The 2021 California almond crop size has come considerably short of what was initially forecasted earlier this season. How will this reflect on prices and what other factors in the market are at play? Watch this brief interview with Richard Waycott, President of the Almond Board of California, as he explains.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
Despite drought conditions and other challenges facing California agriculture, pistachio growers delivered another record high crop — even with it being considered an ‘off year’ for production trends. Watch this brief interview with Richard Matoian, President of American Pistachio Growers as he explains.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
We are pleased to introduce Aubrey Bettencourt as the new President/CEO of the Almond Alliance of California. Watch this brief interview with Aubrey to learn more about how she has been prepared for this position and her plans to serve the California almond industry.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
USDA ARS — Adding cooked black beans to a high-fat diet improved sensitivity to insulin and other measures often related to diabetes and restored gut bacteria balance in obese mice, according to a USDA Agricultural Research Service study.
As little as the mouse-size equivalent of a single serving a day of black beans—about a half cup for a human—lowered insulin resistance 87 percent in obese mice compared to obese mice eating the same high-fat diet without the black beans. Insulin resistance is when a body’s response to the hormone insulin is impaired so glucose in the blood cannot be used for energy, resulting in high blood sugar, a factor often leading to diabetes.
Mice on the high-fat plus black beans diet also decreased low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesterol, 28 percent and triglyceride levels 37 percent compared to mice eating the high-fat diet without black beans. These are both risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Other diabetes-related biomarkers such as the levels of leptin, glucagon, and a group of inflammatory biochemicals were all significantly better in the mice on the high-fat plus black beans diet.
The researchers also found that adding black beans to the high fat diet restored the balance of healthier bacteria in the gut, particularly decreasing the ratio of Firmicutes bacteria to Bacteroidetes bacteria in the gut by 64 percent compared to mice on the high fat diet without black beans and mice on a low fat diet. High ratios of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes are associated with obesity. Intestinal bacteria associated with inflammation such as Blautia and Clostridium all were significantly reduced in mice fed the high fat plus black beans diet compared to mice on the high fat diet without beans.
“This research suggests that eating even a small amount of black beans can have multiple health benefits,” said ARS research chemist Wallace Yokoyama with the Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit of the Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California. Yokoyama led the study, which was published in the scientific journal Foods.
“We also tested if supplementing the high fat diet with individual components from black beans would have the same beneficial impacts on the obese mice and didn’t find the same effects at all. It was only adding whole black beans, and cooked whole beans at that, which had the benefits,” Yokoyama said.
Perhaps the most interesting scientific information coming from this study, according to Yokoyama, is data to begin determining just how black beans improve insulin resistance. It appears that black beans may inhibit the JNK/c-Jun pathway, a key metabolic pathway that has many but not necessarily well-defined functions including regulating inflammatory responses. Chronic inflammation is believed to be the basis for insulin resistance and other metabolic diseases.
Black beans, or more precisely black turtle beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), are generally low in fat and high in fiber and protein. They are popular in Latin American, Mexican and Caribbean cuisines as well as in Cajun and Creole cooking. Like all common beans, black beans are native to the Americas. Today, they have been introduced around the world to become known as frijoles negros or poroto negro in Spanish, feijão preto in Portuguese, and karuppu kaaramani and kala ghevada in various regional cuisines of India.
The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $17 of economic impact.
We have all felt the seismic shift from the pandemic and its impact on our lives and livelihoods. Throughout the pandemic farmers and farm workers have worked diligently and continually to deliver healthy and safe fruits and vegetables to consumers. But the pandemic further exposed the tight margins of farming and the intense cost pressures being faced in agriculture today.
The Grower Shipper Association of Central California (GSA) commissioned a new analysis by economists to examine the cost impacts of the pandemic as well as other factors, such as supply chain issues, which are putting pressure on agriculture’s ability to sustain food production in the region.
The mission of GSA is advancing families, food and farming in Central California. These types of analyses are an important way to assess vulnerabilities associated with increasing costs as well as identify potential areas where better solutions may be necessary to advance our mission. It also allows GSA to assess their role in supporting members and ag employees by relieving or alleviating economic burden through solution-driven work.
This analysis provides a short and long-run outlook and focuses on current, continuing and impending cost pressures within a landscape of the economic fundamentals of supply and demand. While there are numerous crops produced in our region, the economists determined their analysis would focus on one crop specifically in order to appropriately identify industry cost pressures. Therefore the analysis examines the per carton costs of growing and shipping iceberg lettuce.
The economists determined the total cost to produce a carton of iceberg lettuce is over $17 per carton. The average baseline production budget for Salinas Valley iceberg lettuce shows typical costs to grow, harvest, and pack is around $15 per carton. According to the analysis, the estimated increase in direct lettuce production costs identified is $2.12 per carton. This includes a $0.68 increase to growing costs and a $1.44 increase for harvest, packing, and cooling costs including a $0.67 increase due to operational changes related to COVID-19.
At an average price of $15 to $17 per carton, grower-shippers are not able to cover production costs. The economists state that an increase of $2.12 per carton with 24 heads of lettuce may seem immaterial from the consumer perspective – this would work out to $0.09 per head. However, they point out that this change is quite significant for farmers and shippers.
These findings are sobering and reinforce GSA’s commitment to support our mission through results oriented efforts. As an example, GSA’s work to protect employees from the spread of COVID-19 included the creation of a model quarantined housing program as well as a mass vaccination program responsible for having immunized a majority of the farm workers in the region. While the primary objective of this effort was to keep farm workers and their families healthy, the development and operation of this vaccination program, in partnership with Clinica De Salud Del Valle De Salinas, also likely lowered the economic burden of COVID-19 on ag employers since it allowed the region to continue consistently harvesting and shipping produce.
As we address the economists’ findings, GSA and the farmers and farming companies we represent understand their responsibility to grow safe food, protect farm workers, nurture and sustain our farms and the environment around them and be good neighbors and stewards of our communities where we live and work. We acknowledge that thoughtful, outcome-oriented regulations can provide necessary baseline uniformity that govern practices in the workplace including environmental and food and worker safety protections that benefit our community and consumers. However, when new regulations or legislation that impacts agriculture are being considered, farmers should have a seat at the table and cost impacts should be discussed and evaluated, especially in light of the profit margins identified in this analysis.
While a safe workplace, a healthy environment and safe food are of paramount importance, a strong economy creates important opportunities and support that benefits our communities and should remain a priority as well. In fact, 77% of Bay Area and Central Coast residents agree that agriculture was most or very important to the quality of life and the economy of California in a survey conducted by GSA. This reflects the value of agriculture, including job-creation, support of community initiatives and charities, preservation of green and open spaces and local food production.
Learn more about the findings from this economic analysis on our new page in the Our Work section of the GSA website. On this page you will find a white paper outlining the findings of the analysis as well as a link to the full report.
With so much attention paid to climate change, the 2022 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium this January has appropriately recruited the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) climate director to open the prestige three-day event. As Unified’s Tuesday luncheon keynote speaker, Dr. Steven Ostoja, director of the USDA California Climate Hub, will offer his insights into how a changing climate and extreme weather are affecting agriculture and winegrape production, adaptation strategies growers need to know about and ways the industry can combat a changing climate. The luncheon will take place at Sacramento’s SAFE Credit Union Convention Center on Tuesday, January 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Based at the Agricultural Research Services’s Sustainable Agriculture Water Systems Research Unit, Dr. Ostoja is a Fellow at the John Muir Institute of the Environment at the University of California, Davis. He’s responsible for leading the development and delivery of regional, science-based information to enable climate-smart agricultural and forestry decision-making for the largest agricultural producing state in the nation. Dr. Ostoja’s research into applied natural resources management, human-environment ineractions, and climate adaptation science has been published in over 50 peer-reviewed government and technical publications.
Registration for the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium is online at www.unifiedsymposium.org or by calling (888) 529-9272. The Keynote Luncheon is a separate fee and includes a plated lunch and wine. The 2022 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium will be held on January 25-27, with exhibits open on January 26 and 27, at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, 1400 J St., Sacramento, Calif. 95814. Committed to providing the safest possible environment for guests, the Unified is following the most current COVID-19 health and safety requirements. To learn more about our safety protocol, visit the website or click on this link.
Built with the joint input of growers, vintners and allied industry members, the Unified Symposium has served as a clearinghouse of information important to wine and grape industry professionals for 28 years. Unified also hosts the industry’s largest trade show of its kind, with more than 850 booths displaying supplier’s products and services. For more information, go to www.unifiedsymposium.org.
During the 2020-2021 crop year, California walnut growers and handlers worked together with the California Walnut Board and California Walnut Commission to advance the industry in new ways. Growers produced a record crop of 785,000 tons, a 20 percent gain over the 2019 crop. The California Walnut Board (CWB) and Commission (CWC) promoted walnuts through marketing campaigns that increased sales, leveraged new CWC-funded health research to sustain consumer interest in walnut consumption, conducted new production and post-harvest research to help maintain competitiveness, and accessed government dollars.
“In a year where a pandemic has altered so many aspects of the way Americans live and work, the Board’s contributions to the industry have been critical,” says Michelle Connelly, Executive Director of California Walnut Board.
Retail Campaign Generates Double-Digit Sales Growth
Retail programs drove sales and consumption during seasonal time periods when walnuts are not typically a priority for consumers. During American Heart Month in February, the CWB worked with retailers nationwide on a campaign to display walnuts with messaging about their heart-health benefits*. With 34 participating retailers, operating 10,400 locations, retailers saw an average sales lift of 22.5 percent. Additionally, television and radio advertising during this program reached 52% of US households.
In May through August, a summer snacking campaign signed-on 26 retailers with 7,400 locations to execute in-store promotions and specials. The first-of-its-kind snacking-focused program encouraged retailers to think of new ways to promote walnuts by tying into the consumer trend. Retail elements were supported with consumer outreach, and the average US consumer saw the message on walnuts and snacking six times. The campaign drove year-over-year walnut sales increases, when comparing the summer months.
Production Research Delivers Short- and Long-Term Benefits
The CWB continued investment in research programs to maintain competitiveness in walnut production and processing, as well as invested in applied projects that directly benefit immediate grower needs. Topics including pest management, food safety, product quality, and more were prevalent in these programs. UC Davis’ CWB-funded walnut breeding program released a new varietal, UC Wolfskill, in hopes of finding more desirable traits such as a late leafing, early harvesting Chandler-like variety.
The CWB Grades and Standards Committee approved 11 post-harvest research projects, three of which are exploring byproduct utilization for the walnut industry to add further value across the supply chain while promoting sustainability. The Committee also funded a project to develop methods and a database to help differentiate walnuts from various origins and cultivators which can help preserve the integrity and reputation of California walnuts.
“Our research programs are key in providing growers and handlers the resources they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive space,” says Connelly.
Steps Taken to Increase Efficiencies and Mitigate Market Disruptions
In September, the CWB voted to suspend the mandatory outbound inspections of walnuts to mitigate market disruptions like labor shortages or shipping constraints, while reducing redundancies. The suspension brings further efficiencies to the industry, while allowing resources to be saved.
“The Federal Marketing Order rules governing inspections are obsolete as market and customer quality demands have since surpassed USDA grade standards,” added Connelly. “The Board’s vote to suspend the inspections stands to benefit both producers and processors.”
CWC and CWB Do More Together to Advance Industry
In lock step with the CWB, CWC activities also contributed to and supported the industry throughout the year. As a result of the Commission’s efforts, walnut growers received over $85MM in direct payments from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) 1 alone and millions more through CFAP 2. Ensuring the walnut industry’s voice was heard, the CWC, as part of a coalition, also worked with sectors of the CA government to urge lawmakers in the Department of Pesticide Regulations to not increase mill tax for at least two years.
Furthermore, 17 scientific papers published that were funded or supported by the CWC, including findings in the areas of heart health, cognition, gut health and longevity. Sharing those health findings with health professionals and reporters resulted in 431 articles mentioning the health benefits of walnuts in mainstream media. The average US consumer saw the message 22 times.
Connelly shared more about why a robust, ongoing health research program is important, “Health is a top reason why consumers eat walnuts and demands are always evolving. New research discovers breakthrough results and makes important health advancements.”
Growers who want to learn more about how the CWB/CWC are doing more for the walnut industry are encouraged to sign up for newsletters to hear directly from the Board, follow our social channels on LinkedIn and @GrowCAWalnuts on Facebook, and learn more at walnuts.org/walnut-industry.
*Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. (FDA) One ounce of walnuts offers 18g of total fat, 2.5g of monounsaturated fat, 13g of polyunsaturated fat including 2.5g of alpha-linolenic acid – the plant-based omega-3.
About the California Walnut Board
The California Walnut Board (CWB) was established in 1948 to represent the walnut growers and handlers of California. The CWB is funded by mandatory assessments of the handlers. The CWB is governed by a Federal Walnut Marketing Order. The CWB promotes usage of walnuts in the United States through publicity and educational programs. The CWB also provides funding for walnut production, food safety and post-harvest research.
About the California Walnut Commission
The California Walnut Commission, established in 1987, is funded by mandatory assessments of the growers. The CWC represents over 4,800 growers and approximately 90 handlers (processors) of California walnuts in export market development activities and conducts health research. The CWC is an agency of the State of California that works in concurrence with the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
Many people do not know that human waste can be recycled to benefit the environment. After intense treatment, it can be applied to fields in the form of biosolids.
While scientists know that this can benefit the soil, they are still learning about the best ways to measure this. In addition, it can be hard to determine how much it helps the soil over a long period.
That’s where Yocelyn Villa from the University of California, Merced comes in. She and her collaborators studied fields in California where biosolids have been applied for 20 years.
Their findings were recently published in Journal of Environmental Quality, a publication of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America.
“Our goal was to assess how stocks of soil carbon have changed over time at each of these sites,” she says. “We did this by measuring how much carbon is present compared to adjacent areas without biosolids application. Specifically, we wanted to account for not only shallow soil depths, but also deep soil carbon, down to 100 cm depths.”
The three sites they studied had different biosolids application frequencies, management practices, and soil texture. The researchers focused on measuring microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen. These are all soil qualities known to benefit from the application of biosolids.
They predicted that the more biosolids that are applied, the more carbon and nitrogen there would be in those soils. Most of their results were what they expected. However, they were surprised that the site that had the highest application of biosolids did not show the most change. In addition, one of the sites did not show a benefit from the biosolids application until they performed tests on the deeper soil.
“If we had only taken the top 30 cm into account, we would have not detected a change in soil carbon at the Merced site,” Villa said. “This is the biggest and most important finding.”
She adds that this shows how the organic matter in biosolids does not simply sit in the soil and accumulate. Instead, it is impacted by dynamic properties that also influence soil organic matter.
This told the researchers that it’s important to measure deep soil carbon and consider other management practices at a site when studying the impact of biosolids. These local controls can be soil texture, irrigation practices, and tillage.
“Many studies have shown the benefits of biosolids application for plant production and nutrient cycling,” Villa explains. “This conjointly provides benefits to soil carbon. Farmers and ranchers have seen differences in vegetation for livestock and other soil health benefits. I would recommend monitoring these benefits through time.”
Another reason scientists are interested in soil carbon is because of its potential to mitigate climate change. Soils that can sequester carbon can keep it out of the atmosphere. So, Villa’s findings highlight the importance of taking deep soil carbon into account to better predict a soil’s ability to mitigate climate change.
“This research is interesting to me personally because I have always been interested in climate change,” she says. “The more I learned about the environment, the more I realized that soils may be the key to mitigate climate change.”
The next steps in Villa’s work are to determine how exactly the soils stabilize carbon and keep it in the soil. She is also assessing where the carbon is in the soil, which will provide insight on how accessible the carbon is for microbes to use. Overall, she is excited to see others beginning to appreciate soil’s potential.
Biosolids have been used in cities like Chicago for several years, to help clean up industrial sites and other purposes.
“I think people don’t realize that human waste can be recycled like this, and that soil is a potential solution to climate change,” she says. “It’s always a treat to see how people’s faces light up with intrigue. Hopefully I have convinced them that we need to stop treating soil like dirt!”
Funding for this research was provided by the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies, Jena and Michael King Foundation, and Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Merced.
American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Crop Science Society of America: Collectively, these Societies represent more than 12,000 individual members around the world. Members are researchers and professionals in the areas of growing our world’s food supply while protecting our environment. Together we work toward solutions to advance scientific knowledge in the areas of agronomy, crop science, and soil science.
Twitter: @ASA_CSSA_SSSA & @SSSA_soils | Facebook: ASA, CSSA & SSSA | Instagram: @sustainablefoodsupply & @iheartsoil
The Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced the establishment of a new Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. Establishing this Commission fulfills a key provision of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and represents a critical step in combating the nation’s wildfire crisis and improving resilience in America’s landscapes.
The Commission is tasked with recommending federal policies and strategies to more effectively prevent, mitigate, suppress and manage wildland fires, including the rehabilitation of land affected from wildland fires. It will include representation from federal, state, Tribal, county and municipal governments as well as non-governmental stakeholders from private industry. Through a coordinated effort, the Commission will deliver a report to Congress with practical policy recommendations one year from the first meeting. In addition, the Commission will outline a strategy to cost effectively meet aerial firefighting equipment needs through 2030.
The work of the Commission will build on existing interagency federal efforts such as the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and the White House Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group and will continue to pursue a whole-of-government approach to wildfire risk reduction and resilience.
“We have a historic opportunity to take action on forest restoration, hazardous fuels management and post-wildfire restoration activities, and better address the needs of federal wildland firefighters,” said Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “The Commission established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide valuable insight into ways we can better prepare communities and ecosystems against the threat of wildland fire across our nation’s public and Tribal lands.”
“The effects of a changing climate are all around us. Americans, especially those in rural communities in the West, are experiencing a growing number of bigger, hotter, and more destructive wildfires that threaten people, livelihoods, and our natural resources. The Commission will bring together a diverse group of leaders to help tackle this crisis and inform our collective ability to improve the health and resilience of our forests and communities” said Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“This Commission represents a unified effort across the federal government to answer a call that is quickly growing louder; we must protect our wildlands from the ravaging impacts of climate change,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “In coordination with our partners at USDA and DOI, FEMA is committed to doing our part to help build readiness and resilience in communities who are at risk from wildfires.”
“Climate change and increasing development in the wildland urban interface are rapidly changing the complexity and response challenges for the fire service. It is time for us all to recognize that wildland fire is not just a forest or rural problem any longer. Urban and suburban fire departments that had no part in wildland firefighting 30 years ago are now heavily engaged in wildland fire prevention, mitigation, and response. The wildland urban interface is now the frontier for wildland fire,” said U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore Merrell. “This Commission will pull together our partners and stakeholders to focus on community risk reduction, enhanced prevention efforts, and overall response and mitigation capacity that matches the wildfire risks within the nation’s wildland urban interface.”
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law calls for a dramatic increase in the scale and pace of wildfire mitigation, restoration and post-fire recovery work,” said Executive Director of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council Mike Zupko. “Success can only be accomplished through dedicated partnerships and collaboration. The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission will advance our collective ability to combat the nation’s wildfire crisis and accelerate implementation of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests unprecedented funding for America’s natural infrastructure. The joint Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission will support the implementation of effective wildfire risk reduction and resilience strategies to combat the wildfire crisis, recovering and protecting our nation’s forests, landscapes and surrounding communities.
About the U.S. Department of the Interior
The Department of the Interior (DOI) conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other information about natural resources and natural hazards to address societal challenges and create opportunities for the American people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities to help them prosper.
The California Citrus Mutual Marketing Committee (Committee) estimates that the total Navel orange crop for the 2021-22 season will be down 20% from the previous season’s final utilized, or sold, production. The Committee also estimates that the Mandarin crop will be down as much as 45% from the 2020-2021 season.
According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s 2021-22 California Navel Orange Objective Measurement Report, released on September 10, 2021, the initial forecast for the navel orange crop was 70.0 million cartons, down 14% from the previous year’s total utilized production. Additionally, an estimated 4% of last season’s crop was not utilized, meaning it was not picked or sold.
Now several weeks into 2021-22 season, the Committee anticipates, based on current picking estimates, will be 20% below the prior season’s total utilized production and approximately 24% below the total crop size.
The drop in production is attributed to the previous season’s heavy crop and extended season. Due to the larger sized crop and other market conditions, fruit remained on the tree far longer than is typical, which negatively affected the current year’s crop size.
The Committee also estimates that the 2021-22 mandarin crop will be down 45% from the previous season’s exceptionally large crop.
The current navel and mandarin crops are forecast to go through May and June, respectively. Consumers can expect favorable size structure and excellent eating quality due to the fruit’s high sugar content.
“The 2021-22 season is shaping up to be far different than the previous season. Last season, we had a very heavy crop and there were a lot of growers whose fruit was never harvested. Shippers extended the season well into August in an effort to market and sell as much of the crop as possible, but ultimately about 4% was dropped to the ground,” says CCM President/CEO Casey Creamer. “We expect this year’s lighter crop to move more quickly through the market with its high sugar content and excellent eating quality.”