University of Texas at Austin – Producing clean water at a lower cost could be on the horizon after researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and Penn State solved a complex problem that has baffled scientists for decades, until now. Desalination membranes remove salt and other chemicals from water, a process critical to the health of society, cleaning …

Sonoma County Farm Bureau — Tito Sasaki, a Sonoma Valley grape grower, scientist, and businessman, 35-year member and past president of Sonoma County Farm Bureau and Farm Bureau Foundation of Sonoma County, is the recipient of the 2020 California Farm Bureau Federation Distinguished Service Award. The California Farm Bureau has presented the Distinguished Service Award annually since 1953 to dedicated Farm …

Contents of the January Issue: State of the Grape Industries Clearing the Smoke of Uncertainty Malcolm Media Ag Expos New Format Breaks Expo Attendance Marks The American Grapevine Grape Industry News Briefs • California • Michigan • Oregon

A coalition of agricultural and business employers has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court challenging the COVID-19 related emergency temporary standards (ETS) recently approved by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Board). The complaint alleges, among other things, that the Board lacks statutory authority to impose many of the sweeping measures of the ETS on California …

Vie-Del Company (Vie-Del), the oldest family-owned grape processor and supplier of bulk juices, concentrates, brandy, wine and spirits in California, announced today the completion on December 29, 2020 of the acquisition of the Canandaigua Concentrate High-Color Concentrate (HCC) and standard grape concentrate business lines from Constellation Brands U.S. Operations, Inc. (CBUSO), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Constellation Brands, Inc. (Constellation). The …

In the face of this year’s challenges, Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) and the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation (FWF) have maintained a steady focus and commitment to supporting the community through challenging times. In 2020, the organizations provided vital information and resources to grape growers, vineyard managers, vineyard workers, and their families. Together, NVG and FWF: Formed a COVID-19 Taskforce to …

Despite the setbacks and challenges brought to every industry by the pandemic this year, our staff has been working closely with four different vineyards in three major winegrape regions of California providing both technical and financial support to help these vineyards achieve Bee Better Certification. This work is a continuation of our efforts to expand Bee Better Certified (BBC) within …

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a relatively new nucleic acid amplification technology where targeted DNA of biological samples are amplified under isothermal conditions. The amplified DNA is then detected by indirect detection methods such as turbidity and non-specific dyes. LAMP surpasses the limitation of expensive thermal cycler requirement of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based amplification and can be implemented by …

Fresno State graduate students Leah Groves and Moriah Mehlman are the perfect example why Oro Agri, an international leader in biorational crop products, continues to invest in the future of California agriculture through a partnership with Fresno State. Mehlman, a research chemist at the company’s local U.S. headquarters, is working on a joint master’s project in the 120-acre campus vineyard …