Napa Growers Hear Some Good News Regarding Vineyard Regulations

(Wines&Vines) - Business owners tend to hate rules and regulations, and grapegrowers are no exception. Nevertheless, a room full of vineyard owners and managers managed to get to the Yountville Community Center by 8 a.m. Thursday for a summary of recent and potential rules and regulations that affect their businesses.

Among the proscriptions, the attendees did hear some good news—and some unexpected and possibly surprising information about the environmental impact of machine harvesting, irrigation and organic growing.

The seminar was one in the series sponsored by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, but some of the information applies to other California regions and even the whole country. 

Crop insurance

Many grapegrowers probably think of crop insurance as something for corn or soybean farmers in the Midwest, but it’s valuable for grapes, too. It can protect against losses from bad weather such as frost, freeze, wind, drought, excessive moisture and certain diseases and pests, but not Phylloxera.

In addition, if a weather-related event damages your irrigation supply or renders your insect or disease controls ineffective, you may also be covered. Even if the value of your crop is just reduced, you may be eligible for compensation. 

For the basic 50% catastrophic coverage (CAT), the premium is paid in full by the USDA, with growers paying a $300 application fee per grape variety grown.

For higher levels of coverage up to 85%, a significant portion of the premium is paid by government subsidies.