California Ag Network

Category: Featured Post

  • Resnicks Pledge $50M to UC Davis for Sustainability Research

    The University of California, Davis, announced that philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnick, co-owners of The Wonderful Company, have pledged the largest gift ever to the university by individual donors. The $50 million pledge will support the school’s longstanding commitment to address today’s most pressing challenges in agriculture and environmental sustainability.

    The $50 million gift will establish the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation, with $10 million of the Resnicks’ gift to be directed toward annual competitive research grants through the Resnick Agricultural Innovation Research Fund. Their donation also supports UC Davis’ $2 billion fundraising campaign, “Expect Greater: From UC Davis, for the World,” the university’s largest philanthropic endeavor to date.

    “Protecting and preserving our planet for the future means we must take bold steps and push the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Stewart Resnick, who is also a member of the UC Davis Chancellor’s Board of Advisors. “UC Davis is at the forefront of tackling climate change, developing groundbreaking technologies and solutions to reduce our collective carbon footprint, and creating a more sustainable agriculture system. This gift aims to help our greatest scientific minds rise to the great challenge of our time — the sustainability of our planet for future generations. Lynda, I, and The Wonderful Company are proud to partner with UC Davis to support this all-important work.”

    Design on the Resnick Center is expected to begin in 2022, with construction slated for completion by 2026. Once built, the new 40,000-square-foot, LEED-certified, state-of-the-art hub will house classrooms, research and lab spaces, and student career and advising support near the current plant sciences building off Hutchison Drive in Davis.

    This initiative will unite experts from across UC Davis focused on five thematic research areas including identifying innovative solutions for agricultural byproducts, maximizing water and energy efficiencies, developing next-generation technologies, making crops more resilient and sustainable in the face of a rapidly changing climate, and expanding access to nutritious food. Ultimately, the center will explore new ways of balancing food production with leading sustainability practices while advancing the global agricultural industry with scalable solutions.

    “Thanks to this historic gift from Lynda and Stewart Resnick, UC Davis will further expand its global reach, helping to shape the future of sustainable food production,” said Gary S. May, chancellor, UC Davis. “This gift demonstrates a continued commitment to innovative environmental stewardship and allows us to create science-based solutions that can be rapidly deployed while mitigating the impacts of climate change.”

    The Resnick Agricultural Innovation Research Fund will provide grants to promote cross-collaboration and strengthen the network among research faculty, agricultural producers, food companies, pharmaceutical companies, commodity boards, and other key stakeholders. Beginning this year, competitive research grants will be awarded annually to UC Davis faculty and Cooperative Extension specialists focused on identifying value-added properties in pistachio, almond and pomegranate byproducts.

    “Many specialty crop byproducts are treasure troves of compounds that can promote health, improve soil quality, influence microbial ecology, or be converted into valuable products,” said Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “This transformative gift will help increase the potential of these byproducts, enhance sustainability and create new markets.”

    The center will provide student advising and career support including for more than 60 Wonderful Scholars enrolled at UC Davis. The Resnick-created Wonderful Scholarship program was initially established to provide college scholarships to the children of Wonderful employees from the Central Valley. It has expanded over the last 28 years to also award college scholarships to Wonderful Education Career Pathways Program students, as well as graduates of the Wonderful College Prep Academy and neighboring schools. Many of these recipients are first-generation college students.

    The Wonderful Company, co-run by the Resnicks, is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, whose iconic brands include FIJI Water, POM Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios, Wonderful Halos, Wonderful Seedless Lemons, Teleflora, JUSTIN, JNSQ, and Landmark wines. Every year, the Resnicks invest in education, community development, and health and wellness initiatives across the Central Valley and beyond, a place-based giving approach centered on investing in, listening to, and collaborating with the communities where their employees live and work. To date, the Resnicks have invested more than $2.3 billion in philanthropy, with more than $1.3 billion invested in environmental sustainability, to help combat climate change and preserve the planet for future generations.

    “The Lynda and Stewart Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation will be a game-changer for research and teaching,” said Shaun B. Keister, vice chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations. “Now, experts from diverse fields will have the critical resources and tools needed to train the leaders of tomorrow. The Resnicks’ vision is a testament to what philanthropic partnerships with UC Davis can achieve.”

    Together, donors and UC Davis continually strive to advance and accelerate sustainability and social responsibility initiatives to create positive outcomes for the planet and people.

  • Walnut Bargaining Association Asks Handlers to Hold Off on Setting Prices

    The Board of the Walnut Bargaining Association (WBA) met last month in Sacramento to discuss the outlook for this year’s walnut crop.  Traditionally, this is the time of year when the industry begins to hear estimates from handlers about prices growers can expect to receive for their walnuts. But this year, the WBA is hoping to delay these decisions.

    “So much is still uncertain at this time,” said Pete Jelavich, WBA member from Yuba City. “The California Ag Statistics Service (CASS) has set the pre-season crop estimate at 720,000 tons, but many growers believe recent weather events since the estimate was released will reduce yields. We’re also waiting to learn more about global supply conditions and about the volume and quality of last year’s crop is still available for sale. Both of these factors will play a major role in the price we’ll receive for our walnuts for the new season.”

    In general, grower prices for walnuts have been at record lows for the past few years. And while the WBA doesn’t expect things to change dramatically this year, they are cautiously optimistic that things will improve a bit over last year.

    According to WBA statistics, last year’s CASS estimate was way off its pre-season estimate of a 670,000-ton crop. The actual crop was significantly larger and eventually came in at 730,000 tons. As a result, actual prices for walnuts were dramatically lower than what was predicted in early fall.

    “This year, we could very likely have the opposite scenario,” said Jonathan Field, Executive Director of the WBA.  “The CASS crop estimate is just slightly below last year’s actual crop, but the report indicated far fewer nuts per tree and kernel weights that are much lighter than normal. As a result, the crop may come in lighter than predictions, which would hopefully drive prices up.”

    “The WBA has sent a letter to handlers asking them not to jump the gun on setting walnut prices until we know more about the crop size and for some of the unstable market conditions to settle a bit,” said Jelavich. “Growers need to receive higher prices for our walnuts than we have for the past few years. So, we’re asking handlers to work with us and wait until we know more.”

    According to Jelavich, the whole reason for the existence of the WBA is to improve grower pricing. But many walnut farmers don’t even know the WBA exists. To combat that, the WBA has recently launched a new website and is funding a series of ads in walnut growing trade publications such as Pacific Nut Producer Magazine to help raise awareness about the WBA and what it’s all about.

    In short, the WBA is a grower-owned cooperative whose only goal is to help farmers get a fair price for walnuts. They do this by providing walnut farmers with accurate data, global market intelligence and information about actual prices walnut farmers receive from handlers.

    “Each year, the WBA collects information about the prices our members have received for their walnuts,” says the WBA’s Field. “This information doesn’t come from coffee shop talk. We get it by collecting pay stubs that growers receive from their handlers.”

    Grower pricing information submitted to the WBA is confidential. Name, address and ranch information on pay stubs is redacted to ensure anonymity. Specific information on handler names is also not made public. But the pricing information gathered by the WBA is the most accurate available anywhere. It gives WBA members a really good idea if the price they received was in line with the industry average or below it.

    “In many cases, the WBA pricing report has empowered our members to go back to their handler and secure an enhanced payment,” said Field.  “Our goal is to help make grower prices more transparent and to hold handlers accountable for paying farmers the right price.”

    The WBA is embarking on a membership drive in an effort to help all walnut growers receive better prices.

    “The more walnut farmers we have in our membership, the more accurate our pricing information will be and the greater unity we’ll have as a walnut farming community,” he said. “Joining the WBA might be the most important thing a walnut farmer can do to improve prices for walnuts.”

    The cost to join the WBA is $2 per ton. In addition to information on prices received from handlers, the WBA provides a host of additional economic and market intelligence that is very difficult to get elsewhere. This includes information on sales, supply-demand issues, trade market pricing, quality, and other global economic trends. 

    To learn more about the information provided by WBA, growers can register here to receive a sample of WBA reports. The new WBA website includes much more information about the WBA and its benefits of members. Growers can also hear testimonials from fellow walnut growers here and here.

  • Revitalizing Winery Wastewater in the Vineyard by Cover Cropping

    Amidst the current drought, growers can use all the water they can get, and recycling winery wastewater back into the vineyard would seem like a nice idea — except that water from the wineries are generally high in salts/chlorides, which would prove detrimental to soil health… unless certain cover crops planted down vineyard rows could remove the unwanted additives. Watch this brief video with Kristy Sun from the Dept. of Viticulture & Enology at Fresno State as she explains, and read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Fully Automated Wine Grape Vineyard Pruning Becomes More Economical

    There is not always sufficient time and labor to accomplish all the tasks that need to be taken care of in the vineyard.  Fortunately researchers and allied industry stakeholders have collaborated and innovated to provide an economical way for the full automation of winter pruning in wine grape vineyards.  Watch this brief video with Kaan Kurtural from UC Davis as he explains, and read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Measuring Bulk Electrical Conductivity (EC) to Understand Grapevine Water Status

    At Fresno State Grape Day, Cliff Yu from the department of viticulture and enology reminded growers of the value of measuring the bulk electrical conductivity (EC) of their vineyard soils to better meet their grapevine water needs.  Watch this brief video as he explains, and read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Fresno State Researchers Investigate Smoke Taint in Wine Grapes to Help Define Thresholds

    Viticulture and enology researchers from multiple universities have been feverishly working with the western wine grape industry to learn more about how wildfire smoke impacts developing wine grapes. The hope is to develop some form of industry standard threshold for smoke taint, so that wine grapes will not be rejected at the winery unless they have truly been compromised.  Watch this brief video with Miguel Pedroza from the Viticulture & Enology Dept. at Fresno State to find what they are learning about this issue.  Read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • What Growers & Handlers Should Know about Preventing Tree Nut Theft

    There are a lot of risks involved in farming, such as weather, insect/disease pressure and a tightening labor force; and a crop finally getting harvested is generally accompanied by a sigh of relief.  However, the risks aren’t completely over yet, especially with the threat of postharvest crop theft in California. Watch this brief interview with Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux who addresses this issue and read more about in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Iditarod Champion Shares Why Pistachios are His Protein of Choice

    Not only do pistachios contain all the essential amino acids that make up a complete protein, but they also have other nutritional benefits that help the body through extreme cold weather conditions. That is why pistachios are the trail food of choice for five-time Iditarod champion dog musher Dallas Seavey.  Watch this brief interview with one of American Pistachio Growers latest ambassadors as he explains and read more about it in the latest issue of Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • New Tool to Fight Phytophthora Crown & Root Rot in Almond

    Watch this brief interview with UCCE Farm Advisor Brent Holtz as he talks about a new tool to fight the tree-killing phytophthora crown and root rot in almond, and be sure to read his monthly Almond Tasks column in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Harnessing the Power of Natural Volatile Compounds in Grapevines that Thwart Sharpshooters

    Grapevines have a natural defense mechanism against Glassy-winged sharpshooter, a notorious vector for Pierce’s disease, that researchers are trying to learn more about. Watch this brief interview with Julie Pedraza from the Fresno State Viticulture & Enology Research Center and read more about it n American Vineyard Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.