The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will purchase U.S.-grown table grapes as part of its 2022 Food Purchase and Distribution Program (FPDP). The USDA recently announced its commitment of $30 million to purchase U.S.-grown table grapes in 2022 for distribution to food banks and other food programs around the country. Purchases will be made June through December, a timeframe …

Contents of the January Issue: Bokisch Vineyards – A Labor of Love From Home Winemakers to Pioneers of Spanish Wine Reunion at Sonoma Grape Expo State of the North Coast Wine Industry Outstanding Quality for 2021 Harvest Wine Grape Growers Celebrate Better Year & Vintage The American Grapevine Grape Industry News Briefs California North Carolina Oregon Washington

With promotable volume of California grapes available through December, retail promotion and consumer advertising continue through year-end in the U.S., and in Canada, Mexico, and other key export markets, according to Kathleen Nave, president of the California Table Grape Commission. Noting that harvest is still underway in some areas, Nave said that in a typical season California ships grapes throughout …

Andy Beckstoffer of Beckstoffer Vineyards today announced that he and his wife, Betty, have donated $1 million to the Cal Poly JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture to fund the Beckstoffer Vineyards Fermentation Hall. The Center, completed in September 2021, will open to students in the winter quarter. This is the largest completely donor-funded capital project in CSU history. Beckstoffer Vineyards employs …

With its stated goal to preserve the legacy of agriculture in Sonoma County, the Women Gaining an Edge (WG Edge), a local leadership development program aimed at strengthening the region’s agricultural workforce, announced today that it will make a grant to the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation to administer the program. WG Edge was created by Judy Jordan, formerly of J …

Contents of the November Issue: Expos are Back and In Person Expos in Cloverdale, Turlock and Fresno Burying Vines in the Sand, Not Their Heads Brooke Robertson Creates Innovative Mini-head Trained System RBA Makes MOU Offer for 2021-22 Raisin Crop More to Learn at the Grape, Nut, & Tree Fruit Expo The American Grapevine Grape Industry News Briefs California Florida …

The California Table Grape Commission is pleased to announce three types of university/college scholarships now available to students in the table grape growing regions of California. Two types of scholarships are offered for field workers: one for $25,000 for those attending a four-year California university or college and one for $14,500 for those attending two years of community college followed by two years …

To appreciate why it’s so important to remove grow tubes in the fall, we first have to understand the original function of grow tubes. Grow tubes are designed to absorb heat from sunlight, creating a warmer-than-ambient environment inside the tube during daylight hours. Originally called “tree shelters,” grow tubes have been used since around 1979. They originated from a shade …

Contents of the October Issue: Grower Celebrates 64th Harvest Dennis Handel Makes Good Living Farming Facial Recognition AI Helps Growers Detecting Diseases with Infrared Coping with Climate Change Researchers to Update ‘Winkler Index’ The American Grapevine Grape Industry News Briefs California Michigan Minnesota New Mexico Ohio Oregon Texas Washington

After grape harvest ends, there are a handful of key tasks grape growers can do to get the vineyard and equipment into shape before winter. With the exception of equipment cleaning, the rest of these tasks are on an “as needed” basis and will not be necessary for all growers. These include one final fungicide spray if needed, fall weed …