Increasing Adoption of Sustainable Practices in Central Coast Vineyards

Project Overview

FW03-010
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2003: $13,000.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2004
Grant Recipient: Vineyard Team
Region: Western
State: California
Principal Investigator:
Kris Beal
Vineyard Team

Commodities

  • Fruits: grapes

Practices

  • Education and Training: demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, networking, on-farm/ranch research
  • Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns
  • Production Systems: holistic management
  • Soil Management: soil quality/health
  • Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures

    Proposal summary:

    Agricultural production on California’s Central Coast occurs on slopes susceptible to erosion and in watersheds that drain into Monterey and Morro bay estuaries or rivers listed for salmon and steelhead protection. To reduce reliance on insecticides and herbicides that might find their way into runoff that would contaminate these water bodies, many Central Coast vineyard operators have adopted integrated farming practices. Still, because growers rarely have the time to access and learn about new techniques, the Central Coast Vineyard Team plans to develop user-friendly, themed quarterly “tailgate” meetings targeting growers, owners, managers and, where appropriate, Spanish speaking workers. The team will also develop and distribute educational materials on sustainable practices to local and statewide audiences.

    Project objectives from proposal:

     

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.