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CITRUS GROWERS FACE MORE RAIN AND COLD WEATHER

Citrus Damage Inspections to be Conducted this Week

California Citrus Mutual reported TODAY that citrus producers received a welcomed reprieve last night from freeze conditions after 3 consecutive nights of cold weather. A dense cloud cover elevated temperatures, steadying in most areas around the mid-30s. Although rain is much needed, tonight’s forecast calls for extremely cold temperatures, which may pose challenges for dampened fruit.

This Mandarin Orchard was braving freezing temps late Saturday night

with wind machines churning.

The extent of damage is difficult to determine immediately following a freeze event, as initial damage will occur inside the fruit. Growers are now also concerned that rainy conditions coupled with low overnight temperatures tonight will leave the fruit susceptible to exterior damage and ice mark.

County inspectors and packing house personnel will begin inspecting the fruit for damage as early as this coming week by cutting the fruit and visually inspecting each segment for discoloration and dryness. This breakdown occurs over the course of several days as temperatures rise and requires a trained eye to determine. If rain conditions persist, this process could take longer, making assessment of overall crop damage more difficult. Once inspections are complete, fruit that does not pass regulatory standards are restricted from entering the market.

“The entire program is designed to maintain the integrity of the market for California citrus,” says Citrus Mutual President Joel Nelsen. “The industry collectively funds the cost of enhanced inspections at packing houses to ensure any damaged fruit does not make its way into the market place.” Although the cost has a negative impact on grower returns, the industry collectively agrees that ensuring great quality is the priority.

California Citrus Mutual is a non-profit trade association of citrus growers, with approximately 2,200 members representing 70% California’s 285,000-acre, $2 billion citrus industry.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:31-07:00December 8th, 2013|

EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE FOR SCE AGRICULTURAL CUSTOMERS

EmergencyElectrical Inspections to Reconnect Wind Machines in Tulare County

Tulare County Farm Bureau has announced that growers who need to obtain an emergency inspection and permit to reconnect power to wind machines or other engines will have quicker access to getting power restored.

The issue was brought to the attention of Farm Bureau earlier this year that growers who rely on Southern California Edison for power to their wind machines may have to wait days on end for a hook up to be made if an engine loses power during a critical weather event or over a holiday period.

The Agricultural Advisory Committee directed county staff to look into the situation and model a solution after policies that are already in place with PG&E.

Growers will be able to contact the County’s new hotline at 877-770-2960 (for SCE outages only) on an as needed basis to request assistance. PG&E customers will continue calling a different hotline number at 800-743-5000.

County building inspectors will be on call to provide an emergency inspection when required and will be able to authorize a temporary permit to allow the utility to reconnect service. The minimum charge for an emergency inspection call will be $204 (3 hour minimum at $68.00 per hour), plus the cost of the permit and service restoration fees based on amps.

Growers will still need to contact the County Building Division of RMA and pay for the Electrical Building Permit within two business days of the reconnect and finalize the permit fees and paperwork. A similar process already exists for PG&E customers, and now SCE customers can expect a similar response for outages that impact agriculture.

Growers are reminded that building inspectors will volunteer for on call duty, and will require 30 minutes to approximately 2 hours for response time.

A grower should be prepared to leave a message on the new SCE County Hotline number with their name, phone number, and location of the problem. The inspector will call them back and arrange for an agreed upon meeting place to locate the equipment in need of repair. The grower will need to arrange to transport the inspector to the actual site if conditions are inclement. For more information, contact the RMA Building Division at 559-624-7000.

Tulare Farm Bureau wants to extend their thanks to the County and to Dennis Lehman for making this new response service possible.

Emergency Inspections:

Southern California Edison (SCE) 1-877-770-2960

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) 1-800-743-5000

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:31-07:00December 7th, 2013|

Dairy Rep Ballots Due Back by Dec. 20

Dairy Rep. Monitoring Program Ballots

According to the Modesto-based Western United Dairymen, the Central Valley Dairy Representative Monitoring Program (CVDRMP) is conducting its annual elections to fill open seats for its Board of Directors. All CVDRMP members in good standing will receive an official ballot and instructions by U.S. mail.

Materials were mailed to members on November 22.

Eligible voters must return the enclosed self-addressed, postage-paid ballot postcard as soon as possible. Voting is important, but quick and easy, and can be done in less than a minute. Ballots must be received by December 20, 2013.

Ballots received after December 20, 2013 will not be counted, regardless of postmark. One seat is available for election in each CVDRMP district and one seat is available at-large. Director terms are two years, beginning in January 2014.

For more information or questions, call 916-441-3318 or email dairycares@aol.com.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:31-07:00December 7th, 2013|

USDA SALMONELLA ACTION PLAN PRESENTS AGGRESSIVE STEPS FOR ILLNESS PREVENTION

Salmonella and the USDA Action Plan

By Laurie Greene, Associate Editor

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) released its Salmonella Action Plan midweek that outlines the steps it will take to address the most pressing problem it faces—Salmonella in meat and poultry products.

An estimated 1.3 million illnesses can be attributed to Salmonella every year and it is the leading cause of hospitalizations and deaths from foodborne disease. Because of the major public health role of Salmonella infections, the US Department of Health and Human Services has made decreasing the nationwide incidence of these infections by 25% a Healthy People 2020national goal.

CDC National Surveillance Data, updated 1/14/13

In 2011, in California alone, there were 20 Salmonella outbreaks, including the 7 multistate outbreaks in which CA had cases, according to CDC’s Foodborne Outbreak Online Database (FOOD).

Salmonella infections in California between 1998 and 2011 have remained between the range of 3000 and 5400.

Among the 2013 sources of Salmonella in the U.S. are chicken, poultry, tahini paste, cucumbers, and beef.

Note:Although outbreak data provide one of the only direct connections between food sources and infection, outbreak investigations are frequently unable to confirm the single contaminated food vehicle, limiting the ability to detect major changes over time.

“Far too many Americans are sickened by Salmonella every year. The aggressive and comprehensive steps detailed in the Salmonella Action Plan will protect consumers by making meat and poultry products safer,” said Under Secretary for Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen.

Modernizing the outdated poultry slaughter inspection system and focusing inspectors’ duties solely on food safety could prevent at least 5,000 illnesses prevented each year.

CDC FOOD Tool. Data for 2013, to date.

Enhancing Salmonella sampling and testing programs, factoring in the latest scientific information available and emerging trends in foodborne illness will also contribute to prevention.

FSIS will drive innovations, establish new performance standards, develop new strategies for inspection throughout the full farm-to-table continuum, address all potential sources of Salmonella, and focus on the Agency’s Salmonella education and outreach tools to lower Salmonella contamination rates.

Thanks to previous innovative technologies and tough USDA policies, Salmonellarates in young chickens have dropped over 75 percent since 2006.

Meanwhile, research on Salmonella continues. California scientists have been investigating Salmonella vaccines, links between Salmonella serotypes and specific foods, hypervirulent strains of Salmonella, prevalence of salmonella in a specific agricultural region in California, and, incredibly, re-engineering the bacteria’s structure to secrete spider silk proteins instead of proteins associated with infection.

Additional Sources:

Dana L. Pitts, MPH, Associate Director of Communications, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases/National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; MarlerBlog.com

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:32-07:00December 7th, 2013|

Fight for Water Film to Be Shown in Pacific Grove Dec. 11

Fight For Water Film in Pacific Grove

Dec. 11 8:30pm at Lighthouse Cinemas

The award winning, Fight for Water Film: A Farm Worker Struggle, will be shown Dec. 11 in Pacific Grove at the Lighthouse Cinemas, 525 Lighthouse Ave. Tickets can be bought at the door.

Filmmaker Juan Carlos Oseguera

The Fight For Water Film documents the struggle of two farmers, and thousands of farm workers on the Westside, Fresno County, in 2009 when there was only a 10 percent water allocation.

Filmmaker/Director Juan Carlos Oseguera focuses on the 50-mile historic water march in his film, the only film that documents this journey that brought more than 1,000 farmers and farm workers from all over the state.

The film also records the many food lines that became necessary in towns such as Firebaugh, Mendota, San Joaquin and Huron. Farmworkers, though humiliated, were forced to resort to these food lines due to the high unemployment that reached in excess of 40 percent as a consequence of the non-irrigated fields.

Ironically, though The Fight For Water Film documents this event in 2009 and 2010, nothing has changed. In fact, farmers in the Westside Federal Water Districts are currently facing what could be an even worse year in 2014. The Bureau of Reclamation has warned that if there is not significantly more than average rain and snowfall this winter, there could be an unprecedented zero allocation.

No water allocation may force many farmers out of business and cause massive unemployment in the Westside communities already suffering from severely reduced water allocations. This season, farmers received only 20 percent of what they needed and paid for.

Oseguera said, “I have found that Californians outside of the Central Valley, and Americans out of state, are unaware of the plight of farmers and farmworkers here. So, we need to expand distribution of the film to educate everybody.”

“There is growing interest from film distributors to advance the film to wider audiences,” said Oseguera. “A good way to tell the distributors that the film needs to be seen by others outside of California is to like the Fight For Water Facebook page,” he noted.

https://www.facebook.com/thefightforwaterfilm

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:32-07:00December 7th, 2013|

More Funding Available for Ag

Valley Air District hosts Compliance Workshops for Truck Rule

The Valley Air District has made an additional $10 million available and broadened its eligibility criteria for the Valley’s 15,000+ single-truck owner/operators and small fleets to receive funding that reduces nitrogen oxides emissions, a major source of the air basin’s pollution. This much-needed funding can provide truckers with assistance that further reduces emissions beyond mere rule compliance.

A workshop will be held to assist owners/operators and small fleet owners with the changes in the rule and access the funding for replacement purchases.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Fresno Valley Air District Office

1990 E. Gettysburg Ave.

Fresno, CA 93726

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Video Conference of this workshop will also be available at:

SJVAPCD Office

34946 Flyover Court

Bakersfield, CA

SJVAPCD Office

4800 Enterprise Way

Modesto, CA

For more information visit: www.valleyair.org/trucks

1-855-99GRANT (994-7268

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:32-07:00December 7th, 2013|

California Citrus Mutual Reports Possible Freeze Damage

Citrus Freeze Damage Expected,

But Too Soon to Confirm

A second night of cold temperatures is expected to leave behind some damage to the Valley’s citrus crop. Although the extent of damage cannot be known for certain at this time, the industry along with county and state regulators will begin assessments as early as next week.

In the majority of the Valley’s citrus producing areas temperatures dropped to critical levels as early as 5:00 p.m. last night for mandarins and 8:00 p.m. for navels and lemons. However, a strong inversion layer and breezy conditions helped keep temperatures manageable with frost protection measures. On average, temperatures steadied around 27 degrees. The navel crop will likely see some damage, but the high sugar content of the fruit at this point of the season should provide extra internal fruit protection and keep damage levels minimal.

The Valley’s lemon crop, too, should see very minimal damage. Lemon producing areas along the coast have not been affected by cold weather so far this season.

The mandarin crop is another story. The less cold tolerant variety will see more damage, but again the extent of which cannot be determined at this time. Some isolated areas experienced temperatures in the low 20s in which cases a greater degree of damage is expected. The most damage will surface in border rows, where the fruit has a greater exposure to cold temperatures and is less protected by frost protection measures.

Overall, field reports are bullish that the crop will escape this cold spell without critical damage. The industry does not anticipate that the level of damage will have any dramatic impacts to supply or price. The primary concern at this point is to ensure that only high quality fruit makes its way to the consumer.

At this point of the season, 80% of the mandarin crop and 75% of the navel crop remain to be harvested. California Citrus Mutual estimates the total cost of frost protection across the industry at $12.4 million over the course of two nights.

This cold weather front is expected to stay in the valley through the weekend. A forecast of rain may also pose a challenge if temperatures stay below freezing. The compound effect of multiple nights below subfreezing temperatures will certainly weaken the fruit, but the industry will continue running water and wind machines to minimize damage to the extent possible.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:32-07:00December 6th, 2013|

LUNA—ANOTHER RELIABLE FUNGICIDE TOOL

Luna Fungicide Offers Great In-Season Protection with Post-Season Secondary Benefits

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Three different formulations of Luna Products are benefiting growers while offering a good rotation product for resistance management and even extending shelf life of cherries and apple.

With Luna Experience, Luna Sensation and Luna Tranquility, growers now have a systemic solution proven to control a wide range of horticultural diseases. Effective on almond, apple, cherry, pistachio, potato, tree nuts, watermelon and wine grape crops, Luna provides unprecedented control of some of the most problematic fungal diseases to help growers deliver the best possible fruits, nuts and vegetables.

“Luna is an outstanding fungicide for protecting fruit, nut crops, and vegetables from a wide range of fungal disease such brown rot, grey mold, Alternaria, and powdery mildew, shothole on almonds,” said Jim Adaskaveg, UC Riverside Professor and Pathologist.

Luna Tranquility with active ingredients Fluopyram and Pyrimethanil is in FRAC Group 7 and 9. It is registered on apples, potatoes and winegrapes.

Luna Experience with active ingredients Fluopyram and Tebuconazole is in FRAC Group 7 and 3. It is registered on almonds, pecans, pistachios, as well as other tree nuts, watermelon, and winegrapes.

Luna Sensation with active ingredients Fluopyram and Trifloxystrobin is in FRAC Group 7 and 11. It is registered on almonds, apples, cherries, watermelon and treenuts.

The active ingredient Fluopyram, which is in all the Luna formulations, is new pyramide chemistry. Fluopyram has been found to bind more tightly to the target site than other SDHI materials. The distinctly different structure and flexibility of the Luna active ingredient allows it to remain effective where other SDHI products are failing due to resistance.

“The Luna formulations are premixed with active ingredients in different FRAC groups and have been shown to be excellent in protecting various specialty crops from diseases, while providing much needed resistance management. In fact, Luna provides the broadest options for preventing and managing resistance,” said Adaskaveg.

Key Diseases include:

· Powdery Mildew

· Alternaria

· Scab

· Botrytis

· Botryosphaeria

· Bunch Rot

· Gummy Stem Blight

· Monilinia

· Shothole

· White Mold

Rob Schrick, Horticulture Business Lead for Bayer Crop Science, commented, “Every once in a while we come out with a blockbuster, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide, or biological. But we come across applications outside the original intent of the product, and Luna fungicide is one of those products.”

Luna is currently registered on seven crops throughout the U.S. including apples, cherries, tree nuts, wine grapes, potatoes and watermelons. “It’s used as a traditional regiment fungicide application. But we are seeing, as growers use this product in their current practices, that that the harvested crops exhibit high quality and extended shelf life in cherries and apples,” Schrick noted.

“In cherries, we see a dramatic difference in quality due to an in-season application of Luna,” explained Shrick. “What we are seeing in cherries, as well as apples, is up to two or three weeks of extended shelf, but the quality characteristics are also extended.”

“Our focus is the grower,” Shrick said, “and what we are trying to understand is what the value of this quality component is to the grower.”

“We are looking to expand this registration to many different crops,” Shrick commented, “which should be completed in 2015 and ready for growers for the 2016 season.”

“Science is not completely settled on this, but we believe that the postharvest benefit comes from superior control of various in-season diseases and reductions of inoculum from earlier in the season,” said Mark McAuley, Product Manager for horticultural fungicides.

“Sometimes we do not see the effect of the fungi until after harvest, but the stage is set much earlier in the year when the pathogens are on the fruit and, in some cases, even embedded into the skin of the fruit,” McAuley said. “Once in the outer skin of the fruit, they lay dormant until harvest or postharvest when conditions are more favorable for the fungi to grow. The length of fungi control postharvest is unique with Luna compared with other fungicides,” he said.

McAuley noted that testing on other pending registered fruits and vegetables is showing similar postharvest benefits.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:32-07:00December 6th, 2013|

ANGUS EPISODE BROADCAST TONIGHT, DEC. 5TH

‘I Am Angus’ Explores Roots of Business

The program airs at 10 p.m. EST TONIGHT. Check local listings for more information.

Produced entirely by the American Angus Association^®,the upcoming I Am Angus^® episode explores the roots of the Angus business — and reminds us where we come from.

“This I Am Angus takes us back to the generations who built the platform the agriculture industry stands on today,” says Eric Grant, Association public relations and communications director. “Each segment has a different perspective, from transportation to health to genetics, on how the industry we work for has changed.”

While the program does not feature any California operations, the California rancher community may find it worthwhile.

You are invited to watch a preview of the episode.

The episode is sponsored by the GeneSeekAngus GGP-HD, helping Angus producers accelerate genetic progress and reduce risk in genetic investment.

And, save the date for the next I Am Angus episode Dec. 26, as the Association introduces families involved in the business of raising Angus cattle.

To watch segments from past shows, visit the Association’s website or YouTube channel.

The American Angus Association is the nation’s largest beef breed organization, serving more than 25,000 members across the United States, Canada and several other countries. It’s home to an extensive breed registry that grows by nearly 300,000 animals each year.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:32-07:00December 5th, 2013|

POLICY UPDATE ON FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT

CAFF Update on FSMA

TODAY, Dave Runsten, Policy Director, Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), a non-profit organization that advocates for California’s family farmers and sustainable agriculture, posted the following FSMA Policy Update:

The comment period on FDA’s proposed rules for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is now closed. Almost 20,000 comments were submitted to FDA. Most agricultural organizations joined in calling for another draft rule and further comments, given how much disagreement there was with some of FDA’s proposals. We will now wait and see if the FDA takes this good advice.

Here in California, we continue to work on a series of legislative bills that limit the food safety requirements for small producers and in many cases, allow them to self-certify and avoid inspections and audits.

This effort began with the cottage food bill in 2012, and continued with the CSA bill in 2013. Additionally, it will be taken up in several bills in 2014, including those on reforming farmers’ markets, allowing small-scale sales of raw milk, and setting rules for urban gardens.

Our goal is to create sensible and low-cost food safety best practices for producers not subject to the federal rules, allowing beginning farmers and direct marketing to continue to flourish in California.

We also continue to offer free assistance to farmers on food safety.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:42:32-07:00December 5th, 2013|