2022 Fresno County Crop Report Released
The Fresno County Crop Report was released this week on Tuesday, October 10.
Click here to view the full document.
Farm Bureau praises bill signing to aid drone use in farming
Courtesy of the California Farm Bureau
California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson today applauded the signing of Assembly 1016, which will expedite training and licensing programs so that more farmers may use drones for pesticide applications.
“I am proud that the California Farm Bureau is leading the effort to ensure that farmers have access to precision technology,” Johansson said. “We thank Gov. Gavin Newsom for supporting us by signing Assembly Bill 1016. With aerial spray technology within reach of all farmers for the first time, this will help them save on crop protection costs by allowing drones to target affected areas instead of entire fields. Drone use can also replace backpack spray and ground-based delivery systems with remote technologies, which protects our agricultural employees from close contact with pesticide applications.
“California’s farmers and ranchers lead the world in innovation—producing amazing yields of fresh produce, dairy, and meats while decreasing water, fertilizer and pesticides use. AB 1016 is a bill in that spirit. It allows farmers better access to innovative technology to gain even more efficiency and safety.
Grape Consumption Benefits Eye Health in Human Study of Older Adults
Courtesy of the California Table Grape Commission
Grape intake improved macular pigment accumulation and downregulated harmful biomarkers
In a recent randomized, controlled human study, consuming grapes for 16 weeks improved key markers of eye health in older adults. The study, published in the scientific journal Food & Function looked at the impact of regular consumption of grapes on macular pigment accumulation and other biomarkers of eye health.
This is the first human study on this subject, and the results reinforce earlier, preliminary studies where consuming grapes was found to protect retinal structure and function.
Science has shown that an aging population has a higher risk of eye disease and vision problems. Key risk factors for eye disease include 1) oxidative stress and 2) high levels of ocular advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs may contribute to many eye diseases by damaging the vascular components of the retina, impairing cellular function, and causing oxidative stress. Dietary antioxidants can decrease oxidative stress and inhibit the formation of AGEs, with possible beneficial effects on the retina, such as an improvement in Macular Pigment Optical Density (MPOD). Grapes are a natural source of antioxidants and other
polyphenols.
In this new study, 34 human subjects consumed either grapes (equivalent to 1 ½ cups of grapes per day) or a placebo for 16 weeks. The grape eaters showed a significant increase in MPOD, plasma antioxidant capacity, and total phenolic content compared to those on placebo. Those who didn’t consume grapes saw a significant increase in harmful AGEs, as measured in the skin. “Our study is the first to show that grape consumption beneficially impacts eye health in humans which is very exciting, especially with a growing aging population,” said Dr. Jung Eun Kim. “Grapes are an easy, accessible fruit that studies have shown can have a beneficial impact in normal amounts of just 1 ½ cups per day.”
EPA ESA Herbicide Strategy: Call for Action
Courtesy of Western Agricultural Processors Association
As many of you know, EPA currently has out for public comment a proposal (the herbicide strategy) to require agricultural herbicide users to adopt greater use restrictions aimed at reducing runoff/erosion and spray drift risks to endangered species. While this proposal would impact most agricultural herbicide users across the lower 48 states, producers in four pesticide use limitation areas (PULA) established by the proposal (see PULA map here) could be subject to greater restrictions.
EPA needs to hear from growers, so we need every grower possible to sign on. To help our members with this, our agricultural coalition working on this issue has drafted a letter for individual growers to sign on to. It is a petition style letter, so you do not have to cut and paste. Simply click on this link: the sign-on link and answer the four questions and your name will be attached to the letter. This needs to be done by October 20th. If you are a gin, huller or processor, please forward to all your growers and urge them to sign on too! If you have any questions, please let us know.
USDA awards $2 million to study livestock grazing in organic orchards
Courtesy of UC ANR News
UC, The Organic Center, University of Rhode Island partner on $3.5m food safety study for organic produce growers
Grazing sheep and other livestock can help convert cover crops to fertilizer for orchard crops. To develop best management practices, the University of California and The Organic Center are collaborating on research to help organic orchard growers safely incorporate livestock grazing into their farming practices. The project is funded by a $2 million grant recently awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative research program.
Interest in grazing livestock on cover crops in nut orchards has increased in recent years. However, research is needed to determine the best way to improve soil health and pest suppression, and to address concerns about food-borne pathogens and food safety.
“Organic farmers typically follow the USDA National Organic Program standards for raw animal manure, waiting 90 to 120 days between incorporating raw manure into the soil and harvesting the crop,” said Alda Pires, UC Cooperative Extension urban agriculture and food safety specialist in the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis.
“Little research has been conducted to verify adequate waiting periods to reduce contamination risks in integrated crop-livestock production systems,” she said. “This research will fill the knowledge gap and facilitate the development of science-based food safety guidelines for grazing small ruminants in orchards.”
For this four-year project, “Influence of Orchard Grazing on Soil Health and Pest Control While Mitigating Food Safety Risk,” the scientists will study organic almond, walnut and pistachio orchards in two distinct nut-growing regions in California – the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley. The scientists will assess the effects of livestock grazing of cover crops on bacteria populations, soil health, pest control and economics.
Building soil health
“Growers have consistently raised the need for more information on grazing impacts on nutrient availability during tree growth, as well as potential to build up the biological, physical and chemical pillars of soil health,” said Amelie Gaudin, associate professor and endowed chair of agroecology in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.
Livestock grazing may provide an opportunity to quickly enhance the amount of nitrogen that can be used by plants and microbes when the cover crop is terminated. “This project will help growers develop nitrogen budgets for these more diversified systems and quantify additional benefits and potential tradeoffs for soil health – such as compaction and salinity – to guide the development of place-based best management practices,” Gaudin said
Pest management
Houston Wilson, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside, will be studying the effects of livestock grazing on orchard pests.
“Navel orangeworm, or NOW, is by far the most destructive pest of almonds and pistachios,” Wilson said. “These moths overwinter in unharvested nuts in the orchard, and so removal and destruction of remnant nuts over the winter is the foundation of NOW control. While farmers typically use machinery to do this, grazing with animals may present a unique alternative that is more cost-effective and provides additional ecosystem benefits, such as soil health and weed control.”
Outreach to farmers
As part of the project, The Organic Center was awarded $75,000 to work with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources to direct national extension and education outreach activities. These will include a social media campaign, webinars and educational sessions and a technical report for growers.
“There is an increasing interest from organic farmers to learn how to incorporate livestock into their operations to gain better soil health and fertility,” said Amber Sciligo, director of science programs at The Organic Center.
“This research is very exciting because it will holistically explore the potential risks and benefits of livestock not just to soil health, but also pest control – a truly interdisciplinary project that matches the whole system of the organic farm.”
Produce food-safety management tools
For another organic food-safety project, Pires and Sciligo will be working with Patrick Baur, professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems at the University of Rhode Island.
The University of Rhode Island and The Organic Center received $3.5 million from USDA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative research program for the new organic food-safety education project.
“We’re going to develop a new food safety management tool designed specifically for organic soil amendments,” said Baur, who is leading the project. “We’re also going to develop a suite of new communication and training tools aimed at the entire fruit and vegetable sector to build a shared language between organic agriculture and the food safety community and help them work better together.”
As part of the produce project, Pires of UC Davis was awarded $1.16 million to conduct a risk assessment and create a publicly accessible dashboard to meet the specific needs of organic growers, from small-scale to larger farms, under different cropping systems, in different regions.
Also participating in this project will be Beatriz Martinez Lopez, professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis, and Abhinav Mishra and Govindaraj Dev Kumar of the University of Georgia.
Detection of Huanglongbing Triggers Quarantine in Ventura County; First HLB Detection in County
Courtesy of Citrus Insider
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has declared a quarantine in Ventura County following the detection of the citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, in two citrus trees on one residential property in the city of Santa Paula. These detections are the first HLB-positive trees in Ventura County. CDFA is working with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner on this cooperative project.
The disease was detected in plant material taken from one orange and one lime tree in a residential neighborhood in the Santa Paula area of Ventura County. These detections follow the confirmation of a Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas)-positive Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) sample taken from the find site.
CDFA crews will be working to remove and dispose of the infected trees and are conducting a mandatory survey of every property within 250 meters of the detection site. After the survey is complete, all host plants in the 250-meter area around the detection site will be treated to suppress the disease vector, the ACP. By taking these steps, a critical reservoir of the disease and its vectors will be removed, which is essential to protect the surrounding citrus from this deadly disease.
These detections establish a mandatory five-mile citrus HLB quarantine area around the find site. The quarantine area is bordered on the north by Ojai Road; on the south by E Los Angeles Avenue; on the west by Wells Road; and on the east by Balcom Canyon Road. The quarantine prohibits the sale of all host nursery stock and the movement of all host plants or plant parts within a five-mile radius of the finds. The quarantine applies to residents and commercial operations alike. These detections will also place parts of Ventura County into Bulk Citrus Regional Quarantine Zone 6, which will require any commercial citrus growers to apply an additional mitigation step(s) to move fruit within or from this zone. Production and retail nurseries within the five-mile quarantine are being contacted by CDFA and will be issued a hold notice preventing the sale of nursery stock host plants. Visit CDFA’s Map and Quarantines page for more details.
Growers in Ventura County should contact Grower Liaisons Sandra Zwaal at szwaal2@gmail.com or Cressida Silvers at cressidasb@gmail.com for additional information about these detections. In response to the HLB detections in Santa Paula, a grower meeting is being held on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Stay tuned to Citrus Insider for details or reach out to the Grower Liaisons for more information.
An HLB quarantine area currently exists in parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, where more than 6,300 residential trees have tested positive for the disease and have been removed.
To read the full press release, please visit the CDFA website.
California Farm Bureau Responds to Bay Delta Plan Report
California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson today commented on the California State Water Resources Control Board’s release of its Bay-Delta water quality control plan update staff report. The document, in the works since 2018, analyzes alternatives to maintain healthy ecosystems for fish.
‘“We want to thank Gov. Newsom for his continued leadership and commitment to using collaborative voluntary agreements between water users and public agencies to support water quality and fish populations throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,” Johansson said. “Maintaining the health of the delta and protecting the viability of farming in that region are top priorities for Farm Bureau and are part of the state water board’s charge to balance and protect all beneficial uses of water.”
In 2016, the state water board proposed updating the Bay-Delta Plan to require increased flows in delta tributaries to protect fish populations. California Farm Bureau has contended that such an action would provide limited benefits at best for fish while negatively impacting communities, water supplies, farms and the economy.
A state water board staff report analyzed both that proposal and the voluntary agreements plan, known as the “healthy rivers” proposal. This alternative is supported by water agencies, cities, Farm Bureau and other agricultural groups. It includes targeted flow increases paired with habitat restoration, scientific monitoring and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for implementation.
“It’s long been clear that flow increases without other supportive actions won’t bring back fish. Utilizing voluntary agreements under the ‘healthy rivers’ alternative is California’s best opportunity to protect the future of the Delta watershed and those who depend on it,” Johansson said. “This plan would usher in a new era of collaboration, providing healthy ecosystems and water- supply reliability for millions of Californians.”
Johansson added, “This document is the culmination of countless hours spent by farmers, ranchers, water board staff and other stakeholders. We are grateful to all of them for their work.”
The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 29,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of 5.3 million Farm Bureau members.
California Farm Bureau statement on passing of Sen. Dianne Feinstein
From California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson:
“Our hearts are heavy at the California Farm Bureau over the passing of Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Sen. Feinstein was a fearless champion for California. Her willingness to be a bipartisan, rational voice in seeking real solutions knew no bounds, as she tackled issues from forest stewardship in the Sierra Nevada to helping farm communities in the Central Valley. Sen. Feinstein was a steadfast supporter of the Golden State’s critical agricultural sector and her unwavering faith in the people of California was her greatest quality. Those of us in California agriculture will miss her leadership and friendship. We offer our deepest condolences to her family.”
The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 29,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of 5.3 million Farm Bureau members.
Kings River’s 2022-23 Runoff Sets a Record
Courtesy of Kings River Water Association
The 2023-24 WATER YEAR still has a week to go but Kings River runoff has already established an all-time record as a result of the past winter’s massive Sierra Nevada snowstorms and significant summer rainfall. The Kings River Water Association now expects that when the current water year concludes Saturday, September 30, the river’s annual runoff will total approximately 4.5 million acre-feet.
Kings River Watermaster Steve Haugen said this year’s total runoff eclipsed the river’s 40-yearold water supply record on Sunday, September 17. That’s when the 2022-23 total passed 4.4763 million acre-feet, the amount of unimpeded full calculated natural flow that occurred in another big central Sierra water year, 1982-83. Dropping to the Kings River’s third place position was Water Year 1968-69. In that heavy snow-producing year, Kings River runoff reached 4.3862 million acre-feet. Now fourth on the list is Water Year 2016-17 at 4.0961 million acre-feet. Fifth is 1905-06, 3.8996 million acre-feet.
“What makes this record all the more remarkable is that a quarter of the way through Water Year 2022-23, Central California appeared certain to be headed for a fourth consecutive drought year,” said Haugen, the Kings River Water Association manager. “Then, after the many atmospheric river storm events in January, February and March dumped snow by the hundreds of inches above the 5,000-foot elevation, April and May provided surprisingly little precipitation.”
April 1, 2023, Kings River watershed snow surveys — taken at the time when snow conditions in a normal year are generally assumed to have peaked — found snowpack water content averaging 261% of average with the most snow at any watershed course measured at 233 inches. Significant accumulations occurred at lower elevations. A year earlier, same-site surveys found water contents averaging only 41% with the greatest course accumulation at 57 inches.
Fairly dry later spring conditions proved to be a blessing. A flood release imposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to manage high water conditions coupled with above-normal off-season irrigation demands resulted in Pine Flat Dam’s water year releases of more than 3.8 million acrefeet. High flows downstream from Pine Flat did result in some localized flooding and erosion. Haugen said that had April and May produced normal or greater foothill and mountain precipitation, high lower-river water levels would likely have been much more severe.
“There is no question that Pine Flat Reservoir did its flood control job,” Haugen said. “Corps of Engineers flood management, with assistance locally by KRWA’s staff, resulted in the reservoir not quite filling, despite the big inflows experienced at Pine Flat.” The peak release from Pine Flat this year was 13,371 cubic feet per second. The highest natural flow above Pine Flat was 42,371 c.f.s. during a March 10 storm. Unregulated flows entering the river from foothill creeks added to lower river concerns.
Reservoir storage peaked July 25 at 982,634 acre-feet, 98% of the lake’s capacity of one million acre-feet. Pine Flat began the water year October 1, 2022, at just over 150,000 acre-feet, 15% of capacity.
Kings River water districts and canal companies maximized diversions for months to recharge groundwater and provide much-needed surface irrigation.
Still, significant amounts of flood release water had to be directed downstream to the San Joaquin River and the Tulare Lake bed. High flows into the valley from rivers and streams to the south, along with Kings River flood releases, led to the re-emergence of Tulare Lake in Kings County for the first time in many years. Lake water is being beneficially used on surrounding lands.
Citrus Thrips Decreasing California Citrus Estimates
Courtesy of California Citrus Mutual
California citrus growers faced significant pest challenges this season due to the unprecedented rainfall from atmospheric rivers. The unusual weather pattern disrupted typical citrus thrips timing in orchards and led to uncontrollable conditions in the field.
Reports from the California Citrus Mutual (CCM) Pest and Disease Task Force indicate that some growers have experienced exterior fruit scarring on as much as 80% of the fruit on individual blocks, primarily affecting navels but with varying impacts to mandarins, lemons, and other citrus varieties.
“It’s been an extremely challenging pest season for citrus growers,” says CCM President Casey Creamer. “The industry did its absolute best in trying to control this unprecedented thrips season. Growers bear that cost while also facing the reality that the pest pressure will result in decreased returns in the marketplace.”
The CCM Marketing Committee estimates that 30% of the navel crop has thrips scarring and the utilized volume will be 8% to 15% under the previous season’s production due to thrips. The Committee also estimates that the mandarin and lemon crops will also be down 5% compared to the previous season’s utilized production.
Visual effects from thrips have no effect on the interior fruit quality, taste or texture. Consumers can still expect the same exceptional eating experience they are used to with California citrus with higher volumes of choice fruit. Fancy fruit, with minimal external scarring or damage, will be a premium commodity this season.
“Despite these challenges, our growers remain optimistic about the fruit quality on the tree this season. The overabundance of water has reservoirs full and has reinvigorated the groves after three years of extreme drought conditions,” says Creamer.
