Ag Alert July 31, 2024

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.

Pesticide rule Planned state notification program stirs debate

Ag Alert is online at AgAlert.com next week The Aug. 7 edition of Ag Alert ® will be the fourth of six online-only editions published in 2024. The other 40 editions of the newspaper appear online and in print. The next print issue will be published Aug. 14.

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www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com JULY 31, 2024

Trees & Vines Dairy & Livestock

special reports

By Ching Lee The prolonged heat wave has slowed the supply of California table grapes, with vines shutting down and picking crews working fewer hours just as the state’s main growing region ramps up harvest. San Joaquin Valley growers, who pro- duce most of the nation’s fresh-market grapes, say the excessive heat has begun to damage some varieties while inhibiting growth of others. Pickers have been work- ing mostly six-hour shifts in the morning to avoid sweltering afternoon temperatures, leaving fruit on the vine, as they can’t pick it all. “It’s just taking longer to pick it,” said Kern County grower Mark Hall. Temperatures soared to triple digits just as the region began harvest in early July. Though some of Hall’s early Flame Seedless were fine, he said the extended heat spell is now affecting quality. Overripe fruit that didn’t get picked on time turned mushy and melted. His Sugraone grapes—a greenish-yellow seedless vari- ety—may be a total loss due to heat dam- age and mildew, which weakens the skin and causes the berries to crack and rot. Autumn King, another light-green variety, shows some sunburn. With other valley growers in the same boat, Hall said there’s not as much fruit on the market, which has helped prices. In more typical years, prices tend to drop in the middle of summer and rise later in the season as supplies wane. Mexico has had its own production problems, shortening its shipping sea- son. That means there’s been less import- ed fruit lingering in domestic markets as California inventories came online, said Jim Beagle, CEO of Shafter-based Grapery, which grows table grapes in Kern and Tulare counties. This has resulted in “much smoother supply-and-demand dy- namics” compared to the big price swings and crashes seen last year, he added. California table grape acreage reached See GRAPES, Page 9 Heat wave messes with table grape harvest, volumes

Crews rise early to harvest cling peaches At Merced County-based Cederlind Farms in Winton, employee Estaban Castañeda harvests the extra-early Carson variety of clingstone peaches early in the morning to beat the heat. Harvest of the state’s canned and processed peaches is expected to continue through mid-September.

By Christine Souza California clingstone peach growers are working to harvest the season’s crop before high temperatures lead to overripe fruit and bruising, which would impact their bottom line. Trying to beat a prolonged heat wave, Merced County farmer Mark Cederlind said he started crews at daybreak last week to pick his extra-early Carson variety,

which is among dozens of clings planted to ripen throughout the season for the can- ning and frozen markets. “We’re running from 5:30 a.m. to about 11:30 a.m. to keep conditions cooler for employees,” Cederlind said of crews that picked fruit at his farm in Winton, where he grows about 250 acres of cling peaches sold to Pacific Coast Producers and Del Monte. Cederlind also grows 140 acres of free-

stone peaches for Wawona Frozen Foods and has diversified his business with al- monds and winegrapes. With no break from triple-digit tempera- tures in the Central Valley in the weeks leading up to harvest, Cederlind said he is concerned about the fruit “because it has just baked in that hot sun.” He added that crews are picking peaches before the fruit

See PEACHES, Page 15

n e w s p a p e r

Comment ......................................2 Dairy & Livestock .................... 6-7 Trees & Vines...................... 10-11 Classifieds........................... 14-15 Inside

Published by

Transparency Act will require more business filings

By Matthew Viohl In the alphabet soup of federal govern- ment agencies, farmers and ranchers are well familiar with agency acronyms such as USDA, BLM, EPA and the IRS. While we may of- ten prefer to forget the latter of those exists, employers are now learning of a different bureau housed under the U.S. Department of the Treasury—the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. Matthew Viohl The reason for learning what FinCEN is comes almost exclusively as a result of the Corporate Transparency Act. Signed into law in late 2021, the legislation im- posed a new regulation that requires ap- plicable businesses to submit a Beneficial Ownership Information Report, or BOIR, by Jan. 1, 2025. Per the Treasury Department, roughly 32 million businesses are expected to be li- able for filing such a report, including many farms, ranches and agricultural businesses. Now, I know you’re probably thinking, “I don’t recall anyone from the Treasury Department ever calling me up to let me know about this.” My guess is you’re not alone. In a recent hearing, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen revealed that few- er than 3 million reports have been filed. That is less than 10% of total expected reports through nearly much of the open filing period. You are also probably wondering what a report is exactly and whether it applies to you. Let’s start with the first piece. FinCEN is trying to establish those who identify as a “beneficial owner” for a given company.

While this is all well and good, a legal re- quirement remains a legal requirement. The federal government may not intend to go after small businesses, but many feel targeted. Not only that, but many people are rightfully leery of providing even more private data to an agency they may be just hearing about and don’t understand. What is being done to alter this quickly approaching deadline? Some congressio- nal efforts have begun to try to reverse what Congress did just three years ago. But the prospects of legislative relief seem dim at this point. However, on the judicial front, the National Small Business Association suc- cessfully sued the Treasury Department on behalf of its members. In March, a U.S. District Court ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act was unconstitutional and unfairly burdened small businesses by requesting this personal data. While the Treasury Department is appealing that de- cision, NSBA’s 60,000 members are no lon- ger required to file a BOIR , at least for now. This still leaves more than 31 million businesses on the hook for filing a BOIR by the end of the year. While I cannot say for certain if that includes your farm or ranch, my guess is there’s a good chance it does. A counterpart of mine in Washington, D.C., recently quipped, “The federal gov- ernment seems intent to make 30 million felons overnight.” Rest assured, that’s not the case. You’re largely safe from becoming one, unless you happen to be a money launder- er. Still, I would urge you to go online and determine your legal obligations so that you can avoid any fines or penalties that could result if you fail to file. (Matthew Viohl is director of federal policy for the California Farm Bureau. He may be contacted at mviohl@cfbf.com.)

The 2021 Corporate Transparency Act mandates that millions of businesses, including many farms and ranches, file a report on all “beneficial owners” with at least 25% ownership of the business.

A beneficial owner is anyone who either directly or indirectly exercises substantial control of the company or owns or controls at least 25% of a company’s interests. Any such person who meets this thresh- old will be required to submit the follow- ing on a BOIR: name, date of birth, address and identifying number, which could ei- ther be from a driver’s license, passport or even a unique FinCEN ID. Put all of these together for each beneficial owner and you have an official BOIR ready to file. Own a family business where ownership is split evenly between four individuals? Then that’s four individuals whose infor- mation needs to be collected. As for which businesses this applies to? The answer is: quite a lot. The Corporate Transparency Act gives exemptions to 23 specific types of enti- ties, which can be found on the CTA FAQ portal. The most relevant may be the large operating company exemption, which excuses companies with at least

20 full-time employees. The devil is in the details though, so it is best to go online and examine the require- ments and exemptions yourself. FinCEN has a robust webpage, www.fincen.gov, that has answers to many questions, as well as contact details if you’re still unsure about your potential obligations. You are going to want to figure out your potential liability because of what could happen if you choose to not file a BOIR. Willful failure to submit this report could lead to civil and criminal penalties. This includes fines of up to $10,000 and even jail time. Secretary Yellen has reiterated that the CTA was not formed for the purpose of go- ing after mom-and-pop shops that forget to file reports. The original intent behind the legislation was to help FinCEN detect, prevent and punish financial crimes car- ried out by money launderers, including those enabling financial terrorism and other bad actors.

VOL. 51, NO. 28

July 31, 2024

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2 Ag Alert July 31, 2024

State plans to start pesticide notifications early next year

recent years, farmers voiced concern that publicizing planned applications could expose farm sites to demonstrations, trespassing, privacy violations or other forms of unwanted attention. “To send a thing out across the state saying you’re going to spray something,” said Kevin Merrill, a Santa Barbara County winegrape grower, “it opens up the door to these radical groups to go out and protest where a spray is going to happen.” The proposed system will not list the specific farm or address where an appli- cation is planned, but will identify the zone down to a 1-mile radius. That solution has left both farmers and community advo- cates unhappy. “In rural areas, you’re going to be able to figure out who is spraying,” said Isabella Quinonez, government affairs analyst for the California Farm Bureau. Meanwhile, community organizers have launched a campaign demanding that DPR modify the rule to include more precise location information, arguing the 1-mile radius is not specific enough to make the notification system useful. “It is not sufficient to protect the people who live in the communities surround- ing these applications,” said Vanessa Forsythe, a retired school nurse from San Diego and policy committee co-chair of California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice. Yanely Martinez, a community organiz- er for Safe Ag Safe Schools who serves on

the Greenfield City Council in Monterey County, said that with advance warning of a pesticide application, she would take concrete steps to protect her asthmatic child and her aging father, including clos- ing windows and keeping vulnerable fam- ily members indoors. “It’s going to give me the opportunity to protect myself” from pesticide exposure, she said. The “Spray Days” system would be limited to applications of restricted-use pesticides, those judged to carry a higher risk of harm for people, wildlife and the environment if not applied with appro- priate restrictions. These pesticides account for a fraction of those applied on farms, typically being used only “when things have really turned for the worse,” Quinonez said, and for spe- cific uses such as to clear pests from an or- chard before shaking almond trees. DPR has deemed most pesticides safe enough to apply without providing notice. Farmers argued California already ag- gressively regulates pesticides, requiring applicators to be licensed and to get per- mits before applying restricted-use pesti- cides. Agricultural commissioners are en- trusted to assess local conditions to ensure restricted-use pesticides are applied safely. If DPR wants to improve safety around pesticides, Quinonez said at the virtual meeting, it should prioritize approving safer pesticides for farmers to use. The

By Caleb Hampton The California Department of Pesticide Regulation moved closer this month to finalizing a new regulation that would provide advance public notice of restrict- ed-use pesticide applications on farms. During the past few weeks, the depart- ment held public meetings and accepted a final round of comments on the proposed rule it has been developing since 2021. DPR plans to launch the notification sys- tem in the first quarter of 2025. The new regulation would create an on- line map of planned applications, drawing the data from the notices of intent farmers submit to county agricultural commis- sioners before they are permitted to apply restricted-use pesticides. The “Spray Days” map would allow peo- ple to zoom in to their town or region and zoom out to view pesticide applications scheduled statewide. California residents would also be able to sign up for text-mes- sage alerts for nearby applications for up to 10 addresses. Growers and farm advocates have com- plained the rule unfairly targets agricul- ture while exempting other sectors that use pesticides. And they have raised concerns that public access to planned applications

will trigger appeals from activists to cancel restricted-use pesticide permits and ex- pose farm sites to protests. Taylor Roschen, legislative and reg- ulatory advocate for the law firm Kahn, Soares and Conway, which represents various agricultural groups, said at a vir- tual DPR meeting last week that farmers in Monterey County, which has piloted a pes- ticide notification system, “already had felt the impact of appeals halting applications.” Adam Borchard, director of govern- ment and public policy at the California Fresh Fruit Association, warned of “crop losses that occur as a result of missed applications.” DPR sought to quell concerns that the notification system would enable ap- peals. The department has seen “a major increase” statewide in appeals to halt re- stricted-use pesticide applications “even before this system has gone into place,” Ken Everett, assistant director of DPR, said at the meeting. But he said the small window during which scheduled applications will appear online would be too narrow for the system to be used for appeals, which typically take longer for the department to review. With increased scrutiny of pesticides from community health advocates in

See PESTICIDES, Page 8

July 31, 2024 Ag Alert 3

Monterey this month. Category Partners provides analyses of organic market trends for the Organic Produce Network, which includes retailers and organic growers. In its state of organic produce report released March 28, the Organic Produce Network reported that organic fresh pro- duce sales in 2023 topped $9.6 billion, By Bob Johnson Organic produce sales continue to rise, as a narrowing price gap between organ- ic and conventional produce has helped drive organic sales this year, according to an industry analyst and market reports. During the first three months of 2024, organic fresh produce sales grew by 4.1% Organic produce sales are up as price gap narrows in dollars and 3.4% in volume, according to new Nielsen statistics on consumer purchases. Conventional produce sales increased by 3.3% for the quarter. “Organic is up again, gaining on con- ventional in both volume and dollar,” Tom Barnes, CEO of Category Partners, told at- tendees of the Organic Produce Summit in

an increase of 1.6% over 2022, with or- ganic produce accounting for 12% of all retail produce sales and 7% of volume. Conventional produce sales went up by 1.9% in 2023. But Barnes said organic sales have ticked up at a higher rate so far in 2024 due to consumers taking advantage of more competitive prices. “The price gap between organic and conventional just got a little bit smaller,” Barnes said, as he discussed first-quarter market reports and preliminary figures for the second quarter of 2024. Category Partners reported that the average per-pound price for conven- tional produce rose by 1.5% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, organic pro- duce saw an increase of 0.6% in average price per pound.Still, the aggregate cost of organic products was $1.48 per pound more than conventional. According to the first-quarter analysis, 11 of the top 20 organic commodities ex- perienced growth in dollars and volume, including berries, carrots, onions, broccoli and tomatoes. In 2023, organic berries, including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, ranked as the top selling or- ganics category for the second year in a row, registering $1.7 billion in sales, up 6% from 2022. That trend continues in 2024. “Berries lead in dollars, seeing an in- crease of 13% over last year,” Category Partners reported in its first-quarter anal- ysis. “Bananas saw the greatest increases in dollars at almost 15% more dollars than last year. Organic lettuce saw the greatest decline in dollars at -8.3% followed by pre- packaged salads at -6.4%. “ Organic berry sales totaled $423 million for the quarter. Despite a drop in sales, prepackaged salads ranked as the sec- ond-highest organics category, with $373 million in first-quarter sales. In volume of produce sold, organic ap- ples saw a 16.6% increase during the first quarter, followed by bananas with a 13% volume increase, and herbs and spices with a 10% increase. Organic bell peppers experienced the largest drop in volume at 15%, followed by 10% for cucumbers and 7% for avocados, squash and celery. (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Monterey County. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.)

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4 Ag Alert July 31, 2024

10 ANNIVERSARY CAL POLY STRAWBERRY FIELD DAY AUGUST 8 | 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CUTTING-EDGE STRAWBERRY FARMING RESEARCH, INNOVATION & AUTOMATION The Cal Poly Strawberry Center, in partnership with the California Strawberry Commission, aims to increase the sustainability of California’s $3.4 billion strawberry industry through research and education. Field Day will spotlight the latest research findings in automation, entomology and plant pathology, including: Non-chemical pest management solutions Automations to improve workplace efficiency and safety Solutions for controlling and mitigating soilborne pathogens

AUTOMATION

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Visit californiastrawberries.com/field-day-2024 or scan the QR code to register.

A SPECIAL PRODUCERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ® CALIFORNIA Dairy & Livestock

Dairies turn to robotic milking, save on labor costs By Vicky Boyd Stanislaus County dairy farmer Vance Ahlem says he has reduced labor costs and increased milk production after outfitting his dairy with a series of robotic milking systems for his Jersey cows.

Joining her in the study were Fernanda Ferreira, former professor of veterinary medi- cine at UC Davis, and Marcia Endres, a researcher at the University of Minnesota. Even if producers don’t go all in, Bruno said they are adopting other technologies, such as activity monitors and cameras. In 2008, Ahlem and his family purchased what had originally been built as a robotic dairy in 2002. At the time, the technology wasn’t advanced enough, and the previous owner eventually converted the operation to a conventional milking parlor. As part of his research, Ahlem visited Fair Oaks Dairy in Indiana to view a DeLaval robotic system. He also traveled to Denmark to see Lely robotic systems at dairies that milked Jerseys, the same breed that Countyline has. Ahlem eventually went with Lely and TDR Inc., a Turlock-based dairy contractor, engi- neer and Lely service provider. He said one of the keys to the successful robotic conversion was communication and gaining early employee support, even though it meant ultimately a 50% labor force reduction. “I brought my manager in very early when we were looking at vendors, so he could buy in, understand it and get educated ahead of time, because he was nervous about computers and learning things,” Ahlem said. Communication also factored into educating bankers about the new technology.

When the California Legislature increased the state minimum wage and enacted a 40- hour agricultural overtime threshold, Stanislaus County dairy producer Vance Ahlem of Denair knew he had to change to survive. “I sat back and tried to envision what we were going to do going forward, what we would do to manage that,” said Ahlem, a partner in Countyline LLC. After plenty of research and visits to operations already using automated milking sys- tems, he pulled the trigger in 2021 to transition to robotic milking. Since then, Ahlem has seen significant labor savings and increased milk production from fewer cows, calmer animals and improved herd health. But Ahlem isn’t the only dairy producer in the state to tap robotics. Daniella Bruno, a University of California Cooperative Extension dairy advisor for Kings, Fresno and Madera counties, led a survey in 2020 about adoption of automated milking. It was part of a larger study on the feasibility of milking robots on large dairies. Back then, she found statewide about 200 box robots, which are individual automatic milking machines. “I think labor is still a problem, so we may see more dairies with robots in the future,” Bruno said. “However, when and if it happens will depend on many factors, and it is hard to predict with precision.”

See ROBOTIC, Page 7

6 Ag Alert July 31, 2024

Robotic Continued from Page 6

milk color, which are indicators of udder health. This has allowed Ahlem to catch mastitis about two days before symptoms appear and pull the cow, if needed, from the milking string for medical treatment. Once all four cups retract, the robot sprays the teats with iodine, and the cow exits. The entire pre-milking and milking averages about six minutes per animal. Because cows aren’t limited to being milked twice a day as they were before, Ahlem said they typically average slightly more than three times per day. This has equated to each cow producing more milk per day on average. The robotic system also has allowed him to see real-time data, including individual milk production, feed consumption and conversion efficiency, and health alerts. This has helped him make more informed decision about culling animals. When Ahlem originally developed his financial plan for the conversion, he con- servatively figured a seven-year payback based just on labor savings. With accom- panying increases in workers’ compen- sation and health insurance as well as improved milk production, he said that payback could be shortened to five years. “I think we could have been at a three- year payback if interest rates hadn’t peak- ed,” he said. (Vicky Boyd is a reporter in Modesto. She may be contacted at vlboyd@att.net.)

It ultimately came down to a Lely mainte- nance cost study and an in-person tour of a robotic Modesto dairy to convince the financial institution to loan the money for Countyline’s remodel. Unlike his previous conventional system in which cows were milked twice a day on schedule, the free-flow system allows ani- mals to decide when. Without herders yell- ing at wayward animals, the barns are qui- eter, and Ahlem said the cows are calmer. Divided among his four freestall barns are 32 Lely Astronaut A5s robotic milking machines. Cows are grouped in pens, each outfitted with four robots. Ahlem described the dairy’s conversion as more remodeling than new construc- tion. Installation was done in phases, so a portion of the cows and workers could become trained and get used to the new robots before moving to the next pen. “You’re not herding them—that was one of the hardest things to break,” he said. “It took about three days to get the cows going to the robots and about three weeks to get things flowing.” Having milking opportunities close by reduced the distance the cows walked each day to the milking barn—from more than 1 mile to 223 feet. As a result, Ahlem said he has seen less lameness and better hoof health.

With an automatic milker, a computer helps monitor milking and feeding schedules. Robotic arms extend brushes for stimulating milk letdown and then wash and blow dry teats after milking.

Each animal wears an activity monitor, sometimes called a ‘cow Fitbit,’ around her neck to track several health indicators and identify her electronically. As she enters the robotic milker, a computer reads the collar to determine if enough time has elapsed from her last milking or whether she just wants the tasty feed concentrate, which each cow receives based on her milk production. If she’s a frequent visitor, the computer

quickly retracts the feed box and the cow exits. If she meets the time criteria, a laser scans the udder and compares it to existing maps on file to guide robotic activities. Brushes extend to wash the teats twice, stimulating milk letdown, and a blower dries them. Mechanical hands then place a milking cup on each teat. As the vacuum kicks on and milk initially starts to flow, an optical sensor scans the liquid for EC, or electrical conductivity, and

EXCELLENCE IN AGRICULTURE AWARD, ACHIEVEMENT AWARD & DISCUSSION MEET COMPETITION

California Farm Bureau is excited to recognize farmers, ranchers, and agriculturalists between the ages of 18-35 for their impact on the agriculture field! Apply TODAY for a YF&R Award! • The Achievement Award recognizes members for their achievements in production agriculture and leadership. • The Excellence in Agriculture Award recognizes members who are actively contributing and growing through involvement in Farm Bureau and the agriculture industry. • The Discussion Meet Competition is designed to simulate a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each participant at the table. Visit CFBF.com/YFR to learn more and apply. Deadlines for Applications: Achievement and Excellence in Agriculture Awards are due by August 31. Discussion Meet competition is due by October 31.

July 31, 2024 Ag Alert 7

NATIONWIDE NEWS

Bird flu risk is ‘a real wake-up call’ for dairy farmers

The following information is provided by Nationwide ® , the No. 1 farm and ranch insurer in the U.S.* U.S. dairy farmers are well-acquainted with challenges, from market volatility to industry consolidation and shifting con- sumer preferences. Now, a new hurdle has emerged that could transform herd management practices: H5N1 bird flu on dairy farms. While the virus is lethal to poultry, it poses a significant financial threat to dairy farmers. Bird flu in dairy cattle could ne- cessitate operational changes to prevent or minimize the impact of these disruptions to production. Federal testing confirmed H5N1—highly pathogenic avian influenza—in dairy cows in March 2024. The discovery marked a first: the zoonotic transmission of the virus from birds to dairy cattle and later, farmworkers. The virus normally infects domestic and wild bird species. It is highly contagious and often fatal for birds. It is rarely fatal for cattle and humans and often limited to flu-like symptoms, but other animals—namely hogs—may be more susceptible to severe, potentially mortal symptoms. It has gotten a lot of attention on how dairy farmers re- spond to the bird flu threat. For dairy farmers, bird flu can cause

financial losses from decreased milk production and the inability to meet con- tracted milk deliveries; higher production costs; costs to add biosecurity measures to a farm; and replacing cows lost or that see sharp declines in milk output. “While dairy cows that have been in- fected with H5N1 generally recover well, it does dramatically limit milk production, causing financial losses for producers with affected premises,” according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report. Those losses—and the costs dairy farm- ers may incur to test for and slow or stop the spread of H5N1—were the motivation behind USDA expanding dairy farmer sup- port in the wake of the virus. Historically, dairy farms don’t have the biosecurity mea- sures in place that are more common on poultry and hog farms. “This is a real wake-up call that we have to be more diligent with biosecurity. You can’t even go into a hog farm today without show- ering in first,” said Nationwide Senior Dairy Consultant Dan Rice. “On most dairy farms, you don’t even have to sanitize your boots. We need to be more mindful of biosecurity by adding things like this to our farms.” Minimizing farm entry points and lim- iting access to only workers, veterinarians and other essential people can help keep

the virus away from a dairy farm. “Hauling cattle from multiple farms to a sale barn, for example, is one way to spread the virus easily. You can help prevent this risk by locating a loading area where you can move cattle so a truck isn’t driving onto your main farm,” Rice said. “I have seen dairy farms with five entry points. That makes it extremely difficult to control access. Though it’s not always easy, one entry point is ideal.” These steps—on top of regular herd health monitoring, securing feed from reli- able suppliers and creating a plan for if bird flu does show up on your farm—can help farmers be ready. That readiness will go a long way to keeping the virus away from not just dairy cows but other livestock such as hogs that may be more in danger by bird flu. “Create a culture of safety to keep your farm safe for your families and workers,” Rice said. “In the case of H5N1, that culture needs to be about safety and biosecurity to prevent the disease from spreading.” Rice recommends having regular con- tact with a veterinarian in case testing be- comes necessary. It’s also a good idea to stay in touch with a risk management part- ner. Talk to a Nationwide Farm Certified agent to see what can be done to build a culture of safety on the dairy farm. Visit AgInsightCenter.com for more re-

sources and expert tips to help you run a successful business and maintain the safe- ty of your operation. *A.M. Best Market Share Report 2023. Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle, and Nationwide is on your side are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2024 Nationwide

Pesticides Continued from Page 3

time it takes for the department to process registrations for new pesticides doubled from 2019 to 2023, increasing to more than three years, according to a California State Auditor report released last year. “The reality is that we have to have these tools to be able to feed all the people that we’re feeding,” said Merrill, the Santa Barbara County farmer. “There are less and less farmers all the time feeding more and more people, and if you don’t have some of these pesticides in your toolbox to deal with these things, we won’t have that food supply.” (Caleb Hampton is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at champton@cfbf.com.)

Having the safety talk with your kids isn’t just important— it’s essential. In 2023, 19% of deaths in off-highway vehicle (OHV) accidents were children under 16, with only 2% wearing helmets. 1 This alarming statistic prompted Nationwide to launch the Let’s Champion Rider Safety SM campaign, providing tips and resources for effective safety discussions and protection for young riders. Let’s work together to help save lives and teach everyone to ride like a champion.

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1 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Nationwide and the Nationwide N and Eagle and Let’s champion rider safety are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. 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. © 2024 Nationwide (05/24)

8 Ag Alert July 31, 2024

Grapes Continued from Page 1

red seedless variety, due to demand from “a specific consumer market.” “Turns out, this variety is very sensitive to heat. When it starts maturing, you’ve got a four-day window to pick before it turns soft,” he said, noting the farm has since re- grafted those vines to a different variety. Of the state’s 10 most popular ta- ble-grape varieties in 2023 by acreage, nine are seedless, five are red, four are green or light green, and one is blue-black— Autumn Royal, at No. 7. With 12,163 acres last year, Flame Seedless remains the lead- ing table grape variety in California. The early-season red grape is usually the first major variety harvested each year. The seeded Red Globe ranks No. 5, with 5,281 acres. Once widely grown, the large- sized grape is less common in U.S. mar- kets. Because of its firm flesh and it holds up well, it is now grown mostly for export. Beagle of Grapery said his company does not market any of its grapes as seed- less, pointing out that the so-called seed- less varieties are not truly seedless. They contain traces of a seed that’s either under- developed, partially aborted or completely aborted. The small specks are soft and of- ten undetectable, but they can start to lig- nify once the berries mature fully, forming a texture that’s almost seed-like, he said. “It’s not really a seed,” Beagle said, “but for a purist in terms of seedlessness, it’s not completely seedless either.” (Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)

125,000 in 2023, down from 127,000 acres in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s compared to 610,000 acres of winegrapes in 2023 and 138,000 acres grown for raisins in 2021. Harvest in the San Joaquin Valley typically runs through December, with cold-storage grapes available into January. The Coachella Valley produces some ear- ly-season fruit beginning in mid- to late May, with harvest wrapping up as the San Joaquin Valley starts. California table grape volumes also took a hit last year after a rare tropical storm bat- tered San Joaquin Valley vineyards during peak harvest. Beagle said his company lost about 25% of its crop. The cost of saving the remaining 75% was exorbitant, he said, because it was all done by hand. Rain-cracked fruit had to be trimmed individually, he said, and as the berries collapsed, rot spread through the bunches, which had to be cleaned out. “It was the biggest detrimental financial event to ever hit the California table grape industry,” Beagle said. “We also lost a lot of yield.” With supplies tight after the storm, pric- es shot up “a fair amount,” he said, as U.S. retailers “recognized the dire situation for the industry.” This year, even with impacts from the heat, Beagle said production costs remain manageable, with prices “off to a reason- able start.” Growers have also been blessed with two consecutive years of improved water supplies, he added. While it’s still early in the season, Beagle said he remains optimistic, noting his crop “looks great” so far. The heat has put stress on some varieties that are just finishing, he said, but most of the crop is still ways off from being harvested, allowing it to better withstand the heat. Also, with drip irrigation, newer heat-tolerant varieties and modern trellis systems that allow leaf canopies to shade and protect the fruit from

Kern County grower Mark Hall stands in a vineyard earlier this month during harvest of Flame Seedless grapes. He says the state’s unrelenting heat wave as begun to damage some varieties.

direct sunlight, he said growers can man- age extended heat periods far better today. “Overall, I don’t see (the heat) having a major impact on the quality or size of the California table grape crop,” Beagle said. Beagle’s company markets its grapes with names such as Cotton Candy, Gum Drops, Moon Drops and Tear Drops, with the first two referring to the grapes’ can- dy-like flavors and the other two named for their elongated shapes. Except for Cotton Candy, which mimics the taste of the car- nival confection, Beagle said the other grapes are not variety names. Multiple varieties go into grapes marketed as Gum Drops, for example. “We provide these names as a way for consumers to connect with the experience that they get out of the grapes,” he said. The company continues to test differ- ent varieties from breeding programs that are releasing grapes with flavors such as grape soda and grape lollipop, and some of them will be added to Grapery’s lineup, Beagle said. “They all have little differences, but they all have these grape candy-like flavors,” he said. Kern County grower Chris Ramirez,

who works for Blanc Vineyards in Delano, said the candy varieties are popular with shoppers and sell well, but they tend to be more labor-intensive and expensive to pick. Because their fruit sizes are smaller compared to more traditional varieties such as Flame Seedless or Autumn King, more bunches are needed to fill a bag. “People have to work a little bit more and harvest more crop to get a box,” he said. While retailers want the latest trendy varieties and growers want to supply buy- ers, Ramirez said farmers are also careful about not overplanting and must consider whether certain varieties work well from a production standpoint. He recalled how the farm planted more acres of Krissy, a

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July 31, 2024 Ag Alert 9

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

High-wire trellises prep vineyards for hotter climate By Caitlin Fillmore A high-wire trellis system for winegrapes, at right, rises above a traditional vineyard alignment, at left. Researchers say high-wire systems provide better shade and more protection from heat and sun.

as they grow toward the top wire and later support the vines as they become heavy with fruit and foliage. Experts predict extreme heat days in Monterey County will triple in the next decade and stretch from May to November. As a result, despite being easier to harvest than HWC trellising, traditional vertical-shoot positioned trellises may be no match for sustained heat expected during critical periods of the growing season. “People are trying to search for new methods to avoid sunburn and heat damages in the coastal regions. The temperature has been going up, and the solar intensity has been going up with it,” said Cliff Yu, assistant professor of viticulture at California State University, Fresno. “Farmers can play with canopy management practices, but choosing the suitable and ‘future proof’ trellis system when planting might be a better and more permanent solution.” Researchers at the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis, are studying benefits of HWC trellising. In their 2022 report published in the journal Frontiers of Plant Science, researchers concluded that the single high-wire trellis system provides more shade than VSP systems. In comparison, lower-hanging fruit in VSP trellises may be too vulnerable to overexposure, the study said. The HWC system works best in a hot climate with several consecutive days of triple- See TRELLISES, Page 11

Central Coast winegrape growers are moving away from traditional trellising systems as they seek to stay ahead of the changing climate in protecting vineyards from sun and heat impacts. Daryn Miller manages 3,500 acres across 10 separate vineyards throughout southern Monterey County as regional manager for Monterey Pacific, a vineyard management company in the Salinas Valley. He grows chardonnay and pinot noir winegrapes from Gonzales to south of Soledad and sauvignon blanc and cinsault in King City. Since 2022, Miller has encouraged high-wire cordon trellising, a technique he began learning in 2013 for the Loma del Rio vineyard redevelopment project near King City. He said a cordon height above 50 inches under the HWC system helps mitigate fruit dehydra- tion, limiting overexposure to the sun, with the vine canopy grown more as a sprawl rather than vertically positioned shoots. “I continued to make efforts to push for the utilization of high wire on new developments, due to my experiences with high wire being more adapted to late-summer heat events,” Miller said. Since the 1980s, coastal California vineyards typically used a vertical-shoot positioned trellising system, or VSP, with grapes hanging near waist height and shoots trained up- ward to provide a curtain of foliage. In the newer HWC system, the cordon—or fruiting stem of the vine—is raised up to 6 feet off the ground. Lower wires help train young vines

10 Ag Alert July 31, 2024

Trellises Continued from Page 10

intensive, he said. “The results (of HWC trellising) have been a mixed bag,” Miller said, adding that he’s seen good results in yields overall. “We often see 25% to 30% greater clusters per vine, and while the cluster weights tend to be lower, this still translates to more con- sistent yields less impacted by cold spring weather during bloom, which helps to sus- tain the economics of farming winegrapes in Monterey County.” Miller said the strong Salinas Valley winds are a challenge during the trellis- ing transition, requiring improvements to row orientation so that vines grow with the wind rather than perpendicular to pre- vailing wind directions. This has meant in- stalling short extensions with catch wires to keep cordon stems upright to support fruiting and enhance yields and quality. Miller said the trellising investment ulti- mately needs to translate to the customer. “(A challenge has been) demonstrating to the wineries purchasing the fruit that the higher yields can still maintain solid quality fruit with lower skin-to-juice ratios and more uniformity in ripening,” Miller said. “Input costs have surged in the last few years, outpacing contracted tonnage prices. Therefore, we must adapt and over- come this.” (Caitlin Fillmore is a reporter based in Monterey County. She may be contacted at cslhfillmore@gmail.com.)

digit weather, said Yu, who has observed the technique at vineyards on the Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley. “It all depends on the specific mac- ro- and meso-climate in the vineyard,” he said. “SHW (single high wire) might work for some people, but with high hu- midity, the density of the canopy cov- erage might be problematic in terms of grape disease management.” Questions about the right vineyard trel- lis for a changing climate coincide with a significant downturn in the wine market and requests to reduce statewide wine- grape acreage by 9%. While the HWC trellis system is mainly employed on large Central Coast vineyards, the technique may be adopted for redeveloped land in other wine regions. “When people start replanting grape- vines again, I think there will be more SHW systems put in due to its simplicity, lower cost to install and maintain, and the capability of providing good canopy coverage to protect the fruits from getting burnt,” Yu said. About 650 acres that Miller manages are under redevelopment and will be in production during the next few years. He balances a mix of VSP and HWC sys- tems, depending on the site. He is also experimenting with shade cloth, which he found to be cost prohibitive and labor

Year-old winegrape vines are being trained for high-wire cordon trellising. Daryn Miller, who manages vineyards for Monterey Pacific, says the systems can help support consistent yields.

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July 31, 2024 Ag Alert 11

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