USDA To Help Many Affected by Wildfires

Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Available for Those In Need Due Fires

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today that low-income California residents dealing with the ongoing wildfires could be eligible for a helping hand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).

Secretary Perdue said that households who may not normally be eligible under regular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rules may qualify for D-SNAP – if they meet the disaster income limits and have qualifying disaster-related expenses.

“USDA is committed to ensuring Californians affected by these wildfires have enough to eat and will be here to help throughout their entire recovery. D-SNAP will be a vital part of our ongoing, on-the-ground food assistance,” Secretary Perdue said.

To be eligible for D-SNAP, a household must either live or work in an identified disaster area, have been affected by the disaster, and meet certain D-SNAP eligibility criteria. Eligible households will receive one month of benefits – equal to the maximum amount for a SNAP household of their size – to meet their temporary food needs as they settle back home following the disaster. California will share information about D-SNAP application dates and locations through local media.

The timing of D-SNAP varies with the unique circumstances of each disaster, Secretary Perdue said, but always begins after commercial channels of food distribution have been restored and families are able to purchase and prepare food at home. Before operating a D-SNAP, a state must ensure that the proper public information, staffing and resources are in place.

Although current SNAP (known as CalFresh in the state of California) households are not eligible for D-SNAP, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, USDA previously approved emergency allotments for California in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, ongoing SNAP households have already received the maximum allotment for their household size for the month of September. California will continue to issue replacement benefits to current SNAP households who lost food as a result of the wildfires.

The D-SNAP announcement today is the latest in a battery of USDA actions taken to help California residents cope with the wildfires. These include:

Allowing participants to buy hot foods with their SNAP benefits at authorized SNAP retailers in certain counties.
Automatic mass replacement of a portion of SNAP benefits for residents of specific counties who may have lost food due to the wildfires and associated power outages.
Extending the deadline for school meal program operators in certain counties to submit reimbursement claims for meals served;
Providing households in certain counties with more time to request replacement SNAP benefits for food lost; and
Retroactively distributing Commodity Supplemental Food Program food packages that The Redwood Empire Food Bank was unable to deliver in August due to wildfire-related road closures and evacuations.

Individuals seeking more information about this and other available aid should dial 2-1-1. For more information about California’s SNAP program, CalFresh, visit www.cdss.ca.gov/food-nutrition/calfresh.

Further, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) continues to provide significant support to California residents as part of its ongoing response to COVID-19. For more information on flexibilities provided to California, visit the FNS California COVID-19 Response webpage.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs that leverage American’s agricultural abundance to ensure children and low-income individuals and families have nutritious food to eat. FNS also co-develops the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which provide science-based nutrition recommendations and serve as the cornerstone of federal nutrition policy. Follow us on Twitter at @USDANutrition.

California Ag Today2020-10-01T10:31:12-07:00October 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.

California Ag Today2020-09-30T11:10:49-07:00September 30th, 2020|

Walnuts Are the Omega3 ALA Nut!

Imagine Walnuts Being on the USDA MyPlate Recommendations

By Patrick Cavanaugh, with the Ag Information Network

The 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is recognizing walnuts because they mostly contain polyunsaturated fats, including 2.5 grams of Omega3 ALA per ounce. In fact, walnuts are the only nut with an excellent source of ALA making them the Omega3 ALA nut.

Jennifer Olmstead is Marketing Director for Domestic Public Relations for the California Walnut board and Commission. She noted her big goal is to get the walnuts on the MyPlate graphic. “Yes, the government takes the committee report, drafts up their guidelines, and then they put it into easy to understand graphics like MyPlate, previously it was the food pyramid,” explained Olmstead.

What would it be like if everyone looked at that my plate graphic and saw a few walnuts on it every day? “Absolutely, and the great thing about this is it really gets consumers thinking about reasons to include walnuts in their diet and ultimately driving consumption for our industry. It would be tremendous. Right now the per capita consumption is at 0.6 pounds per year. So if people just even ate a few handfuls a week, consumption would go through the roof.

It’s certainly not a done deal yet, but the Walnut Board and Commission are working hard on that goal. We’ll keep you updated.

California Ag Today2020-09-28T11:22:21-07:00September 28th, 2020|

Treatment for HLB Infected Citrus May Soon Be Here

BioFlora Gets Stunning Results in Field Trials of HLB Infected Trees

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

The Asian Citrus Psyllid vectors huanglongbing or HLB. The psyllid feeds on the leaves of the citrus tree, and the HLB bacteria is inoculated into the tree’s phloem. As the bacteria multiples, it clogs the phloem, and the tree slowly dies.

Asian Citrus Psyllids Feeding on Citrus Leaves

BioFlora, a company based in Goodyear, Ariz., has developed a unique citrus program that is getting stunning results from field trials conducted on HLB infected trees. In collaboration with two prominent universities, Bioflora conducted a three-year study on grapefruit trees, the most susceptible citrus species. Initial greenhouse trials were conducted at a government research facility in Florida, and field trials and analysis were performed at two prominent universities with current on going trials with growers in Florida.

A Lake County, FL lemon grower, whose grove experienced the turnaround, noted that he could see trees with significant growth within two initial applications. “Leaf drop stopped after the program was initiated, and the trees had good color and are growing vigorously. I can see an improvement from month to month,” the grower said.

“Over a three-year study on HLB in grapefruits, we were amazed at the results from the four programs (consisting beneficial bacteria isolates, biostimulants, and nutrition, including macro and micro-elements) that we initiated. While we continue our analysis, these diverse programs appeared to have a multirole synergistic effect on HLB trees which also seems to show beneficial yield and fruit quality, but one program (program #2) seems to have the most dramatic effect (Manuscript in Progress)”. said Srinivas Makam, Ph.D., Molecular and Microbiologist for BioFlora’s Integrated Life Science Research Center.

“Studying HLB at the genetic level is providing us with a tremendous amount of information which we are combing through on how HLB functions in the plant phloem and plant’s defense mechanisms. Those plant defense mechanism (systemic resistance, induced or acquired to be determined) we hypothesize, seems to be activated to help the tree cope with HLB .” In addition to advanced molecular assays, leaf samples were analyzed using electron microscopy and a marked reduction in cLas population was observed in trees treated with program #2, with some initially infested leaves showing no bacterial presence. The key reason for this response appears to be the continued timely application of the citrus program”, Makam explained.

“Currently, BioFlora has a lemon orchard trial in Lake County, Florida, infected with HLB. Within five or six months, HLB infected trees are responding to the citrus program very positively,” noted Makam.

BioFlora believes in the partnership between plants and soils, transforming plant health with cutting-edge bio-stimulants that enhance plant defenses, address nutrient deficiencies, and unproductive soils.

Citrus tree health and nutrition has been the focus of the HLB trial. BioFlora programs bring organic and sustainable solutions that growers can implement immediately in the fight against HLB infections.

California Ag Today2020-10-05T14:07:41-07:00September 25th, 2020|

Tuff Times in California–But It Stands Strong

Through Wildfires and Pandemic, California Agriculture Persists

By Tim Hammerich with the Ag Information Network

Mother nature has not been kind to California this year. And nobody is more acutely aware of this fact than farmers. Here are a few ways in which agriculture is coping under these challenging conditions courtesy of the California Farm Bureau.

As winegrape harvest accelerates around California, farmers navigate forces that include high temperatures, wildfire smoke and the marketing impacts of the pandemic–on top of large supplies that left some grapes unharvested a year ago. Analysts expect this year’s harvest to be about the same size as last year’s. Marketers say the pandemic has shifted wine demand to retail outlets, with less being sold at restaurants or tasting rooms.

Agricultural and forestry research and teaching projects have suffered damage from California wildfires. A representative for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo says it could take months for a full assessment of damage to its Swanton Pacific Ranch in Santa Cruz County, where structures including classrooms burned. Fires also hit six reserves managed by the University of California, with researchers still working to determine the impact on their projects.

Impacts of the pandemic continue to reverberate through the meat business. An American Farm Bureau Federation analysis shows the gap between the retail price and farm price of beef is the largest in 50 years of recordkeeping. A similar gap exists in pork prices. While pandemic-related demand boosted retail prices, slowdowns at meat processing plants led to a backup of animals in the marketing chain that drove farmers’ prices down.

California Ag Today2020-09-24T11:25:46-07:00September 24th, 2020|

Hotels Expanded for COVID Positive Farm Workers

More Hotels in More Counties Are Available for Any Farm and Food Processing Employees Not Able to Isolate At Home Due to COVID-19

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has announced that the counties of Kings, Riverside and Tulare will participate in Housing for the Harvest, a program announced by Governor Gavin Newsom in July to provide temporary hotel housing options for farm and food processing employees to self-isolate if they are COVID-19 positive and do not require hospitalization, or have been exposed and cannot properly self-isolate at home. Six counties are now participating in Housing for the Harvest: Kings, Riverside, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Fresno and San Joaquin.

The state is securing hotel rooms in participating counties, with local governments identifying administrators to manage the program and local community organizations to provide additional services, like meals, wellness checks and in-language assistance. Local administrators will serve as a point of contact for eligible workers. “Counties across the state are stepping up to provide a safe, temporary housing solution to protect agricultural workers who need to isolate,” said CDFA secretary Karen Ross. “These hardworking men and women are on the front lines of the pandemic and it is critical that we protect them, their families, and local communities.”

Housing for the Harvest will ultimately be made available statewide and provide opt-in housing support for any counties or regions that are interested. California has received FEMA approval for this program during the COVID-19 pandemic and will seek federal reimbursement for 75 percent of hotel costs.

Kings County
Kings County has partnered with Kings Community Action Organization (KCAO) to administer Housing for the Harvest as part of Kings Cares. In addition to hotel quarantine support such as transportation, meals, wellness checks and laundry service, Kings County has allocated resources for financial assistance and additional support for family at home. Farmworkers and food processing workers in Kings County who are in need of these services are urged to visit www.thehealthyharvest.org or www.cosechasana.org or call 559-710-2000. Please note that personal information gathered through this process will be kept confidential. For agricultural business on-site testing scheduling, please visit www.thehealthyharvest.org.
Riverside County

Riverside County’s Department of Housing, Homelessness Prevention and Workforce Solutions has partnered with the local TODEC Legal Center to manage Housing for the Harvest in the county. The Riverside program will include meals, food, transportation and direct financial assistance of $2,000 for each family participating in the program. Farmworkers or food processing workers in Riverside County who are in need of these services are urged to contact the TODEC Legal Center at (888) 863-3291 or via email at campo@todec.org. Please note that personal information gathered through this process will be kept confidential.
Tulare County

Tulare County’s program will be administered by Proteus, Inc. in coordination with the county’s Community Care Coalition. Through additional efforts of coalition partners, supplemental services are being offered to support families at home. The Central Valley Community Foundation has formed a regional Healthy Harvest program and will provide additional funding for support services and outreach. These partnerships are crucial to ensure needed outreach and investment in local communities.

Farmworkers and food processing workers in Tulare County who are in need of these services are urged to visit www.thehealthyharvest.org or www.cosechasana.org or call 559-710-2000. Please note that personal information gathered through this process will be kept confidential. For agricultural business on-site testing scheduling, please visit www.thehealthyharvest.org. We will continue to update you as more counties come on line.

California Ag Today2020-09-23T13:31:13-07:00September 23rd, 2020|

UC Riverside Awarded Big Grant

UC Riverside Wins Grant to Bring Artificial Intelligence to the Colorado River Basin

By Tim Hammerich with the Ag Information Network

The University of California, Riverside recently won a $10 million grant to develop artificial intelligence to improve environmental and economic stability throughout the western U.S.

Elia Scudiero is a Research Agronomist at the UC Riverside

“So this will bring together university personnel and ag-tech companies that will provide training that will serve the farming communities in California, Arizona, Colorado, and the native American communities in the Colorado River Basin,” said Scudiero. “So we really hope that this is well -received by the growers and it can be useful to improve their current practices so that we can then continue this program beyond the duration of the project.”

Partnering with UC Riverside on this are Colorado State, Duke, University of Georgia, and the University of Arizona. Included in the program is an undergraduate Digital Agricultural Fellowship.

“So we are going to pair these undergraduate students with a faculty advisor for over a year, creating a very tight relationship there,” said Scudiero. “And these students will carry out independent research in the university lab. But at the same time, we will complement this type of experience for the students by sending them to have industry internships at our partners in the ag-tech industry.”

Stay tuned for more information on this exciting project to bring more artificial intelligence to agriculture. The researchers plan to release a website in the coming year.

California Ag Today2020-09-21T11:01:37-07:00September 21st, 2020|

Recycling an Almond Orchard

Care Needs to be Taken on Chip Size When Recycling an Almond Orchard

By Patrick Cavanaugh with the Ag Information Network

When a grower wants to replace his orchard with new more productive trees they may opt for recycling the older trees in their orchards—meaning the old trees are chipped up and applied back to the soil

Mae Culumber is a UCANR Nut Crops Farm Advisor in Fresno County. She noted some concerns that growers have with wood decay pathogen impacting the new trees.

“Growers have a lot of concerns especially if they had problems with fungi and a lot of wood decay,” Culumber said. “I’ll sometimes get calls from growers questioning whether or not to do recycling stating that they had some wood decay fungi that killed some some of their mature trees in their last orchard.”

And of course, that is the big grower worry.

“The current research suggests is that if it’s chipped to a small enough size, it’s not going to have a long lifespan, as a soil-borne pathogen in the soil. So eventually that will break down and it shouldn’t be a problem for the next orchard,” explained Culumber.

“So we recommend that people use as small as a four-inch screen to run the chips through. The practice now is that the trees are excavated, then run through a chipper and the chips are screened out when they are distributed with a modified manure spreader,” she said.

Those chips are incorporated in the ground and then the all the normal preparation that occurs with a pre-plant orchard, can take place after that.

California Ag Today2020-09-18T09:42:37-07:00September 18th, 2020|

Cattleman U: Virtual Education for Cattle Producers

New Platform Brings Education and Community to Young Producers

What started as a desire for more community with peers in the agriculture industry as a young rancher, quickly grew into a passion to take action for Karoline Rose, owner of KRose Company. Amidst conference and training cancellations due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the KRose team began plans for a new way to connect with other professionals in agriculture, access educational content, and compare notes on ranch and farm topics.

“Cattleman U is an educational platform and community for the next generation of producers or people who want to raise livestock or crops in the near future. So many of this generation are working their operation full time and aren’t able to get away for conferences. There is a need for education that is easily accessible on an as-you-get-to-it basis,” says Rose.

Cattleman U became the newest online platform designed specifically for the next generation in agriculture. The online membership allows members to access expert advice and pre-recorded trainings presented by well-known speakers from respected organizations. It also has a free classifieds page where members can post items for sale or advertise their business. Members receive access to industry discounts for bulls, semen, ear tags, vaccines, and more. One of the biggest advantages Cattleman U offers is a community where members can network and access resources.

“There are a lot of questions that go unasked because a next-generation producer might be embarrassed to ask or not know who to turn to for an honest and straightforward answer. We need to be in community with other producers and growers to build a network while we learn and discuss alternative solutions and ways of doing things that might not be just like grandpa did them,” says Rose.

Cattleman U consists of 6-week sessions on topics such as agriculture marketing strategies, adding value to your calves, certified branded beef programs, and the futures market. Each session is packed with information, real-life examples, and expert advice from cattlemen who have been there before, and tried many different techniques. The first six-week session will focus on marketing cattle.

There are plenty of flexible options for everyone wanting to sign up for Cattleman U, with monthly, yearly, and 6-week only membership options. The waitlist for the second segment, Futures and Hedging Basics, is now open. On October 5th, the second segment will start. Learn more at cattlemanu.com.

For more information:

Markie Hageman

markie@krosecompany.com

559-901-7806

Additional assets such as audio clips, graphics and images to support this release may be downloaded here

KRose Company strives to be the best agriculture marketer in the United States, whether that be by helping ranchers increase their bull sale average with digital marketing, or by providing services such as design, social media marketing, and advertising to agriculture businesses. KRose Company also works to market the highest quality of calves and offer a country contract for classifieds. Learn more at www.krosecompany.com.

California Ag Today2020-09-17T09:01:28-07:00September 17th, 2020|

Roma Tomato with ToBRFV Resistance?

Bayer Launches Large-scale Pre-launch Trial of New Tomato Varieties with Resistance to Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV)

Bayer announced today the final large-scale pre-launch trials of Roma-type tomatoes to help growers address Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). The trials, which begin later this month in Mexico, will include two varieties of Roma-type tomato that claim Intermediate Resistance (IR) to ToBRFV.

The type of IR Bayer has seen in these varieties is commonly referred to as the “symptomless carrier,” where, despite the presence of virus particles, the crop can show little or no symptoms of the virus in the leaf and/or fruit should the crop become infected by the virus. Adding ToBRFV in the pathogen list for tomato was discussed during last week’s September meeting of the International Seed Federation.

ToBRFV was first observed in 2014 and spread rapidly to different world areas. This viral disease impacting tomato plants represents a challenge for the industry as it can be transmitted very easily through many vectors including farming tools and equipment, workers’ hands, plants, water, soil, and people.

“ToBRFV can quickly devastate tomato crops, so Bayer worked to develop a product to help growers combat it,” said JD Rossouw, Head of Bayer’s Vegetable Seeds R&D. “Bayer leveraged our global cross-functional teams and extensive research and development pipeline to offer a solution designed to ease the day-to-day challenges faced by growers. Our research continues across several tomato species with the goal of bringing further innovative resistance to growers as quickly as possible.”

Following the trials, Bayer anticipates the products will be available for commercial sale in Mexico in 2021, to later be followed by offerings in other important markets around the world.

The ToBRFV resistance program is part of Bayer’s corporate commitment to Health for All, Hunger for None. It complements the company’s SHIELD program, a comprehensive approach to deliver clean seeds season after season to growers around the world. For more than 10 years, the focus of SHIELD has been on the prevention, detection and elimination of pathogens at our own Bayer production and processing sites, as well as third-party production and processing sites for Seminis and De Ruiter brands.

The SHIELD program continues to incorporate market-leading best practices into seed production and supply. In addition to its strict production protocols that are applicable whatever the growing environment (open field, greenhouse or glasshouse), Bayer has always, and will continue to have, stringent testing measures in place aligned with the International Seed Health Initiative (ISHI) guidelines and any applicable laws, which includes testing our seed for the presence of ToBRFV before it is shipped to customers.

California Ag Today2020-09-15T13:40:21-07:00September 15th, 2020|