The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is announcing two vacancies on the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee. The committee advises the CDFA Secretary on activities associated with the statewide citrus specific pest and disease work plan that includes, but is not limited to, outreach and education programs and programs for surveying, detecting, analyzing, and treating pests and diseases specific to citrus.
Committee member vacancies exists for one grower representative from Fresno County, the member term expires on September 30, 2022, and one public member, the member term expires on September 30, 2025. Individuals interested in being considered for a committee appointment should send a resume by November 15, 2021.
The members receive no compensation but are entitled to payment of necessary travel expenses in accordance with the rules of the Department of Personnel Administration.
Applicants should have an interest in agriculture and citrus pest and disease prevention. Individuals interested in being considered for a committee appointment should send a brief resume by November 15, 2021 to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division, 1220 N Street, Sacramento, California 95814, Attention: David Gutierrez.
For additional information, contact: David Gutierrez, Branch Chief, Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division at (916) 274-6300, or e-mail David.Gutierrez@cdfa.ca.gov. — Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program
A new resource for small olive oil farmers and producers who want to know more about voluntary Olive Oil Commission of California (OOCC) membership is now available on the OOCC website. While OOCC membership is not required for producers of less than 5,000 gallons of olive oil per year, they may choose to participate in the OOCC’s mandatory sampling and testing program on a voluntary basis.
A few years ago, the OOCC Board created a voluntary version of the OOCC’s mandatory sampling and testing program to make it more accessible and affordable for smaller producers. The program is available to any California olive oil producer committed to high quality standards for their product and who wishes to have this quality verified by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
This OOCC program is only for 100 percent California olive oil. The benefits to members include:
● OOCC member olive oil is analyzed by a credible, independent laboratory to ensure it meets stringent standards for quality and purity;
● Samples are collected and verified by the California Department of Food and Agriculture;
● Members who meet the stringent CDFA standards are allowed to use the OOCC logo on their packaging and marketing materials;
● A list of OOCC Members in Good Standing, which includes voluntary members, is maintained and published each year;
The information packet is available HEREand includes more details about the OOCC program Members in Good Standing and other useful resources to help you make an informed decision. Should you have questions or need additional information, please contact OOCC Executive Director Chris Zanobini by email at chris@agamisi.comor phone at (916) 441-1581.
A local infestation of the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) has been detected in a residential area of Vacaville in Solano County. The pest is primarily a threat to grapevines because it can spread a fatal bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease (PD); however, the pest and disease can also impact susceptible types of citrus crops. Five adult GWSS were found Oct. 1 in traps set as part of a broad array designed specifically to detect this pest throughout areas of the state that are not infested. Additional traps have since been deployed at a higher density near those two initial detection sites, detecting approximately 35 additional GWSS. Visual surveys of plant material in the area have also detected egg masses in the same neighborhood. No GWSS or egg masses have been detected outside this immediate area.
Working with the Solano County Agricultural Commissioner’s office and others in the region, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is continuing to survey the area, inform local growers and the broader community, and develop appropriate next steps to eradicate this infestation.
If agricultural officials determine that pesticide treatments are necessary to eradicate this infestation, treatments would be made by ground equipment only and would consist of applications to the root zone and leaves/branches of the host plants to target adult GWSS and provide long-term, systemic protection against re-infestation. In previous eradication projects for this pest, properties with host plants within a 150-meter radius around each detection site were treated.
Residents of affected properties will be invited to a public meeting with officials from CDFA, the county agricultural commissioner’s office, the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to address residents’ questions and concerns. Residents would be notified in writing at least 48 hours in advance of any treatment.
GWSS is an invasive and aggressive vector of PD, which is considered one of the most devastating diseases of grapevines in the world. It currently infests 12 California counties, with established populations across Southern California. While grapevines are the pest’s most famous target, other crops and ornamental plants such as almonds, citrus, stone fruit and various shade trees are also at risk from the PD’s strain of the bacterium.
For additional information and details on the infestation, please visit CDFA’s website here. — Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program
Information contained in this report was supplied by walnut handlers to fulfill reporting requirements of Sections 55601.7 and 55601.8 of the Food and Agricultural Code. The report includes all tonnages of walnuts 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 WALNUT HANDLERS’ REPORTS
Walnuts produced by handlers in 2020 totaled 12,572 tons. This figure does NOT include walnuts purchased from other handlers or producers.
The total 2020 walnut crop purchased from producers, for whom pricing had been finalized, reached 728,746 tons at an average price of 60.5 cents per pound. This price is rounded to the nearest tenth of a cent per pound and includes all bonuses and allowances.
Purchases from producers, for whom pricing was NOT finalized, totaled 45,543 tons. The average “good faith” estimate of the final weighted average price for this tonnage was 56.3 cents per pound.
The quantity of all walnuts purchased from producers was 774,289 tons for the 2020 crop. This figure does not include walnuts produced by the handler or purchased from other handlers. The tonnage produced by the handler plus tonnage purchased from producers for the 2020 walnut crop was 786,861 in-shell tons.
DEFINITIONS
Producer:A person or operator who is responsible for the walnuts in the unprocessed state.
Handler:Firm that processes and markets walnuts.
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.
The California State Board of Food and Agriculture will celebrate “Farmer and Farmworker Month” with perspectives and presentations from the agricultural community. The Board will also hear updates on federal and state disaster assistance programs related to drought and wildfires. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. via GoToWebinar.
“With all the challenges California agriculture has had over the last year – it’s a truly a pleasure to celebrate California Grown’s Farmer and Farmworker Month,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “This month gives us an opportunity to recognize and give thanks to the individuals who work on a daily basis to provide healthy and nutritious food to our tables and who are stewards to the more than 24 million acres of farmland in our state.”
Invited speakers include: Cherie Watte, Buy California Marketing Agreement (CAGROWN); Cole and Veronica Mazariegos-Anastassiou, Brisa Ranch; Cristóbal Cruz Hernández, Brisa Ranch; Chris Maher, Briar Patch Food Co-op; Blake and Stephanie Alexandre, Alexandre Family Farm; David Villarino Gonzalez, Farmworker Institute of Education and Leadership Development (FIELD); Hernan Hernandez, California Farmworker Foundation; Ryan Buras, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES); Jacque Johnson, USDA Farm Service Agency; Carlos Suarez, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Jeff Yasui, USDA Risk Management Agency and other invited speakers. “As a farmer, it’s the agricultural workforce that makes California agriculture what it is today,” said President Don Cameron, California State Board of Food and Agriculture. “Without the hard, dedicated, and skilled work of farmworkers we couldn’t enjoy the locally produced foods, farm-to-fork menus or the abundance of produce on our supermarket shelves. Farming requires a workforce, farmers and farmworkers, that California is blessed to have.”
The California State Board of Food and Agriculture advises the governor and CDFA secretary on agricultural issues and consumer needs. The Board conducts forums that bring together local, state and federal government officials; agricultural representatives; and citizens to discuss current issues and concerns to California agriculture.
This meeting will have simultaneous audio translation in Spanish and can be accessed at (844) 460-0074 at the start of the meeting.
UC Davis researchers are evaluating the use of pelletized compost made from dairy manure and almond tree twigs, to create safe, pathogen-free, value-added amendments to boost soil health.
Building healthy soils has tremendous benefits. Increasing the amount of organic matter within the soil can improve water retention and protection, reduce erosion, sequester carbon, and improve crop yields. Increasing water scarcity and severe drought conditions make boosting soil resilience an even greater priority for California. Researchers are exploring how the environmental benefits of healthy soils initiatives can extend even further when readily available agricultural resources are used in regenerative ways.
A team of UC Davis researchers, led by Dr. Ruihong Zhang, has recycled dairy manure and almond twig waste into a nutrient-rich, safe, organic soil amendment. The new product was created and applied, and its effects continue to be studied. The idea is that the woody material can capture nutrients in the manure and slowly release them, as needed, into the soil. Because the product is also pelletized, it can be applied to croplands and orchards with standard farm equipment. Ultimately, the researchers hope to create a new model for using recycled agricultural resources to sequester carbon and provide benefits to the soil, crops, and the environment.
The partnership was a natural fit, as the Central Valley is home to many neighboring dairy farms and almond orchards, which have a long history of collaboration. Dairies are already major consumers of almond co-products, including hulls (used as a highly nutritious feed ingredient) and shells (used as a bedding material). With a goal of achieving zero waste by 2025, the California almond community has been actively investigating a wide variety of ways to utilize woody biomass, including twigs, pruned branches, and tree removals. Meanwhile, the dairy community has been exploring ways to expand use of manure nutrients across California’s diverse agricultural landscape.
“Creating valuable manure-based soil amendments is an area that the dairy sector has been focusing on, but there are some challenges,” said Denise Mullinax, Executive Director of the California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF). “We know that farmers want a soil amendment with a consistent and reliable nutrient profile. It also needs to be easy to transport and apply. That’s why we are thrilled to support this team of esteemed researchers and to partner with the almond industry on this project. Together, we’re piloting a new avenue to enhance the benefits of both manure and woody biomass.”
The initial project was funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)’s Healthy Soils Program. As the project scope grew, the researchers were awarded additional funding from the demonstration category of CDFA’s Alternative Manure Management Program. With supplemental support from the CDRF and the Almond Board of California, the research project developed to include a team of more than 20 individuals—including researchers, farmers, and industry collaborators—contributing throughout a three-year timeframe. The project includes two seasons of creating soil amendments and applying them to the orchard, and three years of studying effects on soil health, emissions, tree health, and crop yield, while ensuring food safety.
Using composted manure from Wickstrom Dairies, the study will shine a light for future research on expanding and improving manure utilization. Like many California dairies, the farm uses a separator system to remove solids from liquid manure streams. The solids are then sun dried in rows that are turned over periodically, as a form of composting. Dried manure solids are traditionally used for bedding or are applied to dairy forage fields. For this study, a portion of the finer manure solids were co-composted with twigs from almond production and then ran through a pelletizer. Pelletizing the compost is intended to provide a more consistent blend, while creating an easy-to-use product. The pelletized compost product has now been applied to the pilot orchard for two consecutive seasons. Four treatments were used to examine differences in manure-only verses manure-twig and pelletized versus non-pelletized compost products.
“We look forward to seeing the final results,” said Mullinax. “Dr. Zhang and her team are demonstrating that it’s possible to make a pelletized product that is safe and easy to use, while fully assessing the environmental benefits. It’s projects like this that will pave the way for implementing advanced nutrient management on a larger scale, greatly enhancing soil health and further improving water conservation and protection.”
The research team highlighted the project by providing a virtual field day, and they plan to host another outreach event this fall. Research is scheduled to conclude in March 2022. However, longer-term effects on soil health will continue to be studied. And the final report will only be the beginning of more learnings to come.
Potential research areas to be explored next include applications on different kinds of crops, comparing a pelletized versus granulated product, and using varying types of dairy manure solids (from different types of separators, settling basins, and lagoon solids). Additionally, the use of infrared technology versus composting will be explored prior to pelletization or granulation. All options will also need to be assessed for cost-effectiveness and potential scalability.
The manure-twig project is part of a broader, collaborative effort to expand manure’s role in healthy soils. California dairy farmers will continue to work with researchers, state officials, and other agricultural professionals to find more ways to maximize manure’s role in building healthy soils and protecting our air, water, and climate. The possibilities for sustainable solutions are bright when farmers and scientists come together to make new use of existing resources and technologies.
California dairy farmers will continue partnering to help make an underutilized resource an important part of a healthy-soil future.
Today is California Biodiversity Day, and CDFA is pleased and proud to recognize this day along with the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other government agencies and partners that spend every day working hard to restore, to preserve and enhance California’s biodiversity.
Our state is a biodiversity hotspot — we have 1,500 species that are only found here in California, the most of any other state; we have a fabulous Mediterranean climate, one of only five in the world; we have the highest point and the lowest point in the continental US; and we have multiple microclimates that contribute to our biodiversity.
Biodiversity is the foundation for healthy, thriving agricultural production system. Our farmers are right there on the edge of natural working landscapes, food security, and interacting with our natural environment, and it all starts with soil. We sometimes forget that a quarter of diverse species are under our feet… in soil. One handful of soil contains more microorganisms then all the people on the globe. That’s pretty remarkable!
Our farmers take care of that soil with a number of different practices. They are always looking to sequester organisms that will give them longer-term productivity by storing carbon in the soils, and that increases water holding capacities, stops erosion, and helps to preserve biodiversity. It also improves the resiliency of our plants and helps us fight climate change.
I’m really pleased that CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program is a key part of the state’s biodiversity initiative across agencies. We have been able to invest more than $40 million in incentive grants to our farmers to use compost to sequester carbon and plant cover crops, hedge rows, riparian habitat and pollinator habitat, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building up our productivity and sustainability.
Here are a couple of specific examples, out of many — almond growers have put in hundreds and hundreds of acres of pollinator habitat, and rice growers have spent the last two decades making their rice fields a winter home to a multitude of species along the Pacific Flyway.
In closing I would like to reiterate that biodiversity is essential in California. It makes our state a special and unique place, and I call on all of us to share a commitment to preserve it, restore it and enhance it. Let’s celebrate our biodiversity today and every day!
With California’s Proposition 12’s (Prop 12) January 1, 2022, effective date for pork looming and the rules implementing the law nearly two years late and far from final, the North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today called for a moratorium on enforcement to allow those subject to the law time to comply.
“Until final rules issue, affected companies are ‘on hold’ with respect to what they must do to comply with Prop 12 to avoid the risk of criminal prosecution,” said The Meat Institute’s Chief Operating Officer, Mark Dopp. “For that reason alone equity demands the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) issue an enforcement moratorium lasting at least 28 months after final rules are published.”
Dopp made these remarks during a public hearing on the proposed rules associated with Proposition 12 held by CDFA and the California Department of Public Health.
Prop 12 directed CDFA to promulgate regulations implementing the law by September 1, 2019.
“Had CDFA met its statutory deadline there would have been regulatory certainty and industry would have had 28 months to prepare for Prop 12. But as I read this statement, the comment period regarding the proposed regulations with their many flaws is still open and publication of final regulations likely remains months away,” said Dopp.
“Those who contend the industry has had enough time to comply with Prop 12 either do not understand or ignore, perhaps willfully, the complexity of the pork supply chain and the segregation and other costs Prop 12 will impose on packer/processors and other players in that chain.”
In June, the Meat Institute submitted 12 pages of comments, found here that said the rules, if finalized, would create a bureaucratic labyrinth of regulatory provisions:
requiring an almost unworkable annual certification of veal and breeding pig (sow) facilities;
creating an overly complex accreditation process for entities allowed to certify those facilities;
imposing detailed recordkeeping requirements on producers and throughout the supply chain;
The North American Meat Institute is the leading voice for the meat and poultry industry. The Meat Institute’s members process the vast majority of U.S. beef, pork, lamb, and poultry, as well as manufacture the equipment and ingredients needed to produce the safest and highest quality meat and poultry products.
Branched broomrape (Phelipanche ramosa), a parasitic weed that was the focus of a $1.5 million eradication effort four decades ago in California, has recently re-emerged in tomato fields in several Central Valley counties. Processing tomatoes are important to the California agricultural economy; the state produced over 90% of the 12 million tons of tomatoes grown in the United States in 2018. Branched broomrape is listed as an “A” noxious weed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA); discovery of broomrape in California tomato fields leads to quarantine and crop destruction without harvest, resulting in significant economic loss to growers.
In countries where broomrape is common, yield reductions caused by this parasitic weed can range from moderate to 80%, depending upon the infestation level, host and environmental conditions. Developing a detailed understanding of the biology of this weed under local conditions is an important step towards developing effective management plans for California. In the latest issue of California Agriculture (a University of California, Agriculture & Natural Resources publication), extension researchers discuss branched broomrape in the context of California production systems, particularly of tomato. They also discuss the potential management practices that could help to prevent or reduce the impacts of branched broomrape in tomatoes and other host crops. Read the full article HERE.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has declared a quarantine in north San Diego County following the detection of the citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, in two citrus trees on one residential property in the city of Oceanside. This is the first time the plant disease, which does not harm people but is deadly to citrus, has been detected in San Diego County. CDFA is working with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner on this cooperative project.
The detection will require a mandatory 68-square-mile quarantine area around the find site to restrict the movement of citrus fruit, trees and related plant material. The quarantine area is bordered on the north by Stagecoach at Camp Pendleton; on the south by Tamarack Ave in Carlsbad; on the west by the Pacific Ocean; and on the east by North Santa Fe in Vista. HLB quarantine maps for San Diego County are available online at: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/hlb/regulation.html. Please check this link for future quarantine expansions, should they occur. An HLB quarantine area currently exists in parts of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where more than 2,400 trees have tested positive for the disease and have been removed.
The quarantine prohibits the movement of all citrus nursery stock or plant parts out of the quarantine area. Provisions exist to allow the movement of commercially cleaned and packed citrus fruit. Fruit that is not commercially cleaned and packed must not be moved from the property on which it is grown, although it may be processed and/or consumed on the premises. This includes residential citrus, such as oranges, lemons, grapefruit and kumquats.
Residents are urged to take several steps to help protect citrus trees:
– Do not move citrus plants, leaves or foliage into or out of the quarantine area or across state or international borders. Keep it local. – Cooperate with agricultural officials placing traps, inspecting trees and treating for the pest. – If you no longer wish to care for your citrus tree, consider removing it so it does not become a host to the pest and disease.
HLB is a bacterial disease that affects the vascular system of citrus trees and plants. It does not pose a threat to humans or animals. The Asian citrus psyllid can spread the bacteria as the pest feeds on citrus trees and plants. Once a tree is infected, there is no cure; the tree will produce bitter and misshaped fruit and die within a few years.
CDFA staff are scheduling removal of the infected trees and are in the midst of surveying citrus trees in a 250-meter radius around the detection site to determine if any other trees are infected with HLB. A treatment program for citrus trees to reduce Asian citrus psyllid infestations will also be conducted within 250-meter radius of the find site. By taking this action, a critical reservoir of the disease and its vectors will be removed, which is essential to protect surrounding citrus from this deadly disease.
CDFA, in partnership with the USDA, local County Agricultural Commissioners, and the citrus industry, continues to pursue a strategy of controlling the spread of the Asian citrus psyllid while researchers work to find a cure for the disease.
