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.
Table olives Spanish company buys major California processor
Protecting walnuts Growers, researchers target orchard pests
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www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
Trees & Vines ®
special report
By Kevin Hecteman A big jump in prices early in the season helped lead to a smaller haul, tonnagewise, for California avocado farmers this year. So did a shortage of precipitation, said Will Pidduck, who grows avocados and lemons in Ventura County. “Our crop was a moderately sized crop,” Pidduck said. “It would have been a lot bet- ter if we would have had a decent amount of rainfall, which helps us size our fruit.” “That being said, the prices were good,” he added. “They stayed relatively good— in some cases, great—for a lot of the sea- son, and avocados really saved our bacon this year with regards to lemon prices be- ing what they are.” April Aymami, industry affairs director at the California Avocado Commission, said the state’s 2022 harvest is all but done, and it appears the year will end with 270 million pounds of avocados. The commis- sion’s preseason estimate was 306 million pounds, revised to 286 million after a mid- season survey of growers and handlers. “A large part of that is, our season start- ed much earlier than initially anticipated due to the very favorable market condi- tions,” caused by supply issues that drove prices up, she said. “It really incentivized growers to har- vest fruit at smaller sizes than they nor- mally would in February, March,” Aymami said. “Normally, you would size-pick and get your 48s and larger off the tree in those early months, and let the rest of the fruit size up.” The 48—as in the number of avo- cados needed to fill a standard carton—is considered the ideal size. “I think a large portion of the differ- ence between the 306 (million) and the 270 (million) had to do with fruit that was harvested much smaller,” Aymami said. Jennifer Anazawa, senior category manager at avocado grower-packer- shipper Mission Produce in Oxnard, said demand for the fruit remained See AVOCADOS, Page 13 Avocado farmers see smaller crop amid high prices
Wild rice is harvested in Shasta County, a key growing region for the crop this year. Water shortages and a higher price for conventional white rice mean not much wild rice was planted in the Sacramento Valley, the state’s main rice-growing region.
Wild rice prices surge as stocks plummet
By Ching Lee Drained of inventory, California wild rice farmers will reap higher prices for their crop this year, but shorter supplies could slow efforts to expand their reach as they look to develop more markets for the niche grain. Most of the wild rice this year is expect- ed to come from mountainous regions
of Shasta, Lassen and Modoc counties, where harvest continues. There won’t be much coming from the Sacramento Valley, the state’s predominant rice-grow- ing region. Water shortages forced farmers there to idle ground and devote limited water supplies to higher-priced conven- tional white rice.
growers celebrate a milestone: It’s been 50 years since wild rice was first cultivat- ed in California. The Golden State has been growing wild rice commercially for 45 years, according to the California Wild Rice Advisory Board. Today, the state pro- duces about half the world’s wild rice, with Minnesota being the other major player.
See RICE, Page 10
The reduced plantings come as wild rice
n e w s p a p e r
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Practices can optimize soil health, benefit farmers
By Jeffrey Mitchell For many years, a large billboard dis- played along Interstate 5 near Tracy in San Joaquin County proclaimed that no- till “farmers do their share to clean the air.” Whenever I
their soils, while many still are clearly not. Yet perhaps now more than ever, the ag- ricultural marketplace appears to reward food production systems that focus on im- proved soil health and greater efficiencies with water capture and storage by soils. Some farmers are considerably ahead of the curve in realizing improved perfor- mance production systems. Our own soon-to-be-published long- term research in the San Joaquin Valley provides strong evidence that the combined use of fundamental soil health principles improves soil health compared to conven- tional practices for annual crop rotations. Our data suggest that farmers stand to gain multiple benefits for the coupled use of these practices by increasing soil structural stability, water infiltration and storage, and agroecosystem biodiversi- ty, while improving the efficiencies of the carbon, nitrogen and water cycles in their production systems. These improvements represent po- tential new opportunities in annual crop fields throughout the state. While the up-front implementation outlays may discourage initial adoption by some, the common-good costs of achieving such sustained ecosystem improvement right- ly need to be borne by our food system at large, rather than farmers themselves. Thus, more robust market- and out- come-based mechanisms will be needed to help farmers make these critically im- portant—and beneficial—changes. (Jeffrey Mitchell is chair of the Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation Center and a professor and Cooperative Extension cropping systems specialist at the University of California, Davis. He may be contacted at jpmitchell@ucdavis.edu.)
drove by, I mar- veled at the visi- bility and positive message the sign may have had for farmers in the re- gion, even though there were likely no more than a handful of no-till farmers within a
A billboard near Interstate 5 promotes alternatives to tillage-intensive agriculture. The farm market- place appears to be rewarding food producers that are embracing improved soil health practices.
Jeffrey Mitchell
Agriculture’s Healthy Soils Program has invested over $75 million in more than 900 incentivizing effective soil health management practices. Over the years, farmers and research- ers have explored various approaches to optimize soil functions that are essential for productive and profitable farming. Practices known as “conservation agricul- ture” reduce soil disturbance and erosion, enhance biological diversity and maximize healthy root systems. But the reflections of Ray Archuleta, a former longtime scientist with the NRCS and member of the agency’s original Soil Health Division, are worth noting. When it comes to soil health, Archuleta is fond of pointing out, we may have become ac- customed to working with an essentially “degraded resource”—because we no lon- ger recognize what good soil function and health actually look like. For example, some growers may be used to ponded water in the low parts of their fields following rain events, very low soil structural stability, or high water evaporation in their soils as the norm. But
improved soil-health practices could add long-term value to farming operations. Why is there this apparent disconnect between soil health principles being un- derstood and pursued by some, but ig- nored by many others? Some historical perspective might be useful. In the first half of the 19th century, farmers faced a similar challenge of how to care for the soil. According to “Larding the Lean Earth—Soil and Society in the 19th Century” by Steven Stoll, a national debate unfolded about whether agricul- ture ought to preserve good husbandry and soil stewardship of farmland with the Eastern Seaboard region of the 13 original colonies, or whether those lands should be abandoned and farms moved west after depleting the soil’s capacity. Arguments flared over calls to action for greater attention to soil health. One camp, which became known as the “improvers,” argued that good soil care at existing farms was what was needed. Another saw agri- culture’s future in migration. Today’s situation is thus not new. Some farmers are heeding the call to improve
100-mile radius of the sign. To be clear, farmers of perennial crops such as citrus, nuts and grapes have adapt- ed to reduce soil-degrading tillage over many years. However, for the vast majority of annual crops, tillage-intensive practices are still very much the norm. A current media blitz around the notion of “soil health” is unfolding now in recogni- tion that maintaining soil function for crop production is a major requirement of agri- cultural systems and global food security. Its momentum can be traced to 2012 and the Carroll, Ohio, farm of longtime no-till and cover crop farmer David Brandt. There, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service launched “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil,” a national cam- paign about the core principles of conser- vation agriculture and soil health. From 2017 to 2021, NRCS provid- ed over $160 million in funding for soil health-related conservation activities on over 2,000 projects in California. Since 2017, California Department of Food and
VOL. 49, NO. 33
September 14, 2022
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2 Ag Alert September 14, 2022
Sale of table olive processor signals industry transition
related companies sued Bell-Carter, claiming they were induced to pur- chase their stake based on intentional misrepresentations of the processor’s inventory value, projected earnings and financial position. With the acquisition of Bell-Carter, Tim Carter said the legal matter with Dcoop “has been resolved to the sat- isfaction of all parties.” Though Dcoop no longer supplies raw olives to Bell- Carter, Carter said the company has not changed its “necessary and successful implementation of a global sourcing
model.” He said Bell-Carter will contin- ue to buy olives from California grow- ers and other countries in the European Union and elsewhere. Relying on global sources for raw olives has been key to Bell-Carter’s business and all U.S.-based olive producers, he added. Meanwhile, state bearing acreage for table olives continues to decline, stand- ing at 12,000 this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s down from 16,000 acres in 2019.
By Ching Lee The acquisition of Bell-Carter Foods by a Spanish olive company marks the end of an era for the largest table olive pro- ducer in the U.S. and one of two remain- ing olive processors in the state. Announced last week, the deal between Bell-Carter and Aceitunas Guadalquivir, or AG Olives, comes as California farm- ers continue to remove their table olive orchards, forcing state canners to look globally to source the fruit. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. However, the Walnut Creek-based company—known for its Lindsay brand of black ripe olives—said the sale allows for immediate upgrades to its production facility in Corning. This includes updated olive cookers, expand- ed warehouse space and new produc- tion lines, Bell-Carter said. The invest- ments signal the company’s intention to stay in the table olive business—and in California—effectively maintaining the state’s olive-processing infrastructure. Under the new ownership, fourth-gen- eration CEO Tim Carter, who took the helm in 2012, will continue to lead the business his family founded 110 years ago. Bell-Carter will keep its name, its nearly 300 employees and all active con- tracts with 80-plus growers across 3,000 acres in Tehama and Tulare counties, the company said. The change also forms a new alli- ance between two veteran olive-pro- ducing families—the Carters and the Escalantes—whose business relation- ship stretches back more than 30 years. Since 1991, Bell-Carter has been sourcing jarred green table olives from AG Olives’ factory in Seville, Spain. “This acquisition is really the product of a very deep trust that the families have in one another, so that we can continue the Bell-Carter Foods name, mission and values,” Carter said. AG Olives CEO Francisco “Paco” Escalante described the partnership as “more than just smart business. It’s a prom- ise of even more growth and innovation.” Escalante noted his long ties to the Carters: He was a 14-year-old exchange student learning English in the U.S. when he first got to know the family during a visit to Corning, where he toured the can- nery and some of the region’s olive groves. “Thirty years later, we are here with this alliance that just seemed the natural thing to do for both families,” Escalante said. “It’s driven by our mutual commitment to grow family, quality and innovation.” As part of the deal, the Spanish olive oil cooperative Dcoop, a former partner of Bell-Carter, will hold a minority interest in the company. Bell-Carter sold 20% of its share to Dcoop in 2018 and began buying more Spanish raw olives for processing. The following year, Bell-Carter terminat- ed some 350 contracts with California growers, who accused the canner of
using a loophole in a provision that al- lows it to avoid paying import tariffs on the raw olives. Some growers found a home for their fruit with Tracy-based Musco Family Olive Co., the state’s other major table olive pro- cessor. But others have left the business. Last year, Dcoop and two other
See OLIVES, Page 9
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Ancient nutrient biochar may boost farming future
By Lisa McEwen California may be primed to become a production hotbed for a lightweight black residue that has helped vast rainforests thrive on infertile soils. The material is biochar. It is a potential- ly valuable soil enhancement that can be produced from biomass of forest waste or dead orchards and vineyards. Its production dates to ancient tech- niques originated in the Amazon basin. There, in the terra preta or black earth, dense tree and plants grew with help of high-charcoal content nurtured by indige- nous soil management using deteriorating organic matter. Now potential benefits of integrating biochar into all aspects of farming oper- ations are being considered in California. The concept was presented to farmers, food processors, scientists and inventors gathered at the International Agri-Center in Tulare. “I am trying to get the conversation started within agricultural producers,” said Mayo Ryan, founder of Sitos Group, and a biochar manufacturer. “It doesn’t happen without the farmer.” Modern biochar production results from a process known as pyrolysis, which involves using extreme heat to breakdown biomass without oxygen or fire. The bio- char is the residue left when the biomass
Harvest unfolds at a Monterey County vineyard, left, planted as part of a biochar trial. Below, biochar, known to improve soil quality, water retention and crop yield, is applied to a field in preparation for planting at a Monterey County vineyard.
thermally decomposes. Farmers can apply biochar during planting, when it can improve soil quali- ty, increase water retention and improve yield. After harvest, they can then convert winery pomace, rice husks, nut hulls or dead vines into biochar for sale to others. Given the nearly complete ban of or- chard burning mandated by the California
Air Resources Board by 2025, Ryan is encouraging farmers to look at alterna- tives for the biomass of orchards removed from production. “What’s going to happen to all those orchards and vineyards? It is a great op- portunity for us as California growers and processors,” he said. Already some California counties are
considering biochar processing plants. A German biochar company, Pyreg, which sponsored the Tulare gathering, was aim- ing to connect with California growers and processors to discuss its technology. Pyreg produces multiple-sized units, the largest about the size of a three-car garage, that can cleanly process a variety See BIOCHAR, Page 5
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A spreader drops biochar and compost during development of a vineyard in Monterey County. Biochar can be produced from forest biomass and orchards that are removed from production.
Biochar Continued from Page 4
through the production and application of certified biochar. But citrus farmer Joe Russell of Visalia, whose acreage is both organic and tran- sitioning to organic, questions the prac- ticality of applying biochar in established citrus groves. “I’m the type of guy who would trial it,” he said. “There are a lot of benefits to it, for sure, but it is premature to know what is and isn’t working. I would need to see data to know what the costs and benefits are, to see if it would actually perform.” The California Department of Food and Agriculture has yet to issue standards for biochar. Meanwhile, depending on the quality of the pyrolysis process, biochar has vary- ing quality. Because the pH of soil varies throughout the state, farmers may need to customize their biochar before application. Joseph Gallegos, CEO of UmidaAG, a subsurface irrigation system company, is working with clients who are adding bio- char in irrigation trenches at the time of installation. He is also conducting a test plot at California State University, Fresno. Gallegos said he has witnessed biochar’s benefits and believes it could help farmers battling challenges in times of drought. “I am starting to realize biochar is a soil structure element that is able to act like a sponge for the different microor- ganisms in the soil, to give them a home and they can then multiply at greater quantities,” he said. “That’s what I’m seeing as an advantage. “The enzymes produced are what we want, as they break down the minerals in the soil and make them available to the plant.” Gallegos said he believes biochar tech- nology will catch on throughout the state over the next decade. “With the large amount of orchards in California, it will take off,” he said. “Anytime you see a pile of dead trees, traditionally, those have been burned. But with a drive to eliminate burning, biochar is a good path.” (Lisa McEwen is a reporter in Exeter. She may be contacted at mcewenlisamarie@gmail.com.)
of biomass materials, including urban green waste. While individual pyrolysis units are cost-prohibitive for most, growers could form a collective, burning waste and pro- ducing biochar for sale, one of two income streams available from biochar. Another is carbon dioxide removal certificates or CORCs, which are carbon credits that can be sold on the global carbon market. Demand for physical biochar and car- bon credits is growing and outweighs supplies, Ryan said. “It’s time to start thinking about those almond hulls differently because you’re leaving money on the table,” he said. “It is an economic game-changer for us in California.” Doug Beck, science advisor at Monterey Pacific Inc., a Central Coast vineyard farm management firm, presented the results of an 8-acre trial conducted in a vineyard with sandy soil and harsh growing condi- tions from 2016-2021. The results from the field research proj- ect, funded by the California Department of Water Resources and administered by the Sonoma Ecology Center, were promising. Yield increased 45% to 70% over the con- trol block over the years of the trial. The ap- plication of biochar mixed with compost had a significant effect on flowering and fruit set. “Compost and biochar together is kind of like magic,” Beck said. But a downside was the high truck- ing costs to transport the biochar from Humboldt County to the project site in King City in the Salinas Valley. As a result, Beck’s advice is “you might as well produce it where you use it.” Monterey Pacific is looking at building its own biochar production plant and is applying the material to current and new plantings. Proponents of biochar say they envision its use in a circular agriculture economy, which includes turning biomass waste into value, reducing CO2 emissions and promoting regenerative farming practices
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Pest control advisor Mike Devencenzi shows off a codling moth pheromone dispenser, or puffer. It releases synthetic female pheromones that confuse male codling moths, disrupting mating habits.
Walnut researchers seek remedies to orchard pests By Vicky Boyd Randy Rajkovich, who grows walnuts and apples near Stockton, remembers when integrated pest management came of age in the 1990s. how blocks planted to cover crops may benefit web-spinning mite control by providing habitat for predators compared to blocks without the planted habitat.
In the blocks, CAFF also released predatory mites in hopes that they will help con- trol plant-damaging Pacific spider mite and twospotted spider mite. Last year, crews released them by driving through the orchard. They saw no significant differences between treated and untreated blocks, said Hanna Kahl, CAFF ecological pest man- agement specialist. This year, they used a drone to apply the predatory mites to tree canopies where mites frequent. Because mites typically don’t begin to cause problems in walnuts until later in the season, Kahl said they hadn’t yet assessed their effectiveness. Mites are a concern because heavy populations can cause defoliation, reducing the amount of photosynthesis and tree vigor. Leaf loss also can expose walnuts to sunburn. The Stockton demonstration and work at four other sites are also examining codling moth control using mating disruption. The approach involves blanketing an area with synthetic female pheromones. As a result, males become confused and can’t find females with which to mate, significantly reducing the population. In the Stockton demonstration, dispensers that resemble timed-release air freshener
The holistic approach enlists growers and pest control advisers to maximize crop health, scout and monitor for pests, consider nonchemical controls and apply pesti- cides only when there is a potential economic threat. When they do opt for chemical measures, IPM encourages using the least toxic materials and considering their impacts on predators and other biological controls. Rajkovich and his PCA, Mike Devencenzi, are part of a Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems demonstration that hopes to show how to take IPM to the next level. “I’m always looking for better ways to do things,” Rajkovich said. “I thought if they come here to do this study and work with beneficial insects and we can reduce the number of spray applications, it’s a plus economically and environmentally.” Led by the nonprofit, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the project involves three walnut growers and their PCAs in the northern San Joaquin Valley and three in the Sacramento Valley. It is funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and is in the second year of a two-year study. CAFF representatives held a demonstration field day in Rajkovich’s walnut orchard to update area growers and PCAs on their progress. The demonstration is comparing
See PESTS, Page 8
September 14, 2022 Ag Alert 7
Pests Continued from Page 7
cans and hung in trees periodically emit puffs of pheromone. Devencenzi said the Pacific Biocontrol dispensers last all sea- son and are put out at a rate of one can for every acre. Rajkovich first began using codling moth mating disruption several years ago in his apples at Devencenzi’s recom- mendation. Eventually he expanded their use into the walnuts, which are upwind, to protect the apples. Mating disruption works best on larger blocks, but Jhalendra Rijal, University of California Cooperative Extension area IPM advisor for Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, said they have seen success in orchards as small as 20 acres. On the five other farms, CAFF also is looking at mating disruption for an up-and- coming walnut pest, navel orangeworm. Considered the No. 1 insect pest of al- monds, NOW has begun to cause problems in some walnut and pistachio orchards. In addition, the group has codling moth and NOW larvae burrowing into nuts and feeding on the kernels, making them unmarketable. Codling moth lar- vae also may burrow into the hull to feed, which causes walnut shell staining that can’t be removed. These nuts are unsuit- able for inshell markets. Of all the major walnut pests, Devencenzi said, husk flies are the most
A sweeper gathers walnuts for hulling and drying. Well before the harvest, growers must deal with pests including the walnut husk fly, right. Its maggots feed in walnut husks and can render nuts unfit for market.
Photo/Whitney Cranshaw/Colorado State University
troublesome as he tries to balance pest control with maintaining viable benefi- cial insect populations. Females lay eggs in walnut husks. Larvae feed under the hull for 3 to 5 weeks, turning it soft and black. This causes irremovable staining and renders the nuts unmarketable for inshell sales. “Husk flies are a problem because we don’t have any products that aren’t dis- ruptive,” Devencenzi said. “The softest product is (the soil bacterium) spinosad, but it’s more expensive and more delicate because of the pH.” The standard go-to products, neon-
icotinoids and pyrethroids, knock out beneficials and allow pest populations to build. But growers and PCAs face a quandary: To slow insecticide resistance from developing, they also need to rotate to different modes of action. Chris Locke, a Lockeford-area walnut grower, is a longtime proponent of softer, more holistic approaches to farming. He also worked with UCCE farm advisor Joe Grant on pioneering codling moth mat- ing disruption research in the late-1990s and early 2000s. Locke continues to use mating dis- ruption and only occasionally has to spray an edge of an orchard because changing wind directions carried away the pheromone. “One of the reasons that sold us on it is you don’t have to spray,” said Locke, who also attended the BIOS demonstration field day. “We have the town of Lockeford as neighbors, so I have to be careful with my neighbors because I see them at the post office. Codling moths have been tak- en care of because of the puffers.”
As part of his low-impact approach, Locke has planted cover crops for years. In fact, a cover crop mix bears his name— the Locke Mix—comprising six different species of legumes, grasses and radishes. Since he began using the beneficial ground cover, he said he’s seen steady im- provement in soil health. Having evolved from sandy to more of a sandy loam, he said, his soil now contains about 6.5% or- ganic matter compared to 1% or less for typical sandy soils. “When you get heavy rains, your neigh- bor has standing water and you don’t,” Locke said of improved infiltration. When Rajkovich decided to move into cover crops several years ago, he first consulted with Locke. Rajkovich bought a no-till drill to plant his orchards and do custom cover-crop planting for nearby growers. Since then, he has bought an- other drill to keep up with demand and is considering purchasing a third because of the ever-increasing interest in cover crops. (Vicky Boyd is a reporter in Modesto. She may be contacted at vlboyd@att.net)
8 Ag Alert September 14, 2022
Olives Continued from Page 3
walls,” he said. “You’re crazy to keep growing olives. You’re going to have to plant high-value crops to stay in the busi- ness in California.” Meanwhile, Musco continues to pro- mote its “million trees” initiative with free nursery stock to encourage growers to remove their existing orchards and plant new trees that could be mechanically harvested. Most of the state’s table olives remain hand-picked. Dennis Burreson, Musco vice presi- dent of field operations and industry affairs, said the initiative has “far sur- passed expectations and is setting the
stage for the future.” Unlike Bell-Carter, which has now transitioned completely to Spanish own- ership and uses “only a small percent- age of California acreage,” he said Musco remains committed to the California grower and relies “first and foremost on California-grown olives” and turns to im- ports to supplement the state crop when there is a production shortfall. “We believe the future of the California table olive industry is extremely bright,” Burreson said. (Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)
pruning and harvesting costs. He noted growers have been transitioning away from table olives for at least two decades, and he expects the trend to continue. “Growers with land and water envision a higher per-acre return,” Lange said. Tulare County Musco grower Rod Burkett said the industry has known for 20 years that there would not be enough olive acreage in the state to support the two processors. With the high cost of wa- ter, he said he thinks more growers—him- self included—will pull their table-olive trees because the crop will not pencil out. “I can see the handwriting on the The California Department of Food and Agriculture is making $2 million in grants available to help farmers and ranchers install pollinator habitat on agricultural lands throughout California. The grant application period for the Pollinator Habitat Program began Aug. 31 and ends at 5 p.m. Nov. 23. The program is administered by the CDFA Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation. Information, including application de- tails, is available on the Pollinator Habitat Program page of the CDFA website.
Carter acknowledged he does not know what growers will do, but he said “we can remain committed, and we can continue investing in contracts, in the Corning plant and the stability for them as they consider the future of their olive groves.” He noted Bell-Carter this year changed most of its grower contracts from one-year evergreens to three- to five-year contracts. Ed Curiel, who grows olives in Tehama County, is one grower who signed a mul- tiyear contract with Bell-Carter. He said his family has been growing olives his whole life. Even though he has diversified into almonds and walnuts and has aban- doned some of his olive orchards due to lack of water, Curiel said he expects he will always maintain some olive acreage and will continue selling the crop to Bell- Carter for as long as he can. “There’s romanticism,” he said. “Olives have been good to my family for two or three generations now. It’s put food on the table. It’s putting my kids through school. We’re kind of loyal to the crop, to the company, to the town.” As a former Bell-Carter grower who now sells to Musco, Tulare County farm- er Chris Lange said he has continued to grow table olives because he has access to surface water and because the crop is “quite inexpensive to farm,” except for
State grants offered for pollinator habitat The Pollinator Habitat Program seeks to support pollinators by providing flo- ral resources, host plants and other ele- ments of suitable habitat. The program is designed to help strengthen pollina- tor populations and improve pollinator health. Projects funded through the pro- gram are expected to promote additional benefits to California’s biodiversity and agricultural production. throughout California. Eligible entities to apply for funding include resource conservation districts, nonprofits, tribes and California public higher-learning institutions. For more in- formation about eligibility and a full list of eligible applicants and funded pollina- tor practices, visit the program website at www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/php.
The program was established in the 2021 state budget. It allocated $15 mil- lion to CDFA for grants to establish pol- linator habitats on agricultural lands
People may sign up to receive email up- dates on the Pollinator Habitat Program at www.cdfa.ca.gov/subscriptions/ MailChimp-signup.html.
The Produce Safety Rule is Here; ARE YOU READY?
Farm Employers Labor Service (FELS), an a liated company of the California Farm Bureau (CAFB), has partnered with the Safe Food Alliance through a California Department of Food and Agriculture grant contract, as their designated training provider for Central and Southern California, to conduct the required Produce Safety training for growers. ALL TRAININGS BEGIN AT 8 AM September 7, 15 and 21:
California Farm Bureau Harvest Room 2600 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento October 5: Glenn County Farm Bureau 831 5th Street, Orland November 15: Yolo County Farm Bureau 69 West Kentucky Ave., Woodland
Most farms are required to have at least one designated supervisor who has been trained in accordance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety rule. Upon completion of the course, attendees will receive an o cial certi cate from the Association of Food & Drug O cials.
The Food Safety Training Partnership is offering these training courses throughout California. You can find more information and register at foodsafetytrainingpartnership.com, or call 916-561-5672. Supported by California Department of Food and Agriculture
September 14, 2022 Ag Alert 9
Rice Continued from Page 1
these big companies pay a lot for shelf space. If they can’t get the product, it doesn’t work for them,” he said. In addition to buying, selling and pro- cessing wild rice, Erickson’s family in re- cent years also started farming the grain in Lassen County near Susanville. Due to water shortages, he said the farm did not grow any wild rice this year. Even with the higher price, Erickson said he doesn’t expect to see wild-rice acreage surge, in part because of limited seed availability. Unlike with other com- mercial crops, growers of wild rice must anticipate market demand a year in ad- vance by producing seed for next year’s crop. With lower supplies of the rice—and with growers reporting average yields— he said he thinks prices “will be at least as high as this year, probably a little higher.” John DeWit, who grows wild rice in Yolo and Sacramento counties, is one of only a few growers who planted the grain in the Sacramento Valley this year. But he plant- ed less because of reduced water supplies. “The price for conventional rice has increased so much, so guys who do have access to water and dirt are moving away from the wild rice to get that added pre- mium,” he said. DeWit said he continues to grow wild rice so he can stay in the market, as he grows and stores his own seed. Wild rice is also a part of his heritage, he noted, as his late father “was a huge leader in bringing wild rice to the state.” Plus, he’s developed rela- tionships with buyers and mills, he said, and doesn’t want to burn those bridges. “(Wild rice) offers lots of flexibility at planting,” he added. “I can plant it in late June and July and still get a viable crop.” Though most of the U.S.-grown wild rice ends up in the domestic market, Carranza said the advisory board is trying to promote the product in foreign markets. Before the Russia-Ukraine war, Russia had been a key export market. The board has since shifted its focus to the United Kingdom, where “the product isn’t really available, so there isn’t a lot of awareness,” she said. Other export markets include Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. She said the board is also trying to obtain mar- ket access to China. Lack of consumer awareness and mis- conceptions about wild rice have been a huge challenge, said Rendy Christie, who markets wild rice for Alturas Ranches. When she attends trade shows to pro- mote the product, Christie said people she encounters don’t know about the nutri- tional value of wild rice—that it has more protein than most other grains. They also don’t know how to cook it or think it’s hard to cook. Some remember eating it years ago when the product was not scarified, a process that scratches the outer bran layer and reduces the cooking time. With not much inventory and less acre- age, she said marketing this year’s crop won’t be a problem. “Right now, it’d be great to have a whole bunch of it,” she said, “because nobody else does.” (Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)
“The U.S. is one of the main suppliers,” said Elizabeth Carranza, the advisory board’s director of trade and technical af- fairs. “There’s not a significant amount of competition globally for wild rice, which I guess is an advantage. But less production means less consumption as well—and less consumer awareness.” She said the board is trying to change that by promoting wild rice and educating consumers about it so that when growers have greater volumes to sell, people will buy it. Even though it’s called wild rice, the plant is not the same species as conven- tional white rice, though both are grasses in which the seeds are harvested for grain, said Whitney Brim-DeForest, a University of California Cooperative Extension wild rice advisor. In the 40 years he’s been growing wild rice, Shasta County farmer Jim Rickert has seen state acreage reach as high as 20,000. In recent years, plantings have been be- tween 9,000 and 10,000 acres, with the bulk of it in the northern region. It’s been trending that way because growers in the Sacramento Valley would rather grow con- ventional rice, which has “fairly attractive prices,” Rickert said. With wild rice earning a better mar- ket price this year, he said it should be a profitable crop, even as production costs
Shasta County farmer Jim Rickert inspects his wild rice crop during harvest. Despite higher production costs, he says the crop should be profitable, but not enough to drive increased acreage.
have soared. “But I don’t think it’s going to be so prof- itable that we’re going to see a lot of peo- ple trying to expand the business either,” Rickert added. The price this year is 92.5 cents per pound of green, unprocessed rice—up from 75 cents last year. That’s still low- er than the $1 per green pound Rickert earned for his first crop in 1982. Over the years, prices have dropped to as low as 35 cents, he noted. “We had great prices and excess prof- its in the early years, and we had ruinous
competition as a result of that,” Rickert said. In years when the price of convention- al rice was less profitable, more farmers switched to growing wild rice, creating an enormous surplus that “haunts you forev- er,” he said. Growing demand along with a burgeoning inventory hasn’t been easy, he said. To get big companies interested in wild rice, growers needed a reliable sup- ply, he said, but state production has var- ied greatly because of fluctuating acreage and sometimes crop failures. “Wild rice is one of the really bizarre crops where it’s either feast or famine,” said Leslie Boyle, operations and sales manager for Alturas Ranches in Modoc County. “You’ll have a horrible crop, or you’ll have these huge bumper crops,” which can oversupply the market and drive down prices for the next two years. Larry Erickson, who operates Gibbs- California Wild Rice, a processor in Sutter County, said because of the “hills and val- leys with supply and the price,” companies that developed rice blends using wild rice have had to “walk away from it, saying you guys need to get your act together and have a steady supply.” “We’ve lost a lot of business because
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10 Ag Alert September 14, 2022
Researchers target threat from ancient rice disease By Bob Johnson
Now researchers are focusing on an fungal disease turning up in California rice growing regions in recent years as burning has decreased. Bakanae is an ancient disease in Asian rice production systems. But it did not appear in California until the start of this century. It has since spread to all the growing regions in the state. “I seemed to find more bakanae the last three years,” Luis Espino, University
of California Cooperative Extension rice farm advisor, said. “It is seed borne and causes blank panicles.” A month after planting, seedlings in- fected with bakanae look slender, elon- gated and slightly chlorotic. By then it is too late to manage the dis- ease, however, because if these slender stems survive, they will produce blank panicles and leave fungal pathogens in the soil.
Researchers studying the disease shared insights in an online session for California rice growers earlier this year. They said one step to control bakanae is to plant seed that is not infested—be- cause even the heat inside a truck can be enough to germinate the spores of infested seeds. Although soaking seeds in a mild Clorox treatment shortly before planting can be effective, seed companies and researchers are working on seed treatments that are economical, practical and effective. Stem rot disease first appears as black lesions at the water line, caused when flooding brings pathogens that survived in the soil up to the water line. Stems infected with this disease can die off without producing rice and can also make the crop more susceptible to lodging. Farm advisors say it is important to avoid using excess nitrogen, which makes stem rot worse and to minimize the amount of infected crop residue left in the field after harvest. The fungicide Quadris can be effective against stem rot and variety choice can also significantly reduce the impact of the disease, researchers say. Variety choice makes less of a dif- ference in managing aggregate sheath spot, a crop disease that first appears as circular spots at the water line at the tillering stage. Quadris can also be effective as a pre- ventive material for aggregate sheath spot. Minimizing the pathogen load on crop residue is also important in managing this disease and, if burning is not possi- ble removing residue from the field may be advisable, Espino said. (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Monterey County. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.) The California Department of Food and Agriculture is seeking to fill two va- cancies on its Feed Inspection Advisory Board Technical Advisory Subcommittee. Applicants must have general knowl- edge about the California feed industry as well as technical, applied and scientific expertise in fields of toxicology, pathol- ogy and ruminant and non-ruminant nutrition. The term of office for subcom- mittee members is three years. Applicants should send a résumé and a Feed TASC Prospective Member Appointment Questionnaire, found at www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/pdfs/FIAB- TASC_PMAQ.pdf, to SAFE@cdfa.ca.gov. The application deadline is Sept. 30. For further information, call 916-900-5022 or visit www.cdfa.ca.gov/ is/ffldrs/Feed_FIAB.html. Feed inspection panel has two vacancies to fill
Rice growers are still piecing together management strategies for diseases that have become more problematic in the decades since burning crop residue after harvest stopped being a standard practice. Burning led to smoke over the Sacramento Valley, but it had the ben- efit of killing pathogens on residue that could otherwise live in the soil and infest future crops.
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Saturday October 22 2022 Yolo Sportsmen's Association 24189 Aviation Avenue Davis, California 95616
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sponsorship opportunities available
For more information and to register, visit www.cfbf.com/farmpac. Contributions or gifts to FarmPAC are not tax-deductible. Paid for by California Farm Bureau Federation Fund to Protect the Family Farm (FarmPAC ® ).
12 Ag Alert September 14, 2022
Avocados Continued from Page 1
“If we don’t get normal to above-av- erage rainfall for multiple years in a row, we’re in trouble,” Pidduck said. Two years ago, he noted, his farm reg- istered only 4 to 5 inches of rain for the entire winter. “You can’t survive on that,” Pidduck said. “At least this last winter we were up. I think I was around 14 inches or so, which was much better than 4, but I need some of those winters where we tap into those atmospheric rivers and really start to replenish our groundwater and our local reservoirs.” Besides, Pidduck noted, sprinklers can’t really replace Mother Nature for nourishing avocados on the tree. “When we’re putting on irrigation wa- ter, we’re also putting on salts,” Pidduck said. “That’s just the nature of irrigation water for the most part.” Winter rains, he added, are “very pure water. They flush those salts out of the soil in the fall and the winter.” Without those rains, he said, the year begins with higher salt levels, and “the av- ocados’ root system has to compete with the salts to get nutrients and whatever else it needs.” The early outlook for 2023 calls for about the same crop size as this year, Aymami said; the commission will meet in December to develop a firmer number. Avocados tend to be an alternate-bear- ing crop—the fruit takes the better part of
two years to develop from blossoming to harvest—but how much of a factor this is varies widely. “The one thing we are hearing from the field is that not all growers in one area are having an ‘on’ crop or an ‘off’ crop,” Aymami said. “Years and years ago, you’d see a whole county was on or off, and in recent years, we’ve really seen that it is grove by grove, grower by grower—some- times it’s even block by block.” Pidduck thinks his 2023 crop will be off. “I don’t think the weather really coop- erated during bloom for us this year,” he said. “It may have been too cool during the peak bloom times.” He brings in bees to help pollinate his crop during peak bloom time in spring, but how much work they do depends on the tempera- ture, he noted. “If you have a lot of cool, foggy days, you don’t have a lot of bee activity, and you don’t see the fruit set like you would in a warmer spring,” Pidduck said. All of that makes formulating a crop es- timate a dicey proposition, Aymami said. “It’s just real spotty,” she said. “It makes crop estimating a bit challenging when you’ve got 3,000 growers and you’re trying to figure out what’s on the tree, and what that translates to industrywide.” (Kevin Hecteman is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)
checking with farmers throughout av- ocado country—mainly the coast from San Luis Obispo to San Diego counties— about a week after the heat wave dissi- pates, as this is when trees will start drop- ping fruit if they’re going to. After that, she added, “you wait another month to see if the fruit continues to grow, or if the heat did so much damage that maybe it didn’t drop the fruit yet, but it’s not growing.” Avocados prefer moderate climates with growing temperatures of less than 90 degrees, said Gabe Filipe, senior di- rector of California sourcing and farming at Mission Produce. Trees are more likely to be stressed when the thermometer hits triple digits. To deal with the heat, along with the drought and the rising cost of inputs, av- ocado farmers are investing in technology that measures actual tree demand. “By using a combination of remote weather stations, soil moisture probes and plant stress monitoring devices, growers can make educated cultural de- cisions,” Filipe said. “Automated pumping systems allow growers to deliver precise amounts of irrigation water to the trees, which helps maximize water resources.” Ventura County is the state’s largest avocado producer, with 19,852 acres in production, according to a 2021 LandIQ survey prepared for the Avocado Commission. Farmers in the county de- pend on groundwater and local reservoirs.
resilient in the face of the U.S. inflation- ary environment. “This demonstrates the strength of the category and continued establishment of the avocado as a household staple,” Anazawa said. “This also speaks to broad- er health and wellness trends underpin- ning the popularity of avocados.” Pidduck is among the farmers who jumped on the early-season market opportunity. “We went in and we just stripped the crop off the trees when the price was high enough that it warranted it,” he said. “Then we didn’t have to worry about a heat wave in July potentially drop- ping a crop on the ground.” He and others, however, did worry about another heat wave—the record-setting hot spell that baked most of the state last week. Pidduck said temperatures reached 107 to 108 degrees in his neighborhood, with some reports of 112 degrees. “A lot of the new-leaf growth on the av- ocado trees is just burnt,” Pidduck said. “I mean, just crispy and brown or black.” Fruit drop is likely, as a heat-stressed tree “just lets go of what it doesn’t need to sup- port,” he added. “We’ve been putting on water where we can put on water, but when it gets so hot, there’s only so much you can do,” Pidduck said. Aymami said the commission will start
EXHIBIT AT CALIFORNIA MARKET PLACE
New at the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting Farm Bureau members! Take advantage of this innovative opportunity to sell the bounty and artisan goods from your farm or ranch. Attendees will taste, sample and shop their way through the regions of California. SECURE YOUR SPOT TODAY! farmbureau.cfbf.com/ca-marketplace California Marketplace Sunday, December 4 th , 2022 1p.m.–7p.m.
September 14, 2022 Ag Alert 13
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