BIG PICTURE RANCH NEWSLETTER | FEBRUARY 9th, 2024

COMMON GROUND IN SACRAMENTO

WITH FIRST PARTNER

JENNIFER SIEBEL NEWSOM

Filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell with California First Partner, Jennifer Siebel Newson.

“Common Ground is a powerful film that reveals the unjust reality of our broken food system and shortcomings in modern agriculture.

Thank you to esteemed filmmakers Rebecca and Josh (and Executive Producers like Regina Scully!) for once again using the power of storytelling through film to ignite a movement as we work together— through advocacy and public policy— to build a more just food system that prioritizes people and the planet.

Watch Common Ground on streaming soon!”

@jennifersiebelnewsom

The sold-out 700 person Crest theater in Sacramento

When it rains it pours in California. But what happens after the floods?

Let’s talk numbers.

If rain falls but the soil isn’t absorbing and retaining it, it’s as good as running a bath without closing the drain. Most infiltration rates for farms and ranches in California are around half an inch of rain per hour. That means for the foot of rain that fell on some areas of California this week, only a tiny percentage of that water actually went into the ground. Where did the rest go?

Where it shouldn’t. Into basements, houses, roads, causing flooding and displacing entire communities…

Regenerative farms and ranches in California, after restoring their soils’ structure, microbiomes and biodiversity have soil infiltration rates of half and inch of rain in under 20 seconds. They triple the amount of water going into their fields, and it stays there for the crops to use and thrive. In a state like California with 43 million acres devoted to agriculture, that would divert a lot of water from places that aren’t prepared for flooding.

We have to regenerate the land, if only for the storms to come. There is a tremendous amount of potential in our soils, but the way we are exploiting them today is killing them first, and us next. Let’s regenerate for water and food security, climate resilience and the farmers loosing their fields to excessive rainfall.

We are on a mission to regenerate America and the whole world. One of the ways to do that is going after our political system, and helping farmers by talking to the people in charge of writing the Farm Bill and countless agricultural grants.

THANK YOU SACRAMENTO!

Last night, we showed COMMON GROUND to California policy makers and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom in Sacramento. We were inspired to see so many people come together to find common ground around this message!

We need California to ensure that regenerative agriculture is taken seriously as a climate, water, biodiversity, and human health solution.

Thank you to our incredible panelists, Michael Dimock (program director of Roots of Change), Leonard Diggs (Director of Operations and Farming Education at Pie Ranch),
and Algeria De La Cruz (Director, Office of Equity, County of Sonoma).

Panelists Michael Dimock, and cast member Kelly Ryerson, with Josh and Rebecca Tickell and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom

Panelists Michael Dimock, Leonard Diggs, and Alegria De La Cruz with Josh and Rebecca Tickell

WATCH COMMON GROUND

IN THEATERS NOW

2/16-2/21 | SANTA FE, NM | VIOLET CROWN CINEMA

2/16-2/21 | SALINA, KS | SALINA ART CENTER

2/16 | LA GRANGE, GA | AMC LA GRANGE 10

2/24 | FARMINGTON, PA | SPRING VALLEY COMMUNITY

2/25 | AVON, NY | AVON PARK THEATER

2/25 | INDIANAPOLIS, IN | KAN KAN

2/28 | PHOENIX, AZ | HARKINS SHEA 14

2/29 | SCITUATE, MA | THE REEL HARBOUR THEATER

3/2 | NEW KNOXVILLE, OH | THE WAY THEATER

3/7 | SALIDA, CO | THE STEAMPLANT EVENT CENTER

3/7 | BEDFORD, NY | BEDFORD PLAYHOUSE

3/7 | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | PRESIDIO THEATER

3/9 | ASPEN, CO, | WHEELER OPERA HOUSE

3/12 | SANTA MONICA, CA | AERO THEATER

3/12 | CHICAGO, IL | REGENERATIVE FOOD & AG SUMMIT

3/13 - 14 | AUSTIN, TX | SXSW

3/14 | NAPA, CA | FORK2FILM

3/15 | LONG BEACH, CA | THE ART THEATER

3/15 | ANAHEIM, CA | EXPO WEST

3/20 | RALEIGH, NC | THE RIALTO

3/20 | MONTPELIER, VT | SAVOY THEATER

3/21 | TULUM, MX | REGENWEEK ‘24

3/22 | CLEVELAND, OH | CLEVELAND CINEMATHEQUE

3/22 | SUN VALLEY, ID | SUN VALLEY RESORT

3/24 | TAMPA, FL | GASPORILLA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

3/26 | COLUMBIA, TN | HOMESTEAD HALL

3/29 | BEND, OR | THE TOWER THEATER

4/5-7 | TALLAHASSEE, FL | ALL SAINTS CINEMA

4/6-8 | BANDERA, TX | CONFLUENCE FESTIVAL

4/16 | COLUMBIA, MO | RAGTAG CINEMA

4/18 | DEKALB, IL | EGYPTIAN THEATRE

4/22 | DOWNER GROVES, IL | CLASSIC CINEMAS TIVOLI

4/27 | SHIPPENSBURG, PA | LUHRS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

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READ AND WATCH THE LATEST

COMMON GROUND NEWS

Thank you for being a part of the COMMON GROUND movement!

We are thrilled to bring COMMON GROUND to as many cities as possible and hope to see you at the theater! More dates and locations announced on our website!

With gratitude,

Rebecca and Josh Tickell, and the team at Big Picture Ranch