Whitefly and Aphid Pressure on Cotton

Cotton Growers: Beware of Whitefly and Aphid Pressure Early this Season 

By Laurie Greene, Editor

Pete Goodell

Peter B Goodell Ph.D., Cooperative Extension Advisor-IPM, Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center in Parlier, CA. (Source: UC ANR)

Pete Goodell, an IPM Advisor with UC Cooperative Extension based at the Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center in Parlier, Calif., noted that cotton growers should be treating for whitefly and aphid pressure earlier—instead of later—this season.

“On cotton, we are continually working with the whitefly and the green peach aphid. They have been a problem for the last 3-4 years, so we are continuously working with educational outreach to catch these pests early and manage their populations,” Goodell said.

Goodell explained, “I think with cotton acreage down significantly this year, we can really focus and ensure that everybody is aware of the pressure and how to handle the problem beginning in July. In some incidences, folks have misunderstood and treated whiteflys like aphids; folks started looking for the pests around the open cotton boll stage of growth. But that’s too late to treat for whitefly; growers must treat earlier to maintain a quality cotton crop.”

“That’s why we’re going to get ‘on the stick’ this year,” Goodell said. “We are going to hold a series of gin meetings and get the word out that growers need to start earlier to prevent damage from these insects.”

 

Feature photo source: Sweetpotato Whitefly, JackKellyClark, UC ANR

2016-05-31T19:28:13-07:00June 18th, 2015|

Biomass Bill Passes Assembly

Biomass Bill (AB 590, Salas / Dahle) Protects Renewable Energy and Air Quality

SACRAMENTO – AB 590 will incentivize biomass utilization of agriculture waste and forest waste. The legislation will save jobs, divert biomass from landfills, and create renewable energy.

“Biomass power generation is a clean and efficient way to produce renewable energy and help improve our air. In fact, the Delano biomass facility has helped reduce 96 percent of the pollutants released from open-field burning. This facility alone converts 300,000 tons of agricultural waste per year into clean, renewable energy.” said Assemblymember Salas. “AB 590 provides the necessary structure and resources to protect and incentivize biomass power in California.”

Farms in Kern and Tulare Counties generate over 580,000 tons of woody waste annually, mostly from almond, peach, and nectarine orchards. In the past, most of this material has been burned openly in the fields. Open burning of wood residues produces up to 100 times more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than biomass power plants, which convert wood into renewable energy. The Delano biomass facility reduces 96 percent of the pollutants released in open-field burning; leading local air quality management officials to call Covanta Delano “a stationary air pollution control device.”

In addition to air quality benefits, the biomass plants produce a steady flow of reliable, renewable, baseload electric power regardless of natural external conditions, like wind, sun and water flow. The plants also help ensure that the state meets its current renewable energy portfolio standard of 33 percent by the 2020 statutory deadline.

“In the past few years we have seen the catastrophic results of forests that are too loaded with forest fuels. The people of my district have lived in a cloud of smoke, as thousands of acres have burned destroying lives, property, critical animal habitat, ruining our watersheds and wasting valuable resources,” said Assemblyman Dahle. “I introduced AB 590 to address this crisis. The bill is now on to the Senate with bipartisan support from the Assembly, where I hope to see it receive the same support.”

Currently, California biomass plants use more than eight million tons of wood waste as fuel. About 3.7 million tons represent urban wood waste kept out of landfills, helping local governments meet disposal mandates.

Biomass plants across the state employ approximately 700 people directly, as well as 1,000 to 1,500 other workers in dedicated indirect jobs. Many are in economically hard-pressed rural communities where the plants are one of the largest private employers.

Unfortunately, the 25 plants that convert biomass waste into energy are at serious risk of closure without decisive action by the State Legislature and the Governor. In the past year, five plants closed. AB 590 would allocate part of the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) revenue to defer the costs of operating these plants.

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Assemblymember Salas represents part of the City of Bakersfield, the cities of Arvin, Avenal, Corcoran, Delano, Hanford, Lemoore, McFarland, Shafter, Wasco, and the communities of Armona, Buttonwillow, Home Garden, Kettleman City, Lamont, Lost Hills, Stratford and Weedpatch

Assemblymember Dahle represents Alturas, Anderson, Butte County (Portions), Colfax, Dunsmuir, Grass Valley, Lassen County, Modoc County, Montague, Mount Shasta, Nevada City, Nevada County, Placer County (Portions), Plumas County, Portola, Redding, Shasta County, Shasta Lake, Sierra County, Siskiyou County, Truckee, Weed, Yreka

(Photo: Covanta Biomass Plant, Delano, CA)

Contact: Jillian Rice. (661) 335-0302

2016-05-31T19:28:15-07:00June 4th, 2015|

Sustainable Farming: Let’s Focus on a Farm’s Performance, Not its Size

In case you missed it, we are posting the article, “Let’s Focus on a Farm’s Performance, Not its Size,” with permission, from Environmental Defense Fund’s Growing Returns blog.

By  | BIO
Lettuce

Credit: Flickr user Dwight Sipler

What comes to mind when you think of a “family farm?” You’re probably picturing a bucolic spread of less than 100 acres, with a red barn, farmer in overalls, and cows grazing a big pasture. What about the phrase “corporate farm” or “?” Do you see a giant, impersonal and industrial-looking operation?

Unfortunately, these common (mis)perceptions are regularly promoted in everything from TV ads to online chats. But the reality is that “big” does not equate to “bad,” and “small” doesn’t necessarily mean “good” when it comes to sustainable farming. In fact, it’s the wrong debate altogether.

What really matters is performance, not size.

Today is National Agriculture Day, celebrated annually on March 18, and this year’s theme is sustaining future generations. If we’re going to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population, we’re going to need large and small farms alike. And no matter their size, they’ll need to minimize their impacts on the natural systems that sustain us all.

Addressing the myth

It’s a myth that large farms can’t be sustainable, just as it’s a myth that all family farms are small and better for the environment.

Take Christine Hamilton, for example, whose family farm produces corn, soybeans, winter wheat and cattle across 14,000 acres in South Dakota. For years she’s been participating in USDA conservation programs, using no-till practices, planting trees to limit erosion, and utilizing variable rate technologies to improve the environment and her yields.

There are also places like Fair Oaks Farms, which milks over 500 cows … an hour. To make their large operation more sustainable, Fair Oaks pumps methane from its livestock to an on-site natural gas station that compresses it into fuel for the farm’s fleet of 40 milk trucks.

Many small-farm operations implement sustainable practices as well. A perfect example is Full Belly Farms, a 400-acre organic farm in Northern California that won last year’s prestigious Leopold Conservation Award. But I’ve visited small farms where livestock roam freely into streams, soil erosion destroys riverbanks, and nutrient management plans are nonexistent.

Sharing responsibility4.1.1

In the U.S., agriculture already occupies 51 percent of our land, uses 80 percent of the [Nation’s consumptive*] water, and is responsible for 8 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions. And in the coming decades U.S. farms will be responsible for producing even more food. In order to make agriculture a plus for the environment, farm practices will need to change.

Of course, we have to keep in mind the context here. Mid-size and large-scale family farms account for 8 percent of U.S. farms but 60 percent of the value of production, so in order to bring sustainable agriculture to scale, they will have to do the bulk of the work. But small farms have a much higher share of production for specific commodities in the U.S. – they account for 56 percent of domestic poultry production, for example – so we’ll need their leadership, too.

Regardless of size, all farms need to:

  • Minimize the loss of nutrients and soil to air and water through nutrient optimization strategies such as conservation tillage.
  • Use water as efficiently as possible.
  • Improve soil health through strategies such as cover crops.
  • Avoid plowing up ecologically important lands.
  • Fence livestock out of streams and implement management plans to maintain healthy grazing lands and avoid overgrazing
  • Use strategically placed filters to capture excess nutrients.

It’s time we shift the public debate and get everyone on board the sustainability train. Arguing about a farm’s size won’t deliver environmental benefits. In the end, it’s all about performance.

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*“California Ag Today added “Nation’s consumptive” from the original USDA text and offers the following definitions:

“Consumptive water use” is a use of water that removes the water from the system so that it cannot be recovered for reuse by some other entity. Consumptive uses may be beneficial or non‐beneficial. A beneficial consumptive use would be crop evapotranspiration.

(Source: Agricultural Water Use in California: A 2011 Update 3 © Center for Irrigation Technology November 2011)

Evapotranspiration (ET) is the amount of water transpired by plants, retained in plant tissues, and evaporated from plant tissues and surrounding soil surfaces.

(Sources: (1) California Water Plan Update 2009 Glossary. Department of Water Resources. Resources Agency. State of California; (2) Agricultural Water Use in California: A 2011 Update 3 © Center for Irrigation Technology November 2011)

If the basis for the discussion is water consumptively used by only agricultural, municipal & industrial users, then agriculture’s share would be estimated in the range of 80 percent of the total. However, if the percentage is based on dedicated water, which includes environmental uses, then agriculture’s share is more in the range of 40 percent.

(Sources: (1) California Water Plan Update 2009 Glossary. Department of Water Resources. Resources Agency. State of California; (2) Agricultural Water Use in California: A 2011 Update 3 © Center for Irrigation Technology November 2011)

Dedicated water – as defined by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is “water distributed among urban and agricultural uses, used for protecting and restoring the environment, or storage in surface water and groundwater reservoirs. In any year, some of the dedicated supply includes water that is used multiple times (reuse) and water held in storage from previous years. This is about 40 to 50 percent of the total annual water supply received from precipitation and imported from Colorado, Oregon, and Mexico.”

Context: Water Portfolio”1 (Source: Agricultural Water Use in California: A 2011 Update 3 © Center for Irrigation Technology November 2011)

Dedicated water includes water flowing in the Wild and Scenic Rivers. Many partially used or unrestricted rivers could have been significantly diverted for use by municipal & industrial and/or agriculture. However, these waters have been dedicated by law to the environment. Other examples of dedicated water are the 800,000 acre‐feet/year reallocated back to the environment by the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) and the 647,000 AF/year reallocated back for Trinity River restoration of that river’s fishery.

(Sources: (1) Record of Decision. Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration. Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report. U.S. Department of the Interior. December 2000; (2) Westlands Water District vs. U.S. Department of Interior. Case Nos. 03‐15194, 03‐15289, 03‐15291 and 03‐15737. Argued and Submitted Feb. 9, 2004 ‐ July 13, 2004, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit)

_______________________________________

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) works directly with businesses, government and communities to create lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF’s Growing Returns Blog posts news about the organization’s goal of meeting growing demands for food in ways that improve the environment.

2016-05-31T19:30:26-07:00March 21st, 2015|

New Ag-Tech Startup Helps Farmers Analyze Water Usage

By Jocelyn Anderson/UC Davis

Water usage may be California’s No. 1 topic in 2015 — and last year and the one before that. As the state enters its fourth year of drought, everyone is seeking new options for monitoring and usage of this precious resource.

In September, Governor Jerry Brown signed groundwater legislation, paving the way for new regulations on pumping in California and allowing local agencies to oversee extraction. The total statewide economic cost of the 2014 drought is $2.2 billion, resulting in the loss of 17,100 seasonal and part-time jobs, according to an impact report from UC Davis scientists.

Enter Tule, a new business formed with the strength of UC Davis research behind it. With a sensor and monitoring system installed above the crop canopy (and tapped into the irrigation line), the company can accurately tell growers how much water their plants are using and even when and how much to apply. The San Francisco-based startup was one of 14 launched last year with UC Davis support.

“Irrigation is the most important decision a farmer makes,” said Tom Shapland, CEO of Tule. “Irrigation, more than any other factor, is going to influence how much yield — how much produce — they get from their field and the quality of that produce.”

And while some water deficit, or stress for the plant, is beneficial during discrete development stages of the growing process for some crop types, farmers want to control the time and degree of deficits, too. The technology can help minimize waste during drought, but the device is essential even with plenty of rain because it helps with overall water efficiency, Shapland added.

“This isn’t a technology that is only helpful in periods of drought,” he said. “Our technology helps with that most important part of agriculture — irrigation management, [which determines quality and yield].”

The Science of Irrigation

As a student at UC Davis, Shapland worked with his dissertation committee, Kyaw Tha Paw U, Rick Snyder and Andrew McElrone. Paw U, a professor in atmospheric science, had developed a technology for calculating water usage in fields in the 1990s. The problem was that it needed to be calibrated for each location and the process required expensive equipment. That issue formed the basis of Shapland’s master’s and PhD work in the Horticulture and Agronomy Graduate Group (he graduated in 2012) within the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

By solving the calibration problem, Shapland, Paw U, Snyder and McElrone were able to make the technology relatively inexpensive for growers.

The sensors are unique compared with what has previously been available to growers for two reasons: They determine the crop’s water use over a broad area — as much as 10 acres with a single device — and they provide absolute measurements. Other technologies available are too expensive for use outside the laboratory, manage only one plant at a time or simply offer estimations, Shapland said.

With Tule, farming meets high tech in a new way. Growers can access data in real time through an online dashboard that is accessible from anywhere. And they don’t have to worry about installation or maintenance. Shapland and his team take care of the hardware, selling the data to growers for $1,500 per sensor per growing season.

When Shapland tells growers about his technology, he said they sometimes respond with an expletive — not because the science eludes them, but because for so long such data has not been available to them.

Tule boasts about 60 customers with 250 sensors, stretching from as far north as Lake County, California, all the way down to Oxnard.

Doug Fletcher, vice president of winemaking for the Terlato Wine Group, has had Tule sensors at Chimney Rock Winery in Napa, California, for about a year now.

“By being able to measure what’s been very difficult to do in the past, namely how much water the plant is using, we now have a better handle on how we then apply what we want to the plant to get it to do what we would like it to do,” said Fletcher, who added the system has helped the decision-making processes at Chimney Rock.

In fact, Fletcher said, he learned that his plants were using much more water than they received from irrigation, information that could have a real impact.

“The plants out here use about 10 or 12 gallons per week. We were putting on about six gallons, so that meant the other six gallons came out of the dirt, which we really just didn’t think about,” said Fletcher. “With the groundwater law that Gov. Brown passed [last year], this gizmo is going to give farmers a chance to say to the state, ‘If you want me to grow something, this is what I need to have.’ This is a good way — because the science is behind it — to demonstrate how much water we’re really using. That’s kind of exciting.”

Innovation Accelerated by UC Davis

Shapland licensed the foundational intellectual property for his company from UC Davis, which he said has been a key driver behind Tule’s success so far. Now, as Shapland makes the rounds meeting with growers across the state, the entrepreneur said the university name goes far.

“In California, growers know they can trust UC Davis. They’ve seen research come out of UC Davis again and again that has brought their farming operations [up a notch],” Shapland said. “When they hear about a technology that came out of Davis, that can do something they’ve needed, they know they can trust it.”

Tule’s success has been enabled by Venture Catalyst, a new unit within the Technology Management and Corporate Relations division of the Office of Research, led by Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Dushyant Pathak.

“As a creative entrepreneur, Tom was able to effectively leverage university resources to help achieve his startup’s objectives,” Pathak said. “He is the perfect example of the type of innovative, focused and passionate entrepreneur we foster at UC Davis. In founding Tule, he recognized the potential for translating his research into commercial impact while creating valuable societal benefit.”

Venture Catalyst works closely with campus and local community resources, including the university’s Mike and Renee Child Family Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, to support the translation of university research into commercial applications.

“I can’t speak enough about how grateful I am to have been a part of this [process] and how important it has been [for Tule],” said Shapland.

Measuring Impact

Tule has come a long way in one year. Last summer the prestigious startup incubator Y Combinator invested $120,000 in the fledgling firm. The money supported a three-month proof-of-concept process. From there, the company raised more than $1 million in venture capital from Khosla Ventures, Bloomberg Beta and others.

The five-person team is currently growing, as the company seeks to hire additional software engineers to help continue to hone the technology and make the data even easier to understand.

With about 90 percent of Tule’s customer base coming from the winemaking industry, the team aims to expand to almond, strawberry and tomato growers this year. Additional crops will be further down the pike.

Going forward, technologies such as this could help address the issue of food scarcity. As UC Davis’s World Food Center aims to develop the key to feed the world’s generations to come, Tule may become one of many examples of companies playing a role in the solution.

“When we’re recruiting [farmers] we tell them there are going to be billions more people on this planet in the next 50 years. So you have to be able to get more food with the same amount of water and fewer resources,” said Jeff LaBarge, chief technology officer for Tule. “The drought may make the problem more acute, but in the long term, being able to feed billions more people in the next 50 years is really the mission.”

He added, “Our goal is to have a sensor on every farm in the world. It’s just a matter of getting there as quickly as possible.”
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2016-05-31T19:30:26-07:00March 19th, 2015|

Ag Day 2015: A beautiful day to be a farmer

California’s agricultural community gathered yesterday on the west steps of the State Capitol to show, see and share the bounty of our state’s farmers and ranchers. It was a perfect day for such a celebration (although to be perfectly honest, the farmers would have preferred rain). In keeping with the United Nations’ declaration of 2015 as the International Year of Soils, the theme for Ag Day this year was “Breaking New Ground.”

Special thanks to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s partners in organizing Ag Day, the California Women for Agriculture and the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom.  Thanks also go to our emcee, Kitty O’Neal of KFBK Newsradio, as well as event sponsors the California Egg Farmers, the California Alpaca Breeders Association, the California Farm Bureau Federation, California Grown, the California State Board of Equalization, the California Strawberry Commission, the Farmer Veteran Coalition, Got Milk?, John Deere, the Kubota Tractor Company-California, and the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

 

2016-05-31T19:30:26-07:00March 19th, 2015|

National Agriculture Week is Here

Each year, more than one-million students learn about the importance of agriculture through the efforts of California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. This spring, Agriculture in the Classroom will partner with CDFA and the California Women for Agriculture to host California Ag Day 2015 as part of National Ag Week (March 15-21).

On March 18, the State Capitol will come alive with farm animals, educational displays, and entertainment all celebrating California’s great agricultural bounty during California Agriculture Day. The theme for the 2015 event is “California Agriculture: Breaking new Ground.” A focus will be the importance of soil health to our food supply and all of agriculture.

Ag Day is the agricultural community’s annual opportunity to educate and inspire the farmers and ranchers of tomorrow, showcase new technologies, and highlight the diversity of California agriculture.

California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary Karen Ross, along with 12 other industry leaders, are members of the National Agriculture Week host committee. The host committee helps plan and promote special events throughout the state.

“Please join me and other leaders in agriculture as we support the education of our next generation of consumers and voters,” said Secretary Ross. “National Agriculture Week gives us the opportunity to celebrate agriculture, an industry that provides a safe, abundant, and affordable food supply, a strong economy, and a world of job opportunities.”

An additional Ag Week event will be held on March 19 at the Sacramento Kings’ Experience Center in Sacramento, to recognize student winners of Ag in the Classroom’s Imagine this… Story Writing Contest. Student authors will attend and read their stories from the newly published Imagine this… books to the audience. A southern California event will be held aboard The Queen Mary on April 2.

Since 1986, The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, a non-profit organization, has worked to promote a greater awareness of agriculture’s role in our daily lives to California’s teachers and students. The Foundation delivers exciting, standards-based curriculum that builds students’ knowledge of the farmers and ranchers who produce the food, clothing, and shelter they use every day. Agriculture in the Classroom programs reach far beyond the classroom walls and into the lives of California’s students and their families.

2016-05-31T19:30:26-07:00March 17th, 2015|

Farm employment: Drought impact adds uncertainty to hiring outlook

Source: Ag Alert

Even though reduced crop production caused by water shortages may reduce on-farm employment in California, farmers and farm labor contractors say they expect continued trouble in filling agricultural jobs this spring and summer.

“The drought is still ongoing, which means that there will be a lot of land left uncultivated,” said Bryan Little, California Farm Bureau Federation director of employment policy and chief operating officer of the Farm Employers Labor Service. “This will probably soften the blow of the shortage of labor some, but everything I am hearing is that the labor market is still pretty tight.”

Little said most of the farmers with whom he speaks “are finding that labor is still pretty scarce.” He said farmers are expressing increasing interest in the federal H-2A guestworker program—despite its signficant drawbacks—while “relying more and more” on farm labor contractors.

San Luis Obispo County farmer Carlos Castañeda, who is also a farm labor contractor, said the growing season kicked off in his region earlier than usual. So far, he said, he has been able to hire the people he needs but, he added, there isn’t an abundance of workers.

“My growers are cutting plantings back tremendously,” Castañeda said. “Unfortunately, the shortage of water is helping the shortage of labor—but as soon as the water issues are solved, the labor one is going to go into warp speed.”

About a month from now, Castañeda said, he expects several commodities will be ready for harvest at the same time, which will increase the need for on-farm employees and reduce the number of workers available.

Michael Frantz, co-owner of Frantz Wholesale Nursery in Hickman, said he remains concerned about finding enough people to do the highly technical work at his horticultural company, which specializes in landscape trees, shrubs and drought-tolerant plants.

“We have full-time employment that requires learning the skills of a trade that are taught on-farm. There are a lot of technical skills, whether it is grafting or budding and training of trees to be grown to retail-grade specifications, that take years to master,” Frantz said. “For a nursery to grow consistent quality product, we need a workforce that looks at our nursery and our company as a career choice. Our best employees have been here 10 to 30 years.”

Frantz said he has had problems hiring skilled workers for the past several years. In 2013, his nursery supplemented its own hiring with the use of farm labor contractors. Last year, he said, was “the first year that we were unable to fill all of the positions.”

Frantz said his business printed fliers describing the company, its pay rates, benefits and other amenities.

“For the first time, we felt we had to sell ourselves to the community as opposed to expecting people to show up looking for work,” Frantz said. “We set up card tables at the employment office and had human resources people there handing out fliers. That outreach had minimal results.”

As a result, he said he is very concerned about locating reliable workers for this season, adding that many other nurseries share the same concern.

“This year, we are running ads on Spanish radio. We have ramped up our hiring efforts and already, it is early, but it seems that 2015 is going to be more difficult than last year,” Frantz said. “The lack of a dependable ag workforce is preventing us from adding additional jobs and growing our family businesses like we would like to be able to do.”

Earl Hall, owner of Hall Management Corp., a farm labor contractor headquartered in Fresno, said he is aware that agriculture faces a shortage of available employees, but says he has avoided shortages by being “real careful” not to expand unless conditions warrant.

“You have to be in this industry for a long time like I’ve been so that you know the trends and what is happening,” said Hall, whose company reaches 50 years in business this year.

Castañeda said more growers are opting to use the federal H-2A program to hire immigrant employees, which he called an “expensive and absolutely bureaucratic nightmare, but it is the only tool available.”

Little said use of the H-2A program among California farmers and ranchers remains relatively slight because of a variety of problems with the program, including its lack of the flexibility agricultural employers need to hire people on a timely basis.

Another factor affecting the availability of potential on-farm employees is reduced migration by Mexicans to the U.S., according to research conducted by Edward Taylor, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Davis, and doctoral student Diane Elise Charlton. Their research found fewer potential farm employees migrating to California due to growth in Mexico’s non-farm economy, falling birth rates and an increase in rural education.

Because of this trend, Little said, Farm Bureau and other groups have advocated for a permanent solution to agricultural labor shortages through immigration reform.

Without legislation to address the country’s current labor situation, bills such as the Legal Workforce Act would harm farms and ranches, Little said. The bill, which would require agricultural employers to use the E-Verify system to prove employment eligibility for agricultural workers, was approved last week by the House Judiciary Committee.

“We are absolutely, adamantly opposed to moving forward with mandatory E-Verify until we know we are going to get a workable guestworker program,” Little said.

California agriculture relies on about 400,000 employees during peak season. Some experts estimate that 70 percent or more of hired farm employees responsible for U.S. fruit, vegetable, dairy, livestock, nursery and other production are not authorized to work in the United States, despite presenting apparently legitimate work documents, Little added.

2016-05-31T19:30:27-07:00March 12th, 2015|

USDA Awards Grants to Support Schools Serving Healthier Meals and Snacks

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be awarding over $30 million in grants to help schools prepare healthy meals for their children. Twenty-five million dollars in grants will help schools purchase needed equipment to make preparing and serving healthier meals easier and more efficient, and up to $5.5 million will provide additional training for school food service professionals.

“Schools are successfully serving more nutritious meals to America’s students, and healthier meals mean healthier kids. We’re working to do everything we can to support schools as they work to provide kids the nutrition they need to learn and develop into healthy adults,” said Vilsack. “These grants will help schools obtain better equipment and additional training for their hardworking school food service professionals. With doctors, parents, teachers and schools all working together, we can make sure we’re giving our kids the healthy start in life they deserve.”

Since 2009, USDA has provided $185 million in kitchen equipment funding to states and schools participating in the National School Lunch (NSLP) and School Breakfast (SBP) Programs. USDA provides the funding to states, which then competitively award grants to school districts in order to purchase necessary equipment, giving priority to high-need schools where 50 percent or more of the enrolled students are eligible for free or reduced price meals.

The school equipment grants announced today are another example of how USDA is supporting schools as they implement the new meal standards resulting from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. USDA works closely with schools to address implementation challenges, and provides funding, training and technical assistance to overcome barriers.

To further assist school food workers USDA is also announcing the availability of up to $5.5 million in Team Nutrition training grants for FY2015. These grants are only open to state agencies administering the NSLP, SBP, the Summer Food Service Program, or Child and Adult Care Food Programs. Through a competitive grants process, Team Nutrition training grants will be funded for the period of September 30, 2015 – September 30, 2017. State agencies may apply for up to $350,000. To apply for the grants, state agencies should visit www.grants.gov.

These competitive grants focus on the implementation of Smarter Lunchrooms – an innovative strategy using behavioral economics to encourage healthy eating in the cafeteria – as well as the healthier meal standards, HealthierUS School Challenge, USDA Foods, nutrition education, and wellness activities in schools and child care institutions. These funds may be also used to assist the state agency in providing training and technical assistance to school staff in creating Smarter Lunchrooms.

The Team Nutrition Training grants are two-year grants that have been awarded to state agencies on an annual basis since the inception of the program in 1995. They serve as key delivery systems for supporting the implementation of USDA’s nutrition requirements for meals served in schools and child care centers.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service administers America’s nutrition assistance programs including the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Together these programs make up the federal nutrition safety net.

2016-05-31T19:30:28-07:00March 10th, 2015|

Sakata Seed America Continues Partnership with National Watermelon Association

Annual Contribution Totals Over $20,000 in Three Year Span, and Sakata Auction Items Raise Over $10,000 and Counting!

Sakata Seed America continues to support The National Watermelon Association. In February 2015, at the National Convention, for the third consecutive year, Sakata made a monetary contribution, based on sales of its triploid watermelon varieties, to the National Watermelon Association.

In addition to the contribution, Sakata donated over 50,000 young watermelon plants for auctions at the National Convention, as well as four other regional shows, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina conventions. Auction winners will receive 10,000 young triploid watermelon plants of either Bold Ruler or Affirmed – their choice. Plants will be shipped through Sakata’s recently launched Watermelon Plant Program for the Southeast. This program makes young transplants of Bold Ruler and Affirmed (as well as Ace and SSX8585 pollinizers) available to order through select distributors, bringing more convenience and value to growers.

 

Watermelon Plant Auction Winners

National Watermelon Association Convention Winner: Mike Horrall of Melon Acres in Oaktown, IN

Florida Watermelon Association Winner: Melon 1 in Brooklyn, NY

Georgia Watermelon Association: Johnny Davis of D&D Farms in Lenox, GA

Alabama Watermelon Association: Rantz Smith of Smith Farms in Trenton, FL

South Carolina Watermelon Association: Bradley O’Neal of Coosaw Farms in Fairfax, SC

Thus far, over $10,000 has been raised for regional watermelon associations through donated plants. The next auction will be held March 13-14, 2015 in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina at the North Carolina Watermelon Association’s Annual Convention. Another 10,000 plants will be auctioned to the highest bidder and will raise money for the North Carolina Watermelon Association.

Sakata is committed to providing the highest quality varieties to help ensure the grower’s success and profitability and maintains a very extensive watermelon program including a wide array of products for all market regions, such as new varieties Secretariat, Kingman, Unbridled and Charismatic. Sakata’s partnership with the National Watermelon Association is founded on a long-standing appreciation for the NWA’s positive impact on the watermelon industry.

“We’re proud to support the National Watermelon Association through continued partnership and other contributions. They play a crucial role in bringing the industry together and putting the grower first – two concepts that are paramount to Sakata,” states Gattis Guffey, Senior Manager of Sakata’s watermelon program.

Sakata invites growers to upcoming watermelon field days held throughout the year in Indiana, Georgia, California and Florida. For information on samples, products, services or dealers, please call (408) 778-7758 or visit www.sakatavegetables.com

2016-05-31T19:30:28-07:00March 9th, 2015|

American Pistachio Growers Celebrate World Pistachio Day with Good News

Just a week after the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee released its report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), American Pistachio Growers, the trade association representing more than 625 pistachio grower members in California, Arizona and New Mexico is celebrating the good news today – on World Pistachio Day.

People who eat tree nuts on a daily basis, including pistachios, are making healthy choices, according to the report. The recommended guidelines emphasize a diet higher in plant-based foods including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seafood to lower the risk of chronic diseases, particularly those associated with obesity. These recommendations are consistent with the findings of numerous science-based studies on the role of tree nuts, including pistachios, in preventing obesity and providing other health benefits. The report provides the scientific evidence for the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are expected to be published by the end of 2015.

About two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese and about half of adults have one or more preventable chronic diseases. Poor dietary and physical activity patterns are associated with these conditions. Pistachios have been shown to play a positive role in weight management, blood sugar management, heart health and as a post exercise snack.

“It’s no wonder that more than 1/3 of Americans are obese. We’re eating too much salt, saturated fat, refined grains and added sugar resulting in excess weight, unhealthy blood sugar levels and deficiencies in calcium, fiber, folate, magnesium, potassium and vitamins A, D, E, and C,” says Cheryl Forberg, Nutrition Ambassador to American Pistachio Growers.

Forberg continues, “Thankfully, the new guidelines suggest more whole foods: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy, nuts, such as pistachios, and seeds to offset our nutrient needs and promote healthier weights and blood sugar levels.” One of the nation’s leading advisors on health and nutrition, Cheryl is a New York Times bestselling author, James Beard award-winning chef and the nutritionist for NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.”

Pistachios a Source of Important Shortfall Nutrients

Pistachios can help consumers meet a minimum of shortfall nutrients identified by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee while limiting overconsumption of sodium and saturated fatty acids. These nutrients include vitamins A, D & C, folate, calcium, magnesium, fiber, potassium, and iron for adolescent and premenopausal women. Of these, calcium, vitamin D, fiber, potassium and iron are considered of public health concern.

A 1-ounce 160 calorie serving of pistachios provides:

  • 290 mg potassium (8% Daily Value)
  • 3 g total fiber (12 % Daily Value) making pistachios a “good” source of fiber
  • 6% Daily Value of iron
  • 8% Daily Value for magnesium

In addition, unsalted pistachios are a sodium-free food. Pistachios provide 13 g of total fat primarily monounsaturated fatty acids (7 g) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (4 g) with about 1.5 g saturated fatty acids.

Three USDA-Recognized Healthy Diet Patterns Include Nuts

The Committee encouraged consumers to adopt dietary patterns low in saturated fat, added sugars and sodium. These include Healthy U.S.-Style, Healthy Vegetarian and Healthy Mediterranean diets. Such patterns are:

  • Rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seafood, legumes, and nuts such as pistachios
  • Moderate in low- and non-fat dairy products
  • Lower in red and processed meat
  • Low in sugar sweetened foods and beverages and refined grains

 

About American Pistachio Growers

            American Pistachio Growers (APG) is a non-profit voluntary agricultural trade association representing more than 625 grower members in California, Arizona and New Mexico. APG is governed by a democratically-elected board of directors and is funded by growers and independent processors with the shared goal of increasing global awareness of nutritious American-grown pistachios. For more information, visit AmericanPistachios.org.

2016-05-31T19:30:29-07:00February 26th, 2015|

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