Mike Thompson United States Congressman - First District of California
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Important Research Programs for Agriculture Passed By House

July 10, 2009

Washington--- Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) joined 265 of his colleagues in voting for the Agriculture Appropriations Act.  This bill will help protect Americans’ food safety, boost rural economies, protect Americans against price fluctuations for necessities and help feed struggling families. In this bill, Congressman Thompson secured $27 million in funding for several agricultural research projects that are important to our district.

Included in the bill was $24.5 million to fight Pierce’s disease, a major threat to California agriculture that has spread to other states.  In the late 1990’s, this disease was responsible for the complete destruction of more than 1,000 acres of grapevines in Temecula. This funding will be allocated to plant inspection programs and viticulture research institutions.

“We cannot let up in the fight against Pierce’s disease, and its vector, the glassy winged sharpshooter,” said Congressman Thompson.  “Our local economy, from the tourist industry to the farming community, would be devastated if Pierce’s disease spread throughout our district.  And while we’ve made progress, recent events underscore the need for aggressive actions. Glassy winged sharp shooter eggs were found on plants shipped to Napa and Sonoma Counties.  We can’t rest in our fight against this disease.”

“Pierce's Disease could be more devastating than Phyloxxera in that we have no cure much less an environmentally acceptable cure as we did with Phyloxxera. With Phyloxxera we could replace rootstocks. The only available remedy for Pierce's today is some chemical toxin,” said Andy Beckstoffer.

“Pierce’s disease is a game-ender,” said vintner Bill Bartolucci. “There are already areas that have been wiped out- there are areas down by the river in Napa where they can’t grow vines because of this disease. If we don’t nip it in the bud, there won’t be a single vine left. And if that happens, the economic impact to our area will be devastating.”

Richard Rominger, Yolo County farmer and former Deputy Secretary of the USDA also spoke out on the need to contain the disease.  “We must stop Pierce’s disease before it takes out every vine in our area,” said Rominger.  “If we don’t act now, the economic consequences of this disease could devastate our local economy. Grapes are an important part of our economy in California and in this district.”

“I applaud Congress for passing this bill, because it’s extremely important to our industry,” said Ron Bartolucci, of Bartolucci Vineyards. “The glassy winged sharpshooter infects grape vines with a very devastating disease, Pierce’s disease, and the funding that will be available to control that insect, and provide necessary funding for research to resolve the problem will be very important to our industry, and our industry’s future, because without it, it could devastate us.”

The bill also contained $2.15 million in funding for Sudden Oak Death, Research and Control.  Sudden Oak Death is a fungus-like pathogen that has decimated oak trees, and can even infect other plant species like our prized Redwood trees. This disease has stricken at least 12 of California’s counties and has spread to the Pacific Northwest. This funding will be allocated to the research, eradication and control of this pathogen.