2014 California Winegrape Harvest: Earliest and Third in a String of Great Vintages this Decade

By: Monique Bienvenue; Cal Ag Today Social Media Manager/Reporter

California vintners and growers across the state are grateful for another excellent vintage, despite an ongoing drought and earthquake that rocked south Napa in late August just as crush was getting underway. A mild winter and spring caused early bud break, although the overall length of the growing season was similar to past years.

“We are about 80 percent done, going into the second week of October,” said Glenn Andrade, vice-president winemaking for Trinchero Family Estates, farmers of more than 10,000 acres of vineyards across Napa, Sonoma, the Central Coast, Lodi and Amador. “We’ve had pretty light to moderate yields this harvest, resulting in exceptional quality. Our Amador Zinfandels are amazing—great intensity and quality. We should be done by the week of October 20, which is early for us, as typically, it’s the first week in November.”

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Pacific Regional Crop Production Report of August 2014, California’s winegrape production this year is forecast at 3.9 million tons, down 8 percent from 2013’s record high crop. The 2014 harvest is the third largest on record.

“The 2014 vintage was by far the earliest start of any harvest I can recall,” said Adam Mettler, director of winemaking for Michael David Winery in Lodi. “Early concerns about adequate storage quickly faded as our vineyards continued to check in at 20-25 percent down in volume from the previous two years. The moderate crop size allowed for rapid sugar accumulation early, which created some challenging high-density fermentations, but resulted in some real nice wines.”

A compacted harvest began in July for sparkling wines and started winding down by mid-October for later ripening varieties. Moderate temperatures, with only minimal rain in September, allowed for even ripening. Despite unusual circumstances, President and CEO of Wine Institute Robert P. (Bobby) Koch is extremely pleased with the 2014 vintage for California wine.

“We are very pleased with the assessments of an exceptional 2014 vintage for California wine statewide,” said Koch. “And we look forward to sharing these outstanding 2014 wines with wine lovers throughout the nation and the world. Although we came through this harvest without major impact, we’re keenly aware of the ongoing drought and its effects on California’s entire agricultural community, including wine. We are doing our part as vintners and growers to mitigate water usage through a variety of sustainable practices.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:18-07:00October 28th, 2014|

Secretary Ross Joins Ag in the Classroom Event

By: Monique Bienvenue; Cal Ag Today Social Media Manager/Reporter

More than 220 California educators and volunteers attended an annual California Agriculture in the Classroom Conference earlier this month to learn about agriculture and connecting Common Core to California crops. The conference, hosted by the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (CFAITC), was held October 16-18 in Santa Cruz County and provided participants with free resources and valuable avenues for teaching Common Core, STEM, and school garden/nutrition lessons.

The program, designed for educators, administrators, and community volunteers, presented opportunities to explore the agricultural industry and enhance existing curriculum with examples and scenarios about food and fiber production.

California Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross welcomed the group of educators along with Dr. Jim Painter, professor emeritus at Eastern Illinois University. Renee Shepherd, owner of Renee’s Garden, also spoke to the educators and Michael Marks, Your Produce Man, closed the conference with trivia about the more than 400 crops grown in California. Conference participants were able to experience the variety of agriculture at the conference and were able to learn directly from leading agricultural experts.

In her comments, Secretary Ross shared the importance of California agriculture, emphasizing the many things that stem from from agriculture, and helped teach the educators the 5 F’s of agriculture – Food, Fiber, Forests, Flowers, and Fuel.

From cut flowers and strawberries to artichokes and timber, Santa Cruz County is the smallest agriculture producing county in California in land mass and one of the most diverse.

The California Ag in the Classroom conference empowers attendees to return to their classrooms and school communities confident and capable of sharing the importance of agriculture’s significant impact on California and its economy with their students.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:18-07:00October 27th, 2014|

Climate Change Affects Integrated Pest Management Practices

Despite Lack of Funding, IPM Programs Need to be Re-Worked

By Colby Tibbet, California Ag Today Reporter

Climate Change is a pressing concern for growers and others in the ag industry, prompting the modification and redesign of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices, among other farming operations.

John Trumble, an entomology professor at the University of California, Riverside, explained that we are going have to change our IPM programs—processes based on scientific research for solving pest problems while minimizing risks to people and the environment. “We will have to account for changes in temperature, insects infesting fields more quickly, bio-controls including beneficial insects becoming possibly less effective, and altered plant growth due to elevated CO2 in the atmosphere.

Trumble noted,“What worked for your father isn’t going to work for us now. In the last 10 to 15 years, we’ve seen major changes in which insects are present, speed of entry into the fields, the extent of damage they cause and the plant’s lack of compensation for that damage. That is a lot of work for somebody in the future to redo all those IPM programs developed in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, that we’ve used successfully for years.”

“One of our biggest problems in re-working these IPM strategies is that there’s a general move afoot in the government to reduce funding: for the USDA, the EPA, and even the National Institutes of Health. This year the USDA funded only 5 percent of the grants submitted,” said Trumble, “versus the normal 10-15 percent, and the funding shortage could halt investment in future programs. In a bad year, USDA would invest 12 percent—but five percent, who’s going to go into agriculture if you can only get five out of 100 grants actually funded? It’s really awful,” Trumble remarked.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:18-07:00October 25th, 2014|

Kern County Pest Control Advisor Awarded CAPCA Member of the Year

Jeff Rasmussen Honored at CAPCA

By Colby Tibbet, California Ag Today Reporter

At the 40th Annual Meeting of the California Association of Pest Control Advisors (CAPCA) in Anaheim this week, Jeff Rasmussen, a pest control advisor with Crop Production Services in Kern County was recognized as the CAPCA Member of the Year.

“I’m humbled, it’s an awesome feeling to be presented with an award by your peers, and they appreciate all the efforts that we as a team have accomplished,” said Rasmussen.

Rasmussen is among a small group of PCAs who spearheaded the important Spray Safe program, which was created in Kern County in 2006 by a group of Kern County farmers and PCAs. Spray Safe was designed to reduce spray drift, enhance worker safety, and protect public health through more effective communications among farmers about pending and ongoing pesticide applications.

Rasmussen and the others dedicated time to solve a problem, “and since then we have stuck together and resolved the problem of spray drift. Proactive involvement can make a difference.”

“It’s the ‘Three C’s’: collaborate, connect, and commit, that has been our focus point. It’s a matter of the industry stepping up and taking responsibility, and continuing to own and protect that space,” said Rasmussen.

Ultimately, according to the Spray Safe website, the goal of the program is to instill increased resolve among farmers to take every precaution necessary to ensure public safety – this is particularly so when it comes to protecting farm workers and field crews.

At the heart of Spray Safe is a checklist.

The photo shows Jess Rasmussen, left, and his family at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, following his honor.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:18-07:00October 23rd, 2014|

ACP Quarantine Expands in Kern, Santa Clara Counties

By Laurie Greene; Cal Ag Today Editor

Following the detection of an Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) south of the City of Bakersfield in Kern County, an additional portion of Kern County has been placed under quarantine for the ACP. Likewise, following the detection of psyllids in the City of San Jose near Kelly Park, the first detection of ACPs in Santa Clara County and the Bay Area, a portion of northwestern Santa Clara County has been placed under ACP quarantine.

The additional Kern County quarantine zone measures 148-square miles in and around the City of Bakersfield, bordering on the north by New Stine Road; on the east by S Vineland Road; on the south by Millux Road; and on the west by Interstate 5.

The Santa Clara County quarantine zone measures 99-square miles, bordered on the north by Alum Rock Park; on the south by Santa Teresa Blvd; on the west by N Monroe Street; and on the east by Joseph D Grant County Park.

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 the disease. Once a tree becomes infected, there is no cure; the diseased tree will decline in health and produce bitter, misshaped fruit until it dies.

Though the ACP is a dangerous pest of citrus, the fruit is safe to eat and HLB is not harmful to human health, according to Joe Deviney, Santa Clara County Agricultural Commissioner.

USDA’s free “Save Our Citrus” iTunes app

Residents in the area who think they may have seen ACP or symptoms of HLB on their citrus trees are urged to call CDFA’s Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899. 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. For more information on the ACP and HLB, please visit the CDFA website.

Better yet, if your citrus fruit is misshapen or discolored or your citrus tree looks sick, send a photo with the new, free SAVE OUR CITRUS app from the USDA. Residents can easily report symptoms, upload a photo and receive a response back from citrus experts. The app includes information and diagnostic tools for all four leading citrus diseases: citrus greening, citrus canker, citrus black spot and sweet orange scab.

Elsewhere in the state, ACP quarantines are now in place in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Ventura, and portions of Fresno, Kern, and San Luis Obispo counties.

The disease itself, HLB, has been detected just once in California, in 2012, on a single residential property in Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County, and is known to be present in Mexico and in parts of the southern U.S. Florida first detected the psyllid in 1998 and the disease in 2005, but the two have spread to all 30 citrus-producing counties in the state. The University of Florida estimates HLB has caused the loss of more than 6,600 lost jobs, $1.3 billion in lost grower revenue and $3.6 billion in lost economic activity. The HLB disease is also present in Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas, and the ACP pest–but not the disease–detected in Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, and Mississippi.

(Photo Credit: UCANR)

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:18-07:00October 23rd, 2014|

USDA Awards Funding for Regional Centers of Excellence in Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention

Source: Monique Bienvenue; Cal Ag Today Social Media Manager/Reporter

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded $4 million in grants to establish four regional centers of excellence for research on nutrition education and obesity prevention, as well as a coordinating center, which will develop and test innovative nutrition education and obesity prevention interventions for underserved, low-income families.

“Nearly one in three children today is overweight or obese, and nutrition promotion strategies, including education, public policies, health systems, and environmental changes, are the key to reversing this trend,” said Sonny Ramaswamy, Ph.D., National Institute of Food and Agriculture director. “These grants provide the opportunity to improve the health of our next generation and ensure that all children have access to the tools they need to improve their nutrition and physical fitness.”

Together, Food and Nutrition Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture will support effective education and extension services through two preexisting programs; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). This joint effort, known as the SNAP & EFNEP: Regional Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Centers of Excellence (RNECE) will establish centers at Colorado State University, Cornell University, Purdue University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and one national coordinating center at the University of Kentucky.

The National Coordination Center will coordinate communications across the four regions and disseminate findings. The national center will also aggregate data to share with policy makers and other stakeholders, and will work with NIFA to organize annual meetings with the regional centers. The interventions developed through the centers will likely benefit additional populations beyond SNAP and EFNEP participants.

The $4 million in funding supports USDA’s strategic goal of developing and extending a research-based approach to obesity prevention, ultimately producing measurable improvements in health, obesity, nutrition and physical activity-related outcomes.

“This joint grant program is one of the most important and powerful tools at our disposal to promote healthier choices and improved physical health among participants in our nutrition assistance programs,” said Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Audrey Rowe. “I am thrilled that we have been able to launch this partnership to drive innovation and increase our impact in preventing and reducing obesity.”

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs. In addition to SNAP, these programs include the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs and the Summer Food Service Program which together comprise America’s nutrition safety net. Improving the diets of participants is a key component of USDA’s nutrition assistance programs. For more information, visit www.fns.usda.gov.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:19-07:00October 17th, 2014|

Researchers Combat Aquatic Weeds

Aquatic Weeds Interfere with Water Flow, But There are Strategies for Eradication

By Kyle Buchoff, California Ag Today Reporter

John Madsen is a Research Biologist with the USDA and is the Site Coordinator for The Aquatic Weed Research Facility at UC Davis. One of the goals of this lab is to identify aquatic weeds that might hinder the flow of irrigation water through canals, ditches or farms.

Madsen, explained, “There are many species of aquatic plants that will infest irrigation ditches and other canals and interfere with the passage of irrigation water. Some of the main species are Hydrilla, a noxious weed in California, and in the Delta, Egeria densa or Brazilian elodea. California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways is working on the weeds in the delta.”

Madsen said once the species is identified, the grower must choose the correct herbicide to control the weeds, “Species identification is very important, since different species are susceptible to different herbicides. There are also water restrictions on herbicides. You have make sure you choose the right herbicide for controlling the weed but also make sure it fits the constraints of the habitat. Some herbicides cannot be used too close to irrigation, the water source or drinking water, while others have fewer restrictions.”

Mike Blankinship with Davis, CA-based Blankinship & Associates, a firm that specializes in aquatic weed management, said, “Among the things that we provide are services to various growers and irrigation districts to help them understand their weeds, manage them and ultimately deliver water efficiently. Working with John and others in the irrigation community throughout California, we have come up with a variety of plans and tools that include aquatic herbicides to manage the water supply and deliver it to growers efficiently.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:19-07:00October 16th, 2014|

World Food Day: Hunger is a Matter of Food Access, Even at Home

By Laurie Greene, California Ag Today Editor

“It is encouraging to see World Food Day observed today, a designation made possible by the inspiring work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,” says California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross in a statement released TODAY.

The goal of World Food Day is to eradicate hunger. Ross explains the world produces enough food to feed everyone; the ongoing problem is food access.

Globally, reports University of California, Davis, over 800 million people today suffer from malnutrition and hunger, nearly 15.9 million children in the U.S. struggle daily to get proper nutrition and approximately 18% of residents in this region lack regular access to food. Ross states, “In California, almost four million people are food insecure; they could not afford enough food at least once in the previous year.

CDFA addresses access issues daily through its programs. Ross explains that CDFA’s Certified Farmers’ Market program has helped increase the number of markets statewide, providing communities with fresh, nutritious food directly from farms. Many of them now accept CalFresh cards used by California’s low-income families to obtain nutritious food. Likewise, CDFA’s Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program helps provide these foods to needy senior citizens.

CDFA’s Office of Farm to Fork connects school districts with local farmers and also helps teachers provide quality nutrition education to their students. Ross says, “I was very pleased to see these efforts play a role in bringing a truly exceptional honor this week to a group of Contra Costa County students – they were invited to the White House garden to meet First Lady Michelle Obama and help harvest vegetables for the White House kitchen!”

CDFA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program provides USDA Farm Bill funds, nearly $20 million in 2014, through a competitive grant process for some specialty crops projects. Projects includ programs in Chico and Sacramento to improve access through community gardens for low-income residents and educational opportunities in both nutrition and urban production.

The California State Board of Food and Agriculture and CDFA collaborate to generate donations to state food banks. “We declare each December as Farm-to-Food Bank Month,” Ross comments, “and ask our farmers and ranchers to make a donation or a pledge.” Last year, donations exceeded 127 million pounds of food, and this year’s goal is 200 million pounds.

Ross continues, “We want to thank our partners at California Grown for its commitment to the food bank effort with its “Snap a Selfie” Program.” California Grown donates a pound of food to California food banks for every #cagrown selfie—a photograph of the CA Grown logo or anything grown or produced in California and is posted with ‘#cagrown’ in the posting on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook by end of this month.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations established World Food Day on October 16, 1981, the anniversary of the organization’s founding in 1945.

The 2014 World Food Day theme – Family Farming: “Feeding the world, caring for the earth” – has been chosen to raise the profile of family farming and smallholder farmers. World attention will focus on the significant role of family farming in eradicating hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition, improving livelihoods, managing natural resources, protecting the environment, and achieving sustainable development, in particular in rural areas.

The UN General Assembly has designated 2014 “International Year of Family Farming.” This is a strong signal that the international community recognizes the important contribution of family farmers to world food security.

Eight days after World Food Day, held every October 24th, “Food Day” organized by the Washington, D.C.-based, nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), aims to unite Americans to celebrate and enjoy real food and to push for improved food policies. “Real Food, Just Food”is the 2014 slogan.

Sources: CDFA, UC Davis Dateline, FAO of the UN, CSPI

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:19-07:00October 16th, 2014|

Central Valley Nematodes Cause $1.5 of Crop Damage Each Year

Root-knot Nematode Lowers Vegetable Crop Yields in the Central Valley

By Kyle Buchoff, California Ag Today Reporter

Nematodes are generally harmless, tiny roundworms found in the soil. However, the root-knot nematode, which lives in hotter climates such as in the Central Valley, can inflict havoc on crops, especially vegetables.

J. Ole Becker, Extension Specialist of Nematology at UC Riverside, described the big problems these tiny organisms create for growers, “Nematodes are an underestimated disease problem. They are probably costing California agriculture at least $1.5 billion each year in lost production. Our major problem is root-knot nematodes; we have four or five species causing problems throughout the state.”

Root-knot nematodes were named due to the way they entwine themselves around the root of the plant, which can dramatically decrease the plant’s yield. Becker explained that tools and strategies available to growers minimally affect crops and the environment, “We now have second and third generation products entering the market that are as effective, but much less toxic, then what was available twenty years ago. They also have shorter entry time.”

According to the UC Riverside Department of Nematology website, millions of species of nematodes cover all seven continents, but only a small fraction affect our food supply.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:32:20-07:00October 15th, 2014|

USDA report outlines opportunities in the emerging bioeconomy

Source: Monique Bienvenue – Cal Ag Today Social Media Manager/Reporter

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a comprehensive report synthesizing current literature that explores opportunities in the emerging bioeconomy. The report, entitled Why Biobased?, was created as a precursor for a more comprehensive economic study to be released in the coming months by the USDA BioPreferred program on the economic impacts of the biobased products industry.

“This new report presents the opportunities U.S. agriculture and forests have in the emerging bioeconomy,” said Vilsack. “The recent inclusion of mature market products into the BioPreferred program strengthens our commitment to the U.S. biobased economy and brings together two of the most important economic engines for rural America: agriculture and manufacturing.”

Synthesizing findings from existing government, academia, and non-governmental organizations, the new report explores how government policies and industry business-to-business sustainability programs are driving the biobased economy. The report further demonstrates that the biobased economy is, in fact, growing and it offers great potential for increased job creation in numerous sectors across the U.S.

For instance, one report cited concludes that biobased chemicals are expected to constitute over 10 percent of the chemical market by 2015. Another report in the study concludes that there is a potential to produce two-thirds of the total volume of chemicals from biobased materials, representing over 50,000 products, a $1 trillion annual global market.

On the heels of this completed study, the USDA BioPreferred program has awarded a contract for a more in-depth economic study of biobased products and economic impacts, including research on job creation and economic value. It will be the first federally-sponsored economic report of its kind targeting the biobased products industry in the U.S. Congress mandated the upcoming study in the 2014 Farm Bill.

The USDA BioPreferred program works to increase the purchase and use of designated biobased products through a preferred procurement initiative for federal agencies. Designated products may also carry the voluntary consumer label.

The voluntary “USDA Certified Biobased Product” label is designed to promote the broad-scale marketing of biobased products to consumers. As of September 2014, USDA has certified over 1,940 biobased products in more than 187 product categories for the label. Certified and designated products include construction, janitorial, and grounds keeping products purchased by Federal agencies, to personal care and packaging products used by consumers every day.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has estimated that U.S.-based jobs for the renewable chemicals sector will rise from approximately 40,000 jobs in 2011, which represents 3%-4% of all chemical sales, to over 237,000 jobs by 2025. This employment level would represent approximately 20% of total chemical sales.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:33:22-07:00October 9th, 2014|