Grower News and Alerts

Information regarding The El Dorado County West Slope Agricultural Development Feasibility Assessment Applied Water Validation Study for Irrigated Agriculture

The El Dorado Wine Grape Growers Association is pleased to announce our newly elected members-at-large: Maia Davis of Vinehill Vineyard and Robert Sinton of Starfield Vineyards. James Frost was confirmed by members to fill the 1-year remainder of the vacated secretary term. Congratulations to all and welcome aboard! The updated Board of Directors are: Charlie Cosens – President Chuck Mansfield – Vice-President James Frost – Secretary Mike Ousley – Treasurer Derek Delfino – Parliamentarian Elizabeth Standeven – Past-President Member-At-Large – Maia Davis Member-At-Large – Rob Sinton

If you are considering crop insurance for your 2023 crops, please note that the deadline to finalize the insurance is January 31st. The Federal Crop Insurance Program can be used to protect your investment in our wildfire and frost-susceptible Sierra Foothills at a reasonable cost. There are stipulations to meet for coverage. Start your investigative process early to ensure meeting the insurance deadline.

The ELDO Department of Ag began offering 2024 permit and OPID renewals on December 1st, 2023. Please call (530) 621-5520 to make an appointment. No walk-ins accepted. • 2024 Permit Renewal Flyer.pdf • 2024 PAC Renewal, no CEUs.pdf Pest control businesses and farm labor contractor registrations are being accepted for 2024. Forms and fees for each type of registration are available on our Forms page at https://www.edcgov.us/Government/ag/Pages/forms.aspx. Payment is accepted by cash or check ONLY.

Now Accepting Research Funding Applications: The Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board provides grant funding to research and outreach projects focused on protecting vineyards, preventing the spread of winegrape pests and diseases, and delivering practical and sustainable solutions. Project proposals are due via online submission by Jan. 31, 2024. Award notifications will be announced in May 2024 for a July 2024 start.

Over half of the state’s nurseries are in counties infested with the glassy-winged sharpshooter, and many ship to non-infested areas. Inspections, trapping, and treatments at nurseries, led by the Pierce’s Disease Control Program, are key to keeping GWSS from infesting new areas. Nursery Regulatory Program: From Jan. 1 through July 31, 2023, there were 20,250 nursery stock shipments to non-infested areas of the state. Origin county inspectors found 13 GWSS egg masses, five nymphs, and five adults in outgoing nursery stock shipments.

By last report from a local grape grower, the Clean Off-Road Equipment (CORE) voucher incentive program still has a few vouchers left for equipment opportunities. This is one program where you do not have to swap out your old equipment to participate. For more information go to: https://www.monarchtractor.com/blog/california-core-subsidy.

On August 24, 2023, the El Dorado County Department of Agriculture released the results of the 2022 Wine Grape Survey. As of the date and time of this posting, this information had not yet been added to the edcgov.us website. Here’s your sneak preview: https://www.edcgov.us/Government/ag/Documents/2022%20Wine%20Grape%20Sur…

Our local UCCE Food Systems Advisor, Hardeep Singh, is requesting grape grower and farmer input through a needs assessment survey to help document the needs of growers in the Central Sierra Foothill region for the purpose of designing a research and education program for the coming years. This is a voluntary and anonymous survey that will take approximately five minutes to complete. Participants may skip any questions they prefer not to answer.

We all know how destructive wildfires have been in our county in the past few years. As wine growers, we also know how devastating smoke from wildfires can be to our crops. The good news is that local Fire Safe Councils are banding together and getting grant money to begin the gigantic task of reducing potentially hazardous vegetation in parts of El Dorado County. In the Fair Play area, the first stages of grant work is underway for the South County Fuels Reduction Project. This project hopes to clear hazardous brush and trees along portions of Mt.