In April of this year, research plant pathologist Devin Rippner started his position as a research viticulture soil scientist with the USDA-ARS in Prosser Washington. He and his family are enjoying living in the Yakima Valley and exploring the local region. Rippner’s educational background is in soil chemistry and soil fertility with an active interest in pedology. He received his …

Creating wine is a balancing act between the quality of harvested grapes and the types of microorganisms that ferment grape juice. Too much sugar during the fermentation process means too much alcohol in the final wine, which can negatively affect wine flavor. Researchers from Washington State University’s school of food science are working with non-Saccharomyces yeast strains native to Washington to …

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service — Croatia provides a unique opportunity for U.S. wine exporters to position their product. U.S. wine exporters should focus their market entry efforts on Zagreb, the nation’s capital, where niches exist for medium and higher quality wines.  I. Market Overview Production Domestic wine production is an especially important segment of Croatian agriculture and plays an important role in …

Oregon Wine Research Institute — In March 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a statement that they will not regulate plants modified through genome editing. Gene editing, the most popular being the CRISPR/Cas9 system, holds enormous promise for the development of accelerated breeding programs focused on the release of improved plant materials. A current significant focus is to identify grapevine …

Oregon Wine Research Institute — In recent weeks, many have read business and industry-oriented news articles about the “important lessons learned” for business managers as we look back at the past 14 months and how the COVID-19 pandemic upended so much of our lives. One of the recurring topics in these articles has revolved around the idea of “risk management.” Of course, …

The year 2020 could be characterized as a year of great loss, due to the pandemic, wildfires, and many other issues. The USDA also just reported a loss in total acreage for the number one grape growing state in the nation for the unprecedented year. California’s 2020 grape acreage totaled 895,000 acres, down 2.5% from 2019. Of the total grape acreage, 844,000 were bearing …

Croatia provides a unique opportunity for U.S. wine exporters to position their product. U.S. wine exporters should focus their market entry efforts on Zagreb, the nation’s capital, where niches exist for medium and higher quality wines. I. Market Overview Production Domestic wine production is an especially important segment of Croatian agriculture and plays an important role in tourism, which is …

On November 19, 2020, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved AgriLogic Consulting, LLC to develop a federally subsidized vine replacement insurance program for the United States grape and wine industries. AgriLogic had been previously contacted by various industry representatives from several key production regions requesting a product to protect producers against perils that can destroy vines, …

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is establishing new programs and efforts to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions. The new initiative—USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers—will reach a broader set of producers than in previous COVID-19 aid programs. USDA is dedicating at least $6 billion toward the new …

The year 2020 will be remembered for a lot of things. Many of them are bad. The COVID-19 pandemic forced people to stay home, led to millions being infected and over a million deaths globally. In California, wildfires ravaged the state, with more than 9,600 fires burning more than 4.3 million acres. The blazes destroyed homes, offices, and many agricultural …