Goodness Matters with California Table Grapes!

Campaign Encourages Consumption of Table Grapes

The heart of the California Table Grape Commission’s multi-faceted outreach effort, California Goodness Matters, asks consumers to buy California table grapes. The program promotes the importance of supporting California’s table grape farming communities that grow and harvest 99% of the nation’s fresh table grapes.

Currently underway and continuing into the fall, the Goodness Matters campaign features radio commercials, social media outreach supported by advertising, and a series of messages delivered to retailers.

Kathleen Nave, President of the California Table Grape Commission

“Goodness in all forms matters now more than ever,” said Kathleen Nave, president of the California Table Grape Commission. The California Goodness Matters campaign, according to Nave, is about “recognizing that the decisions we make as consumers make a difference in the livelihood of others. It also aids in the economic survival of small rural communities. It is about the goodness that is California table grapes.”

The campaign reaches consumers in California markets over radio in English and Spanish. Award – winning chef and restaurateur, Aarón Sánchez, is featured in a 15 second Spanish-language spot. It focuses on his belief in the importance of supporting those who grow and harvest our food.

California Table Grape Commission’s “Goodness Matters” Campaign

The campaign’s next phase will include two more radio commercials, focusing on healthy eating. Sánchez will voice the first spot. Amy Brown, co-host of The Bobby Bones Show that is syndicated to more than 150 country stations throughout the nation, will voice the second spot.

In addition, both Sánchez and Brown will share their thoughts on California table grapes and the ways in which California Goodness Matters through social media.

According to Nave, when consumers make a conscious decision to buy California table grapes rather than imports and packaged snacks, they are supporting California farmers and workers during this challenging time.

Science reveals what we’ve perceived intuitively for centuries: Grapes are very good for us. Research shows that grapes of all colors—red, green and black—are a natural source of beneficial components called polyphenols. Polyphenols help promote antioxidant activity and influence cell communications that affect important biological processes.

California Ag Today2020-07-27T19:07:40-07:00July 27th, 2020|

Research on Citrus Greening Disease Control

Progress is Being Made on Controlling Citrus Greening

By Tim Hammerich with the Ag Information Network

Citrus Greening Disease, also know as Huanglongbing, has devastated farms in places like Florida, and poses a serious threat in California. Researchers at the University of California Riverside are making progress on potential control. Dr. Hailing Jin describes what makes this pathogen so difficult.

“First, this is a very special bacteria, which cannot be cultured in vitro. So it’s very hard to study. Second, they are phloem limited. They only stay in the phloem, the vasculature tissue of the whole tree. So it’s not very easy to detect on. Another important thing is that they are transmitted by flying insects called Asian Citrus Psyllid, so can be spread very quickly,” explained Jin.

Dr. Jin and colleagues have been researching plants that are tolerant to the disease to identify genes that may lead to natural defense. They plan to publish their research in the coming months.

California Ag Today2020-07-24T10:22:23-07:00July 24th, 2020|

The 2020 Almond Crop Set to Be 3 Billion Meat Pounds

By Patrick Cavanaugh with the Ag Information Network

Three billion pounds! That’s the California almond objective measurement report done by the USDA and the National Agricultural Statistic Service. It’s up 18% from the 2019 crop.

Holly King is a Kern County almond grower and chair of the Almond Board of California. “I’ve always thought, boy, when the stars line up, we are going to blow the doors off the barn with production,” she said. “And this is the year with the acres we’ve got planted, it’s not a surprise that we could get to 3 billion. We just certainly got there a little sooner than we thought, an it’s a big jump from last year, for sure,” said King.

King noted that the crops were down in the last few years when there were pollination problems because of weather. “So this year we did not. It just was picture perfect and the trees are performing and you can sure see it in the numbers. I know the North got hit harder by moisture last year and the trees had a little bit of arrest and boy, you start looking at the nut, count on the trees in northern California, and it’s huge,” said King.

And, globally consumers love almonds. “We are fortunate that they aren’t a very perishable crop, not like growing produce,” King said. And they are heart healthy. They’re nutrient dense. They’re portable, and they’re affordable. So we’re very fortunate that our product has that many attributes that are certainly more in demand. On top of that, people are asking not only is it good for them, but is it good for the planet? And we have a good story to tell,” noted King.

California Ag Today2020-07-22T11:42:53-07:00July 22nd, 2020|

Blueberry Harvest Wraps Up

By Tim Hammerich with the Ag Information Network

California has wrapped up blueberry harvest in the state. Growers were expecting a record crop but COVID-19 and weather issues created some challenges. Here’s the California Blueberry Commission’s Todd Sanders.

“Overall, we were expecting a record crop of over 77 million pounds due to COVID and weather related issues and stuff like that, I don’t think we’re going to come in nearly that high. But we’re going to come in pretty close. I think it will be probably around 65 to 68 million pounds, will be our final number,” said Sanders.

“That’s fresh and processed. But this season was difficult. Our season was right in the middle of the pandemic as we’re still kind of going through it as we speak. But we were right in the middle of the lockdown, there was trouble moving fruit, especially when it comes to exports. That’s 20% of our product is export and it was difficult to export anything. So it was a difficult season, but the growers I think did pretty well. But we’ll have to see when the final numbers come back,” said Sanders.

Sanders said the majority of the blueberry harvest has moved north up to Oregon and Washington. He provided that report as part of the blueberry industry’s new weekly podcast called “The Business of Blueberries”.

California Ag Today2020-07-21T18:39:13-07:00July 21st, 2020|

Tomato Harvest To Start Soon

By Tim Hammerich, with the Ag Information Network

We’re now in mid-July which means for many California farmers tomato harvest will soon be in full swing. Winters-based farmer Bruce Rominger recently shared through Tomato Wellness how intense the process is to make sure our tomatoes are as fresh as possible.

“In three weeks when these tomatoes are ripe, our crews are going to be out here and our machines are going to be out here, and we’re going to run 24 hours a day. Just like the cannery runs 24 hours a day. And we’re going to harvest these at peak ripeness,” said Rominger. “They will be in that processing facility, probably within two to three hours of when I pick them right here. They will process them right away and put them in cans and then they’ll be ready to go to grocery stores.

So some of them are immediately put in cans, some are put in bigger containers and then they’re made into a pasta sauce or mix with different ingredients a little bit later. “But they are put away and preserved at absolutely peak ripeness. We pick them a hundred percent red ripe and they’re in that cannery right away and immediately processed and ready for consumption,” noted Rominger.

California produces more than 90 percent of the nation’s processed tomatoes and nearly half the world’s total processed tomato tonnage.

California Ag Today2020-07-21T08:35:58-07:00July 21st, 2020|

Tulare County Farm Bureau announces 2020 Scholarship Awards

Congrats to All The Great Scholarships Winners

Tulare County Farm Bureau’s Educational and Scholarship charitable trust released in July their 2020 student recipients, this year’s Selection Committee reviewed all applications online, and made their selections increasing the amount of funds awarded in many categories. Photos of the students are available in the TCFB July 2020 Newspaper edition.

The TCFB’s education and scholarship trust fund has been awarding scholarships since the trust’s inception in 1990, the scholarship and educational programs of the trust are funded annually through the Spring Gala held in March. Fortunately this year’s awards were funded by proceeds of the 2019 event, and the COVID pandemic did not impact the award budget for this year. The 2020 gala was cancelled due to the shelter-in-place orders, but donors have been thoughtful in contributing funds this year, and many have rolled their donations over to the 2021 event in anticipation of it being set for next March.

Most awards were increased to a $2,000 award, and others increased from $500 to $1,000 awards. There are also renewable awards offered by the Scott Shannon Memorial fund, and those students may renew the same amount for four years total. Awards listed below are all awarded by the Tulare County Farm Bureau’s charitable trust. Certain awards are contributed to by families in memoriam, while others are part of the trust’s permanent endowment.

Awards are paid after the student provides verification of their college enrollment, and those verifications are due to the Farm Bureau by September 15 or sooner, as available.

We congratulate all the outstanding students that applied for the awards.

First Name	Last Name	Award Name	Amount	School
Maria	Aguilera	Scott Shannon Memorial	$1,000	Mt. Whitney High School
Alissa	Amaral	Frank Ribeiro Memorial	$2,000	Tulare Union High School
Dalton	Baird	2-Year College	$1,000	Mt. Whitney High School
Bryan	Berczynski	Scott Shannon Memorial	$1,000	VTEC High School
Bryan	Berczynski	Young Farmers & Ranchers	$1,000	VTEC High School
Lauren	Davis	Merit Award	$500	CSU Fresno
Rebecca	Duran	Merit Award	$500	CSU Fresno
Madelyn	Fernandes	Mary Rankin Memorial	$2,000	Mission Oak High School
Chastine	Gist	TCFB Ag Career	$2,000	Tulare Western High School
Tyce	Griswold	Scott Shannon Memorial	$1,000	Central Valley Christian School
Grace	Guthrie	Merit Award	$500	Cal Poly, SLO
Paige	Kroes	Merit Award	$500	Central Valley Christian School
Selina	Lopez Curiel	Student of Farm Employee	$1,000	Woodlake Union High School
Ryan	Majarian	COS RRS Endowment	$1,500	Mt. Whitney High School
Pia	Martinez	Merit Award	$500	CSU Fresno
Javier	Monje Jr.	Student of Farm Employee	$1,000	Tulare Western High School
Javier	Monje Jr.	Merit Award	$500	Tulare Western High School
Bethanie	Negrete	Young Farmers & Ranchers	$500	Mt. Whitney High School
Dafne	Pamplona Quiroz	TCFB Ag Career	$2,000	Dinuba High School
Mayalina	Puerner	TCFB Ag Career	$2,000	Exeter Union High School
Hunter	Seymore	2019 Youth Outstanding Participant award	$1,000	El Diamante High School
Amy	Swall	Fred & Marilyn Collison Memorial	$2,000	Mission Oak High School
Katherine	Walker	Young Farmers & Ranchers	$1,000	Reedley College
Kalina	Weaver	Ken and Cindy Williams Scholarship	$2,500	Monache High School

California Ag Today2020-07-20T09:38:11-07:00July 20th, 2020|

Heat Illness Prevention During These Hot Summer Days

By Markie Hageman Co-Editor

It’s extremely important for farm employees to know how to prevent heat illness. Larry Williams is the CEO of the EE Hall Company among the largest ag labor contractors in the state. Williams is also the executive risk and safety manager for the company and they take worker’s safety in the field very seriously.

“Heat illness is a big thing for us because we employ over 25,000 employees throughout the state of California. And we’re in the ag industry and we’re in all commodities. So heat is a big thing, especially coming up in the summertime for us.”

Williams describes how they get it done across the state, and the first thing they provide is shade trailers for 100% of their employees.

“In addition to the shade trailers, if needed, we have canopy umbrellas where needed for our individual irrigators, and we try to make sure we’re ahead of the game”

State regulations say that shade must be available to all workers. When temperatures reach 80 degrees,

“Yes, we have to have shade available but every site that we pull up to, we automatically bring shape whether it’s 60 degrees, a hundred degrees shades already there and available.”

And of course, plenty of water must be available for all field employees. Additionally, when temperatures reach 95 degrees or above, the employer shall ensure that employees take a minimum 10 minute preventative cooldown rest period, every two hours.

California Ag Today2020-07-17T09:03:12-07:00July 17th, 2020|

“Dirty Dozen” List Coverage Drops to All-Time Low

From: SafefruitsandVeggies.com

The authors of the so-called “Dirty Dozen” list made a serious miscalculation with the release of this list during the pandemic. If the authors thought they could capitalize on escalating food safety fears among consumers as a means to gain increased attention and coverage for their list, they were seriously wrong.

Upon learning of the pending release, the Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) used its consumer-facing outreach tools to communicate that this list is not only scientifically unsupportable, but hurts consumers because it’s fear-based messaging may be discouraging the purchase of any produce – organic or conventionally grown. We also posted an open letter asking the list authors to put the needs of consumers first and cancel the list release. While we always aggressively defend the safety of all produce, this year the AFF was even more strident because it was so important to reassure consumers about produce safety under these unprecedented circumstances.

And we had some crucial help. Among the AFF’s biggest advantages in recent years has been our involvement with the dietitian/nutrition community. We alerted this audience immediately upon learning about the list release, shared our messaging and reminded them about the safety information and resources available at safefruitsandveggies.com.

Their reaction to the list release was not just frustration, but outrage that a group would promote unwarranted safety fears of these healthy, immune-boosting foods during this pandemic. They took over social media conversations, advanced AFF messaging, linked to our website information, wrote blogs and articles and conducted media interviews effectively chasing and shaming the list authors from their own dialogue and promotion.

The result of all outreach efforts was that mainstream media coverage declined by a staggering 70% from the previous year. This drop is even more significant when you consider that we had already seen a consistent downward trend of coverage over time. And, for the first time, total media coverage carrying AFF messaging exclusively outpaced stories featuring one-sided content from the list authors.

But despite the results from AFF campaign efforts, our work must continue. In an AFF survey of dietitians and nutritionists, 94% agreed that fear based messaging, like the “dirty dozen” list, is having a negative impact on their ability to increase produce consumption among their clients and consumers.

This “fear barrier” could go away quickly if groups and organizations would stop disparaging the more affordable and accessible forms of produce to advance one production method over another. And if we join together to support consumer choice whether they prefer to purchase organic and/or conventionally grown fruits and vegetables since both forms are healthy and safe. This change would be a win for consumers and a win for public health.

California Ag Today2020-07-15T11:39:27-07:00July 15th, 2020|

Additional Commodities Eligible for Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

Good For California Producers of Many Specialty Crops!

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced an initiallist of additional commodities that have been added to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made other adjustments to the program based on comments received from agricultural producers and organizations and review of market data.

Producers will be able to submit applications that include these commodities on Monday, July 13, 2020. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting through Aug. 28, 2020, applications for CFAP, which helps offset price declines and additional marketing costs because of the coronavirus pandemic. USDA expects additional eligible commodities to be announced in the coming weeks.

“During this time of national crisis, President Trump and USDA have stood with our farmers, ranchers, and all citizens to make sure they are taken care of,” said Secretary Perdue. “When we announced this program earlier this year, we asked for public input and received a good response. After reviewing the comments received and analyzing our USDA Market News data, we are adding new commodities, as well as making updates to the program for existing eligible commodities. This is an example of government working for the people – we asked for input and we updated the program based on the comments we received.”

USDA collected comments and supporting data for consideration of additional commodities through June 22, 2020.

Changes to CFAP include:

Adding the following commodities: alfalfa sprouts, anise, arugula, basil, bean sprouts, beets, blackberries, Brussels sprouts, celeriac (celery root), chives, cilantro, coconuts, collard greens, dandelion greens, greens (others not listed separately), guava, kale greens, lettuce – including Boston, green leaf, Lolla Rossa, oak leaf green, oak leaf red and red leaf – marjoram, mint, mustard, okra, oregano, parsnips, passion fruit, peas (green), pineapple, pistachios, radicchio, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, fresh sugarcane, Swiss chard, thyme and turnip top greens.

Expanding for seven currently eligible commodities – apples, blueberries, garlic, potatoes, raspberries, tangerines and taro – CARES Act funding for sales losses because USDA found these commodities had a 5 percent or greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, these commodities were only eligible for marketing adjustments.

Determining that peaches and rhubarb no longer qualify for payment under the CARES Act sales loss category.

Correcting payment rates for apples, artichokes, asparagus, blueberries, cantaloupes, cucumbers, garlic, kiwifruit, mushrooms, papaya, peaches, potatoes, raspberries, rhubarb, tangerines and taro.

Additional details can be found in the Federal Register in the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and Final Rule Correction and at www.farmers.gov/cfap.

Producers have several options for applying to the CFAP program:

Using an online portal, accessible at farmers.gov/cfap, allows producers with secure USDA login credentials—known as eAuthentication—to certify eligible commodities online, digitally sign applications and submit directly to the local USDA Service Center. New commodities will be available in the system on July 13, 2020.

Completing the application form using our CFAP Application Generator and Payment Calculator found at farmers.gov/cfap. This Excel workbook allows customers to input information specific to their operation to determine estimated payments and populate the application form, which can be printed, then signed and submitted to their local USDA Service Center. An updated version with the new commodities will be available on the website on July 13, 2020.

• Downloading the AD-3114 application form from farmers.gov/cfap and manually completing the form to submit to the local USDA Service Center by mail, electronically or by hand delivery to an office drop box. In some limited cases, the office may be open for in-person business by appointment. Visit farmers.gov/coronavirus/service-center-status to check the status of your local office.

USDA Service Centers can also work with producers to complete and securely transmit digitally signed applications through two commercially available tools: Box and OneSpan. Producers who are interested in digitally signing their applications should notify their local service centers when calling to discuss the CFAP application process. You can learn more about these solutions at farmers.gov/mydocs.

Getting Help from FSA

New customers seeking one-on-one support with the CFAP application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer general assistance. This is a recommended first step before a producer engages the team at the FSA county office at their local USDA Service Center.

All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap. For existing FSA customers, these documents are likely already on file.

All USDA Service Centers are open for business, including some that are open to visitors to conduct business in person by appointment only. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service or any other Service Center agency should call ahead and schedule an appointment. Service Centers that are open for appointments will pre-screen visitors based on health concerns or recent travel, and visitors must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Visitors may also be required to wear a face covering during their appointment. Field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. Our program delivery staff will be in the office, and they will be working with our producers in office, by phone and using online tools. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

California Ag Today2020-07-16T08:50:08-07:00July 14th, 2020|

Center For Land-Based Learning Receives $15,000 From CLA Foundation

Donation to support general operations for the Center for Land-Based Learning

The Center for Land-Based Learning was awarded a $15,000 grant by the CLA Foundation to support its general operations as the organization continues to settle into its new headquarters in Woodland, CA. The new headquarters is located on thirty acres of prime farmland with a 5,400 square-foot administration building, 2 barns and additional outbuildings, and 9 acres of riparian habitat on the banks of Cache Creek.

“Any organization that receives a CLA Foundation grant must be nominated for consideration by a CLA employee. It is great to see our CLA employees engaging in this way. Center for Land-Based Learning fits so well with the CLA Foundation mission, and we’re thrilled to be supporting this important work,” Reed Matthews, Managing Principal of the CLA Sacramento office.

The Center for Land-Based Learning has experienced significant growth and change in the year 2020. In May, the organization moved from their previous location of 19 years in Winters, CA to a state-of-the-art, newly constructed Statewide Headquarters and new farm infrastructure. The new headquarters will be crucial to the organization’s ability to expand its programs and serve more people.

“We are so grateful to the CLA Foundation for their generous support,” notes Mary Kimball, Executive Director for the Center for Land-Based Learning. “This is a pivotal time for agriculture and natural resource management. As we move forward in the next chapter of the Center’s history in our new headquarters, the need for general operating support will become even more imperative. This generous grant makes a big difference in our ability to provide our critically important programs.”

The Center for Land-Based Learning’s move to its new headquarters has been made possible by its very successful Growing our Future Capital Campaign. To date, the Campaign has raised over $5.5 million and recruited over 100 donors. The organization is thankful for all of its generous donors who have made the new headquarters a reality.

###

California Ag Today2020-07-14T08:53:37-07:00July 14th, 2020|