With a new $20 million federal grant, UC Merced becomes part of a multi-institutional research collaborative to develop artificial intelligence — or AI — solutions to tackle some of agriculture’s biggest challenges related to water management, climate change and integration of new technology into farming.
The new institute is one of 11 launched this year by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and among two funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The newly announced AgAID Institute is shorthand for the collaborative USDA-NIFA Institute for Agricultural AI for Transforming Workforce and Decision Support.
The AgAID Institute features four core institutions: UC Merced; Washington State University (WSU), the lead campus; Oregon State University; and the University of Virginia. The AgAID Institute bolsters UC Merced’s already strong focus on ag-tech solutions for sustainable food systems in California and beyond.
“This is only the second round of AI centers the NSF has funded, so we’re really honored to be contributing to this important and cutting-edge research effort,” environmental engineering Professor Joshua Viers said. Viers is the lead principal investigator from UC Merced and the campus director of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute, which has been advancing ag-tech solutions for the San Joaquin Valley broadly. “We’ll be working to leverage computational knowledge to arrive at actionable decisions for farmers and water managers, and we’ll be the application test beds for much of what is developed at the other core institutions.”
Much of that testing will be done at UC Merced’s new experimental smart farm, a 40-acre site adjacent to campus that is in the planning stages.
While traditional AI development involves scientists making tools and delivering them to end-users, the AgAID Institute will involve the people who will use the AI solutions — from farmers and workers to policy makers — in their development. This “adopt-adapt-amplify” approach ensures solutions are practical and more likely to be adopted. The researchers will also work to create solutions that can adapt to changing environments and that amplify productivity by combining human skills and machine capabilities to be more effective than either would be alone.
“People are very much part of the agricultural ecosystem. It’s not just plants growing. Humans manipulate crops on a daily basis and make complex decisions, such as how to allocate water or mitigate the effects of an incoming storm,” said Ananth Kalyanaraman, a WSU computer science professor and AgAID Institute director. “We aim to partner human knowledge with AI tools in a way that amplifies the end outcomes where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
The AgAID Institute will be a multi-disciplinary, collaborative effort involving faculty and scientists with expertise in a diverse range of areas in computer science, agriculture and agricultural outreach. In addition to the four core institutions, the collaborative includes Carnegie Mellon University and Kansas State University, and in an effort to train the next generation of educators and farm managers, UC Merced will work closely with other minority-serving institutions such as Heritage University and Wenatchee Valley College. Private sector partners include IBM Research and the start-up innov8.ag.
At UC Merced, School of Engineering professors Reza Ehsani, Jian-Qiao Sun, John Abatzoglou and Josué Medellín-Azuara will all be co-investigators and part of the Institute, as will social scientist Leigh Bernacchi, Ph.D., the CITRIS program director.
With this grant, NSF has made a $220 million investment in AI-based collaborations, building on the first round of seven AI Institutes funded in 2020.
The goal is to develop AI-based technologies that bring about a range of advances: helping older adults lead more independent lives and improving the quality of their care; transforming AI into a more accessible “plug-and-play” technology; creating solutions to improve agriculture and food supply chains; enhancing adult online learning; and supporting underrepresented students from elementary to post-doctoral STEM education to improve equity and representation in AI research.
Led by NSF and in partnership with USDA-NIFA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Google, Amazon, Intel and Accenture, the AI Institutes will act as connections in a nationwide network pursuing transformational advances in a range of economic sectors, and science and engineering fields — from food-system security to next-generation edge networks.
“AI is an enabling technology that can help us develop the next generation of intelligent farm equipment and implements. These machines could potentially be more efficient, easier to operate and could reduce production costs,” Ehsani said.
For instance, pruning trees is a highly skilled task, but a beginner-level worker could benefit from an AI tool that provides expert guidance to help decide which are the best branches to prune. The task is done better, and the worker starts to learn from the feedback. With a shortage of skilled labor, AI can benefit both the orchard and the worker, bridging a divide between high-skilled and low-skilled workers.
Educating the workforce at all levels is central to the AgAID Institute not just to encourage AI adoption but as a matter of equity, Institute leaders said. The Institute plans multiple education programs from K-12 through higher education and worker training. The goal is to raise AI skill levels and open new career paths, which can improve pay and quality of life for agricultural workers. It can also attract more people to agriculture and computing professions.
The AgAID Institute will undertake several challenging test cases involving specialty crops, many of which grow in the western United States, such as almonds, pistachios, apples, cherries and hops. These crops encompass several major challenges: They require intensive labor and irrigation. They are also vulnerable to weather events and climate change. Specialty crops account for 87% of the U.S. agricultural workforce, and about 40% of these crops are perennial, requiring long-term management and resource planning.
“AgAID seeks to apply advances in computational technology to the long-standing wicked challenge of agricultural lands in the semi-arid West that are constrained by climate, land and people,” Abatzoglou said. “This support will help develop tech-based solutions for ameliorating the cascading impacts of water scarcity in agricultural systems we’ve experienced recently and will continue to face.”
Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Ph.D., who champions UC Merced’s leadership in sustainability and its strong integration into the future of the San Joaquin Valley and its communities, addressed the importance of the AgAID Institute for students and the Valley.
“This artificial intelligence institute for transforming workforce and decision support in agriculture speaks to our increasing national and global recognition for cutting-edge research,” Muñoz said. “Sustaining the future of agriculture — the primary economic activity in our region — is paramount. Not only are we building the future in the heart of California, but we are doing it in a way that speaks to our commitment to innovation in research and education that uplifts our region and results in a new generation of leaders for the Valley.” — By Lorena Anderson, UC Merced
Cows play an integral part in the healthy management of the approximately 6,500-acre Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve.
That expanse of open rangeland adjacent to the UC Merced campus is a constant reminder of the University’s commitment to offsetting its environmental impact. The land will remain undeveloped forever, as agreed to before campus was built. Now an official part of the UC’s Natural Reserve System (NRS), the land is home to ancient soils, native plants and several endangered species — along with up to couple thousand head of Angus beef cattle and Holstein dairy cows during the grazing season months of late fall to early summer.
Research recently published in the journal Sustainability demonstrates that well-managed cattle grazing supports the conservation of endangered plants and animals. It also helps reduce the fire-fuel load, which Californians know is a critical task every year.
Plus, those cows are cute. They are also often easier to spot than the burrowing owls, fairy shrimp and California tiger salamanders that also share the land, which helps people feel connected to the land, Reserve Manager Joy Baccei said.
“It’s amazing the number of students who want to take selfies with the dairy cows,” she said. “In comparison with the beef cattle, some people say the dairy cows are more like big puppies, in that they are very curious and sometimes playful.”
Every spring and early summer, the black-and-white Holsteins congregate to loaf around the stock ponds and vernal pools, keeping the grasses mowed as they are rotated from pasture to pasture.
“Effectively managed grazing is a sustainable way to control vegetation and maintain the ecosystem for many species of plants and animals. Grazing helps control the non-native annual plants,” wrote Sheila J. Barry, a livestock and natural resources advisor for the Bay Area, in a recent UC Agriculture and Natural Resources newsletter.
“In fact, 89 percent of species positively impacted by livestock grazing benefit from control of non-native species. For example, controlling non-native annual grasses favors native forb or broad-leaf plant populations that support the conservation of 10 different butterfly species and one moth species which rely on forbs for nectar and larvae food,” Barry wrote.
Many native animals, and their prey, are adapted to live in low or sparse vegetation, Baccei said, so grazing helps their habitats and their survival. For example, dense vegetation can make it harder for some animals to see predators that threaten them or crowd out their aquatic breeding habitats. It requires active management and monitoring to strike the right balance between overgrazing and undergrazing.
The Reserve is also home to more than 3,000 vernal pools — one of the largest collections of these unique seasonal wetlands left in the state. The cows tromp around the pools each spring and churn the grass thatch back into the muddy soil, which is good for the soil. They also prevent invasive species from taking over native plant communities.
Because the Reserve is a living laboratory for many of the campus’s researchers, cow encounters are pretty common. It can sometimes be a challenge to get through Reserve gates without letting any cows escape, Baccei said. Cow escapes have happened on occasion, too. Every now and then, Facilities would get a weekend call about a group of stray cows eating the landscaping at the top of Scholars Lane in front of the Lantern.
People driving onto the reserve for approved research or guided tours should be prepared to get a cow posse behind them, and a cow-style car wash. Parked cars intrigue the Holsteins, and they will often lick the cars.
“Student researchers sometimes come back with their cars covered in cow slobber and fur from interactions with the curious dairy cows,” Baccei said.
They’ll also follow people and vehicles, but they typically maintain a skeptical distance. Cows are not dangerous, but curious; however, it’s important to be mindful of belongings around them. Also, it’s important not to approach cows, as they can be unpredictable, and in some instances, aggressive.
The dairy cows can be playful and curious when anything new comes into their world. During some windy days recently, Baccei said a gold mylar balloon sailed into one of the pastures and the young Holsteins got excited.
Some would bravely begin to approach the balloon, but as soon as the wind picked it up again, they ran off, which was a hilarious sight, she said.
“The dairy cows are very curious about us, too,” Baccei said. “When researchers are out there doing water, soil or botanical sampling, the cows come and find us. They will often gather around the researchers like they are learning to collect scientific data. We joke and call them ‘Our Interns.’ They really are very lovable, but we have to be watchful because they can be disruptive.”
The Holstein dairy cows and Angus beef cattle belong to an organic dairy in Snelling. Baccei said the cows’ owners and the UC work together on adaptive grazing management to make sure environmental goals are met.
“We have a long-range plan for the Reserve, and grazing management is always going to be part of it, although the approaches we use may change,” she said. — By Lorena Anderson, UC Merced
A new resource for small olive oil farmers and producers who want to know more about voluntary Olive Oil Commission of California (OOCC) membership is now available on the OOCC website. While OOCC membership is not required for producers of less than 5,000 gallons of olive oil per year, they may choose to participate in the OOCC’s mandatory sampling and testing program on a voluntary basis.
A few years ago, the OOCC Board created a voluntary version of the OOCC’s mandatory sampling and testing program to make it more accessible and affordable for smaller producers. The program is available to any California olive oil producer committed to high quality standards for their product and who wishes to have this quality verified by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
This OOCC program is only for 100 percent California olive oil. The benefits to members include:
● OOCC member olive oil is analyzed by a credible, independent laboratory to ensure it meets stringent standards for quality and purity;
● Samples are collected and verified by the California Department of Food and Agriculture;
● Members who meet the stringent CDFA standards are allowed to use the OOCC logo on their packaging and marketing materials;
● A list of OOCC Members in Good Standing, which includes voluntary members, is maintained and published each year;
The information packet is available HERE and includes more details about the OOCC program Members in Good Standing and other useful resources to help you make an informed decision. Should you have questions or need additional information, please contact OOCC Executive Director Chris Zanobini by email at chris@agamisi.com or phone at (916) 441-1581.
The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) today announced details around its recently approved 2021-2025 strategic plan, which charts an ambitious course to exponentially grow the volume and value of blueberries domestically and across the globe. The comprehensive plan explains how USHBC will lead demand-driving programs based on shared resources, research and insights that inspire possibilities and sustain the profitable growth of the blueberry industry – ultimately uniting industry stakeholders to work together toward making blueberries the world’s favorite fruit.
USHBC collects approximately $10 million in assessment dollars from growers and importers of record annually, and the strategic plan addresses how the council will invest that funding to fuel increased blueberry demand and consumption. The plan includes expanded, measurable programmatic goals and tactics for five strategic pillars: integrated marketing communications, health and nutrition, industry services, global business development, and innovation and technology. The health and nutrition pillar will be driven by USHBC’s newly hired first-ever senior director of nutrition and health research, Leslie Wada, Ph.D., RD.
“Our 2021-2025 strategic plan is the culmination of more input from blueberry industry leaders and strategic partners than ever before, discussed and distilled for over the better part of a year, to create a bold blueprint to boost blueberries worldwide,” said Kasey Cronquist, president of USHBC. “Our intent is that this plan and its guiding vision will positively impact the future beyond the next five years to hopefully the next decade or two of the blueberry industry.”
USHBC embarked on the strategic plan development in partnership with Rockland Dutton Research & Consulting, drawing on highly relevant experience working with the National Mango Board, World Bank, Beef Checkoff, Hass Avocado Board and more. The work was the most robust planning process in the USHBC’s history, with significant internal and external input from approximately 50 interviews of board members and industry leaders, a survey of 193 industry stakeholders, and discussions with the entire USHBC staff and all partner agencies.
“We’ve come a long way as a blueberry industry since the USHBC was established 20 years ago, and our exciting, forward-looking vision sets the stage for the next era of growth,” said Shelly Hartmann, chair of USHBC. “I’m proud to have a leading role as we begin to execute our new, unifying strategy to increase demand for blueberries, while strengthening and supporting our growers and stakeholders.”
As the premier organization completely focused on growing the volume of blueberries sold in the U.S. and around the world, USHBC has driven demand for blueberries through comprehensive consumer promotional efforts and programming in retail, foodservice, export and food manufacturing. In 2019, 49% of U.S. households purchased blueberries — a 25% increase in annual household penetration over the previous six years. Blueberries are now on one in four menus, with 93% more restaurants offering blueberries than in 2005. And, 76% of food manufacturer respondents reported using blueberries in their company’s manufactured products — higher than any other berry.
USHBC was established in 2000 as an official research and promotion program overseen by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) division. It’s governed by a 20-member board that periodically adopts strategic plans to guide short- and long-term budget and program decisions.
To view the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, visit ushbc.org/about-ushbc.
About the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council
Established in 2000, The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) is a federal agriculture research and promotion program with independent oversight from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). USHBC represents blueberry growers and packers in North and South America who market their blueberries in the United States and overseas, and works to promote the growth and well-being of the entire blueberry industry. USHBC was established by blueberry growers and currently has 2,500 growers, packers and importers. USHBC is committed to providing blueberries that are grown, harvested, packed and shipped in clean, safe environments. Learn more at ushbc.org.
Sweet treats with functional benefits took home the four finalist spots this week in the Real California Milk Excelerator product innovation competition created by the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) and VentureFuel. The finalists tap into the nutritional and flavor profiles of milk and dairy ingredients to deliver performance and recovery benefits in products consumers crave.
Finalists include:
These four innovators were selected from a field of 12 semi-finalist competitors during a two-day virtual pitch event judged by a group of experts from Hershey’s, Nestle, Mars, PepsiCo Ventures Group, Amberstone Ventures, Branch Venture Group, FoodNavigator.com, Rosa Brothers Milk Company, Health Magazine, SnackRiot, and The Save Mart Companies. Over 2,000 fans also were able to vote virtually through Perksy, which provides market research for the mobile generation.
Nightfood, ReThink, Sweetkiwi and Wonder Monday move on to the final, live event at 5 p.m. PST on November 18th where they will compete for $150,000 in marketing support to bring their visions to market with a runner up receiving $100,000 towards the same goal. Registration for the event is available online.
“We had tremendous diversity in our field of semi-finalists this year but ultimately, the four products moving to the finals reflect America’s sweet tooth and our continuing desire for treats that don’t give up taste in favor of function. And the votes through Persky, which polled 2000 consumers on which of these products they would be most interested in buying, support the judge’s decisions,” said John Talbot, CEO of the CMAB. “These creative products are tackling some of consumers bigger concerns around sugar content and lactose sensitivity without sacrificing the taste and texture that make a dessert something special.”
The 12 semi-finalists received $10,000 worth of support each, to develop an edible prototype, while receiving a suite of resources including graphic design, lab or kitchen time and elite mentorship from global marketing, packaging, and distribution experts from companies including Branchfood, Brandology, Bristol Farms, the California Dairy Innovation Center, Diageo, Garrand Moehlenkamp, Heywell, Highlight, Ignite2x, Ketchum, LA Distributing Company, Lemos Jerseys, Mondelēz International, Rodeo, Vori, and Whole Brain Consulting. The total value of competition prizing is over $650,000.
“Great innovators often take something we love and make it better by removing an issue or adding a benefit,” said Fred Schonenberg, Founder of VentureFuel “Each of these entrepreneurs have created delicious products we all love to eat – but now help us optimize our health by delivering on the functional benefits of dairy.”
For the final event, each founder will be presenting to an all-star judging panel of experts from across CPG, retail, venture capital and food science, featuring: Russell Barnett, Managing Director/CMO of My/Mochi Ice Cream, Donna Berry, Editor of the Daily Dose of Dairy, Heather Boyd, Managing Director, RTD of Beam Suntory, Chad Coester, SVP Own Brands at Albertsons Companies, Chris McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com, Julia Bello, Principal, Local Producer Loan Program at Whole Foods, John Talbot, CEO of the California Milk Advisory Board, and Adriano Torres, Senior Director Global Marketing, Dairy & Plant-Based Beverages at Coca-Cola.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be a finalist in this years’ RCM Excelerator program. With support and access to resources from CMAB, we’re looking forward to securing distribution for sleep-friendly Nightfood ice cream sandwiches in hotel lobby shops across the country,” said Nightfood Founder and CEO, Sean Folkson.
“We are so excited to make it to the finals, it was such a shock and means the world to us,” said Sweetkiwi Founder and CEO Ehime Eigbe. “For a small brand that started in my kitchen, I cannot believe how far we have come. Thank you for the CMAB and VentureFuel for this amazing opportunity.”
George T. Haymaker III, Founder and CEO of ReThink Ice Cream shared, “We’re grateful to be moving onto the next stage of the CMAB/VentureFuel Dairy Innovation competition. In terms of what it means for our brand, more than anything it’s validation that others (consumers and CPG experts) feel we are on the right track and have a product of value to offer consumers; that it fills a need not currently being filled by other brands. We are trying to make ice cream as healthy as possible, without taste and texture being negatively affected. We want all people, regardless of health circumstances or restrictions, to have access to a great-tasting, creamy and decadent ice cream experience.”
Candace Wu, Co-Founder of Wonder Monday agreed, “We’re thrilled to be moving on to the finals, and by the reception to our 1g net carb, no sugar added cheesecake. We loved hearing the reactions of the judges when they tried their first bite. We’re glad that everyone loves cheesecake as much as we do! Thanks to CMAB and VentureFuel for giving us this fantastic opportunity.”
California, known for innovation, has a reputation for quality dairy products. As the number one producer of fluid milk in the nation, California also leads the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. More than 1,100 family dairy farms produce the California milk found in fluid milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream and other dairy products identified by the Real California Milk seal.
About the RCM Snackcelerator
The 2021 Real California Milk Excelerator taps into the thriving functional foods market – a market that has grown significantly over the past year and is projected to reach over $275 billion globally by 20251 and focused on early-stage, high-growth companies with a cow’s milk-based product that plays a critical role in personal performance and/or recovery.
About Real California Milk/California Milk Advisory Board
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs. For more information and to connect with the CMAB, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com,Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
About VentureFuel, Inc.
Founded in 2014, VentureFuel is an independent innovation consultancy that builds innovation programs for industry leaders by unlocking the power of external innovation through startup collaboration. Its programs focus on changing behaviors and beliefs in order to unlock new sources of growth. We provide senior leaders with the tools to drive transformative change within their organizations by opening up their teams to new ways of working, products, services and routes to market. Learn more at: www.venturefuel.net, Linked-In, Twitter and Instagram. You can hear The VentureFuel Podcast on Apple, Spotify or Simplecast.
California Farmland Trust (CFT) is proud to announce the permanent protection of 327 acres of farmland two miles east of Los Banos, California. Farmed and owned by Bowles Farming Company, the addition of the Lone Tree Ranch agricultural conservation easement (ACE) exceeds 17,000 acres of total farmland protected by CFT.
Bowles Farming Company is a 160-year-old family farm, with agricultural roots stemming back to the mid-1800s. What started as a cattle and meat processing operation, has since vertically integrated into organic and conventional vegetable and fruit operations. The newly protected property is home to various irrigated field crops.
“California is the right place to grow so many healthy and nutritious crops, and the loss of California farms is a real problem,” said Cannon Michael, president and CEO of Bowles Farming Company. “With our family’s long legacy in farming, we wanted to see this land preserved and not converted to development like so much of the valley’s farmland.”
The farm involves the sixth generation of the Bowles and Lawrence families, making the desire to protect the historical land even greater. Putting these fields under an easement ensures their farming footprint will be available and secure for years to come.
“These subset fields under Bowles Farming Company are unique and valuable, in that they contain high quality soils, reliable water sources, produce high-yielding diversified crops, and incorporate practices which help sequester carbon to offset carbon impacts,” said Chelsea Slaton, conservation director at CFT. “With the growth pressure from the City of Los Banos, the protection of this property signifies the importance of productive farmland protection in order to store carbon and sustain the economy in an area designated by the state as a priority population.”
Funds for this project were made available through the California Strategic Growth Council’s (SGC) Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC), in collaboration with the Department of Conservation (DOC). SALC is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particular in disadvantaged communities.
“This farm has been cared for by two Californian families for over 150 years, and we are thrilled to see the SALC program contribute to its permanent conservation,” said Lynn von Koch-Liebert, executive director at SGC. “Congratulations to the Bowles and Lawrence families and the California Farmland Trust on the easement of this landmark property, which is home to numerous ecological and cultural treasures.”
CFT has worked to permanently protect farmland throughout six counties, with the majority of its ACEs located in Merced County. This property adds to that extensive portfolio in Merced County, where CFT now holds 35 ACEs, with 11,416 acres protected.
The public is invited next week to provide input into the development of a statewide system by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) that will notify the public in advance of pesticide applications occurring near where people live, work or play.
The 2021-22 state budget allocated $10 million to DPR to begin the development of the tool, which will advance environmental justice and further protect public health by providing transparent and equitable access to information on the application of pesticides. This will, in turn, provide an opportunity for people to make their own decisions about any additional precautions they may want to take to protect their health.
“Our goal is to increase transparency and provide equitable access to information about pesticide applications,” said DPR Acting Director Julie Henderson. “This will provide an opportunity for the public to make their own decisions about additional health precautions they want to take to protect themselves and their families. We believe this is also an opportunity to strengthen the engagement between DPR, County Agricultural Commissioners and the communities we serve.”
The webinars are scheduled for:
Details are available on DPR’s website.
The input gathered through this webinar series, in addition to focus group discussions conducted in August 2021 with community members, regulatory agencies, growers, and regulated industries, will inform DPR’s design and development of the system.
DPR and the state’s 56 County Agricultural Commissioners work together to ensure compliance with pesticide laws and regulations, including operating strict enforcement programs, monitoring the use of restricted materials and fumigants, and penalizing illegal pesticide use. DPR’s current regulatory structure provides a strong and enforceable framework for the safe application of pesticides.
“The development of this system will build on DPR and California’s existing regulatory framework, providing the public with the opportunity to receive a real-time notification about pesticide applications occurring nearby,” said Henderson.
The development of this statewide system will include additional public workshops to collect input on the tool’s scope and design, development of a platform that is usable and accessible, and a formal regulatory process. The tool is anticipated to launch in 2023-24.
To learn more about the development of the tool, see DPR’s website.
To receive the latest updates via email, you can subscribe to DPR’s listserv.
California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s mission is to protect human health and the environment by fostering safer and sustainable pest management practices and operating a robust regulatory system to monitor and manage the sale and use of pesticides across the state. DPR’s work includes registering all pesticides sold or used in California, conducting scientific review and evaluation of pesticides to assess and mitigate potential harm to human health or the environment, monitoring for pesticides in the air and water, and enforcing pesticide regulations in coordination with 56 County Agriculture Commissioners and their 400 field inspectors. DPR also conducts outreach to ensure pesticide workers, farmworkers and local communities have access to safety information, and invests in innovative research to encourage the development and adoption of integrated pest management tools and practices. More information about DPR can be found at www.cdpr.ca.gov.
A local infestation of the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) has been detected in a residential area of Vacaville in Solano County. The pest is primarily a threat to grapevines because it can spread a fatal bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease (PD); however, the pest and disease can also impact susceptible types of citrus crops. Five adult GWSS were found Oct. 1 in traps set as part of a broad array designed specifically to detect this pest throughout areas of the state that are not infested. Additional traps have since been deployed at a higher density near those two initial detection sites, detecting approximately 35 additional GWSS. Visual surveys of plant material in the area have also detected egg masses in the same neighborhood. No GWSS or egg masses have been detected outside this immediate area.
Working with the Solano County Agricultural Commissioner’s office and others in the region, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is continuing to survey the area, inform local growers and the broader community, and develop appropriate next steps to eradicate this infestation.
If agricultural officials determine that pesticide treatments are necessary to eradicate this infestation, treatments would be made by ground equipment only and would consist of applications to the root zone and leaves/branches of the host plants to target adult GWSS and provide long-term, systemic protection against re-infestation. In previous eradication projects for this pest, properties with host plants within a 150-meter radius around each detection site were treated.
Residents of affected properties will be invited to a public meeting with officials from CDFA, the county agricultural commissioner’s office, the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to address residents’ questions and concerns. Residents would be notified in writing at least 48 hours in advance of any treatment.
GWSS is an invasive and aggressive vector of PD, which is considered one of the most devastating diseases of grapevines in the world. It currently infests 12 California counties, with established populations across Southern California. While grapevines are the pest’s most famous target, other crops and ornamental plants such as almonds, citrus, stone fruit and various shade trees are also at risk from the PD’s strain of the bacterium.
For additional information and details on the infestation, please visit CDFA’s website here. — Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program