California Ag Network

Category: Row Crops

  • Does Adjusting Soil pH Control Clubroot of Brassicas?

    Clubroot disease  can be a serious production issue for broccoli, cauliflower, and other brassicas in the Salinas Valley. The disease  is caused by a unique organism (Plasmodiophora brassicae) that is closely related to ciliate protozoans but is classified in its own taxonomic group. It survives over 20 years as resting spores in the soil that are released as the clubbed root tissue decays. At temperatures above 65 °F, the resting spores release zoospores that swim to host plant roots and infect through root hairs. Once inside the plant, the organism grows into a large multinucleate plasmodium (a multinucleate mass of protoplasm) which stimulates changes in the plant hormones, resulting in enlarged root cells and the characteristic clubbing of the roots (See photo Below). Root infections by the clubroot pathogen can occur in both acid and alkaline soils; however, acidic soil conditions favor the development of the root symptoms. In addition to the main brassica crops, Plasmodiophora can infect arugula, radish, mustard cover crops, and weeds such as shepherd’s purse and even some grasses. Plants that develop severe root swellings will exhibit above ground symptoms (See Photo Above) indicative of non-functioning root systems, which includes yellowing, wilting, poor growth and stunting, drying and death of lower leaves, and eventual plant death.

    Clubroot in the Salinas Valley is mostly controlled by maintaining soil pH above 7.2 to 7.3 by liming. The high pH does not kill the pathogen but inhibits the formation of the root clubs. Soils where control of clubroot by liming is achieved are called “responsive” soils. However, soils where liming is less effective are called “unresponsive” soils.

    In 2020 we had calls regarding the incidence of clubroot on brassicas. In each situation the grower/PCA had soil lab results that indicated that the soil pH was greater than 7.2. To investigate this situation, a small study was conducted. At three fields soil was collected from symptomatic and asymptomatic areas of the crop and soil pH was determined using a pH meter at the UCCE or UC Davis Analytical Lab. The results shown in Table 1 indicate that clubroot was more severe in soils with lower soil pH levels. These findings are consistent with what we know about clubroot, that higher pH soils should have less concern with this disease.

    So why did clubroot occur in soils that had  test pH values greater than 7.2? It is important to keep in mind that soils have a great deal of inherent variability. The goal is to determine if the soil pH for a 5 or 10 acre field is ≥7.2. This is typically done by collecting 15 – 20 soil cores from various parts of the field and mixing them together as a composite sample. However, if sample collection by chance missed areas of lower soil pH, the lab results may be skewed to represent areas of the field that had relatively higher pH values. If this is the case, such a sample could have an artificially high pH (greater than 7.2) while some parts of the field may have a lower pH value. One way to have greater confidence in the soil pH is to collect more soil cores in fields where clubroot disease has been noted in the past.

    At present, we have not seen evidence in Monterey County that soils are unresponsive to liming or that the liming treatment is failing to control clubroot, given variability in soil pH and pH testing. In our intensive vegetable production system, soil pH tends to decrease over time through the use of ammonium fertilizers. The loss of calcium, magnesium and potassium from crop removal and leaching can also contribute to lower soil pH on lighter soils. Given the longevity of clubroot resting spores in the soil, it is important to maintain a liming program to assure that soil pHs are above 7.2 to 7.3 to thoroughly suppress clubroot throughout the field. – By Richard Smith, UCCE Vegetable Crops & Weed Science Farm Advisor, and Steve Koike, TriCal Diagnostics

    Table 1. Three evaluations of soil pH in clubroot affected fields

    Typical clubbing of broccoli roots

  • Soil Health Institute 5th Annual Meeting

    The Soil Health Institute (SHI), a non-profit organization charged with safeguarding and enhancing the vitality and productivity of soil, today released its 5th Annual Meeting Agenda. Registration is open for Soil Health: The Foundation for Regenerative Agriculture, SHI’s first-ever virtual annual meeting. There is no registration fee; however, registration is required to attend. The online meeting will be held July 30 and 31, 2020.

    The annual meeting will host 28 distinguished panelists and speakers, including farmers, soil scientists, food manufacturing leaders, and policy experts. The keynote will be provided by Jay Watson, Sourcing Sustainability Engagement Manager at General Mills, Inc., who leads General Mills, Inc.’s greenhouse gas reduction and regenerative agriculture commitments.

    Among the meeting topics:

    • Comprehensive Strategy for Advancing Soil Health
    • Determining Effective Measurements of Soil Health
    • Dimensions of Adoption
    • Filling the Economics Gap for Farmers
    • Soil Health Policies and Programs in Action

    In addition to the plenary sessions, a virtual Video Poster Session will feature up to 80 3-minute video research presentations.

    “The level of enthusiasm we have received for Soil Health: The Foundation for Regenerative Agriculture is very inspiring,” said Dr. Wayne Honeycutt, SHI president and CEO. “We are excited at the opportunity for reaching a broad, and hopefully global, audience with the latest information for advancing the science and practicality of soil health.”

    For more information and to register for the annual meeting, please visit https://soilhealthinstitute.org/annual-meeting-2020/.

    About the Soil Health Institute

    The Soil Health Institute (www.soilhealthinstitute.org) is a non-profit whose mission is to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of soil through scientific research and advancement. The Institute works with its many stakeholders to identify gaps in research and adoption; develop strategies, networks and funding to address those gaps; and ensure beneficial impact of those investments to agriculture, the environment and society.

  • Spotted Lanternfly – A Threat to CA Winegrapes (June 11 Webinar)

    The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive insect from Asia that was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014. The spotted lanternfly can decimate entire grape vineyards and damage fruit orchards, hops, walnuts, hardwoods, and landscape trees. While the SLF has not yet reached California, officials at CDFA are already engaged and the Pierce’s Disease and Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Board has designated the SLF as a threat to CA winegrapes. Join CAWG, Wine Institute, and Family Winemakers of CA for a webinar on Thursday, June 11th at 10:00am where CDFA will provide an overview of SLF efforts in California, detection and regulatory possibilities, and how growers can be on the lookout for this invasive pest.  
    Presenting will be Dr. Matt Kaiser, Senior Environmental Scientist, CDFA and Dr. Andrew R. Cline, Assistant Director of the Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Division and Acting Statewide Coordinator for the Pierce’s Disease Control Program of CDFA This webinar is co-hosted by the California Association of Winegrape Growers, Wine Institute, and Family Winemakers of California. We welcome and encourage all members of the wine industry to join us. Register HERE.

  • Nitrogen-Efficient Fertilizer Research Could Have Lasting Impact

    The world’s population will continue to grow, but the amount of arable land to feed that population will not.

    “So people will continue to add more fertilizers to grow more crops in the same areas,” says Jonas Baltrusaitis, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering in Lehigh University’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, and a recipient of the 2020 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Lectureship Award. “You can’t grow crops without fertilizer. It’s just not happening.”

    While a boon to harvests, fertilizers exact a toll on the environment. Their production alone is extremely energy intensive and a significant source of greenhouse gases, and when nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus aren’t fully taken up by plants, they can leach into groundwater and wash into waterways. Excess nutrients can cause eutrophication of water bodies where algal blooms deprive the ecosystem of oxygen, killing wildlife and producing toxins that can harm humans.

    It’s a vicious cycle that Baltrusaitis hopes to one day break. He recently received a four-year, nearly $435,000 grant through the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) for his proposal, “Mechanochemical Synthesis of Nitrogen Efficient Fertilizer Materials.”

    NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) is the leading competitive grants program for agricultural sciences in the United States. According to NIFA, “AFRI-funded science is vital to meeting food, fiber, and fuel demands as the world’s population races toward a projected 9 billion by 2050 concomitant with diminishing land and water resources and increasingly variable climatic conditions.”

    Baltrusaitis’ team has developed a dry mechanochemical synthesis method of a family of urea ionic cocrystals that can serve as functional fertilizers that significantly slow down urea hydrolysis in soil, reduce ammonia emissions, and extend availability of nitrogen to plants. He is combining water soluble urea with various nutrients containing low solubility minerals or even industrial waste, such as drywall gypsum, to improve nitrogen management efficiency.

    “We’re re-designing fertilizer materials to be much more stable in the environment,” he says. “If they don’t decompose as fast, they’re available to the plant for longer, so those nutrients are going into the food chain rather than being wasted and damaging the environment.”

    The potential impact is global, and the technology is being developed to be easily inserted into existing supply chains, says Baltrusaitis. His ultimate goal is to design nitrogen-efficient novel fertilizer materials that can be used in field trials with local Pennsylvania farmers, where his team can test improvements in yields and emissions.

    Coming from the USDA, the award is a unique one for Lehigh, he says.

    “And it’s one that will help educate the next generation of engineers as they prepare to address emerging global challenges.

    About Jonas Baltrusaitis

    ChBE researcher Jonas Baltrusaitis is “breaking the cycle.” His USDA-funded research aims to make fertilizer more effective for crop growth and less destructive for the environment.

    Jonas Baltrusaitis is an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Lehigh University. He holds a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Iowa, where he conducted postdoctoral research and served in numerous roles, including adjunct assistant professor and associate director of the Central Microscopy Research Facility. He was an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Twente (the Netherlands) before joining the faculty of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science in 2014.

    Baltrusaitis’ research interests span numerous areas of sustainable catalytic conversion, including: natural gas component catalytic conversion to high value products, biomass catalytic upgrading, sustainable sulfur and phosphorus processing, renewable energy utilization in wastewater processing, low concentration organic wastewater stream treatment, emerging contaminant remediation and environmental catalysis, surface sensitive spectroscopies, and data processing method development.

    His research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance, Defense Logistics Agency, and Department of Defense, among others. His work has been published in high-impact journals such as the Journal of American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, ACS Catalysis, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, and Chemical Communications.

    Baltrusaitis is a member of the American Chemical Society and AIChE and received a 2020 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Lectureship Award for his work in advanced materials science and supramolecular chemistry, applying concepts of sustainable chemistry and engineering to the delivery of more sustainable fertilizers and nutrients.

    At Lehigh, Baltrusaitis has been recognized with the university’s Libsch Early Career Research Award (Spring 2018) as well as a P.C. Rossin Assistant Professorship (2017-2019). He currently directs the chemical engineering M.Eng. distance education program and advises numerous PhD students.

  • Innovative Virus Research May Save Wheat and Other Crops

    UC Riverside scientists have solved a 20-year-old genetics puzzle that could result in ways to protect wheat, barley, and other crops from a devastating infection. Ayala Rao, professor of plant pathology and microbiology, has been studying Brome Mosaic virus for decades. Unlike some viruses, the genetic material of this virus is divided into three particles that until now were impossible to tell apart.

    Photo Caption: Visually indistinguishable particles of Brome Mosaic Virus. (Ayala Rao/UCR)

    “Without a more definitive picture of the differences between these particles, we couldn’t fully understand how they work together to initiate an infection that destroys food crops,” Rao said. “Our approach to this problem has brought an important part of this picture into very clear focus.”

    A paper describing the work Rao’s team did to differentiate these particles was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    Inside each of the particles is a strand of RNA, the genetic material that controls the production of proteins. The proteins perform different tasks, some of which cause stunted growth, lesions, and ultimately death of infected host plants.

    Two decades ago, scientists used the average of all three particles to create a basic description of their structure. In order to differentiate them, Rao first needed to separate them, and get them into their most pure form.

    Using a genetic engineering technique, Rao’s team disabled the pathogenic aspects of the virus and infused the viral genes with a host plant. 

    “This bacterium inserts its genome into the plant’s cells, similar to the way HIV inserts itself into human cells,” Rao said. “We were then able to isolate the viral particles in the plants and determine their structure using electron microscopes and computer-based technology.”

    Now that one of the particles is fully mapped, it’s clear the first two particles are more stable than the third. 

    “Once we alter the stability, we can manipulate how RNA gets released into the plants,” Rao said. “We can make the third particle more stable, so it doesn’t release RNA and the infection gets delayed.”

    This work was made possible by a grant from the University of California Multicampus Research Program and Initiatives. Professors Wiliam Gelbart, Chuck Knobler, and Hong Zhou of UCLA, as well as graduate students Antara Chakravarthy of UCR and Christian Beren of UCLA, made significant contributions to this project.

    Moving forward, Rao is hoping to bring the other two viral particles into sharper focus with the expertise of scientists at UCLA and UC San Diego. 

    Brome Mosaic virus primarily affects grasses such as wheat and barley, and occasionally affects soybeans as well. According to Rao, it is nearly identical to Cucumber Mosaic virus, which infects cucumbers as well as tomatoes and other crops that are important to California agriculture. 

    Not only could this research lead to the protection of multiple kinds of crops, it could advance the understanding of any virus.

    “It is much easier to work with plant viruses because they’re easier and less expensive to grow and isolate,” Rao said. “But what we learn about the principles of replication are applicable to human and animal viruses too.” — By Jules Bernstein, UC Riverside

  • Students Keep Campus Farm Active While Classes Operate Virtually

    Like other essential agricultural operations across the Central Valley, the Fresno State University Agricultural Laboratory has kept up a near-normal pace over the past month, thanks to its workforce that relies partially on students who are dedicated to gaining hands-on, career experience.

    The 1,000-acre campus farm surrounds the Fresno State campus to the north, west and east edges and mirrors the diversity of the surrounding counties that lead nation in agricultural production.

    The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology’s 2,300 students rely on the farm as a valuable learning resource for classes, as do campus researchers, industry partners and other area schools that learn where their food comes from through student, staff and faculty presentations.

    Public tours have stopped, but livestock student workers and managers still provide daily care for the beef and dairy cattle, quarter horse, sheep and swine units.

    Campus fruit and nut orchards, row vegetable crops and vineyards also need continual management and occasional irrigation to keep production schedules on track to provide produce for customers at the Gibson Farm Market on campus.

    Campus winery, creamery and meat processing facilities are also still providing fresh products and are among the 22 enterprises coordinated by Mark Salwasser.

    The campus farm manager is a 1988 Fresno State plant science graduate and has also managed row crop, orchard and vineyard units in his 29 years working on the farm.

    He recently gave an update on farm operations, campus sweet corn and other potential changes.

    FresnoStateNews.com: How has the COVID-19 situation and campus access restrictions affected the campus farm?

    Mark Salwasser: We’re still in business, moving forward and keeping up with social distancing. We feel that agriculture is an essential element of our society, and grocery stores need to stay open to some extent. We are going to keep growing food and raising animals, and that’s why we’re still here working as much as possible.

    FSN: How important is it to keep the farm operating from a production standpoint?

    Salwasser: Shutting it down would be a drastic measure, especially for some units like the dairy. Moving cows out, and then later trying to start back up would be a challenge. Also, the orchards are a year-round, long-term investment that need to be managed regularly to keep them healthy and productive. We’re trying to keep business as usual as much as possible.

    FSN: How have the social distancing measures come into play among the farm staff?

    Salwasser: We’re keeping our workers separated as much as possible. In the ag operations office, we normally have five people, but only two are there right now including myself. The others who work with our budget and administrative needs are working from home.

    FSN: Have any of your units created online resources for class labs?

    Salwasser: Our horticulture nursery is a big resource for plant science labs this time of year, and I think seven classes were using it this semester. We’ve retooled it a little so student workers are doing the transplants that classes would have done and are sold at the farm market. We’re also creating some online teaching resources for the students to use for their classes via photos and Zoom, and collecting data for them for their assignments and projects.

    FSN: How does the summer sweet corn season look so far?

    Salwasser: We have had sweet corn planned out well in advance since seeds need to get planted early to meet our goal to have corn at the farm market by the end of May or early June. We’ve already had eight plantings, and that continued in between rainy weather and wet soil, and will continue on in stages to keep an ample supply throughout the summer. We expect to have the same supply of sweet corn as in the past, about 70 acres, and we’re excited to kick off the 2020 corn season. We’re happy with the planting so far.

    FSN: How has the winter weather affected operations in recent months?

    Salwasser: The winter has been atypical. It’s unusual to have such dry soil in February and early March, so we’ve had to irrigate crops like corn, wheat, alfalfa, almonds and other early blooming trees and the vineyard. After the moisture in late March and April, hopefully we have enough snow to get some surface water when we need it in the later spring and summer. A few weeks ago we were struggling with dry soil and planting sweet corn and pre-irrigating, and then we had the fields that were too wet to get into for several days.

    FSN: Any new things to look for at the Gibson Farm Market?

    Salwasser: We’re growing strawberries for the first time in several years. We were trying to give customers another product in the early spring time to go with the asparagus. They’re selling really well, and we’re just getting into the production levels since the rain has slowed their growth in recent weeks.

    FSN: Any other things to look for on the campus farm this month?

    Salwasser: The winery is doing a special $5 shipping sale in April for orders of three packs or more shipped around the state. They’re also planning on canning our Tailgate wines for the first time in 375-milliliter single cans — a little over 12 ounces — and four-packs that will be fan-friendly for the football games. They’ll also tentatively continue their bottling dates if they can.

    FSN: What about any changes in the summer and fall?

    Salwasser: We’re transitioning our full olive orchard into organic status, and we’re in the final stage of the three-year phase, which will be completed in August. We grow three varieties — Koroniki, Arbosana and Arbequina — and those olives lend themselves to being organic because they don’t have a lot of insect issues, and the returns are significant for organic olive oil. We also wanted some more organic ground on the farm.

    FSN: For those who drive by the farm near Sierra Avenue, what’s the new orchard out there and how does that play into the farm’s long-range plans and needs?

    Salwasser: To help our long-term economic sustainability, we just planted 36 acres of new almonds to replace a section of alfalfa. We may add another 35 acres of almonds and 36 acres of pistachios in the winter of 2020-21, but we’ll need some industry support. We pulled out 35 acres of almonds that needed to be retired about one and a half years ago, and that’s where the new almond block would go in next year. The new pistachio block, which could be used for research that is in high demand, would go just east of the current block in a section of alfalfa. Beyond that, a third phase would be to retire another 27-acre block of older almonds in two to five years.

    FSN: Is the Gibson Farm Market still open normal hours?

    Salwasser: Yes, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Certain areas are selling well like our meats section, so our meats lab has picked up production. The creamery is also continuing to focus on making ice cream and cheese. We’re trying to keep it open for our community, for our neighbors and friends to help provide key food products for students and area families.

  • Andrew & Williamson/Good Farms, Rancho Guadalupe & Dynasty Farms Support Food Banks

    In one of the first agreements of its kind between California producers and a county food bank, two farms will begin providing, at a reasonable rate, produce to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, allowing it to provide additional much-needed fresh fruit and vegetables to a growing number of residents in need of assistance. This innovative pilot program assists the food banks while keeping the agricultural supply chain together which is critical to the future of food supply.

    “We are excited that our members have the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded organizations such as the Alameda County Food Bank who support initiatives like Food as Medicine. The COVID-19 pandemic has focused our efforts on building and supporting the health and wellbeing of our broader communities; ensuring the future of fresh produce plays a paramount role in our efforts. This partnership enables our food supply chain to stay intact and therefore our producers can continue to grow fresh produce at the same level,” says Kirti Mutakar, Chief Executive Officer of UnitedAg.

    “When the COVID-19 crisis hit, and the foodservice operations all came to a standstill overnight, millions of jobs were lost and with it the demand for our produce. To bring more diverse options to the foodbank, and at the same time recover our cost to grow and harvest it, creative solutions were necessary to take care of those who need it most and help keep agriculture whole,” says A.J. Cisney, General Manager of Rancho Guadalupe.

    Deliveries will begin May 5, with nearly 4,000 pounds of strawberries from Andrew & Williamson / Good Farms, Rancho Guadalupe, and over 7,000 crowns of broccoli from Dynasty Farms. These are foods that have not been regularly available at the food banks. The pilot program hopes to expand into the larger state network of food banks (California Association of Food Banks) and increase its product offerings. UnitedAg Member Farms are hopeful this concept will grow into something bigger.

    About UnitedAg

    Founded in 1980, UnitedAg is a multi-commodity member-owned agricultural trade association dedicated to providing innovative healthcare solutions for a strong and healthy agricultural industry. Our over 1,000 agriculture affiliated member organizations network and share creative ways to transform our ever-changing industry. UnitedAg strives to bring innovative health benefits and solutions to agribusiness by meeting our member’s employee health benefits needs, advocating for ag with lawmakers and helping members comply with regulations.  Based in Irvine, Calif., UnitedAg has offices in Oxnard, Corona, Salinas, Fresno and Santa Maria.

  • USDA California Crop Weather Report

    WEATHER

    Temperature highs ranged from the mid 40s to low 70s in the mountains, low 60s to low 80s along the coast, low 60s to mid 80s in the valley, and low 60s to high eighties in the desert.  Temperature lows ranged from the mid 10s to high 40s in the mountains, mid 30s to mid 50s along the coast, low 30s to mid 60s in the desert, and low 40s to mid 60s in the valley.

     

    FIELD CROPS

     In Tulare County, winter grain plants were in different stages of growth, with most wheat, oats and barley coming close to maturity.  Some wheat, oats, and barley fields were being treated for weed control.  With the added rain, alfalfa continued to thrive and was growing well.  Corn was being planted.  Safflower planting was finished with most emerged.  Due to cold weather, cotton planting was behind schedule.  Rice ground preparation was ahead of schedule with ground work done in the Sacramento Valley.

     

    FRUIT CROPS

     Stone fruit orchards continued to near the end of bloom and immature stone fruit was steadily developing. Nectarines, peaches, and plumscontinued to size as expected. Cherry and pear fruit were sizing also, but still in the immature stages of growth. Pomegranates, persimmons, and grapes continued to leaf out, with warm weather boosting grape vine budding. Lemon and grapefruit harvest continued. Navel oranges, tangelo, and mandarin harvest progressed well. Tangerine groves continued to be covered with netting to prevent pollination by bees during the bloom period.

     

    NUT CROPS

    Almond development was ongoing, with a few areas predicting a more than favorable crop. Walnuts continued to awaken from winter dormancy. Pistachio leaf out remained steady with no reported issues.

     

    VEGETABLE CROPS

    Summer vegetable fields were prepared for planting.  Processing and fresh tomatoes were showing good growth.  Artichokes were harvested in San Mateo County.  Onion, garlic and parsley fields were growing well in Fresno County. Tulare County reported summer vegetables developed well with warm temperatures and adequate rains.  Strawberries were produced and grew well. Garlic, onions and peas did well under mulch.

     

    LIVESTOCK

     Recent precipitation and the week’s warming temperatures promoted range development. Rangeland and non-irrigated pasture were reported to be in good condition. Movement of cattle to spring pasture began. Some bee hives were moved to citrus orchards and to the foothills.

  • USDA-APHIS Impact Report: Protecting 900 Million Acres of Farmland

    The USDA seal includes the inscription “Agriculture is the foundation of manufacturing and commerce.” It’s fair to say that it is also the foundation of a stable and caring society because agriculture feeds and clothes the people. For nearly 50 years, it’s been the job of APHIS to protect American agriculture’s ability to feed and clothe the world by keeping it healthy. Every American and untold millions of people around the world benefit from healthy and profitable U.S. farms and ranches. It is my honor on behalf of over 8,400 employees, working in all 50 States, 4 territories, and 35 countries to report to you on APHIS’ accomplishments in 2019. Some of the highlights include:

    • 100 percent of the United States is now free of the plum pox virus, thanks to the work of Plant Protection and Quarantine, ending a 20-year battle with the most devastating viral disease of stone fruit worldwide.
    • Unlike those in many countries, Americans don’t have to face African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease, because Veterinary Services ensured there were no incursions of these most devastating of foreign animal diseases.
    •  More than 700 million air passengers flew more safely because Wildlife Services protected them from wildlife strikes at more than 870 U.S. airports and military bases around the globe.
    •  Dogs in breeding operations, primates in research projects, and zoo animals all were safer and healthier because 99 percent of Animal Welfare Act (AWA) licensees and registrants are in substantial compliance thanks to inspections, guidance, and outreach by Animal Care.
    •  All Americans have a more abundant and more affordable food supply, and many others overcame devastating hardships, because more than 1,300 APHIS employees took time away from their families, homes, and regular duties to fight 38 emergency incidents like pest and disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and other threats to U.S. agriculture and health and safety.

    And that’s just a small representation of the things reflected in our 2019 Impact Report. Please consider these numbers:

    • APHIS protected 900 million acres of U.S. farmland.
    • APHIS made it possible for $137 billion in U.S. agricultural exports to move around the world.
    • APHIS helped keep 21.6 million Americans employed in U.S. agriculture, food, and related industries.

    I hope you’ll take some time to review the APHIS 2019 Impact Report to find out more about the impact of

    our work across the nation and worldwide.

     

    You can also find more information about the impact of APHIS’ work by viewing the short videos linked below. Our Deputy Administrators tell the story of an agency with many missions, but one common purpose: keeping the American people fed, clothed, and safe.

    Kevin Shea

    Administrator

     

     

    Deputy Administrator Video Messages:

     

    Animal Health 

    Deputy Administrator Burke Healey

     

    Animal Welfare

    Deputy Administrator Betty Goldentyer

     

    Biotechnology

    Deputy Administrator Bernadette Juarez

     

    Global Trade

    Deputy Administrator Cheryle Blakely

     

    Plant Health

    Deputy Administrator Osama El-Lissy

     

    Wildlife Damage Management

    Deputy Administrator Janet Bucknall

     

  • CA Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement New Membership Sign Up Due April 1

    The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) is currently accepting sign-up forms from new signatories for the2020/21 fiscal year. Since 2007, handlers of California lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens have protected public health by establishing a culture of food safety on the farm through the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement. Buyers of leafy green products look for LGMA certification to see if their suppliers are certified LGMA members; additionally, both Canada and Mexico have regulations in place allowing imports of leafy greens only from LGMA-certified companies.

     

    To participate in the LGMA program from April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021, handlers must submit a sign-up form to the LGMA office by end of day on April 1, 2020. The form can be downloaded by clicking here.

     

    The LGMA has two sign-up periods: at the beginning of its fiscal year (deadline of April 1st) and halfway through its fiscal year (deadline of October 1st). The April 1st deadline is timely for companies in the Salinas region, while the October 1st deadline accommodates handlers in other regions of the state like the Imperial and San Joaquin Valleys. Current members do not need to sign up again.

     

    Handlers who would like to join the LGMA should verify that they meet the LGMA’s definition of a handler and that they handle at least one of the leafy green products covered under the LGMA program. The LGMA defines a handler as: Any person or entity that handles, processes, ships, or distributes leafy green product for market, whether as owner, agent, employee, broker, or otherwise. This definition does not include retailers or companies that grow, but do not market product.

     

    The leafy green products covered by the LGMA are:

    arugula, chard, iceberg lettuce, spinach, baby leaf lettuce, endive, kale, spring mix, butter lettuce, escarole, red leaf lettuce, cabbage, green leaf lettuce, and romaine lettuce

     

    Prospective members should contact Amarachi Okemiri, Member Services + LGMA Tech Director to receive the Membership Information sheet before filling out and returning the sign-up form. Once enrolled in the program, members are subject to compliance audits conducted by California Department of Food and Agriculture inspectors. The goal of these audits is to verify that handlers and their growers comply with the accepted Food Safety Practices of the LGMA. New LGMA Members will be subject to assessment payments on all California grown leafy greens handled by the company during the period of April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021.

     

    Contact Amarachi Okemiri, Member Services + LGMA Tech Director, or Brooke Palmer, Executive Assistant, with any questions. Email: amarachi@lgma.ca.gov or brooke@lgma.ca.gov. Call the office at 916-441-1240.