Moth prompts quarantine in California wine region

NAPA, Calif. (AP) -- A grape-eating moth in Napa County has prompted a quarantine that will regulate the shipment of fruit and some plants in the heart of the state's premier wine region. The European grapevine moth first was detected in the Oakville area as grapes were reaching their peak l ...

Frigid Fla. winter is bad news for tomato lovers

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- A frigid Florida winter is taking its toll on your sandwich. The Sunshine State is the main U.S. source for fresh winter tomatoes, and its growers lost some 70 percent of their crop during January's prolonged cold snap. Wholesale prices are up nearly five times ...

El Niño keeps rain coming

El Niño's been paying California plenty of attention of late, and that affection shows no signs of waning anytime soon. The tropical weather pattern has planted many a wet kiss on the Central Valley as persistent showers have helped the drought-ridden state keep up with normal precipitati ...

Chile earthquake shakes up fruit supplies

Chilean fruit exports are expected to decline in the wake of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country Feb. 27, creating a mixed impact on West Coast fruit industries. Impacts are expected to be minimal in the short term, given that Chile's growing season was in full swing and ton ...

Heady growth spells price pressure

The Oregon wine industry is facing a dilemma. The state's grape production is continuing to expand even as wine sales have dropped off, prompting concerns about oversupply. "Not only are we producing more grapes, but more acres are coming online," said Ted Farthing, executive directo ...

Experts: Wineries must woo more distributors

Distributors have a powerful tool -- access to a large number of potential clients -- but winemakers have to take it upon themselves to learn how to use it, according to industry experts. "Distribution is not going to change to meet your needs, because there is plenty of wine out there to ...

Conference highlights female side of wine industry

Wine Entre Femme, an international think tank of women in wine based in Napa, hosted a recent summit that drew winemakers from around the globe. "The idea for this women's wine summit originated three years ago with a conversation I had with a woman winemaker in Bordeaux," said winemaker ...

Viognier grapes thrive in Idaho

California Chardonnay. Oregon Pinot Noir. Idaho Viognier? When people think about Idaho, it's usually not about wine, let alone a rare French varietal. If Idaho has a reputation for any particular winegrape, it's probably Riesling. But that could change, according to some wine entrep ...

Initiative to target worker fund

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- The Building Industry Association of Washington plans to run an initiative in this fall's general election to privatize what it says is the state's broken workers' compensation system. More than two-thirds of people surveyed in early polling favor privatization, Thoma ...

Helpful yeast battles aflatoxin

Nuts, corn can be sprayed before or after harvest ARS News Service Pistachios, almonds and other popular tree nuts might someday be routinely sprayed with a yeast called Pichia anomala. Laboratory and field studies by Agricultural Research Service plant physiologist Sui-Sheng "Sylvi ...

Diet important as bees prepare for almond pollination duty

Beekeepers whose colonies are under nourished during over-wintering could get stung in the wallet come California almond pollinations, says one expert in the field. Protein- and fat-rich pollen is as important as carbohydrates in producing healthy, top-earning hives, said USDA-ARS researc ...

Lazaro Hernandez prunes blueberries March 2 on a farm near St. Paul, Ore. The statewide average price for a pound of blueberries dropped from $1.12 in 2008 to 73 cents in 2009, part of a nearly 15 percent decrease in Oregon farm sales last year. ...

Mexico lifts tariff on U.S. apples

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Mexico has dropped a tariff on U.S. apples which probably won't increase sales but levels the playing field among Washington apple shippers, an export official says. A 47 percent tariff, imposed in August 2002 on Red and Golden Delicious apples, was lifted March 3 by the Mexic ...

Stemilt Growers acquires Dovex

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- Stemilt Growers Inc. says it has become the nation's largest non-citrus tree fruit company with the acquisition of Dovex Fruit Co. Both are based in Wenatchee. "Stemilt has embarked on a strong pattern of growth over the past decade and we are excited to continue this growt ...

Cows to chardonnay: Can Connecticut dairy farms change?

WARREN, Conn. (AP) -- A winter breeze rustles through the brittle and dormant vines twisting along the hills of Bill Hopkins' vineyard, the latest transformation of a Connecticut farm that since 1786 has been keeping up with changing agriculture, markets and consumer tastes. The 100-acre ...

South Dakota wineries toast their success

MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) -- The wine industry has been growing in South Dakota since farm wineries were legalized 13 years ago and could produce more than 60,000 gallons of wine this year. "That's about 300,000 bottles of wine coming out of South Dakota this year," said Robert Weyrich, a ...

Raising, counting sheep a family affair in Glide

GLIDE, Ore. (AP) -- Five-year-old Hannah Quimby turns the bummer lambs lose in the barn for their morning romp and run. She calls them by name -- Blackie, Sparkles, Rose -- names that she's given them. Brother Ian, 12, helps his mother, Julie Quimby, feed and water the mother ewes who are ...

Paso Robles: The best wine region you may not know

PASO ROBLES, Calif. (AP) -- The February issue of a respected wine industry trade publication gives only one of the world's wines both a rarefied 98 score and the top spot in the "highly recommended" section. Near perfection came from Saxum, a well-regarded but obscure winery in ...

Grower gains global perspective

WILSONVILLE, Ore. -- Hazelnut grower Peter McDonald has heard the rumblings. Since the mid-1990s, when McDonald began traveling to developing countries to help growers improve their nut production, he's heard the talk that helping foreign growers harms U.S. farmers. But for McDonald ...

Shippers adapt to increased air security

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Pacific Northwest sweet cherry industry should not be adversely affected by an increase in security screening of cargo on passenger planes, an industry official says. Some freight forwarders and commercial carriers that screened cherries last year say an increase in ...

New rules define 'organic'

WASHINGTON -- New federal rules that define what makes milk and meat organic have natural food advocates optimistic that the government is committed to ensuring the label means something. U.S. consumers bought $24 billion worth of organic products in 2008. But for many, the purchases cam ...

USDA scuttles blueberry assessment increase

The USDA has called off a controversial assessment fee hike on blueberry production.On Feb. 19, the agency announced the withdrawal of a proposed rule that would have increased assessment fees from $12 per ton of blueberries to $24 per ton.The fee increase was supposed to fund increased promotions a ...

In brief for Washington state on Feb. 26, 2010

Public comment sought on project YAKIMA, Wash. -- The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public comment on a Draft Environmental Assessment for the proposed Sunnyside Division RRM Water Conservation Project near Grandview, Wash. RRM is the Rocky Ford, Ryder and Matheson lateral canal sy ...

Tree fruit groups lobby for pesticide

A Pacific Northwest tree fruit group and California citrus groups are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow continued use of a new pesticide while it is reregistered to comply with a court ruling. Spirotetramat, known by trade names Ultor and Movento, is used by tree f ...

AgWeatherNet ready to take your call

PROSSER, Wash. -- Washington State University's AgWeatherNet has gone to the field. The network of 133 stations providing growers with weather and agricultural information has been on the Web for several years at www.weather.wsu.edu . Now its sister site, designed and formatted for mobil ...