Springtime is an important time for replenishing your vineyard with the essential nutrients lost from the last harvest. Nitrogen-fixing cover crops are a great source for this. But what types of cover crops are best and how do you tell when it’s time to disk them under? Watch this brief interview with Madera County raisin grower and PCA Manuel Marin to find out. Read more in American Vineyard Magazine.
As biopesticides become more available to the grape industry, growers and PCAs may wonder how to best go about incorporating them in the integrated pest management programs. This was a topic addressed by Dan Rodrigues from Vina Quest and the Cal Poly Viticulture & Enology Department at Malcolm Media’s recent Central Coast Grape Expo. Watch his brief interview here and read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.
Good news for the grape industry. Growers now have access to more nematode resistant rootstocks than ever before. UCCE Viticulture Farm Advisor Karl Lund recently talked about the characteristics and availability of these rootstocks at Malcolm Media’s Tree & Vine Expo in Turlock, CA. Watch his brief interview and read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.
Central Valley Thompson grapes ended up being quite valuable this last harvest, both on the raisin and concentrate side of the business. But as Jeff Bitter from Allied Grape Growers shared in this interview with California Ag Network, both markets can be quite volatile and there are a lot less acres of Thompson Seedless grapes in the ground than there used to be. Check out this interview with Jeff on his insights for the future of the industry and read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.
Last year, wine industry analysts were questioning the strength of the high end wine market, as prices got higher and higher; and now it appears that the tide is turning again for California wine grape growers, as much of the movement of inventory is coming back to the San Joaquin Valley. Watch this brief video with Jeff Bitter from Allied Grape Growers as he explains at the recent Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. He also discusses the potential delay of the USDA Annual Crush Report due to the government shutdown. Read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.
The California raisin industry maintains their reputation for producing the highest quality raisins in the world; however, they are no longer the highest yielding raisin community in the world. The dynamics of raisin marketing also need to evolve with changing economic and consumer trends. Sun-Maid CEO Harry Overly addressed this at their Annual Meeting and shared Sun-Maid’s plans to increase the demand for California raisins. Watch this interview with Overly and read more about it in the coming issue of American Vineyard Magazine.
Over the last couple years, Central Valley raisin growers have been receiving great prices for their crop; however, that hasn’t stopped the continual raisin grape vineyard pullouts going on. So what’s going to change the tide and bring more balance and longterm prosperity for this much needed industry in California? Check out this interview with Sun-Maid Chairman Jeff Jue and CEO Harry Overly to find out, and read more about it in the coming issue of American Vineyard Magazine.
Sun-Maid made a big decision this year to opt out of the Raisin Bargaining Association’s negotiated field price for the first time ever. While growers were excited about receiving the highest price ever for their raisins, Sun-Maid representatives felt the price was too high under current circumstances in the world raisin market. Watch this interview with Sun-Maid Chairman Jeff Jue, as he shares their stance on the raisin market and what this means for the industry moving forward. Read more about it in the coming issue of American Vineyard Magazine.
With record low raisin inventories in California this past year, record high imports of raisins flooded the US market. Foreign competitors also took larger shares of key export markets for the California raisin industry. With increasing production costs and declining raisin grape acreage, what can the California raisin industry do to remain competitive in the world market? Harry Overly answered this question at Sun-Maid’s 106th annual Meeting on Dec. 1st, and in this video interview with California Ag Network. Watch this brief interview and read the full report of Sun-Maid’s Annual Meeting in the coming issue of American Vineyard Magazine.
At the time of Malcolm Media’s Central Grape Expo mid-November, some growers were still out harvesting; but many took a short break to attend this popular half-day industry event. One of the featured speakers this year was Todd Azevedo from Ciatti Company who shared his insights on the current State of the Central Coast Wine industry, and how different varieties are trending in the market. Watch this brief interview with Todd Azevedo, and read his State of the Industry report in the coming January issue of American Vineyard Magazine.