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.
Demonstrating resiliency Panel tells how food system responded to the pandemic
Discussing theoutlook Leaders talk in virtual venue during FarmBureaumeeting
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www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com DECEMBER 16, 2020
Field Crops ® Vegetables ®
s p e c i a l r e p o r t s
ByChristine Souza Amid long-term forecasts indicat- ing California could be headed into another dry winter, discussions at the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting focused on current and fu- Ongoing litigation muddies state’s water outlook
t ure wa t e r po l i c y and the challenges f ac i ng shor t- and long-term supplies. During a breakout sess i on as par t of the virtual Annual Me e t i n g , E r n e s t Conant, U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation regional director for the Cal i fornia-Great Basin Region, described how regulatory constraints have affected water allocations from the federal Central Valley Project. “If you compare the early 1990s, when we were in a severe drought, we were able to make some nominal deliveries, compared to the most recent drought in 2014-15, when we were not able tomake any deliveries to south of delta and north of delta” water contractors, he said. Conant also discussed l i t igat ion brought by the state of California after federal agencies released updated bio- logical opinions formanagement ofwater to aid protected fish in the Sacramento- San Joaquin river system. Environmental groups and the state challenged the 2019 opinions, seeking a return to previous opinions and possible reductions in wa- ter deliveries. Describing the development of new operating rules for the project as “one of our largest accomplishments for our region in some time,” Conant said the resulting management plan “brings greater efficiency to water delivery by modifying and coordinating long-term operations of the CVP and (State Water Project), and includes the newest sci- ence to ensure updated operations are achieved and to achieve a reasonable
An employee of Colwell Thundering Herd Ranch harvests mandarins in Penryn. Farmer Rich Colwell says his harvest and his business are up this year, as more customers seek out mandarins for their health benefits in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mandarin growers harvest ‘robust’ crop
ByKevinHecteman RichColwell isn’tdreamingof anorange Christmas. He’s having one right now. Colwell, who grows, packs and ships mandarins in Penryn, says his crop has been “very heavy and robust.” “We’ve been blessed with excellent weather for harvesting,” he said, with only one day of rain before this past weekend,
andbecauseof that, henoted, “we’vebeen able topull a largeamount of tree-ripened, sweet fruit off the trees.” Casey Creamer, president of California Citrus Mutual in Exeter, described this year’smandarin quality as “superb.” “Sizing is good, and there’s a good quantity this year, compared to last year,” Creamer said, adding that he’s “just real-
ly optimistic. It’s got excellent flavor and should eat well.” Inaddition, Colwell said, theCOVID-19 pandemic and resulting health concerns have boosted the fruit’s popularity, inpart due to its vitaminC content. “I think that the demand for fresh, well-
See MANDARINS, Page 11
n e w s p a p e r
Comment.......................................2 Field Crops...................................7 Vegetables................................. 15 Classifieds........................... 22-23 Inside
Published by
See WATER, Page 19
New symbols help tell Farm Bureau’s story
main California FarmBureau brand—a way to tie the brands together andgivepeople abetter appreciation for all theways Farm Bureau works for them, while allowing the brands to retain their strong individual images. Of course,we’vealsotakencare tocreatebrandsymbols that workwell inall thedifferentplatformswhere theymayappear:
For thoseof us inagriculture, “branding”has avery specific meaning: away for ranchers to identify their livestock. For an organization such as Farm Bureau, branding also refers to the way we present ourselves to our members, pro- spectivemembers and the other, many and varied audiences we reacheachday. It’smore thana logo—it’s anapproach that
showspeoplewhat we stand for in the most straightfor- wardway possible. As theCalifornia Farm Bureau en- ters its 102nd year, we have modern- ized and unified our brands to re- flect all the differ- ent ways our or- ganization serves its members and commun i ca t e s with people both inside and outside agriculture. It’s a big change, but a change Farm Bureau has made
on webs i tes, in print publications, on business cards, on social media profiles. Updating the brands will be a long-term pro- cess that will take several months to accomplish, in order to assure ev- ery use of the new brands promotes our mission and core values. One thing you may have noticed: We have shor t- ened our public brand toCalifornia FarmBureau, from
CFBF president’s message
To demonstrate the different ways Farm Bureau serves its members and communicates with people inside and outside agriculture, the California Farm Bureau has unified and modernized brands associated with the organization.
Jamie Johansson President California Farm Bureau
California Farm Bureau Federation. “Federation” remains part of the organization’s official name, but we’ve found through the years that the word tended to confuse people rather than informthem. Inaddition, we surveyedourmem- bers, and they overwhelmingly preferred California Farm Bureau to California FarmBureau Federation. Tobesure,ourorganizationremainsafederationof53coun- tyFarmBureaus, but shorteningourpublicbrandtoCalifornia FarmBureauwhenappropriatewill simplifyour communica- tion in particular with people outside of agriculture. Whenour BoardofDirectors reviewed thenewbrand, they gave a lot of thought to the barn in the symbol. We use a cen- ter-aisle barn to appeal to farmers and ranchers alike. Importantly, the light in the barn is on. InCalifornia, where there’s always something being harvested, there’s always a light on ina barn—andFarmBureauwill always be at work to standup for farmers and ranchers. It is trulywhatmakesFarm Bureau an organization like no other.
several times during its history. In recent times, we have changedbrandswhenwe’vechanged locations: In1979,when FarmBureaumovedfromBerkeleytoSacramento,weadopted a brand that featured the intertwined, lower-case letters fb, surrounded by a circle. In 1997, when we moved to our sec- ond Sacramento location, we switched the logo to a bolder, upper-case FB in a rectangular frame. Now, followingourmove toour thirdSacramentobuilding, we have introduced the new symbol you see on this page, re- taining theupper-caseFBbut addingnewelements—spelling out California Farm Bureau and incorporating a barn and foreground imagery to evoke crop rows andwater. Just as importantly, asyou’ll see,wehavealsoupdatedother brands associatedwith the California FarmBureau: Ag Alert, CaliforniaBountiful, FELS, FARMPAC, FARMTEAM. Eachof these services and products has its own proud history. All of themhave established their own identities. The new brands retain that, while forging a link with the
VOL. 47, NO. 45
December 16, 2020
AG ALERT ® weekly newspaper is an official publication of the CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU
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Board of Directors (District 1) Al Stehly; (2) Andy Wilson; (3) Terry Munz; (4) KevinMerrill; (5) Jenny Holtermann; (6) Joey Airoso; (7) Donny Rollin; (8) Richard Bianchi; (9) Tom Rogers; (10) JanGarrod; (11) JoeMartinez; (12) Paul Sanguinetti; (13) Ron Peterson; (14) Ken Mitchell ; (15) David Barhydt; (16) Garrett Driver; (17) Domenic Carinalli; (18) David Rosenthal; (19) TomStewart; (20) JimMorris; (21) Blake Alexandre; (Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee Chair) Lindsey Mebane. Advisory Members Ronnie Leimgruber, Chair, CFB Rural Health Department; Glenda Humiston, University of California Cooperative Extension. Letters to the editor: Send to agalert@cfbf.com or Ag Alert, Attn: Editor, 2600 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833. Include name, address, phone number, email address; 250-word limit.
Thanksgiving, Christmas; and with exceptions, by the Cal i fornia Farm Bureau, 2600 River Plaza Dr. , Sacramento CA 95833 (telephone: (916) 561-5570) . Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, California. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to AG ALERT, 2600 River Plaza Dr., Sacramento, CA 95833. The California Farm Bureau does not assume responsibility for statements by advertisers or for products adver t ised in AG ALERT nor does the Federation assume responsibility for statements or expressions of opinion other than in editorials or in articles showing authorship by an officer, director, or employee of the California Farm Bureau Federation or its affiliates. No alcohol, tobacco or political ad-
vertising will be accepted. Jamie Johansson , President
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2 Ag Alert December 16, 2020
Panel: Pandemic has tested the food system
ByChing Lee Despitepressures fromapandemic that tested the nation’s ability to feed people, the U.S. food-supply chain has shown it can be flexible and is resilient: That was a keymessage shared by three panel mem- bers who work in the food business and who spoke during a breakout session at the 2020 California FarmBureau Annual Meeting, held virtually this year due to COVID-19. Thepanelists,whorepresentedfoodpro- cessing, distribution and retail, discussed how the pandemic has affected their busi- nessesand the foodchainasawhole. They also shared tools they found tobe success- ful and that could help inform future ac- tions, including how farmers can bemore competitive ina post-COVID-19 era. Chelsea Minor, corporate director of public affairs for the supermarket chain Raley’s, which operates in Northern California and Nevada, acknowledged the retailer was caught “flat-footed” at the beginning of the pandemic, because it did not anticipate customers’ stockpil- ing. What “saved the day,” she said, was its relationships with local producers of meat and freshproduce, whowere able to “make significant shifts” inhowtheydeliv- ered products. “Our food system is so resilient—and I Farm Bureau delegates meet in virtual session ByKevinHecteman The uniqueness of the House of Delegates session at the 102nd California Farm Bureau Annual Meet ing can be summed up in President Jamie Johansson’s voting instructions. “All those in favor,” he said, “please un- mute yourself and say, ‘Aye.’” For the first time in Farm Bureau history, delegates representing county Farm Bureaus assembled via videocon- ference, a move made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic. FarmBureau’s three statewide elected officers—Johansson, First Vice President Shannon Douglass and Second Vice President Shaun Crook—and several staff members took part fromthe FarmBureau building in Sacramento, with delegates at theirhomesorcountyFarmBureauoffices. Given the pandemic’s effects on travel and gathering, the FarmBureau Board of Directors had recommended that dele- gates tablepolicydiscussionsuntil 2021— and delegates subsequently passed amo- tion not to take up any recommendations this year. Policy recommendations with holdswill goback through thepolicymak-
don’t even think we knew how resilient it was until we got here,” she said. As the CEO of Gold Star Foods, which provides school meals nationally, Sean Leer said his “primary focus” was adapt- ing his business for emergency feeding programs. The company provides meals toabout 18%of theU.S. school-lunchpop-
ulation, or about 6.5 millionmeals a day, with two of its distribution centers in San Bernardino and Solano counties. He not- edhowthe company’s entire supply chain had to pivot immediately from serving in lunchrooms to curbside distribution. As schoolsmoved away fromsaladbars and bulk foods, Leer noted how produce
suppliers were able to “unitize individ- ually wrapped items, whether it be car- rots, cucumber coins—all sourced from California.” School districts were able to put together grocery boxes and provide families multiplemeals at a time through
See FOOD, Page 20
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1 By direct written premium, AM Best (2018). The Farm Bureau, FB, and the FB National logo are trademarks of the American Farm Bureau Federation and are used with permission under license by Nationwide. Nationwide and the Nationwide N and Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. CountryChoice is a service mark of Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company. © 2020 Nationwide GPO-0486CA.1 (12/20)
See DELEGATES, Page 11
December 16, 2020 Ag Alert 3
Duvall, Costa discuss outlook for agriculture
ByChristine Souza andKevinHecteman
whether you’re farmers, ranchers, dairy- men or women, or in the cattle business, poultry—that you have ideas on how we can better deal with it,” he said. “As a result of this pandemic, peopleare beginning to realize that their fooddoesn’t come fromthegrocery storeor their favor- ite fast-food place or restaurant,” he said. “It comes fromall of you.” Costa also predicted Congress would debate a bipartisan infrastructure bill covering schools, transportation and ac- cess to broadband. “You sure as heck can’t do telemed- icine, let alone virtual learning, which is hard enough, if you don’t have access to broadband,” he said. Farmers’ resiliencywillhelpthemsurvive thedisruptions of thepandemic, he said. “I truly believe that we’re going to get through this,” Costa said. “We’ll be tested like our parents and grandparents were tested” during the Great Depression and WorldWar II. “When we come together and put our differencesaside,”hesaid, “there’snochal- lengewe can’t overcome.” (Christine Souza and Kevin Hecteman are assistant editors of Ag Alert.)
Reflecting on the disruptions of 2020 and the outlook for 2021, American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and U.S. Rep. JimCosta offered their opinions on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during separateappearances aspart of the California FarmBureauAnnualMeeting. Duvall and Costa spoke with California FarmBureau President Jamie Johansson during “coffee talk” sessions within the virtual AnnualMeeting format. Speaking wi th Duval l via Zoom, Johansson noted how Farm Bureau, at both the state and national levels, made a point early in the pandemic to reassure people that foodwould be available. Duvall said Farm Bureau worked with the Trump administration and govern- ment leaders to secure relief for farmers, adding that the pandemic also brought people together. “Thepandemiccrisisbroughtmoreuni- ty andbroughtmore foodandagricultural groups together more than ever before,” he said. AsPresident-electBidenprepares totake office,Duvall andJohanssondiscussedad-
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall, right, speaks with California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson at a virtual “coffee talk” during the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.
vocating for farmers in the coming year. Duvall noted a congratulatory social media video he addressed to Biden was intended to “start building a bridge to this new administration and so that we can have a seat like we had with the Trump administration.” Duvall said he has spo- ken toBiden’s transition teamand to Tom Vilsack, who has been nominated as U.S. agriculturesecretary, adding, “We’rework- ing real hard to try to build those bridges
and toget usprepared.” (See story, Page9.) During his coffee chat with Johansson, Costa,D-Fresno, saidheexpects the117th Congress, which takes office Jan. 3, to look at foodsupply-chain issueswithaneye to- ward amore resilient supply chain, using knowledge gained during the pandemic. Farmers and ranchers will have “valu- able input” in the process, Costa noted. “I think all of you, our producers—
JOIN US IN CULTIVATING THE FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE.
Being part of the California Farm Bureau means adding to the combined strength of a membership that includes over 34,000 farmers, ranchers and families throughout the agricultural community. Together, we work tirelessly to advocate and protect the future and quality of life for all California farmers and ranchers.
Membership benefits include: • Member discounts from over 25 partners offering services from vehicle rental to insurance and business services. • Subscriptions to Farm Bureau publications like AgAlert and California Bountiful. • Advocacy at the local, state and federal levels on your behalf. • Much more.
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4 Ag Alert December 16, 2020
Actions by county Farm Bureaus earn awards Among county FarmBureaus with 800 or more members, the Sonoma County Farm Bureau was named County of the Year. Through daily emails, the county FarmBureau kept itsmembers up to date about the pandemic and the status of lo- cal wildfires. Inaddition, the county Farm Bureau hosts a weekly radio program to inform listeners about local agriculture. It has been active on water quality issues andhas takena lead role inpromotingan- imal agriculture. The Sacramento County FarmBureau received the Innovator Award, which rec- ognizes themost creative, forward-think- ing program undertaken by a county Farm Bureau. The county Farm Bureau created virtual farm tours, releasedweek- ly on its social media platforms, to high- light the top commodities produced in Sacramento County. It was also selected by the American FarmBureau Federation among 12 from across the nation for County Activities of Excellence.
Excellence in leadership, member ser- vices, policy implementation, agricultur- al promotion and public relations earned honors for county Farm Bureaus during the102ndCaliforniaFarmBureauAnnual Meeting. The awards were presented during a ceremony conducted virtually. For county Farm Bureaus with up to 499 agricultural members, the Monterey CountyFarmBureauearned theCountyof the Year Award. The county FarmBureau partneredwith local agenciesonpandem- ic-relatedmatters, includinga first-in-Cal- ifornia Ag Worker Protection Advisory Document. It also takes an active role in local water, housing and transportation issues, and started a Friends of Monterey County Farmers group to connectwith lo- cal consumers. The Napa County Farm Bureau re- ceived the County of the Year Award in its membership class of 500 to 799 mem- bers. The county Farm Bureau has been active during the pandemic, arranging for COVID-19 tests for farm employees and creating local, Spanish-languageoutreach videos about pandemic safety. Thecounty FarmBureauprovidedfreeN95respirators to farm employees during wildfires, and undertook feeadministration for a region- al vineyardwater-quality program.
Sasaki honored for distinguished service
Longtime Sonoma County agricul- tural and water leader Tito Sasaki has been presented with the California Farm Bureau Distinguished Service Award. The award was announced dur ing the 102nd Cal i fornia Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. A Sonoma Valley grape grower who be- gan farming following a successful career in engineering and quantummechanics, Sasaki is a former Sonoma County Farm Bureaupresident andboardmemberwho became particularly involved in local and statewidewater issues. California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson said Sasaki has worked tirelessly on Sonoma County water for more than 20 years.
onSonomaCounty implementationof the SustainableGroundwaterManagementAct. “Tito’s reach and influence has extend- ed beyond Sonoma County,” Johansson said. “Hehasprovidedinputonagriculture andwater issues in areas around Sonoma County and has been keenly focused on statewide issues impacting farmers.” Innominating Sasaki for the award, cur- rentSonomaCountyFarmBureauPresident Jeff Carleton described himas “widely re- spectedbybothFarmBureaumembersand electedofficials, who value his intelligence andgraspof complex issues.” The California Farm Bureau has pre- sented the Distinguished Service Award annually since 1953 to dedicated Farm Bureaumembers fromCalifornia.
“He has devoted much of his time to developing water solutions and strate- gies, namely a balance among the water needs of farmers, fishandurban residents,” Johanssonsaid, notingSasaki’s recentwork Sonoma County grape grower Tito Sasaki re- ceived the Distinguished Service Award during the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.
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December 16, 2020 Ag Alert 5
Yuba County farmer earns Discussion Meet title
ByChristine Souza Indiscussing thepluses andminuses of big data in agriculture, a contestant from Yuba County earned top honors in the California Young Farmers and Ranchers DiscussionMeet. MadelineMeyerofWheatland,amember of the Yuba-Sutter FarmBureau, emerged as the winner after addressing the use of data collected on the farmas amethod of increasing productivity and profitability, andweighing the technology with under- standinganyassociatedrisksandliabilities. The finalsof thecompetitionoccurredin Sacramentoat theCaliforniaFarmBureau building, as part of the organization’s 102nd Annual Meeting. The Discussion Meet featuredparticipants fromacross the state, who were evaluated on their ability to exchange ideas and opinions. DarinDuPontofMercedCountywas first runner-upinthecontest.Theother finalists wereRyanAmaralofStanislausCountyand Joseph Jacksonof TulareCounty. The final round of the contest was moderated by state YF&R Discussion Meet Committee Chair Carrie Isaacson of SacramentoCounty. In discussing the use of big data on the
“Oneof the large concerns for farmers is they don’t have time to sit down and scroll throughpagesandpagesandpagesofdata, whiletryingtomanagetheir farms,”hesaid. DuPont suggested the University of California Cooperative Extension system when trying to create management tools forbigdata, and that countyFarmBureaus couldhost tech summits to connect farm- ers and engineers. Amaral,ofDenair,whoworksatModesto JuniorCollege, saidtechnologycompanies should consult with farmers and ranchers when creating agricultural software. “Thesestartupsarecoming inandtrying to figureout howtocollect andanalyze the data, so we really need to make sure the farmers are in the conversation,” he said. “As thesecompaniesarecoming inandac- quiring thestartups, the farmersneedtobe part of that conversation as well, because that’s when we’re going to see a seamless use of the technology.” Jackson, of Visalia, works for irrigation technologycompanyPhytec.Hesuggested tech companies that develop software to collect data should “contextualize, inter- pret and thenreport thedataso that it’snot
Madeline Meyer, as- sistant manager of a dairy in Wheatland, will represent California in the upcoming American Farm Bureau Federation Open Discussion Meet, after winning the statewide contest during the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.
farm,Meyer said technology andaccess to informationhavebecomemore common. “One of the beautiful things about agri- culture ishowwillingweare toshare infor- mation with one another,” she said. “This is easier today, with everyone holding a cellphone, RFID (radio-frequency iden- tification) reader or drone in their hands. Technology is here to stay, and it’s our job as young farmers and ranchers to make it work for us, not the other way around.” Meyer, anassistantmanager at Tollcrest Dairy inWheatland, addedthat inaddition tomakingdata collectedon the farmwork for those in agriculture, the information
could also bemonetized bymaking infor- mationavailable totheultimateconsumer. “Say a gallon of milk has a barcode and whenyouscanit,mydad’sfacepopsupand hesays, ‘Hi, I’mfarmerJamieandthisgallon of milkwas produced by sequestering this much carbonback into the ground.’ Those typesof thingscanreallyincreaseconsumer sentimentwiththeir food, andthat’swhere we can reallymonetize it,” she said. DuPont, of Atwater, who is enrolled at McGeorge School of Law with a goal to practice water and agricultural law in the Central Valley, stressed the need tomake data accessible to farmers and ranchers.
See DISCUSSION, Page 17
Agriculturalists win Young Farmer and Rancher awards
AFresnoCounty couplewhoexpanded their agritourismbusinessduring thepan- demic and a vintner who has worked to raise theprofileof SanDiegoCountywines have earned awards for achievement and excellence among young farmers and ranchers in California. The awards were announced during the 102nd California FarmBureau Annual Meeting. Nick andKimberly Rocca of Fresno re- ceived the Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award, which recognizes accomplishments in production agricul- ture and leadership activity. Alysha Stehly of Valley Center received the Excellence inAgriculture Award, pre- sented to young agricultural profession-
als who contribute through involvement in agriculture, leadership activities and FarmBureau. A fourth-generation farmer, NickRocca works as operations manager at the fam- ily farm, Rocca Ranches, growing raisin grapesandalmonds, andasanequipment specialist for SunPacific Farming. He and Kimberly own and operate a pumpkin patch, Dakota Acres, which they decided to rebrand after the COVID-19 pandem- ic by delivering pumpkins and offering customized home-decoration packages featuring pumpkins. Nick Rocca serves as secretary on the Fresno County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and as co-chair of the Fresno-
Kimberly and Nick Rocca of Fresno, left, won the Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award; Alysha Stehly of Valley Center, right, earned the Excellence in Agriculture Award.
Madera YF&R chapter, which this year has distributed more than half a million meals to families who have faced food shortages during the pandemic. Stehly co-owns Vesper Vineyards, which buys locally grown grapes to showcase the different microclimates of San Diego County, and works as winemaker for her parents’ winery, Stehleon Vineyards. Active in non- profit organizations that promote ag- ricultural education, school gardens and local farm product s, she al so serves on the San Diego County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, as chair of the county YF&R committee and rep- resents Imperial and San Diego coun- ties on the state YF&R committee. Asked todiscuss three important issues
facing agriculture, Stehly cited the needs to reduce burdensome government reg- ulation, to address ongoing employee shortages through reformof immigration policy, and to build consumer trust, urg- ing fellow farmers and ranchers to join her inbeing “an active player in the social mediaworld by sharing stories, the reali- ty and the ups and downs of agriculture.” As winners of their respective awards, the Roccas and Stehly each earned a $4,000 cash prize sponsored by Farm Credit. The Roccas also earned 250 hours’ use of a Kubota tractor, furnished by Kubota Tractor Corp. The winners will represent California in national competitions to be held next monthduring theAmericanFarmBureau Federation Annual Convention.
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6 Ag Alert December 16, 2020
C A L I F O R N I A
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In California, farmers devote the vast majority of rice acreage to medium-grain varieties—many of them developed at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs. Researchers at the station say a new me- dium-grain variety bred at the station has performed well in trials, showing the potential for higher yields than the current top-planted variety.
Rice researcher ‘super excited’ about new variety ByBob Johnson
Before release, varieties undergo trials at locations in Glenn, Butte, Colusa, Yuba, Sutter and Yolo counties, in addition to the Experiment Station fields a fewmiles south of Richvale. In years of trials at those locations, researchers said, M-211 yielded an average of more than9,700pounds,whichwasnearly600poundsbetter than the current standardM-206. The trials are used to evaluate varieties for yield, but also for other factors that could affect quality or ease of management. “Inaddition tograinyield,materials at the statewideyield-testing stagearealsoevaluat- ed for cold-inducedblanking and lodging, to get amoredetailedassessment ofmaterials in specific growing areas,” according to the 2019 Rice Breeding Progress Report issued by theResearchFoundation, the farmer-controlledorganizationthatoperates theExperiment Station. “Grainquality is alsoacomplex trait and isdependent onmany factors. Toensure high grain quality of rice varieties developed and released by RES, lines are evaluated for desirable grain attributes.” In addition to outstanding yields, M-211 had a 26% lodging rate in recent trials, only slightly behind the leader and new releaseM-209, which scored 20%. But Rasmussen indicated the higher M-211 yields should more than compensate for the slight difference in lodging, and both of the new varieties easily outper-
California farmers have earned a worldwide reputation for the quality of their me- dium-grain rice by planting a series of varieties developed by researchers at the Rice Experiment Station inBiggs. With 90%of the state’s 550,000 acres of rice planted in varieties developed at the Biggs facility, the current leading variety is the station’s 2004medium-grain releaseM-206. But researchers say the torch could soon be passed to a new group of three medi- um-grain releases, including the potential next superstar, M-211. “Over the last fewyears, we have been trialing a newbreeding line,M-211, that outper- formedM-206 andM-202,” said Russell Rasmussen, incoming CEO of the Experiment Station. “There should be plenty of M-211 seed available for you to try in your fields next year. We’re super excited aboutM-211.” Rasmussen made his remarks about the next generation of rice varieties during the California Rice Virtual FieldDay. Inaddition toexcellent climateCalifornia farmersbenefit from, varietiesdevelopedand released by Experiment Station researchers achieve rice yields approaching 20% above the national average. Quality alsomatters, because a largeproportionof California’s riceharvest is exported, much of it to the highly discriminating Japanesemarket.
See RICE, Page 8
December 16, 2020 Ag Alert 7
Rice Continued from Page 7
witha little fewer than10,000acresplanted every year. The Experiment Station’s most recent long-grain release is L-208, which yield- edwell more than 10,000 pounds inmore than 40 trials. This new release comes as Rasmussen prepares to take over leadership of the station from outgoing director Kent McKenzie, who is retiring thismonthafter 32 years at the Biggs facility. The Experiment Station is a unique fa- cility, operated by the grower-financed and -controlled California Rice Research Foundation, which cooperates with UC and U.S. Department of Agriculture re- searchers to develop new varieties and help find solutions to pest, disease and weed issues. Variety choice is a complex decision, depending on microclimates within the rice-growing region, markets and the de- sired planting and harvest dates. UC researchers have developed free software tohelp farmersdecidewhichrice variety to plant in a particular field, avail- ableat rice.ucanr.edu/Guidelines/Variety. ( Bo b J o hn s on i s a r e p o r t e r i n Sacramento. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.)
formed M-206 in this regard. In addition to M-211, the Experiment Stat ion i s al so releas ing M-210, a high-yielding, medium-grain varietywith resistance to blast, a fungal disease that starts at the leaves and can spread to the panicles, at some cost to crop yield. The third relatively newmedium-grain release isM-209, ahigh-yielding, early-ma- turing variety that first became available five years ago. “Those threewill replaceM-206as lead- ing varieties,” Rasmussen predicted. Researchers also continue to experi- ment to see if significant issues with some oldermedium-grainvarieties canbeover- come through propermanagement. “M-105 is a nice variety,” said Bruce Linqui st , Univers i ty of Cal i fornia Cooperative Extension rice specialist. “It is earlier than M-206 and has a little higher yieldpotential, but it is susceptible to lodging.” R e l e a s e d b y t h e E x p e r i me n t Station in 2011, M-105 is a very early, high-quality, medium-grain variety that may be most sui table in areas where early harvest is important.
Free software available online from the University of California can help farmers determine the best rice variety to plant for the conditions of a particular field.
Linquist is working to learn if a fertiliz- er program can be used to moderate the lodging problems. “Lodging slows down the harvest and gives back the M-105 advantage of earli- ness,” he said. “Can you control this with nitrogenmanagement?” Because nearly 90% of California rice acreage is planted in medium-grain varieties, researchers give them the most attention.
But California is a major player in rice, secondonly toArkansas inproductionna- tionwide, and theExperiment Stationalso develops and releases long-grain, short- grain and specialty varieties. Last year, the station released S-202, an early-maturing, very high-yielding, short-grain variety, because farmers still put in around 50,000 acres of short grain every year. Long grain is even more of a specialty,
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Registration opens for UC Agritourism Intensive classes
Agritourism Intensive 2021 classes are now open for registration by farmers, ranchers, agritourismoperators and oth- ers involved in agritourism in the Central Coast andNorthCoast regions. The University of California invited farmers and ranchers who are consider- ing, starting or expanding agritourismor nature tourismenterprises on their farms or ranches to register for the participato- ry course. “Agritourismoperations have been se- verely impactedbyCOVID-19 restrictions this year, but many innovative California farmersandranchershavedevelopedsafe, sociallydistancedmethods forhostingvis- itors,” saidPennyLeff, agritourismcoordi- nator at UCDavis. “In addition, travel re- strictionsandtheattractionof safeoutdoor activities have led to increased interest by urban and suburban community mem- bers invisiting local farms, openinguppo- tential opportunities for new agritourism activities when the pandemic ends.” Participants will receive a UC hand- book “AgritourismandNature Tourism in California,” which will be used as the text for the class. Leff said attendees will hear from ex- perienced agritourism operators and experts in business planning, risk man- agement, regulatory compliance and cost-effectivemarketing, including social media. Class instructors will offer indi- vidual guidance and help participants form a supportive network as they plan their own tourismbusinesses. Hands-on, interactive activities will guideparticipants as theyassess their own
farmsor ranches for agritourismpotential, andconsider thecostsandpotential bene- fits of various activities, Leff said. Due toCOVID-19restrictions, thisyear’s classes will be mostly virtual, conducted via Zoom, with one in-person field day in each class series if allowed by health authorities. Each class will be regionally focused, participatory and limited to par- ticipants fromwithin the region. Theclass intheSanLuisObisporegionis openonly to farmers, ranchers andothers involvedinagritourisminSanLuisObispo, Monterey and SantaBarbara counties. Six two-hour Zoommeetings will be held ev- eryTuesday, Jan. 12 toFeb. 16, from9 to11 a.m., with a possible in-person field day Jan. 26. SharedZoomparticipationwill be available at the San Luis Obispo County FarmBureauoffice for thosewithpoor in- ternet access. To register for that class, see ucanr.edu/agtourslo. The class in the Mendocino region is open only to farmers, ranchers and others involved in or planning agritour- ism in Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma count ies. The class format wi l l in- clude four two-hour Zoom meetings, Wednesday mornings March 3-24, with one in-person field day on the site of a Mendocino County agritourism oper- ation on March 31. To register for that class, see ucanr.edu/agtourmendo. Cost is $40 for all class sessions, with lunch at the field day. For more information, see sarep. ucdavis.edu/fs/agritourism/intensive2021 or contact Leff at paleff@ucanr.edu or 530-902-9763.
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8 Ag Alert December 16, 2020
Farm Bureau welcomes Vilsack USDA appointment
“Duringhisprevious service,weworked frequently with Secretary Vilsack, so we know he recognizes the special impor- tance of California farms and ranches to American agriculture, and to customers both in the U.S. and around the world,” Johansson said. “In his current role with theU.S. Dairy Export Council, he has con- centrated on access for American farm goods in international markets, and we look forward to continuing that emphasis with himwhen he returns toUSDA.” JohanssonsaidFarmBureauwouldalso workwith the incoming agriculture secre- tary on climate policy.
“Farmers and ranchers should be viewed as assets in climate policy,” he said. “We will stress the need for incentive-based programs that allow farmers and ranchers the flexibility to maintain active stewardship of their land while producing food and farm products efficiently.” American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said Vilsack “believes in a ‘big tent’ philosophy that supports all types of production and understands the importance of respecting farmers and ranchers as partnersworthy of support in the race to achieve sustainability goals.”
Noting the considerable challenges fac- ing farmers and ranchers, the California FarmBureauwelcomed the appointment of Tom Vilsack as the next U.S. secretary of agriculture. President-elect Joe Biden nominated Vilsack to return to the office he occupied from2009-17. “Given all the stresses placed on the food and agricultural system by the pan-
demic inparticular, it will be good tohave an experienced person resume admin- istration of the Agriculture Department,” California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson said. “TomVilsackwill be able immediately toguideUSDAfor thebenefit of farmers, ranchers, rural residents and all thepeoplewhodependonour nation’s agricultural production.
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December 16, 2020 Ag Alert 9
Judge approves farmer referendum on dairy quota ByChing Lee
implementation plan, or QIP, the UDFC petition also seeks to change the regional quotaadjusters immediately, so thequota premiuminall countieswouldequal $1.43 per hundredweight. Inhis ruling, Aspinwall saidUDFC“met the legal andprocedural requirements” of the referendumrules. UDFC needed the signatures of more than 25%of eligible producers, represent- ing at least 25%of Californiamilk produc- tion. It submitted signatures fromnearly 28%of eligibledairy farmers, representing more than 36%of the state’smilk, accord- ing toCDFA, which certified the petition. To pass, a 65% supermajority vote will be needed. If dairy farmers approve theUDFCpro-
posal, it will begin the sunset of aprogram that’s been in existence since 1969. Unique toCalifornia, thequotaprogram pays dairy farmers a higher price for raw milk coveredbyquota. Thepremiumpaid to quota holders is funded by all Grade A milk producers through deductions from the statemilk pool. Though dairy farmers generally under- stood there was a cost to the program, it wasn’t until California joined the federal milk marketing order in 2018 and began operating a stand-alone state quota pro- gramthatmilkchecks revealedhowmuch they were contributing to the QIP. This prompted newdebate about themerits of continuing the program. The UDFC proposal—developed after
a series of working meetings and surveys with dairy farmers around the state—rep- resents amiddle ground in that debate. Stop QIP, whose members hold little or no quota, continues to seek immedi- ate elimination of quota, while Save QIP, a group of large quota holders, has been advocating tomaintainthecurrent system. This past summer, Aspinwall rejected a petition by Stop QIP, which sought a pro- ducer referendumtosuspendtheQIPwith asimple-majorityvote.CDFAsubsequent- ly adopted that decision. Stop QIP has said it plans to submit a newpetition seeking a referendumto end quotawith a supermajority vote. The group also filed a lawsuit against CDFA, challenging the legality of the QIP itself andhow it was adopted. In that case, astateSuperiorCourt judge ruled inJuly in favor of CDFA, allowing thedepartment to continue administering the programand assessing fees. (ChingLeeisanassistanteditorofAgAlert. Shemaybe contactedat clee@cfbf.com.) Trade negotiations involve agriculture As 2020 draws to a close, the United States continues to work on agricultural trade issues with several nations. American Farm Bureau trade spe- cialist Dave Salmonsen has been mon- itoring Chinese agricultural purchases under the Phase One Trade Agreement with the U.S. After a slow start to the year, he said, China began buying larger quantities of U.S. goods in the fall. “If you add the product that’s been shipped and that’s contracted for sale, we’re at about $27 billionworth overall to China,” Salmonsen said. “China has im- plemented about 50 of the 57 individual standards commitments theymade in the agreement to lower barriers for U.S. ex- ports of beef and pork and poultry, dairy products, horticultural products—and re- ally sets us up going forward.” Lastweek, theU.S.TradeRepresentative’s Officeannounced it’s looking intowhether Canada is using Tariff RateQuotas to limit U.S. access to its dairymarkets. SalmonsensaidtheU.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement allows a certain amount of product to enter Canada at zero tariff. “If you try to sell more than the certain amount, then the high Canadian tariffs would kick in,” he said. “Our USTR thinks that certain actions by the Canadian gov- ernment, the administration of these quotas, are favoring Canadian firms and blocking access for U.S. farmers trying to export into that Canadianmarket. And so, theUSTR is startinganaction tomake sure that Canada lives up towhat it agreed to.” Meanwhile, theU.S. isnegotiatinga free- tradeagreementwiththeUnitedKingdom. Salmonsen said negotiators for the U.S. andUKareworking “ona lot of different is- sues.” The agreement contains an estimat- ed29 chapters. For agriculture, he said, the mainchapters involvetariffsandstandards.
A producer referendum to end the state’smilk quota programbyMarch 2025 is expected tomove forward. In a recommended decision to the California Department of Food and Agriculture last week, Administrative Law JudgeTimothyAspinwall grantedarequest by United Dairy Families of California to advance itspetition toanup-or-downvote by CaliforniaGrade Amilk producers. The decision came after a public hear- ing in September to consider the UDFC petition, which faced no opposition at the hearing, including from the groups Save QIP and StopQIP. In addition to terminating the quota
10 Ag Alert December 16, 2020
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