Calendar of Events

Quick Links

As reported earlier in our newsletter, the passage of the Farm Bill has been clouded by the House of Representative's decision to separate consideration of nutrition programs which now constitute about 85% of "farm bill" spending. Thursday the House of Representatives planned to vote on a separate piece of legislation, which would cut $40 billion from SNAP costs over the next ten years. The current plan is for the House to couple the nutrition bill with its "farm-only" bill and send the package to conference with the comprehensive Senate-passed farm bill.

But is this separation of farm programs from nutrition programs ultimately a good idea? Some don't think so. In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and Tom Daschle (D-SC) wrote, "By stripping the nutrition title from the legislation this year, the House has severed the vital tie that helps connect our food system with those who struggle with hunger in our own backyard." Arguably, both rural and urban legislators have a stake in the nutrition title in this round.

Dole and Daschle also said "We proudly count ourselves among a series of bipartisan teams of legislators who worked past those differences to address hunger through provisions in the farm bill." Message to Congress: We made this work in the past; it's up to you to do it today.
   

Even if the House approves its nutrition bill, it is uncertain whether policy differences could be resolved with the Senate. There are those in the Congress who oppose not only the food stamp provisions, but any type of Farm Bill itself.

So if the Congress fails to pass a new Farm Bill, will we see another simple extension of the 2008 Act? That would be a blow to specialty crop agriculture, particularly as it relates to research. For instance, the vitally-important work just initiated by Dr. Kendra Baumgartner and her team to develop diagnostic tools and control measures for trunk diseases will run out of funding after this year. NGWI's top priority research proposal to develop sensor technology as the first step toward precision agriculture would be stymied without any federal government funding.
             

Additionally, funding for the NCPN would be lost and the production of the critically needed quality, disease and pest free plant materials would cease. This would not only cause an economic loss, but also reduce access to clean vines just as industry demand for vineyard expansion continues.

Besides that, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has signaled that the administration would veto an extension of the current Farm Bill, and allow the so-called permanent law enacted in 1949 to once again stand. The 1949 law sought parity between farm and city economic indicators, and would translate into huge increases in farm support payments. Clearly, the threat of reverting to the 1949 law has served as impetus to take action on Farm Bills in the past.

Will cooler heads prevail? Will we re-authorize and improve access of specialty crops to research funding and continue funding of other critical programs? Only time will tell if the long-standing connection between farming and hunger concerns will forge a path forward in this divided Congress.  

Lodi, CA - The harvest is on - and in some cases, as much as two weeks early. For the time being, many of the local coffee shops are empty, as growers are too busy with harvest. But we are all familiar with the local gathering spot where information about the crop, pest issues, water woes and even politics are shared

Matthew Hoffman and the Lodi Winegrape Commission have taken the concept of the local coffee shop to a whole new level with their launch in August of "The Coffee Shop." Check it out at http://www.lodigrowers.com  
      

This week, there is a new posting by Dr. Kendra Baumgartner about controlling trunk disease. The article includes several photos to help you with detection, as well as information about avoidance of these deadly cankers. The Commission is also sponsoring a Symposium on November 5th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Managing Vineyard Trunk Disease at Burgundy Hall in the Commission's office. Three hours of California Department of Food & Agriculture continuing education credit will be offered.

Dr. David Ramming

Certain rare individuals make an indelible mark with their life's work. Once such person is Dr. David Ramming, who was recently named to the USDA-ARS Science Hall of Fame. Ramming retired in January 2013 from the ARS San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center at Parlier, California.

Dr.  Ramming is responsible for developing 40 varieties of table grapes, raisin grapes, peaches, apricots and other stone fruits, and has been instrumental in developing technologies that address a number of grower concerns. According to USDA statistics, his 15 varieties of table grapes represent more than half of today's table grape production in California. 

A part of Ramming's critical work for the grape industry was creating "mapping populations" several of which are still being used in our NGWI-supported VitisGen work.  Establishing a mapping population is the first step in being able to associate genetic markers with desired traits (such as powdery mildew disease resistance).  Genetic markers can be used in breeding to identify or select seedlings that will retain desired traits.