Organic Farmer October/November 2019

October/November 2019 

Scaling Up Your Farm—Is It for You? 

Organic Price Premiums Under Pressure 

Mating Disruption for Navel 

Orangeworm Available for Organic 

Nut Crops 

Organic Methods to Control Filbertworm 

and Other Hazelnut Pests 

PUBLICATION 

Volume 2 : Issue 5

Navel Orangeworm Control! 

Mating disruption product for conventional and organic California tree nuts!! 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS! 

STAY TUNED FOR NEW INFORMATION AND DATA! 

Navel Orangeworm, 

Amyelois transitella 

• Up to 80% or more potential reduction in 

damage vs. current insecticide program 

• Season-long control through post-harvest 

• Easy application with ready-to-use 

carrier pack 

• No moving parts, no batteries, no 

gummy deposits 

• Removal not required 

® 

INCORPORAT ED 

INSECT PHEROMONE & KAIROMONE SYSTEMS 

Your Edge – And Ours – Is Knowledge. 

MATING DISRUPTION PRODUCT 

FOR NAVEL ORANGEWORM IN 

ALMONDS, PISTACHIOS & WALNUTS 

Contact your local supplier and order now! 

Visit our website: www.trece.com or call: 1- 866-785-1313. 

© 2019 , Trécé Inc., Adair, OK USA • TRECE, PHEROCON and CIDETRAK are registered trademarks and 

TM is a trademark of Trécé, Inc., Adair, OK USA • TRE-1590, 9/19

Organic 

FARMER 

4 

IN THIS ISSUE 

Scaling Up Your Farm— 

Is It for You? 

PUBLISHER: Jason Scott 

Email: jason@jcsmarketinginc.com 

EDITOR: Kathy Coatney 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Cecilia Parsons 

Email: article@jcsmarketinginc.com 

PRODUCTION: design@jcsmarketinginc.com 

Phone: 559.352.4456 

Fax: 559.472.3113 

Web: www.organicfarmingmag.com 

12 

Organic Price Premiums 

Under Pressure 

4 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

& INDUSTRY SUPPORT 

16 

22 

28 

Mating Disruption for 

Navel Orangeworm 

Available for Organic 

Nut Crops 

Organic Methods to 

Control Filbertworm and 

Other Hazelnut Pests 

Organic Plant Breeding 

Yields Superior Cucurbit 

Varieties 

Danita Cahill 

Contributing Writer 

Roland Fumasi 

Senior Horticulture 

Analyst, Rabo 

AgriFinance 

David Haviland 

Entomology and 

Pest Management 

Advisor, UCCE Kern 

County, Jhalendra 

Rijal UCIPM Advisor, 

Northern San 

Joaquin Valley 

Tammy Howard 

NCAT/ATTRA 

Sustainable Agriculture 

Kiki Hubbard 

Organic Seed Alliance 

Lynn M. Sosnoskie 

Specialty Crop Weed 

Scientist at Cornell 

University 

34 Transitioning a 

Conventional Apple 

Orchard to Organic 

38 

42 

Integrated Weed 

Management Practices 

for Controlling Unwanted 

Vegetation 

Growing Herbs the Old 

School Way 

34 

UC COOPERATIVE EXTENSION 

ADVISORY BOARD 

Kevin Day 

County Director and 

UCCE Pomology Farm 

Advisor, Tulare/Kings 

County 

Steven Koike 

Director, TriCal 

Diagnostics 

Emily J. Symmes 

UCCE IPM Advisor, 

Sacramento Valley 

Kris Tollerup 

UCCE Integrated Pest 

Management Advisor, 

Parlier, CA 

46 

USDA Market Facilitation 

Program 

38 

The articles, research, industry updates, 

company profiles, and advertisements in this 

publication are the professional opinions of 

writers and advertisers. Organic Farmer does 

not assume any responsibility for the opinions 

given in the publication. 


www.organicfarmermag.com 

3

SCALING UP YOUR FARM—IS IT FOR YOU? 

By TAMMY HOWARD | NCAT/ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture Specialist 

LOCAL FOODS PURCHASING 

has moved beyond farmers markets 

to mainstream grocery stores. As 

consumers become more interested in 

purchasing local foods, chain grocery 

stores from Walmart to Safeway tout 

their support of local farmers and are 

trying to back it up by purchasing from 

local or regional farmers. At the same 

time, many established farmers want 

to move out of time-consuming, often 

saturated, direct marketing channels 

such as farmers markets and community 

supported agriculture models. 

What is “Scaling Up?” 

One approach is essential, however— 

scaling up requires planning. Planning 

for improvements and growth within 

your operation can help alleviate 

growing pains and excessive debt. This 

article will include some strategies, but 

your approach will depend on your 

existing resources and markets, as well 

as how much risk you are comfortable 

with. 

Considerations for Farm Growth 

Perhaps the most important question to 

ask yourself when considering expanding 

your farm and farm markets is why? 

Does the expansion align with your 

farm goals? Is it going to significantly 

affect your quality of life—for better 

or for worse? Consider revisiting your 

goals. If you have not developed goals 

Continued on Page 6 

In a recent article titled “How to know 

when to scale up,” in Growing For 

Market newsletter, Jed Beach a farm 

consultant and farmer at 3 Bug Farm 

says this term is used a lot by service 

providers and consultants to signify 

an expansion in scale of marketing 

channels, production area or animal 

numbers to meet regional marketing 

demands for local foods. He argues 

that for the most part there are better 

ways for farmers to meet their quality of 

life and profitability goals than a farm 

expansion. It is important to keep in 

mind that there is not a one-size-fits-all 

approach to expanding your farm. 

Gardens of Eagan started focusing on wholesale production initially as a certified organic supplier to 

the coop chain in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Eventually the farm was bought by the coop to be a 

direct supply chain for the farm. As of 2015 the coop was considering selling the land as it was in a 

highly desirable suburban corridor. See: https://atinadiffley.com/history-of-diffleys-gardens-of-eagan/ 

All photos courtesy of Tammy Howard, NCAT. 

4 

Organic Farmer October/November 2019

agrinos.com 

Organic Products That Boost Your Bottom Line 

Available Through Your Local Retailer 



5

Not all scaling up is through wholesale 

marketing. Johnson’s Backyard Garden, literally 

started in Brenton Johnson’s Backyard. Now it is 

the largest organic farm and CSA in Texas. 

Continued from Page 4 

for your farm or written your goals 

down, see the ATTRA publication 

Evaluating a Farming Enterprise for a 

goals worksheet at https://attra.ncat. 

org/attra-pub/summaries/summary. 

php?pub=277. Most farmers choose 

to expand due to market factors. If 

market demand increases or changing 

to an intermediate or wholesale market 

channel is in order, expansion will be 

inevitable. 

Market Assessment and 

Considerations 

Expanding your farm requires a wellthought-out 

marketing plan. Wholesale 

markets require product quality and 

consistency. It is important to consider 

whether or not you are able to produce 

a quality product consistently throughout 

the season. One of the best ways 

to make this determination is through 

excellent planning and record keeping. 

Did you produce more product at a 

consistent quality than you could sell? 

Then expansion may be a good choice. 

Intermediate markets are a good 

segue into larger wholesale channels. 

Producers are one step removed from 

the end user—think small grocery 

stores, restaurants, aggregators. They 

allow the producer to maintain a brand 

identity and have a higher return on 

their product. They are ideal for midscale 

producers and are a great way for 

farmers to dabble in wholesale markets 

and farm expansion, but with a lower 

risk. Below is an overview of intermediate 

marketing channels to consider 

when expanding your farm: 

Grocery Stores 

Grocery stores vary widely in their 

volume and food-safety requirements. 

Independent grocery stores and food 

cooperatives can be more amenable to 

limited volume and lack of consistency. 

Larger chain grocery stores may have 

shelving fees and regional distribution 

models that might make it harder to 

break into supplying them. The best 

way to find out about grocery store 

requirements is to contact the produce 

manager. 

See the ATTRA Marketing Tipsheet 

Tips for Selling to Grocery Stores 

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/ 

summary.php?pub=387 

CSA 

There are several very large farms that 

sell through a community supported 

agriculture (CSA) model. CSAs are 

complex in that you have to manage 

a lot of different crops as well as deal 

with your customers. It is important to 

have experience selling through a CSA 

before expanding to a larger scale. It is 

also important to consider your goals 

for expansion. Is your expansion goal 

to specialize and simplify the number 

and types of crops that you grow? If so, 

a CSA is probably not a good marketing 

option. 

For more information, see ATTRA’s 

publication Tips for Selling 

through CSAs 

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/ 

summary.php?pub=391 

Restaurants 

Selling to restaurants can be a great way 

to scale up the farm. This opportunity 

really depends on the restaurant and 

their purchasing volume, however. 

Some restaurants will want small 

quantities of very specialized products 

from farmers but buy larger quantity 

items from a wholesale distributor. 

Contact chefs that have expressed a 

desire to purchase local foods. Many 

local food organizations have events 

that connect producers with restaurant 

and other wholesale markets. Keep an 

eye out for these types of events locally. 

Some restaurants and grocery stores are 

willing to finance equipment purchases. 

Gallatin Valley Botanical in Bozeman, 

Montana worked with a large restaurant 

in Bozeman to scale up their farm. Ale 

Works has partnered with Matt and 

Jacy Rothschiller since 2010, when they 

invested in the family’s organic vision at 

a key moment when expansion capital 

was needed. 

Their first initiative—Cash for 

Carrots—helped Matt and Jacy purchase 

farm equipment to expand their 

carrot production such as a seeder and 

root washer. Ale Works was paid back 

in veggies. The collaboration earned Ale 

Works an EcoStar award in 2014. 

They also stepped up to help the family 

purchase neighboring Rocky Creek 

Farm in 2018, increasing their acreage 

and ensuring the longevity of an organic 

family farm just three miles outside 

busy downtown Bozeman. (Montana 

Ale Works, 2019) 

Aggregators and Food Hubs 

If your operation is not quite large 

enough to reach wholesale volumes, you 

may need to aggregate your product 

with products from other growers. 

This can pose a challenge for product 

quality, consistency, and traceability. 

Aggregating can also have significant 

implications for food safety and marketing 

(Day-Farnsworth et al., 2009). 

6 


There are many innovations and 

solutions that have helped growers 

successfully aggregate their products to 

sell to larger markets. Food hubs coordinate 

the aggregation of products from 

multiple producers. Some food hubs 

can be Internet-based, or virtual. Others 

provide the physical infrastructure for 

packing and shipping quantities that 

most small-scale producers find difficult 

to manage on their own. An older study 

of marketing through food hubs as a 

way to meet the demand for local foods 

at a wholesale level, researchers found 

the following innovations to be most 

successful: 

• Pre-season planning among grower 

pools can help match supply to demand 

and give growers a better idea of what it 

costs to produce specific products. 

• Buyers, growers, and distributors can 

collaboratively project product sales in 

advance of the season, and growers can 

plant according to these projections. 

•Aggregators and distributors can 

provide buyers with product availability 

updates at least weekly during the 

growing season. 

• Growers and entrepreneurs can pool 

their resources to improve their storage 

capacity, make transportation more 

efficient, and streamline logistics. 

• Development of processing infrastructure 

can build markets for blemished 

produce that may not make the cut 

for fresh market sales but can serve as 

ingredients in processed foods (Day- 

Farnsworth et al., 2009). 

For more information and models 

on aggregating, see the Good Food 

Network’s Food Hub Center. This 

includes information and resources 

on starting and managing foods 

hubs. http://www.ngfn.org/resources/ 

food-hubs 

Schools and Other 

Institutional Buyers 

Selling to institutions such as schools, 

hospitals, and government agencies 

can be a challenge because they often 

have tight budgets, are locked into 

contracts with certain distributors, and 

have limited cooking capacity. There is 

growing interest on the part of hospitals 

and schools in sourcing local products, 

however. It is likely that food safety 

requirements will be greater in these 

settings, and producers will need higher 

liability insurance. If you intend to sell 

to institutions, it is also important to 


Essential Minerals For 

Certified Organic Farms 

Higher Yields. All Natural. Better Quality. 

Call 1.800.451.2888 or learn more at intrepidtrio.com 



7


consider whether or not you are able 

to provide a consistent quantity and 

supply, and if the price point is acceptable. 

Contact the food service manager 

at the institution you are interested 

in selling to, in order to find out their 

requirements. 


publication Tips for Selling to 

Institutional Markets 

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=399 

With wholesale markets, there is 

typically not a higher price point or 

brand identity retention. Some growers 

appreciate the security of forward 

contracting and less time spent on 

marketing despite the lower price point. 

Wholesale Success, is an essential guide 

for fruit and vegetable farmers that are 

considering scaling up for wholesale 

markets. See the Resources section of 

this article for information on purchasing 

this manual. 

Tips for Wholesale Success— 

Excerpted from Wholesale Success by 

Family Farmed 

• Buyers want larger quantities—many 

prefer pallets. Production should yield a 

consistent weekly supply. 

• Producers must build relationships 

with wholesale buyers and stay in touch 

regularly to communicate issues such as 

timing, quantity, price, quality, etc. 

• Field heat must be removed with 

proper cooling. The “cold chain” must 

be maintained from the field to the customer 

with refrigerated storage of most 

fruits and vegetables. 

• Products must be sorted uniformly 

to match United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) grades. Food safety 

procedures must be followed including 

necessary record keeping. 

Distributors 

Produce distributors are businesses that 

aggregate product and resell it in small 

or large quantities to their customers. 

Distributors may range in size from an 

individual with a van to a company with 

a fleet of eighteen-wheelers. 

Distributors primarily purchase directly 

from farmers, although they may also 

buy from brokers or packing houses. 

Most distributors will expect producers 

to follow stringent food safety requirements 

and use an invoicing system. 


publication Tips for Selling to Produce 

Distributors 

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=403 

Infrastructure Evaluation and 

Needs 

Equipment 

The type of market will dictate the level 

of infrastructure investment. Typically, 

a farm that expands to sell through 

wholesale channels moves from a 

very diverse operation to one that is 

more specialized. Nationally, there are 

several regional CSAs that have scaled 

up to serve more than 1,000 members. 

Managing 50 + crops at that scale can be 

very difficult but there are some farmers 

that have successfully pulled it off. 

Generally, however, most farmers that 

scale up decrease the diversity of their 

crops. While you may grow fewer crops, 

these crops should be available consistently, 

for a longer period of time, to 

satisfy your markets. If you choose to 

grow fewer crops, it is also important 

to manage soil quality on your farm 

through crop rotations, cover cropping, 

and other measures. This will typically 

require specialized planting, harvesting 

and cultivation equipment. Many farms 

that choose to expand, have acquired 

equipment over a period of time, 

however. 

As Jean-Paul Courtens of the Roxbury 

Agriculture Institute and Hudson 

Valley Food Hub says in his Roxbury 

Farm Equipment manual “The ideal 

equipment system for your farm is (a 


This flatbed trailer is converted into a field based grader in the peak harvest season. Consider what 

your current farm resources are. Where do you need to specialize, and what equipment investments 

can address the “weak link” on your farm? 

8 




9


decision) you must make before you 

spend a nickel. Purchasing equipment 

narrows your options for future purchases. 

Try to discover what the weakest 

link on your farm is. The chain breaks 

at the weakest link. Out of this you 

create a list of priorities of equipment 

to purchase. At our farm we are very 

dependent on good plant establishment 

from transplants. For years we set our 

plants out with a water-wheel planter. 

As we grew in size, this method developed 

problems: it was time consuming, 

the planter was not ergonomically well 

designed for long periods of work, and 

plants would not get into the fields 

when we had only small windows of 

opportunity. Our field production 

suffered, so the process of transplanting 

became our weakest link. Reducing the 

number of transplants was in our case 

not an option. We bought a high-speed 

carousel planter that allowed us to 

increase the efficiency of transplanting 

by 300 percent It is important to 

be realistic about the scale you will be 

operating at and allow for improvement.”(Courtens, 

2006) 

Land 

Often, one of the limiting factors for a 

farm expansion is land access. Leasing 

land can be a great option if financing 

a land purchase is not possible. It also 

gives you the opportunity to try farming 

at a larger scale without committing to a 

piece of land through purchasing. When 

renting, however, it is important to have 

a lease that is fair and legal. Research 

the market price of land rentals in your 

region. Your county cooperative extension 

office or farmland preservation 

organizations may have local land-lease 

rates. The Farm Commons provides 

information on leasing and lessee and 

landowner rights. It also provides 

sample leases. See https://farmcommons.org/land-matters 

Another consideration when leasing 

land is the quality of the land and 

the existing infrastructure. If you are 

leasing, it is important to use land that 

will not take a lot of time and resources 

to improve. If the land is excessively 

“ 

When renting, however, it is important to have 

a lease that is fair and legal. Research the 

market price of land rentals in your region. 

weedy or has poor soil, it is likely not 

worth investing time because you will 

not get any equity out of your land 

improvements. It is also important to 

consider access to the land, as well as to 

water and electricity. 

The ATTRA publication Tips for Farm 

Leases and Contracts: Creating Smart, 

Effective Documents (https://attra.ncat. 


php?pub=427) can help you understand 

the considerations in developing an 

effective and fair farm lease. 

If expanding your farm has been a part 

of your long-term goals, buying land 

may be a better option than leasing. 

Purchasing can be costly, especially 

if you live in an area that has high 

land prices. Financing the purchase of 

land can be difficult. The USDA-Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) can be a great 

option for obtaining a low-interest loan 

for the purchase of land or equipment 

for your expansion if you do not qualify 

for a conventional loan. Any financer 

will expect you to have a projected cash 

flow statement to demonstrate that your 

expansion will be profitable. 

The ATTRA publication Finding 

Land to Farm (https://attra.ncat. 


php?pub=174) includes important considerations 

as well as helpful resources 

on leasing or purchasing land. 

Labor 

Labor is a very important, if not the 

most important consideration for 

scaling up your farm. Labor costs can 

quickly eat into gross sales on a vegetable 

farm of any size. Labor requires a 

” 

whole new level of planning, financial 

management, and communication. Yet, 

if you are scaling up your farm, you 

most likely will need to hire labor. It 

can be difficult to find labor and many 

farmers refrain from scaling up for this 

reason alone. Consider whether you 

enjoy working with people and feel like 

you have the management skills to take 

on employees. Check into your state’s 

labor laws before hiring anyone. If you 

intend on hiring labor, at the minimum 

you will need to pay workers compensation 

tax and the state’s minimum wage. 

In a study about livelihoods of several 

different scales of market farms, the 

Center for Integrated Agricultural 

Systems found that vegetable farms 

over 12 acres often have crews of 10 

or more people during the growing 

season. A 20-acre vegetable farm may 

require 12,500 or more total labor hours 

per year. The four large-scale organic 

operations in their study ranged from 

462 to 613 total labor hours per acre 

and averaged 554. The farmers themselves 

accounted for between 17 percent 

and 45 percent of the total labor hours 

in these enterprises. Payroll expenses 

consumed between 19 percent and 41 

percent of gross farm sales (average of 

32 percent) (Hendrickson, 2005). 

Return on Investment and Gross 

Margin—In Other Words, are 

you Financially Equipped for a 

Farm Expansion? 

Jed Beach in his article in Growing 

for Market recommends that every 

farm have an understanding of their 

“gross margin” before considering an 

expansion. He says “Gross margin is an 

10 


important measurement of efficiency 

for any farm—it measures your ability 

to convert sales into gross profit. The 

higher the gross margin, the better.” 

Calculating gross margin happens by 

simply subtracting your variable costs 

from your gross revenue (AKA your 

sales). This calculates your “gross profit.” 

Next, divide your gross profit by your 

gross revenues. This calculates your 

gross margin—the percentage of every 

dollar in sales you make that is gross 

profit (Beach 2019). He suggests tracking 

your gross margin over time. If it 

starts to go up—maybe it is a good time 

to expand your farm. 

Another important consideration is 

your return on investment. In other 

words, will you make more money 

based on your investment if you 

expand? The publication titled Fearless 

Farm Financing helps farmers gain a 

deeper understanding of their finances. 

Chapter 13 on Farm Investment 

Analysis is a great place to start in 

breaking down the decision into a series 

of questions that you should consider 

when thinking of making investments 

to expand a farm enterprise. Fearless 

Farm Financing is a great book to have 

in your farm library. 

Fork. 2019. 

https://www.montanaaleworks.com/ 

farm-to-fork 

Day-Farnsworth, Lindsey, Brent 

McCown, Michelle Miller, and Anne 

Pfeiffer. 2009. Scaling Up: Meeting 

the Demand for Local Food. Center 

for Integrated Agricultural Systems, 

Madison, WI. www.cias.wisc.edu/ 

scaling-up-meeting-the-demand-forlocal-food/ 

Resources 

ATTRA Scaling up for institutional 

markets tutorial 

https://attra.ncat.org/tutorials/ 

Scaling up your Vegetable Farm for 

Regional Markets 

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/download.php?id=469 

Produce Safety tutorial and videos 

https://attra.ncat.org/food_safety/ 

Padgham, J., Dietmann, P., Chase, 

C., and Blanchard, C. 2012. 

Fearless Farm Finances. Midwest 

Organic and Sustainable Education 

Service. https://mosesorganic.org/ 

fearless-farm-finances/ 

Diffley, A. and Slama J. 2012 Wholesale 

Success: A Farmer’s Guide to Food 

Safety, Postharvest Handling, Packing 

and Selling Produce. Family Farmed.org 

Comments about this article? We want 

to hear from you. Feel free to email us at 

article@jcsmarketinginc.com 

FREE online ag resources 

publications, podcasts, videos, and more 

Scaling up your farm to meet regional 

market demand takes a lot of planning 

and investment. Revisit your farm goals 

to insure that a farm expansion aligns 

with your farm and lifestyle goals. Be 

sure to do some return on investment 

calculators to make sure your expansion 

will pay off in the not so distant future 

and finally, before expanding, make sure 

you have a thorough marketing plan. 

References 

Beach, Jed. April 2019. How to know 

when to scale up. Growing for Market. 

Courtens, Jean—Paul. 2006. Roxbury 

Farm Equipment. Regenerative Farming 

Practices-Information for Farmers. 

https://www.roxburyfarm.com/ 

information-for-farmers 

How can ATTRA help you? 

Trusted technical assistance for your ag challenges 

Call toll-free 800-346-9140 or 800-411-3222 (español) 

Montana Ale Works Web site. Farm to 



11

Organic Price Premiums 

Under Pressure 

By ROLAND FUMASI | Senior Horticulture Analyst, Rabo AgriFinance 

THE ORGANIC PRODUCE 

market has had tremendous 

growth over the last five years. But 

could the sector’s rapid expansion be 

damaging its own prices? 

A few years ago demand for organic 

produce was expanding faster than the 

industry was growing supply. The telltale 

signs were rising prices alongside rising 

volumes. Between 2013 and 2015, retail 

prices for the top seven organic produce 

items rose by an unweighted average of 

1.3 percent per year. Recently however, 

there are indications that growth in 

organic movement has changed as 

retail prices have declined by an annual 

unweighted average of 0.4 percent in 

2016-2018. 

In spite of softer prices, retail volume 

growth has slowed for these top-selling 

organic products. In 2013-2015, retail 

volume rose by an unweighted annual 

average of 13.8 percent. In 2016-2018, 

retail volume growth slowed to 8.9 

percent per year. Growth in organic berry 

volumes is a notable exception, as volume 

growth was higher in 2016-2018, but 

the rate of growth ticked lower in 2017 

and 2018. 

At Rabo AgriFinance, we dove into analysis 

mode to make sense of the numbers. 

The data suggest that things have changed 

and will continue to change. It is likely 

that for some fresh produce crops, 

short-run demand by consumers who 

strictly buy organic has been satisfied 

by increasing supplies. The value-chain 

must now move additional supplies to 

consumers with a different demand 

profile. This second group—the majority 

of U.S. consumers—are willing to buy 

organic produce some of the time but 

are much more price sensitive than strict 

organic consumers. As organic supplies 

have increased, this price sensitivity has 

resulted in weaker organic prices. 

Shipping-Point Volumes 

Continue Higher, But Prices Have 

Declined 

Reported organic shipping-point volumes 

were higher for most crops in 2018, 

and annual increases in shipping-point 

volume have accelerated for some fresh 

produce items. Organic apple, orange, 

strawberry and bell pepper movement 

have all shown continued acceleration 

in growth. In 2010-2012, average annual 

growth in volume for apples, strawberries 

and bell peppers were 6 percent, 14 

percent, and 145 percent, respectively. 

From 2016 to 2018, average annual 

reported volume growth was 14 percent, 

26 percent, and 185 percent, respectively. 

Annual growth in organic blueberry, 

cantaloupe, and grape tomato volumes 

continues, but growth rates have moderated 

in recent years (Figure 1, see 

page 13). 

The continued growth in organic volumes 

has now begun to weigh negatively 

on shipping-point prices. During the 

2016-2018 period, seven of the eight 

organic produce items we compared had 

declines in average annual price. Table 

grapes were the exception, but they were 

also the only crop that had a reduction 

in average annual volume. However, 

percentage volume gains have been much 

higher than the percentage price declines, 

resulting in increased revenues for shippers, 

and indicating a high level of price 

elasticity for organic produce. We also 

note that the price declines in 2016-2018 

followed sharp price increases during the 

2010-2015 period (Figure 2, see page 13). 

Due to the increased yield risk and 

labor costs of organic produce production, 

relative to conventionally-grown 

produce, growers/shippers expect to 

receive a premium price. The premium 

level needed varies depending on the 

specific crop, location and grower. 

Without an adequate premium to offset 

the increased risk and cost, producers 

will find it challenging to justify organic 

production. Retailers are demanding 

increased organic volumes, but retail 

prices are being lowered—in some 

cases—to adequately move the higher 

volumes. As organic produce continues 

to become more mainstream and supplies 

continue to increase, the organic market 

will continue to more closely resemble 

the conventionally-grown market. 

Over-supply will cause immediate—and 

sometimes extreme—declines in price. 

These changes are already leading to 

decreased organic premiums. 

Of the crops in which adequate data 

allowed comparison, half showed 

clear reductions in organic premiums. 

Premiums for organic apples, blueberries, 

pears, strawberries and bell peppers 

have come under pressure, while organic 

premiums are holding up better for cantaloupe, 

table grapes, oranges and grape 

tomatoes (Figure 3, see page 13). 

Note: Prices used were volume-weighted 

weekly averages in each year, and were 

only compared for weeks in which both 

prices and volumes were reported for both 

organic and conventional options. 

Reported shipping-point movement and 

prices for many organic crops have only 

become significant since 2016. Organic 

premiums for this group of crops are 

12 


average annual change in reported volume 


Figure 1. Figure 1. Changes 1. Changes in in Organic in Organic Shipping 

Shipping 

Point Volumes, Point Volumes, 2010-2018 

2010-2018 

225% 

225% 

200% 

200% 

175% 

175% 

150% 

150% 

125% 

125% 

100% 

100% 

75% 75% 75% 

50% 50% 50% 

25% 25% 25% 

0% 0% 0% 

-25% 

-25% 

-50% 

-50% 


average annual change in weekly volume-weighted 

price 

Figure 2. Figure 2. Changes 2. Changes in in Organic in Organic Shipping 

Shipping 

Point Prices, Point 2010 Prices, -2018 

2010 -2018 

20% 20% 20% 

15% 15% 15% 

10% 10% 10% 

5% 5% 5% 

0% 0% 0% 

-5% -5% -5% 

-10% 

-10% 

-15% 

-15% 

-20% 

-20% 


price 


price 

2010-2012 2010-2012 2013-2015 2013-2015 2016-2018 

2016-2018 

2010-2012 2010-2012 2013-2015 2013-2015 2016-2018 

2016-2018 

average weekly volume-weighted percent 


premium 

premium 


premium 

140% 

120% 

100% 

80% 80% 

60% 60% 

40% 40% 

20% 20% 

0% 0% 

Figure 3. Figure 3. Organic 3. Organic Produce Produce Shipping-Point Shipping-Point Price Premiums, Price Premiums, 2014 - 2018 -2014 - 2018 

140% 

120% 

100% 

80% 

60% 

40% 

20% 

0% 

2014 2014 2015 2015 2016 2016 2017 2017 2018 

2018 

compared in (Figure 4, see page 14). 

200% 

Organic premiums for cauliflower, 

200% 

180% 

celery, 

180% 

kale, spinach and sweet 160% 

corn 

160% 

appear to 

be trending positive. 140% Artichoke, 140% green 

120% 

leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce and 120% red leaf 

100% 

100% 

lettuce organic premiums 80% 80% have weakened. 

80% 

For other crops, any 60% discernable 60% 60% trend is 

harder to see. 40% 40% 


premium 


premium 


premium 

20% 20% 

0% 0% 

To aid growers deciding whether to 

expand more acres into organic production, 

we categorized the opportunity 

and risk levels for crops. Crops in the 

Positive category could experience shortrun 

organic supply expansion and most 

likely maintain suitable organic price 

premiums. The Neutral category crops 

may reach undesirable premium levels 

if supply expansion occurs too rapidly. 

Crops in the Caution category are experiencing—or 

are approaching—premium 

Figure 4. Figure 4. Organic 4. Produce Organic Produce Shipping- Shipping- Point Price Point Premiums, Price Premiums, 2016 - 2018 - 2016 - 2018 

40% 

20% 

0% 

levels that do not adequately compensate 

suppliers for the increased risk and 

cost of organic production (Table 1, see 

page 14). 

Short-Run Opportunities 

Aren’t Lost 

Strategic opportunities still exist for 

crops that fall in the Neutral or Caution 

categories—which we determined by the 

annual averages for organic premium 

pricing. There are still seasonal opportunities, 

in which organic premiums 

remain 2016significantly 2017high. 2017 For 2018 example, 2018 2018 

organic premiums for blueberries 

averaged 45 percent in 2018 on a weekly 

volume-weighted basis. There were nine 

weeks, however, in which premiums rose 

to above 90 percent and three weeks in 

which they were above 100 percent. The 

opportunity to take advantage of these 

market opportunities depends heavily 

on the specific growing region, which 

influences the ability to target particular 

market windows. 

Another consideration is that the 

presented data are averages across all 

varieties, pack sizes and grades. There 

may be opportunities for crops in the 

Caution category when more specific 

agro-economic conditions are considered. 

The level of price premium needed to 

compensate for increased yield risk and 

production cost will also vary by grower/ 

supplier. We tend to use a minimum of 40 

percent premium as a rule-of-thumb, but 

some producers may need more, while 




13

2010-2012 2013-2015 2016-2018 


premium 

compensate suppliers Figure 3. Organic for the Produce increased Shipping-Point risk and cost Price of organic Premiums, production 2014 - 2018(See Table 1). 

140% 

Table 1: Cauon is Warranted for Short- Run Supply Expansion in Specific Crops 

120% 

Positive 

100% 

Neutral Caution 

Artichokes 80% 

Kale Broccoli Apples 

60% 

Cabbage Oranges Carrots Bell Peppers 

40% 

Cantaloupe 20% 

Spinach Iceberg Lettuce Blackberries 

Cauliflower 

0% 

Sweet Corn Lemons Blueberries 

Celery Sweet Potatoes Red Leaf Lettuce Green Leaf Lettuce 

Grape Tomatoes Table Grapes Romaine Lettuce Pears 

Honeydew 

Strawberries 

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 

Source: Rabobank 2019 


premium 

200% 

180% 

160% 

140% 

120% 

100% 

80% 

60% 

40% 

20% 

0% 

Figure 4. Organic Produce Shipping- Point Price Premiums, 2016 - 2018 

2016 2017 2018 


others will be adequately compensated 

with less. Growers who have implemented 

strategies that effectively lower their yield 

risk in organic production will have a 

stronger incentive to continue to increase 

organic production—even in the shortrun—for 

crops listed in our ‘Caution’ 

category. Shippers who maintain organic 

premiums at levels higher than competitors—through 

branding, quality of 

product, or quality of service—will have 

greater incentive to continue expanding 

organic offerings. And they will be better 

able to compensate their growers. 

Mid-to Long-Term Opportunities 

Remain, But the Game has 

Changed 

Driven by consumer and retailer-centric 

demand forces, as well as regulatory 

pressures that favor organic production, 

we expect organic produce production to 

continue to increase, and that long-run 

opportunities will continue to exist in 

the space. Growers will have to continue 

to adapt to effectively take advantage of 

changes in the market. 

Further out, as more millennial consumers 

grow their disposable income and 

start families, it is likely that the demand 

for strict, organic-only produce purchases 

will continue to grow; especially given the 

continued expansion of organic promotion 

by retailers. However, with greater 

financial responsibility, comes the potential 

of increasing price sensitivity for this 

group of consumers as well. Generation 

Z consumers will ultimately add fuel to 

these trends. 

Organic produce availability has now 

become mainstream, which means 

that the organic produce market will 

continue to more closely resemble the 

traditionally-grown produce market. 

Price strength—or weakness—has and 

will become most heavily influenced by 

supply-side gaps and gluts. Technological 

advances and continued improvements 

in production practices will help ensure 

long-run profitability for adaptive 

suppliers. Figuring out how to produce 

organically at a unit cost that is similar 

to conventional production is the evasive 

but long-run goal. 




14 


GET READY 

for our 2019-2020 Trade Shows 

New Names, Same Great Experiences! 

In 2018-2019 we had: 

January 21, 2020 (Orland, CA) 

January 10, 2020 (Yuba City, CA) 

June 3, 2020 (Turlock, CA) 

June 10-12, 2020 (Monterey, CA) 

1,268 

PCA/CCA Attendance 

3,336 

Total Attendees 

Come experience our 

shows for YOURSELF! 

Alm nd Day 

June 24, 2020 (Fresno, CA) 

2020 TBD (Visalia, CA) 

November 20, 2019 (Tulare, CA) 

For more info visit: www.wcngg.com/events 

October 24, 2019 (Bakersfield, CA) 

AG MARKETING SOLUTIONS 

@jcsmarketing 

JCS Marketing Inc. 

@jcs_marketing 

October/November 2019 www.organicfarmermag.com 15

Mating Disruption for Navel 

Orangeworm Available for 

Organic Nut Crops 

By DAVID HAVILAND | Entomology and Pest Management Advisor, UCCE Kern County 

By JHALENDRA RIJAL | UC IPM Advisor, Northern San Joaquin Valley 

Photo courtesy of David Haviland. 

16 


EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF NAVEL 

orangeworm requires an integrated approach to 

pest management. This is especially true in organic 

nut crops where insecticides that are industry standards 

in convention orchards are not available. This puts 

added emphasis on the need for variety selection, winter 

sanitation, timely harvest, and mating disruption. 

Mating Disruption 

Mating disruption works by using dispensers to flood 

an orchard with synthetically-produced pheromone, 

thus interrupting the ability of male moths to find and 

mate with females. Reductions in eggs and larvae occur 

if females fail to mate or if there is a delay in when 

mating occurs. 

There are currently two mating disruption products 

registered for use in organic nut crops in California. 

The first is Cidetrak NOW Meso from Trécé. The ‘Meso’ 

dispenser looks like a foot-long strip of rubber that 

releases pheromone passively throughout the season. 

The emitters are typically hung in the orchard at a rate 

of 20 per acre, with the label allowing a range of 15 to 

Semios pheromone dispensers include climate sensors for automatic, 

in-canopy degree day tracking and pest flight predictions. Photo courtesy 

of Kelly Petersen. 

28. Dispensers are hung in the orchard prior to moth emergence 

in the spring. Pheromone is released throughout the season for 

approximately 150 to 180 days and there is no need to recover the 

emitters at the end of the season. 

The second product is called Semios NOW Eco from Semios. 

This product releases pheromone from pressurized aerosol 




17

Hand-applied pheromone mating disruption dispenser 

for navel orangeworm in pistachio. Photo courtesy of 

Trècè, Inc. 

Crack a mummy nut and you may find a navel orangeworm inside. 

Photo courtesy of Kelly Petersen. 

W MESO Continued applied in from pistachio Page orchard 17 

Semios NOW Eco) reduced captures of 

male moths in pheromone traps by 93 

canisters contained within dispensers. and 90 percent, respectively. The difficulty 

of 

ch, distributer 

The dispensers 

with 

are 

Bear 

placed 

River 

in the tree 

Supply 

at a 

used CIDETRAK® 

males to find pheromone traps 

rate of 1 per acre prior to moth emergence 

MESO in the last spring. year The and standard said, rate “It’s a good were interfering tool in with the the tool- 

use of phero- 

served as an indicator that the systems 

NOW 

e will for be pheromone using it puff again by the this dispenser year.” is mone as a way for males to find females. 

at 15-minute intervals when moths are At harvest, these two systems reduced 

that have active. used The timing CIDETRAK® of pheromone CMDA release + overall NOW damage MESO by 46 or percent, CIDE- including 

is controlled remotely via a wireless 22.3 percent reductions for Nonpareil, 

OW MESO 

network 

alone 

that allows 

or in 

the 

combination 

dispensers to 

with 

59.7 

insecticide 

percent reductions 

sprays 

for Monterey, 

found modify to be daily very or effective. 

hourly rates based on and 63.5 percent reductions for Fritz 

pest pressure, weather conditions, crop across all three locations. 

n immediate phenology, need and seasonal to protect phenology your harvest from NOW. Left 

of navel orangeworm. Moth activity Similar results were found during 2017 

, the economic damage on growers will be devastating. The 

is tracked using camera traps that are and 2018 as part of a Pest Management 

t is now. remotely The monitored need is immediate. 

over a wireless Alliance Project that was funded by 

network. The system also includes the California Department of Pesticide 

leading weather innovator stations, in a password-protected 

mating disruption Regulation, and control also in systems, almonds. This 

onventional grower computer and organic interface use. to monitor project did side-by-side comparisons 

moths and weather, and degree-day of orchards that were managed conventionally, 

typically using sanitation 

models. Dispenser installation, maintenance 

and removal is provided by the plus one or two insecticide applications, 

manufacturer. 

versus a neighboring orchard using 

® 

Trécé Incorporated the same management Tel: 1-866-785-1313 program plus 

UC Research 7569 Highway 28 West mating disruption. Fax: 1-918-785-3063 At sites in Lost Hills 

INCORPORAT ED 

(2018) and Ballico (2018), Cidetrak 

NE & KAIROMONE SYSTEMS 

Adair, Ok 74330 

custserv@trece.com 

Trials by the University of California NOW Meso reduced male captures in 

USA 

www.trece.com 

have shown that both mating disruption 

systems are effective within translated into 41.9 and 50.0 percent 

traps by 100.0 and 94.0 percent, which 

conventionally-grown almond orchards. reductions in the pounds of damage 

During 2017, side-by-side comparison 

trials using 40-acre plots in three At sites in Wasco (2017 and 2018) and 

kernels per acre at harvest, respectively. 

Kern County orchards were funded by Turlock (2017 and 2018), Semios NOW 

the Almond Board. They showed that reduced male captures by 94.7 1/15/19 to 100.0 10:56 AM 

Cidetrak NOW Meso and Semios NOW percent with percentage reductions the 

Extra (the conventional equivalent of pounds of damaged kernels averaging 

63.9 percent. 

A separate set of demonstrations in 

Modesto during 2018 evaluated the use 

of Cidetrak NOW Meso in ~25 acre 

orchards. Across all three varieties, 

male captures were reduced by 96.4 

percent and damage was reduced by 

60-90 percent at the center of each plot, 

although overall NOW nut damage was 

less than 1 percent. 

Economic Analysis of Data 

Economic analysis of data from all 

research trials showed that mating 

disruption typically paid for itself. 

This was due to a decrease in yield 

losses from damaged kernels, and due 

to improved quality assessments that 

define price premiums at the huller. As 

an example of how this worked, imagine 

a 2,500 pound per acre conventional 

orchard with 3 percent damage. The 

grower might typically receive $2.79 per 

pound ($2.75 base price plus a $0.04 

cent bonus) for a total value of $6,875 

per acre. If damage were reduced by 50 

percent (typical for mating disruption), 

the grower would now have 1.5 percent 

damage. The grower would get paid 

for another 37.5 pounds of undamaged 

kernels, and the entire load might 

receive $2.89 per pound ($2.75 base 

price plus $0.14 bonus) for a total value 

of $7,333 per acre. This is an increase 

of $358 per acre, which is two to three 


18 


Multi-Target 

Navel Orangeworm Monitoring Systems 

for conventional and organic tree nuts 

FOUR STAR – 2020 LINE UP! 

WE ARE READY TO SUPPORT YOUR NOW MONITIORING NEEDS! 

MONITORING SYSTEMS 

Male Attractant System: 

PHEROCON ® NOW L 2 Lure 

PHEROCON VI 

Delta Trap 

Female Attractant System: 

PHEROCON ® IV NOW 

PHEROCON IV NOW 

Egg Trap 

NEW! Predator Detection System: 

PHEROCON ® PREDATOR Trap 

NEW! Multi-Gender 

Attractant System: 

PHEROCON ® NOW 

PPO-HR L 2 Lure 

NOW L 2 High 

Pheromone Lure 

• Male NOW Attractant High/Low- 

Release Pheromone Lures 

NOW L 2 Low 

Pheromone Lure 

• Female NOW – Oviposition 

– Attractant, Concentrated, 

Stabilized lures 

• Detect mite predators, such as the 

Six-spotted thrips and Stethorus beetles 

• Based on the Great Lakes IPM trap 

• Used in recent university trials 

• May be used as a treatment threshold 

indicator 

• Contains easy hanger 

Note: Apply miticides based on UC-IPM Guidelines 

PHEROCON 1C Trap 

• Multi-Gender NOW Attractant, 

High-Release PPO-HR L 2 

Microporous Gel Peelable Lure 

More information below 

• Multi-Gender Quick-Change 

with expanded hang tight spacer 

• Multi-Gender NOW Attractant, 

High-Release • Ready-to-Use, PPO-HR L 2 

peelable backing 

Microporous Gel Peelable Lure 

• Duplicates Standard USDA vial 

release rate 

• 12 weeks field longevity 

• Easy to use; ready-to-use barrier pack 

NEW! NEW! Multi-Gender Attractant System: PHEROCON® ® NOW PPO PPO Lure -HR L 2 Lure 

Precision - multicomponent 

release • 

Higher capture rates • 

Earlier detection • 

Controls the release of 

more volatile molecules 

while allowing release 

of less volatile molecules. 

• Volatile molecules 

• Less volatile 

molecules 

• Greater longevity 

*Patent pending 



® 

INCORPORAT ED 



© 2019, Trécé Inc., Adair, OK USA • TRECE, PHEROCON and CIDETRAK are registered trademarks of Trécé, Inc., Adair, OK USA • TRE-1602, 8/19


times the cost of using any mating disruption 

product. In hindsight across all 

research sites, the cost of mating disruption 

exceeded the return on investment 

if damage without mating disruption 

was under 1 percent, broke even if 

damage was around 1.5 to 2 percent, 

and very quickly turned into a positive 

return on investment any time damage 

exceeded 2 percent. 

Organic growers considering mating 

disruption should develop their own 

cost-benefit analysis. This is especially 

true considering that organic almond 

orchards typically have reduced yields, 

but higher per-pound prices than the 

previous example. Growers should 

also consider other benefits of mating 

disruption, such as increased crop 

exportability due to decreased risk 

of aflatoxins, increased ability to sell 

in-shell nuts, or the value of marketing 

the sustainability of production 

practices. 

Individual Orchard Conditions 

Individual orchard conditions should 

also be considered when determining 

the fit for a mating disruption system. 

This includes the size and orientation 

of the orchard as well as the surrounding 

landscape. Effective mating disruption 

assumes that a solid plume of pheromone 

can be maintained within the 

orchard. This means that when implementing 

mating disruption, bigger is 

better. Efficacy is also increased when 

orchards are shaped like squares or rectangles. 

Efficacy is reduced as orchards 

become longer and skinnier, especially 

in areas known for high winds that can 

blow pheromone off-site. 

Orientation of the orchard within the 

landscape should also be considered. 

This is especially true because mating 

Aerosol mating disruption dispenser. Photo 

courtesy of Pacific Biocontrol Corporation. 

disruption cannot control gravid 

moths that fly into the orchard after 

mating elsewhere. Mating disruption 

works best when the surrounding 

landscape does not contain navel 

orangeworm hosts, or where the 

neighboring growers have effective 

sanitation and spray programs. The 

ability of navel orangeworm to move 

back and forth among neighboring 

orchards makes communication with 

neighbors essential when trying to 

control this pest at a landscape scale. In 

an ideal situation, the organic grower 

using mating disruption would be 

surrounded by neighbors who are also 

using mating disruption to contribute 

to an even larger, contiguous pheromone 

plume. 

For more information on mating disruption, 

consult with the University of 

California Integrated Pest Management 

Guidelines found at the UC IPM Web 

site (http://ipm.ucanr.edu). Once at 

the site, click on Agricultural Pests, 

followed by Almonds, Pistachios or 

Walnuts. Additional information can 

also be provided by your local UC 

Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor. 




20 




21

Organic Methods to 

Control Filbertworm 

and Other 

Hazelnut Pests 

By DANITA CAHILL | Contributing Writer 

Adult filbertworm. Photo courtesy of Vaughn Walton. 

Filbertworm Control Session 

GO AHEAD AND GET A 

little batty if you want to control 

filbertworms in your hazelnut 

orchard. Since bats eat night-flying 

insects, including the filbertworm 

moth, attracting them to your orchard 

is a beneficial and organic way to help 

control filbertworm population. Give 

bats a place to call home by installing 

bat boxes. 

The Oregon Organic Hazelnut Co-op 

(OOHC) sponsored a filbertworm 

presentation at the Nut Growers Society 

Summer Tour in Albany, Oregon. Two 

of the four-member panel of experts 

had opposite results with bat boxes. 

Linda Perrine put up boxes, but never 

had a single bat move in. Kirk Reinecke 

had better results. He went online to 

search out plans, and then built his own 

boxes, which the bats sleep in during 

the day. 

Groundcover going into winter 

can create increased filbertworm, 

(Melissopus latiferreanus Walsingham) 

populations, since debris on the orchard 

floor creates a habitat for the overwintering 

larval stage. Overwintering larvae 

are called hibernacula, “This describes 

the larva in its protected case which 

is woven from silk and debris,” said 

panelist Betsey Miller, an Oregon State 

University (OSU) Fruits and Small Nuts 

research assistant. 

It’s hard for the larvae to overwinter in 

extremely wet soil. 

Flailing is an important aspect for 

organic control of filbertworm. Flail 

thoroughly and often. Give orchards 

a flail in the spring to remove debris. 

Flail after initial nut drop to destroy 

larvae—a ½ inch long, cream-colored 

worm with brown head that lives inside 

the shell and eats the kernel. Flail all 

nuts if not picking. 

Panelist Taylor Larson said there have 

been studies done using fire in hazelnut 

orchards in the early to mid-fall to 

control filbertworm larvae. “Permitting 

is the issue,” he said. 

One grower from the audience shared 

how he uses pigs to help clean up his 

orchard. He puts up hot wire stands and 

releases about 30 pigs at a time into the 

orchard. When the pigs have cleaned 

up one area, he moves them to another. 

He later sells the pigs, and raises a new 

batch the following year. 

Mating Disruption 

Using mating disruptor pheromone is 

useful for maintaining a low filbertworm 

population. It’s a good method 

to keep the insects in check, but it’s 

not as helpful if there is already a large 

population of filbertworm moths in the 

orchard. When large quantities of moths 

are present, they could still flutter upon 

one another by chance. 

“Pheromone is heavier than the air, so 

it will sink in sloped areas,” Miller said. 

About the pheromone dispensers, she 

said. “Put them up into the top onethird 

of the canopy.” 

Other advice from OSU extension 

service about organic control of filbertworm: 

Use monitoring traps to keep 

tabs of insect levels in the orchard. Place 

these traps up into the top one third of 

the canopy as well. Use four traps for 

the first 10 acres. Use one trap per each 

additional four acres. If you count two 

to three filbertworm moths per trap, or 

five filbertworm moths in any one trap, 

it’s time to take action. Side note: Very 

early moth flight may not be a threat to 

crops, especially if there are no nuts yet 

developing. 

22 


"It’s best to hang them 

before bud break. 

Dispensers are easier 

to hang at that time of 

the year" 

Filbertworm larvae on hazelnut. Photo courtesy of Chris Hedstrom. 

Other moths will also fly into the traps. 

To identify the filbertworm moth, look 

for a small moth with gold scales on the 

wings. “They are approximately 1 cm 

from head to wing tip with an 1.8 cm 

wingspan. The golden bands along their 

wings are distinct markings; they have 

a metallic shine in the sunlight,” Miller 

explained. 

OSU Extension advice when using 

pheromone, or mating disruptors: The 

Meso dispensers/rings work best in 

orchards of at least 10 acres in size, and 

"Not seeing 

moths in your 

traps? Don’t 

worry, that’s 

actually good 

news." 

in those with more “core” than “edge.” 

Follow the label recommendation of 

20-plus dispensers per acre. It’s best to 

hang them before bud break. Dispensers 

are easier to hang at that time of the 

year. Also, they’ll be in place before 

the first flight of the moths, which 

can happen as early as mid-May. The 

orchard canopy helps hold the pheromone 

in the orchard. 

Not seeing moths in your traps? Don’t 

worry, that’s actually good news. The 

pheromone point source is the trap, 

which is releasing a cloud of pheromones. 

The pheromones emitted 

imitate those given off by female moths 

to attract mates. If the male moth can’t 

find the trap, it means he’s confused by 

the pheromones and likely can’t find 

the female moth, either. It’s a sign that 

mating disruption is working. 

Perrine used Entrust for nine out of 

ten years to control filbertworm and 

other insects that overwinter. The active 

ingredient in Entrust is Spinosad. Use 

10 fluid ounces per acre at egg hatch. 

The year Perrine tried a different 

product wasn’t as good a production 

year for her. But she has concerns about 

using the same spray year after year. 

“We are going to build up resistance if 

this is the only product we have to use.” 

Hazelnut susceptibility to the filbertworm 

is based on shell thickness. 

Thinner-shelled varieties such as 

McDonald, Wepster, Dorris, Yamhill, 

Willamette and Sacajawea are more 

susceptible. Jefferson and Polly O are 

in the middle of the road, as far as shell 

thickness and susceptibility goes. 

As for cost, mating disruption is comparable 

in cost to that of chemical spray 

management of filbertworms. Some 

growers choose to use mating disrupter 

pheromone in the orchard and use 

conventional full-coverage insecticide 

spray along the border, whether growing 

organically or conventionally. Perrine 

discourages organic growers from using 

conventional spray in the border. She 

sited climate change and an already 

large decrease in insect populations as 

the reason. 

In at least two studies, there was no 

difference shown in crop damage between 

mating disruption plots and grower standard 

plots. However, filbert aphid counts 




23


were higher in the grower standard plots, 

and beneficial parasitic aphid wasp count 

was higher in the mating disruption plots. 

Other takeaways from the OOHC presentation, 

which took place at the Linn 

County Fair & Expo Center: With climate 

change comes hotter, drier summers. To 

help maintain moisture in the root zone 

of trees, use compost or wood chips. 

Organic Bud Mite Control Session 

Perrine said she’s had a 5 to 10 percent 

reduction of nuts due to bud mites. 

Mite infested buds do not produce nuts 

and can cause abnormal vegetative 

growth. Bud mites are a nearly translucent, 

microscopic insect shaped like a 

cigar. They live and feed inside new buds, 

damaging or “blasting” the buds, which 

swell (bud gall), dry up and drop off. 

The mites then migrate from the blasted 

buds to new buds in the spring. If using 

either a conventional or an organically-certified 

spray to control bud mites, 

this is the time to apply. Mite migration 

generally happens in late-March through 

early April and into May in Oregon’s 

Willamette Valley. 

"As for 

cost, mating 

disruption is 

comparable in 

cost to that of 

chemical spray 

management of 

filbertworms." 

The Oregon Organic Hazelnut Co-op sponsored a presentation on Filbertworm control at the NGS 

Summer Tour. Panelists from left: Linda Perrine, Taylor Larson, Kirk Reinecke and Betsey Miller. Photo 

courtesy of Danita Cahill. 

There are two varieties of mites that 

feed on hazelnut leaves, flowers and 

catkins, (Phytocoptella avellanae 

and Cecidophyopsis vermiformis). 

As nature would have it, there is 

also a variety of beneficial mite, 

(Galendromus spp). This cannibalistic 

beneficial mite lives among, and feeds 

on the damaging mites, as well as on 

spider mites, which also cause hazelnut 

damage. Unfortunately, release of 

predatory mites may not be practical, 

or cost effective, in a commercial 

setting. 

Some of the legacy varieties of 

hazelnuts are the most susceptible 

to bud blast—Daviana, Ennis 

and Royal, although mites are not 

common in the catkins of the pollinizers 

Daviana and Royal. The OSU 

breeding program selects against bud 

mites, so although blasted buds are 

fairly rare in recent cultivar releases, 

severe infestations have been noted 

in Casina, Clark, Lewis and Yamhill. 

Barcelona, which is susceptible to 

Eastern Filbert Blight, is not susceptible 

to bud blast. 

Monitor for mites with tacky insect 

glue, sticky cards or double-sided 

sticky tape. Place sticky monitor traps 

on branches below blasted buds. 

Since the mites cannot be seen with 

the naked eye, use magnification to 

count them regularly. 

Mite flare ups could be linked to 

uses of broad-spectrum insecticide, 

causing a loss of biological control. 

Organic Aphid 

Control Session 

“Aphids are a lover of moisture,” 

Perrine said. 

There was also talk about the aphid 

parasitoid—or parasitic wasp (Trioxys 

pallidus). It was imported to the US in 

the 1960s. The adult wasp is very small, 

only 2-3 millimeters (mm) long. It has a 

shiny black head and thorax. Its abdomen 

is long, slender and orange or yellowish 

in color. 

The adult wasp lays an egg inside an 

aphid nymph. The egg hatches. The 

larvae feasts on the inside of the aphid. 

It pupates inside the aphid shell, or 

mummy, then emerges as an adult wasp 

through a small exit hole in the mummy. 

Although the wasps are challenging to 

spot and identify, you can monitor their 

numbers by counting the aphid mummies 

in your orchard. To protect the tiny predator, 

Miller said, “It’s important to spray 

as little as possible.” 

“Let the natural biology process take 

care of it,” Perrine said about aphid 

populations. 

If you do feel the need to spray, Impede is 

a certified organic product with a sticker, 

which helps keep it on the leaves through 

the next rain. Apply it in late February 

through early March. 




24 


Each $1 in FAS-taxpayer support for 

the California Walnut 

SAVE 

Commission (CWC) 

THE 

conducts 

DATES 

California walnuts export promotion 

generated over $15 in tax revenue 

arketing programs in eight countries throughout 

creation. 

d Asia, including an EU regional industrial program, 

g California walnuts distinctive quality, taste, versatility 

Spending on export promotion in 

2017 created 2,682 jobs. 

onal benefits. Industry growers, handlers, and the 

made great strides by working together and will 

Register TODAY: www.wcngg.com/register 

uilding demand in an ever-expanding 

66% 

66% of the California 

walnut crop was exported 

in the 2017/18 crop year. 

January 10, 2020 Co-hosted by: 

Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds 

442 Franklin Ave, Yuba City, CA 95991 

walnuts.org 

•Trade Shows/Free Events 

•CE Credits Offered 

•Seminars & Workshops 

•Networking 

•Free Industry Lunches 

•Free Coffee & Donuts 

•Cash Prizes 

California Agricultural Statistics Review 2016/2017 by CDFA 

Economic Evaluation of the California Walnut Commission’s Export 

Promotion Programs: An Analysis of the Direct and Indirect Impacts 

January 2018, 

, Cornell University 

In conjunction with the UCCE Butte/Glenn/Tehama Counties Almond & Walnut Day 

January 21, 2020 

Glenn County Fairgrounds, 

221 E Yolo St, 95963 Orland, CA 

Powered by: 

@jcsmarketing 





25

SAVE THE DATE 

PRE-REGISTER AT WCNGG.COM/EVENTS 

October 24, 2019 

7am-1pm 

Kern County Fairgrounds 

1142 South P St., 

Bakersfield, CA 93307 

• Trade Show/Free Event 

(Growers, Applicators, PCAs, CCAs, 

and Processors Welcome!) 

• CE Credits Available 

• Free Industry Lunch 

• Free Coffee & Donuts 

• Cash Prizes 

• Seminars & Workshops 

SPONSORED BY 

JCS Marketing will 

make a $1 donation for 

each attendee to the 

participating FFA Chapter. 

26 

Organic Farmer October/November 2019 

Questions? Call us today at (559) 352-4456 or visit us online at 

www.wcngg.com | JCS Marketing • PO Box 27772, Fresno, CA 93729 

facebook.com/JCSMarketinginc/ 


@jcsmarketing

AGENDA 

CCA: 3 Hours | PCA: 3 Hours 

(CE CREDIT PENDING APPROVAL) 

7:00 AM 

7:30 AM 

8:00 AM 

8:30 AM 

9:00 AM 

PROFESSIONAL TRACK 

Nematodes in Almonds 

Andreas Westphal, UC Davis, Kearney Agriculture 

Research and Education Center 

CE Credits: 30 Minutes, Other 

NOW Management 

Brad Higbee, Field Research & Development 

Manager, Trécé Inc. 


Registration 

Trade Show CE Credits: 15 Minutes, Other 

Water Availability Outlook 

Beth Pandol, Executive Director, Kern Water Association 

GROWER TRACK 

Getting the Most Out of Your 

Soil Nutrition Program 

Richard Kreps, CCA 

Top 5 Regulatory Topics Growers 

Should Know Going into 2020 

Christopher McGlothlin, Director of Technical Services, 

Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) 

Jodi Devaurs, Director of Regulatory Affairs, 

Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) 

9:30 AM 

Integrated Pest Management 

in Grapes 

Steve Vasquez, Technical Viticulturist, 

Sun-Maid Growers of California 


Pistachio Varieties 

Craig Kallsen, UCCE Kern County 

10:00 AM 

10:30AM 

Break 

Trade Show CE Credits: 15 Minutes, Other 

11:00 AM 

11:30 AM 

Asian Citrus Psyllid 

Control in Citrus 

Judy Zaninovich, Kern County 

ACP-HLB Grower Liaison 


How to Diagnose Plant Diseases: 

Lessons from Kern County 

Mohammad Yaghmour Ph.D., Area Orchard Systems 

Advisor, Cooperative Extension Kern County 


Diversifying with Hemp 

Glenn Fankhauser, Kern County 

Agricultural Commissioner 

Chris Boucher, CEO, Farmtiva 

12:00 PM 

1:00 PM 

Lunch 

Adjourn 



27

Organic Plant Breeding Yields 

Superior Cucurbit Varieties 

By KIKI HUBBARD | Organic Seed Alliance 

FARMERS LOOKING FOR 

disease resistant cucurbits now have 

more choices thanks to the release 

of new cucumber and melon varieties by 

Cornell University, the result of years of 

research by public plant breeders and organic 

farmers. These varieties are a result 

of participatory breeding efforts focused 

on cucurbits most in need of improvement, 

and exhibit exceptional resistance 

to evolving diseases as well as production 

and culinary characteristics important to 

organic farmers. 

“Our approach to plant breeding 

involves a close collaboration with 

farmers, regional seed companies, and 

other researchers to test varieties in the 

environment of their intended use,” says 

Michael Mazourek with the Department 

of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell 

University. “In the case of these cucurbit 

varieties, they were all bred with the 

needs of organic farmers in mind.” 

Pathogens emerge and evolve quickly, and 

breeders struggle to stay ahead with new 

resistant varieties. Downy mildew and 

bacterial wilt are two devastating diseases 

that too often wipe out entire cucurbit 

crops. While conventional cucumber 

growers rely on synthetic chemical inputs, 

such as neonicotinoid seed treatments 

and sprays, organic growers don’t have (or 

want) that option and instead rely even 

more on protecting crops from the inside 

out: through plant genetics resistant to 

diseases. 

“The beauty of our success is that these 

high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties 

are as beneficial to conventional growers 

as they are to organic,” Mazourek adds. 

The varieties now available were developed 

with support from the National 

Institute for Food and Agriculture’s 

Organic Research and Extension 

Initiative (OREI), housed within the 

United States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA). Partnering with Cornell 

University on the Eastern Sustainable 

Organic Cucurbit Research Project 

(ESOcuc) were Auburn University, North 

Carolina State University, and Organic 

Seed Alliance. Farmers, extension agents, 

and seed companies along the East Coast 

also played an important role. 

The four objectives of ESOcuc were 

to evaluate the most popular cucurbit 

varieties for yield and pest and disease 

resistance; breed improved varieties; 

examine on-farm management strategies 

to overcome environmental and 

economic challenges; and make data 

available to farmers through field days, 

webinars, and other resources. 

New Cucumber is Already a 

Commercial Hit 

Farmer-breeder Edmund Frost says he 

can’t keep up with the demand for seed 

that he grows and sells of DMR401, a 

downy-mildew resistant (DMR) slicing 

cucumber variety that was completed 

through ESOcuc. Frost helped Mazourek 

test this variety and related DMR lines 

from Cornell on his farm for four years to 

collect data on how it compares to other 

commercial varieties on the market. 

“There’s really nothing else like it,” says 

Frost, an organic farmer and researcher 

based in Louisa, Virginia, who also operates 

a seed cooperative called Common 

Wealth Seed Growers. “I’m excited to 

get this variety into the hands of more 

growers. Trials up and down the East 

Coast continue to show that, in terms of 

resistance, DMR401 stands out as the best 

available.” The variety even beat those 

developed by the biggest industry players, 

including Monsanto’s Seminis (now 

owned by Bayer). 

DMR401 is an open-pollinated (OP) 

variety that was bred and trialed in 

organic systems. Because it is an OP with 

no seed-saving restrictions, growers are 

encouraged to make their own selections 

to further adapt the genetics to their local 

farm conditions and climate. The variety 

grew out of an earlier release, DMR264, 

which was funded in part through 

USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research 

Initiative (AFRI). 

“The great arc of continued public 

plant breeding funding is crucial,” says 

Mazourek. “Key programs like AFRI 

and OREI are essential to our success as 

public breeders so that we can develop 

new cultivars like DMR401 that have 

characteristics farmers urgently need.” 

In some cases, Mazourek explains, private 

funds have followed public investment. 

One example is the Clif Bar Family 

Foundation, which awarded a Seed 

Matters fellowship to Cornell PhD candidate 

Lauren Brzozowski. This fellowship 

allowed her to work on DMR401 until it 

was ready for the marketplace. 

DMR401 is now available for purchase 

through Common Wealth Seed Growers, 

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and 

High Mowing Organic Seeds. 


Cucumbers from an organic variety trial in Louisa, 

Virginia. All photos courtesy of Organic Seed 

Alliance. 

28 


COMPOST 

100% Fully Composted Dairy Manure 

The Leaders in Dairy Compost Manufacturing 

Custom Blending Available 

Gypsum - Limestone - Sulfur 

YOU CALL, WE HAUL 

Servicing the Valley since 1925 

559-686-5707 

What can Cain do for you? 

Ask us about our Dust Control and Fertilizer Products.


Meeting the Needs of High 

Tunnel Producers 

When Zaid Kurdieh met Michael 

Mazourek at the Stone Barns Center for 

Food and Agriculture five years ago, the 

first thing out of his mouth was: “Michael, 

we need better cucumbers.” Thus began a 

breeding partnership that quickly turned 

into a friendship. 

Kurdieh is the operator of Norwich 

Meadows Farm, an 80-acre diversified 

vegetable operation in Norwich, New 

York, that serves 1,000 Community 

Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscribers 

and six farmers markets in New York 

City. Increasingly chefs and restaurants 

are major purchasers, now making up 

about half of his sales. Cucumbers are 

one of the farm’s most important crops 

because of the diversity they offer. 

Dr. Michael Mazourek describes his organic plant breeding work in a field of squash trials as part of 

the 2018 Student Organic Seed Symposium. 

“We work with a lot of chefs, and one of 

the things we’re able to do is introduce 

them to new flavors and textures— 

entirely new cucumbers they’ve never 

heard of before—which causes an explosion 

in interest,” Kurdieh says. 

“Our first breeding goal when we started 

working with Cornell was to achieve 

better flavor,” Kurdieh adds, noting his 

Middle Eastern origin and disappointment 

with everything in the market when 

he moved back to the U.S. over 35 years 

ago. “I couldn’t find a cucumber with 

good flavor, so that was the impetus: to 

find the real deal.” 

Mazourek and Kurdieh first went to 

the USDA collections to get 50 varieties 

of Middle Eastern cucumbers. They 

grew them out and selected for flavor. 

Meanwhile, disease issues began to accelerate 

on Kurdieh’s farm and on others’ 

operations in the region. 

Kurdieh grows cucumbers in high 

tunnels, 10-acres worth, which can make 

managing pests and diseases more challenging. 

Controlling cucumber beetles is 

particularly important as they transmit 

bacterial wilt. Mazourek explains that 

there is a lot of water moving through the 

plant and the bacteria end up clogging 

Edmund Frost of Common Wealth Seed 

Growers gives a tour of his organic cucurbit 

plant breeding projects focused on downy 

mildew resistance. 

the vascular system, killing the plants. 

Conventional growers rely on neonicotinoid 

seed treatments and sprays to 

control the disease but fungicides are 

expensive and not always effective, as 

fungicide resistance can also emerge with 

the disease. Neonicotinoids are the most 

widely used pesticide and frequently 

make headlines because of growing 

concerns about their harmful impact 

on insect pollinators. Certified organic 

growers aren’t allowed to use synthetic 

chemicals like neonics to manage pests 

and diseases. 

Mazourek's breeding team has made swift 

progress in developing hybrid varieties 

that are routinely tested under organic 

conditions and in high tunnels. Two varieties 

will be released soon, and, according 

to Kurdieh, they contain characteristics— 

including good flavor—that are superior 

to what’s currently available. The varieties 

also help conventional growers who want 

to cut input costs or are experiencing 

Edmund Frost of Common Wealth Seed 

Growers. 

fungicide resistance to chemical controls. 

Kurdieh and Mazourek say the project 

is ongoing. The long-term breeding goal 

is to achieve an even bigger package of 

desired characteristics that go beyond 

flavor and disease resistance to eventually 

include insect resistance. 

“This is the most fun I’ve had farming in 

years,” Kurdieh says. “The experimentation 

keeps me going.” 

Kurdieh says another reason he’s excited 

about organic plant breeding is that it 

helps him meet the organic seed requirement 

under the organic standards. 

Organic farmers are required to use 

organic seed when commercially available, 

but when an equivalent variety isn’t 

available, organic growers can use conventional 

varieties that aren’t genetically 

engineered or treated with a pesticide 

seed treatment, like neonics. 


30 


Providing the Gold Standard for Fertility 

Programs in Agriculture, Since 1980 

“NATURE’S 

Are You Haunted By Problems In Your Field? 

ENERGY 

Are You Defining Your Soil Fertility Or Is A Fertilizer 

Program Driving You? 

AT WORK!” 

Are Your Fields Plagued With Insects & Diseases? 

ORGANIC PRODUCTS 

Bacterial Inoculum Products 

• Activates - 1005, 2004, 2005, PMSLA, NF 

Mycorrhizae Products 

• Endo Maxx • UltraFine ENDO • Granular ENDO 

Soil Food Products 

• NRG's Nature's Solution • Wake Up Organo • True 315 • Ferti Nitro Plus 

Rock Mineral Products 

• Azomite • Kelzyme 

Humic & Fulvic Products 

• Power K • Soluble Fulvic Acid (by Ferti Organic) 

Seaweed Products 

• Ferti Organic Soluble Seaweed Extract 

CONTACT US TODAY! 

info@callnrg.com 

www.callnrg.com 

17612 Ave. 232 

Lindsay, CA 93247 

Tel: 559.564.1236 

Fax: 559.564.1238


“More investments in organic breeding 

will help me and my fellow farmers 

who need access to more organic seed,” 

Kurdieh explains. “We grow over 1,000 

varieties of vegetables and my organic 

certifier is always encouraging me to 

source more organic seed. We prefer 

buying organic seed but it isn’t always 

available.” 

‘Trifecta’ Melon Lives up 

to its Name 

Downy mildew is also wiping out 

melons. ‘Trifecta’ was first released in 

2015 and consistently ranked highest 

for yield, quality, and DMR in Cornell’s 

trials. 

The variety was named by Frost, who 

identified the variety as a standout among 

several experimental melon lines from 

Cornell, and was most excited about the 

variety’s ability to consistently rank high 

in three targeted breeding goals: yield, 

quality, and DMR. 

“It’s among the best downy-mildew resistance 

we’ve seen,” says Mazourek. “We 

made it a priority to distribute the variety 

through organic seed companies operating 

in the Southeast because there is an 

urgency in the region for varieties that 

reliably demonstrate resistance.” 

Frost first noticed the seedstock that 

became ‘Trifecta’ for its eating quality 

in 2012 trials at his farm. In 2014, Frost 

received a grant from the Sustainable 

Agriculture Research and Education 

(SARE) program, administered by the 

USDA, to test melon, cucumber and 

squash varieties in late-planted conditions 

when downy mildew is most intense. 

Trifecta again stood out for its excellent 

eating quality and yield—even under 

levels of DM pressure that defoliated 

most commercial melon varieties. The 

variety also exhibited good bacterial 

wilt resistance in the trial, and has done 

so in several trials Frost has conducted 

since then. 

Frost recently received a grant from the 

Organic Farming Research Foundation 

to continue work on bacterial wilt and 

downy mildew resistance in cucumber 

and muskmelon seedstocks, including 

new slicing and pickling cucumber 

varieties he is developing to resist both 

diseases. 

‘Trifecta’ is currently available for sale 

through Common Wealth Seed Growers 

and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. 

Organic Research Investments 

Yield Big Impacts 

As mentioned, ESOcuc is funded 

through the USDA’s competitive grant 

program focused on organic agriculture, 

the Organic Research and Extension 

Initiative (OREI). Organic plant breeding 

relies heavily on the OREI program, 

which is reauthorized as part of the 

farm bill approximately every five years. 

Fortunately, the 2018 Farm Bill more than 

doubled the amount of funding available 

for organic research. Over the course 

of the next farm bill, OREI funding will 

increase from $20 million in 2019 to 

$50 million by 2023. The importance of 

these research dollars to the growth and 

success of organic agriculture cannot be 

overstated. 

“So little public breeding underway is 

focused on the needs of organic farmers,” 

says Frost. “There’s so much room for 

improvement in terms of the varieties 

we’re using that, with a small investment, 

and with time and energy, we’ll be able 

to make a big impact on agriculture by 

coming up with varieties that are better 

suited to our regions, disease pressures, 

and organic practices.” 

Frost also believes in the power of participatory 

breeding, adding efficiency and 

value to these types of partnerships. 

“Michael Mazourek has been an important 

mentor to me,” says Frost. “Farmers 

provide a helpful perspective to plant 

breeders and the efforts and ideas of 

university researchers in turn helps us as 

growers.” 

Mazourek echoes this sentiment, pointing 

to the results these collaborations yield in 

the form of superior varieties now available 

to farmers. 

“All of our successes with DMR are owed 

to farmer input,” says Mazourek. “We 

took moderately resistant material that we 

had at Cornell, moderately resistant material 

identified by organic farmers, and 

people are seeing the literal cross-pollination 

of these partnerships in our DMR 

varieties.” 




32 


Helping Farmers Grow 

Naturally 

Since 1974 

Helping Farmers Grow NATURALLY Since 1974 

www.newerafarmservice.com 

Organic Products & Services 

• Compost 

• Custom Blends 

• Vitazyme TM 

• Gypsum 

• Limestone 

• Root Stimulants 

• Liquid Fish Fertilizers 

• Mycorrhizae Fungi 

• Leaf Test 

• Acadiam TM Seaweed Extract 

• Liquid Compost 

• Liquid R/S 

• Foliar Nutrients 

• Liquid Potassium 

• Humic Acid 

• Yucca Saponin Extract 

• Soil Test 

Certified Crop Advisors on Staff 

Contact Us Today! 

Doug Graham Certified Crop Advisor License #329563 

Tel 559-686-3833 

doug@newerafarmservice.com 

2904 East Oakdale Ave. Tulare, CA 93274

Transitioning 

a Conventional 

Apple Orchard 

to Organic 


IN 2014, A SMALL GROUP OF INVESTORS 

bought Queener Farm, a 40-acre plot in Scio, Oregon 

with over 115 heirloom and modern varieties of 

apple trees. Jeannie Berg and Chris Homanics operate 

the orchard. Transitioning a 2,000-tree heirloom apple 

orchard from conventional to organic has proved a 

challenge, although after five years, Berg and Homanics 

are beginning to feel like they’re getting a handle 

on it. For the first year and a half they took a hands-off 

approach, letting the orchard sit and heal. 

Apples coated with Surround, an organic clay coating used to prevent 

sunscald. All photos courtesy of Danita Cahill. 

34 


The previous farm managers sprayed conventional herbicides. 

“It took three years to get anything to grow under the trees,” 

Berg said. “We’ve had to do some things slowly over time.” 

Farming Practices and Challenges 

As Berg and Homanics have discovered, managing such a 

diverse orchard is a true test of their skills. “It’s a lifetime 

project. Something you do over time,” Berg said about learning 

the traits of each tree. With the different varieties and the 

different rootstocks, she figures there are about 2,500 variables 

on the farm. 

For the operators, rainy days and hot days create more work. 

To prevent sunscald on days over 95 degrees, when the sun is 

hitting the orchard at a direct angle, Homanics and Berg use 

backpack sprayers loaded with a product called Surround. 

It’s an organic clay coating that they spray on the shiny apple 

varieties. It covers the honey crisp apples with white splatters. 

When honeycrisp are fully sugared, they are more susceptible 

to sunscald than some of the other varieties. 

Jeannie Berg bags apples for a customer at Queener Farm. 

Without protection, super-hot days can cook the apples on 

the tree. The inside of an apple can reach 120 degrees in direct 

sun. “It turns them brown, starts to rot,” Berg said. After 

harvest, they will wipe the white splatters of Surround off the 

apples. If the weather is expected to be hot for only a short 

time, a spray of cool water is enough to prevent sunscald. 

What can be even more damaging to apple trees and their 

fruit than hot days are wet days. “The Willamette Valley 

is so damp, fungal diseases are really the challenge. Hours 

of dampness leads to lesions,” Berg explained. But she and 

Homanics try to stay away from copper as much as possible, 

even though it’s a widely-used organic fungicide. “Copper is 

quite toxic to the operator,” she said. When she and Homanics 

first started working the orchard, the soil tests came back 

high in copper. For tree health, they rely largely on potassium 

bicarbonate, and yucca extract. “It’s not cheap,” Berg noted 

about the yucca. But it’s safe. Safe enough to even taste. She 

describes it as being like “a molasses that smells of tequila.” 

Yucca is reputed to help plants utilize water more effectively 

and help protect them against stress. 

Berg and Homanics also use some extracts of teasel and 

knotweed. Knotweed—yes, the obnoxious, invasive weed— 

is anti-bacterial, anti-cancer and anti-fungal, according to 

Homanics. The extract has a 48-hour effective window. They 

use it when there is going to be more than 10 to 12 hours of 

moisture on the trees to fend off fungal issues. 

For fertilizer and orchard clean up assistance, Homanics and 

Berg release a flock of chickens into the orchard. The chickens 

eat larvae and debris and recycle it into fertilizer. Other 

fertilizer comes in the form of kelp, fish and organic milk 

mixtures. 

Heirloom apple Belle de Bokoop. 

To fight coddling moth (apple worm), Homanics and Berg 

apply virus bodies of cydia pomonella, plus half-a-billion 

nematodes. In the style of European organic orchardists, 

Homanics and Berg start spraying the biological control 

early in the season. They use low doses and spray weekly. It’s 

expensive, Berg says, but it kills the coddling moth without 

harming the pollinators. 




35

Organic apples ready for harvest. 

You pickers head out to the apple orchard. 


Taking Care of the Birds and 

the Bees 

To protect the pollinizers, which are 

so crucial to trees setting fruit, Berg 

and Homanics carefully time mowing 

of the orchard floor. “Spacing mowing 

was super key to pollinators,” Berg 

said. While dandelions and wildflowers 

bloom on the orchard floor, Homanics 

and Berg don’t mow. As the apple trees 

begin to blossom, they mow, which 

pushes the pollinizers up into the trees. 

By the time the trees stop blooming, 

the orchard floor has re-bloomed. 

Pollinizers can then move back down to 

the flowers for food. 

A retired entomologist came out to 

the orchard to look at the insects. “He 

found things here that were rare,” 

Homanics said. Besides an array of bees 

and hover flies, Homanics has noticed 

bird species in the orchard, such as 

killdeer, that weren’t there when he and 

Berg first took over operations. 

Before Queener Farm, Berg managed 

a CSA (Community Supported 

Agriculture) vegetable farm in 

Independence, Oregon, where she 

still lives. 

Future of the Farm 

Homanics and Berg are planning a 

new orchard. “We’ve realized a couple 

things,” Berg said. The rows in the 

established orchard are planted north to 

south. “The morning side dries off faster 

than the afternoon side,” she said. They 

will plant the rows in the new orchard 

east to west to alleviate that problem. 

The winds, which usually blow east to 

west, would create more air flow. Also, 

east to west planting would offer better 

sun positioning. 

Out of the more than 100 varieties 

currently growing in the orchard, Berg 

said she’d choose about 70 of those to 

keep. They’ve already done a lot of top 

grafting to some of the trees which are 

most susceptible to disease. Those trees 

just aren’t cost effective to grow organically, 

Berg said. Some of them aren’t 

even producing. They’ve hired a grafter 

with 40-years of experience. He cuts 

2/3 of the tree away and grafts a new 

variety onto the trunk. They had 200 

trees grafted in 2014, 150 in 2015 and 

50 more in 2018. “We could probably do 

another four hundred,” Berg said. 

A 15-acre chunk of Queener Farm is 

leased to a farmer who grows organic 

hazelnuts. “It makes for a more interesting 

and diverse farm,” Berg said. 

Community Farming 

Homanics is a plant breeder and a 

seed saver, as well as a board member 

of the Fruit Growers Society. He’s 

also involved with the Dry Farming 

Collaborative, which is doing work with 

dryland tomato, squash, melon and 

potato varieties. Homanics was orcharding 

up near Suquamish, Washington, 

before heading to Scio. He calls what 

he and Berg are doing at Queener Farm 

“ecological orcharding.” 

The farm is a bustling community hub 

on Saturdays, the only day it’s open to 

the public. It’s a time to catch up with 

local happenings and news. Some of 

it is bad news: The Stayton cannery 

is “restructuring.” Hundreds of local 

employees are facing a lay-off, perhaps 

permanently. Some of the row-crop 

farmers are left stuck with large stands 

of unharvested corn and no more 

cannery market. But there’s also good 

news: The organic hazelnut farmer 

across the road swept his 10-year-old 

orchard for nuts the day before. 

The customers tend to arrive at the farm 

in small packs. Berg greets one group 

of you-pickers after another. She hands 

customers a sheet of paper that explains 

blemishes they may see on the organically-grown 

apples. “Leave apples in 

bins that have flaws you’re not comfortable 

with,” she instructs them. She and 

Homanics will later press the flawed 

apples into cider. 

Berg helps Pat Fyke, a handicapped customer, 

pick out some honeycrisp apples 

to eat fresh, and two perfect heirloom 

Belle de Bokoop apples for Pat to cook 

whole with a pork roast. 

Queener Farm offers more than apples. 

In season, they sell red, black, white and 

pink currants, as well as red and green 

gooseberries, pears, heirloom squash 

and vegetables. The farm is open to 

the public June through Thanksgiving. 

Locals are invited to join an apple club. 

Members pick up their boxes of apples 

36 


at the farm every other week throughout 

the growing season. The farm 

delivers bulk orders of heirloom apples 

and seasonal produce to local restaurants, 

co-ops, and small grocery stores 

in Eugene, Salem and Portland. 

Farming Philosophy 

Homanics, who lives at the farm, 

really likes the idea of creating community—chatting, 

sharing ideas, and 

generally getting to know the neighbors. 

“Everyday happenings are important,” 

Homanics said. 

He’s been pleased to observe the influx 

of younger people interested in farming. 

He thinks it’s great when neighbors and 

customers bring their children to the 

orchard. The children enjoy looking for 

interesting rocks and insects. Homanics 

enjoys watching them horse around and 

play. He loves to hear the sound of their 

exuberant laughter. 

“We’re raising a community,” Homanics 

said about the farm. “It’s the heartbeat 

of the earth kind of idea.” 

Redfree is a PRI and co-op series apple. 

It comes from a disease-resistant breeding 

program cooperative among several 

universities. 

Williams Pride tastes like strawberries, 

Homanics says. “It has a very, very 

fruity note.” 

Gruzhovaka of Moscow is a coddling 




DECREASE DAMAGE 

40% Average Reduction Compared to Insecticide Alone * 

Simply tank mix with insecticide application 

moth resistant variety and stores well. 

Spokane Beauty “Such a juicy, crispy 

apple,” Homanics said. “It really is a 

beautiful apple.” 

Enhanced Codling Moth Larval Control! 

For conventional and organic apples and pears!! 

Available in 10, 20 and 

40 acre container sizes! 

Favorite Varieties 

With approximately 25,000 named 

varieties of apples in the world, it’s hard 

to choose favorites, but Homanics and 

Berg, who are always looking for the 

very best apples for organic growing, 

have managed to come up with this 

partial list: 

MICRO-ENCAPSULATED 

SPRAYABLE! 

Belle de Bokoop is a variety that comes 

up in conversation with Homanics and 

Berg over and over. It’s a tart, greenish-yellow 

skinned apple. Great for 

baking. The trees have a classic heirloom 

look. 

Giant Red Russian Crab “Its flesh 

is blood red and bleeds like a beet,” 

Berg said. 

Blairmont is one Homanics mentions 

as a scab and coddling moth resistant 

variety. 

INCORPORATED 



® 



PLEASE: ALWAYS READ THE LABEL *Based on USDA analysis global data base. 

© 2019, Trécé Inc., Adair, OK USA • TRECE, PHEROCON and CIDETRAK are registered trademarks of Trece, Inc., Adair, OK USA • TRE-1643, 10/19 

CIDETRAK ® DA MEC contains a novel, patented kairomone in a micro-encapsulated liquid 

formulation that influences the behavior of adult and larval Codling Moth, resulting in significant 

enhancement of the control of Codling Moth larvae when tank mixed with various insecticides. 

Additionally, Codling Moth adult control is significantly enhanced when mixed indirectly with airborne 

Codling Moth pheromone applied as a mating disruption treatment. 

• What it does: Disrupts oviposition. Changes larval behavior: 

Stops/delays locating fruit; stops/delays fruit entry and reduces damage. 

• How to use it: Simply tank mix with each insecticide application. 

• Longevity: More than 14 days following application. 

ENHANCED CODLING MOTH CONTROL 



37

Integrated Weed Management 

Practices for Controlling 

Unwanted Vegetation 

By LYNN M. SOSNOSKIE | Specialty Crop Weed Scientist at Cornell University 

WHILE ALL GROWERS SHOULD STRIVE TO 

use integrated weed management practices to 

control unwanted vegetation, organic farmers 

are more reliant on the strategy than most. The first step 

in building any successful weed management system is to 

properly identify the species that are present. This will allow 

growers to avoid sites populated with difficult-to-control 

weeds, such as perennials, and to properly select the types 

and timing of management measures that target weeds when 

they are most susceptible to control. Recurring scouting 

efforts will identify control successes and failures and can 

be used to document changes in the composition of weed 

communities over time. Many good guides exist to assist 

growers, consultants and members of allied industries 

with this task including: 

• Weeds of the Northeast (Uva et al., 1997. ISBN-13: 

978-0801483349) 

Bring the 

heat on 

hard-to-kill 

weeds and 

insects with 

Distributed by 

P.O. Box 2106 • Turlock, CA 95381 

TM 

d-LIMONENE ADJUVANT 

Spreader-Activator with Citrus Extract 

R-Agent DL ® dramatically 

boosts performance. 

Use R-Agent DL with and without oil 

on agricultural, turf, ornamental, and 

non-cropland sites. 

Chemurgic Agricultural Chemicals, Inc. 

www.chemurgic.net 

100% Active 

Ingredient! 

For more information: 

email: tom@chemurgic.net 

Tom Kelm: 559 696-6558 

• Adjuvants 

• Nutrients 

• Organics 

• Formulation 

Services 

• Weeds of the South (Bryson et al., 2009. ISBN-13: 

978-0820330464) 

• Weeds of the Midwestern United States and Central 

Canada (Bryson et al., 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0820335063) 

• Weeds of California and Other Western States 

(DiTomaso, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-1879906693) 

Smartphone Applications 

A variety of smartphone apps, such as PlantNet and 

iNaturalist, among others, allow the viewer to screen a 

picture of an unknown plant against a database of curated 

images for identification. The apps are not perfect, and 

users should doublecheck results against trusted sources. 

Recommendations for improving chances of a successful 

ID include: focusing on distinctive features, minimizing 

background distractions, and submitting multiple images 

of the unknown specimens. County, state and university 

personnel are also good resources for growers to assist in 

documenting unwanted plants on their properties. 

Cover Crops, Mulches, and Cultural Strategies 

Cover crops and mulches are valuable tools for protecting 

soil health; they can also be effective strategies for 

preventing weed seed germination or for suppressing 

weed seedling emergence. They may also support populations 

of arthropods and other organisms that feed 

on weed seed. However, living mulches that are not 

38 


Figure 1. Cover crops, like this rolled cereal rye, 

can suppress weeds by preventing light from 

reaching the soil and inhibiting weed seedling 

emergence. All photos courtesy of Lynn M. 

Sosnoskie. 

successfully terminated may end up 

competing directly with crops resulting 

in yield loss. Insufficient cover crop 

biomass accumulation may support 

weed development by preserving soil 

moisture needed for weed growth and 

development and by preventing the successful 

use of other control tools such as 

cultivation or flaming. Make sure that 

the cover crop seed you purchase is free 

of weedy contaminants to avoid bringing 

new problems into a site (the same 

holds true for manure and compost). 

Weed seed germination and subsequent 

seedling destruction in advance of crop 

planting (also known as pre-germination 

or stale seedbed techniques) can 

be useful for reducing the numbers of 

weeds that can compete directly with 

the crop. The timing of control operations 

is crucial as many species can 

grow quickly and outpace management 

efforts (e.g. Palmer amaranth), especially 

when weather events delay entry 

into fields. This is a concern as re-rooting/re-sprouting 

potential increases 

as weeds grow taller and accumulate 

biomass. Plants that escape control 

measures can directly impact crops by 

reducing yields and harvest efficiency; 

they also have effects that can span 

seasons if they reach reproductive 

maturity and propagules enter the 

seedbank. 

The suppressive effects of the commodities, 

themselves, can be maximized by 

preparing and planting into as smooth 

a seedbed as possible to facilitate 

even germination. Seeding depth, 

seeding rate and row spacing also play 


Figure 2. Weeds, such as bindweed, can move within and between fields on farm equipment. 



39


important roles in achieving a competitive 

crop. The use of transplants to 

establish a height differential between 

crops and their weedy counterparts can 

also be an effective tool for suppressing 

unwanted competitors. Rotating 

between crops with different characteristics 

and/or a fallow season that allows 

for aggressive weed management can 

diversify the timing and intensity of 

disturbances that are applied to weed 

communities. 

Physical Weed Control 

With respect to physical weed control, 

cultivation is an effective practice for 

managing annual species; rhizomatous 

perennial weeds, like field bindweed 

and johnsongrass, are not likely to 

respond to shallow soil disturbance and 

can even become more widely spread 

via root fragment dispersal. While many 

cultivation tools are designed to remove 

weed seedlings as close to the crop row 

as possible, torsion and finger weeders 

can remove weeds from in between crop 

plants. Although some weeds are likely 

to remain, within-and between-row soil 

disturbance can reduce the time needed 

to conduct subsequent hand-weeding 

operations. Where weed seed densities 

are exceptionally high, deep plowing 

can be used to bury propagules below 

optimal germination depths. However, 

some deeply buried seed may be more 

protected from fluctuations in temperature 

and water environments and 

can remain viable longer than more 

shallowly buried seed. To avoid returning 

germinable seed to the surface 

seedbank, deep plowing should only 

be used infrequently, depending on the 

longevity of the target species. Propane 

flame weeders facilitate damage by 

causing the sap in plant cells to expand, 

which then ruptures the cell walls. Best 

results are achieved when weeds are 

small (less than two to three inches in 

height or diameter); broadleaf weeds 

are, typically, more sensitive to flaming 

as grass meristems are located below the 

ground and are usually protected from 

the heat. Avoid use on or around dried 

vegetation to prevent fires. 

Organic-Approved Herbicides 

Organic-approved herbicides are all 

contact herbicides, meaning that they 

only damage plant tissue that they 

are directly applied to. Consequently, 

high spray volumes (often 50 to 60 

gallons per acre (GPA) or more) are 

required to ensure adequate coverage. 

As such, these products may be 

more cost-effective as spot sprays as 

opposed to broadcast applications. 

If using organic herbicides for weed 

control, be sure to read the label and 

select rates appropriately based on weed 

species composition and plant size; 

newly emerged weeds will be the most 

sensitive to these treatments. Check the 

solubility of the herbicide in water and 

make sure to regularly agitate mixtures 

that display separation. Assume that 

repeat applications will be necessary 

and avoid drift to prevent injury to 

desirable plants. 

Diversify Weed Management 

Strategies 

Regardless of which strategies or combinations 

of strategies are employed, 

try not to let weeds reach reproductive 

maturity. Ultimately, the best way to 

manage weeds across seasons is to 

continuously start clean and stay clean. 

It is also important to remember that 

weed shifts can occur in response to 

any management practice, and not 

just herbicides. While the evolution of 

herbicide resistance is the most noticeable 

development to agricultural forces 

directed at weeds, unwanted vegetation 

can adapt to all measures that are 

applied, repeatedly, over space and time. 

For example, close mowing can select 

for weeds in lawns that are prostrate in 

habit (so as to avoid mower blades) or 

that possess a perennial lifecycle (and 

have the nutrient reserves to regrow 

following defoliation). Diversifying 

crop production and weed management 

strategies as much as possible is a good 

way to reduce the selective pressures 

that allow systems to become dominated 

by one or a few weed species. 

Figure 3. Weeds that escape control measures may achieve reproductive maturity and set seed… 

which can impact crops in following seasons. 




40 


Effective Organic Weed Control 

® 

HERBICIDE EC 

Provides Rapid Burndown! 

HERBICIDE EC 

post-emergent, non-selective weed control. Approved for certified organic crop production. 

~ Proven efficacy 

EC 

HERBICIDE 

FOR ORGANIC PRODUCT 

SUPPRESS ® Herbicide EC is a proprietary and patented broad spectrum contact herbicide for 

4 hours post-application 72 hours post-application 

~ Excellent Tool in IPM 

~ No Pre-Harvest Interval 

~ Helps Break Chemical Resistance 

~ Non-Volatile, Emulsifiable Concentrate 

The Grower’s Advantage 

® 


www.westbridge.com 

(800) 876-2767 


41

Growing Herbs the Old School Way 


The herb display garden, producing 

seeds at the end of the season. All 

photos courtesy of Danita Cahill. 

DIVERSITY, LOTS OF HANDSon 

labor, and staying on top of 

chores are three keys to the longevity 

and success of this Alsea, Oregon 

herb business. Not only do Rolfe and 

Janet Hagen and their daughters grow 

herbs using natural, organic methods, 

the family also grew their business in 

an organic way, by following the natural 

procession of things. 

The Beginning 

The couple started out with a country 

restaurant in the small rural town of 

Alsea. Janet used fresh herbs in the 

dishes she prepared, so she and Rolfe 

planted herb beds around the restaurant. 

The herb plants produced seeds, which 

they harvested and sold, resulting in The 

Thyme Garden Seed Company. 

In 1989, the couple sold their home that 

Rolfe custom built—his profession before 

the foray into a restaurant and herbs— 

and bought a modest home on a nearby 

80-acre parcel. The land was overgrown 

with blackberries, but also had old 

growth forest interwoven with wildland 

streams. Excited about the property’s 

potential, the couple rolled up their 

sleeves and started clearing briars and 

planting herbs. A year later, in 1990, they 

opened The Thyme Garden to the public. 

A Family Affair 

Rolfe and Janet raised their two daughters 

among the trees, bees, butterflies and 

herbs. The daughters, Emily Stimac and 

Bethany Glanville, are now grown with 

families of their own. 

Janet, the cook, has passed her chef 

torch down to Emily. Emily inherited 

a passion for food and experimenting 

in the kitchen, especially with herbs. “I 

like creating amazing meals with all the 

flavors,” she said. Emily also inherited 

all the juggling skills needed to organize 

events for a crowd. 

Rolfe is the gardener; Bethany has 

accepted the herbal torch from him. 

She inherited a green thumb, a keen 

interest in herbs, along with a curiosity 

and passion for growing and harvesting 

plants, flowers and seeds. “That helps me 

a lot,” Rolfe said. “She starts all the germination 

of cuttings and seeds.” 

“I love the herbs, knowing when the 

seeds are ready to harvest,” Bethany said. 

Rolfe is also smitten with herbs. “I so fell 

in love with them. The power of what 

herbs can do. The power of plants, what’s 

going on behind the scenes, what’s going 

on inside that plant.” 

Growing the Old School Way 

“All of our seeds are naturally, organically 

grown. We grow herbs the old 

school way,” Rolfe said. The family uses 

no systemic chemicals and no artificial 

fertilizers. In fact, they use no sprays of 

any kind in the herb garden, only in the 

greenhouses when pests or disease, such 

as aphids or fungus becomes an issue. 

And then they use natural products, such 

as insecticidal oil and pyrethrum. “It’s 

a contact spray. It breaks down within 

hours of spraying,” Rolfe said. As a fungicide 

they use sulfur. 

About pests in the greenhouse, Bethany 

said, “It’s perfect growing conditions. You 

create this terrific oasis for things, even 

things you don’t want.” Both she and 

her dad noted that the aphid and spider 

mite populations have been low this year. 

They credit that to achieving a natural 

balance. In years when spider mites get 

out of hand—end of summer tends to be 

the worst—the family buys and releases 

beneficial insects from an outfit out of 

Southern Oregon. 

The farm produces its own population 

of beneficial insects. “We have a massive 

amount of ladybugs,” Bethany said. “They 

overwinter in the ground by the fence 

row.” She said the ladybugs hang out 

around the hops field in the early part of 

the day. “In the afternoon you’ll hear a 

buzzing and see these clouds of red flying 

to the herb garden.” Ladybug adults 

and nymphs have a voracious appetite 

for aphids. 


Rolfe and Janet Hagen in the hops field, with 

their grandson Micah Glanville, and their 

daughters, Bethany Glanville and Emily Stimac. 

42 


California 

Organic Fertilizers, Inc. 

Producing Organic Fertilizers for over 28 Years 

We are available to help you develop an agronomy based fertility plan including Nitrogen 

Budgeting, food safety planning and/or crop quality improvement. We are Certified Crop 

Advisors and are very skilled in organic crop nutrition. 

If you are experiencing low yields, poor crop quality, soil health issues, excessive nitrogen 

usage or costs, or plant disease problems, give us a call. We can help. 

COFI offers free consultations, custom nutrient planning and in-field evaluations for all 

crops from alfalfa to zucchini. 

10585 Industry Ave., Hanford, Ca 93230 ♦ 800.269-5690 ♦ www.organicag.com ♦ info@organicag.com 



43


The herb display garden is one of the largest of its kind in the 

northwest. The Hagens use yellow sticky cards there to keep the 

leafhoppers under control. The cards are something they recently 

tried and are pleased with how many of the insects hopped or flew 

onto the traps. It pretty much took care of the leafhopper problem 

this year. And leafhoppers really can create a problem. They are 

piercing, sucking insects with toxic saliva that causes white spotting 

or yellowing of leaves. Along with transmitting viral diseases, 

leafhoppers can cause other damage, too, such as leaf curling, 

stunting, and other plant distortion. The Hagens sometimes put 

yellow sticky cards to use in the greenhouse and conservatory, too. 

The cards trap fungus gnats, and to a lesser degree, white flies. 

Bethany Glanville screens seeds. 

In the hops field, the Hagen family hand-picks any leaves or shoots 

that harbor downy mildew and disposes of them so the mildew 

doesn’t spread. They also lop off the first new shoots of vine 

growth in the spring, which, because of the wet spring weather, are 

more susceptible to mildew. “We remove the primary shoots and 

let the secondary growth come out,” Rolfe said. If downy mildew 

strikes the hops later in the season, they use a spray of potassium 

bicarbonate, which is another form of Epsom salts. It changes the 

pH of the leaves, which effectively fights mildew. The potassium 

bicarbonate then breaks down into fertilizer. The Hagens also 

discourage mildew by watering in the morning, and not late in the 

day, so the leaves have a chance to dry before nightfall. 

If spider mites prove a problem in the field or garden, the Hagen 

family cuts, bags and throws away the affected plant parts. “It’s a 

lot of physical labor removing stuff,” Bethany said. “We do a lot of 

pruning back and dumping.” As much as the Hagens would like 

to compost everything, diseased or mildewed plant bits are the 

exception and go in the trash. 

A butterfly sips on a flower in the herb display garden. 

Clean Up 

Clean up is a large part of the process at season’s end, especially 

in the greenhouses. “Less habitat for things to grow in,” Bethany 

explained. For the overwintered greenhouse stock plants, such 

as scented geranium, the Hagens use an all-purpose, slow, sustained-release 

fertilizer from Down to Earth in Eugene, Oregon. 

They take the stock plants out of the pots “fluff the roots” 

and repot. 

When planting hop rhizomes, which the family has grown 

commercially now for 15 years, they stir a three-manure mulch 

mixture (horse, cow and chicken manure) into each planting hole. 

Seed Collection 

The end of summer and into fall is seed collecting time. Seed 

is gathered by hand into paper bags, dried in Rolfe and Janet’s 

house. Next comes winnowing the chaff from the seed with a set 

of different sized screens, or with an air separator that Rolfe made. 

The seeds are labeled and stored in plastic lidded containers in the 

seed room. Bethany fills 10 packs of each variety at a time—The 

Honeybee on coneflower in the herb display garden. 

44 


special events each year, such as the Fall 

Salmon Celebration when, for the price 

of a ticket, the public is invited to enjoy 

appetizers and watch salmon spawn in 

one of the two streams that run through 

the property. In 2002, the family started a 

salmon restoration project. What started 

with two pairs of salmon has grown to 

more than a dozen pairs returning to 

spawn after years at sea. 

All the hand work involved—hand 

weeding, hand growing potted herbs 

for sale to the public, and hand harvesting 

herb and flower seeds, and hop 

rhizomes—is a true labor of love for the 

Hagen family. They share a passion for 

nature, and a reverence for good food and 

good company amid the delicate balance 

and beauty of the natural world. 




Bethany Glanville packages seeds for 

The Thyme Garden Seed Company. 

Thyme Garden sells nearly 500 different 

varieties. “We want the seeds to be as 

fresh as possible when we ship them out,” 

Bethany said. 

Each seed variety has a story. For 

instance, the African savory came from a 

woman in Africa 25 years ago. She didn’t 

have two dollars in American currency 

for the herb seed she wanted to order, so 

she offered to trade some savory seed. 

Janet and Rolfe took her up on the offer. 

The plant has been a favorite of the Hagen 

family ever since. 

Janet reuses the seed-collecting bags 

season after season. Each year she makes 

notes on the brown paper bags about 

harvest amounts. “I’m keeping track 

to see if climate change is affecting our 

plants and seeds.” The verdict? So far, she 

has not noticed an adverse effect. 

Special Events 

November 20th, 2019 

7:00 AM to 1:00 PM 

Tulare Fairgrounds 

215 Martin Luther King Jr Ave, Tulare, CA 93274 

• Free Event 

• CE Credits Offered 

• Seminars & Workshops 

• Networking Opportunities 

• Free Industry Lunch 

• Free Coffee & Donuts 

• Cash Prizes 

Growers, Applicators, PCAs, CCAs, and Processors Welcome! 

Pre-Register at WCNGG.COM/SVNCC 

Over the years, The Thyme Garden 

business has matured and evolved. It’s no 

longer simply a mail-order seed company 

and herb nursery, it’s become an event 

destination for weddings, and for special 

celebrations put on by the family with 

the herb display garden and the forest as 

backdrops. 

Luncheons are a big draw. There are farm 

tours and luncheons, and classes and 

luncheons. The family also puts on a few 

Powered by: 

@jcsmarketing 





45

USDA Market Facilitation 

Program 

By CECILIA PARSONS | Associate Editor 

ENROLLMENT IN THE UNITED 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) Market Facilitation Program 

will be open through December 6, 2019. 

The program, for both specialty and 

non-specialty crop producers will 

provide up to $14.5 billion in direct 

payments. This USDA relief strategy was 

developed to assist farmers who continue 

to suffer economic damages due to 

trade retaliation in some of their export 

markets. 

In May, President Donald Trump 

directed Sonny Perdue, Agriculture 

Secretary to craft a relief strategy in line 

with the estimated impacts of unjustified 

retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural 

goods and other trade disruptions. The 

Market Facilitation Program (MFP), 

Food Purchase and Distribution Program 

and Agricultural Trade Promotion 

Program are designed to assist agricultural 

producers as trade negotiations 

continue. 

MFP Payments 

MFP payments will be made to producers 

of certain non-specialty crops and 

specialty crops along with dairy and hog 

producers. 

Payments from this program will be 

made to producers of almonds, walnuts, 

pistachios, hazelnuts, pecans, macadamia 

nuts as well as many other specialty 

crops. Each crop will receive a payment 

based in 2019 acres in production. 

Payments will be made in up to three 

tranches, with the second and third 

tranches evaluated as market conditions 

and trade opportunities evolve. If 

conditions warrant, the second and third 

tranches will be made in November and 

early January 2020. 

MFP payments are limited to a combined 

$250,000 for non-specialty crops per 

person or legal entity. MFP payments are 

also limited to a combined $250,000 for 

dairy and hog producers and a combined 

$250,000 for specialty crop producers. 

However, no applicant can receive more 

than $500,000. Eligible applicants must 

also have an Adjusted Gross Income 

(AGI) for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017 

of less than $900,000, or 75 percent of the 

person’s or legal entity’s average AGI for 

those tax years must have been derived 

from farming and ranching. Applicants 

must also comply with the provisions of 

the Highly Erodible Land and Wetland 

Conservation regulations. 

MFP assistance for 2019 crops is based 

on a single county payment rate multiplied 

by a farm’s total plantings to the 

MFP-eligible crops in aggregate in 2019. 

Those per acre payments are not dependent 

on which of those crops are planted 

in 2019. A producer’s total payment-eligible 

plantings cannot exceed total 2018 

plantings. 

More information can be found on 

farmers.gov/mfp, including payment 

information, program application 

and locating their local Farm Service 

Agency Office. Producers are requested 

to contact their local office to make an 

appointment. 

Agricultural Trade Promotion Program 

(ATP) is one of three programs set up to 

assist agricultural producers while work 

is done to address long-standing market 

access barriers. 

ATP Assistance 

USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service 

will administer the Agricultural Trade 

Promotion Program (ATP) under 

authorities of the Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC). 

The ATP will provide cost-share assistance 

to eligible U.S. organizations for 

activities such as consumer advertising, 

public relations, point-of-sale demonstrations, 

participation in trade fairs and 

exhibits, market research, and technical 

assistance. USDA awarded $100 

million to 48 organizations through the 

ATP recently to help U.S. farmers and 

ranchers identify and access new export 

markets. 

The 48 recipients are among the cooperator 

organizations that applied for 

$200 million in ATP funds in 2018 that 

were awarded earlier this year. As part 

of a new round of support for farmers 

impacted by unjustified retaliation and 

trade disruption, those groups had the 

opportunity to be considered for additional 

support for their work to boost 

exports for U.S. agriculture, food, fish, 

and forestry products. 

Already, since the $200 million in assistance 

was provided, U.S. exporters have 

had significant success. These funds will 

continue to generate sales and business 

for U.S. producers and exporters many 

times over as promotional activity continues 

for the next couple of years. 

The list of ATP funding recipients is 

available at: https://www.fas.usda.gov/ 

atp-funding-allocations 




46 


NON-GMO 

100% Water Soluble 80%+ Amino Acids Immediate Availability 

Pure Protein Dry 

15-1-1 

Fish Protein Hydrolysate 

Effective for all crops _ Organic and Conventional 

Please Visit 

Our Booth At: 

• Calculate application rates in lbs 

of PPD/acre/season vs. Units of 

N/acre/season 

• 1lb PPD = 5 Gallons Liquid Fish 

• 1lb PPD = 5-8lbs Soy Protein 

• Save on freight by not shipping water 

• Nitrogen derived from 

Fish Protein, will not leach 

Apply as a foliar spray or through irrigation • 

Will not clog emitters, micro sprinklers • 

Compatible with other nutrient • 

and pest control products 

Apply with Compost Teas • 

Use with Pure Kelp Dry 0-0-20 • 

Visit OrganicAGProducts.com 

To see our PPD Based blends • 7.5-1-25 • 5-7-14 • 11-8-8 - insecticides & herbicide products

48

Organic Farmer October/November 2019

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?