Applications open for farmer, farmworker training The California Department of Food and Agriculture is accepting applications for a new grant program intended to enhance training or apprenticeship programs for beginning farmers or farm employees. The Beginning Farmer and Farmworker Training and Workforce Development Program was funded through the 2021 California general fund budget. The pro- gram seeks to aid farmers and ranchers in their first 10 years of business, as well as farmworkers seeking sustainable employ- ment by improving their job skills. Aug. 1. The grants will be announced in September, with funded projects begin- ning Nov. 1. taged, small-scale farmers, farmworkers and in workforce development programs. CDFA’s Farm Equity Office will hold two informational sessions via Zoom on the grant program during the application peri- od. Sessions will be recorded and available on the program website. The 2022 program request for ap- plications can be found at www.cdfa. ca.gov/BFFTP. Applications will be accepted via the Amplifund grant application service. All applicants will need to register for an Amplifund account. Amplifund staffers will host an applicant training session via Zoom, explaining how to register for an account and answering questions on the platform. For more infor- mation on the 2022 BFFTP Grant Program, contact: carmen.carrasco@cdfa.ca.gov.
“We don’t know what that alterna- tive host is, but it is on coyote brush and blackberries quite a bit,” Wilson said. “If the ratio is off and you get too much vineyard and too little overwintering habitat, you kind of get biocontrol in reverse. In a good situation, you have a tiny vineyard and a ton of overwinter- ing habitat.” He said how far the parasitoids travel and the precise ratio of habitat to vineyard size are among “researchable questions.” Helzer took special note that among the plants that the parasitoids favor is coyote brush. “A lot of that is native,” he said. On the drive home, he discussed such Leafhopper Continued from Page 7 Those eligible to apply for the program include nonprofit organizations, tribal governments and community colleges. Community colleges are eligible as co-ap- plicants with local partner organizations. Entities applying must have demonstrat- ed expertise in assisting socially disadvan-
The effort is also intended to boost agricultural career skills for socially disadvantaged populations and help create more qualified candidates for the farm workforce. Grant applicants may apply for two types of awards. The farm workforce development pro- gram provides grants of up to $100,000 for program planning and curriculum development. Grants of up to $1 million are available for implementing beginning farmer and farmworker training and work- force development programs. CDFA is awarding up to $10 million for the program. That includes $5 million made available for fiscal year 2021-22 and another $5 million for 2022-23. Applications for one- or two-year projects will be accepted until 5 p.m.
Houston Wilson, a University of California, Riverside, entomologist, discusses Western leafhop- per management and ecology during a field session with North Coast winegrape growers.
plantings as a potential solution, adding, “That was one of the positive takeaways.” Helzer was accompanied by two other vineyard managers and a viticulturist to the seminar. He said they were looking for insights on “four big subjects”—the vineyard leaf- hopper, vine mealybug, water manage- ment and powdery mildew. Another vineyard pest, the Virginia creeper, lays egg masses with a pro- tective coating to ward off parasitoids.
The Western leafhopper lays eggs sin- gly on the surface of leaves, and the variegated leafhopper lays eggs singly into leaf tissue. In addition to the toll leafhoppers can take on vines, they are also a nuisance pest for workers. “They inhale them,” Wilson said, “as I have many times.” (Dennis Pollock is a reporter in Fresno. He may be contacted at agcompollock@yahoo.com.)
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8 Ag Alert June 8, 2022
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