Joel Nelsen on Departure of UK from the EU

Joel Nelsen Comments on EU and Impact on Ag from Recent Washington D.C Trip

Yesterday, we were fortunate enough to meet up with Joel Nelsen of California Citrus Mutual at Fresno-Yosemite Airport. He filled us in about his recent trip to Washington, D.C.

Nelsen told us about the discussion he and his colleagues had with foreign trade leaders regarding imports into the United States, as well as how California Ag will be impacted by the United Kingdom exiting from the European Union.

Click below to check it out!

California Ag Today2016-08-03T21:10:59-07:00June 30th, 2016|

UPDATE! Expanded ACP Quarantine

UPDATE! Expanded ACP Quarantine in Stanislaus and Merced Counties

Two ACPs Found in City of Turlock

Stanislaus County has been placed under quarantine for the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) following the detection of two ACPs within the City of Turlock. The expanded ACP quarantine also includes a portion of northern Merced County along its border with Stanislaus County. The quarantine zone measures 101 square miles, bordered on the north by East Service Road; on the south by August Avenue; on the west by Blaker Road; and on the east by North Hickman Road. The quarantine map for Stanislaus and Merced is available online at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/acp-maps.

The quarantine prohibits the movement of citrus and curry leaf tree nursery stock, including all plant parts except fruit, out of the quarantine area and requires that all citrus fruit be cleaned of leaves and stems prior to moving out of the quarantine area. An exception may be made for nursery stock and budwood grown in USDA-approved structures which are designed to keep ACP and other insects out. Residents with backyard citrus trees in the quarantine area are asked not to transport or send citrus fruit or leaves, potted citrus trees, or curry leaves from the quarantine area.

ACP county-wide quarantines are now in place in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura Counties, with portions of Alameda, Fresno, Kern, Madera, Merced, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Stanislaus counties also under quarantine.

The ACP is an invasive species of grave concern because it can carry the disease huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening. All citrus and closely related species, such as curry leaf trees, are susceptible hosts for both the insect and disease. There is no cure once the tree becomes infected; the diseased tree will decline in health and produce bitter, misshaped fruit until it dies. In California, HLB has only been detected in 2012 and 2015 on residential properties in Los Angeles County. This plant disease does not affect human health.

Residents in the area who think they may have seen ACP or symptoms of HLB on their trees are urged to call CDFA’s Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899 or your local agricultural commissioner’s office (Stanislaus County (209) 525-4730; Merced County (209) 385-7431). For more information on the ACP and HLB, please visit: www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/acp.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:06:00-07:00December 28th, 2015|

Wonderful Branding

Wonderful Branding: The Wonderful Company’s Branding Success and Newest Citrus Discovery

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

A catchy brand can make or break a product, and the agriculture industry has begun to take note. David Krause, president of Wonderful Citrus, said their own successful branding—especially their Halos mandarins—is attributable to a variety of factors.

“We have an internal creative team that handles all of the design work and advertising,” Krause said. “Couple that with some very good consumer-based activities, significant funding in telling that message, and a good product that is satisfying to the consumer, and you have a complete, effective program.”

Aside from branding, Krause said Wonderful Citrus continuously looks for new crop varieties that will excite consumers in the future. Introducing new products is part of the company’s strategy to stay ahead of competition as well as increase their consumer base.

Wonderful’s newest discovery, seedless lemons, were found in another country,” Krause explained. “We have the exclusive rights to a few varieties, and at this point, we are growing trees in our nurseries,” said Krause. “ We’ll start marketing the product in the U.S. market within the next five to six years.”

Overall, Krause reports increased profits for many products. “I would argue demand and supply for many California crops seem to be in balance; that is, they are driving good returns for growers in spite of all the challenges that we face.”

_______________________

The Wonderful Company is the parent company of:

Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds (formerly Paramount Farms)
Wonderful Citrus (formerly Paramount Citrus)
Wonderful Orchards (formerly Paramount Farming)

Well-known brands from The Wonderful Company are:

Wonderful Pistachios #1 tree nut brand and one of the top-selling salty snacks in America
Wonderful Halos #1 mandarin orange in America
POM Wonderful #1 100% pomegranate brand in America
FIJI Water #1 premium bottled water brand in America
Teleflora #1 floral delivery service through local florists
JUSTIN Wine #1 Cabernet Sauvignon in California

The company announced its name change to The Wonderful Company from Roll Global on June 1, 2015. This strategic move aligns the company’s long-standing passion for harvesting healthy and nutritious foods with its domestic and global consumers, as well as integrates its farming and distribution methods. The company grows, harvests, packages and delivers its produce to retail stores in a vertical structure to maintain high quality standards.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:27:02-07:00December 2nd, 2015|

Fighting ACP in California

Fighting ACP In California to Stay Well Ahead of HLB

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

With more than 275,000 acres of citrus trees in California, keeping the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) out of groves is a serious concern. Bob Blakely, vice president of California Citrus Mutual, based in Exeter, talked to California Ag Today about how growers are fighting ACP in California.

“We’ve been very proactive, ever since the first psyllid was found here back in 2008. We already had an action plan in place when that psyllid was found. We have engaged with and educated the public and the media, and we have very good cooperation with the state’s citizens,” Blakely said.

Tamarixia radiata (female); Mark Lewis, UC Riverside Center for Invasive Species Research

Blakely noted the industry is using a variety of methods, “We are usually able to go in and treat urban areas in Southern California, where ACP is now endemic, with crop protection materials. If we determine we cannot control it with pesticides, we implement a new biological program by releasing the parasitoid Tamarixia (a tiny non-native wasp) in residential areas. The new wasp is becoming well-established, and we are hoping the species will help manage ACP populations.”

“We hope to prevent ACP from creating the type of damage seen in Florida, where the citrus industry has been reduced by 50%,” said Blakely. “We are way ahead of the game here in California. We have managed to slow ACP spread in commercial areas in order stay ahead of the spread of the HLB disease the bug carries. We hope a reasonable cure can be found so we can prevent the kind of devastation we are witnessing in some other states.”

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:27:10-07:00September 18th, 2015|

ACP Devastates Florida Citrus

ACP Devastates Florida Citrus Industry; California Continues Vigilance

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

California Citrus growers must not underestimate the potential damage from Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP), according to Bob Blakely, vice president, California Citrus Mutual, based in Exeter.

Given multiple ACP detections in California this year, Blakely used Florida’s ACP catastrophe as an example of how devastating the pests can be. “We are challenged here in California with ACP,” Blakely began, “which vectors the fatal disease known Honglongbing, (HLB), also known as citrus greening. But, it is nothing like what they are dealing with in Florida, since HLB [the disease itself] was discovered there less than ten years ago. “Florida’s citrus acreage, which measured just under 1 million acres prior to the calamities they’ve been facing,” said Blakely, “has been reduced by almost 50%.”

Bob Blakely, VP, California Citrus Mutual

While occurrences of Citrus Canker Disease as well as urbanization also contributed to the reduction in acreage, Blakely stated, “the big killer, citrus greening, is mostly responsible for the reduction of citrus acreage to the lowest level in decades.”

Because Florida has become so infested with ACP and HLB, reestablishing the industry there will take some time. “They are replanting and trying to replant healthy trees,” Blakely explained, “but they know those trees are short-lived compared to trees in California. We have hundred year-old groves. Florida farmers are just hoping to raise those trees and get a few years of production out of them before HLB re-infects them and they must be replaced again,” said Blakely.

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:27:10-07:00September 16th, 2015|

BREAKING NEWS ON HUANGLONGBING CITRUS DISEASE

HUANGLONGBING CITRUS DISEASE DETECTED IN SAN GABRIEL AREA OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
CDFA
Release #15-031

Sacramento, July 10, 2015 – The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have confirmed detection of huanglongbing (HLB) citrus disease, or citrus greening. The disease was detected in plant material taken from a kumquat tree in a residential neighborhood in the San Gabriel area of Los Angeles County.

This is the second time HLB has been detected in California. The first detection occurred in 2012 in a residential citrus tree in Hacienda Heights, about 15 miles from San Gabriel.

HLB is a bacterial disease that attacks the vascular system of plants. It does not pose a threat to humans or animals. The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) can spread the bacteria as the pest feeds on citrus trees and other plants. Once a tree is infected, there is no cure; it typically declines and dies within a few years.

“Citrus is a cherished part of our landscape and our shared history, as well as a major agricultural crop,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “CDFA is moving quickly to protect the state’s citrus. We have been planning and preparing for HLB detections with our growers and our colleagues at the federal and local levels since before the ACP was first detected here in 2008.”

A CDFA crew has removed and disposed of the infected tree and is preparing to conduct treatment of citrus trees for ACP infestation within 800 meters of the find site. By taking these steps, a critical reservoir of disease and its vectors will be removed, which is essential.

An intensive survey of local citrus trees and psyllids is underway to determine if HLB exists anywhere else in the area. Planning has begun for a quarantine of the area to limit the spread of the disease by restricting the movement of citrus trees, citrus plant parts, green waste, and all citrus fruit except what is commercially cleaned and packed. As part of the

SAVE OUR CITRUS app is a free USDA iPhone to report and identify the four leading citrus diseases: citrus greening, citrus canker, citrus black spot and sweet orange scab. Report your symptoms, upload a photo and citrus experts will respond.

quarantine, citrus and closely related plants at nurseries in the area will be placed on hold.

Residents of quarantine areas are urged not to remove or share citrus fruit, trees, clippings/grafts or related plant material. Citrus fruit may be harvested and consumed on-site.

CDFA, in partnership with the USDA, local agricultural commissioners and the citrus industry, continues to pursue a strategy of controlling the spread of ACPs while researchers work to find a cure for the disease.

HLB is known to be present in Mexico and in parts of the southern U.S. Florida first detected the pest in 1998, and the disease in 2005, and the two have now been detected in all 30 citrus-producing counties in that state. The University of Florida estimates that the disease causes an average loss of 7,513 jobs per year, and has cost growers $2.994 billion in lost revenue since HLB was first detected in that state in 2006.

HLB has also been detected in Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A total of 15 states or territories are under full or partial quarantine due to the detected presence of the Asian citrus psyllid: Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The ACP was first detected in California in 2008, and quarantines are now in place in 17 California counties. If Californians have questions about the ACP or HLB, they may call CDFA’s toll-free pest hotline at 1-800-491-1899 or visit: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/acp/.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:28:11-07:00July 10th, 2015|

UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor in Ventura County

By Laurie Greene, Editor California Ag Today

Ben Faber, UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor in Ventura County, works with growers who farm a variety of different crops including blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries as well as lemons and avocados.

Faber is developing new approaches for better avocado pruning to increase yield. “We have not done a lot of pruning on avocados in the past,” Faber said, “because this plant species responds to pruning in a very rapid fashion with a lot of shoots and water sprouts, so people have been scared to prune avocados. Over time, we have learned how to prune avocados somewhat differently than other tree crops.”

Faber said the two pruning choices are a heading cut and a thinning cut. “A heading cut,” he explained, “is often what you see peach growers doing, indiscriminately cutting into a branch. Well, they are actually doing is selecting the branches that will be the fruiting branches for the next year. Whereas, if you do that in avocados, you just get a lot of wild regrowth.”

So Faber believes the strategy in avocados has to be a thinning cut, “where you prune back to a sub-tending branch or a crotch so the remaining branch continues growth. This method controls growth lower down in the branch. It has taken a long time to discover this, though it seems simple now.”

He added, “Thinning cuts are all about keeping the tree from ‘crowning out,’ which reduces yield. As neighboring trees start shading each other, the flowering and fruiting spreads to the very top of the tree. This is where you see significant yield reduction because instead of having fruit form all over the tree’s canopy, fruit and flower production forms only on the very top of the canopy.” Faber said.

“Keeping the avocado fruit lower in the tree is better for harvesters to grab,” Faber commented. “So, growing fruit high in the tree presents not only yield loss, but a worker safety issue as well.”

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:11-07:00July 9th, 2015|

LA Declares Citrus Matters TODAY

LA Citizens And Commercial Citrus Growers Highlight Deadly Citrus Disease And Why Citrus Matters

LOS ANGELES (July 2, 2015) – California’s citrus industry is threatened by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), a tiny pest that can transmit the world’s deadliest citrus disease, Huanglongbing (HLB). Currently, all of Los Angeles County is under quarantine[1] for the psyllid, which continues to spread across the state. Along with Bayer CropScience and California Citrus Mutual, City Councilmember Gil Cedillo announced TODAY, July 2 that, “Citrus Matters” to Los Angeles. During the event, commercial citrus growers from the region were recognized for their contributions to the state of California and acknowledged the devastating disease that could destroy the state’s citrus industry. The announcement also serves to highlight the role Los Angeles residents must play in protecting California’s $2.4 billion commercial citrus industry through the #CitrusMatters initiative.

To date, the psyllid has reached 15 counties throughout Southern California[2]; however, HLB has been recorded in only one tree in California[3] – a lemon/pummelo tree found on residential property in the Hacienda Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2012. For every Californian who cares about citrus, that tree, which has since been removed and destroyed, serves as a warning that all citrus trees are at risk of being affected, from the trees that decorate their neighborhood to the commercial groves nearby.

The #CitrusMatters initiative from Bayer CropScience and California Citrus Mutual encourages all residents of California and Los Angeles – where there are more citrus trees on residential property than in commercial groves – to take action to help prevent the spread of the ACP. It is essential that homeowners with citrus trees on their property understand how to protect their trees and know what to do if they suspect trees are infected. If left untreated, the insects can move quickly from one tree to the next, eventually spreading to the commercial groves that cover much of Southern and Central California.There are a number of ways the Los Angeles community can get involved with the campaign to help prevent the spread of ACP and protect California citrus, including:

Spreading the word and increasing awareness about the disease, the ACP and why they love citrus, using the hashtag #CitrusMatters. Through each use of the hashtag (now through September 30), Bayer CropScience will contribute $1, up to $25,000, to advance existing and future research to find a solution to HLB in California.
Visiting CaliforniaCitrusThreat.org to access HLB and ACP resources specific to Los Angeles County.
Monitoring their trees, contacting the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Exotic Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899 if they think they’ve spotted an infestation and having their trees checked.
Becoming familiar with solutions[4] available that can protect against ACP in their trees

The citrus industry has a storied history in Los Angeles. Southern California’s first orange grove[5] was planted at San Gabriel Mission in 1804, and the state’s very first commercial citrus operation[6] was established in what is now downtown Los Angeles.

“Almost all of us native Los Angelenos have some kind of memory of grabbing a lemon off of the trees in our yards growing up or stepping outside during the spring and taking in the fresh scent of orange blossoms,” said Cedillo when he presented the announcement. “The city of Los Angeles recognizes the contribution citrus adds to California’s economy and our residents’ lives.”

“The Los Angeles area has played a vital role in the industry’s history,” said Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual. “We’re excited to see residents celebrate citrus and rally around our mission to protect it from the spread of HLB.”

The #CitrusMatters initiative is part of the ongoing effort by Bayer CropScience to provide citrus growers across the nation with solutions to help combat ACP and HLB. To learn more about the #CitrusMatters initiative and how homeowners, commercial citrus growers and citrus lovers alike can help save citrus, visit CitrusMatters.us.

For more information on Bayer CropScience’s citrus portfolio, please visit: https://www.bayercropscience.us/crops/citrus!

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[1]http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/citrus_greening/downloads/pdf_files/nationalquarantinemap.pdf

[2] http://www.californiacitrusthreat.org/pdf/ACP-Quar%20Expansion_2-17-2015_CA-AZ.pdf

[3] http://californiacitrusthreat.org/news/huanglongbing-citrus-greening-disease-found-in-california.php[4] http://www.bayeradvanced.com/find-a-product/insects-pests/fruit-citrus-vegetable-insect-control

[5] http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=924

[6] http://californiacountry.org/features/article.aspx?arID=695

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Bayer CropScience Twitter Page: http://twitter.com/bayer4cropsus
Bayer CropScience Blog: https://www.bayercropscience.us/news

Bayer CropScience is committed to bringing new technology and solutions for agriculture and non-agricultural uses. For questions concerning the availability and use of products, contact a local Bayer CropScience representative, or visit Bayer CropScience online at www.bayercropscience.us.

Visit the Bayer Connect – Social Hub for all Bayer CropScience social media, recent news, blog posts, videos and more.

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About Bayer CropScience

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 9,494 million (2014) and is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company has a global workforce of 23,100 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.

About California Citrus Mutual

California Citrus Mutual (CCM) is a citrus producer’s trade association whose 2,200 grower members comprise 60 percent of California’s 275,000 acre, $2.4 billion citrus industry. The Exeter, California-based organization was founded in 1977 by those who felt the need to unite their fellow growers into a cohesive, powerful force. Throughout the years, CCM has brought to fruition many of the goals of the founding fathers and has developed into a dominant force from within as well as outside the industry. Having attained the privilege to be called the “voice of the citrus grower,” CCM remains the vessel which successfully navigates the often rocky waters of the business interest of its membership. For more information on CCM, visit www.cacitrusmutual.com.

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:12-07:00July 2nd, 2015|

ASIAN CITRUS PSYLLID QUARANTINE EXPANSION IN KERN COUNTY

The California Asian Citrus Psyllid Quarantine includes, as of TODAY, two portions of Kern County following the detections of two ACP within the City of Bakersfield, one in the Westchester area and the other in the Panorama Drive area. The quarantine zone measures 63-square miles in the Westchester area and 65-square miles in the Panorama Drive area. A link to the quarantine maps may be found here: www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/go/acp-qmaps

The quarantine prohibits the movement of citrus and curry tree nursery stock out of the quarantine area and requires that all citrus fruit be cleaned of leaves and stems prior to moving out of the quarantine area. An exception may be made for nursery stock and budwood grown in USDA-approved structures which are designed to keep ACP and other insects out. Residents with backyard citrus trees in the quarantine area are asked not to transport citrus fruit or leaves, potted citrus trees, or curry leaves from the quarantine area.

County-wide Asian Citrus Psyllid Quarantines are now in place in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura Counties, with portions of Fresno, Kern, Madera, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Clara counties are also under quarantine.

The ACP is an invasive species of grave concern because it can carry the disease huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening. All citrus and closely related species, such as curry trees, are susceptible hosts for both the insect and disease. There is not cure once a tree becomes infected, the diseased tree will decline in health and produce bitter, misshaped fruit until it dies. HLB has been detected just once in California – in 2012 on a single residential property in Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County. This plant disease does not affect human health.

Residents in the area who think they may have seen ACP or symptoms of HLB on their trees are urged to call CDFA’s Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899.

For more information on the ACP and HLB, please visit: www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/acp.

Featured Photo: Asian Citrus Psyllid, UC ANR

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:14-07:00June 17th, 2015|

Water Wisdom From A Lemon Grower

Water Wisdom: All Water is Recyled; We Are Not Losing It

By Brian German, Associate Editor

Keith Frietas, a lemon grower along the Kings River on the East Side of Fresno County, recently reflected on the value of water with California Ag Today, “I think that people are losing their perspective on the value of the resource. Our concept of the value of water is we’ve had it at our beck-and-call for all of our lives, especially our generation; never had to think about it; never had to worry about it. But there are people in the world who get up before the sun comes in the morning, put on a backpack full of empty containers, walk eight to nine miles, and put their lives at risk to get their daily supply of fresh water.”

Freitas does everything he can to use water as efficiently as possible, and passionately described his water management practices. “Because we live in Fresno and care about our little percentage of water, our take of that resource has to be commensurate with the share we give back to the world by using that water. So, our concept as water users takes the form of being stewards of that limited resource. I want the rest of the public and the world around me to understand that and trust that I have the skills to be a good water steward .”

Addressing the cycle of water, agricultural water in particular, Freitas said, “No fresh water leaves the earth. It all gets recycled. So farmers take that water, put it on the ground, grow 25 pounds of tomatoes and give all that water back–98 percent of it in tomatoes–plus the nutrients from that tomato we need to sustain a healthy life.”

Freitas noted how the water cycle could become even more efficient with increasing technological advances. “They’ve got five different stages of filtering wastewater now. Once we start implementing those five filtration stages, people will be able to eat that tomato, and within a week, the water from that tomato will be recycled back into use, back into the community where the tomato was consumed.”

Despite current statewide water restrictions and financial penalties for offenders, water is still being wasted. Freitas believes we must shift how our culture thinks about water to accomplish real change in water stewardship, “When you can’t change the dynamic of that mindset, you can’t force change by billing your way out of a drought.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:28:16-07:00May 27th, 2015|