Senator Boxer:  Protecting California Agriculture   

Tuesday, February 15, 2011  

Dear Friend:

I want to update you on a new effort to combat a major threat to California’s agricultural economy: the European grapevine moth (EGVM).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the release of nearly $17 million in emergency funding to prevent the spread of EGVM in California.  This investment in crop protection is good news for California agriculture – particularly for our grape, wine, and stone fruit industries.

As you probably know, EGVM is a significant pest of grapes found in Europe, the Mediterranean, southern Russia, Japan, the Middle East, Near East, and North and Western Africa.  In late 2009, EGVM was found in California – its first detection in North America.

Last summer, USDA provided $2.75 million for the fight against EGVM in California.  This was a good start, but I urged the Department to do more.  The current investment of $16.922 million demonstrates USDA’s awareness and concern about the threat posed by this invasive and destructive pest.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is coordinating the fight against EGVM in California with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), county officials, affected industries, and the University of California Cooperative Extension.  APHIS and CDFA have established quarantine areas in all or parts of Fresno, Mendocino, Merced, Napa, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties to curtail the spread of EGVM.

For more information about the APHIS EGVM program, please visit www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/eg_moth/index.shtml.  For general information about EGVM, visit www.hungrypests.com.

The spread of the European grapevine moth could have a paralyzing impact on our state’s table grape, wine, and raisin crops.  You can count on me to keep fighting to protect California agriculture against this and other pests.

Sincerely,