Ag Alert. July 19, 2023

Ag Alert is the newspaper of the California Farm Bureau Federation, reaching Farm Bureau agricultural and collegiate members. Agricultural members are owners and decision-makers on California farms and ranches. The California Farm Bureau Federation is a non-governmental, non-profit, voluntary membership organization whose purpose is to protect and promote agricultural interests throughout the state of California and to find solutions to the problems of the farm, the farm home and the rural community. Farm Bureau is California's largest farm organization, comprised of 53 county Farm Bureaus. Farm Bureau strives to protect and improve the ability of farmers and ranchers engaged in production agriculture to provide a reliable supply of food and fiber through responsible stewardship of California's resources.

Public lands Conservation plan seen as threat to grazing, other uses

Special issue Colleges, farms embrace agricultural innovations

Page 3

More stories inside

www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com JULY 19, 2023

Trees & Vines ®

special report

By Caleb Hampton In farmer Al Stehly’s San Diego County Colleges prepare workers for high tech farm future

vineyards, drones apply pesticides to grapevines once sprayed by work- ers wearing backpacks. In Napa Valley, in- stead of human hands, mechanical leafers pull grape leaves away to ex-

TECHNOLOGY

pose the vines’ fruit zones to sunlight. As worker shortages persist, labor costs rise and technology advances, the way farms operate is changing. “We’re trying to automate as much as possible,” said Johnnie White, operations manager of Piña Vineyard Management, which manages more than a thousand acres of winegrapes in Napa Valley. California has led the way in developing cutting edge agricultural technologies, en- abling farms to do more with fewer work- ers and to make farm work safer and more efficient. But these advances, in a state with a $50 billion agriculture sector, are also cre- ating a challenge. “We need more skilled employees to be able to run this technology,” White said. To meet that need, farmers, agricultural leaders, college systems and government agencies are collaborating to launch new initiatives and expand existing programs. Some of the training programs, which are largely conducted by community col- leges, teach experienced farmworkers new skills, while others target young people en- tering the workforce for the first time. Last year, the Central Valley Community Foundation received $65 million, the larg- est ever federal award for Central Valley agriculture, to create the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation Initiative. The project, which is also called the F3 Initiative, includes one of the nation’s most ambitious plans to “upskill” the existing agricultural workforce, aiming to train 4,000 farmworkers on new technologies See WORKFORCE, Page 10

Breeding may support machine harvests Thomas Gradziel, a plant geneticist at the University of California, Davis, examines a Kader peach variety at an experimental orchard. He says the peach sector is breeding varieties that are firmer and more adaptable to machine harvesting and that are better equipped for challenges of climate change.

By Christine Souza With the rising cost of labor and a short-

could lead to greater adoption of mechani- zation at harvest. “We’re going into a future where ev- erything seems to be changing for grow- ers. Labor costs are skyrocketing, regu- lations are skyrocketing, and climate is going through unpredictable changes,” said Thomas Gradziel, geneticist and professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis. “Because of

the inevitable high cost of these changes, the best option for control is genetic options.” New varieties are essential, he added, to make peach farming economically sustainable. For more than 30 years, growers have funded breeding by Gradziel to develop new and improved clingstone peach varieties.

age of skilled work- ers to hand-pick fruit, California canning peach growers are look- ing to science for solu- tions, including breed- ing new varieties that are firm and flavorful and

TECHNOLOGY

See PEACHES, Page 16

n e w s p a p e r

Inside

Comment ......................................2 Trees & Vines........................... 7-8 Ask Your PCA ........................... 19 Classifieds........................... 22-23

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As heat rises, protecting farm employees is critical

By Bryan Little After a long, cool, wet spring gave way to a scorching heat wave last weekend,

heat illness prevention compliance proce- dures, employee monitoring, emergency responses and ensuring effective commu- nication to facilitate emergency response. A written copy of your heat illness preven- tion program in English and the language understood by the majority of employees must be made available to workers and Cal/OSHA inspectors. Have an emergency plan should some- one experience heat illness. Have contin- gency plans for cellular service or radio communication. Summon emergency service providers and ensure they can find your work site if you’re in a remote area. Determine who will be prepared to render first aid and who will remain with the sick person at all times. It’s also crucially important to remem- ber that when temperatures exceed 95 degrees, employers must implement “high-heat” procedures, including mandatory 10-minute breaks every two hours. Meal and rest periods can serve as breaks. But if employees work beyond eight hours or waive meal or rest periods, employers must ensure mandatory rest breaks occur. California Farm Bureau’s affiliated com- pany, Farm Employers Labor Service, or FELS, furnishes training resources, includ- ing our heat illness training video, tailgate training resources and a water cooler stick- er reminding employees to drink water and rest in shade periodically. Heat illness training for employees and supervisors is provided by bilingual, bicultural FELS la- bor management consultants. You can get more information at fels.net. (Bryan Little is director of employment policy for California Farm Bureau and chief operating officer of Farm Employers Labor Service. He may be contacted at blittle@cfbf.com.)

California agricul- tural employers should be bracing for the hot sum- mer throughout our state. Protecting your employees from heat illness and be- ing ready for com- pliance with the California Division

Bryan Little

of Occupational Safety and Health’s Heat Illness Prevention Standard should now be an important focus for California farmers. With temperatures rising, it is particularly important to pay attention to acclimatiza- tion—the process for your employees to acclimatize themselves to the heat. Nearly two decades after adoption of the nation’s first heat illness prevention regu- lation for outdoor workers, California farm employers have done a good job protecting employees from heat hazards. The most common heat illness prevention violations seem to be a failure to have a copy of the required written program at each work site. Citations for failure to provide water or shade—the key components of a heat illness prevention program—are rare. California’s regulation was adopted in 2005 and has been updated periodically as we learn new information about how to best protect outdoor employees from the effects of heat. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, now led by former Cal/OSHA Chief Doug Parker, is also looking at a federal standard cov- ering states that don’t operate a state oc- cupational safety and health program as California does.

A shade trailer and ample supplies of water help protect agricultural employees from summer heat. California’s Heat Illness Prevention Standard requires careful monitoring for heat-related dangers.

There are several important things ag- ricultural employers should keep in mind as temperatures ramp up. Early in the sum- mer, be particularly careful to pay attention to acclimatization of employees who are not accustomed to hot weather. According to Cal/OSHA, people best acclimatize when they work in hotter weather for at least two hours for four to 14 days. The heat illness prevention standard requires unacclimatized employees to be closely observed for 14 days when temperatures increase or employees shift from a cooler work site to a hotter one. Consider shifting the workday to start earlier in the morning and finishing before the hottest part of the day. Earlier sunrises in the summer months can make this eas- ier. Make sun shade available on demand when the temperature is below 80 degrees and provide shade at all times when the temperature exceeds 80 degrees. Shade also must be provided to all employees on a rest or meal break, except those who choose to take a meal break elsewhere.

Shade also must be easy for employees to reach without encountering obstacles or hazards or unreasonably unpleasant conditions. Hanging a tarp on the back of the trailer carrying portable toilets will certainly attract a citation from Cal/OSHA. Be sure to use “easy-up” portable shades, awnings or shade trailers, a distinctly Californian innovation. Fresh, pure and suitably cool water must be made available in sufficient quantities. Replenishment through plumbed water supplies or refilling of portable water cool- ers is permissible as long as employees in the field are never left without any water. Water must be made available to employ- ees “as close as practicable” to their work, though interpretations of the Cal/OSHA rule have shifted. For example, the agen- cy does not view placement of water that requires employees to move between rows of grapevines to be “as close as practicable.” Employees must be trained about heat exposure and the heat illness prevention standard. Supervisors must be trained in

VOL. 50, NO. 26

July 19, 2023

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2 Ag Alert July 19, 2023

Farm groups: BLM proposal could limit public land uses

“You’re creating a conflict there that doesn’t exist today.” BLM acknowledged that uses deemed incompatible with conservation activities would not be allowed during the term of a conservation lease, though it’s unclear if those lands would then be available for other uses after the lease ends. Under the proposal, conservation leases could be extended after an initial maximum term of 10 years. Opponents of the proposed rule point out that historically, federal lands that have been designated for conservation

protections largely are not managed for other purposes. They say they’re con- cerned that if BLM were to issue conserva- tion leases or expand designation of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern to large swaths of land, that activities such as graz- ing and logging would be prohibited on those lands indefinitely. In a letter to the Department of the Interior, a coalition of agricultural groups, including the California Farm Bureau, said BLM defines conservation so broadly

By Ching Lee Ranchers, foresters and others who use public lands have urged the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw a pro- posed rule they fear would radically re- strict activities such as grazing and timber harvesting in favor of conservation as the predominant land management priority. If the rule is implemented in its current form, agricultural users of public lands say it would have wide-ranging impacts on rural businesses and communities, with unintended consequences on the more than 245 million acres of public lands—lo- cated primarily in 12 western states—that BLM manages. Those who hold permits on federal lands also say they were blindsided by the proposal, which the U.S. Department of the Interior unveiled in late March with no stakeholder discussion or ad- vance notice that it was developing the rule. The public was initially given 75 days to comment on the proposed BLM Conservation and Landscape Health rule, but the department later extended the deadline to July 5. Now that the department is reviewing stakeholder comments, opponents of the proposed rule say they hope their concerns will send BLM back to the drawing board. The department said the proposed plan is meant to address a current gap in BLM regulations that “directly promote conservation efforts for all resources…so that conservation is applied more broadly across the landscape to all program areas.” It characterized the proposal as a tool for BLM to respond to pressures from climate change, including wildfires, droughts and severe storms across the West. The proposed rule includes three major changes to how public lands are currently managed: It would add con- servation as a land-use category and al- low BLM to issue conservation leases for “restoration or land enhancement,” or for mitigation. It would also expand the identification and designation of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. In addi- tion, it would apply land health standards to all BLM-managed lands; currently, BLM only uses those standards to eval- uate grazing permits. BLM said the proposal does not change its multiple-use mandate, adding that grazing, timber, mining, energy develop- ment, recreation and other uses will con- tinue. The agency also maintains that the proposed rule “does not elevate conser- vation above other uses” but rather puts conservation “on an equal footing with other uses.” Furthermore, it said conservation leas- es would “generally be a compatible use” with grazing allotments that meet land health standards and that the new rule would allow ranchers with grazing permits opportunities to enter into a conservation lease to improve land health. But Modoc County rancher Sean Curtis, who also works as the county’s planning

director, said BLM’s proposal does not address how it would manage conflicting goals. For example, he said he wondered what would happen if an environmental group wanted to fence off a piece of ground for restoration but the same ground al- ready had a grazing permit on it. “How do you facilitate that?” he asked.

See LAND, Page 13

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July 19, 2023 Ag Alert 3

Almond crop to be bigger despite weather problems California almond farmers are expect- ed to harvest a slightly larger crop this year, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. the state,” the report said. “Cooler than normal temperatures continued through early summer and delayed the maturity of the crop.” in global demand with high-quality California almonds,” Waycott added. The forecast for the average nut set per tree is 3,953, down 3% from 2022.

average kernel weight for Monterey is 1.69 grams, up 17% from 2022. Independence is 1.88 grams, up 12%. Butte is 1.36 grams, up 20%. Carmel is 1.72 grams, up 17%, and Padre is 1.21 grams, up 10%. Total state bearing acreage—defined as plantings four years and older—con- tinues to rise, with 1.38 million acres in 2023 compared to 1.35 million acres last year. That’s up nearly 57% from 10 years ago, when state bearing acreage stood at 880,000. Almond bearing acreage first topped more than a million in 2017, with 1.03 mil- lion acres, rising 6% from the year before. The price of almonds has generally been on a downward trend. It was val- ued at $1.40 a pound in 2022, down from $1.86 in 2021. The 2020 price was $1.71 a pound compared to $2.45 a pound in 2019. Last year’s price was comparable to prices in 2008, when the nut was valued at $1.45 a pound. The highest price on record was seen in 2014, at $4 a pound. The lowest price on record came in 1999, at 86 cents a pound when state bearing acreage stood at 485,000. The USDA objective report is based on actual almond counts using a statistic methodology. The survey was conducted from May 26 to July 3. A total 1,824 trees were sampled in 912 orchards, 32 more orchards than in 2022.

Richard Waycott, president and CEO of the Almond Board of California, said the forecast for a larger crop shows the resiliency of California almond orchards, even after some of the challenges farmers faced in recent years, including the obsta- cles this past wet, cool winter and spring created after three years of drought. “Almond farmers have worked hard while dealing with higher production and financing costs and a bloom with highly compromised bee flight hours,” he said. “They are very thankful, however, for the abundant rain and snow, which vastly improved the water situation, at least for now, and for shipping logistics that con- tinue to improve. “The perseverance of California’s al- mond farmers is admirable as is their commitment to meet future growth

The 2023 California Almond Objective Measurement Report published last week estimates the crop will come in at 2.6 billion meat pounds, 1% above last year’s 2.57 billion pounds. The estimate is up 4% from USDA’s subjective forecast in May and comes af- ter one of the wettest winters on record, limited bee flights because of rain and wind, and a cool spring. USDA’s forecasted yield is 1,880 pounds per acre, down 20 pounds from 2022 and the lowest since 2009. The slightly bigger crop comes partly because of larger nut size and despite dif- ficult conditions, USDA reported. “Record level rainfall and unprece- dented stormy conditions hindered bee pollination activity in orchards across

The nonpareil average nut set of 4,004 is 1% more than last year. The average nut set of the Monterey variety is 3,598, down 8% from 2022. Independence is 4,048, a decline of 12%, while Butte is 4,043, down 3%. Merced County remains the top region in setting average nuts per tree at 4,686, down nearly 31% from 2022. Tulare County is second at an average 4,677 nuts per tree, down nearly 12% from last year. Third is Kern County, with an average 4,374 nuts per tree, down 6%. Colusa County ranks fourth this year, rising from seventh place last year with an average 4,336 nuts per tree; that’s up nearly 65% from 2022. Placing fifth is Stanislaus County with an average 4,260 nuts per tree, up 26%. Sixth is Fresno County with 2,946 nuts per tree, down 25%. San Joaquin County ranks seventh with 3,196 nuts per tree, down 19%. Madera County remains at eighth place with an average 3,001 nuts per tree, up nearly 15% from 2022. The average kernel weight for all variet- ies sampled was 1.67 grams, up 14% from the 2022 average weight. The nonpareil average kernel weight is 1.69 grams, up 9% from last year. The

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4 Ag Alert July 19, 2023

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investments in water resilience.” Orestimba Creek is a naturally occurring waterway that flows through both water districts in Stanislaus County. The project permit allows for diversions to underground water storage from about 80 acres of percolation ponds to the un- derlying Delta-Mendota subbasin. Stored water can be used to irrigate more than 209,000 acres of farmland or augment surface water supplies, reducing impacts Stormwater capture project launched in Stanislaus on the aquifer during critically dry years. Anthea Hansen, general manager of Del Puerto Water District, said the Central California Irrigation District and Del Puerto Water District have worked “lock- step for over nine years” to bring the 80- acre recharge and recovery project to the Newman area. She said the agencies had to navigate challenging planning and engi- neering, environmental approvals, permits and water-right approvals, funding acqui- sition and community outreach. for completion in June 2024. The water board committed $5.6 million from its Proposition 1 Stormwater Grant Program to fully fund construction of the project’s recharge ponds and diversion and conveyance structures. In a statement, E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the state water board, said the proj- ect is “an example of how districts can take advantage of our financial assistance and streamlined permitting to make critical The California State Water Resources Control Board joined the Central California Irrigation District and Del Puerto Water District in western Stanislaus County to launch the Orestimba Creek Recharge and Recovery project. The recharge project is expected to capture up to 3,500 acre-feet of storm- water flows annually for irrigation, while reducing flood risks to disadvantaged communities. The project is scheduled

USDA schedules online session on urban agriculture The U.S. Department of Agriculture is encouraging urban producers to sub- mit comments and virtually attend a public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on Aug. 1. “The Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Federal Advisory Committee continues to support urban agriculture and innovative production efforts at USDA with on-the-ground insight and advice,” said Terry Cosby, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, which houses the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. “I encourage members of the public to attend.” The upcoming meeting includes ad- dressing public comments and discuss- ing topics such as food waste prevention and recovery, surplus food recovery and compostable food packing standards. To attend virtually, register by Aug. 1 at www.usda.gov/partnerships/federal- advisory-committee-urban-ag. “This locally owned groundwater stor- age is a first for the Del Puerto District and its landowners,” Hansen said, add- ing that she hopes the project is a model for other groundwater storage partner- ship opportunities.” Aside from the board’s $5.6 million stormwater grant, the water districts received $800,000 from the California Department of Water Resources Integrated Regional Water Management Program, also funded by Proposition 1. The project is also supported by $1 million from the fed- eral Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $2.5 million provided by the water districts for land acquisition and construction costs. CCID General Manager Jarrett Martin said, “Not only are we providing water re- siliency per the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, we are providing flood protection to our community and im- proving the water quality of the domestic water supply.” Statewide goals for stormwater cap- ture, wastewater recycling, desalination, increased storage and conservation are part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s water supply strategy, which seeks to offset the projected 10% loss in California’s water supplies by 2040 due to climate change.

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6 Ag Alert July 19, 2023

A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ® CALIFORNIA Trees & Vines ®

Floodwaters inundated almond orchards in San Joaquin County in January, overwhelming farmers’ ability to pump out excess water. Many trees were later infected by a water mold, Phytophthora.

Flooded almond orchards impacted by deadly mold By Vicky Boyd

“Unfortunately at the time, there wasn’t any place to pump the water because every- thing was full for an extended period of time,” Brumley said. As a result, he lost a number of almond trees fairly quickly once leaves began to emerge. “They leafed out, and we could see they weren’t going to make it,” he said. “Partly it was due to Phytophthora, and also some trees were in saturated soil, and the roots couldn’t get oxygen.” In addition to near-record rains this winter, Cook pointed to a number of other possible reasons for increased Phytophthora infections, including overall larger almond acreage and new orchards being planted on marginal soils that may not have the best drainage. “This is at least four to five times worse than it was back in 2017,” he said. “Now we have a lot more plantings of trees. And the other things we have are lots of plantings of trees on poor soil. That’s what’s driving it. We have trees on rice ground. We have trees in creek beds. We have trees everywhere.” Knowing clay soils can be tied to poor drainage, some growers planted almond trees on berms to keep tree crowns above water and keep roots aerated. Even that didn’t work in many cases this year. See MOLD, Page 8

Winter rains may have brought welcome relief from the prolonged drought, but they also flooded many almond orchards, causing some tree roots to drown or become infected with a frequently lethal water mold. Jim Cook, a pest control advisor who heads research for Colusa County Farm Supply in Williams, said he is seeing more almond trees damaged by the mold Phytophthora than he can remember. While checking almond orchards where growers had reported concerns in early spring, Cook said he found 30 out of 30 were infected with the disease. His field identifications were subsequently confirmed by laboratory testing. Brent Holtz, University of California Cooperative Extension pomology farm advisor for San Joaquin County, said he also has seen several orchards in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta devastated by the disease. “In some of the almond orchards in the delta where they couldn’t pump the water off fast enough, I’ve seen quite a bit of Phytophthora out there,” Holtz said. “Out on some of the islands where they were pumping and lost power, it’s catastrophic.” Phil Brumley, who grows almonds and walnuts near Escalon, said he had some flood- ing issues in late February and early March in his orchards, mostly along creeks and in low places.

July 19, 2023 Ag Alert 7

Mold Continued from Page 7

and promotes early leaf fall. Eventually trees succumb. Cook is conducting field trials this year to test the effectiveness of Orondis, a newly registered fungicide from Syngenta, as well as the older fungicides Fosphite, Ridomil and Aliette against Phytophthora. He applied the materials through irrigation to infected tree roots during the spring root flush and plans to reapply them in the fall during the second flush. The products don’t cure Phytophthora but instead are designed to stop further root infection. Along with a strong nutri- tional program, Cook said he hoped the treated trees will generate new roots to re- place those damaged by the water mold and will remain productive. The Almond Board of California also is funding research led by UC Riverside that is looking at Orondis and two unreg- istered products, Presidio and Elumin, which could potentially help manage Phytophthora strains that have grown re- sistant to phosphites. “We’re just trying to get the trees back into producing so they can give some eco- nomic return to the grower. That’s all we’re after,” Cook said. “For some of the trees we’re looking at, they’re pretty far gone and aren’t going to make it.” (Vicky Boyd is a reporter in Modesto. She may be contacted at vlboyd@att.net.)

“The roots in some areas were under 10 inches of water, and they couldn’t breathe,” Cook said. “You have huge disease issues with any type of vascular problem, and it exponentially gets worse.” Water-saturated soils reduce the abil- ity of oxygen to infiltrate the root zone. Because roots require oxygen, long peri- ods of flooding can lead to asphyxiation, with fine feeder roots being the first to be affected. During the winter when trees are dor- mant and have lower respiration rates, they can withstand up to seven days of standing water. But as they begin to leaf out and root activity picks up, standing water in orchards of as few as five days can kill mature trees, according to University of California studies. In light of saturated soils this spring, Holtz recommended almond growers wait on their first irrigations until soil moisture sensors or pressure bombs in- dicated they were needed. He noticed in his family’s own almond orchard that they had already made four irrigations in 2022 by the time they applied the first irrigation this year. “The worst thing you can do is wa- ter too much or too early. You’ll cause Phytophthora on you’re own,” he said. “By holding off and using the pressure chamber or some type of soil monitoring

Almond trees that were blooming during flooding were more susceptible to disease issues. Prolonged periods under water can asphyxiate trees, with danger higher for those starting to leaf.

and only watering when your tree real- ly needs it, that’s the best Phytophthora (management) tool.” Phytophthora crown and root rots are caused by a handful of naturally occurring water molds that favor wet soil conditions. Of the two, crown rot is more rapid and kills trees by damaging plant tissue that carries water and nutrients from the roots. With the first hot spell in May, trees

tried to tap those soil nutrients and mois- ture for respiration and leaf growth. But a compromised plumbing system prevent- ed their movement, causing some trees to quickly collapse and die. One of the telltale symptoms of Phytophthora crown rot is leaves on infected trees wilt and dry but remain attached. Root rot, on the other hand, is a chron- ic problem that slowly plugs root vascu- lar tissue. As a result, it decreases tree vigor, stunts tree growth, reduces yields

2023 Health & Safety on the Farm and Ranch

California Farm Bureau is pleased to offer this year-long program of training sessions presented by Nationwide. Select topics will be presented in both English and Spanish. Members, enjoy access to free classes! Register for the upcoming training webinars. Trainings will be presented via Zoom. The Hazardous Agricultural Materials (HAM) training must be attended in person at a participating County Farm Bureau office or at the California Farm Bureau office in Sacramento. For a list of class dates and to register, visit cfbf.com/FBE or call (800) 698-FARM for assistance. You will receive a Zoom link and details two days prior to your selected webinar date.

8 Ag Alert July 19, 2023

over the next few years. Christy Patch, director of collective impact at the Central Valley Community Foundation, said F3 partner organizations are currently working with industry part- ners to develop an “applied ag systems” curriculum for eight community colleges in the Central Valley. The certificate pro- gram is expected to begin in fall of 2024. In planning the program, staff surveyed 9,000 farmworkers to find out “how and where they want this learning to happen,” Patch said, “to make sure this program, when it launches, is accessible.” In 2021, the Western Growers Association received a $750,000 award from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to develop a “Next Gen Ag Workers” curriculum for colleges across the state. That program began this year and is to be fully implemented by 2025. It aims to provide specialized training to 330 pro- fessors, primarily at community colleges, and to reach 2,750 students. It also gives member growers subsidies to pay farm interns working with new technologies. Carrie Peterson, the program’s grant manager, said the curriculum was devel- oped so that colleges without established agricultural technology programs could begin offering courses in the short term and teach students the “skills that all our members are saying are really crucial.” Meanwhile, Hartnell College in Monterey County has been teaching stu- dents and farmworkers agricultural tech- nology courses since 2006, scaling up its programs over the past several years to meet the needs of the region’s fresh pro- duce and value-added sectors. “The local agriculture industry really stepped in,” said Clint Cowden, dean of career technical education and workforce development at the Salinas-based college. Hartnell formed a steering committee with executives from some of California’s largest Workforce Continued from Page 1

To use a mechanical leafer, said White, the Napa vineyard manager, he needs an operator “who knows that you’re pulling the leaves off and you’re not damaging the clusters of fruit.” The same goes for operating a mechan- ical harvester, which tends to either leave some fruit on the vine or get everything in- cluding undesirable materials. “It’s a bal- ance,” White said. “You have to have skilled employees to be able to understand that and adjust the machines accordingly.” As they introduced automated technol- ogy to their vineyards, White and Stehly both promoted from within, providing in- house training to tech-savvy employees. On Stehly’s farm, two field coordinators are now licensed drone operators. A third employee, who worked pruning vineyards, is studying to take the licensing exam. “The first shot at all of this goes to ex- isting employees,” Stehly said. “I’m doing these things to make their jobs safer and easier, not to replace them.” Labor advocates have cautioned that automation could displace farmworkers. Farmers and economists disagree, point- ing out that machines have not come close to reversing the shortfall of workers. With an aging farm workforce and a de- cades-long impasse in Washington on pro- posed immigration reforms, many farmers see technology as the only solution. Growers and vineyard managers in Napa are again resorting to the expensive temporary foreign worker program, only allowed when insufficient domestic work- ers can be found, to harvest grapes for this year’s vintage. “Everyone around here is invested heavily in the H-2A program, in- cluding ourselves,” White said. He added that even after importing workers and automating some operations, he would not turn away a local looking for work in a vineyard. “If they show up, we still have work for them,” White said. “We could always use a little more labor.” (Caleb Hampton is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at champton@cfbf.com.)

Earlier this year, Hartnell College students Marcos Arteaga, left, and Napolean Navarro get hands- on experience through one of the school’s agricultural technology courses in Monterey County.

leafy greens companies and advisory com- mittees with frontline supervisors from lo- cal farms and processing plants. Those groups “gave us the ability to see around corners” and learn which skills local farm employers needed workers to know, Cowden said. “As the industry ad- justs and changes, we want to adjust and change with it.” Today, Hartnell offers several disciplines within agricultural technology, including programs in robotics and mechatron- ics, automotive technology, food safety, plant science and welding. “Hartnell does a great job of working with industry and building curriculum off what they need,” said Napoleon Navarro, an agricultural engineering student at Hartnell. He said the community college program is preparing him well for a career in agriculture. “It really sets students up for success,” said Navarro, who plans to pursue further studies and work in agricultural engineering. In addition to educating students such as Navarro, Hartnell provides “contract education” for farm businesses and fresh produce companies, including Central Coast-based giants such as Taylor Farms, retraining their employees so they can adapt to new roles.

At one work site, Hartnell worked with hand sorters whose job was to manually cull low-quality materials from leafy green mixes on the processing lines of the com- pany’s salad-packing plant. The company was “looking at using opti- cal eyes to do that,” Cowden said, referring to technology that can identify insects or diseased plant parts and use air or vibrat- ing discs to extract them from the mixes. Hartnell staff taught the workers the basics of electricity, hydraulics and pneu- matics, and how to use a programmable logic controller, so that they could leave the processing line to become maintenance mechanics servicing the machines. The idea, Cowden said, is to “take the person doing that highly repetitive, easy-to-automate job and turn them into the machine operator or the next level up.” While farmers and college administra- tors emphasized the importance of attract- ing young people to careers in agricultur- al technology, they said the knowledge California’s seasoned farmworkers already possess is invaluable to incorporating new technologies on a farm. “When we look at our farmworkers transitioning to new technologies, we see all of this institutional knowledge,” Cowden said.

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10 Ag Alert July 19, 2023

Silicon Valley meets Salinas Valley through ag tech

By Caitlin Fillmore Eight units in a warehouse space near the Watsonville airport hummed with

life as welders in an- other room fabricat- ed steel tube frames. A few doors down, a group assembled and prepared to flush some “brains.” These brains

Wren Ramsey, a “robot wrangler” for the Salinas Valley agricultural tech firm farm-ng, monitors the company’s farming robot, the Amiga, at Jacobs Farm del Cabo in Watsonville. The firm is among several tech startups drawn

power farm-ng, an agriculture tech- nology company that located its man- ufacturing center in Watsonville to work with farmers in the Salinas Valley vegetable-growing region. As autono- mous solutions pick up steam across the agriculture sector, farm-ng has carved a niche with its farming robot, the Amiga. In the process, the company says it hopes to “democratize access” in the food system. “If we can create innovations to make small farms more economically viable, we can create farmers,” said Nathan Dorn, business development manager at farm- ng. Dorn called the company a “rapid pro- totyping shop” because farm-ng specializ- es in a robot that begins as an unadorned square frame with four wheels. From there, Amiga owners decide how to use the bat- tery-powered robot to help lift, pull or oth- erwise solve time-consuming challenges on the farm. The firm is among several agricultural

to the vegetable- growing region.

tech startups moving to the Salinas Valley, home to the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology, which sup- ports companies that develop robotics that help farmers often facing worker shortages to harvest crops, control weeds and more. Some area growers are already employ- ing its $13,000, 320-pound Amiga platform, which offers a customizable, automated

system for those looking for assistance with manual labor tasks. Instead of spreading compost with a wheelbarrow, the Amiga can affix farm-ng’s “integrated compost spreader assembly” kit and roll along on cruise control. The limited capacity of a back- pack-mounted sprayer can be replaced by a larger tank resting on the Amiga, which

can carry up to 1,000 pounds, according to farm-ng. Farmers can also purchase kits from the company for implements such as seeders and finger weeders. “(The technology) is practical to im- prove people’s lives now. It’s applicable now,” said Ethan Rublee, who founded

See ROBOTICS, Page 14

July 19, 2023 Ag Alert 11

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