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The Raisin Bargaining Association (RBA) has announced the 2009 field price for natural seedless raisins will be $1,323 per ton, payable when deliveries reach a total of 275,000 tons and an industry-supported export program is funded....
Unusually high temperatures in July and August has cut production of California table grapes — in fact, in late September the California Table Grape Commission lowered its forecast production for 2009 by 10 percent to 90 million boxes....
Earlier this year, it looked as if production of California wine grapes would slip a bit below average, but yields have since picked up in most classes, resulting in a strong average to above-average production....
Despite 37 years experience growing and selling his own wine grapes and managing vineyards, Richard Smith, Valley Farm Management, Soledad, Calif., is having difficulty understanding why California growers have an excess of grapes this fall....
This should go down as an excellent year for North Coast wine grapes — at least for those picked before a big storm hit the area in mid-October....
Researchers in the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis are seeking grape growers and vineyard managers in California to complete a short online survey about the use of biological fungicides for controlling grape powdery mildew. ...
Barring any adverse weather before he finishes harvesting at the end of October, John Roumigueire expects to bring in an average wine grape crop with above-average quality. ...
Earlier this summer, there was concern that the latest threat to fruit orchards and berry farms in California — the spotted wing drosophila (SWD) — might harm grapes....
After trying mechanical raising harvesting on his 50- to 80-year old raisin grape vines for the first time last year, Jim Berekoff has gone back to hand picking and laying the grapes to dry by hand this season. ...
“We’re in the eighth inning,” says Steve Cerniglia of the table grape harvest at Royal Madera Vineyard’s, which was winding down in early September....
The August grape production forecasts by the California Field Office of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service are unchanged from last month....
Ongoing research to evaluate the adaptability of selected southern European grape varieties to the San Joaquin Valley promises to open new opportunities for the region’s grape growers, as well as for winemakers throughout the state....
So far, this has been good growing season for California’s Central Coast wine grape producers. ...
“All the stars are in a row — we’ve been blessed with a very high quality crop,” says Chuck Olsen, describing this season’s San Joaquin Valley table grapes....
As his raisin crop moves closer to harvest, Fresno County raisin and currant producer Dennis Wilt likes what he sees. ...
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