Ag Alert February 14, 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.

Special issue University, vineyards focus on organic farming

Ag Alert is online at AgAlert.com next week The Feb. 21 edition of Ag Alert ® will be the first 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 Feb. 28.

More stories inside

www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com FEBRUARY 14, 2024

Trees & Vines ®

special report

By Bob Johnson California leads the nation in organic ag- ricultural production, accounting for more than $14 billion in organic sales and 36% of the U.S. organic market in 2021. Yet research has As organic sector thrives, research seeks to catch up

lagged behind the expo- nential growth of organ- ic farming in the state.

Now that trend may be changing, thanks to an increasing focus on supporting or- ganic studies and information sharing. In 2020, the University of California system opened the Organic Agriculture Institute to facilitate development of or- ganic research and extension programs. The institute’s launch came a year after UC Santa Cruz elevated soil scientist and agroecologist Joji Muramoto as the state’s first UC Cooperative Extension organic production specialist. Muramuto has con- ducted extensive research on soil-borne disease management in organic vegetable production. (See related story on Page 11.) Darryl Wong, executive director for the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology, said the center is working to connect farm-level findings of organic growers with themore specialized studies performed by academic researchers. “Farmers do action research that starts with what happened in the field; epistemic research takes it to the question of how and why it happened,” Wong said. “To move organic forward, we need to balance these two research approaches.” With organic studies drawing increasing funding interest, researchers and growers are looking to identify potential study ar- eas that are best connected to day-to-day challenges of organic farming. “Soil health, water and pest manage- ment are at the top in our preliminary sur- vey of growers,” said Shriya Rangarajan, postdoctoral researcher at the UC Organic Agriculture Institute. Rangarajan said many organic farmers have relied on getting information from See RESEARCH, Page 10

A driver crosses floodwaters from the Sacramento River that submerged a road near farms in Colusa County last week. Storms toppled almond trees in nearby Glenn County, damaged avocado orchards with mudslides in Santa Barbara County and challenged vegetable growers in Imperial County.

Farmers regroup after storms batter state

By Christine Souza With a respite from stormy weather, farmers say they are surveying for any damage and waiting for the ground to dry so they can access fields and orchards to make repairs or do other practices. Historic and deadly storms that brought two weeks of rain and power- ful winds to California led to mudslides, flooding and widespread power outages

and related evacuations. A state of emer- gency was declared for eight Southern California counties. In Santa Barbara County, farm manager Sheldon Bosio of Goleta-based Terra Bella Ranches said three mudslides affected about 40 avocado trees or about half an acre, which is half of what was lost from mudslides caused by storms last year. “We farm a lot of hillsides, so a terrace

will break from saturated soil, and then it moves and takes out the avocados below,” Bosio said. “The avocado trees at the top of the hill, where the majority of the weight (from the mud) was, those got buried, but the trees at the bottom are salvageable.” He estimated it may cost $10,000 for large equipment to repair the terrace road, plus labor to replace irrigation

See STORMS, Page 15

n e w s p a p e r

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Mentoring program to assist new farmers, ranchers

By Amrith Gunasekara On Feb. 21, online enrollment will begin for a new program to help prepare the next generation in California agriculture. The California

The workshops will provide insights on regulations for farming and ranching in California. Participants will learn about financial incentives, including grant op- portunities that can help them fund con- servation management practices and climate-smart agriculture. They will be exposed to resources from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and UC Cooperative Extension. The Bountiful Foundation is partnering in Expanding Our Roots with the California Farm Bureau, 54 county Farm Bureaus and the Black Agriculture Working Group, with assistance from Michael O’Gorman, founder of the Farmer Veteran Coalition. To sign up for a Feb. 16 webinar and learn more about the program, visit californiabountifulfoundation.com. The effort integrates well with existing programs such as the California Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers pro- gram. YF&R provides opportunities to develop leadership skills through involve- ment in Farm Bureau at county, state and national levels. YF&R members represent the diversity of farmers and ranchers across the state. We hope that many par- ticipants in YF&R programs at state and county levels will seek to participate in the Expanding Our Roots program. California is the nation’s most produc- tive agriculture sector and is critical to our food security. As longtime California farmers and ranchers prepare to pass the torch to the next generation of agricultur- ists, we believe our beginning farmers and ranchers will meet the challenge. Through Expanding our Roots, they will get a valu- able head start. (Amrith Gunasekara, Ph.D., is director of science and research for the California Bountiful Foundation, an affiliate 501(c)(3) of the California Farm Bureau. He may be reached at agunasekara@cfbf.com.)

Bountiful Foundation, the science, research and education arm of the California Farm Bureau, has secured funding to offer a mentoring program for 400 beginning farmers and ranchers.

Amrith Gunasekara

As the most productive farming sector in the nation, California will soon depend on a new generation of farmers. The Expanding Our Roots program aims to prepare beginning farmers and ranchers for success.

The Expanding Our Roots program will connect beginning and early-career farm- ers and ranchers with one to10 years of ex- perience with mentors who have worked for more than a decade in farming and ranching. Two hundred participants will be trained in 2024. The goal of Expanding Our Roots, a first -of-its-kind program in California, is to help ensure agricultural sustainability and food security well into the future. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $1 million in grants to the California Bountiful Foundation to support this effort. Half of program participants must be specialty crop growers. As per funding require- ments, primary consideration will be given to military veterans and socially disadvan- taged farmers and ranchers. Agriculture in California and national- ly faces the challenge of an aging farming population, with many farmers and ranch- ers nearing retirement. These agricultural veterans and their mid-career peers have a vast array of knowledge and life experi- ences not found in textbooks, classrooms or other academic pursuits. Their experiences come through built relationships, through learning from

doing, and from trial and error on the farm and ranch. Our farmers handle challenges as complex as developing unique nutrient management plans or irrigation water schedules tailored to specific social types and crops. They are knowledgeable about market opportunities and maximizing food production to meet demand. But for beginning farmers and ranchers, learning through trial and error may trans- late to financial risk, which can put upstart farms and ranches in peril. This is at the heart of the Expanding Our Roots program—connecting be- ginning agricultural producers with seasoned professionals familiar with es- tablished methodologies and emerging agricultural technologies. How can we help beginning farmers and ranchers who are already farming reduce their risk of doing business? One way is to provide them with men- tors—someone they can trust and who has been down the pathway of exploring new markets and farming and ranching approaches. The mentor has already dealt with the risks. They can impart

knowledge to help position the new generation that will soon guide our ag- ricultural future. The funding secured through grants by the California Bountiful Foundation will financially compensate mentor farmers and ranchers who provide valuable ex- pertise and training through Expanding Our Roots. By serving as mentors, they will share California’s agricultural heritage and legacies for others to follow. Mentoring is used in business and fi- nance and by numerous organizations to promote knowledge transfer, increase profitability and ensure future growth. For California agriculture, this means sustain- ing and expanding America’s most pro- ductive farming and ranching sector to meet the needs of our growing population. Beginning farmers and ranchers who enroll in Expanding Our Roots will be pro- vided with four annual one-day workshops at no cost, thanks to funding awarded to the program. The workshops will be held throughout the state. There will also be online opportunities for attendees to par- ticipate remotely.

VOL. 51, NO. 6

February 14, 2024

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2 Ag Alert February 14, 2024

At Flora Fresh Inc., an employee-owned wholesale florist in Sacramento County, employee Mai Chang trims flower stems to fill Valentine’s Day orders. Record sales are projected for Feb. 14.

Valentine’s Day brings sales and trials for flower farms

By Caleb Hampton The stars are aligned for a good Valentine’s Day for the floral sector. With the holiday falling on a Wednesday and clear skies forecast for most regions in the U.S., flower retailers were preparing for a busy Feb. 14. “This is going to be a strong holiday,” Camron King, CEO and ambassador for Certified American Grown, an organiza- tion that advocates for U.S. cut flower farm- ers, said last week. “Because it is a midweek holiday, a lot of folks send their loved ones flowers to celebrate versus maybe going out of town for the weekend.” Two separate consumer data analyses projected record Valentine’s Day flower sales this year. They were conducted by the market research firm Prince & Prince Inc. and the data analytics platform Statista. “We’re always busy before Valentine’s Day,” said Sherry Sanbo, owner of Golden State Floral, a wholesale florist in Yolo County. Last week, employees there trimmed stems and assembled bouquets for stores across the region. The holiday typically trails only Mother’s Day in flower sales. To get all her orders filled, Sanbo said she doubled her work- force during the two weeks preceding Valentine’s Day. “Everybody is working real hard,” she said.

For California cut flower farmers, the winter holiday brought a welcome boost in demand alongside renewed frustration. For two years running, dark skies and stormy weather have impacted flower crops grown in the state for Valentine’s Day. A powerful storm that swept through Southern California last week ruined some field-grown flowers and prevented har- vest crews from picking crops meant for Valentine’s Day. “We had multiple days of rain leading into the holiday, which limited the oppor- tunities we may have had,” said Michael Mellano, CEO of Mellano & Co., which grows flowers in San Diego County and supplies wholesalers across the country. “There’s some revenue loss for us and some loss in paychecks for employees who would normally be harvesting that crop.” Greg Staby, buyer for Flora Fresh Inc., an employee-owned wholesale florist in Sacramento County, said farmers the com- pany sources from reported flooded fields and crop losses in Ventura County. “When it’s cold and wet, that doesn’t really help a lot of the stuff in fields,” he said. Fields of snapdragons, lilies, green mist and Queen Anne’s lace were flooded or damaged by wind. “Some of the products from Southern California are very difficult See FLOWERS, Page 4

February 14, 2024 Ag Alert 3

Flowers Continued from Page 3

after a market that will at least pay some- thing for your product,” Van Wingerden said. Those changes include “looking for varieties that do not take as much energy to grow and that produce more,” he said, as well as specialty varieties that are too delicate to travel from South America to U.S. markets. California growers have largely shifted to growing greenery and filler flowers, “the supporting cast,” Mellano said, for bou- quets centered around roses or carnations. Mellano has also changed his opera- tions. “We definitely aren’t growing the number of flowers that we used to grow,” he said. Previously, Mellano & Co. grew more than 30 different varieties. Today, “we’re in the neighborhood of 10 or 15, and we’re probably going to whittle that down to 10 or less,” he said. Despite the challenges California cut flower farmers face and the additional ob- stacles leading into Valentine’s Day, “over- all, the holiday was and will continue to be successful,” Mellano said. Last week, he said he was hoping for a break in the rain a few days before Feb. 14, to get into the fields and harvest flowers for shoppers in Southern California. “It probably isn’t too late for the local market,” he said. (Caleb Hampton is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at champton@cfbf.com.)

to get because of the storms,” Sanbo said. Flowers grown indoors have also suf- fered this winter. Rene Van Wingerden, owner of Ocean Breeze in Santa Barbara County, said dark skies hampered the growth of Oriental lilies and Gerbera dai- sies in his greenhouses. “Not seeing the sun slows down the crop,” Van Wingerden said. Despite con- trolling the greenhouse temperature, pro- duction typically declines by around 30% in the winter due to the lack of sunlight. It dropped off even steeper this year, he said. Van Wingerden added that it is more ex- pensive to grow flowers in the winter be- cause of the energy required to heat green- houses. “We actually don’t like Valentine’s Day,” he said. “Everything costs more, and the finished product is less. You add those up and there’s nothing left.” With limited supplies from California, wholesalers have filled the void with im- ports, primarily from South America. “As much as I love supporting California, I have to fill this place with flowers,” Staby said, “and I’ve got to get them somewhere.” Losing crops meant for the Valentine’s Day market is a blow for California farm- ers already struggling to maintain profit margins as input costs rise and imports undercut prices. Labor, fuel and materials have become especially expensive. But

A refrigerated room at Flora Fresh keeps bouquets fresh ahead of Valentine’s Day. After storms destroyed and delayed crops in Southern California, the wholesaler imported more flowers this year.

Van Wingerden said, “If I raise my price, they’ll go to imports.” U.S. cut flower farmers have struggled to compete with imports for years. In 1991, the U.S. Congress eliminated tariffs on agricultural products from four South American nations in an effort to incentiv- ize legitimate jobs outside coca production in countries plagued by the drug trade. Since then, the cut flower sector in Ecuador and Colombia has flourished, and many flower farms in California have scaled down their operations or gone out of business. “The flower industry got deci- mated,” Van Wingerden said. About 80% of

flowers sold in the U.S. are now imported. The dominance of imports is especially evident on Valentine’s Day. Roses, sym- bols of love and devotion because of the high price once paid for a single stem, were historically supplied to U.S. markets by do- mestic farmers, mainly in California. They are now almost exclusively im- ported from Ecuador and Colombia. Van Wingerden, who has grown flowers for half a century, planted his last rose more than 20 years ago. To stay in business, “you keep chang- ing, you keep modernizing, you keep going

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Funding aims to help create new value-added products

als for initiatives aimed at reducing pollution and increasing resilience to impacts of climate change. Other key priorities include supporting rural communities through improved infra- structure and enhanced agricultural market opportunities. Some $31 million in funding is available through the program. Grants are awarded through a national competition. USDA said priority will be given to beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranch- ers, small or medium farmers and farmer or rancher cooperatives.

Grant and matching funds can be used to cover processing costs, marketing and advertising expenses, and some inventory and salary expenses. Paper applications must be post- marked and delivered by mail, email or in person to the state office where the project is proposed by close of business on April 16. Electronic ap- plications will be accepted via Grants. gov until 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time on April 11. Additional information is available through local USDA Rural Development offices.

Federal funding is available under the Value-Added Producer Grants program to help farmers and ranchers generate new products and create mar- keting opportunities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture may award up to $75,000 for planning activi- ties or up to $250,000 for capital expenses

related to producing and marketing val- ue-added agricultural products. Eligible applicants include indepen- dent producers, agricultural producer groups, farmer or rancher cooperatives and majority-controlled producer-based business ventures. USDA said it is interested in propos-

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February 14, 2024 Ag Alert 5

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

Winegrapes grow at Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles. In 2018, the vineyard was recognized as certified regenerative organic. The wine region celebrates its sustainable farming practices.

Paso Robles vineyards focus on organics and variety By Caitlin Fillmore

In 2014, a grower-led effort recognized 11 viticulture subregions—from the large, wet, cabernet sauvignon-producing Adelaida area in the northwest to the southern tip’s Santa Margarita appellation, where chardonnay and zinfandel grapes grow from ancient oyster beds. “It was a big moment in helping the region talk about what makes us unified and help understand the diversity that exists,” Haas said. Today, Paso Robles boasts an estimated 200 tasting rooms and 400 labels. Tourism generated nearly $10 million in revenue in 2022, driven primarily by wine enthusiasts. Unlike other winegrape growing counties where bulk wine production outweighs tast- ing room tourism, 85% of wineries in Paso Robles produce 8,000 cases per year or fewer. “Direct-to-consumer sales is a high priority for an overwhelming majority of our brands,” said Christopher Taranto, communications director at the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance. “Everybody relies on that.” Post-pandemic, the region continues to experience slightly lower tasting room numbers, See VINEYARDS, Page 7

In the Paso Robles wine region of San Luis Obispo County, where different microcli- mates, soils and growing conditions support an array of winegrapes, growers say their focus on sustainability and organic farming has built a regional brand and lures tourists.

Tablas Creek Vineyard, which advertises itself as the world’s first cer- tified regenerative organic vineyard, produces 30,000 cases per year in a region that seeks to celebrate its climate-smart winegrape production and carbon sequestration practices.

Jason Haas, partner and general manager of Tablas Creek, said the vineyard became the 17th winery in the city when it was founded in 1989. The company introduced the California Rhône movement to a region that initially primarily grew zinfandel grapes, he said. “We picked Paso...because we were looking for the right match for soils, climates and rainfall for grapes from the Mediterranean coast of France,” Haas said. “At the same time, we discovered it was a great place to make cabernet and Bordeaux varieties in a credible way. The agricultural raw materials are tremendous.”

6 Ag Alert February 14, 2024

Vineyards

Continued from Page 6 but revenue is steady. “We’ve had fewer people, but they’re spending the same,” Taranto said. The next wine experience is only “a driveway away” in Paso Robles, Taranto said. Travel either direction on Highway 46 for an assortment of vineyards. Downtown Paso Robles or the semi-in- dustrial Tin City location on the south end of town host dozens of tasting rooms featuring different approaches to wine and hospitality. Drew Nenow, winemaker at ONX Wines and Vineyards in Tin City, pro- duces sauvignon blanc, rosé and Rhône varieties on its 127-acre estate vineyard in Templeton Gap. “There’s a reason different varieties ex- ist and people specialize in them,” Nenow said. “It can feel like a straitjacket to have one dominant variety. People don’t feel super constrained by the models in the old world here.” As a vintner in the Paso Robles wine region, Haas said, “We make blends that in France people would look at like Frankenstein, but they taste deli- cious together. “We have the advantage that you can do all sorts of different things and people don’t question why you’re doing that in Paso,” Haas added. Tablas Creek and ONX are just two ex- amples of how Paso Robles vineyards are striving to stand out. Both wineries incor- porate sustainability practices to help mit- igate challenges associated with drought, limited groundwater and other impacts of climate change. ONX is a certified California sustainable winery and vineyard while Tablas Creek participated in a 2018 pilot program to be designated as the first vineyard to become certified regenerative organic. Regenerative organic certification involves criteria and benchmarks that incorporate soil health, animal welfare and social fairness for farmers and farm workers, according to the nonprofit Regenerative Organic Alliance, which oversees the certification program. “The regenerative ag idea is only a few years old in the world of wine, but seeing it spread is incredibly encouraging,” Haas said. “This is how ag is part of the solution to these big picture problems of resource scarcity, inequality and climate change. We are continuing to push the boundaries of what grape farming is.” On the east side of town, the Robert Hall Winery is conducting a “living case study,” comparing differences in metrics including soil carbon levels, pesticide res- idue and yields across 40 acres of estate vineyards grown with regenerative agri- cultural practices versus other sustainable techniques. The winery calls this approach an industry first. Located south of Paso Robles is Castoro Cellars Vineyard and Winery, which grows 1,400 acres of certified organic grapes. “Castoro is a little larger. It proves you can do it and do it right,” Taranto said. Adopting innovative sustainability

techniques is another way Paso Robles continues to blaze its own trail. “Paso and its future is very much po- sitioned to go beyond sustainability,” Taranto said. “It would be tough to identify a brand here that is not certified sustain- able. Organic, biodynamic and regenera- tive is where Paso is trending.” (Caitlin Fillmore is a reporter based in Monterey County. She may be contacted at cslhfillmore@gmail.com.)

Jason Haas, partner and general manager of Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, says the area’s microclimates are conducive to growing different varieties of winegrapes. He says sustainable farming in the region demonstrates “how ag is part of the solution.”

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February 14, 2024 Ag Alert 7

A wet, cold year diminishes Salinas Valley lettuce threat

Agricultural Market Review Quotations are the latest available for the week ending February 9, 2024 Livestock Year Ago Week Ago Latest Week

Slaughter Steers – 5-Area Average Select & Choice, 1250–1425 lbs., $/cwt. Hogs – Average hog, 51-52% lean, Iowa-Minn. market, $/cwt. Slaughter Lambs – $ per cwt. 125–175 lbs. National weekly live sales Field crops – basis prompt shipment Cotton – ¢ per lb., Middling 1 3/32” Fresno spot market Corn – U.S. No. 2 yellow $/bu. trucked Alfalfa Hay – $ per ton, quality * , FOB Region 1, Northern Inter-mountain

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176-179

182

By Bob Johnson The unusually cold and wet winter of 2022-23 appears to have brought Salinas Valley lettuce growers a reprieve from im- patiens necrotic stunt virus, which has dev- astated the region’s crop in recent years. In December, researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of California Cooperative Extension concluded that last year’s at- mospheric river storms that caused flood- ing on Monterey County farm fields likely disrupted the spread of the deadly lettuce virus known as INSV. Monterey County farmers in 2022 suf- fered an estimated $150 million in crop losses from the disease, which is spread by milimeter-long insects, or thrips. Two

years earlier, lettuce crop losses were esti- mated at $100 million. The county’s farmers typically har- vest 100,000 acres of lettuce valued at $1.2 billion. After the fallout of 2022, the county en- acted a mandatory abatement program for select weeds that can host INSV and the thrips that carry the disease to lettuce. The county called on residents who no- ticed any of the key weed hosts near lettuce production areas to immediately notify the agricultural commissioner’s office. “There could be many other factors impacting the virus levels, including INSV host weeds,” said Yu-Chen Wang, See VIRUS, Page 9

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190

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Rice – Milled #1 Head, FOB No. Calif. mills Medium grain, $ per cwt.

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8 Ag Alert February 14, 2024

Virus

Continued from Page 8 UCCE plant pathology farm advisor based in Watsonville. “It is critical that growers continue mak- ing a special effort to reduce weed popula- tions in all the usual areas, as well as areas that may not have received as much atten- tion in the past,” Wang said. Wang is part of a team of UC research- ers looking for answers to INSV and has screened lettuce varieties for resistance to the disease. She is also partnering with Daniel Hasegawa, a USDA research ento- mologist in Salinas, in efforts to track and curtail the spread of the disease. In a December report, Hasegawa cited several factors as contributing to vastly lower INSV infections in the region’s let- tuce crops. “Our current theory is that the colder weather and precipitation suppressed thrips populations at the early part of 2023,” Hasegawa wrote in Salinas Valley Agriculture, an online publication of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This coincided with an abundance of weeds and grasses that germinated in early 2023.” Hasegawa concluded “because the weeds were newly germinated, they were not infected with INSV and, thus, served as ‘clean’ hosts for thrips to feed on and re- produce on.” As a result, he said, the thrips that moved onto lettuce crops were gener- ally not carrying the disease. Atmospheric river storms in January and March 2023 caused an estimated $600 mil- lion in damages to Monterey County farms and ranches, including $54.4 million in let- tuce crop losses. Yet at the same time, the chilly and wet weather reduced the winter reproduction rate for thrips. Hasegawa said thrips pop- ulations recorded from February to April last year “were some of the lowest we have observed” and “a stark contrast to 2022.” Even as the thrips population rebound- ed from May to November, Hasegawa said, “the opportunities for thrips to acquire the virus from infected plants were much low- er than in previous years.” An abundance of new, uninfected grass- es and weeds growing as a result of the at- mospheric river storms served to reduce the threat, he said, leading to substantially lower virus loads in and near lettuce fields. In a continuing effort to prevent thrips populations and the INSV threat from building up early in the season, UC and USDA researchers set up mon- itoring networks throughout Monterey County to provide early warnings for lettuce growers. Every year in December, the region prohibits any lettuce from growing in the fields. The policy, which was ad- opted decades ago to control another lettuce disease—the mosiac virus—is also believed to be beneficial in reduc- ing INSV by controlling potential hosts for thrips. “Winter weather would impact the pop- ulation of overwinter thrips, which might

acquire and spread INSV for the next sea- son,” Wang said. Thrips populations are monitored throughout the Salinas Valley during the growing season, and the results are posted online to give growers an idea of the pres- sure in their area. Once thrips feed on a plant infected with INSV, they can carry the disease and spread it to new plants.

When the virus builds up early in the season, it is all but impossible to prevent spread of the disease in the summer months because there is no effective treat- ment once a plant is infected by INSV. Agricultural officials in Monterey County are on the lookout for thrips populations and INSV dangers that can spread from a list of 10 suspect weeds: common purslane, lambsquarter, field bindweed, shepherd’s purse, nettleleaf

goosefoot, hairy fleabane, annual sowthistle, malva and burning nettle. More information, including data on overwintering and year-round thrips pop- ulations in Salinas Valley, may be found at the UCCE Monterey County website at www.cemonterey.ucanr.edu. (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Monterey County. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.)

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February 14, 2024 Ag Alert 9

Research Continued from Page 1

other growers because of a lack of organic farm advisors and research. The institute is attempting to coordi- nate the sources of information about organic agriculture scattered through- out the UC and Cooperative Extension systems and identify the most important knowledge gaps. The institute was launched with an ini- tial $500,000 endowment from Clif Bar & Co. and $500,000 in matching funds from the UC Office of the President. In 2022, the California Department of Food and Agriculture awarded $1.85 million to help the UC system increase technical assis- tance for organic farmers. Without an established network of Cooperative Extension advisors with ex- pertise in organic production, many grow- ers had developed a knack for searching on their own for specialists to advise them, said Larry Jacobs, president and co-found- er of Jacobs Farm del Cabo, a Santa Cruz- based organic producer. “Find people who are knowledge- able, hook them in, support them, and don’t give up,” Jacobs suggested during a panel discussion in Monterey called “Understanding Evolving Production Challenges for Organic Growers.” Rangarajan said economic realities can be particularly important for new or small- er organic farmers.

Joji Muramoto, a soil scientist and agroecologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, visits a Bay Area farm as part of a project to study no-till organic cultivation. Muramoto is the first organic production specialist for the UC Cooperative Extension.

“Transitional growers have additional challenges accessing capital and mar- kets,” Rangarajan said. “There is a consol- idation on the buyer side, and that affects prices. We need to expand the scope of organic research to include ag econo- mists and nutritionists.” In 2020, the Organic Farming Research Foundation surveyed more than 1,100 certified organic and 71 transitioning-or- ganic farmers and ranchers across North America about their production systems, soil-health management practices and pressing production challenges. According to survey results published in 2022, 67% of organic growers identified controlling weeds as a prime challenge. Managing production costs was cited by

59%, and 48% said soil fertility and crop nutrition was a challenge. Jacobs, who farms 400 acres of organic culinary herbs, stressed the importance of organic research and expertise. At the Monterey panel session, he described working with a CDFA biolog- ical control unit to help solve a squash bug problem. He said he found the answer to nem- atode management in tomatoes was a combination of using more tolerant varieties and rotating into mustard as a biofuel crop that also served as a biofu- migant for the soil. Jacobs’ organic research interests ex- tend far beyond California’s borders. He

has searched for experts who could help control fruit flies on organic hard squash in Tanzania. He said organic growers face unique crop-production challenges because they rely on biological solutions, which don’t draw the same research attention and cor- porate funding for studies as do chemical formulas used in conventional agriculture. “There are better biological solutions, but no one is making money off them, so no- body is pushing them,” Jacobs said. “Organic research has been a neglected tool for a long time, but that is starting to change.” (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Monterey County. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.)

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10 Ag Alert February 14, 2024

A campus garden becomes a center for organics research

By Bob Johnson During the tumultuous 1960s, Shakespearean actor and accomplished gardener Alan Chadwick was invited

supplemented by a 30-acre farm, divid- ed into one area to teach hand-tool urban scale farming and another to teach larger scale mechanized techniques. “The interest and demand exceeded the 3 ½-acre space, so people asked the cam- pus to create a larger space,” said Christof Bernau, farm and garden manager for the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology. The center manages the farm with a focus on research projects on improving organic farming and inspiring sustainable agriculture, including no-till systems for climate-smart vegetable production at small farms and urban gardens. “Because we are a research farm, we have a little bit of a lot of things here— apples, plums, blueberries, lemons, Mandarins, strawberries and vegetables,” Bernau said during a tour in advance of the 44th Annual Ecological Farming Conference held last month at Asilomar in Pacific Grove. UC Cooperative Extension assistant or- ganic production specialist Joji Muramoto, who is stationed at the farm, is the only ad- visor in the UCCE system devoted exclu- sively to organic farming. Muramoto conducted his first studies of anaerobic soil disinfestation, the most effec- tive way for organic strawberry growers to rid

to build a garden to offer a source of se- renity on the campus of the University of

California, Santa Cruz. The garden carved out of a hillside next to Merrill College proved so inviting that students, faculty and serenity seekers from the nearby town asked campus ad- ministrators to allocate a larger piece of ground for a farm devoted to sustainable organic agriculture. Since the 1960s, the actor’s garden has grown to become the largest organic re- search farm in the UC system. In 2022, it was formally named as an ag- ricultural experiment station, joining UC Merced as the first California campuses to earn the designation in 50 years. The other campuses with the designation are UC Davis, UC Riverside and UC Berkeley. The designation recognizes university scientific research in developing new ap- proaches or technologies for agriculture, health or natural resources. Chadwick’s modest garden has been

Inspired by a decorative garden built on campus, the farm at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has since become an agricultural experiment station focused on sustainable organic farming.

their soil of diseases, at the Santa Cruz farm. More than a decade ago, 15 blueberry varieties were planted on the farm at the request of a UCCE farm advisor in nearby Santa Clara County who wanted to know if the crop could be grown in the area. The trial showed that some blueber- ry varieties can be grown successfully in Santa Cruz County. The research plots are now grown for production. “Blueberries are one of our more pop- ular crops,” Bernau said. “We inject 20% vinegar in our irrigation water to create a more acidic environment.”

Although blueberries can be grown in Santa Cruz County, they cannot be in- sured because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has said there is not enough data to show they can be grown in the area. “I grow 2 acres of blueberries outside Watsonville, and they are delicious,” said Javier Zamora, who grows 200 acres of organic berries, vegetables and flowers under the name JSM Organics. “But I can’t get insurance because the federal government doesn’t think you can grow blueberries here.”

See GARDEN, Page 12

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February 14, 2024 Ag Alert 11

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