Heat Streak and Leafy Greens

Frank Ratto on Heat Streak and Leafy Greens

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

 

With a high spike in temperatures in the Central Valley, growers of leafy green vegetables are concerned about the quality of their products. Frank Ratto, vice president of marketing for Ratto Bros., a diversified century-old vegetable operation based in Stanislaus County, said that although the heat streak can cause internal burns in leafy green vegetables, he is confident that, with proper management, their leafy greens will be all right.

“The summer leafy green vegetable supply is always pretty good,” Ratto said, “so prices are very stable going into the fall. But, two or three days of a heat wave like the one we’re having right now can cause tremendous damage and escalate the price of our products. That may happen and we could be a victim or we could be a beneficiary.”

Given the heat wave, Ratto said Napa cabbage growers, in particular, are facing some difficulties. “Napa cabbage does not like heat,” he said, “because it will suffer from a lot of internal burns. Many coastal growers are having issues with it, so demand is tight and supplies are very low.”Ratto Bros Logo

Regarding vegetable prices, Ratto said that the price of cilantro was as high as $50 per box for the last three weeks, “but now it’s coming down to the $25 zone. Mexico had some supply issues, but it looks like they’re catching up, and supplies are improving, and the price is going down.”

Other leafy greens such as leaf lettuces, according to Ratto, are in good supply and quality right now.

Ratto said Ratto Bros. has expanded their organic products to include red and La Cinato kale; red, green, and rainbow Swiss chard; leaks; and collard and mustard greens,” among others.

“We’re trying to expand our organic offerings as more people look for organics in the store,” Ratto continued. “As growers, we know that both conventional and organics are healthy and nutritious—and we don’t really see a difference—but we give the consumer what they want. As long as everybody gets healthy, nutritious food, that’s all we care about.”

2016-05-31T19:27:10-07:00September 21st, 2015|

CALIFORNIA WINE is a Brand

Amy Hoopes on How California Wine is a Brand

By Laurie Greene, Editor

The creation of Californian wines led to the realization of a new flavor profile; California Wine is a brand.

Amy Hoopes, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of global sales for Wente Family Estates in Livermore, Calif., said when Californian winemakers developed a new flavor style for wines, they hit home with the youthful American consumer palate. “I think the taste profile for California wines for a long time has been a product that offered more,” Hoopes said.

“It was more fruit forward,” Hoopes explained. “It was bigger. It was bolder. It appealed to the young American palate which had previously had access only to high-end European wines and a confusing French classification, which at that point caused a lot of anxiety,” she noted.

Hoopes said the California brand was able to build upon a flavor profile that matched the grapes grown in the state, “to make styles of wines that just clicked. Consumers say, ‘Wow I feel confident now. This is comfortable. I know what it is; I understand where this is going.’”

“I believe having that kind of focus again is the renewal we’re looking for in the California brand—to reconnect with what more means and to make sure that we’re consistently delivering that taste experience to increase the value behind the brand.”

Founded 130 years ago, Wente Vineyards is the country’s oldest, continuously operated family-owned winery.

2016-05-31T19:27:10-07:00September 19th, 2015|

Fighting ACP in California

Fighting ACP In California to Stay Well Ahead of HLB

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

With more than 275,000 acres of citrus trees in California, keeping the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) out of groves is a serious concern. Bob Blakely, vice president of California Citrus Mutual, based in Exeter, talked to California Ag Today about how growers are fighting ACP in California.

“We’ve been very proactive, ever since the first psyllid was found here back in 2008. We already had an action plan in place when that psyllid was found. We have engaged with and educated the public and the media, and we have very good cooperation with the state’s citizens,” Blakely said.

Tamarixia radiata (female)

Tamarixia radiata (female); Mark Lewis, UC Riverside Center for Invasive Species Research

Blakely noted the industry is using a variety of methods, “We are usually able to go in and treat urban areas in Southern California, where ACP is now endemic, with crop protection materials. If we determine we cannot control it with pesticides, we implement a new biological program by releasing the parasitoid Tamarixia (a tiny non-native wasp) in residential areas. The new wasp is becoming well-established, and we are hoping the species will help manage ACP populations.”

“We hope to prevent ACP from creating the type of damage seen in Florida, where the citrus industry has been reduced by 50%,” said Blakely. “We are way ahead of the game here in California. We have managed to slow ACP spread in commercial areas in order stay ahead of the spread of the HLB disease the bug carries. We hope a reasonable cure can be found so we can prevent the kind of devastation we are witnessing in some other states.”

2016-05-31T19:27:10-07:00September 18th, 2015|

Expanding California Wine Industry

Will the Expanding Wine Industry Impact California Communities, Environments?

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

 

How the expanding California wine industry might negatively impact the state’s communities and environment is growing concern. Rob McMillan, who founded Silicon Valley Bank’s Fine Wine Division in 1992, said in the Napa Valley community, “we are banding together to address apathy and address tourism issues in the community planning process. If we continue to build new wineries, those opposed characterize the downside in terms of traffic and noise, with very little fact-finding to back up their argument.”

McMillan described some current challenges associated with getting accurate information to the public. “With social media today, people just get to say what they want, and that grabs hold and becomes a catch phrase. Now in Napa Valley, we are working from behind in that there’s really a divide between growers and vintners about how Napa Valley ought to look. And this is not just limited to Napa Valley, either. You are seeing this anti-tourism attitude brewing in Sonoma County and in Santa Barbara County, legislatively.”

While growth of the industry is a good thing, McMillan believes implementing a strategy to prevent congestion is essential. “Whether you are in Washington or Oregon—pick a place—you also have to engage in the community planning process. If you are going to add tourism and direct consumer sales, you can’t have more and more people come and use your region’s resources until you have nothing but a Saturday traffic jam. Your neighborhood starts looking like New York or Tokyo. That is not going to convey the welcoming and accessible message you need to deliver.”

Silicon Valley Bank’s Fine Wine Division, founded by McMillan in 1992, has since become the leading provider of financial services to the U.S. fine wine industry. To ensure the California wine market remains vibrant, McMillan urges wineries to engage in the community planning process, reach beyond the individual winery to work together as a community, and determine how our wine tourism regions should look like. He elaborated, “We can’t go through distributors; we have to go directly to the public, and direct outreach requires a level of entertainment. We have to solve tourism issues in the planning process.”

2016-05-31T19:27:10-07:00September 16th, 2015|

Monterey County Rules Lettuce Market

Diversity Keeps Monterey County Going Strong

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

Monterey County Ag Commissioner Eric Lauritzen talked about the success of local farmers in setting new crop production records, “Despite the water and labor shortages, crop values were up in 11 commodities that exceeded $100 million and 26 that surpassed $10 million. So, the diversity of the economic engine here in Monterey County remains strong despite adversity.”Monterey County Ag Comm Logo

The overall agricultural value of Monterey County is nearly $4.5 billion. Lauritzen noted, “Commodity by commodity, among our top crops, we saw leaf-lettuce surpass strawberries as the number one commodity again. Strawberries are still over $709 million, and the lettuces combined were about $1.4 billion. It is pretty amazing to see those kinds of numbers coming out of one county.

In addition to water and labor shortages, Lauritzen noted, “We have dealt with the impact of food safety issues with spinach. And though production levels continue to climb back, they have not reached levels achieved since the E. Coli outbreak back in 2010. Anyway, we are still thrilled to see the numbers so strong and this speaks to the economic engine of the County.”

Other achievements include:

-$8.1 billion generated for the local economy, including:

-$5.7 billion in direct economic output, nearly 20% of the county’s total direct economic output.

-$2.4 billion in additional economic output in the form of expenditures by agriculture companies and their employees

-76,054 jobs in Monterey County, including:

-55,702 direct employees, or nearly one quarter of all jobs in the county

-20,352 additional jobs made possible through expenditures by agricultural companies and their employees

-investments in ambitious new technology.

2016-05-31T19:28:04-07:00September 15th, 2015|

Citrus Growers Determined to Succeed

Frustrated Citrus Growers Are Determined to Succeed

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

While farmers have been dealing with some tough times, Bob Blakely, vice president of California Citrus Mutual is optimistic about future generations of citrus growers, “Perceptions and attitudes are really all over the board; we’ve got growers who are really frustrated and ready to throw it in. But most growers are staying in, thinking they can still makeSaveOurCitrus it in the citrus industry.”

“California growers are known for their tenacity in the face of challenges,” Blakely commented.  “It’s exciting to see young farmers come on, even though they continue to fight the regulatory battles and higher farming costs. But these young guys have the same determination the prior generation had when they started. So, I am optimistic about the future of the citrus industry in California.”

One of the major threats to citrus is the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) and its potential to spread the disease Huanglongbing (HLB), as it has in Florida and Texas. “We are very concerned about the recent HLB finds. Here again, they have been discovered in residential areas, which is no iPhone Save Our Citrus Appsurprise to us. That is typically where diseases first show up. At the present time, the ACP are contained. We are starting to delimit that area, and residents are very cooperative in allowing those trees to be removed.”

Download the Save Our Citrus App

There is now an iPhone app to help California residents identify signs of the Asian citrus psyllid and HLB, and easily report findings to agriculture officials. Download the free app in the iTunes store.

2016-05-31T19:28:04-07:00September 11th, 2015|

ALRB Education Does Not Require Worksite Access

Barry Bedwell Says ALRB Education for Farmworkers is Okay, But Not Worksite Access

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

Officials from the California Agricultural Relations Labor Board (ALRB) held a public hearing in Fresno TODAY to talk about their proposal for worksite access– private operating farms–to educate farmworkers about the ALRB, and that did not sit well with ag leaders. Barry Bedwell, president of the California Fresh Fruit Association based in Fresno and other ag leaders questioned the ALRB’s motives.

“The real proposal has to do with granting legal access to ALRB agents to agricultural worksites for the purpose of educating workers about the Agricultural Labor Relations Act,” Bedwell said. “Education alone is something that no one I’ve talked to is against, clearly. We want people to understand their rights under the law.”

The Act provides, encourages and protects collective-bargaining rights for agricultural employees, but as Bedwell explained, access to a private worksite is a totally separate legal issue.

“It’s really complicated, unfortunately, because ALRB’s staff has shown to a great degree over the recent couple of years, a distinct bias towards organized labor,” Bedwell said. “The Act is all about a worker’s right to get one or more people together to complain about work conditions and to ask for certain things. It doesn’t mean the employer has to grant them; it’s really about worker’s rights.”

Bedwell said the request from the ALRB is distinctly not about a union’s rights, and “it’s never been about the employer’s rights,” Bedwell said. “We know that. But in this case, we think it’s at best premature to talk about workplace access without first understanding the issue of knowledge [or the lack thereof] out there currently and the best ways to conduct that education.”

Pointing to heat illness prevention and Cal/OSHA as a great example, Bedwell said, “Cal/OSHA did not ask for access to go onto someone’s private property. Instead, they said, ‘We will create the information systems through various media and through seminars which agriculture helped to organize and fund.’ We think that’s a great model for educational services, and we could help.”

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

Super PAC Needed to Fight Extreme Enviromentalists, Part 3

Rachel Martin on Need for Super PAC to Fight Extreme Environmentalists

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

Part 3:

This is the third and final part of a three-part series with Rachel Martin, the national chairperson of Homeland Security for the National Federation of Republican Women, on the importance of creating a political action committee (super PAC) to combat extreme environmentalists in order to save forests, wildlife, and ag suffering from limited water allocations during this extensive drought.

Martin discussed how groups in addition to agriculture are suffering due to the limited water allocations and environmental regulations that prevent forest maintenance, such as logging, thinning of the forests and controlled burns, the lack of which leaves forests vulnerable to wildfires that burn thousands of acres and kill protected animals annually. “The Super PAC that I’ve been putting together since February is bringing together law enforcement and fire fighting agencies,” Martin explained. “We’re also bringing in animal organizations; we’re just waiting for their board approval.”

Through combined funding, Martin hopes the Super Pac will  begin to rival the environmentalists who have already joined together to lobby for what they want. “We’re looking for associations and unions to get together and pool their money,” Martin said, “because that is what has helped the environmentalists get to this point–which is having almost total control of California. It’s lobbying, having the money, and joining forces to fight and pave their way through Sacramento and Washington to get their laws and their amendments approved. Yet we have a lot more people who are suffering, a lot more groups, organizations and animals that are suffering and dying because of the lack of water.”

Martin said she has been appealing first to those outside of agriculture to form her Super PAC and hopes the ag community will join in. “I figured ag is already in the fight,” Martin stated, anticipating strength in combined numbers and funds.

 

2016-05-31T19:28:05-07:00September 8th, 2015|

Super PAC to Save Animals that Die in Wildfires, Part 2

Rachel Martin on Need for Super PAC to Save Forests, Wildlife, Ag

By Charmayne Hefley, Assistant Editor

Part 2:  Animals Needlessly Die in Fires

We are continuing our three-part series with Rachel Martin, the national chairperson of Homeland Security for the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW), who is urging the creation of a political action committee (super PAC) to save forests, wildlife, and ag suffering from limited water allocations during this extensive drought.

“Agricultural agencies aren’t the only entities suffering from the lack of water allocations,” Martin explained. “Other agencies are also suffering due to the environmental regulations that prevent forest maintenance, such as logging, thinning of the forests and controlled burns. Curtailment of forest maintenance leaves thousands of acres of forest, as well as wildlife, vulnerable to larger, more numerous, and containment-resistant wildfires each year.

“When law enforcement evacuates homes, they have to force people out,” Martin said. “People fight to come back into get their pets—their dogs, their cats, their horses, livestock and any other animals they may have. But, oftentimes, residents don’t have the means to haul their animals with them; they may not have horse trailers. Sometimes, animals actually run free up into the mountains and can’t readily be caught. As I was specifically told by some law enforcement officials, those animals end up dying in the fires.”

Martin realized that once animal lovers learn of the suffering caused by the environmental regulations, they might consider joining the fight against the environmentalists. “I’ve been working with animal organizations and animal lovers. I’m one myself. I have quite a few pets, and I grew up around horses. Animal organizations and animal lovers alike can get in on this fight against the environmentalists.”

“Environmentalists are trying to protect species that actually aren’t even on the protected list yet; they’re almost on the protected list,” Martin stated. “Yet, in doing so, they just keep getting further and further away with from their original goal of protecting endangered species and pristine forests. They’re getting away with a lot more through politicians, too.”

2016-05-31T19:28:05-07:00September 8th, 2015|

Karen Ross on Ag Innovation

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross on Ag Innovation

 

The next big thing is always right around the corner. Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said while that may be so, farmers should be consulted to help with ag innovation–the creation of the next big thing–so both farmers and innovators will benefit.

“Here’s what we need to go to the next generation of innovation, so come talk to us early; don’t just come and say ‘we’ve got your solution,’” Ross said. “We manage a vast biological system, a complex system on the farming side, that responds to fast-moving markets on the consumer side. So don’t divorce yourself from us in the industry. Truly understand what we need and how we put together all these complex moving parts to meet consumer needs and expectations in the marketplace.”

Ross said while farmers are always willing to listen to a new way of doing things, involving them in the process and providing access to the data that demonstrates the need for a new product would be more beneficial.

“Farmers are always open to ‘is there a better way?’” Ross said. “But they want the data. They like to see some demonstration of that data—which comes back to partnering with our academic institutions and Cooperative Extension. Don’t just come out and sell me something; show me the data; show me the demonstration projects. Let me kick the tires. Maybe, I’ll put in a few acres of that this year. It’s not just a sales job. You’ve got to partner with the farmer. And if you do, you’re going to come up with a much better product.”

2016-05-31T19:28:05-07:00September 3rd, 2015|

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