[wpdevart_youtube]4rlsER1qhgY[/wpdevart_youtube]
Madera & Merced Counties have a new UC Cooperative Extension orchard systems farm advisor on the block. We are happy to introduce Phoebe Gordon to the nut & tree fruit industry here. Check out her brief introductory video, and be sure to get in touch with her at the Madera extension office.
Clovis, Calif., (February 27, 2017) – USDA officials came to Clovis to give a Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) 101 lesson to an eager crowd. The attendees, which included approximately 65 producers, processors, media and attorneys, learned about the ins and outs of FMMOs through an hour- long presentation. In particular, details of the California FMMO proposal were outlined and explained in front of an intrigued audience. For a topic riddled with complicated jargon and technical details, the agency did as well as it could have to sum up the proposal succinctly. Once USDA finished their presentation, time was allowed for questions; to ensure a speedy process, only written questions were considered. Inquiries pertaining to the “why” of the decision were not allowed, so the bulk of the discussion centered on clarifications, technical details and procedural follow-ups. On that front specifically, USDA reiterated that comments on the proposal were due by May 15, 2017. The agency also estimated they would issue a final decision around Fall 2017 (if there are no requests to cancel the proceedings). From there, producers would get to vote on the proposed order. Qualified coops, who are allowed to bloc vote on behalf of their producers, did not officially announce if they will exercise that right or not. A yes vote from two-thirds of the producers voting or two-thirds of the milk volume voting is required for a proposal to be implemented.
Only one non-USDA person was allowed some time at the podium and it was a representative from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), who made a brief statement on the quota piece of the proposal. Unfortunately, that statement did not provide additional information. CDFA, just like all of us, only saw USDA’s proposal when it was released and has been looking into it since. The dynamics at play on this topic are rather interesting: while USDA’s proposal allows the quota program to continue and authorizes deductions from pooled producers’ milk checks to fund said program, it passes the baton to CDFA on how to carry the program. CDFA then has to determine how they could carry such program (including non-pooled producers or not) and what procedures would be necessary to implement it. CDFA is considered an interested party and therefore cannot communicate, just like all of us, with USDA on this matter due to ex parte rules prohibiting USDA staff from discussing these issues. The state agency reassured the audience this was a top priority and that details would be published in a CDFA publication as soon as possible.
If a fly on the wall could speak to its impressions of the mood in the room, it would probably state that reactions to the proposal were all over the place. From giddy excitement to boiling irritation, interested parties seem to have a wide range of opinions on what this means for California. Fortunately, the most common stance appears to be one of careful hope and consideration, coupled with a desire for finding out more about the implications. At this time, it’s probably a wise approach. This has been a marathon, and trying to rush to the finish line may not be helpful for the last necessary steps.
If you are interested in viewing the meeting, USDA posted a video here. WUD also provided a brief summary of the key points of the proposal in a previous Friday Update; if you missed it, you can find it here. As this process unfolds, we will continue to analyze potential impacts for California producers and provide comments to USDA to ensure this proposal comes out as beneficial as it can be for our members.
Sacramento, Calif., (February 27, 2017) – The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Integrated Pest Control Branch is announcing one vacancy on the Beet Curly Top Virus Control Board. This Advisory Board makes recommendations to the CDFA Secretary on all matters pertaining to the Beet Curly Top Virus Control Program.
The term of office for a board member is unlimited. The members receive no compensation, but are entitled to payment of necessary traveling expenses in accordance with the rules of the Department of Personnel Administration. Members are considered public officials and must be willing to comply with necessary disclosure requirements.
The vacancy is for a Southern California District member, District I; representing beans, peppers, spinach, sugar beets, and/or tomatoes. Individuals interested in being considered for the board appointment should send a brief resume by March 2, 2017 to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Integrated Pest Control Branch, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, California 95832, Attention: Branch Chief.
For additional information, visit the branch’s web page at: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/ipc/curlytopvirus/ctv_hp.htm; or contact: Victoria Hornbaker, Chief of the Integrated Pest Control Branch at (916) 262-1102, by fax (916) 262-2020, or e-mail IPCInfo@cdfa.ca.gov.
Davis, Calif., (February 27, 2017) – Spring is coming sooner to some plant species in the low Arctic of Greenland, while other species are delaying their emergence amid warming winters. The changes are associated with diminishing sea ice cover, according to a study published in the journal Biology Letters and led by the University of California, Davis.
The timing of seasonal events, such as first spring growth, flower bud formation and blooming, make up a plant’s phenology — the window of time it has to grow, produce offspring and express its life history. Think of it as “nature’s clock.”
In the Arctic, nature’s clock is running fast.
The Arctic is a place of contrasts. You feel like you’re in this enormous landscape. There’s nothing on the horizon, no trees, no structures. You can see forever. But the plants and everything around you are really small.
Then there are musk oxen and caribou, which are ice age relics. Musk oxen are like tundra elephants minus the trunk. They move in matriarchal herds with calves under their skirts. Caribou are more like gazelles — graceful, quick, moving around nervously.
You look at the ice sheet and the animals, and you’re seeing the last remnants of the ice age. You’re in that environment not exactly as it existed then — it’s warmer and wetter now — but you’re in a modern world being changed by things like industrialization and pollution of the atmosphere. You’re in an environment that could have been experienced tens of thousands of years ago in this country.
We have our objective side as scientists, but I love that place. It’s my home away from home. I feel privileged to be there trying to unlock some of its mysteries.”
The study covers 12 years of observations at a West Greenland field site, about 150 miles inland from the Davis Strait. The site is near Russell Glacier, a dynamic front protruding from the massive inland ice sheet that covers most of the island. Each year from early May to late June, researchers looked daily for the first signs of growth in plots enclosing individual plant species.
They found that warming winters and springs associated with declining arctic sea ice cover created a mixture of speed demons, slowpokes and those in between. One racehorse of a sedge species now springs out of the proverbial gate a full 26 days earlier than it did a decade ago. This was the greatest increase in the timing of emergence the researchers have seen on record in the Arctic.
“When we started studying this, I never would have imagined we’d be talking about a 26-day per decade rate of advance,” said lead author Eric Post, a polar ecologist in the UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology who has been studying the Arctic for 27 years. “That’s almost an entire growing season. That’s an eye-opening rate of change.”
But other species are in no rush, despite the Arctic’s short growing season. Onset of growth for the gray willow has not budged, and a dwarf birch species is beginning its growth only about five days earlier per decade.
While how early a plant emerges from its winter slumber depends on the species, the study demonstrates that the Arctic landscape is changing rapidly. Such changes carry implications for the ecological structure of the region for years to come.
“The Arctic is really dynamic, and it’s changing in a direction that won’t be recognizable as the same Arctic to those of us who have been working there for decades,” Post said. “The picture is definitely being reorganized.”
“Think of it as going from something like a Picasso painting that blurs before your eyes and reorganizes into some kind of Dali landscape,” he said. “You can see the pieces are still there, but the way they’re organized in relation to each other doesn’t look like what it used to be, and you wonder, ‘What am I looking at now and what does that mean for how it all works together?’”
Previous studies by Post in 2008 and 2013 showed how such changes are affecting caribou in the region. Caribou come to the study site each year during calving season to take advantage of the nutritious plants needed to recover from winter and provide for their newborns. But as the emergence of plant species in spring has shifted, the caribou internal clock, driven by seasonal changes in day length, has not kept up. The food is still there, but the pickings are not as nutritious as they were at first growth. As a result, fewer calves are born and more die early in years when spring plant growth outpaces the caribou calving season.
“That’s one example of the consequences of this for consumer species like caribou, who have a limited window to build up resources before going into the next winter,” Post said. “With the most recent study, we’re taking a step toward understanding how extensive and cryptic the effects of sea ice loss might be in the Arctic.”
The study was funded by U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration.
[wpdevart_youtube]H3hGOAEeWh8[/wpdevart_youtube]
From the headquarters of American Pistachio Growers, Executive Director Richard Matoian addressed the current status of the Sunset Review, urging growers to submit their comments to prevent the entry of pistachios from Iran through continued tariffs. Watch his monthly interview with California Ag Network and read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.
Riverside, Calif., (February 24, 2017) – A team of scientists, led by a group at the University of California, Riverside, has received a five-year, $5.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fight a disease that is devastating the citrus industry.
The team, led by Caroline Roper, an associate professor of plant pathology, will design and identify bactericides, which are chemicals that kill bacteria, to target Huanglongbing, a bacterial plant disease decimating citrus trees worldwide. They also will focus on better understanding the pathways those bactericides travel inside citrus trees.
Huanglongbing, which has devastated citrus trees in Asia and South America, was detected in Florida in 2005 and has since led to a 75 percent decline in the Florida’s $9 billion citrus industry. Fifteen U.S. States or territories are under full or partial quarantine due to the presence of the Asian citrus psyllid, an insect which feeds on citrus trees and – in doing so – transmits Huanglongbing.
Past research has identified the bacterium (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus or CLas) associated with Huanglongbing that is killing citrus trees. But, it has proved difficult to deliver bactericides to the phloem, the part of the citrus tree where the harmful bacteria resides.
The UC Riverside team will analyze phloem transit routes that bactericides take when introduced through common application methods, such as trunk injection or leaf or root applications.
They also will continue to develop a new delivery system for use in field citrus trees. The delivery system targets the branches and petioles, which are the stalk that join a leaf to a stem. The idea is based on previous work that indicates that this is an effective and efficient way to tap into and introduce material into phloem tissue, a tissue that is hard to access.
They also will conduct fluorescent tracer experiments that map phloem transport pathways in citrus and harness that information to predict and test the routes that bactericides take when introduced. This will yield information about the routes bactericides travel when administered through delivery methods used by growers and the branch/petiole feeding technique.
The researchers will develop two classes of bactericides, the first based on mining anti-CLas compounds naturally produced by microbes that inhabit Huanglongbing survivor trees in Florida, and the second based on silver and sulfur nanoparticles.
Finally, the researchers will also undertake an extension and outreach program for citrus growers and non-commercial citrus growers (homeowners and hobbyists). They also will perform an economic cost-benefit analysis for adoption of these treatments in the commercial citrus industry.
In addition to Roper, the following UC Riverside scientists are involved: James Borneman, Philippe Rolshausen, David Jassby, Georgios Vidalakis, and Haizhou Liu. And, the following researchers from other institutions are involved: Robert Turgeon (Cornell University); Katherine Maloney (Point Loma Nazarene University); Pieter Dorrestein (UC San Diego); Greg McCollum (U.S. Department of Agriculture), and Jonathan Kaplan (California State University, Sacramento).
The grant is one of four given by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to combat Huanglongbing. The funding is made possible through NIFA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
Fresno, Calif., (February 24, 2017) – Kenneth Fugelsang, professor emeritus of enology and retired winemaster at the Fresno State Winery, died Monday, Feb. 20, from cancer. He was 70 years old.
An internationally-recognized enologist credited with “producing world-class winemakers who are now making world class wines,” Mr. Fugelsang retired from the Department of Viticulture and Enology in 2011 but continued teaching part-time until May 2016.
Mr. Fugelsang is the second viticulture and enology pioneer lost in the past few months. Dr. Vincent Petrucci, who founded the University’s program, died in December.
A two time graduate of Fresno State (bachelor’s in 1969 and master’s in 1972, both in biology), Mr. Fugelsang joined the enology faculty in 1971. After the University winery became the first in the nation on a college campus in 1997, he and his student winemakers – in partnership with many Valley grower partners – won state, national and international acclaim with more than 600 wine competition awards.
But his legacy extends even further than the estimated 500 students who learned their craft under his tutelage and went on to become winemakers or other enology professionals in their own right.
University President Joseph I. Castro praised Fugelsang for his contributions not only to his students but the industry.
“Ken Fugelsang was an exemplary college professor and mentor who gave his all to his students,” Castro said. “He taught and directed hundreds of students in the science and art of winemaking and was a key player in establishing the Fresno State Winery, the first university winery licensed to produce, bottle and sell wine. Fresno State viticulture and enology students in particular and the wine industry and its connoisseurs in general are the benefactors of Ken’s expertise and guidance in this field.”
Dr. Sandra Witte, dean of the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology said, “We have lost a truly talented and kind man. His influence on our enology program will not be forgotten and lives on in our program graduates.”
Dr. Carlos Muller, professor emeritus of enology, worked closely with Fugelsang until his own retirement in 2004 and helped establish the program. Muller recalled his colleague as “a man of immense wealth of knowledge willing to share it with all of us who were fortunate enough to have benefited from his generosity and kindness.”
“He will be remembered in perpetuity for his plethora of erudite writings and presentations and, above all for his ability to train, nurture and continuously support the professional development of his students,” Muller added. “We owe him much.”
Alan Cannon, a certified wine educator who is also director of distributor relations and education for Rombauer Vineyards in Napa, was Mr. Fugelang’s student in 1980 and later lectured in the program.
“Ken was a great professor, mentor and friend to me and to all his students,” Cannon recalled. “He always had time to listen and was very encouraging to all of us. He had a passion for the wine industry and for teaching future generations of wine makers and wine industry leaders. One of his enduring legacies will be all of the students that took the knowledge that he imparted to make the wine industry that much better.”
Mr. Fugelsang published more than 150 technical papers, 18 books and contributed to journals in the United States and internationally. His 2007 book “Wine Microbiology – Practical Applications and Procedures,” co-authored with Charles Edwards of Washington State University, received the “Prix d l’OIV” award from the Paris-based International Office of the Vine and Wine, an intergovernmental scientific and technical body with 43 member nations that has overseen the world’s grape and wine industry for more than 80 years.
During his career, Mr. Fugelsang was a recipient of some 50 research grants totaling approximately $5 million. He was recognized as one of world’s most-authoritative experts on Brettanomyces – spoilage yeast that grows on grapes and in wineries. He presented at conferences in Germany, Portugal, Canada, Missouri and throughout California.
Mr. Fugelsang, who served as the past president of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, received the University’s Outstanding Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Award, Salgo-Noren and the National Association of College Teachers Award, the Claude Laval Award for Innovative Technology and the Outstanding Alumnus Award.
For Mr. Fugelsang’s retirement celebration in 2012, G.M. “Pooch” Pucilowski, chief judge and consultant to the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition and close friend, said “Professor Fugelsang and Fresno State should be hailed by the California wine industry — and probably the wine industry of the world — for producing world-class winemakers who are now making world class wines.”
Former student Bryce Willingham, upon hearing of Mr. Fugelsang’s terminal illness last week, said in a message to him that his “extensive knowledge and calm strength were pivotal in fortifying” her career.
“I want you to know that everything you did as a judge and professor shaped so many winemakers,” wrote Billingham who graduated in 2012 and is now a winemaker for Ravage Wines in Lodi. “That means that you will always be here with us. In every glass. In every sip. In every moment that bottle creates. You live in the wines of the people you taught and the people they taught. You’re with us forever.”
Mr. Fugelsang was preceded in death by his parents, Ardith and Paul Fugelsang. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Ann; his son, Jeffrey; and his brother Paul Fugelsang, and sister-in-law Cheryl.
A celebration of life will be held later this spring. The family asks that no flowers be sent but invited donations be made to the scholarship for enology students in his name: K. C. Fugelsang. Checks payable to: AG ONE , 2910 E. Barstow Ave., MS/115 , Fresno, CA 93740 or online.
Visalia, Calif., (February 24, 2017) – Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner released the current status today of Major crops in the most valued county in the California Ag portfolio. They report that Growers continue to wait for fields to dry out sufficiently so that they can resume planting winter grain and field crops. The planted grains and field crops continue to mature at an excellent rate, reaping the benefit from all the recent rain, and a few sunny days.
Field work in vineyards and orchards continues with: pruning, tying, berm sanitation, and brush shredding. Some early varieties of stone fruit are beginning to bloom. Cherries are beginning to bloom. Kiwifruit are being exported to El Salvador, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. Some almond orchards are beginning to bloom, and bee colonies are being moved in for pollination. Almonds are being exported China, Colombia, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, South Africa, and Russian Federation. Pistachios are being sent to Belgium, Spain, and Vietnam. In drier locations the removal of older orchards and vineyards continues in preparation for replanting with new varieties.
The citrus harvest is continuing. All the recent rains are having some impact on overall quality. Navel oranges and Mandarins are being shipped to Australia, China, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Minneola tangelos are sent to Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore. Grapefruit and pomelos are being exported to Japan. Lemons are being exported to Hong Kong, Japan, and Mexico. Removal of older orchards continues in preparation for replanting to new varieties this spring. The domestic market for citrus fruit remains steady at a good price. Olive groves are still being pruned. Surprise avocados are having the last of the fruit picked. Zutano avocados are still being picked, with a large crop reported.
New fields are being prepared for spring planting. Strawberries fields continue to thrive.
Rangeland and dryland pasture quality continue to improve with all the recent rainfall. Condition is excellent due to continued rainfall and warmer weather. The fed cattle price is currently at $120 per hundredweight.
Bare root rose nursery stock continues to be received, processed, and shipped out. Shipments of wholesale nursery stock are picking up as spring sales begin in earnest. Local bare root nurseries are busy digging stock as weather and soil conditions allow. Some mature olive trees continue to be dug for landscape purposes.
Sacramento, Calif., ((February 23, 2017) – Final totals from the 2016/17 California State Employees Food Drive indicate that an ambitious goal of 750,000 pounds of food was not only met, but exceeded by more than 14-thousand pounds, for a total of 764,038 pounds of food donated for needy families! That’s 382 tons of food, enough f
or more 636,000 meals!
CDFA and its Office of Farm to Fork coordinated the food drive from late September to early February, along with their partners at the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services and 108 different assistance agencies statewide. While much of the donated food was distributed through Sacramento, more than 100,000 pounds of food were donated to food banks and pantries outside the capital-area, eventually ending up on the tables of needy families throughout the state.
“I am impressed each year with the level of compassion and commitment that employees display when they donate to the food drive,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, chair of the food drive. “Food brings people together, in particular during the holidays, when families and friends gather around the table. This program is so important in helping to make that happen for families that may need a little boost.”
The need in California is substantial. According to the California Association of Food Banks, 5.4
illion Californians contend with food insecurity, which is defined as the occasional or constant lack of access to the food one needs for a healthy, active life. More than two-million of those people are children. That need is what motivates California state employees to commit to this effort each and every year.
employees of the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services
Each year the Food Drive holds a wrap-up party with awards to highlight steps agencies have taken to make the drive a success. The Board of Equalization received an award for the greatest weight-volume of donations, totaling 166,689 pounds of food. Two new award categories have been added – for most creative fundraiser and for the biggest increase in donations from the previous year. CalEPA took home the award in the first category with its “Dream It, Build It, Give It” competition among employees building structures out of donated food. The Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta Conservancy was honored for having the largest year-over-year increase, upping donations from 18 pounds to 912 pounds.
Sacramento, Calif., (February 23, 2017) – The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Integrated Pest Control Branch is announcing a vacancy on the Vertebrate Pest Control Research Advisory Committee. The committee makes recommendations to the CDFA secretary on all matters pertaining to vertebrate pest control research.
The term of office for a committee member is unlimited. Members receive no compensation, but are entitled to payment of necessary traveling expenses in accordance with the rules of the Department of Personnel Administration. Members are considered public officials and must be willing to comply with necessary disclosure requirements.
The vacancy is for an agricultural industry representative. Applicants should have an interest in agriculture and vertebrate pest control. Individuals interested in being considered for a committee appointment should send a brief resume by April 2, 2017 to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Integrated Pest Control Branch, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, California 95832, Attention: Sara Banchero.
For additional information, visit the committee web page at: http://www.vpcrac.org/; or contact: David Kratville, Senior Environmental Scientist with the Integrated Pest Control Branch at (916) 262-1102, by fax (916) 262-2020, or e-mail David.Kratville@cdfa.ca.gov.