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

• Foreign Owned California Ag Land
• Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Grant Program
• Permanent COVID-19 Safety Standard
• State Water Board Increases Water Quality Waste Discharge Permit Fund
• State's First Clean Air Center Opens
• The Race is On: Preparing Your Business for CCPA Compliance
• Ciatti Global Market Report 
• 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

Foreign Owned California Ag Land

Every so often, a bill sails through the legislature with broad bi-partisan support and arrives on the governor’s desk, only to find out at the last minute that the bill may have a fatal flaw. This year, SB 1084 (Hurtado, D-Sanger) may be one such bill. 

The laudable goal of this bill is to protect America’s food security by prohibiting foreign governments from buying ag land in California. CAWG has heard recently from investment fund managers that the bill has a broad and confusing definition of “foreign government” that may be problematic.  What this means for investment funds for agriculture is unclear. 

For example, if XYZ Investment Fund includes moneys from a Canadian public employment retirement fund, does that money constitute money from a foreign government? Unfortunately, SB 1084 is not clear on this question. If the answer is yes, no money from XYZ Investment Fund can be invested in California ag land – NONE of it. To be clear, this could be millions of investment dollars annually for California vineyards. 

Once CAWG was made aware of this problem, we quickly raised our concerns with the Newsom Administration. Other industry organizations are now weighing in as well. Fortunately, even if SB 1084 becomes law, it would not take effect until July 2023 at the earliest. This means there would be plenty of time to clean up the bill before it would take effect.

Governor Newsom has until September 30 to act on SB 1084.  

Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Grant Program

USDA is working to implement a new grant program that would provide funding to H-2A employers as an incentive to hire central American workers hoping to reduce irregular migration. In June, USDA originally announced a partnership with the United Farm Workers Union to develop the grant program terms. 

USDA Farm Service Agency is hosting a listening session specifically for employers on September 28 at 11 a.m. EST. You must register to participate. USDA published the notice in the Federal Register opening a written comment period of 30 days. This is the first opportunity for employers to directly engage with USDA on matters that relate to hurdles faced in hiring workers, housing, and what, if any, additional labor protections employers would consider as a condition to receiving the funding.

USDA is specifically looking for stakeholder input on the following questions:

1.  What barriers and challenges do agricultural employers currently face in accessing the H-2A visa program? What specific barriers and challenges do agricultural employers face in hiring workers from northern Central America?
2. Do agricultural employers have specific feedback on the housing components of the H-2A visa program? What challenges do you face related to housing?
3. What incentives are employers seeking from USDA to improve their ability to hire workers from northern Central American countries under the seasonal H-2A visa program?
4. What enhanced worker protections and labor standards are employers willing to accept in order to receive USDA support to stabilize the workforce? What mechanisms would be helpful in achieving these enhanced protections and standards?
5. What suggestions do you have to help ensure compliance for any additional standards required by recipients of grants as part of this farm labor stabilization and protection pilot grant program?

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Permanent COVID-19 Safety Standard

President Biden and Governor Newsom have both indicated in one way or another that the pandemic is behind us as we can now manage the virus through an endemic response approach. Every state in the nation has either substantially scaled back or eliminated workplace safety standards for COVID-19 prevention – except California.

California’s COVID-19 emergency regulation was first put into place in 2020 and has evolved considerably over time. The emergency regulation has been repeatedly extended and will expire at the end of the year. However, Cal/OSHA is proposing to turn it into a “permanent” regulation that would remain in effect for two more years. A vote on the regulation by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is anticipated in December.

For the most part, the permanent regulation is substantially similar to the emergency regulation currently in effect, with one welcome change being the permanent regulation removing any requirement for paid leave for employees excluded from work due to COVID-19. However, last week board members directed Cal/OSHA to include exclusion pay in the permanent regulation. It is unclear whether Cal/OSHA will actually do so. 

While board members stated they want to lead the nation with a strict permanent regulation, it is important to note that no other state is following California’s lead. Dozens of states (red and blue states alike) have lower or comparable hospitalization and mortality rates than California while having much more relaxed laws than California. Early in the pandemic California may have arguably led the nation. However, this permanent regulation would now make California an outlier not a leader.   

State Water Board Increases Water Quality Waste Discharge Permit Fund

As anticipated, this week the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) voted unanimously to increase fees for the water quality Waste Discharge Permit Fund (WDPF) programs as follows: Waste Discharge (WDR), 3.8% (down from 6.6% in June); Ag Lands, 3.9% (6.8%); Cannabis, 5% (0). 

The Water Rights Fund (WRF) increase is 7.2%, which will impact the wholesale pricing to irrigation districts and others.

CAWG, as represented by The Gualco Group, Inc., (TGG) works closely on water issues with the Farm Bureau as well as Western Growers and the Ag Council.

For Ag Lands feepayers we are scheduling an early fall cost of compliance workshop – to become a standard collaborative roundtable. TGG obtained support from the Board majority and Ag Lands staff. Suggested action items include the following:

• Decreasing Ag Lands Program fees, as the drought, SGMA and economic factors are already reducing the per acre fee base.
• Incentives and partnerships, such as the CARB Carl Moyer EQUIP program, DWR FloodMAR and CDFA SWEEP.
• Establishing customer service help desks to answer questions and resolve individual issues.
• Establishing regional board program consistency for growers.
• Ongoing impact assessments of legislative bills to create awareness of costs and impacts.



Submitted by Bob Gore, The Gualco Group

State's First Clean Air Center Opens

The first of what will soon be hundreds of places in the Bay Area to provide a guarantee of fresh air on smoky days opened in San Francisco opened this week. 

The new Clean Air Center, located at the Bayview/Linda Brooks-Burton Branch Library in the city's Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, has been outfitted with special filtration equipment and allotted space in a 1,000-square-foot meeting room to accommodate those wanting respite during periods of heavy wildfire smoke. The facility marks the debut of a network of Clean Air Centers planned across California, and it shows the extent to which the state is going to prepare for increasing wildfires -- and climate change.

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The Race is On: Preparing Your Business for CCPA Compliance

Date: Thursday, September 29, 2022

Time: 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PDT

Location: Webinar

As the January 1, 2023 deadline for compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) draws ever closer, it is imperative for businesses and employers to ensure their policies are up to date. However, navigating these regulations can be overwhelming, and for many, it’s hard to know where to even begin. Fisher Phillips is here to help!

In this panel discussion, attorneys from our Data Security and Workplace Privacy Practice Group and Consumer Privacy Team will discuss the most recent updates to the CCPA/CPRA deadlines and how they have been affected by the recent California Legislative Session. They will also explore compliance strategies and what you need to know to ensure your business is ready for the deadline and beyond. 

Register Here

Ciatti released their September global market report which covers the impact of the recent extreme weather swings and what that may mean for this years crop. Ciatti has revised its harvest estimate from3.7-3.9 million tons to 3.5-3.7 million tons. 

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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:

JANUARY 

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

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