From the Fields - Tom Slater

By Tom Slater, Yolo County winegrape and field crop farmer

In January, we had some wheat underwater from the heavy rainfall. We lost a little bit, but it has turned out better than we hoped. We had a record number of inches of rain, and for everything to look this good, I think we’re pretty lucky.

In the vineyards, it’s been a late year in terms of starting our tractors because of the wet ground. We need the tractors to get in and disk the weeds and do some mechanical pruning. Things are a little further behind than in years past, but we’re catching up.

It’s still a little early to predict crops. But for the most part, everything looks good. We haven’t had any frost. It was a year ago, April 12, when we had the major frost in the delta, Lodi and the foothills. We have escaped that to date.

I think I’m safe in saying grape prices have not kept up with the cost of managing a vineyard—not just the development of a vineyard, but the day-to-day cost of raising the commodity. You look at planting a vineyard as a 25-year investment, but we are seeing diseases come in and disrupt that cycle, so all of a sudden, you’ve lost the vineyard before it has paid itself off. Most people believe (grape prices) should be much higher.

The cost of labor has soared. We use labor contractors a lot, as do most grape producers, and we’ve been able to get by. Some of that is due to new mechanical equipment. More of that is needed to be able to move forward. Our California Association of Winegrape Growers is working very hard to try to get the Legislature and regulators to assist us with tractor automation. We really believe more money for mechanization will save this industry.