Ag Alert March 17, 2021

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.

Responding tomarkets Bill to allow expanded on-farm processing would help ranchers

Assessing hail impact A strong March stormhits Central Valley orchards, fields

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www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com MARCH 17, 2021

Field Crops ® Vegetables ®

s p e c i a l r e p o r t s

ByChristine Souza More than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic changed thenation’s food-sup- ply system seemingly overnight, farmers, ranchers and others in the food business say the pandemic ultimately showed the system’s ability to adapt. “Californiaagriculturehasproven its re- siliency, itspersistenceand its innovation,” CaliforniaFoodandAgriculture Secretary KarenRoss said. “Itwasayearofpivotsand adaptation, and at the farm level, that’s what farmers do every day. I’m just very impressedandveryproudofhowindustry, despite that hugeandvery suddendisrup- tion,wasable tocontinue todo itsessential work as part of our critical infrastructure.” CaliforniaFarmBureauPresident Jamie Johansson said FarmBureau acted early last year inmeetings with government of- ficials to ensure agriculture and support businesseswouldbeconsideredessential. He said Farm Bureau also advocated for flexibility toallowproductsmeant for food service to be shifted to retail markets. Now, a year later, Johansson said Farm Bureau remains focused on the health and safety of employees and feeding lo- cal communities. “Our moral obligation as farmers and ranchers is to feed the world, but in Farm Bureau, reallyourpassionisourcommuni- tiesandmaking thembetter,whether that’s throughjobcreationor just simplykeeping themsafe and fed,” Johansson said. For Dan Sutton, generalmanager of the Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange, “It’s hard to hear that it has been a year.” “Reflecting back on a year ago, it was very difficult. Our outlets for our produce changed overnight,” Sutton said; POVE supplies producemostly to retail markets and some food service. “We’ve been adjusting and continuing tobenimble for thepast year, andsowe’ve One year later Farmers, food system continue to adapt, adjust

Nurseries report low inventories of plants David Van Klaveren looks over fruit trees growing at his nursery in Modesto. These trees aren’t yet ready for market, but when they are, they’re likely to be snapped up quickly. Fruit trees were among the hottest items bought by nursery customers last year as people tended to their backyards during COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders. One producer noted certain varieties will be in short supply until fall, due to the strong demand.

ByKevinHecteman California’s nursery producers have a good problem on their hands this year— scrambling to replenish inventories re- duced last year by people taking up gar- deningwhile stuckat homebecauseof the COVID-19 pandemic. “Most nurseries I’ve talked to had an outstanding year last year, and they’re

looking for an even better year this year,” saidScottKlittich,who runsOttoandSons in Fillmore. “Last year, what happened is, when Marchhit, a lotofnurserieskindof stopped production, stoppedplanting, for fear that theywouldjust throwit away,”Klittichsaid. “OncemiddleofApril gothere, everyone realizedthateverybodywashidingathome

andwanted to redo their homes and land- scape and garden,” he added. “All of a sud- den, theywantedplantmaterial, and there wasahugeshortage inthemarket lastyear.” According to Klittich, demand reached a point “that a lot of places sold stuff that they normally would have saved for this year, but because of the coronavirus, they

See NURSERIES, Page 16

n e w s p a p e r

From the Fields........................ 4-5 Field Crops...................................7 Vegetables................................. 11 Classifieds........................... 17-19 Inside

Published by

See SYSTEM, Page 14

Dry year intensifies focus on California groundwater

ByDannyMerkley Each March, those of us involved in water policy commemorate National Groundwater Awareness Week. Because groundwater representssuchapreciousre-

Just last week, the state Department of Water Resources released a draft of its report called California’s Groundwater— Update 2020, also known as Bulletin-118. Thisupdateprovides anoverviewof state- wide groundwater activities, compiles technical information anddata from2003 to2020and takes intoaccount thepassage of SGMA in 2014. Additionally, the up- date discusses the condition of the state’s groundwater, which is especially import- ant asCalifornia faces acriticallydrywater year. FarmBureauwill reviewandanalyze the draft update; the public can comment throughApril 26. Recogni z ing the impor t ance of groundwater, the difficulties of under- standing SGMA, its complexities and its requirements, FarmBureau developed a series of brochures as a resource for farm- ers and ranchers. In addition to two main brochures providing general background, titled “SGMA andUnderstanding the Law” and “GroundwaterHydrology,”wehavedevel- oped four inserts, eachdevoted toadiffer- ent possible “undesirable result” under SGMA. Two additional inserts are being developed andwill soon be available. The brochures may be found on the California FarmBureau website at www. cfbf.com/top-issues; choose the link for Water and look for the tab labeled SGMA Brochures. In addition, glossy, color prints of all the materials are available at county FarmBureauoffices or via request to cfbf@cfbf.com. California farmers, ranchers and land- owners remain acutely aware of the im- portance of groundwater, every week and every day. (Danny Merkley is director of water re- sources for theCaliforniaFarmBureau. He may be reached at dmerkley@cfbf.com.)

source toCalifornia farmers and ranch- ers, Farm Bureau works to promote g r o u n d w a t e r awarenessthrough- out the year. In 2014, the state Legislature passed the Sustainable G r o u n d w a t e r Management Act,

Danny Merkley

or SGMA, themost sweeping water man- agement legislation in 100 years. Since then, theCaliforniaFarmBureauhasbeen assisting members with understanding, engaging and complyingwith SGMA. Groundwater aquifers are best under- stood andmanaged locally; therefore, the key to successfully implementing SGMA lies in maintaining local control, some- thing FarmBureau vigorously advocates. Inaddition,wehavestressedthat toreduce dependenceongroundwater, wemust ex- pand surface water storage and recharge our groundwater aquifers when excess water is available. Now, it’s up to us to pay careful atten- tion as SGMA progresses. It will require action to manage groundwater at the lo- cal level—and that’swhere FarmBureau’s strength lies. Fewotherorganizationshave the grassroots structure FarmBureau has. Unless March somehowmakes up for the lack of rain and snow thus far this winter, we could see an increased depen- dence on groundwater this growing sea- son. Groundwater should be our savings account to get us through such dry peri-

Believing groundwater aquifers are best understood and managed locally, Farm Bureau has ad- vocated for local control and produced materials to help members understand groundwater law.

basins in some areas. Though SGMA at- tempts to address the symptoms of our groundwater issues, it overlooks some foundational problems and leaves it to lo- cal users to figure out how they close any supply gaps theymay face. Theenactment of SGMAsent amessage tothoseofus inagriculturethatwemust re- mainunified. Productionofhealthful food, fiber and farmproductsdependsonwater, stored in the ground or above it in surface reservoirs. Our state’s entire population alsodependsonthatwater, andonthe food and farmproductswe farmers produce. Farmers and ranchers fromthroughout the state must put any regional or com- modity differences aside. We must work together to pursuemore new storage and bettermanagement of existing storage;we mustwork together on implementationof SGMA; we must work together to pursue every reasonable alternative to solve our state’s ongoingwater crisis.

ods. In farmingareas servedby federal and state water projects, farmersmay see only 5-10%of contract supplies for surfacewa- ter this year. As greater restrictionshavebeenplaced on surface water supplies—and the reli- ability of those supplies has becomemore circumscribed—cities, rural regions and farms have become more dependent on groundwater. We all recognize we must reduce overreliance on groundwater, but no reasonable person can argue that California can continue to growour econ- omyandhealthful foodand farmproducts without addressing our overall water sup- ply needs. Farmers of all sizes andof all commodi- ties, in every region of our state, have seen their water supplies reducedwell beyond the natural effects of climate or weather. Current political and regulatory policies have, in part, contributed to many of the groundwater issues we are experiencing today, including critically overdrafted

VOL. 48, NO. 11

March 17, 2021

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2 Ag Alert March 17, 2021

Bill would expand ranchers’ on-farm slaughter options

The proposed legislation, whichwill be consideredby the stateAssembly later this spring, comes at a timewhen ranchers see growing interest insales ofwholeanimals, particularly in response to pandemic-re- lated supply chain disruptions that led to empty meat cases at grocery stores last year, Placer County sheep rancher Dan Macon said. “I think what COVID has shown us is that peoplearegoingback tobuying freez- ers and stocking their freezers withmeat,” he said. “The demand for whole carcass, for a whole animal has really, really risen

in the last year.” Maconsaidnot onlyarepeople reacting to the pandemic by buying meat in bulk, but there’s a segment who “wants toknow that ananimalwasharvestedon the ranch where it was raised.” Evenbeforethepandemic,MarinCounty rancherMarcia Barinaga said she had loy- al customers and restaurants that bought whole lambs and hogs fromher, but when Marin Sun Farms in Petaluma closed its doors in 2019 to producers processing an-

ByChing Lee Selling customers an entire animal for their freezers is not a new practice, but California ranchers say state restrictions and limited options of where they can process just a fewanimalshavehampered their ability to provide bulkmeat to those whowant it. Passage of Assembly Bill 2114 in 2018 made it easier for cattle ranchers to sell “freezer beef” directly to customers, as it adopted standards that allow ranchers to use mobile operations to slaughter cattle on the farm rather than trucking the ani- mals, sometimes long distances, to feder- ally inspected facilities that havedwindled in the state. Producers of sheep, goats and swine say they would like the same opportuni- ties, and they’re looking to proposed leg- islation they say could be a game-chang- er for small rancherswhowant to pre-sell whole animals. Sponsored by the California Farm Bureau, AB888aims todo for sheep, goats and potentially swine what AB 2114 did Two bills would end the estate tax Saying themeasureswould remove bar- rierstofarmownership, theAmericanFarm BureauFederationannounced support for twobills toeliminate the federal estate tax. The bills were introduced in the Senate and House last week. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and 25 cosponsors introduced S. 671;Reps. JasonSmith,R-Mo., andSanford Bishop, D-Ga., introducedH.R. 1712 with 121 cosponsors. Both pieces of legislation would allow for repeal of the estate tax. AFBF said its analysis shows the tax threatensmore than 74,000 family farmsacross thecountryand nearly half of all farmland. Notingthat farmersandranchersalready faceunpredictablechallengesbeyondtheir control, AFBF President ZippyDuvall said the tax code “shouldencourage farmbusi- ness growth, not add touncertainty.” “Eliminating the estate tax removes an- other barrier to entry for sons and daugh- tersor other beginning farmers tocarryon our agricultural legacy andmake farming more accessible to all,”Duvall said. If the estate tax remains in place, AFBF said, farmers, ranchers and other small businessowners would be “forced to con- tinue to divert resources to pay for estate planning to account for a shifting and un- predictable taxcode,” rather than investing to improve their operations. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tempo- rarily doubled the estate tax exemption to $11 million per person, indexed for inflation through 2025. However, without congressional action, theestate taxexemp- tion will revert to $5.5 million per person in2026, whichAFBF saidwouldput “even more farms and ranches at risk.”

for cattle: Legalizeon-farmmobile slaugh- ter of these animals in limited quantities, therebymaking it “easier for consumers to connect directly with their food sources, ensure that food safety protocols are be- ing followedandsupport theexpansionof local ranchers selling toconsumers across thestate,” saidAssemblymanMarcLevine, D-MarinCounty, who authored the bill.

See MOBILE, Page 19

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March 17, 2021 Ag Alert 3

Theresa Jeffreys Bright ColusaCounty pecan farmer Right now, there’s not a lot

going on in the or- chard: basic stuff like mowing and weed spraying around the trees’ rows. We just had some hedging

Apply less, expect more?

done. We’ve not hedged for the last two years, just because of costs. Last year we had a real low crop, so we feel like we need- ed to shake up the trees a little bit, so we did a little bit of hedging. Now, the next step is using a labor crew to get the sticks out of the orchard. Our first real treatment will be probably first part of May with a zinc spray, once the trees leaf out. Hopefully, we won’t have any aphids by that time. We spray zinc three to five times a year. The first one we always spray zinc, but after that, we just wait to see if we have an aphid infestation so we can spray it on once. Other than that, we’re kind of in a holding pattern, looking forward to a better harvest than last year, hoping and praying like ev- erybody else for rain. The trees are still completely dormant. There has been a little bit of collection of bud wood for future grafting. That’s something that I’ll probably start working on, is grafting some of the rootstocks that have been plant- ed. I’m doing that because I’ve had horrible predation by gophers. They eat the tree off of the roots. It looks so bad—like Swiss cheese when you drive down the rows—be- cause there are so many gopher holes. We’re not sure if it’s all gophers or if it’s a combination of the gophers chewing the tree and then the trees getting crown root gall, which pecans are susceptible to. It could be that the gophers first chew on the roots and damage them enough to where the crown root gall can then invade the tree. Joe Zanger SanBenitoCounty farmer It was just over

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a year ago when I wrote about our late-winter work in preparation for the 2020 crop. Well, a lot has happened since. With several years

of large statewide production, winegrape values fell sharply, with considerable acre- age in San Benito and Santa Clara counties going unharvested. We did pick ours and were fortunate to sell the crop to our winery operation at a price that just covered our cultural and harvest expenses. We retail almost all of our wine and were very concerned about the

4 Ag Alert March 17, 2021

Jim Gates NevadaCounty rancher

COVID-triggered closure of our two tasting rooms and stores last April. But given our fruit stand was classified as an essential business, it was allowed to remain open— and we were pleasantly surprised that our customers deemed wine as essential. Our last crop of the year was the walnuts. Several years of large crops statewide and export sales falling off due to trade tariff issues made for a bad situation. In-shell organic walnuts were bringing to the grower as high as $2.80 a pound in 2015 and close to that the following years, but 2020 saw a return of about 80 cents a pound. With the expectation of low prices for several years to come due to excess inven- tory, coupled with the decline of our older orchard, our decision was easy to make an appointment with the bulldozer. We just finished burning the piles and readying the acreage of fresh market tomatoes. Thomas Chandler FresnoCounty diversified farmer We should be done with our

The slowdown on getting containers at the port has also compounded the problems for the citrus market this year. The ports on the West Coast have fewer empty containers available to go back to the Asian markets because of the slowdown of imports caused by last year’s COVID shutdowns. The almond bloom is done now. The bloom conditions were good except for several days of wind. Fortunately, we did not get much rain on the bloom this year. We are already two fertilizer applications into each block of our almonds. Pruning for our winegrapes is completed except for our young, late-season wine- grape variety block. We held back from pruning the winegrapes that are susceptible to disease infections caused by winter rains. The snowpack for the Kings River water- shed is about 40% of normal to date. Our expected allocation from the Consolidated Irrigation District is one irrigation turn, which is about 30 days of water. On a normal year, we get a water run of at least 90 days. Blake Mauritson TulareCounty citrus grower We are fin- ished harvesting our lemons. Movement in the domestic and international

most of the way through our regular navels and starting to work through our late navels. With good size, high sugar content and qual- ity rind, our packout percentages have re- mained high and arrivals have been good for navels. The Valencia crop is looking equally as good, with good field piece counts, good size and high rind quality. We anticipate some Valencia harvesting within the next six weeks or so. This year’s Valencia crop may have to hang on the tree a little longer, due to slow market conditions. We are currently topping citrus trees and hand pruning. Bloom is around the corner, so we have started nutritional programs and pest-prevention applications. Our almonds have reached full bloom and are starting petal fall. We will wait to see what Mother Nature has blessed us with. Our olive groves are in hold mode for the moment. Bloom will be around the corner and we will start suckering trees shortly. This year should be a heavier crop year. On the minds of all California agribusi- nesses are the impacts of COVID and the lack of precipitation. The impacts of COVID on workforce, transportation internationally at the ports, interstate commerce and home life—managing the never-ending balance of ag life and schooling children—has taken its toll. We will be stronger and more resilient because of it! An obvious concern is the lack of snow- pack and rainfall. The stresses it will put on our crops, farmers and the anticipated impact on groundwater throughout the basin will be a growing topic in the next fewmonths.

We’re currently still feeding hay, whether we like it or not. The hay situation has

gone from bad to worse, because it’s so expensive that it’s actually worth more than the cattle it is being fed to. The range is not in good shape. If the rain comes at the right time, we can still have a decent feed year. If it doesn’t come at the right time, looking at my low-ground pasture, the grass is getting ready to make head—and when it makes head, it goes to seed and it stops growing. I usually have the cattle out on the dry land by the first of November and this year, they’re just now going out there. The bulls usually go in on the 15th of November, and they’re just getting in there now, so there’s three months where no babies are going to be born. I’ve got all these heifer calves that I can’t get bred. I already reduced my (cattle) numbers and that may have to come again. We’re try- ing to keep our numbers down until we can see something come our way. We’re looking at our local irrigation district to see if we are going to be able to have full deliveries or if we are going to have to ration. If we have to ration, this directly impacts the number of cattle that I can finish that are then fit to go to market.

Tango mandarin harvest by now, but we still have over half our Tango mandarin crop still on the tree. The crop size

for mandarins was large this year. So, the industry is size- and color-picking fruit this year via multiple harvest passes through the field, in order to limit how much fruit hits the market at one time.

markets has been slower, but great quality kept us in

the higher grades. Navel oranges are moving slowly. We are

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March 17, 2021 Ag Alert 5

Lawsuit seeks to end delay in revising owl habitat ByChristine Souza

habitat issuedthepreviousweekunder the Trump administration. The initial proposedrule torevisenorth- ernspottedowl critical habitatwouldhave excluded approximately 204,653 acres in 15 counties in Oregon. The final rule, issued in the last days of the Trump ad- ministration, excluded an additional 3.2 million acres in 10 counties in California, 21 counties in Oregon and 14 counties in Washington from the species’ designat-

ed critical habitat. Affected California counties include Del Norte, Siskiyou, Humboldt, Trinity, Shasta, Tehama, Mendocino, Glenn, Lake andColusa. TheTrumpadministrationactionwould have left more than 6.1 million acres of land in the three states designatedas criti- cal habitat for theowl,whichhasbeenpro- tected as a threatened species under the federalEndangeredSpeciesAct since1990. On March 5, the American Forest

Resource Council, the Association of O&CCounties and counties in California, Oregon and Washington challenged the Fish andWildlife Service delay in imple- menting its critical-habitat designation for the northern spotted owl. The groups’ lawsuit, filed inU.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges the Fish andWildlife Service did not pro- vide a lawful justification for thedelay and did not provide the public with notice or opportunity to comment before the delay was imposed. American Forest Resource Council general counsel Lawson Fite said the critical habitat designation by the Trump administration removed areas that are not habitat for the owl and that have been set aside for timber production under the Northwest Forest Plan and federal law. The AFRC added that a 2020 study indicates the prior designation had cost PacificNorthwest communitiesmore than abilliondollars andmore thana thousand jobs, while providing little benefit for spe- cies conservation. “The 2021 designation aligns NSO critical habitat with federal law, modern forest science and common sense, at a time when unprecedented and severe wildfires threaten both owls and people fromNorthern California to Washington state,” Fite said. “We are challenging the delay because it violates federal laws and wrongfully restricts timber harvests on non-NSOhabitat.” He said the delay violates the federal Administrative Procedure Act and ex- tends a 2012 northern spotted owl habi- tat designation that restricts active forest management on federal lands that arenot actually habitat for the species. The delay also restricts management on Bureau of Land Management territory known as “O&C lands,” which are required by law tobemanaged for timber productionona sustained-yield basis, he said. “We do not understandwhy the service continues to ignore the Supreme Court and tries to lock up almost amillion acres ofnon-habitat that areofnouse totheowl,” Fite said. George Hollister, a farmer of redwood timber inMendocino County, said, “Here in the North Coast redwood region, the lack of science in the regulatory deci- sion-makingprocess regarding thenorth- ern spotted owl likely reflects how the is- sue is handled with federal projects. The Trump administration appears to have attempted toaddress the same lack-of-sci- enceproblemonfederal land, andBidenis going back to the political formula.” Hollister said regulatory agencies “have cultivated a climate where the last thing a tree farmerwouldwant is anNSOon their property, which is in direct conflict with theneeds forNSOs tosurvive inthe future.” The Forest Service has opened a com- ment period on the delayed final rule is- sued by the Trump administration, and whether further delay is necessary; com- ments are dueMarch 31. (Chr i s t ine Souza i s an ass i s tant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)

A coalition of timber and business groups and counties has challenged a de- cisionby theU.S. FishandWildlifeService to delay removing millions of acres of northernspottedowl habitat inCalifornia, Oregon andWashington. Shortlyafterhis inaugurationon Jan. 20, President Joe Biden signed a regulatory freeze memorandum that initiated a re- viewof a final ruleonnorthernspottedowl

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6 Ag Alert March 17, 2021

C A L I F O R N I A

FieldCrops A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ®

Researchers check salmon cages for the presence of juvenile salmon, during a project conducted last year in a Yolo County rice field. The California Rice Commission reports young salmon reared in rice fields performed better than hatchery-raised fish in surviving their migration from the Sacramento Valley to the Pacific Ocean.

Use of rice fields as salmon habitat shows promise ByBob Johnson

While the project remains in the early stages of learning how rice fields can play a role as habitat for salmon, the waterfowl habitat programs have become extensive and suc- cessful, he said. “Ourprogramshaveexplodedsince2010, especiallywithshorebirdhabitat,”Buttnersaid. The California Ricelands Waterbird Foundation was created in 2016 to develop pro- grams and raise funds to support farmers for extendinguseof their fields ashabitat for the birds—somethingmany growers were already doing. The earliest andmost widely adoptedpractice is to flood the fields after harvest, which recreates the Sacramento Valleywetlands that served as habitat formanywaterfowl spe- cies for centuries. Under the Bid4Birds program, rice farmers bid for grants to provide habitat for various waterfowl species. “If you are awinter flooder, you qualify for $15 an acre for flooding,” Buttner said. Anotherwaterfowl programcompensates farmers formaintainingnesting cover in the months after harvest. There is also a phase two of the nesting cover program that compensates farmers for maintaining the cover through the summer in drought years, when they might want to

Salmonreared inrice fieldsgrowfaster and larger than those fromahatcheryandare far more likely to finish the journeydown the river to thePacificOcean, according to research underway in the SacramentoValley. “We found there was a significant increase in the rice field salmon that made it to the ocean, compared tohatchery-raisedsalmon,” saidPaul Buttner,manager of environmen- tal affairs for the California Rice Commission. “We think this could be the beginning of something like our water bird program.” Buttner discussed the results from a pilot salmon project, and the latest additions to waterfowl habitat efforts, during the 2021Winter RiceGrowerMeetingwebinar. “Last year, our programwas four times as effective as the control at getting the salmon out to the ocean,” he said. “We believe our programwill get the salmon out to the ocean larger and earlier, before the predators are very active.” The salmon project is in the early stages of learning how rice farmers canmodify their fields tomake them suitable for raising salmon and releasing them into the river for the journey to the Pacific. “Weareabout threeyears intoour ricelandssalmonprojectandwealreadyknowsalmon growquickly in rice fields,”Buttner said. “Weare trying to learnhowtomodify the fields to encourage the salmon to growandmake it back into the river.”

See HABITAT, Page 8

March 17, 2021 Ag Alert 7

Trials provide guide for controlling blue alfalfa aphid ByBob Johnson

emies,” the farmadvisors said. “Some, like lady beetles, syrphid flies and parasitoid wasps, target aphids. Others, like damsel bugsandminutepiratebugs, aregeneralist predators and feed on a variety of prey.” The UCCE specialists said aphids can be very susceptible to predators, with few defenses, “and serve as abuffet for natural enemies.” They said killing most, but not all, of the aphids while killing its natural enemies can lead to aphid resurgence or secondary pest outbreaks. Monitoring pest populations is com- mon practice to determine whether an insecticide application is necessary and to evaluate how effective the material is. But in the case of the blue alfalfa aphid, advisors recommend that the ratio of beneficials to pests after the application should also be evaluated. “A high natural-enemy-to-aphid ratio indicates that natural enemies are helping keep aphids in check,”Grettenberger said. “Alowratioofnatural enemies toaphids in- dicates that theinsecticideisdoingallof the workandnatural enemynumbersare low.” Aphids can be difficult to control be- cause they reproduce asexually, bear live young and can increase very quickly. Blue alfalfa aphids can be particularly

damaging toalfalfabecause they inject tox- ins intoplantswhenfeeding, causingstunt- ing, reducing yields and sometimes killing plants.Thesetoxinscanremainintheplants afterharvestandpersist intothenextcutting or even the subsequent twocuttings. Thekey to telling thedifferencebetween the blue alfalfa aphids and other aphids is markings on the antennae. “The blue alfalfa aphid is a large, blue- green aphidwith long legs, antennae, cor- nicles andcauda,” according to theUCPest Management Guidelines. “It is similar in appearancetothepeaaphidbutcanbedis- tinguishedbyexaminingtheantennae.The antennaeofthepeaaphidhavenarrow,dark bands on each segment, whereas those of the blue alfalfa aphid gradually darken to brownas younear the tipof theantennae.” The trial in the intermountain region foundsignificantdifferences inthe import- ant beneficial-to-pest ratio, depending on the type of insecticide used. When broad-spectrum organophos- phate or pyrethroidmaterials were used, Grettenberger said, the lady beetle pop- ulation was wiped out within a few days. Butwhenmore-selective insecticideswere applied, the ratio of lady beetles to aphids was as high as 1 to 25 after twoweeks. The choice of insecticides had a similar impact on parasitoid wasps, which were flattened by the organophosphates and pyrethroids but reached ratios as high as one parasitoid for every six aphids after twoweeks whenmore selectivematerials were applied. The work of these beneficial insects in keeping theaphidpopulationsunder con- trol weeks after the insecticides knocked down thepest populationpaidoff inhigh- er yields at thenext cutting, the trial found. In the trial, the plots where softermate- rials reduced the blue aphid populations

salmon survival rates were exceptionally low. The survival rate was still more than four times as many as the survivors from a control group of young salmon raised in more conventional ways. “Our hopewas todemonstrate rice field- rearedfishmightsurvivetheir journeyout to theoceanbetterthanthosethatareraisedin hatcheries,”Buttnersaid. “Wehypothesized this possible outcome based on previous studiesshowingthatsalmongrowextremely fast in rice fields because of the abundance of their natural food sources in these fields. I’mhappy to say that our 2020 graduating classof young salmondidnot let usdown.” Winter-flooded rice fields are naturally a rich sourceof nutrients for baby salmon, he said, and the research now focuses on learning how the fields canmost easily be modified toallowthe fishaccess to the riv- er to begin their journey to the sea. Information about the salmon proj- ect is available at calricewaterbirds.org/ salmon-program. ( Bo b J o hn s o n i s a r e p o r t e r i n Sacramento. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.) The secondmonitoring after the appli- cation would measure both the knock- downof thebluealfalfaaphidand the ratio of the beneficials to the pests. Another implication of the trial is that the priority for new aphicides should be onmaterials that arebotheffectiveagainst thepest and relatively easyon ladybeetles and parasitoidwasps. “Treatment options in California are currently limited, butwehopefullywill see more selectivematerials enter themarket in the future, such as afidopyropen and sulfoxaflor,”Grettenberger said. “There isa strongneed foraphid-specificalternatives, whicharemuchsofteronnatural enemies, to prevent aphid pest resurgence and sec- ondary pest outbreaks.” ( Bo b J o hn s o n i s a r e p o r t e r i n Sacramento. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.) and kept significant numbers of lady bee- tlesandparasitoidwaspsaroundaveraged 1. 97 to 2.1 tons in the first cut. But where organophosphates or pyre- throids knocked down the blue aphids but also wiped out the beneficials, the yields dropped to just 1.19 to 1.58 tons, which was lower than in plots where nothing was applied. The take-homemessage,Grettenberger said, is that the prudent strategy is to em- ploynot onebut twomonitoringprotocols whenmanaging blue alfalfa aphids. “Watch for natural enemies, and treat when thresholds are reached or when you consistently see aphids in alfalfa crowns and the plant is growing slower than ex- pected,”headvised. “Takenatural enemies intoaccountwhendecidingif/whentotreat and when choosing a material. Continue monitoring post-treatment, especially if usingbroad-spectrummaterialssuchasan organophosphate or pyrethroid.”

Few insect pests demand a soft touch that keeps beneficials alive and working more than the blue alfalfa aphid. The application of organophosphate or pyrethroid materials controlled this pest just fine after three days in a trial in the in- termountain region near the Oregon bor- der. But two weeks later, there were even more blue alfalfa aphids than in nearby plots where nothingwas sprayed. “Accounting for natural enemies can help take advantage of their services and avoid potential pest resurgence and secondary pest outbreaks,” said Ian Grettenberger, University of California Cooperative Extension entomology spe- cialist. “Choosing a selective insecticide that targets aphids withminimal effect on natural enemies helps extend control and reduce the need for additional insecticide sprays. After the insecticide loses effica- cy, preservednatural enemies are there to suppress anyaphids that remain, abio-re- sidual effect.” Grettenberger has worked to develop a programfor thisaphidincollaborationwith UCCEfarmadvisorsandspecialistsRachael Long, DanPutnamandRobWilson. “Inalfalfa, aphidshavemanynatural en-

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consider fallowing some of their ground. “Wealsohaveanuplandbirdandnative pollinator habitat program,” Buttner said. Asmany as 230 species have been identi- fied as using California rice fields as habi- tat, most of thembirds. Thestate’s rice fieldsprovidebirdhabitat equal to 300,000 acres of wetlands, which would cost nearly $2.8 billionup front. TheRiceCommissionisworking incon- certonthesalmonprojectwithresearchers fromtheUniversityofCalifornia,Davis,and Point Blue, a group of scientists who lend their expertise to private and public land managersengaged inconservationefforts. Buttner said baby salmon raised in nu- trient-rich, winter-flooded rice fieldswere tagged and released into the Sacramento River in the early spring of 2020, to learn how many would successfully make the trip to the Pacific. Although only one in a hundred sur- vived the elements and the predators to complete their journey, the result came after a low-water, drought winter when

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8 Ag Alert March 17, 2021

County Farm Bureau sues to protect coastal farmland

Coastsidearea, shesaid, byeliminatingob- stacles thatmight otherwise slowefforts to subdivide coastal land for recreation. The county Farm Bureau opposed the amendments throughout the process, Meservesaid, andsuggestedalternatives to reachthe recreational goalswithoutharm- ing the future of Coastside agriculture. SanMateoCountyapprovedtheamend- ments last summer; theCaliforniaCoastal Commission concurred in January. The Farm Bureau lawsuit said the amendments violate protections for agri- culturecontained in theCaliforniaCoastal

Act of 1976, andwould result in potential- ly significant environmental impacts on agriculture and other resources for which mitigation is requiredunder theCalifornia Environmental Quality Act. SanMateoCountyFarmBureauPresident BJ Burns said the FarmBureau board took the legal action toprotect agricultural land. “The amendments allow subdivision without a permanent conservation ease- ment toprotectagricultureandopenspace values,” Burns said. “When subdivisions occur on agricultural land, unsustainable parcels are often created.”

TheSanMateoCountyFarmBureauhas sued the California Coastal Commission, asserting that a change to a Local Coastal Plan violates protections for agriculture. The suit, filed thismonth inSacramento County Superior Court, involves amend- ments to the Local Coastal Plan tomodify San Mateo County’s approval require- ments for public agency landdivisions for

public recreationwithin theCoastal Zone. OshaMeserve, theattorneyrepresenting the county FarmBureau, said the amend- ments had been suggested early last year by theMidpeninsulaRegionalOpenSpace District and the Peninsula Open Space Trust. The amendments would make it easier forpublicentities todevelop low-in- tensity public recreational projects in the

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March 17, 2021 Ag Alert 9

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