Fertilizer Tax Coming?
AB 69,authored by Fresno’s Henry Perea,would impose a 1 percent tax on all fertilizer sales,dedicated to reduce the presence of nitrates in drinking water, with the authority to increase the tax up to 4 percent based on certain conditions beginning in 2016.The measure will be heard soon by two state Senate committees.
The talk is a fertilizer tax is might be used to pay for county by county monitoring of farm fertilizer use – similar to the monitoring of pesticide use – a burden that could fall of county ag departments speculates Tulare County Ag Commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita.“We’re getting lots of invitations to fertilizer meetings.”
Raising Corn Yield
A Merced County field demonstration by Wilbur Ellis Co and BASF will offer their latest research on increasing the yield of corn grown in California. The company effort named Project Symphony is a three-year undertaking of corn trials on a dozen or so sites across the country with the goal of raising the current corn yield of 150 bushels to 300 bushels per acre. Scientists project that corn is biologically capable of yielding 500 bushels per acre. Project Symphony Field Day takes place at Double Diamond Dairy 782 West Washington Road or the NW corner of Highway 59 and Washington Road, El Nido California on August 20.
Winegrape Harvest Starts Early
In California vineyards, the 2013 winegrape harvest has gotten off to an early start. Farmers throughout the state report their crops have been maturing at least a week ahead of a typical schedule. It’s still too early to tell whether the crop will challenge last year’s volume record. Grape growers say their crops look good, but that they worry about availability of water and about being able to hire enough people to pick their grapes once harvest peaks.
Paramount Citrus Adding 36,000sf Greenhouse In Visalia
Paramount Citrus is building a 36,000sf greenhouse at their rural Visalia facility on Rd 172. The large greenhouse valued at $1.5 million is being constructed by Conley’s Manufacturing. Paramount will grow their nursery stock inside in light of the growing citrus pest problem caused by the Asian Citrus Psyllid. Most nurseries who want to keep shipping are building screen houses.
Psyllids In Tulare County…. No News Is Good News
California officials have quarantined an area in the state’s citrus belt after the discovery of tiny pests capable of killing citrus trees.The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced July 31 that 178 square miles in Tulare County have been quarantined following the detection two weeks ago of six Asian citrus psyllids around Porterville.
Since then,a month after those finds,there have been no new detections say county ag commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita.”that’s good news” she says. Growers who who have to move their fruit out of the quarantine zone to a packing house have to pay an extra $4 a bin the remove the leaves.
Parlier Winery Adding New Tanks
O’Neill Vintners continue to grow its large Central Valley winery in Parlier with issuance of permits for several new tanks this summer. CEO Jeff O’Neill who founded the company in 2004 says they “built the facility from the ground up in 2007 and have been expanding since.”
“No one had built a new winery in the Central Valley in about about 25 years.”
Today, O’Neill Vintners has grown to become the 8th largest U.S. winery and has earned a reputation as one of the premier custom wine producers in California.
“We’ve about doubled our production since 2007,now 35 million gallons and our employment has doubled as well to around 120 today” he says.
“We get our grapes from as far north as Lodi and as far west as the Central Coast” he says noting the winery’s strategic location in the middle.
O’Neill says this year’s grape crop is average size and good quality adding that demand for wine is “robust” with an emphasis on reds.
O’Neill says their wines find their way into lots of famous brands.
Some contribution by CFB