California winegrape growers have voted to extend an assessment funding the statewide Pierce’s Disease Control Program through 2016. The industry vote was 84 percent in favor of contributing $3 per every $1,000 of crop value.
In the late 1990s, Pierce’s Disease threatened to cause substantial damage to wine grapes as it began spreading via the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter.
The current assessment, in place since 2001, has raised nearly $34 million to fight the pest, according to Bob Wynn, statewide coordinator for the Pierce’s Disease Control Program. “More importantly, by assessing themselves, growers demonstrated their concern to government officials about the threat, and we’ve been able to leverage those funds tenfold with state and federal grants to help contain the GWSS.”
The state legislature voted last fall to extend the control program and called on wine grape growers to continue to contribute to its funding. A total of 2,792 valid ballots were received, representing 45 percent of eligible voters.
Growers will now pay into the program $3 per $1,000 of crop value. For the past two years, the rate had been set at $1 per $1,000. The vote extends the assessment through 2016
The state law behind the assessment also expanded the potential uses of those funds to include research and outreach for other pests and diseases, potentially including the newest vineyard scourge, the European grapevine moth.
Supporters of the assessment, including the California Association of Winegrape Growers, Family Winemakers of California and the Wine Institute, state that the governmental and industry coordination through the Pierce’s Disease Control Program has proven an excellent model for future programs.
Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, coauthor of the state bill extending the control program, said it “has not only kept this pest under control, it has resulted in a sustained reduction of the sharpshooter population. It shows how government and business can work together effectively. This success was the best argument to keep the program going.”
