California Ag Network

Category: Ag Economics

  • National Ag, Water Coalition Applauds Senate Passage of Infrastructure Bill

    With nearly two-thirds of the West experiencing extreme or exceptional drought conditions, and more than 90 active wildfires burning across the U.S., a national coalition representing thousands of Western farmers, ranchers, water providers, businesses and communities underscored the significance of Senate passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act today and urged the House to mirror the water provisions in its own infrastructure package.

    “The Western water provisions included in this package represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in a reliable and sustainable water supply that supports our farms, businesses and rural and urban communities. We applaud the bipartisan approach taken by our Senate champions in moving this solution forward at a time of unprecedented drought in the West,” Family Farm Alliance Executive Director Dan Keppen said.

    To address critical Western water supply needs, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes more than $8 billion to repair aging dams and canals; build new surface and groundwater storage and conveyance facilities; fund water conservation and recycling projects; and enhance watershed management and improve ecosystems.

    “With drought conditions continuing to worsen throughout the West, now is the time to invest and make timely improvements in our nation’s water management portfolio. The diverse investments in Western water infrastructure and our national forestlands included in this package will assist farmers, ranchers, water providers and rural communities impacted by wildfires, water shortages and a changing hydrology,” California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson said.

    Importantly, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act aligns with the solutions water managers across the West have requested for years and provides a balanced package of tools that local and regional managers can select from to best resolve the water needs and challenges in their local communities.

    “We need to make major investments, including in water recycling, ecosystem restoration, desalination and storage projects to modernize and upgrade our water infrastructure to ensure local, safe, reliable, high quality water now and in future years. This bipartisan legislation accomplishes that,” Association of California Water Agencies Executive Director Dave Eggerton said.

    Changing Western hydrological conditions and expanding populations require immediate federal investments in repairing aging water infrastructure and developing new sources of water supply. The infrastructure package also represents a historic opportunity to aid in the nation’s economic recovery. Both workers and the economy will benefit from the increased demand for equipment and materials these water projects will require from American companies.

    “With this vote, the Senate has made a historic investment in water infrastructure, which will pay dividends for our communities, our economy and our environment, both now and into the future. We thank the Senate for its vote and encourage the House to take up and pass this critical legislation,” National Water Resources Association Executive Vice President Ian Lyle added.

    “We commend the Senate for taking this historic action. Without access to a safe, reliable and affordable water supply, the long-term viability of our family farms and rural communities in the West are in jeopardy, along with more than 80 percent of all U.S. fruit, vegetable and tree nut production. As the current drought has demonstrated, time is running out, which is why we call on the House to act with urgency and pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act without delay,” Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia said.

    Other provisions in the Act include:

    • Authorization of $303.5 billion from the Highway Trust Fund for roads and bridges over five years;
    • Creation of a competitive grant program to address the surface transportation infrastructure of rural communities;
    • Codification of the One Federal Decision policy, which establishes a two-year goal for completion of environmental reviews for infrastructure projects;
    • Authorization of the Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative, which was previously created under the Trump administration. The ROUTES initiative seeks to support the transportation needs of rural communities; and
    • Authorization of $42.5 billion to carry out a new grant program administered by the Commerce Department to provide grants to states to expand broadband to unserved and underserved areas and help bridge the digital divide.

    “We applaud the bipartisanship that went into the passage of this bill and urge the U.S. House of Representatives to do the same, and in short order,” said Agricultural Retailers Association President and CEO Daren Coppock  “The need for investment in infrastructure has long been a priority for ARA, and we will continue to work to ensure the needs of ag retailers, their farmer customers, and all of rural America are met.”

    The coalition includes more than 220 organizations from 15 states that collectively represent $120 billion in agricultural production—nearly one-third of all agricultural production in the country—and many of the local and regional public water agencies that supply water to more than 75 million urban, suburban and rural residents.

    About Association of California Water Agencies:

    The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) is a statewide association of public agencies whose more than 450 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more than a century, our mission has been clear: To provide comprehensive leadership, advocacy and resources for California public water agencies to ensure a high quality and reliable water supply in an environmentally sustainable and fiscally responsible manner.

    About California Farm Bureau:

    The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 32,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 5.5 million Farm Bureau members.

    About Family Farm Alliance:

    The Family Farm Alliance is a powerful advocate for family farmers, ranchers, irrigation districts, and allied industries in seventeen Western states. The Alliance is focused on one mission – To ensure the availability of reliable, affordable irrigation water supplies to Western farmers and ranchers.

    About National Water Resources Association:

    National Water Resources Association advocates federal policies, legislation, and regulations promoting protection, management, development, and beneficial use of water resources. The association is dedicated to achieving sustainable water supply for all beneficial uses in an economical and environmentally responsible manner.

    About Western Growers:

    Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Our members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce.

    About Agricultural Retailers Association:

    The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) is a nonprofit trade association representing the interests of retailers across the United States on legislative and regulatory issues on Capitol Hill. As the political voice of agricultural retailers, ARA not only represents its membership but also educates members on the political process and important issues affecting the industry. For more information on current legislative and regulatory issues impacting agricultural retailers, visit www.aradc.org.

  • Dairy Families Cite Dramatic Drop in Water Usage in Helping State Endure Record Water Shortfall

    Hard hit by the state’s record drought, California’s dairy families launched a public information campaign designed to highlight their continued investments in technology and innovation to dramatically reduce water use.

    The campaign includes a multi-media effort with statewide radio and digital advertising, public relations effort and partnerships on public radio stations.

    Led by the California Cattle Council, the campaign highlights the leadership of California dairy farmers in reducing water use by 25 percent this year, according to data from the California Dairy Research Foundation. That’s in addition to cutting water use by half since 2000.

    Over the past 50 years, the amount of water used per unit of milk produced has decreased more than 88 percent, primarily due to improved feed crop production and water-use efficiency, reports the Foundation.

    “With our state facing a record drought, California’s dairy families are meeting the challenge of getting the most out of every drop of water,” says Cody Nicholson-Stratton, California Cattle Council Vice Chair and co-owner of Foggy Bottoms Boys dairy farm in Humboldt County. “We’re using recycled water to ensure sustainability, irrigating our farmland more efficiently, and using natural crop byproducts that require no water at all to feed our animals.”

    Nicholson-Stratton says the campaign also stresses that California dairy farming families are leading the world in environmental sustainability.

    Since 2013 California’s dairy farmers have led the world in reducing methane emissions. These voluntary efforts further California’s objective to reduce methane emissions from manure by 40% by 2030. The amount of greenhouse gas emissions per each unit of milk produced also has decreased more than 45 percent, due to increased milk production efficiency, including advancements in genetics, efficiency, nutrition, comfort, and adaption of best management practices he says.

    In addition, a recent report by the Foundation noted that land use required to produce a gallon of milk has been reduced by 89 percent.

    “Our contributions to California’s climate goals are unrivaled throughout the world – as California offers the unique environment where dairy cows can help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Nicholson-Stratton.

    For more information, visit www.greencowca.com.

  • ComBase Bioinformatic Tool Reduces Scourge of Foodborne Illness

    For many, the science of food preservation is not terribly exciting, but each year researchers save thousands of lives and countless belly aches. Although the United States has one of the world’s safest food supplies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says foodborne illness affects about 48 million Americans each year, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths. Food poisoning is most often caused by eating food that’s been contaminated by bacteria or other pathogens.

    No one can control how private citizens prepare and store their own food, but America’s commercial food industry is closely monitored by several state and federal agencies. These agencies have many tools to accomplish that mission, including something called ComBase.

    ComBase is an online quantitative food microbiology database that contains more than 65,000 records collected from research organizations and published scientific articles. The information includes graphical data on how microbes grow, survive, and die under specific conditions, such as temperature and acidity. ComBase also contains food and broth models that predict the growth or inactivation – death – of microorganisms in food.

    ComBase was created in 2003 from a collaboration among the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the United Kingdom’s Institute of Food Research, and Australia’s University of Tasmania. Since 2020, ComBase has been managed by ARS and hosted by the Eastern Regional Research Center (ERCC), in Wyndmoor, PA.

    “Representatives from the regulatory agencies, food companies, allied industry, academic institutions, and consumers in the United States and foreign countries help identify types of information needed to better predict and manage food safety,” said Vijay Juneja, ARS microbiologist at ERCC.

    ComBase data allows food companies to use predictive microbiology to help them design and implement food safety programs, document regulatory compliance, and test new model interfaces. Predictive microbiology states that microbial behavior, under a specific set of environmental conditions, is reproducible and can be predicted with mathematical equations. “In other words,” Juneja said, “it uses mathematics to describe how microorganisms will respond to specific environmental conditions.”

    For example, a food safety professional can search ComBase and retrieve specific information on the growth of a pathogen found in the food. This information could then be used to determine whether the food is safe to sell or consume; all without the need for an expensive and untimely microbiological test.

    “The result,” Juneja said, “is safer food, less foodborne illness, better public health, fewer product recalls, less litigation, and greater consumer confidence, health, and well-being.

    “ComBase saves the food industry millions of dollars a year in testing and other associated costs, as well as helping to prevent recalls and foodborne illness,” Juneja said. — By Scott Elliott, USDA-ARS Office of Communications

  • Napa Valley ADAMVS Winery Welcomes Alberto Bianchi as Winemaker

    Denise Adams, co-owner of ADAMVS, a profound and geologically diverse Estate vineyard resting atop the legendary Howell Mountain, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Alberto Bianchi as Winemaker.  The Adams are also proprietor/vintners of Château Fonplégade, a Grand Cru Classé Château and vineyard in St. Émilion, Bordeaux.

    Bianchi was selected by ADAMVS owners, Denise and Stephen Adams, following an extensive, months-long search for a winemaker who would not only steward ADAMVS wines in the cellar, but rear them from the moment of their inception in the vineyard, working closely alongside Consulting Winemaker, Philippe Melka.

    “During our extensive recruitment process for a new winemaker, we knew this special individual would have to share our passion for purity, balance, and a near-obsessive approach to careful and responsible farming,” said Denise Adams. “We knew he or she would have to speak our language; one of total commitment to wines of integrity, place, purpose and emotion. Alberto Bianchi was a perfect match for our philosophy and vision.”

    Raised in Milan, Italy, Bianchi’s passion for the vine and wine began at the age of seven, while helping his grandfather craft Barbera wine in his cellar, wine that the family enjoyed throughout the year.  It is not just the act of winemaking that has always been of interest to Bianchi, it’s also the “romantic and heroic” nature of viticulture in extreme sites that has ignited the passion and commitment to wine that drives him today.  He believes that the vineyard is the heartbeat of a winery.

    “I’m greatly honored to join the ADAMVS team.  The first time I visited the property I felt an instant connection,” said Bianchi. “Wine is a synonym for culture: it is the pure expression of the land, the soil, the climate and the people.  It’s with great pleasure that I start this amazing journey on Howell Mountain.”

    Bianchi holds a bachelor’s degree in Winemaking and Viticulture from the University of Milan and a double master’s degree in Winemaking and Viticulture from the University of Turin and the University of Lisbon.  After completing his studies, Bianchi travelled extensively throughout Italy, France, Australia, Argentina and New Zealand, experiencing a variety of cultures and characters and winemaking techniques with the different grape varieties, and honing his craft.

    In 2012, Bianchi was selected for LVMH’s Estates & Wines Early Career Winemakers program, where three up-and-coming winemakers are sent to three countries for three years of intensive training and development.  He began in Argentina, as Assistant Winemaker at Terrazas de los Andes, followed by a year at Newton Vineyard on Spring Mountain, Napa, before his final rotation at Cloudy Bay in New Zealand, where winemaker, Tim Heath, became a mentor. “He taught me the importance of being respectful of the wine you have in front of you,” Bianchi said.

    Upon completion of this three-year program, Bianchi returned to Newton in 2016 as Head of Winemaking.  Today, Bianchi possesses the same boyish wonder that he felt as a child assisting his grandparents in Italy.  His quest is to translate the beauty, nature and elements of ADAMVS’ profound and geologically diverse site into elegant wines that will evolve through time.

    ADAMVS offers private tastings and experiences by advance appointment to allocation list members.  For more information, and to join the waitlist, please visit www.adamvs.com or (707) 965-0555.

  • Lodi Winegrape Commission Welcomes New Officers And Members of Board of Directors

    The new 2021-2022 board of directors took office during the July meeting of the Lodi Winegrape Commission. Incumbent alternate Jason Eells joins current commissioners Phil Abba, Bruce Fry, Curt Gillespie, Matt Lauchland, Tom Murphy, Diego Olagaray, Aaron Shinn and Brandon Sywassink. Joe Larranaga joins current alternates Dirk Heuvel, Joan Kautz, Jacylyn Stokes, Todd Maley, Colton Machado, Mitch Spaletta, Garret Schaefer and Scott Armolea.

    Established in 1991 as the grower-centric force behind the Lodi American Viticultural Area (AVA), the Lodi Winegrape Commission represents 750 winegrowers farming more than 100,000 acres of winegrapes. Over the years, the Commission has provided abundant support for the region through marketing, education, research, and sustainable winegrowing programs, cementing Lodi’s leadership in viticulture and elevating its reputation as a premium winegrowing region. The year 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the California-based organization. Comprised of nine commissioners and nine alternates, the board of directors provides direction and input on behalf of the region’s winegrowing community.

    At the July meeting, Shinn was elected chair, Olagaray vice chair, Gillespie secretary, and Sywassink treasurer. Shinn is the co-owner of Round Valley Ranches, Inc. – a Lodi-based, full-service vineyard management company – and a graduate of California State University, Fresno, with a bachelor of science in agriculture business. Shinn has served on the board of directors of the Commission since 2015 and previously served as vice chair (2020-2021). He also serves on the California Winegrape Inspection Advisory Board and is the current chair of the LODI RULES Committee of the Commission.

    “Serving on the board of directors of the Lodi Winegrape Commission for the past six years has been a pleasure,” says Shinn. “I am honored to work alongside such an experienced and committed group on behalf of an entire agricultural community as we continue to move Lodi forward in the areas of recognition, quality, innovation, and sustainability.”

    Moving to commissioner, Eells – a veteran of the United States Navy – is the owner/operator of Arbor Vineyards, Eells Family Farm and Mettler Family Vineyards. Past president of the Lodi District Grape Growers Association (LDGGA) and former member of the board of directors of the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau, Eells says, “I am motivated to continue my service on the board of directors to carry on the efforts to promote higher demand for Lodi winegrapes and wine.” In addition to the board of directors, Eells serves on the Winery Marketing Committee of the Commission.

    Joining as an alternate, Larranaga is the owner of Larranaga Vineyard, a 10-acre block of Cabernet Sauvignon, and farm manager with Pacific Agri Lands vineyard management. After completing an associate degree from San Joaquin Delta College, Larranaga completed a bachelor of science in plant science at California State University, Fresno. Says Larranaga, “My goal is to ensure we are representing Lodi winegrowers in the best ways possible. Through service, I’m looking forward to continuing to learn more about our industry.”

    Stuart Spencer, Lodi Winegrape Commission Executive Director

    “We are lucky to have such a qualified and diverse board of directors that have been so active with the Commission as well as our agricultural community,” commented Lodi Winegrape Commission Executive Director Stuart Spencer. “I am looking forward to working with the group to enhance the image and profitability of the region through the Commission’s primary initiatives of promotion, research, and education.”

    Rolling off the board of directors is commissioner Kendra Altnow of LangeTwins Family Winery & Vineyards. Altnow has served on the board of directors non-consecutively for 11 years, most recently as chair (2019-2021). Altnow continues to be active in Commission initiatives and currently serves on the Grower Marketing Committee.

    About the Lodi Winegrape Commission

    Established in 1991, the Lodi Winegrape Commission represents the common interests of Lodi winegrowers with programs in marketing, education, research, and sustainable viticulture.  The Commission collectively and effectively promotes Lodi’s vibrant, multi-generational farming community and California’s most dynamic wine region. Comprised of nine commissioners and nine alternates, the board of directors provides direction and input on behalf of the region’s 750 winegrowers. For more information about the Lodi Winegrape Commission, visit lodigrowers.com.

  • Dryer, Warmer Night Air Is Worsening Some Western Wildfires

    Firefighters have reported that Western wildfires are starting earlier in the morning and dying down later at night, hampering their ability to recover and regroup before the next day’s flareup.

    A new study suggests why: The drying power of nighttime air over much of the Western U.S. has increased dramatically in the past 40 years. The paper was published in Geophysical Research Letters, the American Geophysical Union (AGU)’s journal for high-impact, short-format reports with immediate implications spanning all Earth and space sciences.

    “Nighttime is an important time in fire management. When fires die down at night it gives firefighters a chance to rest, move equipment and strategize. The problem firefighters are reporting is an unexpected increase in nighttime fire activity,” said lead author Andy Chiodi, a University of Washington research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean & Ecosystem Studies, a joint center with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Our findings support that this has been going on over the last 40 years over much, but not all, of the Western U.S.”

    Earth’s atmosphere is warming due to climate change and warming in many places has been greater at night. Warmer night air had been suspected as the culprit altering the daily pattern of wildfire activity, with burns continuing later into the night.

    The new study, however, shows it’s not just that the night air is warmer. The study found a dramatic shift from 1980 to 2019 in its drying power—how much moisture the nighttime air can carry away from the fuels—over much of the Western U.S. This shift is not captured in climate models, and the authors say it could be related to natural long-term cycles rather than to climate change.

    “We paid special attention to the change in recent years compared to the conditions seen in the ’80s and ’90s, which is when many of the current firefighters started their careers, and presumably formed their ideas about what normal fire behavior should look like,” Chiodi said. “We tried to quantify the changes that we were hearing about from firefighters.”

    MOISTURE DEFICIT

    The study looks at the “vapor pressure deficit,” or the difference between the moisture in the air and the saturation moisture level at that air temperature. This difference is a measure of the air’s drying power.

    “In the southern Sierra Nevada, the average summer nighttime vapor pressure deficit for the recent decade was 50% higher than the average in the ’80s and ’90s,” Chiodi said. “I was surprised—it’s unusual to see geophysical data change that dramatically.”

    Some of this shift in vapor pressure deficit is happening because warmer nighttime air, caused by climate change, produces higher saturation values. But part of the drying power is happening because the nighttime air in some regions has less moisture, and that effect is not predicted by climate change models, at least this much or in this pattern. The authors find a possible connection to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a long-term cycle that can influence inland weather.

    The increased drying power of nighttime air is especially pronounced in California’s San Fernando Valley and in the Bitterroot-Blue Mountain Region—including parts of the Idaho Panhandle, southeast Washington, northeast Oregon and western Montana.

    “Firefighters had been saying for several years that they feel some fires burn later into the evening than they used to,” said co-author Brian Potter at the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory. “We found that in some areas, the amount of water in the air is decreasing, sort of doubling up on the warmer nights. These areas, including where the Snake River Complex and Lick Creek fires are burning right now, are much more likely to have fires burn late into the night.”

    The analysis used hourly weather outputs from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The recently released hourly reconstructions of historical weather allowed investigation of daily cycles.

    The next step, Chiodi said, is to further explore the causes of these changes in nighttime vapor pressure deficit. After that, he hopes to connect the atmospheric conditions more directly to fuel moisture and fire behavior.

    The other co-author is Narasimhan ‘Sim’ Larkin at the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory in Seattle. The research was funded by the U.S. Forest Service through its AirFire research team and by NOAA (grants: 100007298, NA15OAR4320063). — By the University of Washington & the American Geophysical Union

  • Why Mix Varieties of Wheat in a Field?

    You’ve probably heard of the value of diversification in your financial portfolio. Having more than one type of financial investment reduces risk of losing all your money. My research involves lowering risks for farmers who grow wheat in a sustainable practice of crop mixtures.

    A typical wheat field is one variety, a monoculture production. This tends to be common because it is the most efficient method. However, this type of specialization often requires additional inputs, fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals, to maintain the high yields that is expected of modern agriculture. This, in turn, can cause a cycle of reliance on these chemical inputs.

    Various head diseases are shown among the different varieties of wheat in the study. Credit: Julie Baniszewski

    Consider a wheat field with a severe pest infestation, such as aphids or cereal leaf beetle. Once these pests arrive in susceptible wheat field, chemicals may be required to control the pest before it damages the crop. There is risk to hurting beneficial insects like ladybird beetles that might be able to help control the pests naturally. Even ground beetles could be injured. The farmer must control the aphids, as they can kill a lot of the wheat plants – decreasing the food supply and harming the farmer’s profits. But using pesticides also starts to create a loop of continually needing more pesticide application as “good insects” are controlled along with the pests.

    My work involves an alternative solution that reduces risks for farmers and keeps growing a healthy food supply. Our research group is working to create crop mixture systems. Crop mixtures can be intra-specific, containing the same species, or inter-specific, containing different species.

    Aphids, a common pest in wheat, were lightly glued onto cardstock and monitored for 24 hours to quantify predation by native insects. The card on the right shows that four tiny aphids remain; the card the left shows the aphids were consumed by a ladybird beetle. Credit: Julie Baniszewski

    In many cases, interspecific mixtures, also called polycultures, have a different set of challenges in modern agriculture. It’s difficult to use specialized machinery for multiple crops.

    Intraspecific mixtures can be much easier because farmers can manage them as they would a typical monoculture. In the context of a wheat crop, a mixture would consist of two to four varieties of wheat. Each variety would have a different set of traits. One may be high yielding, another resistant to insect pests and yet another resistant to specific diseases. By combining these different sets of traits, the crop is more consistent year to year. The field is more diverse genetically and better able to reduce or withstand pest abundances and diseases – just like diversifying a stock portfolio.

    A wheat field in one year of the researchers’ experiments. Here, different varieties are noticeable because of physical differences – namely color or hue and if the head has awns on it or not. Credit: Julie Baniszewski

    With these wheat mixtures in mind, we created a three-year field experiment to determine if mixtures could:

    • suppress diseases,
    • increase predation of insect pests and
    • increase yield and economic value.

    Each year, we planted a wheat mixture comprised of four varieties. We compared the mixture results to stands with only the single varieties planted separately. We sprayed only half of each plot with chemical pesticides. This was to measure if the mixtures provided an environmental benefit similar to chemical inputs. We quantified insect predation using aphids, diseases, yield, and economic return over variable costs for each of our plots.

    Shown here is the difference of a fungicide application within one variety. The left side of the photo shows the control side of the plot that had no chemical fungicide applied. The slightly darker coloring of the wheat is largely due to disease. The right side of the photo shows the fungicide-sprayed side of the plot. The lighter coloring is healthier wheat, which often also has a few additional days to mature, thereby increasing yield. Credit: Julie Baniszewski

    The yield results were about the same as similar studies, so no surprises there. We found that fields sprayed with fungicides did have higher yields – but only enough to cover the expenses related to fungicide application.

    Some good results: the mixed variety plots had inhibited spread of foliar disease in the field comparable to the fungicide application. Although the wheat mixture was not the highest yielding, nor did it provide the greatest return over variable costs, it did inhibit disease to an extent consistent with a fungicide application – about 20-25%.

    The value of crop mixtures is both a portfolio diversifier and an insurance policy. Although a higher-yielding, single variety wheat field may do well consistently for several years, having the same genetics in the same field has vulnerabilities. In one of those years, there could be a severe pest or disease outbreak, or a severe drought or climate event that that one variety is vulnerable to.

    By using crop mixtures, we increase the genetic diversity and safeguard against a complete crop failure that could occur with that single variety. The genetic diversity from the other combining varieties in mixtures may have disease or pest resistance and may thrive under otherwise stressful climatic conditions. That is, diverse crop mixtures, like financial portfolios, are more stable than any single variety.

    By Julie Baniszewski, Pennsylvania State University, American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America. Our members are researchers and trained, certified, professionals in the areas of growing our world’s food supply while protecting our environment. We work at universities, government research facilities, and private businesses across the United States and the world.

  • Three CA Dairy Companies Receive Dairy Industry Safety Recognition Award

    The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) today recognizes 34 dairy companies (including three from California) for their outstanding achievements in worker safety in 2020 with the IDFA Dairy Industry Safety Recognition Award. This is the eighteenth year that IDFA has sponsored this program, highlighting the outstanding workplace safety achievements of U.S. dairy companies.

    “In announcing these dairy companies as safety award winners, the dairy industry continues to demonstrate that safety in the workplace is the dairy industry’s number one priority,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO. “Each award represents the success of the innovative and proactive approaches to workplace safety by dairy company safety teams. Every day, year after year, dairy companies go above and beyond to provide a safe and productive work environment. Consumers and customers of dairy foods companies value how these innovations help to deliver safe, wholesome and nutritious food to people around the world.”

    Each company applied by detailing their occupational injury and illness performance rates as well as a providing a narrative essay on safety efforts at the facility. Evaluations and awards were based on a review of injury statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and judged by Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., of Fisher & Phillips LLP, Kathie Canning of Dairy Foods magazine, and Taylor Boone of IDFA.

    “Lagging indicators such as lost time injury and illness rates and DART rates do not give the full picture of how good a company safety and health program is,” said Foulke, Jr. “Moving towards utilizing leading indicators such as a strong culture of worker safety including continuous improvement, continuous education, engagement for employees and observations by managers and employees are more effective ways to improve a good safety and health program. Clearly, many members of the International Dairy Foods Association are utilizing, not only lagging indicators, but are now focusing in on leading indicators which will dramatically enhance their safety and health programs. These awards demonstrate that companies’ understanding of how and why a strong safety culture is such an integral part of any dairy facility operation.”

    “These awards show that the dairy industry is driven not only to produce nutritious and delicious dairy products, but to do so as part of a company-wide safety culture,” said Taylor Boone, IDFA regulatory affairs coordinator.

    A full list of the winners is here.

    Criteria for Success

    The award program includes categories for both processing facilities and trucking operations in the dairy industry. IDFA issued a total of 34 awards; in addition to 28 Outstanding Facility safety award winners, IDFA recognized 6 companies as Most Improved Facility award winners based on significant decreases in recordable-injury cases and the rate of days away from work, restrictions and transfers (DART) for each of the last two years when compared to all other facilities that applied.

    The 2021 winners will also be featured on DairyFoods.com. IDFA will issue a call for nominations for the next Dairy Industry Safety Recognition Awards competition in early 2022. To learn more, visit our awards page on ida.org.

  • Detection of Citrus Disease (HLB) in San Diego County Establishes New Quarantine Area

    The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has declared a quarantine in north San Diego County following the detection of the citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, in two citrus trees on one residential property in the city of Oceanside. This is the first time the plant disease, which does not harm people but is deadly to citrus, has been detected in San Diego County. CDFA is working with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner on this cooperative project.

    The detection will require a mandatory 68-square-mile quarantine area around the find site to restrict the movement of citrus fruit, trees and related plant material. The quarantine area is bordered on the north by Stagecoach at Camp Pendleton; on the south by Tamarack Ave in Carlsbad; on the west by the Pacific Ocean; and on the east by North Santa Fe in Vista. HLB quarantine maps for San Diego County are available online at: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/hlb/regulation.html. Please check this link for future quarantine expansions, should they occur. An HLB quarantine area currently exists in parts of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where more than 2,400 trees have tested positive for the disease and have been removed.

    The quarantine prohibits the movement of all citrus nursery stock or plant parts out of the quarantine area. Provisions exist to allow the movement of commercially cleaned and packed citrus fruit. Fruit that is not commercially cleaned and packed must not be moved from the property on which it is grown, although it may be processed and/or consumed on the premises. This includes residential citrus, such as oranges, lemons, grapefruit and kumquats.

    Residents are urged to take several steps to help protect citrus trees:

    – Do not move citrus plants, leaves or foliage into or out of the quarantine area or across state or international borders. Keep it local.
    – Cooperate with agricultural officials placing traps, inspecting trees and treating for the pest.
    – If you no longer wish to care for your citrus tree, consider removing it so it does not become a host to the pest and disease.

    HLB is a bacterial disease that affects the vascular system of citrus trees and plants. It does not pose a threat to humans or animals. The Asian citrus psyllid can spread the bacteria as the pest feeds on citrus trees and plants. Once a tree is infected, there is no cure; the tree will produce bitter and misshaped fruit and die within a few years.

    CDFA staff are scheduling removal of the infected trees and are in the midst of surveying citrus trees in a 250-meter radius around the detection site to determine if any other trees are infected with HLB. A treatment program for citrus trees to reduce Asian citrus psyllid infestations will also be conducted within 250-meter radius of the find site. By taking this action, a critical reservoir of the disease and its vectors will be removed, which is essential to protect surrounding citrus from this deadly disease.

    CDFA, in partnership with the USDA, local County Agricultural Commissioners, and the citrus industry, continues to pursue a strategy of controlling the spread of the Asian citrus psyllid while researchers work to find a cure for the disease.

  • NMPF, NCFC Lead Coalition Call for Climate-Smart Ag Investments

    The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) today led a coalition of 12 agricultural and conservation organizations on a letter advocating for significant new funding for climate-smart agricultural practices that can help farmers to build on their environmental stewardship leadership.

    Congressional efforts toward infrastructure legislation provide opportunities for substantial new investments in conservation support, with more emphasis on climate-smart agricultural practices. USDA conservation financial incentives provide farmers with voluntary technical assistance to carry out numerous stewardship practices. But more can be done to enhance practices that can yield meaningful environmental benefits, such as climate-smart manure and feed management on dairy farms.

    “Dairy farmers are proactive stewards of their land and water resources, but they are always seeking to innovate further. Dairy farmers in 2020 committed to become carbon-neutral or better by 2050 and maximize water quality around the country. Bolstering conservation investment and focusing on climate-smart practices better positions dairy farmers to fulfill the dairy sector’s 2050 environmental stewardship goals as envisioned in the Net Zero Initiative,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF.

    “America’s farmer co-ops and their producer-owners stand ready to help address the global challenge posed by climate change. Increasing conservation funding for climate-friendly farming practices is essential to giving them the tools they need to do that and to continue their stewardship of our shared natural resources,” said Chuck Conner, president and CEO of NCFC.

    NMPF, NCFC, and their colleagues call in the letter for increased spending on conservation incentives, including strong technical and financial assistance, with a greater focus on climate-smart practices. The organizations also support new rural broadband resources in pending infrastructure legislation. The letter also reiterates the major concerns that many of its signers have already voiced regarding several proposed changes to tax policy that would undermine the transfer of family farms from one generation to the next.

    Organizations joining NMPF and NCFC on the letter include the Agricultural Retailers Association, American Seed Trade Association, CropLife America, National Association of Conservation Districts, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Farmers Union, National Potato Council, Produce Marketing Association, and U.S. Apple Association.

    About the National Milk Producers Federation

    The National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF’s member cooperatives produce more than two-thirds of U.S. milk, making NMPF dairy’s voice on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more, visit www.nmpf.org.

    About the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives

    Since 1929, the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives has been the voice of America’s farmer cooperatives. Our members are regional and national farmer cooperatives, which are in turn composed of nearly 2,000 local farmer cooperatives across the country. NCFC members also include 26 state and regional councils of cooperatives. Farmer cooperatives allow individual farmers the ability to own and lead organizations that are essential for continued competitiveness in both the domestic and international markets.