Aemetis Building Major Plant To Handle Biomass

Synthesis Gas Plants Better Than Biomass Electrical Plants

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

Biomass electrical plants are shutting down in California. Eric McAfee, Executive Chairman, CEO, President and Co-founder of Aemetis Inc., is a company using biomass technology to create ethanol. Due to government incentives, some forms of energy are less expensive to operate.

Aemetis is constructing a 45 million-L-per-year cellulosic ethanol facility outside Modesto. 

“The problem we have is that the biomass to energy business makes electricity, and that electricity is being replaced by solar energy and wind energy, which is funded by a 30% federal tax credit,” McAfee said.

The Biomass energy producers have a hard time competing with the reduced prices because the government has support.

Biomass electrical plants have closed, and more will follow.

“About 60% of the plants in California already shut down, and it’s estimated that over 70% are going to be shut down by the end of this year,” McAfee said.

Orchard and forest waste is very valuable.

“Biomass in the form of orchard waste, vineyard waste, even forest waste has a very valuable opportunity to become the fuels that can go directly into California,” McAfee explained.

What we have been lacking is turning biomass into fuel for automobiles rather than biomass into electricity.

Biomass can be synthesized into fuel. McAfee and his team were able to make the molecules in orchard wood and put them into a synthesis gas. They then put those molecules back together and fed them to a microbe that, in turn, produced ethanol.

“We are taking orchard woods, and we are producing liquid fuels that are very valuable in California because they are high in oxygen, so they burn more cleanly than gasoline, and they’re high octane, so they make the engine perform,” McAfee said.

2021-05-12T11:05:06-07:00February 4th, 2019|

OSHA 300A Log Posting Due Feb. 1

OSHA Log Summary Must Be Posted in Common Areas

News Release from Western Growers Association

OSHA’s Form 300A logs with work-related injuries and illnesses occurring in the prior calendar year must be posted. All eligible employers are required to maintain and post an annual OSHA 300A summary sheet from February 1 to April 30.

February 1 marks the deadline for you to tabulate your annual OSHA Log Summary (OSHA Form 300A) and post it in a common area wherever notices to employees are usually posted. The summary must list the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred during the previous calendar year and were logged on the OSHA 300 Form. The summary should remain posted until April 30. Instructions on how to complete both the log and annual summaries of work-related injuries and illnesses can be downloaded for free from Cal/OSHA’s Record Keeping Overview. The definitions and requirements for recordable work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses are outlined in the California Code of Regulations, Title 8, sections 14300 through 14300.48. Employers are required to complete and post Form 300A even if no workplace injuries occurred.

Employers with 10 or less employees or who work in low-hazard industries are not required to post their summary. Additional details regarding eligibility for the exemption can be found on the OSHA Injury Tracking Application webpage.

Electronic Reporting Requirement

Additionally, many employers are required to also submit their OSHA 300A information electronically. The classes of business who must comply with the electronic reporting process include:

  1. Any business with at least 250 employees.
  2. Any business with 20 to 249 employees who falls into one of several classifications including agriculture. (A complete list of the affected classifications can be found here.)

Affected employers are advised to submit their 2018 OSHA 300A data through the Fed-OSHA portal by the March 2 deadline. Updates regarding the 300A reporting requirements can be found here.

For instructions regarding the electronic filing process, please see federal OSHA’s ITA website.

2019-02-01T16:55:33-08:00February 1st, 2019|

Surface Water is the Key to SJV Farming Future

Water Projects Were Built to Deliver Surface Water to Farmers

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Water is always a concern while farming on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Daniel Hartwig is the resource manager of Huron-based Woolf Farming and Processing. The company is a multi-generation and multi-crop farming business. Hartwig explains how monitoring and being proactive helps them stay ahead of some of the water issues.

“Like everybody, we’re concerned that there’s not going to be enough water to do everything we’re currently doing,” Hartwig said. “I think we’re just waiting to see and trying to be proactive and get ahead of a lot of these water issues, but at the same time, we’re monitoring it and hopeful that there will be more surface water to make up for what we might be stopped from pumping.”

Not having surface water is a big problem on the west side.

“The entire reason the California Aqueduct and other canals were built was to have surface water to mitigate against the issues they had back in the twenties, thirties, and forties. Back before there was surface water available,” Hartwig explained.water

Hartwig said he thinks that President Trump’s memorandum could be helpful.

“Anything that’s going to help give us water and allow it to be more reliable is very helpful. However, the issue is timing and … anything that’s going to take more time is more water loss, and that creates a struggle for all of us,” he explained.

“Regarding pump drilling, there are always discussions going on, but I don’t think we’re at the point yet where we can make any of those decisions just because we don’t know for sure what’s … going to come down the pipeline,” Hartwig said. “We’re evaluating, and we’re monitoring, and trying to be involved in these groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) discussions.”

Again, having surface water is the key to the future, noted Hartwig.

“The lack of surface water is a huge problem. I mean, we would not have to pump as much groundwater if we were able to get as much water as we are supposed to be receiving from the state and federal water projects,” Hartwig said.

2019-01-31T15:08:30-08:00January 31st, 2019|

Arnold Torres: Latinos Not Respected By Latino Legislators

All Latinos Do Not Think Alike

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

The politics of the Hispanic farm employees in California is interesting. Many think there is a gulf between farmers and their Hispanic employees. Not so, said Arnold Torres, a journalist, consultant, and partner in the Sacramento-based public policy consulting firm Torres and Torres.

“I do not think there is a gulf between the farm employee in the valley and the owners of the farms. But I do think there is a big gulf between the Hispanic worker employees and the state legislature,” Torres said.

“You would think in the mind of the Latino Legislator, they believe that they are everything that these foreign workers need. That’s the fallacy because the Latino urban member of the legislature deals with the farm worker as a stereotype,” Torres explained. “They don’t sit there and have a conversation with them, and when they do, if any farm worker does not satisfy the image of a Cesar Chavez farm worker profile, then that worker is a sellout. That worker is on the grower side.”

This is all part of the fallacy of Latino solidarity.

“That’s where I have to agree with the attitude and the disposition of certain Latinos in the valley. However, the problem is what other Latinos in the Central Valley are doing to consistently challenge that disconnect,” Torres said.

“Every Latino is not monolithic. We don’t all think alike. So how does the grower and the farm worker community properly, effectively portray themselves to a population of elected representatives who happen to be Latino or happen to be white liberal or African American liberal or Asian liberal and say: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we are not supporters of the union argument just because we’re farm workers?’ ” Torres said.

2019-01-25T23:26:48-08:00January 25th, 2019|

Sustainability is Focus of Solutions from the Land

Solutions From the Land Focuses on Sustainability

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

Many California farmers are working toward a more sustainable future, according to Ernie Shea, president of Solutions From the Land.

“We are a North American climate-smart agriculture alliance that has come together with others,” Shea said.

Solutions from the Land, which has partnered with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is the continental platform for farm and conservation groups that are looking at ways these landscapes can deliver solutions.

Solutions from the Land has been getting a lot of support from California.

“We’ve had the right enabling policy, and you’ve got a lot of that in California,” Shea said.

There have also been significant investments in technology and infrastructure that have allowed systems to deploy at scale. Solutions from the Land is producing wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, biofuels, or types of sustainable, domestically-produced energy sources.

“When we started, we were at about five percent renewables. Today, we’re in the twelve percent range. Twenty-five percent by 2025 is the new target that we established,” Shea explained.

Ernie Shea

“We have to be able to produce food and fiber with less water and with erratic conditions. There is a lot of conversation about how to adapt to these realities when you are right in the epicenter of drought, fire, and floods,” he said.

“Everything has become less predictable. Solutions From the Land is sponsoring state-level conversations around how to become more sustainable, resilient, and how to participate in the low carbon economy, biofuels, and renewable energy,” Shea added.

Carbon sequestration is one of the more exciting new areas of opportunity that are coming for agriculture. The focus is on farmers and what they care about.

“They care about resiliency, profitability, sustainability. An example of one of the pathways that we work on: initiatives like soil health programming,” Shea said.

This helps farmers realize that by improving the health of their soil and the organic content, the crops are doing a better job of soaking up whatever water does fall.

“They’re reducing the need to provide some inputs. They’re sequestering greenhouse gases. They’re delivering global solutions,” Shea explained.

2021-05-12T11:05:06-07:00January 24th, 2019|

William Bourdeau Speaks Out About SGMA

William Bourdeau: Surface Water Must Be Tied to SGMA

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

William Bourdeau is Vice President of Harris Farms, a Director of Westlands Water District, and Chairman of the Board of the California Water Alliance. Bourdeau recently talked to California Ag Today about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which will force growers in 2040 to keep the water levels in their wells in balance and not allow over-drafting.

William Bourdeau

“It’s mostly about living and growing up in the community and hearing about what the people did when I was still young,” Bourdeau said. “I understand that we were over-drafting the aquifer in the early days of agriculture on the west side of the valley and some very innovative, pioneering individuals figured out how to solve the problem. They built the Central Valley Project and delivered surface water. And if you look at the statistics, the problem was nearly solved. It’s only started to become a problem when the surface water deliveries have been cut off as a result of the biological opinions.”

“I can’t understand why that we can’t solve this problem. And I do think surface deliveries need to be tied into SGMA,” he said.

Bourdeau said he believes that the problem can be solved and not be detrimental to the environment.

“But any solution must consider humans and our needs … surface deliveries need to be incorporated into the plan,” Bourdeau added. “We need to use sound science, and it needs to be peer-reviewed.

“We need to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to preserve a domestic food supply capability. I think it’s in our national interest. … It’s a national security issue,” he said.

Bourdeau believes that we need to get away from looking at these very narrow issues and look at the big picture.

“We must find a way to do what’s best, and not all the decisions are going to be desirable, but I do think we can. We can make decisions that solve the problem and don’t take this wonderful resource out of production.

As a director for Westlands Water District, Bourdeau said no stones will be unturned for compliance to SGMA.

“We’re doing everything we can to try to make sure that we manage this situation to the best of our ability and our growers are represented in a way that they will succeed in the long term,” he said.

2019-01-22T16:43:33-08:00January 22nd, 2019|

Greensmith APN Expanding Services

Greensmith APN Ensures the Best of Both Worlds for Biological Control

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

Integrated Pest and Crop Management, otherwise known as IPM, is a critical component of all forms of crop production. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of IPM is the practice of biological control, which includes the control of any pests or invasive plants by using other organisms to monitor their populations.

Lee Tecklenburg of Greensmith APN (Advanced Plant Nutrition), works with both conventional and organic operations in order to help maximize biological control.

Greensmith APN is currently working to put together and market products that work simultaneously with biocontrols on the nutrient side of things.

“We’re trying to create a situation where the plants can thrive and become more tolerant and more resistant,” Tecklenburg explained.

This includes integrating all parts of production, whether it be organic or conventional, in order to tie the entire system together.

“It’s all-encompassing. If you can register something organically today, a conventional grower can use it as well, and it’s not the reverse,” Tecklenburg added. “This approach ensures that everyone is able to benefit from the program Greensmith APN is creating.”

2021-05-12T11:01:50-07:00January 21st, 2019|

Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Fights Back

New Strain Creates Challenges

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

A new strain of the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus has created a challenge among vegetable growers, making integrated pest management, or IPM, increasingly critical. Bob Gilbertson, plant pathologist at UC Davis, has insight and advice as to how farmers should tackle this new strain.

“The first thing is to know what’s out in your field. And there’s a good diagnostic test for curly top, spotted wilt, alfalfa mosaic, and other viruses,” Gilbertson said.

Bob Gilbertson

After the virus is confirmed, he encourages growers to explore their options of treatment. Prior to the new spotted wilt virus strain, growers could turn to the SW-5 resistance gene to cure their field. Unfortunately, Gilbertson explained, the new strain actually breaks that resistance, which is where IPM becomes even more important.

In the future, Gilbertson hopes to find additional resistance genes to break the new strain. Until that time comes, he wants to use good IPM to manage it.

Gilbertson further added, “Increased sanitation, removing overwintering hosts, weeds, and bridge crops like lettuce, and then timing the applications of thrips management better, to slow down the appearance of adult thrips that carry the virus,” are all examples of good IPM.

2021-05-12T11:01:50-07:00January 18th, 2019|

Crop Insurance Helps Manage Risk

Importance of Crop Insurance

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

Crop insurance is an important risk management tool for California farmers. California Ag Today recently spoke with Mickey Paggi about the topic. He’s an agriculture policy analyst for National Crop Insurance Services, a nonprofit trade association based in Kansas.

There are certain deadlines for getting enrolled in the programs.

“The force of the crop insurance agents that are on the ground in the areas where these crops are grown is really valuable, and they can work individually with the producer to make them aware of what they have to do when they have to do it,” Paggi said.

These agents work with the farmers and available programs to find the best fit for their operation. They cover northern, central, and southern California.

Paggi said that a good place to start if you’re looking for more information about crop insurance is the USDA Risk Management Agency. The RMA looks to increase the availability and effectiveness of federal crop insurance, which is to be used as a risk management tool.

“RMA’s vision is to secure the future of agriculture by providing world-class management tools to rural America. This website can be found at rma.udsa.gov,” he said.

“I would start … with the USDA RMA website because it actually has a link to the individual commodity coverage, and within those fact sheets, they actually have a listing of crop insurance agents within your commodity,” Paggi explained.

2019-01-17T16:09:21-08:00January 17th, 2019|

California FSA Offices Reopen for Farm Loan Program Service

Offices Will Open Temporarily for Farm Loan Program

Message from USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Aubrey J. D. Bettencourt:

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that many Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will reopen temporarily in the coming days to perform certain limited services for farmers and ranchers. [CLICK HERE to read official press release.] The following California FSA Offices will be open for Farm Loan Program Service only January 17th, 18th, and 22nd from 8am-4:30pm.

California Bakersfield Service Center 5080 California Ave, Suite 150, Bakersfield, CA (661) 336-0967
California Merced Service Center 2926 G Street, Suite 103, Merced, CA 95342 (209) 722-4119
California Modesto Service Center 3800 Cornucopia Way STE E, Modesto, CA (209) 491-9320
California Redding Service Center 3644 Avtech Pkwy, Redding, CA 96002 (530) 226-2568
California Salinas Service Center 744 La Guardia St Bldg A, Salinas, CA 93907 (831) 424-1036
California Santa Maria Service Center 920 E Stowell Rd, Santa Maria, CA 93455 (805) 928-9269
California Stockton Service Center 7585 S. Longe Street, Stockton, CA 95209 (209) 337-2124
California Ukiah Service Center 1252 Airport Park Blvd STE B1, Ukiah, CA 95483 (707) 468-9223
California Willows Service Center 132 N Enright Ave, Willows, CA 95988 (530) 934-4601
California Yreka Service Center 215 Executive CT STE A, Yreka, CA 96099 (530) 842-6123
California Yuba City Service Center 1521 Butte House Rd STE B, Yuba, City, CA 95994 (530) 671-0850

 

Farm Loan Program services available include Processing Payments made on or before Dec. 31, 2018, Continuing Expiring Financing Statements, and Responding to General Loan Inquires. Producers are encouraged to call their nearest FSA Farm Loan Program Service Center listed above with any questions.

Farm Program services, such as MFP, will not be administered at this time. However, due to the extension previously granted on MFP, I’d encourage your producers to email their applications to their FSA county directors, whose contact can be found here. MFP applications will be processed as soon as normal operations resume upon conclusion of the shutdown. Producers who already applied for MFP and certified their 2018 production by December 28, 2018 should have already received their payments.

In California, USDA County Service Centers NRCS offices are open daily.  Any NRCS inquires or business, producers can call or visit their county NRCS service center.

Please let me know if you or your members require any further information or clarification. I’m here to help however I can.

Aubrey.Bettencourt@CA.USDA.GOV    (O) 530.792.5540    (C) 530.219.8634

2019-01-16T16:33:16-08:00January 16th, 2019|

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