Ag Alert Sept 8, 2021

organic winegrapes harvested in Napa County in2019, according to theCalifornia Department of Food and Agriculture’s 2019organiccropreport.OnlyMendocino County,with3,993acres,hadmoreorganic winegrape acreage harvested. For comparison, Napa County wine- grapegrowershad43,365acres inproduc- tion in2019,whileMendocinoCountywas home to16,506bearingacres, according to the counties’ 2019 crop reports. Joseph Brinkley, who grows organic winegrapes near Hopland, said going or- ganic requires amindset change. “On the organic and the biodynam- ic side, it’s really like trying to create a healthy system and organism,” Brinkley said. “You’re really trying to prevent any issues, and preventing those issues often means farming inamorebalancedway so youdon’t have a lackor anexcess of, say, a nutrient or water or light.” To deal with mildew, an organic grape growerhas to“make sure that your canopy management is timed properly,” Brinkley said. “You’ve got good air and light flow through the canopy, protecting the fruit.” Like Jeramaz, Brinkley focuses on soil health,beginningwithsoil teststocheckthe pHbalance.Brinkleysaidanycompostadd- edtothesoilwouldbebeneficial fororganic matterandbiologicalactivity.He’salsoused fish emulsions and soy and seaweedprod- ucts with nitrogen. Then there’s manure fromthe sheep that graze thevineyards. “Maybe 20, 30 years ago—or even 15 years ago—thereweren’t awhole lot of or- Winegrapes Continued from Page 1

ganic fertilizers out there,” Brinkley said. “In the last 10, 15years, themarket has cer- tainly shifted in thatway towardsorganics. Consumers are wanting it, it seems, and thereseems tobeagrowingawarenessand need or demand for it.” Keeping disease and pest pressures in check involves amuchdifferent approach. “We just don’t have thebroad toolboxof standard chemicals, like the conventional growersdo,” saidMarthaBarra,who farms inRedwoodValley. Barrasaidsheusesanorganic-approved material containing chrysanthemum oil to keep leafhoppers in check, and stylet oil formildew. “We’re just really limited towhatwe can use, but it seems towork forus,”Barrasaid. “We’ve got our vineyards inbalance. It has to do with timing in the application. We knowhowthecyclesgo, like inleafhoppers ormites.” Jeramaz saidhe found that conventional materials “go into plant sap and influence everything, and weaken plant immunity. While youmight killmildew for a couple of years, youweaken the plant.” That, in turn, shortensthevine’slifeexpectancy,headded. “One generation ago, grapevines last- ed at least 40 to 50 years,” Jeramaz said. “Today, with all this new technology, we onlyget half. It’s tremendouslyexpensive.” Jeramaz’s oldest vineyard, in Calistoga, contains 120-year-old zinfandel vines; some of his cabernet sauvignon vines in Yountvillewere planted in 1959. Brinkley’s thinking on life expectancy aligns with Jeramaz’s.

“I feel likeyouget an increased longevity of thatplantedfield,”Brinkleysaid. “Instead of maybe 20- to 25-year replants, we’re looking 35 to 40, ormaybe even longer.” Brinkley said the difference between conventionally and organically grown winegrapes will depend largely on the va- rietal and the location of the vineyard. “Often you’ll find reduced yields in the organic system vs. the conventional system,” Brinkley said, “but with those reduced yields, often you’ll find a greater concentration, especiallywithinthereds— some of the phenolics, the color profiles.” Jeramaz finds that inhisneighborhood, sugaraccumulation,measuredasbrix, can happen fast. “Phenol, which we all need for great wine, is behind sometimes two weeks,” Jeramaz said. That leads the grower to fig- ure the grapes are not ripe yet. “By the time theyarehappywithtannins in skins, we are talking 28 brix,” Jeramaz said. “That’s 70% alcohol. Nobody wants 70% alcohol.” Boosting the number of grapes on the vine helps, he noted. “We would like to slow down sugar ac- cumulation in plants,” Jeramaz said. “By putting abitmore grapes, that’swhat hap- pens. Not only havewe doubledour yield, we have quality better than ever.” Organic winegrape growers are sharing onesizableproblemwiththeirconvention- al cousins: California’s punishingdrought. “It’s pretty brutal,” Brinkley said. “The

NorthCoast,especially,we’vecertainlyseen some serious curtailmentsofwateruse.” Brinkley saidhis vineyards’ organic sta- tusmay help themweather the dry years. “Because of the years of cover cropping and composting, we’re really trying to increase and grow the organic matter in the soil and allow the soil to be that bank, or that reservoir, that we’re constantly adding to,” he said. “The vines are able to withstand these extreme pressures bet- ter because we’ve been investing in them via compost and cover crops, and the root mass and the biology of the soil.” Barra said she’d already reduced the cropestimate towineriesby30%at theout- set, and“aswedeliver,we’redownanother 20%,” she added. “It’s happening across theboard,” Barra said. “The tonnage just isn’t there.” She said her vineyard foreman reported that “the rain is just not getting down to the roots and pushing the nutrition down.” Conventional farmers thinking of mak- ing the switch are in for a long commit- ment—the vineyard has to wait at least three years after the last applicationof any prohibitedmaterials before it can be cer- tified. Brinkley said the biggest barrier “is getting alignment from the top, the exec- utive leadership, all the way down all the levels and into the field.” (Kevin Hecteman i s an ass i stant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)

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Agricultural Market Review

Quotations are the latest available for the week ending September 3, 2021 Year Ago Week Ago Latest Week Livestock Slaughter Steers – 5-Area Average Select & Choice, 1050–1150 lbs., $ per cwt. 105 121-122 No Quote Hogs – Average hog, 51-52% lean, Iowa-Minn. market, $ per cwt. 57.90 101.45 97.24 Slaughter Lambs – $ per cwt. 125–175 lbs. National weekly live sales No Quote 215-280 215-277.98 Field crops – basis prompt shipment Barley – U.S. No. 2, $ per cwt. Truck, Stockton-Modesto-Oakdale-Turlock 9 No Quote No Quote Cotton – ¢ per lb., Middling 1 3/32” Fresno spot market 66.68 83.85 83.31 Corn – U.S. No. 2 yellow $ per cwt. trucked 4.80 7.94 7.68 Alfalfa Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Region 1, Northern Inter-mountain 180-200 (P/S) 240-250 (G/P) 225-250 (G/P) Region 2, Sacramento Valley 220-268 (P/S) 260 (P/S) No Quote Region 3, Northern San Joaquin Valley 230-245 (P/S) 275 (P/S) 265-280 (P/S) Region 4, Central San Joaquin Valley 200-220 (P/S) 270-315 (S) 255 (P) Region 5, Southern California 255 (P) No Quote No Quote Region 6, Southeast Interior 255 (F/G) 220-240 (G) 120-260 (G/P) Oat Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Northern California, dairy No Quote No Quote No Quote Oats – U.S. No. 2 white, $ per cwt. Statewide, trucked price No Quote No Quote No Quote

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Dry Beans – Grower FOB prices Baby Limas, $ per cwt, (sacked) Large Limas, $ per cwt. (sacked) Blackeye, $ per cwt. (sacked)

No Quote No Quote No Quote

Rice – Milled No. 1 Head, FOB No. Calif. mills Medium grain, $ per cwt. Wheat – U.S. No. 2 or better, winter, $ per cwt. 13% protein, Los Angeles, trucked price

No Quote

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No Quote No Quote Provided by the California Farm Bureau as a service to Farm Bureau members. Information supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market News Branch. * ADF=Acid detergent fiber; (S) = Supreme/<27%ADF; (P) = Premium/27-29; (G) = Good/29-32; (F) = Fair/32-35. No Quote

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8/11/21 10:24 AM September 8, 2021 Ag Alert 19