Focus on Ag April 2020

APRIL 2020

Rivas introduces farmworker relief package Salinas Valley wineries win Green Medals California added to SNAP online pilot program A PUBLICATION OF

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FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

APRIL 2020

SALINAS VALLEY

Salinas Valley wineries win Green Medals ANNUAL AWARDS RECOGNIZE WINERIES’ COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY STAFF REPORT

Pisoni Family Vineyards

California Green Medal winners have been announced for the sixth annual Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Awards.

The California Green Medal recognizes the leadership of wineries and vineyards committed to sustainability and is presented by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, California Association of Winegrape Growers, Wine Institute, Lodi Winegrape Commission, Napa Valley Vintners, Sonoma County Winegrowers and Vineyard Team.

Four Green Medals are presented in the following c a t e g o r i e s : L e a d e r, Environment, Community and Business.

J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines was awarded the 2020 Leader Award, given to the vineyard or winery that excels in the three “E’s” of sustainability — Environmentally sound, socially Equitable and Economically viable practices.

With wineries in Paso Robles, San Jose and Greenfield, family-owned a n d o p e rat e d J. L o h r Vineyards and Wines has been instrumental in several groundbreaking water efficiency initiatives, using innovative technologies to increase irrigation efficiency and recycle process water. All of

its vineyards and wineries are Certified California Sustainable.

In J. Lohr’s Paso Robles winery, they reduced the amount of water needed to make one gallon of wine from 3.5 to 1.3 gallons. The winery has also invested heavily in energy-efficient technologies, with a 756 KW solar (photovoltaic) tracking system that supplies 65 percent of electrical needs in Paso Robles and a 920.7 KW flat mount system that covers nearly 100 percent of energy needs at its new winery in Greenfield.

Owl boxes, located every 30 to 40 acres in all of its vineyards, provide gopher control; while songbird boxes are installed to attract native species for biodiversity. J. Lohr has carried out extensive habitat and riverbank restoration along 3,900 feet of the Napa River that borders its Carol’s Vineyard in St. Helena.

On the social aspect of sustainability, J. Lohr was one of the first vineyard companies to provide longterm employment and yearround health benefits to vineyard workers and their families. It also provides ongoing career education for all associates and an employee garden.

Pisoni Family Vineyards in Gonzales was awarded the 2020 Business Award, given to the vineyard or winery that best demonstrates smart business through efficiencies, cost savings and innovation from

GOING GREEN Pisoni Family Vineyards in Gonzales received a Green Medal Award to recognize its efforts toward sustainability. implementing sustainable practices.

Now in the hands of the third generation, Pisoni Family’s holistic and inclusive approach to practicing sustainability in their vineyards and winery in the Santa Lucia Highlands began with their grandparents, Eddie and Jane, who started the family farming legacy in 1952. They believe that the best approach to having a successful sustainability program is to be inclusive, transparent and open to new ideas.

Examples of their focus

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o n e ffi c i e n c y i n c l u d e monitoring every drop of water applied to their vineyards, and recording annual water usage, winter rainfall, shoot tip growth, leaf angle and vine color. To conserve water, a pressure bomb tracks leaf water potential, soil moisture probes are placed at different soil depths, the Tule System measures evapotranspiration and distribution uniformity tests are regularly conducted.

In 2018, they installed a solar system that meets 80 percent of their electricity needs and offsets 240,000

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or winery that is a good neighbor and employer using the most innovative practices that enhance relations with employees, neighbors and/ or communities.

•Bonterra Organic Vineyards in Mendocino County, which received the 2020 Environment Award, given to the vineyard or winery that best demonstrates environmental stewardship through maximized environmental benefits from implementing sustainable practices. “ The Green Medal ➝ See GREEN, page 3

NATION

Farm Credit West distributes $120,000 to food banks CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE

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pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year. In addition, they upgraded winery lighting to LED and used variable frequency drive pumps in the vineyard to improve efficiency.

T h e P i s o n i Fa m i l y welcomes local students and visitors from around the globe to visit their 1.5acre insectary garden to learn about sustainable practices.

O t h e r G r e e n Me d a l winners for 2020 were: •Clif Family Winery in St. Helena, which was awarded the 2020 Community Award, given to the vineyard

Farm Credit West, ACA, one of the nation’s largest agricultural lending cooperatives, announced April 6 the distribution of $120,000 to food banks throughout California and Arizona.

These contributions are aimed at providing relief to communities negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Virtually overnight, local communities where our staff and customers live and operate have experienced unprecedented challenges as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mark Littlefield, president and CEO of Farm Credit West. “Food banks are struggling to meet demand as local families face increasing food shortages.

These communities are the backbone of our Association and our board is committed to contributing resources to provide relief to those impacted by this crisis.”

F a r m C r e d i t We s t distributed $4,000 grants to 30 food banks throughout the regions in which it operates.

“Our stewardship and philanthropic partnership

p r o g r a m h av e b e e n a core component to our business operations since our inception over 100 years ago,” Littlefield said.

“With the recent school closures, challenges to the workforce and increasing health risks, we believe it critical to respond quickly and in a significant way to provide financial assistance in the regions we serve.

“A s w e e n t e r t h i s time of uncertainty, our Association is committed to monitoring and responding to the needs in our communities.”

APRIL 2020

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

STATE

Assemblyman Rivas introduces farmworker relief package STAFF REPORT

With California farms facing labor shortages, grocers experiencing empty shelves because of logistical bottlenecks, and many of the state's up to one million farmworkers lacking access to health care, Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) introduced legislation on April 9 to protect the health, safety and economic security of agricultural workers and prevent disruptions to the nation’s food supply.

The five-bill "California Farmworker COVID-19 Relief Package" proposes to expand paid sick leave for farmworkers, provide supplemental hazard pay, extend a tax credit to farmers who offer overtime work to their workers, fund an outreach campaign to educate workers on personal protection practices and help expedite temporar y housing to mitigate overcrowding and allow for social distancing.

GREEN ➝ From page 2

recognizes the commitment and dedication to sustainability by California growers and vintners and shines a spotlight on industry leaders,” said Allison Jordan, CSWA

The bills were conceived following consultation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture as well as members of the agricultural industry and farmworker community.

“California’s farmworkers play a critical role in our state’s $50 billion agriculture industry, and in our nation’s food supply,” said Rivas, who grew up in farmworker housing. “Governor Newsom has rightly designated agricultural workers as an essential infrastructure workforce. But as we ask our farmworkers to continue working through the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take action to protect their health, safety and economic security. Protecting farmworkers is not just our moral duty, it is also critical for preventing disruptions to our food supply.”

Agriculture and farmworkers currently face unprecedented demand for food products as residents of California and elsewhere stock their pantries to ensure they can shelter-in-place. Yet

even as they work to meet this demand, farmworkers often lack access to adequate healthcare, and they live and work in crowded conditions that can leave them vulnerable to contracting COVID-19.

“Protecting our farmworkers is especially important as they step up to the plate, placing themselves at risk, to feed our families and keep our food supply intact during this challenging time,” said Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), coauthor of the bills.

Rivas and Garcia represent agricultural districts, home to tens of thousands of farmworkers in the Salinas and Coachella Valleys.

“My grandfather was a farmworker, and I saw how tirelessly he worked under difficult conditions," Rivas said. "Farmworkers are the unsung heroes who help keep our country fed. I feel a personal responsibility to make sure we take care of them, just like they take care of us.”

executive director. “Once again, the judging panel was impressed by the breadth and depth of sustainable practices being used by growers and vintners across the state to conserve water and energy, maintain healthy soil, protect air and water quality, preserve wildlife habitat and enhance

relations with employees and communities, all while improving the economic vitality of vineyards and wineries and growing and making high-quality wine.”

A panel of wine and s u s t a i n a b i l i ty e x p e r t s judged the applications for this year’s California Green Medal.

*cover photography by Tarmo Hannula

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HORTICULTURE

USDA

California, Arizona added to SNAP online pilot program

Cultivar is a cultivated variety

By TONY TOMEO

A

STAFF REPORT

contributed

plant “variety” is a group within a species that exhibits distinguishing characteristics. A “cultivar” is simply a cultivated variety. The first five letters of 'cultivated' merged with the first three letters of “variety” to form the word “cultivar.” A variety should be self perpetuating to some degree, and may be naturally occurring.

A cultivar perpetuates by unnatural means, and would go extinct otherwise.

Of course, the distinction between variety and cultivar is not always so obvious. Varieties of nasturtium were selected from plants that displayed desirable qualities. Seed of these varieties grows into plants that display the same qualities. However, without continued selection, some varieties eventually revert to a more feral state in only a few generations. They are not truly self perpetuating.

Most hybrid tomatoes are unable to perpetuate themselves naturally. Their seed is either not viable, or is very genetically variable.

Genetically variable seed grows into plants that are very unlikely to produce fruit that is comparable to that which produced their own seed. Nonetheless, hybrid tomatoes grown from original (primary generation) seed are generally varieties rather than cultivars.

The distinction might be that they grow from seed. A plant that is cloned rather than grown from seed is a cultivar. Cloned plants can be grown from cutting, layering or grafting

PINK TOUCH Indian hawthorn is an early bloomer. onto understock, but are genetically identical to the original. Some rare camellias grown now are genetically identical copies of original cultivars that were developed centuries ago. Their seed would not be the same.

Some cultivars developed from selective breeding.

Others were random but appealingly distinctive plants in the wild or even in landscapes. Many originated as “sports,” which are mutant growths of otherwise normal plants. For example, some plants, on rare occasion, produce stems with variegated foliage. Cuttings taken from such variegated stems became popular variegated cultivars.

Seed from a variegated cultivar is very unlikely to produce more variegated plants.

Here on the West Coast of California, Indian hawthorn, Raphiolepis indica, was formerly popular as a foundation plant. The compact hollies that were used as such in the East never became very popular here. Back when rain gutters were

prohibitively expensive, foundation plants diffused water as it fell from roofs.

This limited erosion, and also inhibited splattering onto lower parts of walls.

Modern Indian hawthorn cultivars are now appreciated elsewhere in landscapes for profuse pink bloom in late winter or early spring. Sporadic bloom might continue through summer, with a minor secondary bloom phase in autumn. The most compact cultivars display slightly richer pink bloom, followed by mildly bronzed new foliage. At least one cultivar exhibits barely blushed white bloom.

“Majestic Beauty” is a cultivar that might be a hybrid with loquat. It can grow as a small tree more than ten feet high and wide.

Other cultivars do not get half as big. Most get less than four feet high. They work nicely as low and plump hedges, but should be shorn after bloom.

Full sun exposure and occasional irrigation should be sufficient. They are popular, because they are so undemanding.

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APRIL 2020

U. S . S e c r e t a r y o f Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently announced the approval of a California and Arizona request to provide online purchasing of food to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households.

This approval will allow these states to expedite the implementation of online purchasing with currently authorized SNAP online retailers with a target start date later this month.

C a l i f o r n i a ’s S NA P participation is over 4 million individuals, more than 2.2 million households and totals more than $6 billion annually in federal funding.

Arizona’s participation is nearly 800,000 individuals, almost 380,000 households, and totals nearly $1 billion.

“We are expanding new flexibilities and innovative programs to make sure Americans across this country have safe and nutritious food during this national emergency,” Secretary Perdue said.

“Enabling people to purchase foods online will go a long way in helping Americans follow CDC social distancing guidelines and help slow the spread of the coronavirus. We are mandated with the noble goal of feeding Americans when they need it most, and we are fulfilling that mission with

new innovative programs during this national emergency.”

The SNAP online pilot is currently operational in Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, Oregon and Washington State. Nebraska joined the pilot on April 1.

Maryland and New Je r s e y r e m a i n n o n ‐ operational pilot states.

Authorized retailers working with all pilot states are Amazon and Walmar t, while Wrights Market and ShopRite are working with Alabama and New York respectively. Dash’s Market, Fresh Direct, Hy‐Vee and Safeway are authorized retailers, which are not currently operational.

T h o u g h t h e U. S .

Department of Agriculture ( US DA ) Fo o d a n d Nutrition Service (FNS) are receiving interest to expand the SNAP online pilot program, the responsibility is on state agencies, their thirdparty processor and any retailers who wish to participate. To ease the process, FNS put together a simplified template for states who wish to enter the online pilot.

A USDA spokesperson said that the agency “continues to provide significant technical assistance to interested states to ensure that plans are thorough and that appropriate preliminary testing is conducted.”

“If not done properly and judiciously, there is a risk to the State’s entire benefit system,” they said. “Each State, its EBT processor and retailers present their own mix of challenges, so FNS is providing customer service based on each of their specific needs.”

FNS will continue to work with interested states in advancing their participation in this pilot. Until states are prepared to operate the pilot, USDA recommends states utilize other options that retailers may already provide, such as Pay at Pick-up (also known as “Click and Collect”), where SNAP cardholders can shop online and then pay for their purchase using their EBT card at pick-up. Grocery pickup is already an option that these retailers offer beyond SNAP so they are already thinking through how they can provide a safe environment to do so with the growing concerns around social distancing.

“FNS is working hand-in-hand with state program leadership, to provide support and guidance to adapt to the challenges of this public health emergency,” the spokesperson said. “USDA intends to use available program flexibilities and contingencies to continue to serve our program participants.”

For information visit usda.gov.

APRIL 2020

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APRIL 2020

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