YOUR SOURCE FOR CAWG AND INDUSTRY NEWS. FOR CAWG MEMBERS ONLY.

• Card Check. Now What?
• The Price of Farm-to-Fork
• CAWG Elections: Ballots Due Oct 28
• EPA Withdraws Interim Decision for Glyphosate
• CA Joins Growing List of Jurisdictions to Require Pay Scale Information in Job Postings: 7 Things You Need to Know
• WineAmerica Released National Economic Impact Study
• SVB Annual State of the Wine Industry Survey
• Unified Wine and Grape Symposium - Sponsorships and Advertising Opportunities
• UC Davis Hires New Grape Breeder - Luis Diaz-Garcia
• Fresno State's Center for Irrigation Technology - AgTech Day
• Call for Nominations: CAWG Grower and Leader of the Year

Card Check. Now What? 

Yesterday, shock waves were sent through California’s agricultural industry when Governor Newsom surprisingly reversed course and signed AB 2183 (Stone, D-Santa Cruz) into law. Just four short weeks ago, a Newsom spokesperson made it clear to the media and public that the governor would NOT support the bill.  Since that statement, the only thing that has changed is increased pressure on Newsom by labor unions, Latino organizations, Speaker of the House Pelosi, and even President Biden. 

Today, as we begin to digest what all of this means, we need to keep in mind the following:

• AB 2183 will take effect January 1, 2023. Growers must assume that the card check law will be enforced as written. This includes provisions related to labor neutrality agreements.
• If AB 2183 is unchanged, the labor neutrality provisions in AB 2183 may be challenged in court. This is because essentially, the bill states that the unions can work around the recent Cedar Point Supreme Court decision by requiring employers to give up their First Amendment right to free speech. (Cedar Point ruled that union access to private property was a taking.)
• The proposed legislation in 2023 will likely not become law until July 1, 2023. The proposed bill would replace AB 2183 and do the following:
• Create a 5-year card check program limited to 75 elections over that period. 
• Refer to card check as a “Majority Support Petition.” The union only needs to show support through ‘authorization cards, petitions, or other appropriate proof of majority support’.
• Delete the mail-in ballot provisions. 
• Delete the labor neutrality provisions. 
• Provide that the bond requirements for employers seeking to appeal certain monetary awards by the ALRB do not have an expiration date.
• In going through the legislative process next year, the new law may ultimately be different from what Newsom released yesterday. Consequently, Newsom may propose the negotiated changes through a budget trailer bill which could reduce the ability of the legislature to change any of it.
• However, if for any reason the proposed legislation in 2023 does not become law, AB 2183 would continue to be the law of the land in California. This means the labor unions have nothing to lose should there be any problem whatsoever with the 2023 legislation.

CAWG is working with other agricultural associations and labor law experts to fully comprehend what all of this means for our growers. CAWG will be providing a webinar and other informational resources very soon.  

The Price of Farm-to-Fork

For several years, agricultural groups like CAWG have been telling policymakers in Sacramento that the regulatory environment in California is escalating the cost of farming at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, lawmakers have pretty much turned a deaf ear to that concern. 

This week, Governor Newsom signed SB 490 (Leyva, D-Chino) which requires public institutions to purchase agricultural products grown, packed, or processed domestically. The bill was co-sponsored by Agricultural Council of California and the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.

Interestingly, the bill was opposed by the Association of California School Administrators, California County Superintendent Educational Services Association, and California School Boards Association. Schools argued that buying domestic food would threaten their ability to fully implement universal meals. They stated this bill is estimated to cost an additional $1.9 billion annually.

Obviously, schools will work their budgets and find the money to comply with SB 490. However, in the future, policy makers in Sacramento may want to look back at the schools’ concerns with this bill as evidence of the high cost of farming in the Golden State.  

CAWG Elections: Ballots Due Oct. 28

Official ballots have been mailed to those CAWG districts who have vacancies. Ballots must be received in the CAWG office by Friday, Oct. 28.  CAWG grower members: if you did not receive your official 2022 ballot by mail, please email natalie@cawg.org. Members will only receive a ballot for vacancies in their district.

CAWG District 1 – Two vacancies. Nominees:

Chris Lynch, Walsh Vineyards Management, Napa (seeking re-election for a second term).

Paul Goldberg, Bettenelli Vineyards, Napa (seeking election for a first term).

CAWG District 2 – One vacancy. Nominee:

Jason Smith, Valley Farm Management, Salinas (seeking re-election for a second term).

CAWG District 3 – One vacancy. Nominee:

Mike Manna, Manna Ranch, Acampo (seeking re-election for a second term)

CAWG District 4 – One vacancy. Nominee:

Joel Maring, J Maring Farms, Patterson (seeking re-election for a third term).

CAWG District 5 – One vacancy. Nominee:

Jeff Bitter, Madera (seeking re-election for a third term).

EPA Withdraws Interim Decision for Glyphosate

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn an interim decision for the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, and says it will carry out its registration review.

The latest decision was made in response to an opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that removed the human health portion of EPA’s interim decision after finding flaws in its cancer analysis. The opinion also remanded the agency’s ecological risk assessment after finding that the decision should not have been declared without an “effects determination” describing impacts on threatened and endangered species.

While the court had ordered EPA to complete a new risk analysis by October 1, EPA later stated it could not accommodate that deadline, and has now decided to withdraw the analysis and focus on all facets of the glyphosate registration review. Since the interim decision was a discretionary action taken by the EPA, the agency was free to withdraw it.

EPA’s withdrawal of its interim registration review decision has no immediate effect on the registration of products containing glyphosate. In a press release, EPA stated, ‘Pesticide products containing glyphosate continue to remain on the market and be used according to the product label and are unaffected by this action."

CA Joins Growing List of Jurisdictions to Require Pay Scale Information in Job Postings: 7 Things You Need to Know

As a result of Governor Newsom’s signature on legislation this week, California will soon join a growing list of state and local jurisdictions that require job postings to include pay scale information. With the enactment of Senate Bill 1162 – which becomes effective January 1, 2023 – California will join Colorado, Washington, New York City and other local jurisdictions that have already adopted such requirements. Statewide legislation is currently pending in New York as well. SB 1162 also makes significant changes to California’s existing pay data reporting requirements.

Check out the insight provided by Fisher Phillips that discusses the seven things California employers need to know about these new obligations.

READ MORE 

WineAmerica Released National Economic Impact Study

WineAmerica, the National Association of American Wineries in Washington, commissioned a 2022 National Economic Impact Study of the Wine Industry.. The study shows that the American wine industry will generate over $276 billion for the US economy in 2022. All 50 states produce and consume wine. In addition to the national data, this study includes detailed data for each state.

VIEW STUDY

As a reminder, CAWG and Wine Institute have commissioned an update of its Economic Impact of California Wine. Findings are expected to be released in mid-October. Our previous report was done in 2015.

The data will share the economic impact of California wine on the California economy and the U.S. economy and will be broken down by state, California congressional, state assembly and state senate districts.

CAWG will be sure to share the Economic Impact Report once released! 

Each year, Silicon Valley Bank conducts a survey to gather and provide metrics, insights and trends in the wine industry. All respondents who fully complete the survey will receive gratis survey results that include anonymized detailed responses, summary analysis and more than 50 charts wineries can use to benchmark their performance. SVB will provide survey results to participants just prior to the release of our State of the Wine Industry Report in January.

The survey is now open through October 15.

SURVEY

The Unified Symposium is the ideal location to promote your company to thousands of industry professionals who attend. Our varied sponsorship and advertising program offers several different options for all size budgets. Banners and signs in the newly renovated SAFE Credit Union convention center proclaim your presence, print and online ads showcase your product, and exclusive sponsorship opportunities increase your brand visibility.

This is THE wine & grape industry show to attend where you invest in your future and discover new ideas and technologies—a can’t miss!

For questions regarding the opportunities available, please contact Jenny Devine or visit unifiedsymposium.org. 

VIEW OPPORTUNITIES

Luis Diaz-Garcia was recently appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. Luis is the new grape breeder for the Department, replacing Professor Emeritus Andy Walker. 

At UCD, the Diaz-Garcia lab will apply novel phenomics and genotyping approaches for accelerating the breeding of wine grapes and rootstocks. Luis' breeding program will strongly rely on the extensive germplasm collection, with many contributions from Harold Olmo and Andy Walker over the last six decades. Genetic solutions (e.g. favorable alleles) for growing high-quality grapes under current and future climate challenges are likely hidden in these germplasm collections. Therefore, the primary goal in the Diaz-Garcia lab is to find these genetic solutions and identify optimal ways to express and combine them to develop superior winegrape cultivars and rootstocks. Moreover, the Diaz-Garcia lab will implement computer vision, physiological metrics, and climate modeling for gathering high-dimensional, high-quality information at the vineyard, vine, and organ levels. The information collected will then be integrated with genomic data to precisely identify genes associated with: resistance to or tolerance of biotic and abiotic stressors, fruit quality, and overall performance. All combined, these methods will allow the optimal allocation of resources and acceleration of the grape breeding process. 

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The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology will host its 6th annual AgTech Day - Innovations in Ag Irrigation Technology Demonstration and Showcase.

WHEN: Friday, October 28, 2022 from 7:00 a.m. until 2 p.m. PT.

AgTech Day is a FREE, educational event that showcases the latest innovations in Ag irrigation technology during live field demonstrations and educational presentations.

Complimentary parking, bus transportation to field presentations, continental breakfast and lunch are included with your free registration. The Showcase with 30+ exhibitors featuring a variety of new, innovative technologies will begin directly after the field presentations.

To learn more about AgTech Day click here.

Nominations are now open for the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) Awards of Excellence Program. 

The Awards Program presents two awards annually: Grower of the Year and Leader of the Year. These awards are meant to spotlight exceptional people or companies who have benefitted the broader community of winegrape growers through exemplary leadership and outstanding commitment to the well-being of the winegrowing industry, California communities and the environment.

Nominations are due by September 30, 2022.

The CAWG Awards of Excellence reception will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 24, on opening night of the 2023 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium held in Sacramento.

NOMINATION FORMS:

SEPTEMBER

30 - Nominations Due for CAWG Grower and Leader of the Year

OCTOBER

18 – Registrations and Hotels Open for the 2023 Unified Symposium

28 - CAWG Election Ballots Due

JANUARY 

24-26 – Save the Date! 2023 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium 

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