Local Farm Makes Good...
10/2/06

Dutra Farms, one of our agricultural tenants, is living up to the high standards we seek when renting out our lands.  This September, they repaired and replanted an eroded grassed waterway in their farm's drainage.  Combined with non-erosive farming practices, the grasses in this waterway will slow the flow of water and act as a filter, settling out crop residues and fine sediments before they make their way to the creeks that feed into Elkhorn Slough. 
 
The plants were purchased with grant funding secured by a partnership between the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and the Central Coast Agricultural Water Quality Coalition, two organizations committed to helping farmers maintain and enhance high-quality farming practices.  The grant was provided through PG&E's Non-point Source Pollution Projects Fund, administered by the Monterey Community Foundation.
 
The grass, creeping wild rye (Leymus triticoides), is low-growing and rhizomatous, primarily reproducing by underground runners.  It thrives along seasonally wet areas, and can bind the soil into strong turf capable of withstanding erosion by fast-moving water.