Brady Whitlow of Corto Olive Company was elected by the OOCC Board to serve as its new Chairman. Whitlow formerly served as the OOCC’s Secretary/Treasurer and he replaces Jeff Colombini, Lodi Farming Company, who has served as Chairman since the OOCC’s inception in 2014. Colombini will continue to serve on the Board and Executive Committee as the Board’s Treasurer/Secretary. Meanwhile, …

The Master Milling Certificate Course has helped hundreds of olive oil processors produce better oil more efficiently. A survey of attendees’ found that 90 percent of respondents believed that the course material would boost their quality or efficiency by more than five percent, and 72 percent said that the course was “very likely” to lead to higher profitability. The course …

Kristen Barnhisel, winemaker for white wines at J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, has been named 2019-2020 president of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV). She succeeds John Thorngate, vice president of operations technical services at Constellation Brands. In her new role, Barnhisel will lead ASEV’s 12-member board.  “I am pleased to serve with leaders in viticulture and enology …

The California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) requested state support for critical wine and viticulture research during today’s joint hearing of the Senate Select Committee on California’s Wine Industry and the Assembly Select Committee on Wine. The hearing – titled “Cultivating the Next Generation of Wine Industry Leaders and Emerging Markets in California” – covered the state of wine education and research, as well as emerging …

Women involved in agriculture from throughout the U.S. met in Washington, D.C., recently for the 26th annual American Agri-Women (AAW) Fly-In & Symposium. The group met with elected officials and policymakers to discuss key issues, including agricultural labor; rural infrastructure; rural broadband and telecommunications; trade and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; Electronic Logging Device regulations; and agricultural technology innovations. This year’s Symposium, “Federal Land …

American Farmland Trust, the organization behind the national movement No Farms No Food®, has hired Dr. Gabrielle Roesch-McNally as the Director of its Women for the Land initiative. Dr. Roesch-McNally will provide overall leadership for Women for the Land and collaborate with regional offices to ensure that AFT’s programming is strategic, synergistic across regions, well-received and impactful. The goal of AFT’s …

USDA announced it is offering $75 million in funding for the eradication and control of feral swine through the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program (FSCP) in a joint effort with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The 2018 Farm Bill included this new pilot program to help address the threat that …

Farmers and ranchers with expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts may now re-enroll in certain CRP continuous signup practices or, if eligible, select a one-year contract extension. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) also is accepting offers from those who want to enroll for the first time in one of the country’s largest conservation programs. FSA’s 52nd signup for CRP runs from June …

WEATHER Temperature highs ranged from the mid 60s to high 80s in the mountains, mid 60s to low 100s along the coast, high 70s to high 100s in the desert, and low 80s to high 100s in the valley. Temperature lows ranged from the low 30s to high 50s in the mountains, mid 40s to high 50s along the coast, mid 40s to …

CCM’s Joel Nelsen was reappointed to the Administration’s Fruit & Vegetable Trade Advisory Committee this week as announced by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue and Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer. These positions are highly coveted as they have direct engagement with Administration officials on trade policy. Nelsen has served since the George W. Bush Administration, and for the past fours, his colleagues have asked him to chair …