Arnulfo Solorio has been named the 2022 Napa Valley Grower of the Year. Solorio (“Nufo”) is a Partner and Vice President of Operations at Silverado Farming Company, where he has served in leadership roles since 2002.
Nufo served three 3-year terms on the Napa Valley Grapegrowers Board of Directors, as the first Hispanic person to serve in that capacity. His legacy may, however, be the creation of the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation in 2010. Nufo was passionate about starting the Foundation as a way to provide professional development and educational opportunities to farmworkers and their families. The Farmworker Foundation now serves thousands of people each year through its programs in literacy, leadership, vocational training, mentorship, and community participation. Arnulfo serves as a Director on its Board and is currently Chair of the Farmworker Education Committee.
Nufo was born in Patzimaro, Michoacan, Mexico. From a young age, he dreamed of going to school, but his family were ranchers in Mexico, and he was told: “Books do not feed you; animals and land do.”
Following his dreams, Nufo travelled to Napa at the age of 14, but quickly realized in order to get an education, he needed money. He began working at Charles Krug as a field worker and mechanic’s assistant while following crops through Arizona, California, and Washington. He eventually worked his way through school and was able to enroll in Napa Valley College in 1984. Since he began at the college, he has completed enough courses to receive three Associates Degrees – while working full-time and raising a family. That he had energy left to volunteer through the Napa Valley Grapegrowers and make such a difference in our community is testament to his work ethic and strong sense of self.
Solorio was the first person in his family to become documented, become a citizen, and go to school. He has worked as a vineyard manager for some of the most storied of Napa’s properties, including Franciscan, Domaine Chandon, Mondavi, Charles Krug, and Tonella Family.
He strongly believes education is the key to success and that learning never stops. Beyond managing operations and personnel at Silverado Farming Company, he is part of the team that develops training, education, personal growth, and reward programs for employees. He believes that empathy and compassion are the key to successful leadership.
NVG President Michael Silacci noted, “It is no wonder that someone as thoughtful, humble, and passionate as Arnulfo hatched the idea of the Farmworker Foundation. We are grateful for his tireless efforts in the community and his leadership within the Napa Valley Grapegrowers”.
Nominations for the Grower of the Year come from the NVG membership. The recipient is chosen by a special Selection Committee made up of Past Presidents, current Directors, and active committee members. The award criteria include: a strong commitment to sustainable practices; recognized leadership in agricultural preservation; dedicated community focus, contributions to the Napa Valley Grapegrowers; and someone who actively promotes Napa’s reputation for the highest quality vineyards.
About the Napa Valley Grapegrowers
The Napa Valley Grapegrowers is a non-profit trade organization that has played a vital role in strengthening Napa Valley’s reputation as a world-class viticultural region for 46 years. Its mission is to preserve and promote Napa Valley’s world-class vineyards. NVG represents 685 Napa County grape growers and associated businesses.
For more information, visit our website Napa Valley Grapegrowers
Today, Sonoma County Winegrowers took another step forward in being leaders in sustainability as they announced a complimentary one-year subscription to Ford Pro Telematics to every winegrape farmer in Sonoma County. The announcement arrives on the heels of the exciting collaboration between Sonoma County Winegrowers and Ford Pro which also includes a pilot program with three Sonoma County winegrape farmers who have agreed to adopt Ford Pro electric vehicles, charging stations and software solutions into their operations. It is all part of an effort to improve bottom lines, operational efficiencies and reduce carbon emissions. Early insights from fleet monitoring software, Ford Pro Telematics, installed into pilot farmers existing gas vehicle operations have already proven to show benefits.
“I am most interested to gain insight on our fleet in real time. How long are our vehicles idling and what is the cost for that,” said Marissa Ledbetter, owner of Vino Farms and one of the three pilot farmers in Sonoma County. She added, “To be able to gain insight on all our vehicles, measure it day over day, week over week, will provide me with a level of insight I have never had access to before.”
The intent is to let all farmers experience the many benefits of telematics so they can learn how it will make them more efficient in their vehicle use, lower their operating costs and lower greenhouse gas emissions. This continues the innovation, climate and thought leadership of the local Sonoma County winegrape farmers and is an important milestone to engage all of the farmers in this collaboration and learning.
“Since the announcement of our collaboration with Ford Pro at the beginning of this year, there has been an overwhelming response from our farmers wanting to participate in going electric on their farms and optimizing their fleet management,” said Karissa Kruse, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Growers. She added, “Given that interest, there is no better day than Earth Day to announce that SCW is offering free installation and one-year service of Ford Pro telematics for all winegrowers in the County. This is a win-win for our growers and the environment. A true tribute to caring for our planet”
Ford Pro Telematics software is a product offered on the Ford Pro Intelligence cloud-based platform, designed to help small businesses optimize their fleet of vehicles by providing always-on access to vehicle health reports and other data that will help the vehicle owner to reduce operating costs, help improve fuel consumption and identify maintenance needs in addition to monitoring and improving driver behaviors.
One of the most critical tools for a farmer is their vehicles which, on average, log up to 50,000 miles a year and make up 10% of a farm’s assets. Understanding vehicle usage, down-time and idling in addition to transitioning fleet operations to electric vehicles will help support the sustainability mission for Sonoma County farmers while helping Sonoma County Winegrowers bring these best practices to farmers across the country.
“The goal of this offer is to provide every grower with ability to use and learn firsthand how telematics can make them more efficient using their work vehicle, lowering their operating costs and lowering greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kruse. “The farm of the future is right here right now in Sonoma County. We are proud to be part of the progress in climate stewardship.”
About Sonoma County Winegrowers
Sonoma County Winegrowers (SCW) was established in 2006 as a marketing and educational organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Sonoma County as one of the world’s premier grape growing regions. With more than 1,800 growers, SCW’s goal is to increase awareness and recognition of the quality, sustainability and diversity of Sonoma County’s grapes and wines through dynamic marketing and educational programs targeted to wine consumers and influencers around the world. In 2014, Sonoma County’s winegrowing community embarked on a major initiative to have all Sonoma County vineyards certified sustainable. Today, 99% of the vineyard acreage in Sonoma County has completed certification by a third-party auditor making Sonoma County the most sustainable winegrowing region in the world. SCW’s sustainability efforts have been recognized with California’s highest environmental honor, the 2016 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA). Learn more at www.sonomawinegrape.org
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) today awarded $3.75 million to fund 10 research projects that explore Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tools for urban, non-agricultural and agricultural pest management. The 2021-2022 DPR Grants Programs funded by the state budget represent a 617% increase from the previous year’s funding to accelerate the transition to safer, more sustainable pest management.
“The grant projects we are funding today are critical to developing and expanding innovative practices and biological, non-chemical and physical tools to manage pests in agriculture, urban and other non-agricultural communities,” said DPR Director Julie Henderson. “The research will support the state’s work to accelerate a systemwide transition to safer, more sustainable pest management and better protect human health and the environment.”
DPR’s Research Grants Program funds projects that advance IPM, an approach that uses the least-toxic, effective method to solve pest problems. In the last decade, DPR has awarded $9,702,819 in research grants.
Research projects funded for agricultural pest management:
Investigating a pesticide-free mating disruption approach using vibrational signals to control the spotted lanternfly, which presents particular risk to grapes, hops, apples and stone fruit, along with maple, poplar, walnut and willow trees. Spotted lanternfly is one of the most damaging invasive insects nationwide and has already caused significant harm to crops and landscapes across 11 states. This research will be led by Dr. Rodrigo Krugner at the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS).
Evaluating an IPM approach that will disrupt insect behavior by targeting and interfering with a pest’s biological processes and minimizing possible unintended effects to other organisms. The project will evaluate the use of this tool for controlling diamondback moth and western flower thrips that impact California vegetable crops such as lettuce. This research will be led by Dr. Daniel Hasegawa at USDA ARS.
Assessing a biocontrol system for the management of tadpole shrimp in rice. Tadpole shrimp usefully eat some early season weeds but can cause damage to rice later in their lifecycle. To preserve their role in controlling weeds but diminish the shrimp’s later impact on the rice harvest, predator mosquito fish will be introduced mid-season to control the shrimp’s population when necessary. This research will be led by Dr. Ian Grettenberger at UC Davis.
Testing two emerging IPM technologies for agricultural use, the automatic release of biocontrol organisms using flying drones, and precision spray application technology, which uses much less pesticide than applying pesticide sprays using current techniques. This research will be led by Dr. Ian Grettenberger at UC Davis.
Developing an IPM software decision-making tool for pistachio growers that helps reduce pesticide use by guiding more precise pesticide applications when chemical use is necessary. This IPM tool leverages smart technology to help growers transition from routine preventative spraying to more limited threshold-based chemical use. This research will be led by Dr. Themis Michailides at UC Davis.
Research projects funded for urban and agriculture pest management:
Studying the use of a reduced-risk ”attract-and-kill” approach as an effective alternative to urban and agricultural pesticide spray programs for managing South American palm weevils, a pest that damages date palms in urban and agricultural environments. “Attract-and-kill” strategies use pheromones that attract the target pest to a small amount of pesticide that kills the insect, as opposed to spraying a large quantity of pesticide over an area to control pest populations. This research will be led by Dr. Mark Hoddle at UC Riverside.
Studying the impact and potential of using insect growth regulators that target Argentine ants for pest control in urban and agricultural environments. Insect growth regulators are new, safer pest management tools that pose a much lower risk of causing unintended damage to beneficial insects when compared to many traditional insecticides. This research will be led by Dr. Dong-Hwan Choe at UC Riverside.
Research projects funded for urban and nonagricultural pest management:
Testing non-chemical entrapment methods for trapping, monitoring and eliminating bedbugs, a significant public health pest that disproportionately affects low-income Californians. This research will be led by Dr.Catherine Loudon at UC Irvine.
Creating a new set of guidelines for effectively identifying and managing biting mites, a common, but poorly understood indoor pest that is often misidentified and incorrectly managed. This research will be led Dr. Andrew Sutherland at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR).
Assessing a baiting system for detecting western drywood termites to reduce the number of unnecessary fumigation treatments in California homes, especially in Southern California where termites represent a significant pest problem. This system would indicate when active termite infestations have returned and if preventative treatment is needed, greatly decreasing the amount of high-risk pesticide use in homes. This research will be led by Dr. Dong-Hwan Choe at UC Riverside.
For more information on past recipients of DPR’s Grants Program, please visit DPR’s Grants Program webpage.
ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF PESTICIDE REGULATION
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation protects human health and the environment by fostering safer and sustainable pest management practices and operating a robust regulatory system to evaluate and register pesticides and monitor and regulate their sale and use across the state.
DPR’s work includes conducting scientific evaluations of pesticides to assess and mitigate potential harm to human health or the environment prior to and following registration, registering all pesticides prior to sale or use in California, monitoring for pesticides in the air and water, and enforcing pesticide laws and regulations in coordination with 55 County Agricultural Commissioners and their combined 400 field inspectors across the state’s 58 counties. DPR invests in innovative research, outreach, and education to encourage the development and adoption of integrated pest management tools and practices and conducts outreach to ensure pesticide workers, farmworkers and local communities have access to pesticide safety information. More information about DPR.
Thanks to the warming climate, the potential for more severe nighttime wildfires is increasing, and warmer nights mean firefighters will not be able to rely on cooler temperatures to help them get a handle on fires, a new study shows.
Forty years ago, cool, moist nights regularly provided relief to firefighters, and “flammable nights” that facilitated fire activity were rare. Now, because of climate change and warmer overnight temperatures, there are 11 more flammable nights every year in the U.S. West — a 45 percent spike, the team found.
“Our evidence shows the candle literally burning at both ends in terms of extending the diurnal cycle of fire activity,” said UC Merced climatologist Professor John Abatzoglou, one of the co-authors of the study published today in the journal Nature. “This study adds to the rich body of science documenting significant changes in the fire environment in recent decades that obviously have played out here in California and the western U.S.”
The study was led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Earth Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder and included authors from UCLA and Boise State University.
“Night is the critical time for slowing a speeding fire — and wildfire’s night brakes are failing,” said Earth Lab Director Jennifer Balch, lead author.
The new analysis relied on a key measurement of the thirst of the atmosphere — the Vapor Pressure Deficit or VPD. When the VPD is relatively low, the air is cool and moist, and fires cannot thrive. Fire suppression operations take advantage of these nighttime conditions to squelch flames. But when the VPD is high, the air is hot and dry, parched and primed for burning.
And in a first: the team analyzed satellite observations and hourly climate data for 81,000 global fires to pinpoint the VPD tipping point when it becomes hot and dry enough to burn at night. The researchers found one full week of additional flammable nights per year in burnable lands across the globe in the last 40 years. And in the western United States, they increased by 45 percent.
The team also used a novel remote sensing and modeling technique to evaluate fire progression hourly for tens of thousands of fire events and found globally, night fires became 7.2 percent more intense from 2003–2020. In the U.S. West, that number was much higher: 28 percent.
People tend to pay more attention to daytime conditions, but the nighttime really matters: Human-caused climate change has comparatively warmed the night more than the day over the past seven decades — and it’s only going to get worse from here, the team said.
“We really don’t need yet another reason to keep ourselves up at night, but with warming nights enabling nocturnal fires — here we are,” Abatzoglou said.
California has endured a series of historic fire seasons in recent years exacerbated by several factors, including extreme drought and heat. Ongoing changes in climate in the context of these fire seasons have increased the urgency to scale-up proactive land management to limit negative fire impacts to society and ecosystems, he said.
The past few fire seasons, including the Colorado fire near Big Sur in dry, windy late January, further highlight the importance of better understanding the climate-related drivers of wildfire. In 2021, California experienced more than 8,600 fires that burned more than 2.5 million acres. — By Lorena Anderson, University of California Merced & Katherine Weeman, University of Colorado Boulder
If you enjoy a glass of California wine, chances are good that Brenda Wolgamott had something to do with it. She manages 3,000 acres of vineyards along the Golden State’s Central Coast for the Wine Group in Ripon, the second largest wine company in the world marketing around 60 different brands.
Wolgamott, also a Certified Crop Advisor (CCA), and Rebecca Kraup, a CCA with Helena Agri, Yara International’s Retailer, were honored as 2021 4R Advocates by The Fertilizer Institute last month during the annual Commodity Classic event in New Orleans, Louisiana. The presentation of their award was delayed one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 4R Advocate Award program recognizes farmers and fertilizer retailers for their commitment to nutrient stewardship using the 4Rs, or the right fertilizer source, at the right rate, the right time and in the right place. Using 4R practices, farmers improve their return on nutrient inputs and decrease environmental impact. The 4R Advocate Award program is one component supporting the recent announcement that the fertilizer industry has committed to having 70 million acres under 4R Nutrient Stewardship Management by 2030. In addition to sharing their stories during Commodity Classic, the pair supported TFI and its 4R education efforts last year.
“4R Nutrient Stewardship is a priority for the fertilizer industry, plus it’s a tangible solution for thousands of farmers across America who are seeking fertilizer application practices that have real-world, positive impacts on their bottom lines and their land,” said Corey Rosenbusch, TFI President and CEO “We are proud of our industry’s retailers who work with growers to implement these practices at the field level.”
Making great wine takes great grapes. And growing premium wine grapes takes an intense attention to the details of nutrient management, pest control and irrigation. “My approach is having balanced soil fertility,” Wolgamott says. That’s where the 4R concept becomes critical.
Plant tissue and soil samples are taken at key timings to ensure that adequate nutrition is available to the crop at the right time. The tissue samples are GPS plotted to monitor the vineyard over the year. A nitrogen management program is in place to ensure the vines receive the precise amount needed for foliage growth, but not too much so the leaves overwhelm the grapes and give the red wines vegetative flavor notes.
She incorporates the use of an in-house drone and works with a Syngenta program that takes infrared pictures that show stress spots.
Fertigation through a drip system both irrigates and fertilizes the vines, allowing precise nutrient application of the right nutrient at the right time. In addition, she uses foliar application as needed. All the information goes into Agrian, a software program that combines data from multiple sources to give Brenda the information she needs for scouting and nutrient recommendations.
Wolgamott’s vineyards are certified by the California Sustainability Winegrowing Program. A focus of her sustainability efforts is carbon sequestration. Cover crops consisting largely of native grass species protect the fields and provide mulch. Prunings and clippings are also used as mulch, which promotes water conservation and reduces the carbon footprint. ‘We’re doing some trials with different cover crops and how well we can store more carbon,” she adds.
When Wolgamott took over the vineyards, she was dealing with older vines, some of which have compromised root systems. At the time, some blocks were producing around 3 tons per acre of grapes on a very high fertilizer budget.
In the last five years, yields have increased to 6 to 8 tons per acre, depending on the winemaker’s preference for grape quality, all while decreasing the amount of nutrient inputs. The fertilizer budget decreased from $324 per acre to just under $140, a savings of more than $552,000. This increase in efficiency is due to a focus on the right timing and right source of nutrients.
Additional 4R practices include:
4R Advocate Program recognizes exemplary farmers, retailers
In 2012, TFI began annually recognizing five farming operations and their retailer partners who diligently follow 4R practices and document their progress as 4R Advocates. Throughout each year, the advocates help promote understanding of the 4Rs during trade shows, media interviews and local educational events.
“The 110 4R Advocates recognized since the program began collectively represent more than 270,000 acres on a variety of cropping systems in 25 states,” said Peyton Harper, TFI Director, Retail and Field Sustainability. “From carrots to tomatoes and wheat to wine grapes, the types of farms, their owners and retail partners demonstrate the practical application of 4R stewardship practices in a diverse mix of crops, climates and land types.”
“On behalf of Malcolm Media and our partners at UPL, I am very excited to announce the realization of an initiative that has been in the planning stages to serve grape and nut growers for a long time,” shares Dan Malcolm, Publisher of American Vineyard and Pacific Nut Producer Magazines.
What started as a school video project inspired Malcolm Media to create a series of videos that will tell the stories of individual growers, not just to share within the industry, but with the real purpose of sharing the stories of farmers with the general public. ““A Grower’s Story” will serve to introduce our urban neighbors to the good people who grow the food we all consume,” Malcolm reports.
As told by Emmy Award winning documentarian Joseph Malcolm, “A Grower’s Story” is part of the ongoing commitment at Malcolm Media to serve the agricultural community. By telling the stories of grape and nut growers, providing farmers a platform from which to tell their own stories, this facilitates a relationship to develop in the hearts and minds of people everywhere with their rural benefactor. It could certainly be argued that consumers need to know about the food they eat, but more importantly, if they could learn from growers themselves, getting to know more personally the good people who feed the world, we can establish bonds between farmers and consumers that will make us all friends.
“We want to provide growers with success in farming,” Malcolm explains. “It is so important in our current climate that there be positive buzz about growers and their endeavors so that they may be free to feed the world without misunderstandings that often occur when there is minimal or incomplete information available to those wanting to know more. We at Malcolm Media believe it is key to grower success that we invest and help share with our friends who consume the bounty which growers provide, the work and deeds of good farmers. This is what “A Grower’s Story” is all about.”
UPL, a leader in global food systems and one of the top five agricultural solutions companies worldwide, also has vision to help spread the good word of what growers do and have generously invested to assist Malcolm Media in the creation and worldwide distribution of short “A Grower’s Story” documentaries that will tell the stories of the people who grow food. “We are so grateful that our good friends at UPL are enthusiastically partnering through funding the “A Grower’s Story” initiative for 2022,” Malcolm shared.
Malcolm Media will publicize this video series utilizing their own in-house social media tools, both print and digital (American Vineyard, Pacific Nut Producer, AmericanVineyardMagazine.com, PacificNutProducer.com, CaliforniaAgNet.com), as well as new tools specifically developed for the purpose of outreach to the general public, outside their traditional ag channels. GrapeGrower.org and NutGrower.org were launched on April 1st for this exclusive purpose of hosting “A Grower’s Story” three to five minute non-commercial documentaries. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, Malcolm Media will use social media and other means to get viewership of many more outside of agriculture to elevate the image of growers and those who work in farming to consumers. A Grower’s Story has been launched on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn for the purpose of connecting with the community. The goal is to reach as many as possible with positive messages about grape and nut growers, the good people they are and the essential work they do.
Beginning in April, Malcolm Media will begin to distribute “A Grower’s Story” documentaries regularly through the end of 2022 to feature twelve growers this year. The plan is to continue beyond 2022 with as many stories as there are to be told, reaching as many members of the general public, making new friends for agriculture, for many years to come.
Joseph Malcolm first took an interest in video journalism as a high school student at Buchanan High School in Clovis, California, where he graduated valedictorian in 2018. As part of an advanced and award winning team of student journalists, he learned skills behind the camera, and earned the opportunity to serve as an on camera personality telling the stories of members of their campus community. Under the tutelage of Digital Filmmaking/Videography teacher Dan Pearce, Joseph learned his craft through participation in the production of regular broadcasts, commercials, music videos, and documentary storytelling, for which he won his first Emmy at the ripe young age of 18, titled “A Grower’s Story.”
“With the directing and camera skills of documentarian and photojournalist Joseph Malcolm, we are confident stories will be told that will bring farmers into the hearts of people everywhere,” shares Malcolm. “We are so excited to serve our grape and nut industry community in this unique and heartfelt way, and have ultimately envisioned an extensive collection of “A Grower’s Story” documentaries representing all of the industries we serve.”