Summary of Final Report:

The goal of this project was to increase the adoption of grapevine red blotch disease (GRBD) management practices at both an individual and regional scale.  To accomplish the goal, this outreach project supported and empowered viticulture professionals to successfully advocate for the adoption of GRBD management practices within their organizations and outside their organizations when engaged in collective action with neighboring vineyards.  Project objectives were to (1) deliver and evaluate collaborative skills training; (2) assess the collaborative actions of regional groups and provide feedback to improve their effectiveness.

In fulfillment of objective 1, we designed and delivered a series of 4-hour technical workshops to 35 viticulture professionals, and a second series of 2-hour workshops to 23 professionals.  The workshops developed skills for initiating conversations about GRBD, engaging neighbors in collective action, advocating for science-based decisions, communicating GRBD to non-technical audiences, and improving team decision-making.  Follow-up 1-on-1 coaching and group reflective sessions were attended by 21 participants where they practiced their collaborative skills and received support with individual challenges.  Workshop evaluation demonstrated that attendees found them useful, built competence in the techniques taught, increased confidence in 5/8 collaborative skills, rated collaborations as improved post-workshop, and documented examples of the use of workshop skills to facilitate GRBD management.  Enduring educational resources were created on workshop content (reference materials; cue cards), GRBD technical knowledge (disease ecology; practice implementation; economics), and influences on the adoption of practices.  These resources help viticulture professionals engage with their teams to facilitate effective decision-making around GRBD.  They promote understanding in the agricultural industry of the issues that must be overcome to manage grapevine viral diseases.

In fulfillment of objective 2, we assessed the activities of 8 grower-led “peer knowledge networking” groups.  The focus of these groups is to bring together groups of neighbors to discuss and address regional concerns.  Interviews with group coordinators and member surveys found these groups have a positive impact on local disease responses by connecting industry staff, aiding the spread of knowledge, increasing practice adoption, and providing opportunities for collaboration.  We also recorded common challenges faced by these groups and strategies to address them.  A complementary survey of industry professionals in Napa County created a social network model of 249 individuals who share information about vineyard pest and disease management.  The model demonstrated that members of peer knowledge networking groups are centrally important in the network, compared to non-members, illustrating the value of the persistence of peer groups, and identifying them as effective targets for outreach and education.  These data were used to provide constructive feedback to participating groups, and to create outreach resources to aid current and future group coordinators for use across regions.

The educational tools, collaboration and communication skills resulting from this project are promoting community resilience to GRBD.  They can also be applied to other agricultural contexts and future challenges in the wine grape industry, such as climate adaptation, water insecurity, pests and pathogens.

Summary of Progress:

By the end of the 2023-2024 funding cycle, we completed three of the four On the Road (OTR) educational events originally proposed in the 2023 AVF Extension and Outreach proposal (Alameda, San Luis Obispo, and Kern Counties) plus the program originally scheduled in San Diego, was postponed (with NCE 2023-1685), to November 2024.  We used the NCE to fund the San Diego/Temecula program which took place on November 20, 2024.  We have now completed all the events proposed in the 2023-24 grant (Proposal 2023-1685).

Three On the Road events were completed in the 2023-24 funding cycle.  The first of the three events was in Alameda County (NCE 2022-1685), at the UC Livermore Collaboration Center, in Livermore, CA on November 9, 2023.  We worked with Kamyar Aram (Specialty Crops Advisor, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties), used our own database to contact alumni, and local/regional associations and some of our executive leadership board members to get the word out about the program.  Speakers included: Megan Bartlett, David Block, Akif Eskalen, Kamyar Aram, and Anita Oberholster.  We then visited one of Anita’s former students at Occasio Winery and Distillery and the Darcy Kent Winery later that afternoon.  For the Fresno OTR, we worked with Matt Fidelibus and George Zhuang to create an agenda with relevant topics, for March 19, 2024.  We opened registration, had Matt and George send out alerts to their stakeholders, and then had to cancel due to very low registration numbers.  We believe there may have been too many other programs in that area in that same timeframe.  We were virtually On the Road in San Luis Obispo County on April 5, 2024, working with UCCE Water Management and Biometeorology Advisor, Mark Battany, to cover the following important topics: What does it mean to apply regenerative agricultural practices to grape growing, Irrigation with recycled water, Advances in single vine resolution irrigation, Grapevine mineral nutrition, and Foundations for a modern grape breeding program.  Speakers included: Cristina Lazcano, Mark Battany, David Block, Matt Fidelibus, and Luis Diaz Garcia.  We were physically On the Road, five days later, in Bakersfield (Kern County) at Hodel’s Country Dining on April 10.  We worked with Tian Tian, Viticulture Farm Advisor, Kern County, to put together relevant topics for this region: Matt Fidelibus talked about Macro and micronutrient budgets of table grapes, David Block walked through the process of developing high-resolution irrigation technology, Akif Eskalen discussed a practical guide for disease identification and tissue sampling and Tian Tian talked about Improving berry firmness and color in red table grapes.  New UCD V & E Department Chair, Ben Montpetit, then gave a department overview.  During lunch there was further discussion of current issues and future research.

We plan to complete four On the Road events, in the 2024-25 grant cycle.  The first OTR program for 2024-25 was the San Diego/Temecula On the Road Program (NCE 2023-1685).  This program took place at Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula on November 20, 2024.  Akif Eskalen, Tian Tian, David Block, Ron Runnebaum, Megan Bartlett and Axel Herrera (Lazcano Lab) spoke.  The second program in the 2024-25 grant cycle is scheduled for March 5, 2025, in Stockton (confirmed speakers include: Luis Diaz Garcia, Ben Montpetit, Liang Chen, David Block and Cindy Kron).  The third program will be in Sonoma on March 19, 2025, and the fourth OTR is scheduled for April 22, 2025, in Napa.

By the end of the 2022-2023 funding cycle, we completed three of the four On the Road (OTR) educational events originally proposed in the 2022 AVF Extension and Outreach proposal (Tulare, Mendocino, and Lodi) plus the in-person program in Shasta County (twice postponed due to COVID circumstances). In other words, four programs total. We used the NCE to fund the Shasta program which finally took place on November 16, 2022. We then completed three more events proposed in the 2022-23 grant proposal before April 15, 2023 (proposal 2022-1685).

Four On the Road events were completed in the 2022-23 funding cycle. The first of the four events, as mentioned above, was in Shasta County at the McConnell Foundation in Redding, CA on November 16, 2022. We worked with the Shasta Cascade Viticulture Assoc. and the Shasta County UCCE Director to get the word out about the program. Speakers were: Kendra Baumgartner, Kyle Knipper, Kaan Kurtural, Marcelo Bustamante, and Anita Oberholster. We then worked with George Zhuang, Joy Hollingsworth and Steve Vasquez to bring an amazing program to the Tulare County Cooperative Extension Auditorium on February 15, 2023 (this program was orginally scheduled in Fresno County, but due to the World Ag Expo, we moved the program location to Tulare, due to a request from stakeholders and farm advisors). Speakers were Andrew McElrone, Megan Bartlett, Luis Diaz Garcia, Mason Earles, and David Block. The third program took place in Mendocino County. It was originally supposed to take place at the Hopland Research and Extension Center, however, heavy rains damaged the water system so the venue was closed. In addition, our scheduled caterer could not reach her catering kitchen, so Chris Chen (Viticulture Farm Advisor) and I figured out a way to pivot to a new venue (a local winery, Brutocao Cellars), provide breakfast from a local bakery (CJ Bamforth and KL Block picked up pastries), the winery provided coffee, and we refunded some of the registration money that would have paid for lunch. It was an adventure, but we still had approximately 50 people that attended! Speakers were Monica Cooper, Mark Battany, Luis Diaz Garcia, Cindy Cron, and Christopher Chen. The fourth OTR program took place in Lodi at the Grape Festival Grounds on March 9, 2023. Speakers were: Beth Forrestel, Anita Oberholster, Mason Earles, Cristina Lazcano, and Kerri Steenwerth (72 people attended). Shout out to F and M Bank and Stephanie Bolton (LWC) for their help. We asked for and received a No Cost Extension (2022-1685) to complete the Alameda County On the Road Program in November 2023 (we substituted Alameda for Fresno in 2023, due to the proximity of Tulare and Fresno and then added Fresno back to the 2024 schedule in place of the Foothills).

We plan to complete four On the Road events, in the 2023-24 grant cycle, before the end of April 2024. The first OTR program for 2023-24 was the Alameda County On the Road Program, (described above). The second program in the 2023-24 grant cycle is scheduled for March 19, 2024, in Fresno County at the Kearny Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier. Speakers confirmed for the Fresno program are: Megan Bartlett, Luis Diaz Garcia, Matthew Fidelibus, and Anita Oberholster. The third program will be in Bakersfield at Hodel’s Country Dining on March 20, 2024. The fourth OTR is scheduled for early April 2024, in San Luis Obispo County. The fifth program, from the 2023-24 grant will take place in November 2024 in San Diego County (NCE). We are working with Carmen Gispert to finalize date, venue, and speakers.

By the end of the 2020-2021 funding cycle, we completed three of four On the Road educational events originally proposed in the 2020 AVF Extension and Outreach proposal (3Ms, Kern, and Alameda/Contra Costa). The fourth program was scheduled to take place in Shasta County, but the stakeholders decided it was best to wait for an in-person program. Unfortunately, the timing of the in-person Shasta program coincided with a COVID surge in Shasta County, so the program was postponed for a second time (see details below). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we applied for and received a No Cost Extension to use the 2020-2021 travel funds for 2021-2022 travel. We expect to complete all of the events proposed in 2021 before the 15th of April 2022 (proposal 2021- 1685). All of the On the Road events proposed back in January 2020 were completed virtually (except for Shasta) before the end of the grant cycle in April 2021. The first of the four events was a virtual program for Merced, Mariposa, and Madera Counties on February 22, 2021. We worked with Karl Lund (3Ms Viticulture Advisor) to determine topics and speakers of interest. The speakers were Kendra Baumgartner, Anita Oberholster, Kent Daane, Akif Eskalen, George Zhuang, and Helen Dahlke. The second OTR program on March 10, 2021, in Kern County, was developed with Viticulture Advisor, Tian Tian. Presenters were Andrew Walker, Kendra Baumgartner, Tian Tian, Akif Eskalen, Mason Earles, and Andrew McElrone. The third event took place virtually on March 16, 2021. We worked with Kamyar Aram, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties Specialty Crops Advisor, to determine speakers of interest. The speakers were Anita Oberholster, Megan Bartlett, Mason Earles, Andrew McElrone, and Andrew Walker. The fourth virtual OTR program of the 2020-2021 grant was originally scheduled for April 2021. We discussed topics and dates with a member of the Shasta Cascade Viticulture Association to determine relevant topics and potential dates. It was decided that the virtual format would not work so we scheduled an in[1]person program for November 3, 2021. We plan to complete the four On the Road (OTR) events, proposed in January 2021, before the end of April 2022. We were thrilled to successfully provide the first in-person OTR program for this grant cycle in Sonoma County at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Santa Rosa on November 18, 2021, working with the North Coast Integrated Pest Management Advisor (Cindy Kron) and the Sonoma County Winegrowers to get the word out to local stakeholders. Speakers were Kaan Kurtural, Anita Oberholster, Andrew Walker, and Cindy Kron and we had 78 attendees. We are on track to finish the three remaining OTR programs in Santa Barbara (February 22, 2022 at Pres’quile Vineyard and Winery), Santa Cruz (March 23, 28, or 30), and the Central Sierra (March 31, April 5, or April 6) before April 15, 2022. We have confirmed speakers for all three programs and are in the process of finalizing date and location for Santa Cruz and the date for the Foothills. We are working with UCCE viticulture advisors Mark Battany, Larry Bettiga, and Lynn Wunderlich to provide relevant topics for each region. The Shasta program, scheduled for Nov 3, 2021, was postponed for a second time (due to a local COVID spike), until November 2022.

Our project goal is to support network-based learning to improve pest and disease management outcomes. We accomplished this by providing technical expertise for data sharing among members of regional groups. Specifically, we: (1) investigated potential data sharing platforms and identified one that embodied many of the factors under consideration, including low cost, a simple user interface and robust sharing potential; (2) implemented this platform to share regional pest incidence data; (3) collected intermittent and formal feedback on the functionality of the data-sharing platform; (4) processed historical data collected by two regional groups and translated these data into meaningful and actionable management guidelines; (5) collected regional powdery mildew inoculum data that will be used to develop decision-support tools; (6) engaged members of the regional groups to provide technical support for data-sharing platforms, share results of data animation and visualization, and build potential for this approach to become self-sustaining.