: A bill that would ban the sale of personal care products containing microplastics in California will get its first hearing today in the legislature.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Today's reports written by Katie Orr and Amy Quinton.

  Plowing, using pesticides and fertilizers and other common agricultural practices actually contribute to global warming. But adopting alternative practices could reverse that, as a growing number of small farmers are already demonstrating.

  Industrial agriculture has dominated the industry for years now, but with a far higher carbon footprint than traditional methods. But reporter Kristin Ohlson says small farmers who are reverting to those historic practices are finding them profitable as well as green.

In her home state of Oregon, Ohlson reports, the USDA is testing an incentive program for farmers who switch to “no-till” methods, which earns them carbon credits in two ways.

Kristin Ohlson will talk about her book at Copperfields in Sebastopol, on Tuesday evening, April 8 at 7 pm.

  One of the oldest annual events in Sonoma County, The Cloverdale Fiddle Festival, comes around again tomorrow. There have been some organizational changes, but the audience will get more of what they’ve come to expect. Here’s a preview.

The one-day, all-day event starts at 9:30 on Saturday, April 5, at the Citrus Fairgrounds on the south end of  Cloverdale. Click here for a full schedule of events.

  ALSO: New numbers out today show more than 400 thousand people signed up for health coverage through California's health exchange in March.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Today's reporting by Max Pringle and Katie Orr.