With promotable volume of California grapes available through December, retail promotion and consumer advertising continue through year-end in the U.S., and in Canada, Mexico, and other key export markets, according to Kathleen Nave, president of the California Table Grape Commission. Noting that harvest is still underway in some areas, Nave said that in a typical season California ships grapes throughout the U.S. and to multiple export markets into January and this year looks to be no different.
“The U.S. is a good market for California grapes,” Nave said, “and even better this season in terms of demand and price than it has been in recent years.” Noting that the U.S. retail commitment to stick with California through December – as opposed to focusing on imported grapes – remains strong, Nave added that Canada, Mexico, and Central America have all been particularly good markets this season with exports to Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan steady, in spite of the worldwide shipping issues.
In the U.S. and Canada, Nave said late season retail promotions include sales contests, retailer tagged media support, and retail dietitian consumer-based outreach programs; advertising on digital television, social media platforms, digital and terrestrial radio, and shopping apps are part of the mix. Advertising continues in December in Mexico and key markets in Central America, with retail promotions scheduled in those export markets and multiple others.
According to Nave the 2021 crop volume has been tracking close to that of 2020 for most of the season. The 2020 crop volume was 101.1 million 19-pound boxes with 20 million boxes shipped after November 15.
With its stated goal to preserve the legacy of agriculture in Sonoma County, the Women Gaining an Edge (WG Edge), a local leadership development program aimed at strengthening the region’s agricultural workforce, announced today that it will make a grant to the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation to administer the program.
WG Edge was created by Judy Jordan, formerly of J Vineyards and Winery and founder of Geodesy Wine, with the goal of advancing the next generation of women leaders in agriculture and wine. Core tenets of the program include scholarships for women studying ag at SRJC, internship opportunities through business leaders, and connectivity to a network of women leaders in the local wine and ag community who advise and open doors for the recipients on their career paths.
“We are excited because WG Edge and the Grape Growers Foundation are aligned in our missions to be a champion for and strengthen our agricultural workforce, who are critical to sustaining farming in Sonoma County,” said Jordan. She added, “Working together to build future leaders we believe will amplify the positive impact on our ag community.”
Supporting the next generation in Sonoma County is critical to the health of Sonoma County’s workforce. As with many areas in the country, in recent years, Sonoma County has experienced a notable loss of younger members of the workforce who have moved to bigger cities and other states in search of better opportunities. If Sonoma County can provide a pool of skilled talent, there will be qualified people who can assume leadership positions and help preserve locally owned companies and ranches.
To address this challenge, WG Edge was established with a big vision and goal to lift up young women in ag and surround them with support. The program has been very successful with 85% of the participants gaining internships during their first year in the program and program “graduates” going on to four-year universities.
“We are thrilled and honored to work with Judy, her team, and WG Edge on this important program to support younger women aspiring to work in agriculture and to participate in their development as local leaders,” said Karissa Kruse, president of Sonoma County Winegrowers and the executive director of the Sonoma County Grape Grower Foundation. She added, “I have personally been part of the WG Edge mentor network over the past two years and have seen firsthand the value of supporting the next generation of women to reach their full potential. We recently surveyed nearly 1,000 vineyard workers in Sonoma County and learned that 90% of them would recommend agriculture to their family and friends. Now with the WG Edge program grant, we are able to create more opportunities for families to thrive and preserve our agricultural legacy in Sonoma County.”
The Department of Viticulture and Enology at Fresno State has a new assistant professor joining the faculty. This new assistant professor is Dr. Runze Cliff Yu. A Fresno State V&E alumnus, Yu finished his master’s degree at Fresno State in 2016 before moving on to UC Davis. He earned his PhD degree in June 2020 there and stayed for another year as a post-doctoral researcher.
Yu is excited to share his knowledge and experiences with the students in the department. Yu also has an extensive research background. Working with his advisor Dr. Kaan Kurtural for many years, his research focuses on the current issues Central Valley wine grape growers have been experiencing, such as drought, heat and labor. He is planning to conduct research around these topics.
“Teaching and research should be mutually inclusive in viticulture,” said Yu. “We need to provide our students with the latest research and innovations. They are the future of this industry and will need to be equipped to solve problems and move the industry forward.”
Yu is very happy to back in the department. “It feels like coming back home,” he said. “I look forward to working with both students and grape growers to do my part to further the success of the grape industry.”
Smoke taint has dominated the worries of the California wine industry recent years. With unsettled climate conditions and continued droughts, there is no reason to think that smoke taint will not continue to be a significant concern for the foreseeable future. In 2017 and 2020, California growers and wineries both had to scramble to adapt as they found that existing science, customs and contractual arrangements left them ill-prepared to deal with the smoke taint challenge. Avoiding a similar situation once smoke taint inevitably strikes again means understanding the problem and having a strategy in place to address it.
What is smoke taint?
Drinking smoke-tainted wine has been compared to tasting a campfire or an ashtray: most would agree that these are not desirable attributes for wine. These off flavors are caused by volatile phenols that are released by plant matter when it burns. The volatile phenols bond with sugars in the grapes, which produces glycosides. Unlike volatile phenols, glycosides are not volatile, so the smoky quality cannot be smelled or tasted.
The Problem of Uncertainty
During a typical crush, grapes are harvested in the field, delivered to the winery crush pad, inspected, accepted if there are no obvious signs of defects, and the fermentation process begins. If the winery buys the grapes from a grower, acceptance typically obligates the winery to pay the grower, with payment due shortly after harvest, or in installments, the first shortly after harvest and the second a few months later.
However, one of the biggest challenges of smoke taint is its latency. In effect, volatile phenols hibernate: Glycosides become volatile as the wine is fermented and aged and smoke can then be smelled and tasted. It is hard to predict when this will occur, making it difficult to detect, plan for and mitigate the risk of smoke taint during the usual wine making process.
Compounding the uncertainty, there is no universally accepted definition of smoke taint in the industry. Different laboratories and wineries rely on different levels of different chemical markers. Relying on taste and smell is inherently subjective, painfully obvious in some cases, subtle and hard to discern by some palates in others.
Contract Approaches
Ultimately, uncertainty breeds trust and relationship issues best solved in the grape purchase contract. Parties negotiating grape contracts should consider:
Don’t Overlook Insurance
Growers and winemakers should review their insurance policies in detail before and after smoke taint strikes and consider working closely with a broker or lawyer to determine whether, when, and how to make a claim.
Understanding how insurance works with smoke taint now can help prepare you after smoke taint strikes. One of the trickiest issues is determining which insurance policy will cover a potential loss. As a general matter, crop insurance will cover damage to grapes while they are on the vine while other forms of property insurance will cover “damage” to grapes after they have been harvested. Growers with healthy crop policies should encourage field inspections before harvest to enable timely claims.
However, since it may not be clear when the grapes were “damaged,” steps taken under one type of policy could impact a claim under a different type of policy. If it is not clear when the grapes were damaged, potential claimants should review their policies carefully and work closely with their consultants, lawyers and brokers to determine the best approach to a potential loss.
Taking the time now to understand your policies before smoke taint hits can help make the claim process less stressful and ensure that no important steps are missed. Grape growers and winemakers should review their insurance policies to determine the supporting documentation required to file a claim. Some policies, for example, may require information about when the grapes were affected, where they were affected, and for how long.
Many policies will also require lab tests from preapproved labs that indicate the presence of smoke taint. At present, pre-harvest tests typically focus on the presence of guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol and are performed either on whole berry clusters or after the micro-fermentation of samples. Although post-fermentation tests can help confirm the presence of smoke taint, many policies will still require pre-harvest test results.
Potential claimants should also look for other requirements that might affect the viability of their claim. Does a policy require winemakers to segregate the juice from different lots, and should this be part of grape contract negotiations?
Carefully reviewing insurance policies and closely working with your consultants, insurance broker and lawyer may also uncover unexpected sources of recovery. For example, if crop insurance is not available or does not fully cover the loss, it might still be possible to obtain coverage for lost profits and extra expenses due to grower’s inability to harvest grapes due to lack of access or other reasons, or a winery’s inability to procure the grapes it needs to produce wine. As always, to maximize insurance recoveries, it is necessary to quickly and thoroughly gather all relevant facts, supporting documentation and relevant insurance policies, and understand (with a professional’s help, if required) how the insurance policies might respond to particular losses before deciding how one or more insurance claims should be pursued.
Next Steps
Potentially ruined grapes are bad enough: the inherent uncertainty around smoke taint’s presence, cause, and extent exacerbates the related contract and insurance problems. To reduce this uncertainty: review insurance policies and grape contracts so you understand their terms, consider negotiating grape contracts to incorporate practical procedures, and reach out to your consultants, insurance broker or lawyer with any questions about contracts, policies, or general strategy for addressing potential smoke taint damage. Anything you do now can reduce the pressures of the next fire season. – By Matthew Lewis, Tyler Gerking & MaryJo Lopez
Scientists with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have teamed up with NASA to use satellites to monitor the water cycle on Earth, specifically “evapotranspiration” — the amount of water that enters the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration from plants. Transpiration occurs during photosynthesis when plants take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
That information is especially important for farmers because the data help them get the most from their farms and ranches.
“Evapotranspiration (ET) is an integral part of the water, carbon, and energy cycle of our water, soil, plant, and climate system,” said Bill Kustas, research hydrologist at the ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Lab in Beltsville, MD. “Most precipitation returns to the atmosphere in the form of ET, which accounts for two-thirds of the global annual average precipitation. Knowledge of ET is critical for monitoring plant and crop water use and stress, loss of water from lakes and reservoirs, and is essential for scheduling irrigation to maintain proper crop growth and development.”
NASA’s satellites track plant growth, cover and biomass, land surface temperature, and soil moisture — all key elements to ET and plant health. ARS scientists develop models from this information to map ET and plant/crop water status so farmers can maintain proper crop growth and development.
How can a satellite collect that type of information from so far away? According to Kustas, sensors on the satellites measure both reflection and emission of electromagnetic radiation from the land using visible, infrared, thermal-infrared, and microwave wavelengths. The data from these sensors provide unique information about water, soil, and plant properties and states.
“All plants transpire liquid water into water vapor that cools the plant so it can maintain a temperature range that is optimal for photosynthesis and promote efficient plant growth and development,” Kustas said. “This leads to the production of maximum crop yield.”
If the ET rate is not high enough, the plant will undergo stress. In the worst-case scenario, without any available water, plants wilt and die. Kustas said that farmers can avoid this by irrigating crops, but this can reduce water available for other uses, like municipal use and maintenance of healthy ecosystems. Knowing the actual ET rate helps farmers to better determine how much irrigation is needed to maintain healthy crops while reducing over-application and pumping costs.
Ranchers can also benefit from satellite ET mapping. “Ranchers can better manage the land’s grazing potential by moving herds or reducing herd numbers before overgrazing can affect land health and future productivity,” Kustas said.
“Water, specifically the amount and use of root zone soil moisture or plant available water, is the most critical limiting factor in agricultural productivity worldwide,” he said. “ET from satellite remote sensing is particularly important for global food security assessment, especially in water-limited regions that have little data to monitor crop conditions and project future yields.” — By Scott Elliott, USDA ARS Office of Communications
As the world’s top-ranked research institute for viticulture and enology, the University of California, Davis, is pleased to announce the newest members of its Executive Leadership Board for the department of Viticulture and Enology. The 26-member board is an important and influential advisory group for the department.
New leaders include NBA legend and entrepreneur Dwyane Wade with Wade Cellars, wine writer and Black Wine Professionals founder Julia Coney and viticulturist and recent UC Davis alumnus Miguel Luna, a partner with Silverado Farming Company.
“All of our new board leaders have really unique skills to help the department achieve our strategic goals,” said David Block, professor and chair of the Viticulture and Enology department. “They bring excellent communication skills, a passion for diversifying the industry and making sure students receive a great education and fulfilling career, and a passion for wine. Past and current members will help us to reach even a higher level of teaching, research and continuing education for the industry.”
Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Wade, three-time NBA champion and thirteen-time NBA All-Star, is co-founder of Wade Cellars in Napa Valley.
Wade founded The Wade Family Foundation to provide relief to marginalized communities in need and also helped launch the Social Change Fund United to invest in and support organizations focused on empowering communities of color. He joined the Executive Leadership Board this year and hopes his involvement will increase minority enrollment and opportunities in programs at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
“I’m excited to join forces with UC Davis to support their efforts in bringing more diversity to the wine industry and make it more inclusive,” said Dwyane Wade. “Wine is for everyone, and I look forward to working with my fellow board members to create meaningful and impactful change. Together we hope to reach and inspire our community to pursue a career in the wine industry by creating a more equitable and viable pathway to achieve those dreams.”
As an influential and outspoken activist for social equality, Wade’s expertise will help the department reach new audiences and spawn interest in the wine industry among a diverse and younger demographic.
Julia Coney
Julia Coney, a Washington D.C. and Houston, Texas-based wine writer, educator and founder of Black Wine Professionals, joined the board in June. Coney is a contributing editor at VinePair, the largest online drinks platform. She was recipient of the Wine Enthusiast’s 2020 Social Visionary Award for her work in writing and speaking on diversity, equity and inclusion in the wine industry.
“I look forward to working with my fellow members, faculty, staff and students to increase the diversity of our student population and other key ELB initiatives,” said Coney. “I invite anyone who has ever considered working in the wine industry to come along on this journey.”
Coney has already become actively involved with UC Davis, providing a keynote address at the Viticulture and Enology continuing education event, “The Importance of DEI in the Grape and Wine Industries,” this past June and playing a key role in planning a virtual recruitment event with the department.
Miguel Luna
Miguel Luna is a partner with Silverado Farming Company in Napa Valley and is a partner and founder of La Pelle Wines. He was named Viticulturist of the Year in 2020 by Wine Enthusiast. Luna is the first member asked to join the board as the Recent UC Davis V&E Alumnus Board Member, a position created by the ELB to provide a unique perspective on strategic plans for the department. He is recognized for his work as a mentor in the wine industry and for his commitment to transitioning vineyards to herbicide-free environments.
“I am committed to making sure students see viticulture, enology and the wine industry as a great career path,” said Luna. “I am also committed to educating immigrant parents to navigate the American school system to ensure first-generation Americans are prepared to succeed in higher education. It’s a great honor to be part of the ELB and I look forward to helping the V&E program continue to be the best in its class.”
Luna and the Silverado Farming Company team oversee farming for some of the best vineyards across Napa’s top appellations.
More about the board
The Executive Leadership Board is composed of invited industry leaders, educators, wine appreciators and selected colleagues to lend expert counsel and assistance to the department in setting and accomplishing its long-range goals. These goals include strengthening relationships with the wine and grape industries, increasing industry investment in research, building strong relationships with alumni and strengthening the department’s teaching program.
The department also continues its commitment to help increase diversity, equity and inclusion in the wine industry. In 2012, the department of Viticulture and Enology established the Broadening Horizons project, which aims to increase the percentage of underrepresented students pursuing careers in all parts of the grape and wine industry. As a result of those efforts, the percentage of underrepresented students enrolled has increased from less than 10% to more than 25%. — By Amy Quinton, News and Media Relations, UC Davis
The California Table Grape Commission is pleased to announce three types of university/college scholarships now available to students in the table grape growing regions of California.
Two types of scholarships are offered for field workers: one for $25,000 for those attending a four-year California university or college and one for $14,500 for those attending two years of community college followed by two years at a California university or college. A third type of $25,000 scholarship is for those interested in studying agriculture at a California university or college and building a career in the table grape industry. Three of each type of scholarship are available.
The deadline for all scholarship applications is Friday, February 11, 2022 at 5 p.m.
Scholarship applications are found here https://www.grapesfromcalifornia.com/community- outreach/.
Information contained in this report was supplied by handlers of raisins and prunes to fulfill reporting requirements of Sections 55601.7 and 55601.8 of the Food and Agricultural Code. The report includes all tonnages of raisins and prunes that were either produced by the handler or purchased from producers. The final weighted average price, including bonuses and allowances, has been reported for all contracts which were finalized.
All 2020 crop transactions completed through the close of business on August 31, 2021 are included in this report. A “good faith” estimate of final weighted average price was reported for those contracts which were not final on the same date. The data are shown by major varieties at the State level only.
SUMMARY OF RAISIN HANDLERS’ REPORTS
Free raisin tonnage produced by handlers in 2020 totaled 26,094 tons. This figure does NOT include raisins purchased from other handlers or producers.
The total 2020 raisin crop purchased from producers, for whom pricing had been finalized, reached 110,853 tons at an average price of $1,302 per ton. This price is rounded to the nearest dollar per ton and includes all bonuses and allowances.
Purchases from producers, for whom pricing was NOT finalized, totaled 105,480 tons. The average “good faith” estimate of the final weighted average price for this tonnage was $1,075 per ton.
The quantity of all raisins purchased from producers was 216,334 tons for the 2020 crop. This figure does not include raisins produced by the handler or purchased from other handlers.
The tonnage produced by the handler plus tonnage purchased from producers for the 2020 raisin crop was 242,427 tons.
SUMMARY OF PRUNE HANDLERS’ REPORTS
Prunes produced by handlers in 2020 totaled 9,170 tons. This figure does NOT include prunes purchased from other handlers or producers.
The total 2020 prune crop purchased from producers, for whom pricing had been finalized, reached 22,351 tons at an average price of $1,834 per ton. This price is rounded to the nearest dollar per ton and includes all bonuses and allowances.
Purchases from producers, for whom pricing was NOT finalized, totaled 27,182 tons. The average “good faith” estimate of the final weighted average price for this tonnage was $1,898 per ton.
The quantity of all prunes purchased from producers was 49,533 tons for the 2020 crop. This figure does not include prunes produced by the handler or purchased from other handlers. The weighted average size count of tons purchased from producers was 56 for the French varieties and 66 for the Non-French varieties.
The tonnage produced by the handler plus tonnage purchased from producers for the 2020 prune crop was 57,225 tons of French prunes and 1,478 tons of Non-French prunes for a total of 58,703 tons. 
DEFINITIONS
Producer: A person or operator who is responsible for the raisins or prunes in the unprocessed state. A dehydrator operator is considered the producer of raisins or prunes if they grew or purchased fresh grapes or prunes and dehydrated them.
Handler: Firm that processes and markets raisins or prunes.
Finalized Purchases: Tonnage purchased from producers, for which a pricing contract has been completed.
Non-Finalized Purchases: Contracted tonnage, for which a final price has not yet been determined.
Free Tonnage: Tonnage received by a handler, for which the only Federal marketing order regulation is a minimum quality or size standard. Reserve tonnage is the tonnage set aside as authorized by a Federal marketing order.
Weighted Average Price: Weighted average price reflects prices or “good faith” estimates of prices as reported by handlers and include any bonuses or allowances.
Save the date, Friday, November 11th for the annual Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo at the Big Fresno Fairgrounds. Held by Malcolm Media Ag Publishing in cooperation with California Ag Network, Pacific Nut Producer, American Vineyard, and California Fresh Fruit Magazines, it is the ultimate postharvest industry gathering place for regional grape, nut & tree fruit growers and crop advisors. Fresno is the number one Ag County in the state and the center of the Central Valley’s rich and diverse agricultural production. Nearly a thousand growers, PCAs and industry stakeholders attend this expo to enjoy State of the Almond, Pistachio, Walnut, Pecan, Tree Fruit, Raisin, Table & Wine Grape Industry presentations, Continuing Education Credited IPM seminars, great food & company, and an industry trade show featuring over a hundred Ag businesses.
This event is FREE to attend and wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of local industry associations, universities and our sponsors this year: Ag Access, Advancing Eco Agriculture, Almond Alliance of California, American Pistachio Growers, Blue White Robotics, Burchell Nursery, California Fresh Fruit Association, Dave Wilson Nursery, Duarte Nursery, Enterprise, Firman Pollen, Fresno State Viticulture & Enology, Jack Rabbit, JSC Agricultural Supply, Live Earth Products, Orchard Machinery Corporation, Phoenix Renewable Services, Phytech US, Preferred Employers Insurance, Saturas, Sun-Maid Growers, Sunridge Nurseries, Synagro, Wonderful Laboratories, and Wonderful Nurseries.
Online pre-registration for the event is now available HERE and includes the ability to preregister for any CE credits attendees would like to receive. 3 hours of PCA/PA/QAL/QAC credits have been approved for this event, with 5 hours of CCA credits pending.
Also new to this year’s program will be three special panel discussions: one featuring options & incentives for groundwater recharge with Chase Hurley from Triangle T Water District, Dave Krietemeyer from USDA-NRCS and growers Lucas Avila & Karun Samran. In a special presentation for raisin growers this year, Matthew Fidelibus from the UC Cooperative Extension will be discussing prospects of the newest DOV varieties with growers Austin Hubbell and Steven Cardoza. Aubrey Bettencourt from the Almond Alliance of California will also be leading a panel discussion on almond supply chain solutions and the upcoming Farm Bill impact on specialty crop agriculture. The USDA Farm Service Agency will also be conducting a brief workshop to assist growers in signing up for a new round of disaster aid, the tree & vine replant programs and other eligible programs. See the full program below for more details.
This event along with other Malcolm Media Ag Expos has generated nearly $150,000 in scholarship endowments for the agricultural programs at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Fresno State, Santa Rosa Junior College and UC Davis. Interested in exhibiting/sponsoring? Visit agexpo.biz/exhibit and give us a call at 559-298-6020 to see what options are still available.