Total acreage harvested by mechanical means was 44,091, nearly 30 percent of the State’s total raisin-type grape acreage, according to the Pacific Region Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The Overhead Trellis System was used on 13,031 bearing acres in 2019, accounting for 8.8 percent of the total raisin-type grape acreage. Fresno and Madera County growers have 49 and …

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program is partnering with regional and local …

Donald Emil Gumz was a Valley native, who like many lifelong residents, had a love and passion for the region, including Fresno State. He came from a family of grape farmers but worked with numbers, in an accounting career that started with a local entrepreneur and developer, and ended with the Vie-Del Company, which produced brandy, wine and juice concentrates, where …

Nitrogen is one of the essential nutrients that grapevines need for growth and development. The important thing to understand about nitrogen is that too much nitrogen can be detrimental and on the opposite end of the spectrum, too little nitrogen can be detrimental. Finding the balance is critical. There are analytical tools to determine the amount of nitrogen in grapevine …

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a refocus on building and maintaining a healthy immune system. Information on the way in which fresh grapes contribute to both is now available in one place for easy reference. The health info-sheet combines results of health research on the benefit grapes provide to brain, heart, and colon health with data from two professors at Tufts Friedman School of …

While most Californians are staying home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, California farmers, farmworkers and other agricultural professionals are out in the fields and packing houses working to produce food. With increased demand for personal protective equipment, or PPE, to protect against COVID-19, these essential workers are facing shortages. Agricultural commissioners in 28 counties are hearing from …

The H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program provides a legal means to bring in foreign-born workers into the United States on a short-term basis. Workers employed on an H-2A visa may remain in the U.S. for up to 10 months at a time. Employers must demonstrate and the U.S. Department of Labor must certify that efforts to recruit U.S. workers were not …

Why is milk being dumped and produce left to rot in fields while grocery store shelves go empty during the COVID-19 pandemic? Why are grocery stores running out of meat, and eggs becoming so expensive? The head of California’s Department of Food and Agriculture, researchers from the University of California, Davis, and food purveyors will tackle these and other questions …