The Pierce’s Disease & Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter (PD/GWSS) Referendum, conducted this spring, passed with 78 percent approval of California winegrape growers. All winegrape producer entities that paid the assessment on grapes crushed in 2019 received ballots and 49 percent cast ballots. Assessment funds are used for research, outreach, and related activities on PD, GWSS, and other designated pests and diseases of …

The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive insect from Asia that was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014. The spotted lanternfly can decimate entire grape vineyards and damage fruit orchards, hops, walnuts, hardwoods, and landscape trees. While the SLF has not yet reached California, officials at CDFA are already engaged and the Pierce’s Disease and Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Board has designated …

Notice is hereby given that the California Department of Food and Agriculture is calling a public hearing to consider the suspension of Chapter 3.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code (62750 et seq).  This hearing is being called pursuant to Division 21, Part 3, Chapter 3.5, section 62752 of the Food and Agricultural Code, as implemented by the procedure described …

Effective April 13, 2020, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) will revoke Quarantine Commodity (QC) permit number 1486. QC 1486 originally authorized the intrastate movement of bulk citrus fruit from the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Bulk Citrus Regional Quarantine Zones 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7, into the Huanglongbing (HLB) quarantine area, without meeting the ACP-free performance standard. …

A quarantine has been declared following the detection of the citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, in a single citrus tree in an unincorporated area of San Bernardino County, near Montclair. This is the first time the plant disease has been detected in San Bernardino County. CDFA is working with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the …

USDA secretary Sonny Perdue is making available an additional $45 million to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and its partners to address the ongoing virulent Newcastle disease (VND) outbreak in Southern California.  This funding will allow APHIS and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to strengthen their joint efforts to stop the spread of this …

Agriculture is a major industry for the Golden State. With 80,500 farms and ranches, California agriculture is a $44.7 billion dollar industry that generates at least $100 billion in related economic activity. The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) mission is, “to serve the citizens of California by promoting and protecting a safe, healthy food supply, and enhancing local …

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) are rescheduling cooperatively funded reports that were affected by the lapse in federal funding. During the lapse, NASS was not able to collect data nor issue reports, including those funded by state and industry programs. The following reports have been rescheduled and others will be …

Stakes at All-Time High for Backyard & Commercial Trees in 2019 Detections of Huanglongbing (HLB), an incurable plant disease that kills citrus trees, increased by 160 percent in 2018 compared to the previous year, signaling the growing threat to the state’s iconic citrus trees, landscape and economy. HLB is spread by a small pest called the Asian citrus psyllid as …