Walnut Freeze Update

Growers Urged to Keep Soil Moist to Lessen Freeze Damage

By Rachel Elkins, Pomology Farm Advisor in Lake and Mendocino Counties and Master Gardener Advisor in Lake County – Emeritus

It is mid-October and in addition to harvest starting it is time to consider potential cold weather. It is still dry and though rain is expected (In Northern California) over the next 10-14 days it is anticipated to be under 1” (I hope I am wrong!). As detailed in my June newsletter (https://ucanr.edu/sites/uclakecounty/files/359649.pdf), dry conditions render walnut trees vulnerable to freeze damage, as can be seen throughout the county. Irrigated trees fare much better than dry trees, although fruitwood and buds are certainly damaged, as reflected in subsequent low cropping.

In June I suggested growers consider applying enough water to moisten the upper 1-2 feet of soil after terminal bud set in order to fill soil pores to supply warmth and reduce chances of freeze damage, and this is echoed by colleagues throughout the state. With harvest moving into full swing timing will of course depend on 1) harvest logistics, and 2) rainfall amounts over the next month. Many older orchards lack sufficient crop to harvest and growers must decide how much to invest in trees that failed to recover after the 2020 freeze.

Statewide UC walnut advisors have combined to offer resources to address fall (winter) freeze issues. We have listed the following resources prominently on the front page of our website (http://celake.ucanr.edu/):

1)      2020 WALNUT FREEZE DAMAGE SURVEY (https://ucanr.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8q4drAbdgNJ4Nls). You are invited to participate in this survey provided by University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) regarding freeze damage in walnuts. The survey will help us gain greater understanding of freeze damage in walnuts. “Freeze damage” is defined as damage observed in spring yet incurred during the previous fall from cold temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Participation in this survey is voluntary and individual answers will be kept confidential. The survey should require two minutes or less to complete. Address questions or comments to main author Kari Arnold, Orchard and Vineyard Systems Advisor for Stanislaus County (klarnold@ucanr.edu 209-525-6821) or to me via the contact information below.

2)      NEWSLETTER ARTICLES written by Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley advisors, as well as my June 2021 newsletter. Links to these can be found on our website (see above).

3)      UC WALNUT FREEZE WEBINAR to be held NOVEMBER 4, 2021, 4:00 – 5:30 PM.  A panel of UC experts and walnut growers will discuss best practices for freeze mitigation and recovery. Event details and registration will be posted at sacvalleyorchards.com/events as well as on the Lake County website. Meeting information will also be emailed out to electronic walnut newsletter recipients. PLEASE COMPLETE THE FREEZE SURVEY IN ORDER TO ENHANCE OUR WEBINAR!

2021-10-20T13:24:49-07:00October 20th, 2021|

Reinventing the Drone

Drones for Spraying Are Evolving

By Tim Hammerich with the Ag Information Network

When Precision AI set out to start a drone spraying company, they knew they’d need to develop the software, but thought the hardware would be available off the shelf.

McCann… “When we started this process, it was sorta like, well, there’s gotta be drones out there that can do this. And we found out very quickly that to be able to do everything we needed to do there really wasn’t. And so we actually ended up having to build our own drone,” said Precision AI CEO Daniel McCann.

McCann… “Subsequent to that, another company came out with a drone that was powerful enough to do what we want to do. And we’re like, hallelujah, we don’t have to be a drone manufacturer. And so we switched to their platform and sort of hot-rodded that that platform, and then found a whole pile of other problems. And so we’ve kind of come full circle again. We’ve come back to designing our own drone for this particular application.”

As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, McCann and his team also needed to design a new camera to get to the resolution they needed.

McCann… “In order to be able to properly differentiate between plants, you need to see like some millimeter resolution and none of these drone platforms can do that. They’re all meant to fly 400 feet up in the air and get these wide, broad brush views of your field. Not enough to differentiate between plant species. And just lowering them doesn’t really work. The number of inventions we had to string together to try to achieve this vision was actually, you know, if I want to do it all over again, with the eyes that I have now, it was a bit crazy.”

McCann thinks the hard work will pay off resulting in the most effective drone sprayer on the market.

2021-10-19T17:23:35-07:00October 19th, 2021|

Almond Farmers Honored for Pollinator Protection

North American Pollinator Protection Campaign Honors Almond Farmers of California

Special award given only when a group does exceptional work protecting pollinators

 

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) on Tuesday presented its Business for Bees Sustainability Award – an honor reserved for standout organizations that go above and beyond to support pollinators – to the Almond Board of California (ABC) and the state’s almond farmers.

“This is about their long-term dedication to supporting all pollinators in their orchards and throughout our ecosystem,” said Kelly Rourke, executive director of Pollinator Partnership, which founded NAPPC 21 years ago. “We’ve worked with them for many years and this is well-deserved recognition of their steadfast commitment to engaging farmers in pollinator conservation on multiple levels. The Almond Board and the entire almond industry have really moved the needle to raise awareness and generate action to protect pollinators.”

NAPPC has only given out its Business for Bees Sustainability Award once before. It is given in years when there is a business taking extra special steps to protect bees and all pollinators and to advance sustainability and innovation.

“ABC’s name is on this award, but it really goes to the 7,600 almond farmers in California,” said Josette Lewis, ABC’s chief scientific officer. “Farmers understand how important pollinators are to growing almonds and to all of agriculture and the environment. They want to be part of the solution.”

The reasons for the award, Rourke said, include ABC’s leadership in founding the California Pollinator Coalition, its work promoting on-farm pollinator habitat and its support of years of research and education about the best practices for providing hospitable environments for pollinators in almond orchards and in other habitats.

ABC worked with Pollinator Partnership and the California Department of Food and Agriculture last spring to create the California Pollinator Coalition (CPC) which brought together a broad array of grower organizations across the state’s ag and environmental landscape to help promote the health of wild and managed pollinators.

“The formation of the California Pollinator Coalition was such a big step,” said Laurie Davies Adams, Pollinator Partnership’s Director of Programs, who helped found the CPC. “This is a unique statewide coalition that brings together every grower, farmer and rancher group. I don’t think that’s ever happened before. It’s going to make a real difference on the ground.”

NAPPC is a collaboration of diverse partners from the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It includes respected scientists, researchers, business people, conservationists and government officials.

NAPPC works to promote awareness and scientific understanding of pollinators, to find common ground for solutions and to create innovative initiatives that benefit pollinators.

NAPPC is administered and supported by Pollinator Partnership, a non-profit headquartered in San Francisco with a mission to promote the health of pollinators through education, conservation and research.

The award was announced during NAPPC’s 21st Annual International Conference, held virtually this year for the second time and hosted by the Pollinator Partnership and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The conference and award ceremony were planned for the Smithsonian before being forced to remain virtual because of COVID-19.

Rourke and Adams said they would have liked to have given the honor in person to show how much they appreciate ABC’s work.

“The strong effort that the Almond Board of California has mounted with the support of the almond industry to engage farmers and the entire agricultural community far beyond almond orchards is really impressive,” Adams said. “Bringing every grower group together to have an agriculturally-led coalition for pollinators is significant. It will provide building blocks for even more engagement and large results. It’s a pioneering effort that other states are seeking to emulate.”

“This is an outstanding honor for our farmers,” Lewis said, “especially considering all the good work that NAPPC and the Pollinator Partnership do. As much as anyone, almond farmers are tuned in to the importance of pollinators to their crops and our ecosystem. That’s why they work so hard to make their orchards healthy places for pollinators.”

Almond farmers across California’s Central Valley sit in what is essentially a flyway for pollinators. In recent years, almond farmers have applied to certify more than 110,000 acres of Bee Friendly Farming®, providing pollinator habitat and integrated pest management across the valley to keep that flyway healthy and create badly needed floral resources that compliment and expand beyond the annual almond bloom.

“Almond farmers have doubled the number of acres of bee friendly habit in California and in that pollinator flyway,” Lewis said. “We’re proud to help lead a broad coalition of agriculture and conservation groups to work together to promote and preserve habitat for pollinators.”

 

2021-10-19T14:59:00-07:00October 19th, 2021|

New Evidence Supports Walnuts and Heart Health

Latest Research Shows Walnuts May Lower Cholesterol and Increase Longevity

 

The research on the role of diet and heart health continues to evolve, and while heart disease is still the leading cause of death in the U.S.,1 there are steps that people can take to improve their overall health and well-being. In a new, first-of-its-kind study to explore the effects of a walnut-enriched diet on overall cholesterol in elderly individuals, researchers found an association between regular daily walnut consumption and sustained lower levels of cholesterol including a 15 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease.2,^ This study was conducted over two years and involved over 700 participants between the ages of 63 and 79 who were healthy, independent-living adults residing in Barcelona, Spain, and Loma Linda, California.

Researchers went beyond LDL cholesterol and looked at all types of lipoproteins. One ½ cup serving of walnuts a day made a positive effect on lipoproteins, including a reduction in the number of total LDL particles by 4.3% and small LDL particles by 6.1% as well as a decrease in Intermediate Density Lipoprotein (IDL) cholesterol (16.9%). Additional findings reinforce the notion that regular walnut consumption may be a useful part of a heart-healthy eating pattern – participants that completed the study ate ½ cup of walnuts every day and did not gain weight. It is important to note, study participants had the option to eat a variety of other foods in addition to walnuts. Further investigation is needed in more diverse and disadvantaged populations. Read more about California walnuts and heart health.

Additionally, new research3,^ from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and published in Nutrients found that participants who reported eating five or more servings of walnuts per week had a 14% lower risk of death (from any cause), 25% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases, and a gain of about 1.3 years of life expectancy compared to participants who reported no walnut consumption. Study participants included over 67,000 women of the Nurses’ Health Study (1998–2018) and some 26,000 men of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1998–2018). Both groups were on average around 63 years old and free of cancer, heart disease, and stroke at baseline. Participants self-reported nut intake via food frequency questionnaires (FFQs), which were completed every four years. As a prospective observational study, these results do not prove cause and effect, but they do shed light on how walnuts may support an overall healthy lifestyle that promotes longevity. Learn more.

 

2021-10-19T14:18:08-07:00October 19th, 2021|

Cover Cropping Help Available

Cover Cropping Season Has begun: Free Recorded Webinars, Demos Available

 

By Mike Hsu, Senior Public Information Representative at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Cover crops, typically planted in early fall, deliver a host of agricultural and conservation benefits. But many growers have gone away from planting them due to technical challenges and extra costs associated with the practice. In partnership with the Contra Costa County Resource Conservation District, two University of California Cooperative Extension advisors collaborated to support farmers’ cover cropping efforts and reduce costs.

Kamyar Aram, UCCE specialty crops advisor for Contra Costa and Alameda counties, and Rob Bennaton, UCCE Bay Area urban agriculture and food systems advisor, developed online project content for a free educational series on cover cropping, which entails growing non-cash crops to add beneficial biomass to soils.

The series – comprising 10 webinars and five virtual farm-site visits – features UC farm and urban agriculture advisors and some of California’s foremost experts on cover cropping. It helps growers overcome their hesitations about the practice, which provides benefits such as alleviating compaction, improving water retention and increasing organic matter and nutrients in the soil.

“Our site visit videos include a diversity of cropping systems, operation types and scales, and levels of experience with cover crops, so we really capture a variety of perspectives,” Aram said. “Now, with the videos online, I hope that they will serve as tools for other farm educators, as well as a resource for growers directly.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic scrapped plans for in-person workshops and visits, the series organizers pivoted to online webinars, starting in fall 2020, which drew more than 150 participants. The recorded videos – which cover basic methods, financial assistance, tips for orchards and vineyards and more – expanded the potential reach and impact of the series far beyond Contra Costa County.

“Each video, whether it’s a webinar recording or a virtual site visit, emphasizes different aspects, and the titles are designed to help viewers find the resources they are most likely to benefit from,” said Aram. “There really is something for everyone.”

In particular, the organizers of the series recognized the importance of including technical and extension support to urban and semi-urban farmers in the East Bay and beyond.

“We wanted to make sure to include practical support from fellow farmers that was both accessible and relevant to our diverse small and urban farmers,” said Julio Contreras, UCCE community education specialist. “This meant covering topics like seeding with spreaders or by broadcasting – using small equipment and machinery or no-till systems – and even cover cropping in planter boxes.”

Aram and Bennaton also credited their Contra Costa Resource Conservation District partners: Ben Weise, agriculture conservation manager; Derek Emmons, agriculture conservation coordinator; and Chris Lim, executive director.

The project, funded by a Specialty Crops Block Grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, was also made possible by the generous contributions of time and expertise from presenters and hosts of farm-site visits, according to Aram.

“I hope that the videos will enjoy a long life online; they really contain a wealth of knowledge,” he said.

The series is available for view at http://ucanr.edu/CoverCropsCoCo.

2021-10-15T09:26:26-07:00October 15th, 2021|

CalFresh Welcomes Texts on Healthy Eating

CalFresh Participants Welcome Texts on Benefits of California-Grown Produce

The buzz or chirp of an incoming text message started some San Diego County residents on the path to a healthier diet during this past year. In September 2020, most CalFresh participants in the county – more than 172,000 households – began receiving monthly text messages about the benefits of California-grown fruits and vegetables as part of a pilot program.  CalFresh is for people with low income who meet federal income eligibility rules and want to add to their budget to put healthy and nutritious food on the table.

This novel approach to delivering nutrition messages to California food assistance program participants was developed by a partnership of the Nutrition Policy Institute of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the UC San Diego Center for Community Health, and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, which administers CalFresh in the county.

The HHSA, which had been using its text messaging platform to send administrative reminders and alerts, was receptive to using the tool for sending nutrition-focused information. NPI and CCH partnered with ideas42, a firm that applies behavioral science to solutions for social change, to develop a series of five text messages promoting California-grown fruits and vegetables.

The text messages – originally delivered in English and Spanish, with the addition of Arabic beginning in July 2021 – were friendly and conversational in tone.

“In a text, you have very few characters you’re communicating with people, so we wanted to make sure we were using cutting-edge behavioral science to construct those messages to have the most impact,” said Wendi Gosliner, NPI senior researcher and policy advisor.

Each text included a link directing recipients to a website developed as part of the project, with information on selecting, storing and preparing California-grown fruits and vegetables; health benefits; tips to reduce food waste; and recipes – including TikTok videos.

Initially running from September 2020 to March 2021, the pilot program was well-received. Nearly 90% of CalFresh participants responding to a survey said they appreciated receiving the texts. “It is very important for us to eat healthy, to teach our children to eat healthy,” wrote one participant. “I love the recipes…they’re so delicious and easy to make…I’m very, very grateful for the help because, without you guys, I would be struggling more and I just want a better life for my children.”

Gosliner said it was encouraging to see that two-thirds of the approximately 5,000 survey respondents reported eating more California-grown fruits and vegetables after receiving the messages, and 85% expressed a desire to see more texts.

“What we see is that there’s definitely a decent-sized population of people participating in CalFresh –now this is just in San Diego County but imagine the entire state – who would benefit from having this kind of information available to them,” Gosliner said. “And there is at least a subset of people who really liked it.”

UC San Diego’s Center for Community Health was instrumental in facilitating the partnership between UC ANR and the HHSA. Further, CCH, in partnership with the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, formed a community council composed of residents representing diverse communities throughout San Diego County. Together, the council facilitated CalFresh participants to take part in focus groups, which provided feedback and guidance on the messaging and design for online resources. Gosliner said the success of the text program has been a direct result of community input and involvement.

“The Center for Community Health-led focus groups were integral to ensuring CalFresh resources were accessible and informative to a wide range of CalFresh participants, and local individuals and families more broadly,” said Blanca Meléndrez, executive director at the UC San Diego Center for Community and Population Health, Altman Clinical Translational Research Institute. “In the process, the text-based campaign also placed a greater focus on the local production of nutritious fruits and vegetables, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, and building new streams of income for the region’s farmers and producers.”

This effort also suggests a simple way to reach CalFresh participants and bridge gaps between the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and programming that offers nutrition education and healthy eating resources.

“By combining UCSD and UC ANR knowledge about healthy eating with our outreach capability, we are able to reach thousands of families via text message each month,” said Michael Schmidt, human services operations manager for the HHSA. “With the click of a button, these families are provided with resources to assist them in making healthier lifestyle choices, supporting a region that is building better health, living safely and thriving.”

The effort has been so effective that HHSA has asked for additional messages, beyond the original five months’ worth of texts and resources.

“The partnership between UC ANR’s Nutrition Policy Institute, UC San Diego’s Center for Community Health, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency and San Diego County community residents brought together a great team to develop an innovative, technology-based intervention,” said Shana Wright, San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative co-director at CCH. “Each partner provided knowledge, resources and assets that enhanced the project beyond the initial pilot phase, exceeding preliminary expectations.”

Gosliner said the pilot program has been a “great example and wonderful experience” of partnership in action.

“You can sit with your research or program ideas for a long time but if you don’t have people who can help you implement them, then they really aren’t helpful in any way,” she said. “In this case, it was just a nice combination of an idea…with partners who wanted to work to make something happen.”

2021-10-13T15:23:54-07:00October 13th, 2021|

State Water Board Raises Fees Again!

State Water Board Raises Fees Again – Ignores Industry Concerns

 

Recently, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) voted to increase all of their water quality and water rights fees again.  This time they increased the fees across the board.  In one program in particular, the Waste Discharge Requirement (WDR) Fee had already increased by 112% from 2011 to 2020.

This past week, the SWRCB voted to increase those fees another 16.8%!  Despite industry pleas, including testimony from the Association’s President/CEO Roger Isom, the board voted unanimously to increase the economic burden on the agricultural industry once again.

Isom pointed out the SWRCB fees far outweigh other environmental fees altogether, and joined the Ag Council’s Emily Rooney, who also testified, in a call for an outside look into the SWRCB’s financial situation and the setting of fees.  It did not sway the board.  In addition to the huge increase on WDR fees, which impact food processors and packing houses, fees for the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP) increased 15.6% and fees for Confined Animal Feeding (CAF) operations increase 15.4%.  The Association and other industry groups are currently weighing next options, which may include a call for an audit of the program.

2021-10-13T17:39:23-07:00October 11th, 2021|

Forest Fire Smoke Challenges Ag Employees

Outdoor Ag Employees Need Protection from Smoke and Heat

Farmers Work Hard to Provide Protection

By Mike Stephens with the Ag Information Network

California’s hot  growing season and an ongoing drought feeding out of control wildfires pose challenges for farm employers. The 700,000 acre and counting Dixie Fire and the devastating Caldor Fire have conspired to funnel smoke in agricultural production areas just as summer temperatures have soared into triple digits.

These conditions invoke two regulations that farm employers, perhaps preoccupied with COVID-19 mandates imposed by our state government may have lost sight of. They must follow regulations designed to protect employees from the dangers of excessive heat and wildfire smoke.

No California farm employer should be surprised that Cal/OSHA compliance officers are actively enforcing a standard that should be at top of mind when temperatures routinely exceed 90 degrees.

The Cal/OSHA smoke standard requires remedies when employees are exposed to air quality of 151 or greater on the air quality index for the presence of PM2.5 for more than one hour. They must move work into environments with filtered air if possible. Or, if feasible, employers must reschedule work to a time of better air quality or provide employees with approved particulate respirators under voluntary use rules.

The voluntary use requirements mean it is not necessary to fit test and medically evaluate employees who choose to use a provided N95 respirator.

However, employers must train employees using information provided and the hazards of wildfire smoke and encourage employees to use employer provided respirators when the AQI exceeds 150.

2021-10-04T19:10:15-07:00October 4th, 2021|

Veto of AB 616 A Big Win for Ag

Special OP-Ed 

Vetoing of Bad Farmworker Bill a Win for Ag Community and Republicans

By Jesse Rojas

 

California is home to the most industrious, plentiful, and fresh food supply thanks to hardworking men and women who serve as farmworkers, ranch hands, and workers in our food supply chain. These workers, like many employees, have the right to unionize or not unionize. In recent years, a union has been out for revenge on workers who chose not to join.

The United Farm Workers (UFW) was once a mighty force, but it’s largely become a greedy organization pushing a liberal agenda. Workers part of the union saw little to no results for their dues for decades and UFW paid the price.

In 2013, workers at a Fresno-based farm voted on whether or not to belong to the UFW. Afraid of the results of the election, the UFW brought the issue to court and forced taxpayers to spend millions before the votes would finally be counted in 2018, five years later. The UFW was rightfully afraid. After settling the issue, the results overwhelmingly showed that workers did not want to join the UFW. The state even formalized a decision ensuring that the election protocol used to opt-out of the UFW, a secret ballot election, would be the exclusive means for recognizing a union. In fact, the Court of Appeal called the attempted suppression of the workers’ votes a civil rights violation by the state agency and the UFW.

This secret ballot election process reflects workers’ fundamental right to choose their representation free from intimidation or coercion. The UFW’s attack on this right this year, via Assembly Bill 616 (Stone), would’ve prohibited the secret ballot and enacted a process called a “card check.” Under this new process, union organizers could have approached a worker and asked them in person to sign a card representing their vote for the union. Since the union would know how the workers vote, they could then intimidate or coerce those who chose they do not want to unionize. It is common for 75% or more workers to sign such cards in advance of a union election, only for a majority to reject the union at the ballot box.

Oddly enough, in a statement in support of the bill, the UFW said that farmworker representation elections should be allowed to be conducted the way political elections are.  If they truly believed this, why did they sponsor a bill to eliminate a secret ballot? Could you imagine what that would look like in a presidential election?

When AB 616 faced a final legislative hurdle, all Senate Republicans voted against the measure while only two Senate Democrats joined them in opposition. That split, while not surprising given the makeup of the legislature, is indicative of a massive failure from Central Valley Democrats.

The California Legislature consists of individuals from across the political spectrum, including what has been dubbed the “Mod-Dem Caucus.” This caucus has previously played a role in killing bad bills on the wishlist of progressive Democrats in the Capitol, including some that disproportionately harm the Valley. So what happened this time?

The so-called “Mod-Dems” failed to whip the votes of their fellow moderate Democrats. While they may have messaged on the bill on social media, or debated against it on camera, they failed to get the job done behind the scenes and allowed it to reach the governor. Thankfully, Gov. Gavin Newsom heard pleas elsewhere. Senate Republicans and farm advocates loudly expressed opposition to the measure.

In a veto letter request to the governor, Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk(Santa Clarita) made an argument that the governor actually used when he rejected the measure on his desk and Senator Andreas Borgeas (R-Fresno) put out a statement arguing that this measure “contradicts the principles of our American system of Representative Government.”

Borgeas is right. Farmworkers, farmers, Republicans, and now two governors have also agreed. Intimidation is no way to play fair in any election – including union elections.

Time to give it up, UFW. This is a fight you should not win. No se puede!

 

 

###

Jesse Rojas is a farmworker rights activist, spokesperson for Pick Justice, founder of California Farm Workers & Families, and a Central Valley Taxpayers Association board member. Rojas, an immigrant, also launched Mi America En La Radio, the first conservative Spanish-language radio show in the Central Valley. As CEO of The Redd Group, LLC, his organization offers labor relations, human resources consulting, public relations, and political consulting.

2021-09-30T07:58:53-07:00September 30th, 2021|

Open Burning to Phase Out in 2025

Open Ag Burning Part of a Series

 

Open Ag Burning To Phase out

By Mike Stephens with the Ag Information Network

In an unanimous decision, the Air Resources Board (CARB) recently approved a plan to phase out all open agricultural burning by 2025.

Open burning of agricultural materials has started to be phased out in the San Joaquin Valley  chipped materials, a byproduct that needs to be disposed of.

Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, describes some of these hurdles. “Specifically in orchards those materials in most cases were hauled off to a co-generation plant to make energy. The number of those CoGen plants has been significantly declining here recently because they lose their power purchase agreements with the utility companies and therefore they shut down. And so therefore, we lost a very important stream of our ability to send our materials,” Jacobsen said.

Incentive funding is available.

Part of the incentive funding is giving growers the ability to incorporate chipped material  back into the soil, and they’ll pay you some money to do that. In some cases, there is still the desire to haul the material off.

Reincorporating the chips into the soil is being discussed.

“Not only do you have these chips that you reincorporate in the soil, but this comes at a time when we’re experiencing significant drought. You know, these materials don’t break down very quickly without adding water and nitrogen to it,” noted Jacobsen.  “That is definitely a concern for some growers reincorporated. And so for some, they want to continue to find some other avenue for it to remove that wood waste from the field, particularly if it’s maybe for some growers. They just don’t want the wood back in there. But secondarily, it could be diseased wood that becomes an issue as well.”

2021-09-24T19:32:10-07:00September 24th, 2021|

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