Commercial apple growing in Sonoma County goes back to the early 1900's. The industry hit a high point in 1940 with about 14,000 acres in production. Prices were good enough back then to support 25 packing sheds that featured the first fresh apples of the season (Gravenstein), and 4 large processors that were making sauce, juice, and dried fruit for sale all over the USA.  In the late 1970's fresh and processed apple prices began to slide leading to a gradual decline in Sonoma County's apple acreage. Last year (2014) we only had about 2,000 acres of apples left in production.  Several factors over the last 40 years have led to this decline. One is the strong competition from irrigated growing regions with high yielding orchards.  Another is the decreased demand for processed apple products. Then, of course we have the high cost of land in Sonoma County influenced by urbanization and the potential for growing some of the best wine grapes in the world.  Our much smaller apple industry today focuses on the production of organic specialty sauce and juice products and heirloom varieties of fresh market fruit where prices are still good. But now there is another new and interesting alternative:  growing apples for the production of ‘hard-cider'. 

Hard cider as an alcoholic beverage is not new, but over the last few years demand has skyrocketed to a $ 500 million US industry, which is growing rapidly. Most apple cider is viewed as a trendy alternative to beer; made from low-cost, fruit juice from culls, or juice concentrate from the bulk juice market.  This product is and could be made almost anywhere, and it is quite price sensitive. The base product is often flavored with various other fruit juices, spices, or fresh apple juice to enhance the flavor. The big beer companies such as Boston Beer Co., Ahheuser-Busch, Miller, and others dominate this market with over 90% of the production and sales. Our largest local producer, by far, is Ace Cider with less than 0.5% of that market. 

There is another, much more interesting apple cider product, however, that is being produced locally - on a very small scale. It is made from heirloom apple varieties, or from specific cider varieties grown right here in Sonoma County.  It is essentially an alternative to wine. The exotic flavors of many heirloom varieties and especially the cider varieties offer the more sophisticated palate a food friendly, alternative beverage to accompany many of our gourmet foods.  Apple varieties can be separated into four different categories:

1. ‘Sweets' (Baldwin, McIntosh, Rome Beauty, Winter Banana)
2. ‘Bittersweets' (Jersey, Dabinett, Porter's Perfection, Newtown Pippin, Red Astrachan)
3. ‘Sharps' (Coleman's Seedling, York Imperial, Cox's Orange Pippin, Spitzenberg, Gravenestein, Jonathan, Winesap)
4. ‘Bittersharps' (Foxwelp, Kingston Black, Pearmain, Dolgo, Red Siberian, Transcendant).  Just like wine varieties, each apple variety offers its unique aromatic flavors, sweetness, tannins and acidity

While our local growers cannot compete with West Coast generic bulk apple juice prices of about $200 per ton for the fruit, they can compete with wine grapes. Cider and heirloom varieties last year were valued from $700 to $1,200 per ton – with a good dry-farmed orchard able to produce about 15-20 tons per acre and double that with full irrigation.  Pest control and fruit thinning production costs are also lower for apples grown to crush into juice and ferment into cider, because fruit cosmetics and size are of less concern. Cider apples can also be mechanically harvested - further reducing production costs.   

Let's hope this new apple cider industry takes off and lasts, we already have seven businesses producing apple cider in Sonoma County. It would be nice to see the diversity of Sonoma County's agriculture continue to include a vibrant apple industry.  

Visit Apples to learn more or contact Paul Vossen pmvossen@ucanr.edu  

UCCE and California Sea Grant recently received a grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue an Endangered Coho Salmon Monitoring Program in the Russian River.  Eleven fisheries biologists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego are working with California Sea Grant and UCCE in Sonoma County to monitor the health and survival of juvenile coho salmon released into tributaries of the Russian River as part of the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program (RRCSCBP). The Broodstock Program was initiated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Sonoma County Water Agency in the late 1990's to recover endangered coho salmon populations by stocking offspring of captive-reared coho salmon raised at Don Clausen Warm Springs Hatchery into historic coho salmon tributaries within the Russian River watershed.

Since 2004, University of California Cooperative Extension and California Sea Grant fisheries biologists have worked with agency partners to create and implement a monitoring program to evaluate the effectiveness of the RRCSCBP by documenting whether released coho are surviving in the streams in which they are stocked and returning as adults to spawn. The program has documented the return of hundreds of adult fish that are successfully spawning in Russian River tributaries, up from three to five adults returning each year prior to the recovery programs inception. Drought conditions were likely responsible for a decline in returning adults in 2013/2014.

Interested in farming or ranching on county owned land? Here's the scoop…

On March 10, 2015, UCCE and Sonoma County Ag Preservation and Open Space District presented the final 2 phases (farming and grazing properties) of “County Lands for Food Production Report” to the County Board of Supervisors, and it was approved unanimously.

Eighteen properties, owned by various county agencies (see below) were assessed. It's worth your time to read through this document to see what lands are out there and whether they may be suitable for you!

The Executive Summary of that report states: “The primary reason that few of the vacant lands owned by County departments are suitable for farming or grazing is that most of the appropriate County properties already support such uses. Over 4,500 acres owned by Regional Parks, SCAPOSD and General Services are currently leased to local farmers and ranchers and are an important part of Sonoma County's local food system. Almost all of these properties had water and fencing existing when County departments purchased them. In one case, the SCAPOSD paid to have a water well drilled, and several other cases the land is leased to an adjacent farmer or rancher who provides water from his or her own property.

As outlined in the Assessment of County Land for Food Production Report, Phase 2, it's recommended that, when possible, future County land acquisitions have the necessary infrastructure and other attributes compatible with agricultural uses. These include considering the following features: water, fencing, access, power, minimal parcel size for agriculture, and biotic issues.”

Each property in the report lists the county department that owns the land, so if you want more information, you must contact them directly.

County Lands for Food Production Report

Contacts are:

• Sonoma County Regional Parks: Bert Whitaker, Park Manager; Bert.Whitaker@sonoma-county.org ; 565-2041
• Sonoma County Water Agency: Mike Thompson; Michael.Thompson@scwa.ca.gov; 526-5370
• Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District: Kathleen Marsh; Kathleen.Marsh@sonoma-county.org; 565-7360
• Sonoma County General Services: Ed Buonaccorsi - Ed.Buonaccorsi@sonoma-county.org; 565-2550

One of the greatest assets of our State is no doubt the vastness and richness of our natural environment.   Unfortunately, such vastness is constantly being eroded by both natural and human-induced events. Sudden Oak Death aka SOD is one of those environmental threats belonging to the second category, having been introduced in the latter part of last century from an unknown location outside of North America. Many of our tree species are susceptible to SOD and several oak species and tanoaks can be killed in large numbers: in the worst sites 70-100% of trees are dead.

Since its introduction, the disease has been spreading slowly but steadily and now it is present in 15 contiguous counties from Humboldt to Monterey: in about 15 years of research we have found several effective control measures, but these need to be applied before oaks are infected. Oaks become at risk exclusively if the disease is within 200 yards from them!! That is the good news.

In order to determine disease distribution at such fine scale, we need the help of volunteers from communities throughout the coastal communities of Northern California. Each year in the spring, there is a massive surveying effort organized by U.C Berkeley with the help of organizations such as the California Native Plant Society and the US Forest Service. This effort represents one of the strongest and now prolonged “citizen science” effort not only in the State, but in the whole country. The volunteer-based surveys have been dubbed SOD BLITZES and we are asking you to join the effort: we need your help to track this tree killer and to inform the population at large. All data generated by the BITZES is made public through the web, an APP (SODmap mobile), and the media.  The data allows for the determination of risk of infection for oaks with the simple touch of the risk button on the App.

For the past 9 years citizens like you have been helping, and this help has resulted in the identification of several new outbreaks and in the eradication of some of these outbreaks. If your county is not extensively colonized by the disease, your effort will allow to exactly pinpoint its current distribution. This means knowing where extra care is warranted to avoid further spreading SOD, and knowing where business and leisure can be enjoyed without risking further disease spread. The volunteer-generated database is the most complete database for a forest disease anywhere in the world, including almost 20.000 points.

If you join a SOD BLITZ you:

1. Will spend one hour learning the basic biology of the disease and how to identify it in the field, making you an expert
2. Receive all the necessary collection materials and instructions on how to sample. Note that sampling has to happen 1-2 days after the training
3. Spend 1-4 hours  on your own in a location of your choice (your property, business, favorite forest or campground) looking for disease symptoms and collecting symptomatic leaves
4. The activity is enjoyed by adults and children, btw it is a great school project
5. You will become officially a citizen scientist and your published disease distribution data will help save our oaks. All at no cost to you
6. Tree care specialists attending the training can bring in clients' samples

The SOD Blitz is in the spring because that is the time when SOD symptoms are easiest to spot. You can join and then sample wherever you desire in coastal California.

Register here for this free event 

Date of SOD Blitz: May 30^th, 10-11 am

Locations:

• Graton—Graton Community Club, Main and N. Edison, Graton, CA
• Santa Rosa—Spring Lake Park Environment Discovery Center, 393 Violetti Road Park Entrance, Santa Rosa, CA
• Cloverdale—Cloverdale Historical Society, 215 N. Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale, CA

Contact: Lisa Bell
Author: Matteo M. Garbelotto