“The raisin price is going up this year” is what raisin growers were looking to hear at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Raisin Bargaining Association (RBA), and that is exactly what RBA representatives shared at their recent gathering in downtown Fresno. Watch this brief interview with RBA CEO Kalem Barserian following his address at the meeting, and read the full report in the April issue of American Vineyard Magazine.
Powdery mildew is an early season disease and growers should have a strategy in place as to how to manage it. Viticulture Farm Advisor Rhonda Smith talked about this at the recent Sonoma Grape Expo. Watch this interview with Rhonda as she offers some considerations for growers moving into the 2018 growing season.
Pistachio growers just enjoyed gathering for the annual American Pistachio Growers Conference last week. Watch this conference wrap-up interview with APG Executive Director Richard Matoian as he shares the current State of the Pistachio Industry, both the successes, and some concerns for the industry moving forward. Read more about it in the coming issue of Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.
Growers experienced unusually early warm temperatures this year throughout the state that was followed by a severe freeze that lasted long enough to do some damage to various crops in California. Although it will take some time to determine exactly how much damage the freeze caused, watch this brief interview with Alexander Ott from the California Blueberry & Apple Commissions as he shares some initial results.
Over the last several months, there has been a lot of news coverage on the wildfires that devastated many parts of the state; however, the actual impact of the wildfires on the North Coast Wine Industry has been exaggerated in some of these reports. That is why Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute conducted a study to get some statistical data on the actual effects the fires had on California’s North Coast wine industry. Watch this interview with Executive Director of the Wine Business Institute Ray Johnson as he shares some preliminary results of this study. Read more in American Vineyard Magazine.
The deadly HLB spreading asian citrus psyllid (ACP) continues to make its way through citrus orchards all over California, and the industry is going to need to work together to slow the spread of this pest to buy researchers sufficient time to come up with a solution for HLB. Watch this brief interview with UC Entomologist Beth Grafton-Cardwell as she discusses what works for controlling ACP and growers are doing in southern and central California to manage the pest.
It’s going to be another tough year for growers when it comes to finding sufficient labor to take care of the 2018 crop. Watch this brief interview with Michael Miiller from the California Association of Winegrape Growers who provided an update on the current legislative status of the labor and immigration situation. Miiller helps growers understand the current dynamics taking place between Sacramento and Washington D.C. making it difficult to come to any immediate solution.
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For the first time in recorded history, California is suffering from both an emergency state of drought and flood simultaneously. Watch this video interview with California Ag Network and Aubrey Bettencourt from the California Water Alliance as she describes the current water crisis at hand.