Pacific Nut Producer Magazine

Category: Non-Video

  • USDA Offers Flood Impacted California Farmers and Ranchers Immediate Disaster Assistance

    California Farm Service Agency Stands Ready to Assist Agricultural Producers Slammed by Recent Heavy Rains 

    California Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds farmers and ranchers across the state of federal farm program benefits that may be available to help eligible producers recover from recent heavy rains and flooding.

    FSA offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist agricultural producers in their recovery efforts following floods or similar qualifying natural disasters. Available programs and loans include:

    • Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) – provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters (includes native grass for grazing). Eligible producers must have purchased NAP coverage for 2019 crops.
    • Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) – offers payments to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather. Eligible losses may include those determined by FSA to have been caused by hurricanes, floods, blizzards, wildfires, tropical storms, tornados lightening, extreme heat, and extreme cold. Producers will be required to provide verifiable documentation of death losses resulting from an eligible adverse weather event and must submit a notice of loss to their local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the loss of livestock is apparent.
    • Tree Assistance Program (TAP) – provides assistance to eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers for qualifying tree, shrub and vine losses due to natural disaster.
    • Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) – provides emergency relief for losses due to feed or water shortages, disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, which are not adequately addressed by other disaster programs. ELAP covers physically damaged or destroyed livestock feed that was purchased or mechanically harvested forage or feedstuffs intended for use as feed for the producer’s eligible livestock. In order to be considered eligible, harvested forage must be baled; forage that is only cut, raked or windrowed is not eligible. Producers must submit a notice of loss to their local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the loss is apparent.

    ELAP also covers up to 150 lost grazing days in instances when a producer has been forced to remove livestock from a grazing pasture due to floodwaters. For beekeepers, ELAP covers beehive losses (the physical structure) in instances where the hive has been destroyed by a natural disaster including flooding, high winds and tornadoes.

    • Emergency Loan Program – Available to producers with agriculture operations located in a county under a primary or contiguous Secretarial Disaster designation. These low interest loans help producers recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding.
    • Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) – provides emergency funding for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate land severely damaged by natural disasters; includes fence loss.
    • HayNet – is an Internet-based Hay and Grazing Net Ad Service allowing farmers and ranchers to share ‘Need Hay’ ads and ‘Have Hay’ ads online. Farmers also can use another feature to post advertisements for grazing land, specifically ads announcing the availability of grazing land or ads requesting a need for land to graze. www.fsa.usda.gov/haynet.

    To establish or retain FSA program eligibility, farmers and ranchers must report prevented planting and failed acres (crops and grasses). Prevented planting acreage must be reported on form FSA-576, Notice of Loss, no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date as established by FSA and Risk Management Agency (RMA).

    For more information on disaster assistance programs and loans visit www.fsa.usda.gov/ or contact your local FSA Office. To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.

  • Josette Lewis Joins Almond Board of CA as Director of Ag Affairs

    In her role, Lewis will leverage more than 20 years of government, academic, nonprofit and corporate experience in agriculture research and policy.

    The Almond Board of California (ABC) welcomes Josette Lewis, PhD, to the organization as new director of Agricultural Affairs. In her position, Lewis will focus on the development, funding and strategy of ABC’s research program. Lewis most recently served as associate vice president of Sustainable Agriculture at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

    Lewis holds a PhD in molecular biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her career in agricultural research and policy spans the government, academic, nonprofit and tech-based corporate sectors. Prior to EDF, she was associate director of the World Food Center at the University of California, Davis. Lewis began her career at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She currently serves on advisory committees for the James Beard Foundation and the International Life Sciences Institute, and has served on an advisory committee for the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

    “My colleagues and I are thrilled to welcome Josette Lewis to the ABC team. She not only complements our existing skill sets and experience — she adds many new and valuable dimensions,” said Richard Waycott, president and CEO, ABC. “Her acumen and expertise will serve the California almond industry very well as we navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie before us.”

    Research is an important area of focus for the Almond Board as it fuels key initiatives like the Almond Orchard 2025 Goals, which set industry-wide targets in the areas of water efficiency, zero waste, environmentally friendly pest management and air quality. In her new role, Lewis will oversee ABC’s multi-million dollar annual investment in research projects exploring next-generation farming practices including optimal use of everything almond orchards grow.

    “My career has centered on the interface of research and action — interpreting research findings to create solutions that people can use,” Lewis said. “Building on the strong legacy of Bob Curtis, I look forward to advancing almond research that ultimately puts knowledge, tools and practices in the hands of growers, processors, policy makers and other important audiences. I am fascinated by almond production and excited to join the dynamic group at ABC.”

    Robert Curtis retired in 2018 after spending more than 45 years directing agricultural affairs at ABC. Since 1973, almond farmers and processors have invested $80 million in research through the Almond Board to improve understanding of almonds’ impact on human health, ensure food quality and safety, and improve farming practices while minimizing environmental impacts.

  • Blue Diamond Invests in Expansion of Turlock Manufacturing Plant

    Blue Diamond Growers, a nonprofit grower-owned cooperative and the world’s leading processor and marketer of almonds, begins expansion of its award-winning processing facility in Turlock, CA. Today a groundbreaking ceremony will be held at the 200,000 square foot manufacturing plant recognized as the 2014 Plant of the Year by Food Engineering Magazine. The new addition is part of Blue Diamond’s continued plans to expand value-added product lines and deliver the innovations of new almond products worldwide.

    The 52,000 square foot building will be the latest construction of the three-phased project that will eventually yield a total of about 500,000 square feet of building space over the next nine years. This phase of the project is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2020 and will accommodate growth of the cooperative’s business. The expansion consists of new automated processing and packaging equipment that promote Blue Diamond’s commitment to manufacturing excellence.

    “We are pleased to build our partnership with the Turlock community by investing to expand our facilities and workforce,” said Mark Jansen, Blue Diamond President and CEO. “We are creating the healthiest almond products and delivering the benefits of almonds to the world. This project allows Blue Diamond to meet the growing demand for our innovative almond products.”

    Blue Diamond Chairman of the Board Dan Cummings of Chico added, “We are thankful to our growers who own this cooperative for entrusting their almonds to us so we can continue to make valuable investments. This project gives them a secure future in the almond business.”

    Blue Diamond first announced its plans to build a manufacturing plant in the City of Turlock in April 2012 creating more than a hundred jobs.

    “On behalf of the Turlock community, we are tremendously excited about the expansion of Blue Diamond Growers state of the art processing facilities here in Turlock,” said Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak. “We know Blue Diamond has other company locations where they could have placed this expansion, but we are proud they chose Turlock. We look forward to the additional jobs this expansion will bring.”

  • Almond Industry Receives $6,900,690 in USDA Funding

    USDA Awards Agricultural Trade Promotion Program Funding

    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $200 million to 57 organizations through the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP) to help U.S. farmers and ranchers identify and access new export markets. The ATP is one of three USDA programs created to mitigate the effects of unjustified trade retaliation against U.S. farmers and exporters. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) accepted ATP applications between September 4 and November 2 – totaling nearly $600 million – from U.S. trade associations, cooperatives, and other industry-affiliated organizations. The Almond Board of California will receive $3,185,690 and Blue Diamond will receive $3,715,000.

    President Donald J. Trump authorized up to $12 billion in programs to provide assistance to U.S. agriculture through a trade mitigation package announced by Secretary Perdue on September 4, 2018. In addition to the $200 million allocated to the ATP, the package also included the Market Facilitation Program to provide payments to farmers harmed by retaliatory tariffs, and a food purchase and distribution program to assist producers of targeted commodities.

    “At USDA, we are always looking to expand existing markets or open new ones, so we are proud to make good on the third leg of the President’s promise to America’s farmers,” said Secretary Perdue. “This infusion will help us develop other markets and move us away from being dependent on one large customer for our agricultural products. This is seed money, leveraged by hundreds of millions of dollars from the private sector, that will help to increase our agricultural exports.”

    All sectors of U.S. agriculture, including fish and forest product producers, were eligible to apply for cost-share assistance under the ATP. FAS evaluated applications according to criteria that included the potential for export growth in the target market, direct injury from the imposed retaliatory tariffs, and the likelihood that the proposed project or activity will have a near-term impact on agricultural exports.

    “We were pleased to see the large demand for participation in the program, and truly got some out-of-the-box ideas that we are hopeful will expand our global footprint,” Perdue said. “We examined all applications carefully, considered our ranking criteria, and awarded the funds in order to make the best use of taxpayer dollars in growing agricultural trade.”

    The Almond Alliance of California plans to continue to advocate for the $63.3 M in retaliatory trade damages assigned to the almond industry by USDA.  We will keep you updated on our advocacy efforts and how you can be supportive.

  • Dennis Glaser Hazelnut Grower of the Year

    Dennis Glaser sharing his experiences on the farm at previous Nut Growers Society Summer Tour

    Dennis Glaser of Tangent was the recipient of the Nut Grower’s Society’s Grower of the Year Award for 2018 during its 104th Annual Meeting mid-January. The award is presented to a grower that has been a leader in the industry. Jason Perrott, NGS Vice President presented the award. He began with some history. Dennis’s roots are in farming. Before becoming a grass seed farmer his father, Frank, was the largest bee man in the state. He also raised silver foxes for fur. After the war both businesses were sold and the family venture in grass seed began. The family always had a big garden and his mom would get a hundred chicks each spring. The lucky ones survived the axe and lived another year as egg layers. Dennis learned valuable lessons about hard work and where our food comes from.

    Growing up on the farm everything was done by hand. Unloading railcars of fertilizer, bagging and stacking sacks of grass seed, and loading the railcars back again with grass seed was all done without even a forklift until 1963. Needless to say there was plenty of motivation to find better ways of doing things.

    Dennis went to OSU where he graduated in 1969 with a degree in Ag Engineering and Crop & Soil Science. He took over running the farm in 1972 after his father had a very serious accident. As the 70’s progressed, He started growing clovers and wheat to try to develop some rotation and break up the monoculture of grass seed. The grass seed industry was under pressure to move away from field burning and farm incomes were fluctuating up and mostly down. The farm would make good money two out of five years, broke even about two out of five years, and tried to not lose too much money on the fifth year. The quest was on to find a mix of crops to even out the income pattern.

    Wayne Chambers, Hazelnut Grower and Mentor to Dennis Glaser

    Paul Willard, owner of Meeker Fertilizer, was a field man, mentor and good friend to Dennis. He offered encouragement in trying alternative crops on their heavy soils. In 1979 Dennis acquired a new farm and was able to grow pretty good wheat on it. With Paul’s influence and the help of mentor Wayne Chambers, he made the decision to try hazelnuts in the flat south valley ground. The ground was tiled, pH was addressed, a well was drilled, and ‘Barcelona’ trees were planted.

    According to Dennis, “everyone thought I was crazier than a pet coon. And they were probably right.” This was the only orchard on wet ground in the area.   Dennis was told that trees would never be successful on his ground so he was determined to make a go of it. But times were tough. Interest rates were around 20%. Prices were 65 cents when he planted but had dropped to 30-32 cents by the time of the first harvest. For the first ten years, Dennis wasn’t sure if this was such a good move. But perseverance paid off and the orchard has been a great success and an inspiration for many of the more recent hazelnut farms that have popped up around his orchard.

    Farming is a family affair for Dennis Glaser.

    Dennis always thought he would plant more trees but EFB came along shortly after they established the original orchard. However, with OSU’s outstanding work with newer varieties, Dennis and family have expanded on the original 140 acres planting with an additional 260 acres of Jefferson’s.

    Dennis has always farmed with an eye towards a better way. Dennis and his son Ryan have been at the forefront of the hazelnut industry in drainage, pruning and mulching, irrigation, and nutrient management. During the NGS Summer Tour last year Dennis reported on how he began chipping his prunings long before it was an accepted practice. Inviting 1,000 growers to ones farm for a tour is a pretty big commitment to the industry.

    Nut Growers Society VP Jason Perrott presents award to Dennis Glaser at the Nut Growers Society Winter Meeting in Corvallis, Oregon

    And of course Dennis’s service to the industry has been outstanding. He is very generous with his time and resources, is always helping out the neighbors, and is willing to share his experiences good and bad. He has given generously in time and resources to ag research projects at Central Linn High School, the FFA program, and Ag in the Classroom as well as numerous field tours, trials, and yield studies.

    Glaser and his family were featured in the January 2018 issue of Pacific Nut Producer Magazine for “Growing Hazelnuts Where No Hazelnuts Had Grown Before.”

    “My family has worked with Dennis and his family since 1975,” shared Jason Perrott.  “We were a startup drainage business that Dennis played a key role in getting started. Job #1 was on Dennis’s ground. We have continued to work with Dennis over the years and he has become a mentor to us for our own hazelnut farm. I have great respect for Dennis. He is progressive thinking, always looking to the future, adventurous in his farming practices and a first class human being. Please welcome Grower of the Year Dennis Glaser.”

  • USDA to Reopen FSA Offices for Limited Services During Gov’t Shutdown

    USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue

    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that many Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will reopen temporarily in the coming days to perform certain limited services for farmers and ranchers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recalled about 2,500 FSA employees to open offices on Thursday, January 17 and Friday, January 18, in addition to Tuesday, January 22, during normal business hours. The offices will be closed for the federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 21.

    In almost half of FSA locations, FSA staff will be available to assist agricultural producers with existing farm loans and to ensure the agency provides 1099 tax documents to borrowers by the Internal Revenue Service’s deadline.

    “Until Congress sends President Trump an appropriations bill in the form that he will sign, we are doing our best to minimize the impact of the partial federal funding lapse on America’s agricultural producers,” Perdue said.  “We are bringing back part of our FSA team to help producers with existing farm loans.  Meanwhile, we continue to examine our legal authorities to ensure we are providing services to our customers to the greatest extent possible during the shutdown.”

    Staff members will be available at certain FSA offices to help producers with specific services, including:

    • Processing payments made on or before December 31, 2018.
    • Continuing expiring financing statements.
    • Opening mail to identify priority items.

    Additionally, as an intermittent incidental duty, staff may release proceeds from the sale of loan security by signing checks jointly payable to FSA that are brought to the county office by producers.

    Information on the locations of FSA offices to be open during this three-day window will be posted:

    While staff are available in person during this three-day window, most available services can be handled over the phone. Producers can begin contacting staff on January 17 here.

    Additionally, farmers who have loan deadlines during the lapse in funding do not need to make payments until the government shutdown ends.

    Other FSA Programs & Services

    Reopened FSA offices will only be able to provide the specifically identified services while open during this limited time. Services that will not be available include, but are not limited to:

    • New direct or facility loans.
    • New Farm loan guarantees.
    • New marketing assistance loans.
    • New applications for Market Facilitation Program (MFP).
    • Certification of 2018 production for MFP payments.
    • Dairy Margin Protection Program.
    • Disaster assistance programs, such as:
      • Livestock Indemnity Program.
      • Emergency Conservation Program.
      • Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program.
      • Livestock Forage Disaster Program.
      • Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish.

    While January 15, 2019 had been the original deadline for producers to apply for MFP, farmers have been unable to apply since December 28, 2018, when FSA offices closed because of the lapse in federal funding.  Secretary Perdue has extended the MFP application deadline for a period of time equal to the number of business days FSA offices end up being closed, once the government shutdown ends. These announced days of limited staff availability during the shutdown will not constitute days open in calculating the extension. Producers who already applied for MFP and certified their 2018 production by December 28, 2018 should have already received their payments.

    More information on MFP is available at www.farmers.gov/manage/mfp.

  • Using the Sun & Agricultural Waste to Control Pests

    Biosolarization Shows Promise for Conventional & Organic Farmers

    By Diane Nelson

    Farmers spend a lot of time and money controlling weeds and other pests, and often have to turn to chemical fumigants to keep the most destructive pests at bay. Farmers also wrestle with what to do with low-value byproducts of crop production, such as skin, seeds and hulls from fruit, vegetable and nut processing.

    What if those agricultural waste streams could generate alternatives to chemical fumigants and make farming more productive, profitable and environmentally friendly?

    Maybe they can. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, are encouraged by early results from collaborative experiments with “biosolarization,” a process that combines the sun’s heat with soil amendments to manage weeds and other soil-borne pests.

    “It looks promising,” said food science and technology professor Christopher Simmons, who is testing biosolarization with various crops and working with farmers throughout the state. “We still have a lot of work to do, but biosolarization is showing real potential as a safe, sustainable way to control pests while improving crop quality and yield.”

    Strengthening solar power   

    Many backyard gardeners know the power of solarization. When you lay a clear plastic tarp over moist soil, you can trap solar radiation and heat the soil enough to kill weeds and other soil-borne pests. It’s effective, but can take four to six weeks, which is often too long for commercial fields to lay fallow.

    Biosolarization can accelerate and improve the process. Simmons and his team are adding organic amendments such as grape and tomato skins or ground nut hulls to the soil before they tarp it, which promotes growth of beneficial bacteria. The helpful microorganisms compete with pests and temporarily make the soil more acidic and therefore less hospitable to weeds and other pests.

    Together, the soil-heating and microbial activity can reduce the treatment time to days, not weeks.

    “And by activating beneficial microbes in the soil, biosolarization has the potential to improve soil health over the long term,” Simmons explained.

    Testing under commercial conditions

    Chemical fumigants are expensive, and many have been identified as carcinogenic by state and federal regulatory agencies. But when it comes to killing soil-borne pests, they are very effective.

    “Fumigants are broadly biocidal, meaning they affect beneficial microorganisms along with the pests,” Simmons said. “Biosolarization allows more innocuous and beneficial microorganisms to persist in the soil.”

    But for farmers to adopt biosolarization as an alternative to chemical fumigants, the treatment must be effective, predictable and economical. So the team is testing biosolarization with a wide variety of crops, amendments and soils against different pests in various locations at commercial scale throughout the state.

    “We have field trials underway with lettuce, tomatoes, melons and various cover crops,” Simmons said. “And we have a long-term, 10-acre trial with almonds at a conventional orchard in Chico.”

    In Chico, Simmons and his team are collaborating with almond grower Rory Crowley at Nicolaus Nut Company with funding support from the Almond Board of California and the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety. They are one year into a 25-year experiment to see if almond-processing residues and the sun can boost soil health and reduce weeds and other soil-borne pests. So far, Crowley is impressed.

    “It’s been great for the soil,” Crowley said. “Using biosolarization and a mustard cover crop, we’ve increased organic matter by 1.25 to 1.75 percent, which is a huge jump. That’s good for carbon sequestration and the overall health of the soil.”

    It’s too soon to tell if the soil improvements will translate to greater crop yield, but Crowley thinks biosolarization could become a good pest-management tool and a valuable use for what would otherwise be agricultural waste.

    “We need to find a home for the co-products of almond processing, so why not see if we can use them to improve soil health while controlling pests?” Crowley asks.

    Field tests continue

    Simmons and his team are testing biosolarization on several annual and cover crops in plots on the UC Davis campus using agricultural waste streams from tomato and wine processing. Soon they will begin tests with strawberries, which are commonly treated with fumigants each season as farmers plant berries anew.

    Simmons’ hope is to demonstrate to farmers that biosolarization can be effective and economical under a wide range of conditions against a broad number of pests.

    “We’re making significant ground,” he said. “We’re hopeful biosolarization can help farmers return food and agricultural waste back into the system to control pests and improve crop production.”

  • PNP December 2018 Issue

    Contents of the December Issue:

    [two_fifth]

    Pacific Nut Producer Magazine December 2018 Issue

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    [/two_fifth]
    [three_fifth_last]

    Orchard Views
    The Light of Service…
    Carriere Family Farms has Deep Legacy
    Walnut Producer Relies on Good Water & Partnerships
    Hot Topics at Turlock Tree & Vine Expo
    Industry Pest/Disease/Regulatory/Economic Trends
    Handlers Share Views at the Tree & Vine Expo
    Record Size Almond Crop with a Much Higher Potential
    From Computer Tech to Hazelnut Orchards
    Meet New Hazelnut Grower in Forest Grove
    December Orchard Tasks
    Almonds, Macademias, Pecans, Pistachios, Walnuts

    [/three_fifth_last]

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