The annual winegrape assessment rate is officially being reduced after being approved by California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. At the last meeting held on June 17 in Sacramento, the Pierce’s Disease – Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board voted to reduce the assessment rate from $1.50 down to $1.00 per $1,000 of value for the 2019 harvest.
The winegrape assessment generated nearly $3 million for fiscal year 2017-18. Those funds are used for research and outreach for Pierce’s disease and glassy-winged sharpshooter, as well as other significant pests and diseases such as mealybugs, European grapevine moth, brown marmorated stink bug, leafroll virus, fanleaf virus, and red blotch virus. Since the assessment was established in 2001, the annual rate has averaged $1.42 per $1,000 of value.
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