Coffee Shop Blog
USDA NRCS EQIP Funding
The USDA's NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to plan and implement conservation practices that improve soil, water, plant, animal, air and related...
TO HEDGE OR NOT TO HEDGE?
Hedging is a summer pruning method involving the removal the distal or apical ends of shoots. In some parts of the world hedging is called topping or tipping. Like all pruning methods, hedging depresses vine growth vigor and capacity. It does so by reducing the...
WHEN NEGOTIATION DOESN’T WORK
In January the Lodi Winegrape Commission hosted a very informative and well-attended workshop on negotiation presented by Jim Olson from the Graduate School of Management at U.C. Davis. Jim is extremely knowledgeable and his presentation was universally well...
GRAPEVINE SHOOT THINNING FOR MULTIPLE BENEFITS
If shoot thinning were a book or movie it might be entitled Pruning: The Final Chapter. Quite simply, shoot thinning, which is the selective removal of shoots, enhances the viticultural effects of pruning and in some ways, finishes the pruning job. Here we will...
PH AND WATER QUALITY EFFECT ON PESTICIDE SPRAY SOLUTION
Water is going to be the primary carrier of your agricultural chemicals. It will have the job of delivering pesticides to the plant, fungal spores or insect to achieve the goal of protecting your vines. Water quality is determined by chemical properties such as pH...
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON REGULATIONS
Every Winter grape growers in San Joaquin and other counties in California attend update meetings sponsored by their local agricultural commissioner’s office. At those meetings they learn about the latest in state and federal pesticide regulations, worker safety...
FROST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR VINEYARDS
The rarity of early season frosts is among the many natural assets of California that lend themselves to winegrape growing. Still, when frosts occur the results can be economically devastating, with low revenues for the growing season due to significant yield loss...
NRCS LOCKEFORD PLANT MATERIALS CENTER OPEN HOUSE APRIL 5
The Lockeford Plant Materials Center is a 106-acre facility located in the Central Valley of California and is the only PMC within the state. There are 27 PMCs around the country, with each one serving a specific ecological and geographic area. The CAPMC addresses the...
