NAPA Valley Winegrapes Wildfires and Congress Weighing Farm Aid
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**Napa Valley winegrape growers are no strangers to wildfires, which have ruined crops in the region three times in the past decade.
The Pickett Fire, which started Aug. 21 in Calistoga and burned about 6,800 acres, caused an estimated $65 million in losses, including damage to about 3% of Napa Valley’s vineyard acreage.
For some growers, the losses were significant, but they said the outcome could have been far worse.
**The Trump administration is evaluating whether to grant aid to American farmers this fall.
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says we’re working with our colleagues in Congress and closely monitoring markets daily to evaluate the amount of additional assistance that might be needed this fall.
Rollins’s comments come as Chinese buyers have yet to purchase soybeans from U.S. farmers, despite increased production yields relative to last year.
**With no active cases of New World Screwworm reported in the U.S., the USDA is working to prevent its spread from Central America.
Successful Farming reports Ag Secretary Rollins outlined the USDA’s plan to prevent the spread of Screwworm to the U.S., including a partnership with the government of Mexico.
Screwworm lays eggs in the wounds of living animals and its larvae burrow and feed on healthy flesh, causing illness or death.
