Trade and Marketing Archives - Page 4 of 49 - California Agriculture News Today

Table Grape Shipments Soar

California Table Grape Industry Continues Record-Breaking Shipping Season

News Release

California table grape growers shipped more than 27.7 million boxes into the worldwide marketplace from October 13 to November 30, the highest amount ever for the time period, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The previous seven-week shipment record during the same time period was set in 2013. Earlier this season, the five-week shipping record for the time period between September 8 through October 12 was broken.

The three-month period of September 1 to November 30 set another record with over 55 million boxes of grapes shipped—an all-time high, according to USDA, beating the previous record set in 2013 for this time period.

According to Kathleen Nave, president of the California Table Grape Commission, an aggressive fall and winter promotion program continues, with shipments expected to continue through the end of January.

California Ag Today2018-12-14T15:40:18-08:00December 14th, 2018|

Citrus Mutual Encouraged by Farm Bill

California Citrus Mutual Commends Congress for Action on 2018 Farm Bill

News Release

This week, the U.S. Senate and the House passed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, with overwhelming bipartisan support. This legislation will direct agricultural policy and authorize funding for key agricultural programs in the federal government for the next 5 years.

President Trump has the opportunity to enact the 2018 Farm Bill before the end of the year.

CCM President Joel Nelsen offers the following statement:

“California Citrus Mutual applauds the Farm Bill conferees and House and Senate Ag Committees for moving forward a bill that includes priority programs for specialty crop producers. Jeff Denham, Jim Costa, and Jimmy Panetta were crucial voices for California farmers on the House Ag Committee. Along with Representatives Julia Brownley, Ken Calvert, and David Valadao, the California Members were instrumental to securing funding for research, trade and market enhancement, and pest and disease prevention that will directly benefit California specialty crop producers.

“With support from Congressmen Kevin McCarthy and Devin Nunes and Senators Feinstein and Harris, key programs and funding for the U.S. citrus industry will continue in the next Farm Bill.

“The U.S. citrus industry will receive funding to continue priority research to identify a solution to Huanglongbing, a devastating plant disease that is threatening the sustainability of our domestic citrus industry. This is a significant win for U.S. citrus growers.

“On behalf of the California citrus industry, I thank the Congressmen and Congresswoman, our U.S. Senators, and our colleagues in the specialty crop industry who worked diligently over the past several months to create a bipartisan Farm Bill that provides crucial resources to ensure our farmers can continue providing nutritious produce to Americans and people around the world.”

The 2018 Farm Bill includes $25 million per year for 5 years starting in 2019 for research specific to the invasive insect Asian citrus psyllid and deadly plant disease Huanglongbing (HLB). This Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Development Trust Fund will build upon the program created in the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) title in the 2014 Farm Bill and complements the $40 million per year program funded by California citrus growers to stop the spread of HLB.

The legislation also includes funding for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program and the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN). Additionally, funding will continue for the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) program, which helps growers overcome artificial trade barriers. TASC has been in operation for over fifteen years and was created to address sanitary and phytosanitary issues and technical barriers to trade that prohibit or threaten exports of U.S. specialty crops.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:00:39-07:00December 13th, 2018|

American Lamb on the Rise

American Lamb Is Part of U.S. Culture

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

American lamb is as popular as ever. California Ag Today recently spoke about lamb with Jim Percival, chair of the American Lamb Board, who is also a lamb producer in Ohio.

“It is part of our culture, and the majority of the folks that raised lamb in the U.S. are family operations, family farms,” Percival said.

Some of the farms are generational: three to five generations old. The American Lamb Board is working to build that domestic demand for lamb. They have seen an increase in the last couple of years.

“We are finding that millennials love American lamb, and that is one of the things that excites us,” Percival said.

John Percival is Chair of the American Lamb Board

“[There’s] our Feed Your Adventure Side campaign; we have also worked really hard to make lamb more approachable, easy to serve, and easy to fix,” he explained.

“The millennials also want something different, and lamb is a wonderful premium protein and they love the taste. They love the texture, they love the meat, and they’re flocking to it.”

Lamb is especially popular in California and other places on the West Coast.

“We still do that lamb jam every year in San Francisco, and that is still a huge event that a lot of people show up to,” Percival said.

After 16 years without open trade, Japan has recently opened back up for American lamb producers. Trade was closed after the BSE scare, and lamb was never able to be exported into Japan. As of two weeks ago, the first load of American lamb was shipped to Japan.

The demand there is very strong; the Japanese want that premium protein product.

“The chefs over there are asking for our product, and we see that as a real opportunity for growth for American lamb,” Percival said.

“Japan was one of our biggest trade partners before it was closed. I’m sure it is going to have a huge impact on the California producers, and the demand there is very strong, but as with anything else, our biggest thing is to make sure that more Americans are eating more American. Lamb,” Percival said.

The American Lamb Board, the U.S. Meat Export Federation, and ASI all worked together to open the market back up with Japan.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:09-07:00December 11th, 2018|

USDA Purchases More Than $10 Million in California Table Grapes

Food Banks, Other Food Programs to Get Grapes as Part of Tariff Mitigation Program

New Release Edited By Patrick Cavanaugh

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently completed a purchase of more than 450,000 boxes of California table grapes as part of its tariff mitigation program.

California table grapes were included in the USDA Food Purchasing Program for the first time as part of the mitigation program because of the 53 percent tariff imposed on U.S. grapes by China.

According to the most recent USDA data, shipments of California grapes to China are down 42.2 percent in volume and 41.2 percent in value in 2018 compared to 2017.

“The 2018 season has been a tough one for table grape growers,” said Kathleen Nave, president of the California Table Grape Commission. “The tariffs on table grapes have been painful, but the real harm has been caused by the fact that tariffs on multiple competing commodities, such as cherries, stone fruits, and apples, caused more fruit of all kinds to be sold in the domestic market. The USDA purchasing program comes at a good time for table grape growers and is appreciated.”

Table grape suppliers interested in participating in the food purchasing program had to go through a rigorous process to become a USDA vendor and then if approved, submit bids in a competitive process. Multiple Valley companies were awarded the opportunity to supply California grapes to customers across the country.

The grapes will be distributed to food banks and other food programs around the country, starting in December.

California Ag Today2018-12-07T15:46:23-08:00December 7th, 2018|

Social Media Critical To Reach Consumers

Animal Ag Alliance Promotes Social Media to Bridge the Gap Between Farm and Fork

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

In the age of social media, facilitating the connection between producer and consumer is more accessible than ever. Casey Kinler, Communications Manager with the Animal Ag Alliance based out of Arlington, Virginia, is not only urging farmers to jump on board the social media craze but is also focusing on helping zealous educators develop their message.

“Now more than ever, it is really important for individual farmers and ranchers to be on social media,” Kinler said.

Although this may be foreign territory for some, she recommends beginning with only one platform such as Facebook because it offers the biggest reach of people

Bloggers Learning more About California Agriculture

To take it one step further, the Ag Alliance also works with college students, hosting an online scholarship competition where the goal is to teach them how to effectively communicate about animal agriculture. They just celebrated their 10^th anniversary of the competition, where over 430 individuals from more than 40 different states participated.

“It’s really important for farmers to get out there and share what they’re doing on their farm and make sure that people in their community know that they are a trusted source.”

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:09-07:00December 3rd, 2018|

Almond Export Diversification Helps During Tariff War

Overseas Markets are Vast for Almond Industry

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Diversification is a strength, Richard Waycott, president of the Almond Board of California, told California Ag Today recently. The Almond Board of California is a nonprofit organization that administers a grower enacted federal marketing order under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When it comes to any losses due to a tariff war in China, the almonds can be redirected to other countries.

“It’s fortunate to be as diversified as we are. Always a strength of this industry is the diversification of our overseas markets,” Waycott said. “I think whatever volume we ultimately do lose—if we do lose volume to China—can be redirected and absorbed by other markets.”

The USDA has opened up a direct payment program to the almond industry if growers were to lose any money in a tariff war.

As those programs were announced, by far the largest piece of the pie, $6 billion, initially was directed to the soybean and corn growers and livestock, while the specialty crops were completely left out of it.

“We got together with the Almond Alliance of California and some of our industry members made a very concerted effort while there was still time to do so before the rules around these programs and those that got to participate were set in stone and were able to convince the powers that be … to open up to the direct payment program to almonds, and the sweet cherry industry did the same,” Waycott explained

Waycott also commented on the epic frost that hit almonds this past spring. And he is not sure of the impact on the crop.

“We realized that we don’t understand the impact of frost on almonds all that well because we saw one side of the street there was quite a bit of damage, while on the other side there was no damage. So I think there’s mother nature at work here that, you know, we don’t necessarily completely understand,” Waycott said.

California Ag Today2018-10-23T14:57:40-07:00October 23rd, 2018|

California Walnuts Face Threatening Tariffs

Big Challenges For the Walnut Industry

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

It takes one glance at current news headlines to know that agriculture trade is a hot-button issue within the industry. Amongst countless exported crops being hindered by tariffs, the California walnut industry is no different. With California English walnuts making up two-thirds of the world’s trade, the California Walnut Commission is on high alert to ensure that growers are protected from tariffs that could damage their markets.

Pamela Graviet, the commission’s senior marketing director, spoke deeper on this issue.

Pam Graviet

“If you look at the three major markets—China, Turkey, and India—where we have tariff issues,” Graviet said, “that represents twenty percent of our total shipments … it’s over $300 million we’re going to lose.”

Thus far, the walnut industry has avoided paying the full tariff direct to China through the “gray market,” or the sales of walnuts through other countries that feed into China.

“But when you’re tariff constrained or in a trade war” Graviet explained, “they are also cracking down on those other routes, and the gray market has also suffered.”

The California Walnut Commission will continue their work to protect nearly 100 handlers and 4,800+ growers that make up the California walnut industry.

California Ag Today2018-10-11T14:42:10-07:00October 11th, 2018|

Facts Not Fear on Growing Produce

Understanding Salinas Valley Farming Practices

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

Among the mix of registered dietitians conveying the accurate message, California Ag Today concluded our conversation about Facts Not Fear with Teresa Thorn, executive director of the Alliance for Food and Farming, located in Watsonville.

The Alliance hosted the second Facts Not Fear produce safety media tour, in conjunction with Markon Cooperative, for registered dieticians, health and nutrition writers, and bloggers last month in the Salinas Valley. Impacting the customer with the proper information is key.

Teresa Thorn

“We have a mix of writers and bloggers who again have that bullhorn to consumers,” Thorn said.

Social media was also used in conveying the message.

“They’re posting, and we’ve read it and retweeted a lot of their stuff so you can go to our social channels and see some of it,” she explained.

Speaking to growers was very important, and asking industry professionals to attend was vital to cultivating relationships.

“They loved being out in the field. We were always the last ones to get on the bus because they had so many questions,” Thorn said.

The group also does a roundtable discussion where they bring in scientists, shafts, regulators, farmers, and farming companies into the room at Markon’s Produce Expo.

“Building that network was really important,” Thorn said.

California Ag Today2018-10-10T16:43:27-07:00October 10th, 2018|

STK REGEV ‘Hybrid’ Fungicide Named Finalist for Best New Crop Protection Product

TIMOREX GOLD Finalist for Best Marketing Campaign

News Release Edited by Patrick Cavanaugh

STK bio-ag technologies, a global leader in the development and marketing of botanical based and hybrid solutions for food protection, was selected as a Finalist in two Agrow Award categories … REGEV ‘Hybrid’ Fungicide for Best New Crop Protection Product of the Year, and the TIMOREX GOLD Outreach for South American Growers as the Best Marketing Campaign of the Year.

Note that Regev is not registered in California while Timorex Gold is pending registration in California.

REGEV is the first product of its kind in the market. REGEV is a pre-mix hybrid solution that delivers effective and sustainable disease control in a very wide variety of high-value, row and even broad acre crops. This is a breakthrough formulation which creates a bridge to future biologics use, enabling growers in all sectors and geographies to reduce their ecological footprint and thrive economically to better meet the demand for sustainable food protection.

REGEV is a revolutionary and easy-to-use approach to sustainable crop protection. REGEV is a hybrid pre-mix, which is used in exactly the same way growers use their current chemical fungicides. No mixing. No Rotating.

REGEV enables growers who have never used any biological product to try a biologic, experience an effective new tool for combating resistance, increase crop yields, sharply reduce chemical residues and make crops more competitive with consumers and regulators globally,” said Arye Tenenbaum, CEO of STK bio-ag technologies.

The Agrow Awards were developed to recognize excellence in the crop protection and production industries. Entries are evaluated using a wide range of criteria by an independent judging panel consisting of a group of experts from around the world.

Winners of the 11th Annual Agrow Awards will be announced at the Awards Gala scheduled to take place on November 12th at 8 Northumberland in London.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:53-07:00October 2nd, 2018|

Farmers Launch New Health Advertising Campaign for Grapes

Ad Series Highlights Links Between Grapes and Healthy Heart, Brain, and Colon

News Release Edited By Patrick Cavanaugh

A new ad campaign from the farmers of fresh California grapes highlights how consuming normal amounts of grapes each day may contribute to long-term health by helping to maintain a healthy heart, brain, and colon.

Reaching consumers online and through print and broadcast, the campaign revolves around a series of ads focusing on the power of the whole fruit: grapes contain more than 1,600 documented natural plant compounds, including antioxidants and other polyphenols.

Each ad highlights key research from scientific study in the area of heart, brain, and colon health. Scientists believe it is the combination of natural plant compounds and daily consumption that provides benefit.

Kathleen Nave, California Table Grape Commission president

“Consumers have always loved grapes for their great taste, convenience, share-ability, and beauty. Through this campaign, consumers will learn that the health benefits grapes provide go beyond the basics of eating a favorite fruit as part of a healthy diet,” said Kathleen Nave, California Table Grape Commission president. “It is already established that grapes are a heart-healthy food, and now research in the areas of brain and colon health is emerging that suggests that grapes may have an even broader role to play in long-term health.”

Nave noted that research into these three areas of health, and numerous others, will continue.

The campaign will run in magazines and newspapers in both print and online, on health-related websites, on television and radio, and on social media.

California Ag Today2018-10-01T15:35:35-07:00October 1st, 2018|