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State of the Winegrape Industry

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

Growers attending the Grape, Nut and Tree Fruit Expo in Fresno last November had the opportunity to learn about the state of the winegrape industry from Nat DiBuduo, president of Allied Grape Growers. While DiBuduo acknowledged growers were facing challenges, he encouraged them to continue to work with the industry.

DiBuduo said the immediate challenges facing the winegrape industry—largely in the production and price of winegrapes—depend on the variety, “but I’m asking all winegrape growers to look at their crops, production levels and quality levels.” DiBuduo is asking growers to work with the wineries to get higher production numbers and contracts with higher prices for long-term sustainability.”

“I think 2016 will be a challenge, but I look forward to 2017,” he elaborated; “however, it’s not going to get better without the removal of some vineyards. We’ve got to get the price to where growers are sustainable and viable going forward,” said DiBuduo. “We supply a big base of grapes to in the industry. We want to keep that base despite dwindling sales.”

DiBuduo explained that growers could work on overcoming their challenges by remaining active in the discussion. “Go to meetings like this,” he explained. “Go to viticulture meetings. Work with specialists to get better production and better quality.”

DiBuduo also stressed the importance of designing labels and wines that appeal to millennials. Labels that stand out as creative and unique appeal to the millennial generation, which also does not hold the same brand loyalty as prior generations, he said.

Having labels and brands that are attractive to the millennials is important, DiBuduo said, because this generation cannot “be standardized into one-cookie-cutter-fits-all, so you’ve got to be energized. I think the winegrape industry has really done that. We’ve come out with a number of different blends of wines and different labels that catch the eyes of the millennials and get them excited.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-06-03T09:48:42-07:00January 19th, 2016|

Protecting California Citrus from ACP

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

[embedvideo id=”ZWgOOjpxwE8″ website=”youtube”]

California’s $2.2 billion fresh citrus industry that supplies 85 percent of the nation’s fresh citrus is currently healthy and vibrant despite the background threat of the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP), according to Kevin Severns, a citrus grower in Sanger, CA; general manager of the Orange Cove-Sanger Citrus Association, a cooperative citrus packing house in eastern Fresno County; and chairman of California Citrus Mutual.

“We’re quite concerned about it,” Severns said about the ACP—a tiny bug that is a known carrier or vector of “huanglongbing” (HLB), a devastating, incurable disease of citrus trees that has already demolished the citrus industry in Florida. “We’ve been able to keep the bug at bay to this point,” Severins continued, “at least here in the Central Valley, but we’re very concerned about it. There are a lot of issues to be concerned about with this bug.”

California has taken note of the devastation of Florida’s industry, Severns said, and is taking steps to ensure the safety of California’s citrus. “Having gone to Florida with many of our citrus growers,” Severns explained, “I heard Florida growers tell we must control the bug. So we’re trying to keep this bug at bay and not allow [the infestation] to expand. We’ve had varied success in different areas of California, but so far, we’ve been able to keep the bug’s expansion here in the Central Valley to a minimum. We continue to have finds from time to time, but we haven’t yet had an explosion of the population of the ACP.”

Severns said, “We have a very successful partnership with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).” While trapping ACP is critical, he emphasized the importance of enlisting the help of residential folks with citrus in their backyards to get involved in the conversation, to look for this pest, and to join in the fight. “The trap is very limited in its ability to pick up ACP, so it’s very important that we have visual surveys in which growers and homeowners actually go out and look at their trees for the bug.”

Severns said current measures against the spread of the ACP is helping to buy time for researchers to find a cure for HLB. “We realize every place on earth where the ACP has gone, eventually has been followed by HLB,” Severns said, “so we’re trying very hard to buy time and give our researchers and scientists a chance to come up with a solution to this disease—whether it is a resistant type of citrus variety or a cure for the trees.”

Preventing the spread of ACP and HLB, from commercial citrus growers to residential citrus growers, will require that everyone works together. To learn more, go to CaliforniaCitrusThreat.org or contact your local Ag Commissioner.

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Did you know, the historical time period establishing the California citrus industry is known as the “other” California Gold Rush? (Source: California Citrus Mutual)

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Patrick Cavanaugh2021-05-12T11:05:58-07:00January 12th, 2016|

Plea for Farmers to Engage with Consumers on Social Media

Joe Del Bosque’s Plea for Farmers to Engage with Consumers on Social Media

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

[embedvideo id=”VoA5UkJBw6I” website=”youtube”]

While many farmers toil in the fields, consumers expend their energies on social media in the growing disconnect between farms and food. Joe Del Bosque, owner of Del Bosque Farms, Inc., and Fresno Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Agriculturalist of the Year, is one of the many farmers who has begun to appreciate the importance for farmers to engage with consumers on social media accounts. “Initially, I got involved to reach out to my customers,” Del Bosque said, “and make a connection so people would know who their farmer was and where their food came from. It’s invaluable because people really want to know not only where their food comes from and from whom, they want to know how they grow it. They too want to make a connection, and it’s up to us farmers to reach out to them because they won’t know how to find us.”

The use of social media over the last decade has increased tenfold with 65 percent of adults now actively using social media accounts according to “Social Media Usage: 2005-2015,” an October 2015 Pew Research Center study by Andrew Perrin. “So, if every farmer could reach out to two or three or 500 people,” explained Del Bosque, “we could reach a lot of people out there.”

For members of the agriculture industry looking to get involved in social media, Del Bosque advises they consider Facebook and Twitter first as they are probably the easiest two. “With Twitter, if you open up an account, you can start following a few people who are active. You could even retweet what they say out to your audience. That would be an easy way to get started.”

A July 2013 article on BufferSocial titled, “10 Surprising Social Media Statistics that will make you Rethink Your Strategy,” by Belle Beth Cooper, revealed that Twitter’s fastest growing demographic was the 55-64 year age bracket, jumping 79 percent from 2012-2013. On Facebook the fastest growing demographic in 2013 was the 45-54 year age bracket, up 46 percent from 2012-2013. Cooper recommended reaching adults 18-34 via YouTube, which reaches more adults in that age range than any cable network.

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To learn the ropes on social media, please view previous issues of The Golden Agricast:

October eNewsletter

November eNewsletter

Consider a free subscription here: The Golden Agricast- A Monthly eNewsletter.

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Links:

Cooper, Belle Beth, “10 Surprising Social Media Statistics that will make you Rethink Your Strategy,” BufferSocial, July 2013.

Del Bosque Farms, Inc.

Perrin, Andrew, “fa,” Pew Research Center, October 2015.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:27:01-07:00December 21st, 2015|

MachineryLink—the Airbnb of Agriculture

Jeff Dema: MachineryLink—the Airbnb of Agriculture

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

Agriculture, like any other industry, is constantly growing and developing to increase productivity, efficiency, sustainability and profitability. Jeff Dema, president of FarmLink, said his company has created a new program called MachineryLink Sharing that enables farmers to rent equipment that may be too costly for them to purchase outright from fellow farmers who own the equipment.

Source: MachineryLink.com

MachineryLink Solutions, created 15 years ago by FarmLink, a data science and technology company that aims to help create and support a long-term, sustainable global food system by seeking opportunities for advanced analytics and modern technology, offers quality equipment at a fraction of the cost of ownership. This new feature, “MachineryLink Sharing, is really the Airbnb*[1] for agriculture,” Dema said. “You can think about it as the industry’s first online internet-based platform that allows owners of equipment and users of equipment to transact and share equipment.” Dema said the program helps solve the issue of farmers receiving limited returns on equipment investments.

“Equipment and machinery represents a significant portion of the farmer’s cost-structure,” Dema said. “In fact, 41 percent of non-land production costs are tied up typically in machinery and equipment. This provides farmers an opportunity to access equipment without having to deploy mass sums of capital to buy their equipment. The USDA tells us that farmers have $244 billion worth of equipment and machinery tied up in those assets,” he explained, “and the utilization rates are minuscule. The average asset turnover ratio for farmers is 0.34, which means for every dollar a farmer has tied up in assets, he or she is generating 34 cents worth of revenue—a very low asset utilization level. This service addresses that economic challenge.”

Aside from MachineryLink, FarmLink offers growers two additional ways to optimize their success and profitability. More than five years ago, FarmLink began to collect data to build an analytics platform that accelerates the pace of data-driven insights and innovation in agriculture. “The result,” Dema stated, “TrueHarvest, is a data-analytics platform that helps farmers benchmark[2] their yield performance—the first and only independent[3] yield benchmark service for agronomic effectiveness available. By using actionable data to compare each field, down to the 150 square foot area called a micro-field, growers can easily uncover yield improvement opportunities and make better input and management decisions.”

TrueHarvest, according to the FarmLink website enables each farmer to:

Validate input, resource allocation and farming practice decisions
Measure the year-over-year results of farming practice changes, including seed and fertilizer choices, regardless of the weather conditions
Make in-season changes and planning decisions for next year’s crop
Determine which areas of your fields have more or less potential
Determine revenue improvement opportunities

Lastly, Demo said, At FarmLink, we help with risk management as well to help buy and sell the materials that farmers buy and sell.”

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[1] Founded in 2008 and based in San Francisco, Calif., Airbnb, according to its website, is a community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone or tablet. Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 34,000 cities and 190 countries. Airbnb claims to be the easiest way for people to monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions.

[2] To benchmark = Objectively validate the impact of input variables to optimize production, profitability and sustainability

[3] FarmLink is independent in that it does not sell seed, equipment, fertilizer or crop chemicals.

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Links

FarmLink

MachineryLink

TrueHarvest

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:27:02-07:00December 10th, 2015|

Positive Outlook for Table Grapes

Barry Bedwell: Positive Outlook for Table Grapes

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

At the November 17 Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo in Fresno, Barry Bedwell, president of the California Fresh Fruit Association, reported a positive outlook for table grapes this year. “Production continues to expand,” said Bedwell, “and consumer acceptance of table grapes continues to expand, particularly for exported California table grapes. That’s a real positive. We’re also seeing the development of newer varieties—more proprietary brands that are very consumer friendly.”

Barry Bedwell, president, California Fresh Fruit Association

Bedwell said topping this year’s California Fresh Fruit Association annual Board of Directors Top 10 Issues survey are water concerns, followed by food safety and labor. “These are relatively consistent,” Bedwell said, “but we have seen some changes. Since last year, water, of course, has gone to the top of the list. Our members expressed concerns beyond the drought that encompass what future water system will allow proper conjunctive use of water—both surface water and groundwater.”

“We’ve also seen increased concern over food safety. And even though grapes are permanent crops with, I think, a low risk profile, we always have to be very concerned about food safety.

Then we have to look at the labor situation—not only the cost of labor—but also the availability. So, even though it has been stalled, the need for immigration reform is critically important. We will probably be in a defensive position in the next couple of years, compounded by increasing labor costs due to some well-intended, but I think misguided, efforts to increase wages around the state unnecessarily.”

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In 2015, the California Fresh Fruit Association survey identified the following issues as top priorities:

Water Supply/Drought Related Issues (#3 in 2014)
Food Safety (#9 in 2014)
Immigration reform (#1 in 2014)
Health Care Mandates/Affordable Care Act (#4 in 2014)
Labor Laws and Regulations (#2 in 2014)
Labor Costs/Minimum Wage Increase Impacts (#5 in 2014)
Groundwater Management Requirements (N/L in 2014)
Water Quality Regulations (Nitrogen, Salts, etc.) (#7 in 2014)
Invasive Pest Issues (#6 in 2014)
Workers Compensation Issues (#8 in 2014)

(Source: California Fresh Fruit Association)

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Links

Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo

California Fresh Fruit Association

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:27:02-07:00December 9th, 2015|

Raisin Bargaining Association Negotiations for 2015

Glen Goto: Raisin Bargaining Association Negotiations for 2015

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

In the midst of the 2015 (RBA) Raisin Bargaining Association negotiations on behalf of its members, the RBA has reached a price agreement with one processor among 13 thus far, according to CEO Glen Goto. “It is a negotiation, so we don’t know where it will end up,” Goto said. “We also don’t know when it will end up, but we’re trying to do it as quickly as possible.”

Goto said California accounts for 30 to 35 percent of the world raisin supply. This year, Turkey, California’s largest competitor, which typically produces about the same amount, is experiencing a decreased supply due to a devastating April frost. “We are a world commodity,” Goto said. “The United States and Turkey, together, produce most of the dried grapes in the world, so we do look at Turkey as a competitor. Nevertheless, in certain markets, we may want to work together with Turkey. We are very structured with regard to our export destinations, and Europe is one of our big markets. Turkey is also very big in Europe, so our export success there varies by year and by supply situation.”

Goto is optimistic about the raisin industry despite its challenges and the loss of acreage as growers convert their vineyards to almonds, other nuts, citrus and other tree fruit crops. He explained, “Growers are doing their due diligence to determine the best economic scenario for their operations. And given other good, profitable commodities in the marketplace, more power to growers if they have the ability to convert their acreage to them.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:27:02-07:00December 8th, 2015|

Technology Advances Agriculture

Mike Wade: Technology Advances Agriculture

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

As it improves, technology advances agriculture; growers find ways to incorporate new advances. Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition, said, “Agriculture has always adopted new available technology once it becomes affordable. Farmers are willing adopters to become more efficient, whether it’s drip irrigation, soil management or reducing evapotranspiration.”

Wade said farmers are using drones on their farms to further advance their agricultural efficiency. “Drone technology isn’t something magical,” he said, “it’s simply a way to fly sensors over a field to gauge water use, evapotranspiration, plant stress, disease pressure and any number of different sensors a drone can carry to gather information for farmers to make better crop production decisions.”

Wade said, “California agriculture leads the world in food production and food quality. We have a direct partnership with consumers around the world. It’s important for agriculture to tell its story, for farmers to talk about the great improvements made with the new technology they adopt and to enhance the relationship we have with the consumers who buy our food.”

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The California Farm Water Coalition was formed in 1989 in the midst of a six-year drought. CFWC was formed to increase public awareness of agriculture’s efficient use of water and promote the industry’s environmental sensitivity regarding water.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:27:02-07:00December 7th, 2015|

Wonderful Branding

Wonderful Branding: The Wonderful Company’s Branding Success and Newest Citrus Discovery

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

A catchy brand can make or break a product, and the agriculture industry has begun to take note. David Krause, president of Wonderful Citrus, said their own successful branding—especially their Halos mandarins—is attributable to a variety of factors.

“We have an internal creative team that handles all of the design work and advertising,” Krause said. “Couple that with some very good consumer-based activities, significant funding in telling that message, and a good product that is satisfying to the consumer, and you have a complete, effective program.”

Aside from branding, Krause said Wonderful Citrus continuously looks for new crop varieties that will excite consumers in the future. Introducing new products is part of the company’s strategy to stay ahead of competition as well as increase their consumer base.

Wonderful’s newest discovery, seedless lemons, were found in another country,” Krause explained. “We have the exclusive rights to a few varieties, and at this point, we are growing trees in our nurseries,” said Krause. “ We’ll start marketing the product in the U.S. market within the next five to six years.”

Overall, Krause reports increased profits for many products. “I would argue demand and supply for many California crops seem to be in balance; that is, they are driving good returns for growers in spite of all the challenges that we face.”

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The Wonderful Company is the parent company of:

Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds (formerly Paramount Farms)
Wonderful Citrus (formerly Paramount Citrus)
Wonderful Orchards (formerly Paramount Farming)

Well-known brands from The Wonderful Company are:

Wonderful Pistachios #1 tree nut brand and one of the top-selling salty snacks in America
Wonderful Halos #1 mandarin orange in America
POM Wonderful #1 100% pomegranate brand in America
FIJI Water #1 premium bottled water brand in America
Teleflora #1 floral delivery service through local florists
JUSTIN Wine #1 Cabernet Sauvignon in California

The company announced its name change to The Wonderful Company from Roll Global on June 1, 2015. This strategic move aligns the company’s long-standing passion for harvesting healthy and nutritious foods with its domestic and global consumers, as well as integrates its farming and distribution methods. The company grows, harvests, packages and delivers its produce to retail stores in a vertical structure to maintain high quality standards.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:27:02-07:00December 2nd, 2015|

Farm Credit Centennial Celebration

Nominate an Ag Leader for Farm Credit Centennial Celebration

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

[embedvideo id=”8AJjeypoQMU” website=”youtube”]

Farm Credit, which provides loans, leases and financial services to farmers, ranchers and rural businesses in America, is commemorating its Centennial Celebration. Megan Fairchild Anderson, director of communications for AgriBank, one of four banks in the Farm Credit System, said the Farm Credit Centennial Celebration is dedicated to the leaders in agriculture who will carry us into the next hundred years of agriculture.

“We’re really proud of Farm Credit’s century of supporting rural communities in agriculture,” Anderson said. “We’re taking this opportunity to think about the next 100 years in agriculture—what is going to happen, what’s going to shape the next hundred years, and specifically who is going to shape it. “We’re really looking for the best and brightest in agriculture. Farm Credit’s new program, Fresh Perspectives, will celebrate members of local agriculture communities: the agriculture teachers, the FFA leaders or the farmer down the road who’s doing something really innovative on his farm.”

“Anyone can nominate folks in their community on our website FarmCredit100.com through Dec. 18, 2015.” Of the 300 nominations Fresh Perspectives has received to date, only 29 are from California. “And I know that there are more than 29 folks in California who really fit the bill for the best and brightest in agriculture,” Anderson said. “We will choose the top 10 finalists who are shaping that future,” Anderson explained, “and award $10,000 to each recipient to continue their work in their agricultural communities.”

“When you go to FarmCredit100.com,” Anderson said, “click on Fresh Perspectives, review the posted rules, input and submit the requested information, and then you’re done. It shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes; it’s that easy.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:27:02-07:00December 1st, 2015|

Renaissance in Agriculture

Ryan Jacobsen on the Renaissance in Agriculture

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

In the past, the children of farmers were known to leave the farm to pursue careers that required higher levels of education and not return. Ryan Jacobsen, executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, said those days are behind us. Jacobsen said nowadays, we are experiencing a renaissance in agriculture, as sons and daughters return to the farms and college students study agriculture.

“We’ve been very fortunate,” Jacobsen said. “When you look at the overall agriculture industry over the last decade, it’s been pretty bright.” Despite the recent national and global economic downturn, Jacobsen contends the California agricultural economy remained a shining star. “That shining star created what I consider to be a renaissance in the agriculture industry,” Jacobsen explained, “where we actually saw younger individuals come back to the farm. For so many years we shipped off that talent. We encouraged them not to come back to the farm to be farmers; we encouraged them to go off to other professions.”

“We are truly fortunate to be where we are today,” Jacobsen continued, “because of the renaissance and higher commodities and crop values. We’re seeing sons and daughters able to return to the farms and take their places within their family operations.”

We’re seeing individuals go to college for a career in agriculture,” remarked Jacobsen. “Over at Fresno State, the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology is seeing record enrollment—not just a little bit up, but shattering all previous records.” Fresno State’s Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology lists their current student enrollment as of September 14 at nearly 2,000 undergraduates and 75 graduate students.”

“It’s encouraging that young individuals see an opportunity and a future in agriculture, plus the desire to help our industry,“ Jacobsen said.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:27:03-07:00November 27th, 2015|

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