AgTech Honors Women That Solve Modern Problems!

‘From Farms to Incubators’ exhibition honors women who merge ag and tech to solve modern problems

Multimedia exhibition premiers Nov. 12 at National Steinbeck Center

The modern intersection of agriculture and technology has brought to the forefront a diverse generation of women working to overcome rising challenges through new perspectives and solutions.
A new special exhibition at the Steinbeck Center in Salinas lifts up stories of these innovators to help inspire and encourage young women to consider careers in agtech.

“From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators in California Agtech” uses multimedia and digital storytelling – including video, documentary and still photography – to honor these groundbreaking pioneers. The exhibition is the brainchild of Amy Wu an award-winning journalist for women’s ag and agtech movement and the creator of “From Farms to Incubators.”

 

“My passion to unearth underreported stories and amplify new voices is what led me to highlight the stories of emerging communities in agriculture,” says Wu. “Ultimately, I hope the exhibition, film series and book serves as vehicles to inspire youth – especially those from rural or underserved communities – to consider that agriculture extends far beyond tractors and overalls and it is a sector that offers an amazing range of opportunities that involve innovation.”

 

Michele Speich the Executive Director National Steinbeck Center says:

“Women for centuries have played a vital role in farm operations across the country and globally. We are thrilled that Amy Wu has chosen to tell the stories of minority women entrepreneurs in Agtech in the Salinas Valley and beyond in a book and in an exhibition at the National Steinbeck Center,” says Speich.

Presented by the group From Farms to Incubators, the exhibition kicks off Thursday, Nov. 12 with a virtual opening event from 4-6 p.m. PACIFIC TIME, with viewing available through Jan. 12.

 

The virtual opening will include special speakers including California Senator Anna Caballero, Dennis Donohue the head of Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology and Karen Caplan the president and CEO of Frieda’s Specialty Produce, a panel discussion led by leading women innovators in ag and agtech, and a sneak preview of the exhibition and films.

Attendees have the opportunity to win prizes, including a copy of the forthcoming book “From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators in California Agtech,” telling the stories of women entrepreneurs who use technology to help solve problems ranging from climate change and limited water to uncertainties in immigration policy.  The book will be published in April 2021 under Linden Publishing’s Craven Street Books division, specializing in titles on California and the history of the western United States.

Many of those portrayed are women of color who come from diverse backgrounds, the first in their families to complete higher education. What drew them into the nascent but fast-growing sector of agtech? What caused them to uproot themselves to pursue a start-up dream in an industry that continues to be dominated by men? How are they getting their innovation into the hands of growers?

The exhibition and the book attempt to answer these questions and create awareness of women leaders and entrepreneurs.

The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Calif., is dedicated to Steinbeck’s creative legacy: to participate, to inspire, to educate, and to understand one another. Find out more at www.steinbeck.org.

 

“From Farms to Incubators” is a multimedia platform that uses digital storytelling to increase awareness of women leaders and entrepreneurs and their contribution using technology through the agriculture sector, and encourage women to pursue careers in agtech. Find out more at www.farmstoincubators.com

 

For more information email Amy Wu at amy@farmstoincubators.com or call 914-771-1275.

 

 

 

 

2020-10-12T11:24:45-07:00October 12th, 2020|

California Blueberry Meets Online for Conference

Blueberry Industry Meets Virtually

By Tim Hammerich, with the Ag Information Network

Two California-based groups this week are holding a joint virtual conference and expo. The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and the North American Blueberry Council kicked off the four-day event on Monday.

Kasey Cronquist is president of the North American Blueberry Council

“Typically we would see 200-250 people join us for our in person meetings. This week we have had just about 1,000 people register to engage. That is just incredible,” Cronquist said.

Cronquist says the organizations viewed the inability to meet in person as an opportunity to bring the entire blueberry industry together.

“To kick off this four days of just thinking about the future ahead and inspiring possibilities, the timing couldn’t be better for this discussion. We felt like in unprecedented times for our countries, our communities, and our industry, this really just feels like an important opportunity to talk about vision,” she noted.

The event kicked off on Monday with leadership expert who literally wrote the book on vision, Mr. Michael Hyatt.

“I consider myself a blueberry enthusiast. So I have them almost every day. It’s one of the three fruits that are allowable under the keto diet. I’m just delighted to be with you. Anything I can do to help blueberry growers – awesome,” said Hyatt.

 

 

2020-10-01T15:52:31-07:00October 1st, 2020|

Growing Strawberries Without Fumigants

UC Explores Alternatives to Fumigants for Strawberries

By Pam Kan-Rice, UCANR Assistant Director, News and Information Outreach

Strawberries, which generated $2.2 billion for California growers mainly on the coast in 2019, are sensitive to soilborne diseases. Strawberry plant roots infected by fungi are unable to take in nutrients and water, causing the leaves and stems to wilt. The diseases reduce fruit yields and eventually kill infected plants.

To protect the delicate plants from pathogens, strawberry growers fumigate the soil with pesticides such as chloropicrin and 1,3-dichloropropene before planting transplants. Due to the potential negative effects on the environment and human health, however, use of fumigants are highly regulated and developing non-fumigant alternatives has been a priority of the strawberry industry.

For a biological alternative to manage soilborne diseases in strawberries, Joji Muramoto, UC Cooperative Extension organic production specialist based at UC Santa Cruz, has received a $411,395 grant from USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study the ability of other crops to suppress strawberry pathogens in the soil.

Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium dahliae, is a common soilborne disease that can be controlled with anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD), a fermentation-based biological treatment using carbon sources such as rice bran under plastic mulch in moist soils for 3 to 5 weeks in autumn. About 2,000 acres of berry fields, mostly organic, were treated with ASD in California and Baja California, Mexico, in 2019.

In 2008-09, the diseases fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae, and charcoal rot, caused by Macrophomina phaseolina, emerged in Southern California and now threaten strawberry plants throughout the state.

ASD isn’t as effective against F. oxysporum and M. phaseolina unless it is applied in summer on the coast. As saprophytes, they feed not only on living plants, but also can colonize crop residues and rice bran especially at lower coastal temperatures in autumn. Treating fields on California’s coast with ASD during summer is difficult because it competes with the vegetable production period.

Based on promising studies in Asia and other areas, Muramoto plans to test alliums – such as onion, bunch onion and leek – and a certain variety of wheat (Summit 515) to see if they will suppress F. oxysporum and M. phaseolina. His team will conduct a series of greenhouse and field trials and test these crops with and without ASD to compare the effects on soilborne pathogens.

“Studies have shown the potential of using allium crops to control Fusarium wilt, and Summit 515 wheat for charcoal rot,” Muramoto said. “Our goal is to examine the effectiveness of suppressive crops, optimize them for California strawberry production systems, and evaluate their economic feasibility for commercial use.”

“No single tactic is likely to replace fumigants,” he said. “Integration of multiple biological approaches such as crop rotation, ASD, and use of resistant strawberry varieties is a key to develop a successful non-fumigant-based soilborne disease management strategy for strawberries. This project is a part of such broader efforts.”

At the end of the three-year study, he plans to share the results at workshops, field days and webinars.

Rachael Goodhue, UC Davis professor of agricultural economics; Carol Shennan, UC Santa Cruz professor of environmental studies; and Peter Henry, USDA Agricultural Research Service plant pathologist, are collaborating on the study with Muramoto.

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources brings the power of UC to all 58 California counties. Through research and Cooperative Extension in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, economic and youth development, our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians. Learn more at ucanr.edu.

2020-09-30T11:10:49-07:00September 30th, 2020|

Automation in Specialty Crops Part 2

Automation is Going Beyond Harvest

By Tim Hammerich, with the Ag Information Network

The Burro, is an autonomous robot that transports fruit from where it is picked to where it is packed. But Burro CEO Charlie Andersen sees this innovation going far beyond just helping with harvest. He sees it as a platform to bring automation onto specialty crop farms.

“The challenge with these industries is that each respective crop is relatively small from a market size perspective,” said Anderson.   “For that reason, I think that what you’re going to have is companies that are focused on doing things like yields in blueberries, yields in table grapes, digital entomology in certain spaces. They’re gonna be taking data off of platforms like ours, and then providing that data back to growers in a creative way. And we see our platform being something that enables them to do that,” said Andersen.

Andersen also sees the platform as an economical entry point which may lead to not only data, but potentially crop scouting and spot spraying.

“And so most of the customers that we are working with right now see this logical progression. They recognize that if we get autonomy into our operation, we might get like a 20 to 40% efficiency today, which is quite significant with labor going to 15 or 18 bucks an hour with when it’s fully burdened. But beyond that, you have a vision based platform online that can over time be scaled up to do more things,” Andersen said.

Learn more about Burro on tomorrow’s episode of “The Business of Blueberries” Podcast which can be downloaded any podcast player.

2020-09-14T11:09:26-07:00September 14th, 2020|

Automation in Specialty Crops Part 1

Automation is Difficult In Specialty Crops

By Tim Hammerich, with the Ag Information Network

Automation in row crop farming is difficult enough, but the problems get even more complex in specialty crops. Charlie Andersen and his team at Burro are helping farmers take the first step to bring robots onto the farm.

“You know, you think, if you’re in the Midwest and you’re a big tractor, you’re high up, there’s nothing above you. You can use high precision GPS to navigate around. If you’re in a blueberry ranch or a table grape vineyard, you’re under the canopy,” Andersen said.  “You can’t see the sky at all. There’s oftentimes no cell phone reception. GPS is going to be super spotty.”

“And so you’ve got to be able to perceive the world with computer vision and recognize where can I drive? Where can’t I drive? Is it a bucket? Is it a person? All those other things. So a lot of the seemingly basic questions around how to drive around in a crop like blueberries or table grapes are actually quite difficult to solve,” noted Andersen.

Burro is a robot that moves by itself transporting fruit from the point of harvest to where it will be ultimately loaded out of the field on a truck

“It’s an autonomous vision-based platform that is people scale. It’s about four horsepower, runs about eight miles on a charge, and can carry about 500 pounds give or take. Fits in either 27 or 28-inch wide spacing or 36-inch wide space, if you’re in table grapes, and it uses a ton of computer vision to navigate around,” said Andersen

Andersen hopes to expand the robot as a platform to perform many other autonomous functions for specialty crop growers.

 

2020-09-12T09:16:09-07:00September 12th, 2020|

Leafy Greens Safety Increased

Ten Things That Will Make Leafy Greens Safer This Fall

In a year of unparalleled tragedies stemming from the pandemic to California wildfires, lettuce farmers in California and Arizona are taking action to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks.

Scott Horsfall, CEO LGMA

“As we approach the Fall transition when patterns have emerged in recent years, everyone is taking additional precautions to prevent potential problems,” said Scott Horsfall, CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA), a stringent food safety program that verifies science-based food safety practices are being followed on leafy greens farms.

“This year has been challenging enough for everyone including consumers, farmers and farmworkers,” said Dan Sutton, a grower of leafy greens in San Luis Obispo, California and chairman of the LGMA food safety program. “As farmers, we’re doing everything possible to make sure our crops are farmed safely and we’re working together with government, food safety experts and the produce industry to keep people safe. ”

The LGMA announced today several activities implemented since an outbreak of E. coli associated with romaine lettuce occurred last November.

“The LGMA has issued an action list of ten things being done to keep leafy greens safe. These activities are designed to improve leafy greens safety now and into the future,” said Horsfall, who noted that the LGMA is the most stringent food safety program in the produce industry. “In many areas, the LGMA program goes well beyond what’s required of other produce crops under federal laws.

“For example, the LGMA is the only program that requires its farmers to perform mandatory water testing and have traceback systems in place to track product back to the farm and forward to the first customer who receives it,” he said. “On top of that, we’ve strengthened our existing standards even further in the aftermath of recent outbreaks.”

Horsfall explained the ten items on its action list include things like:

  • A heavying-up of government audits conducted on leafy greens farms over the next three months;
  • Stringent enforcement of sweeping new water standards for all LGMA member companies;
  • An ongoing pilot program to improve the supply chain’s ability to assist government investigators in tracing lettuce from consumers back to the farm where it was grown;
  • Enhanced testing of farming inputs like compost to monitor for pathogens.

“More improvements are coming in the near future,” added Horsfall. “Most importantly, we are looking closely at the LGMA’s required food safety practices for the proximity of animals to leafy greens farms in light of findings from FDA investigations into past outbreaks. We have already increased buffer zones required between animal operations and our farms. Additional changes are being considered now.”

“All of this is being done to ensure consumers are protected,” emphasized Sutton. “Now more than ever, it’s our responsibility to prevent leafy greens products from becoming the source of foodborne illness. We owe this to the millions of families, including our own, who eat the healthy foods we grow.”

A list of all ten action items is below.

Note: The LGMA held a webinar September 1 to provide additional detail and presentations from industry and government representatives including; Scott Horsfall, CEO California LGMA; Dan Sutton, Chairman California LGMA; Teressa Lopez, Arizona LGMA Administrator; Greg Komar, California LGMA Technical Director; Sonia Salas, Western Growers Assistant Vice President Food Safety, Science & Technology; Natalie Krout-Greenberg, California Department of Food and Agriculture Inspection Services Director; and Jennifer McEntire, United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association Senior Vice President Food Safety & Technology.

 

ACTION LIST:
TEN THINGS BEING DONE TO MAKE LEAFY GREENS SAFER

  1. LGMA food safety audits are ongoing during COVID-19.

Mandatory on-farm audits of all LGMA members by government officials have continued during the pandemic. Members have a remote option for document review and verification.

 

  1. The California LGMA is “heavying up” audits during the season transition.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is bringing in additional personnel to ensure that every LGMA member is audited at least once between now and November.

 

  1. LGMA requires 100% compliance.

As always, the LGMA requires its members to be in compliance with all 300+ food safety checkpoints that make up every on-farm audit conducted through the LGMA program.

 

  1. 2019 irrigation water standards are being implemented and enforced.

LGMA members are following new, more stringent standards approved in 2019 and these are being verified by government auditors. Farms must now comply with 92 different food safety checkpoints that deal exclusively with ensuring the safety of water used to grow leafy greens.

 

  1. New food safety updates approved by LGMA Board in August 2020.

The LGMA recently approved several more changes to its required food safety practices in the areas of farm water use and field/equipment sanitation. These will become part of audits in the near future. Education and training on how to comply with these new requirements is underway now. Additional updates to other areas of the LGMA ‘s required food safety practices will be announced soon.

 

  1. State agencies are monitoring compost used on leafy greens farms.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture and sister state agencies are      conducting a surveillance project to monitor compost used to grow leafy greens.

 

  1. Government inspectors are working to ensure leafy greens farms are in compliance with the Produce Safety Rule.

Leafy greens farms in California and Arizona are being visited by additional state government inspectors acting in conjunction with FDA to ensure they are following all regulations under the Produce Safety Rule.

 

  1. New research projects are underway to learn more about potential risks involved in farming leafy greens.

It’s clear that we need to know more. Several new projects are being conducted by government, industry and academia with the goal of better informing the required food safety practices implemented under the LGMA.

 

  1. The LGMA verifies with every audit that a traceability system is in place at all member companies.

A recent survey of LGMA members shows 100% of LGMA members companies are tracking information that could assist government outbreak investigations.

 

  1. The LGMA supports a Leafy Greens Traceability Pilot to improve traceback through the supply chain.

A coalition of food industry groups that includes the United Fresh Produce Association and the Produce Marketing Association is conducting a project aimed at improving the speed and efficiency of tracing product during an outbreak investigation.

 

2020-09-09T09:13:32-07:00September 9th, 2020|

Automation in Agribusiness

Tyson Foods Makes Bet Increased Automation

By Tim Hammerich, with the Ag Information Network

It’s no secret that labor is a massive challenge in agriculture, from the vegetable farms of the Salinas Valley all the way up to the country’s largest meat processing companies. Automation is coming to agriculture, but it takes more than just a product to change the way a company approaches this technology.

Tyson Foods recently made the bold move of hiring Dean Banks as their new CEO. His background? Not meat. Automation.

Janette Barnard is a Consultant for animal agriculture companies and writes Prime Future, a weekly newsletter about the industry.

“It’s a huge bet that Tyson has made. But if you look at the last year that they’ve had, where their biggest challenge during COVID has been keeping plans running as a function of labor, right? Whether labor was sick or scared to come in, whatever that situation was for employees, the root issue was that Tyson could not run their plants without people. And so combine that with the fact that, you know, if you look at the cost of goods of a pound of beef or a pound of pork, whatever it is, a huge percentage of it is associated with the labor of processing,”said Barnard.

Barnard said she couldn’t recall another move similar to this one from a major agribusiness in the past. It could be a sign of things to come, but it is a big risk.

“This could backfire in a number of ways. And so it’s interesting because it is very much a high risk, high reward strategy that they’ve taken,” said Barnard.

2020-09-08T10:35:37-07:00September 8th, 2020|

Sacramento Valley Crop Webinars Scheduled

UCCE Sutter-Yuba-Colusa Continuing Education Seminars:

Sept-Oct 2020

University of California Cooperative Extension Sutter-Yuba-Colusa will hold a series of webinars in September and October providing research updates on many of the major crops in the Sacramento Valley. The classes are relevant to growers throughout California and are primarily focused on pest management and pesticide safety.

October WalnutsThe September 9th webinar will feature Franz Niederholzer, Orchard Systems Advisor.

“We will be reviewing proven almond IPM practices with an eye to reducing input costs, where possible, while delivering effective pest control,” says Niederholzer. He has been working in almonds in the Sacramento Valley for almost 20 years.

Amber Vinchesi-Vahl, Vegetable Crops Advisor, will give her webinar on September 16th. She states, “I will be providing information on important pest issues in vegetables and the latest research updates on disease and weed management in processing tomatoes and cucumber beetles in melons.” Her research on tomatoes covers cultivator trials for within-row weed control and monitoring of soilborne fungal pathogens.

California-rice-field with Sutter Buttes in BackgroundWhitney Brim-DeForest, Rice and Wild Rice Advisor, will present September 30th. “The webinar will provide an opportunity for discussion and interaction about weed identification,” she says.

“We will also cover the latest research updates on specific weed species, resistance management, and new herbicides in rice.”

The information is relevant to both organic and conventional rice growers, so all are encouraged to attend.

The final webinar will take place on October 7, and will be given by Sarah Light, Agronomy Advisor.

“We will cover opportunities to decrease environmental risk through pesticide selection and application, accurate diagnosis, and reduction of loss to the environment,” said Light.

Enrollment is limited, so register early. The cost is $20 for 1, $35 for 2, $50 for 3, and $60 for 4 webinars. For more details or to register, visit http://ucanr.edu/syc-uccevirtualwebinars.

DPR CE credits are approved (4 “other” hours total, 1 per class), and CCA credits have been approved for IPM credits (4 hours total, 1 per class).

If you have questions, contact Whitney Brim-DeForest [wbrimdeforest@ucanr.edu or call the UCCE Sutter-Yuba office at (530) 822-7515].

 

2020-09-07T19:35:54-07:00September 7th, 2020|

Stop 4 Bills Affecting Farm Employment Law

Stop Crippling Employment Policy Bills Before the Legislature Adjourns

The California Legislature is expected to consider four important bills in the last week of the 2020 legislative session that will make detrimental changes to California employment law and hinder California farm businesses’ ability to recover from the COVID-19 recession:
AB 685 (Eloise Reyes, D-San Mateo) imposes vague new reporting requirements to numerous government agencies for new COVID-19 infections that may or may not be work-related; may make an employer liable for a retaliatory employment action for sending a sick worker home; and requires employers to give employees medical advice on how to properly isolate at home.
SB 1383 (Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara) is a massive expansion of family and medical leave requiring employers of as few as five employees to provide job-protected family and medical leaves of up to 12 weeks. SB 1383 also imposes a private right of action permitting small agricultural employers to be sued for unintentional, technical violations of the California Family Rights Act.
SB 1102 (Bill Monning, D-Monterey Bay) requires a misleading new notice for non-immigrant H-2a ag workers that mis-states state California law by claiming that all travel time in employer-provided transportation is compensable time, and that all occupants of employer-provided housing are protected by California landlord/tenant law. These mischaracterizations of California law in a newly-required notice will strengthen employee advocates’ legal position when they sue ag employers claiming that travel time is compensable or that ag employees are protected by landlord/tenant law.
Please contact your Senator TODAY and urge opposition to AB 685, and contact your Assembly TODAY and urge opposition to SB 1383, SB 1159 and SB 1102.
2020-09-05T15:09:22-07:00September 5th, 2020|

Big Updated To Food Safety Practices

California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Takes Action to  Update Food Safety Practices

The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Board voted last week to accept several updates to required food safety practices for the farming of leafy greens.

“Over 50 recommended changes were unanimously approved by the Board to strengthen food safety requirements for the production of leafy greens in the areas of Farm Water Use and Field/Equipment Sanitation,” explained Scott Horsfall, CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA). “These are in addition to several significant changes made by the LGMA less than a year ago.”

Scott Horsfall, CEO LGMA

Horsfall explained the most recent updates are the first of many more as the LGMA conducts a complete review of all its mandatory food safety practices, or metrics, in the wake of recent outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce.

“A series of Subcommittees has been reviewing the LGMA’s required food safety practices in all areas,” explained Horsfall. “The Subcommittees for Water Use and Field/Equipment Sanitation met numerous times in recent months to consider new research, examine findings from outbreak investigations, gather input from food safety experts and the public before making recommendations to the full LGMA Board last week. This process is being facilitated by Western Growers as part of an open, transparent process.”

“The LGMA is committed to strengthening required food safety practices throughout our processes,” said Dan Sutton, Chairman of the LGMA and a leafy greens farmer from San Luis Obispo, CA. “We are doing everything possible on our farms to prevent future foodborne illness outbreaks.”

Although many of the 50+ changes strengthen existing language or provide additional guidance and direction for leafy greens food safety, several substantive changes were approved by the LGMA Board last week. Some of the more important changes include:

  1. Adoption of new requirements that ensure the safety of water used during overhead application of pesticides and crop protection materials. This update is similar to changes approved by the LGMA last year requiring that any water from open sources – such as a canal or reservoir — applied via overhead application must be treated to eliminate pathogens during the previous 21 days before harvest.
  2. Approved enhancements to monitoring requirements for water used in farming leafy greens to ensure that regular water quality tests are conducted and that samples are collected throughout the irrigation systems used in leafy greens fields.
  3. Added language to minimize the risk of water applied via furrow irrigation from coming into contact with any edible portion of the leafy greens plant.
  4. Updated best practices for cleaning harvest equipment, containers, tools and bathroom facilities in and near leafy greens fields.
  5. New language designed to prevent the cut end of leafy greens product from coming into contact with the ground during harvest.

Similar changes were also adopted by the Arizona LGMA.

“California and Arizona produce approximately 90% of the leafy greens grown in the U.S.,” said Horsfall. “The LGMA programs ensure a unified set of food safety practices based on the last science are being followed on leafy greens farms in these two states.”

Horsfall explained that approved updates will now be forwarded to the California Department of Food and Agriculture to be incorporated into food safety checklists used by government auditors to verify new practices are being followed on leafy greens farms.

The LGMA program will immediately begin educating members on how to comply with the new standards.

“Additional updates are forthcoming in the areas of Soil Amendments/Inputs and Adjacent Land as the Subcommittees assigned to these topic areas are currently meeting to review existing practices. These Subcommittees will be making their recommendations to the LGMA Board in the near future,” said Horsfall. “We are very grateful to the industry members and scientists who are working diligently as part of the LGMA Subcommittee process to help improve the safety of leafy greens.”

2020-08-28T13:26:46-07:00August 28th, 2020|

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