The Napa Agricultural Commissioner recently issued this information outlining EGVM sanitation issues for harvest time and a brief review of compliance agreement requirements. If you plan to ship grapes out of the state or the country, contact the Napa County Agricultural Commissioner's Office as soon as possible. There are time sensitive requirements that must be met to facilitate such shipments. If you have any other general questions about compliance agreements or sanitation issues, you can also call the Ag Commissioner.

2012 EUROPEAN GRAPEVINE MOTH HARVEST REMINDERS

With the 2012 harvest approaching, now is the time to plan for sanitation of all equipment used during harvest. While the winegrape industry has worked together over the last three years to fight the European Grapevine Moth (EGVM) using mating disruption and carefully timed insecticide applications, equipment sanitation must be seen as an integral part of the campaign to prevent the artificial spread of EGVM life stages within and outside of Napa County. The requirements for sanitation are specified in the exhibits of the EGVM compliance agreement documents. Should you need a compliance agreement to move regulated articles and have not yet obtained one, contact the Ag Commissioner at (707)253-4357.

SANITATION ISSUES

MECHANICAL HARVESTING EQUIPMENT
Mechanical harvesters have been identified as a means to move EGVM life stages from vineyard to vineyard if the equipment is not properly sanitized. The compliance agreement exhibits for growers and harvesters state: Ensure all equipment (bins, barrels, machinery, gondolas, etc.) used for vineyard maintenance and harvesting is thoroughly cleaned of all host material and debris year-round and prior to leaving the growing premise. If you plan to use mechanical harvesting equipment:
• Make sure equipment service personnel are familiar with all the parts of the harvester that could potentially harbor EGVM life stages in fruit, vegetative matter and other debris.
• Have an effective system and protocol in place at the vineyard location to thoroughly clean the equipment.
• The most effective way to clean the equipment is with large volumes of high pressure water. Steam cleaning may be another option. Plans for access to water and the appropriate equipment at vineyard locations should be in place well in advance of harvest.
• A company representative should inspect the equipment for cleanliness and deem it to be clean before it is allowed to leave the vineyard.

OTHER HARVEST-RELATED EQUIPMENT
All other equipment used in the vineyards must be clean of all host material and debris prior to the equipment leaving the vineyard. Such equipment to be cleaned would include tractors, forklifts, picking bins, field trailers, truck trailers, exteriors of bins and gondolas. Special attention must also be paid to spaces between gondolas on trailers and any other portions of equipment that could hold host material.

WINERY SANITATION
Wineries must ensure all equipment (bins, barrels, machinery, gondolas, etc.) used for the transport of bulk grapes is thoroughly cleaned of all host material and debris upon arrival and prior to leaving the receiving premise.

OTHER COMPLIANCE AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS

Grower Responsibilities

Paperwork
Obtain an EGVM Compliance Agreement. Ensure the hauler and winery receiving grapes have EGVM Compliance
Agreements.

Notification
Notify receiving California county agricultural commissioner outside of EGVM quarantine areas of EGVM shipments to their counties at least 24 hours in advance.

Hauler Responsibilities

Paperwork
Obtain a EGVM Compliance Agreement. Ensure the grower and winery receiving grapes have LBAM and/or EGVM Compliance Agreements.

Managing Loads
Grapes may be transported uncovered as long as there were no EGVM finds within the vineyard harvested. If shipping uncovered the following protocols must be followed:
• hand harvested grapes may be filled to no less than 4 inches below the rim of the container, or
• mechanically harvested grapes may be filled to no less than 12 inches below the rim of the container. If there were EGVM finds in the vineyard and no pesticide treatments were applied to control EGVM, all loads of grapes must be tarped.

Winery Responsibilities

Paperwork
Obtain an EGVM Compliance Agreement. Ensure grower producing the grapes and the hauler have EGVM Compliance Agreements.

Operational Procedures
Crush grapes soon as possible after arrival and before those from outside of the quarantine. Safeguard untarped loads that will not be processed within 2 hours of arrival.

Green Waste
• All unfermented green waste generated from quarantined fruit originating outside Napa County shall be transported to an approved green waste receiver by an approved green waste hauler or returned to the vineyard of origin by an approved green waste hauler.
• Unfermented green waste from quarantine fruit originating inside Napa County, in addition to the methods described above, may be composted on site in accordance with CCR, Title 14, Div. 7, Ch. 3.1, Section 17868.3.
• Unfermented pomace, pressed to a minimum of 2 bars or 28psi, can move within California except to vineyards outside the quarantine area.

SHIPPING WINEGRAPES OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA OR OUT OF COUNTRY

If you plan to ship grapes out of the state or out of the country, please contact our office as soon as possible. The USDA Systems Approach protocol must be followed for these shipments which includes placement of certification traps at least 30 days before harvest, and removal of all mating disruption. Certification traps and grapes to be harvested must be inspected and found free from EGVM within 7 days of harvest. Shipments of grapes may not include any material other than grapes and must be transported to final destination in refrigerated conveyances. Appropriate paperwork must accompany all shipments.

If any live life stages of EGVM are found during the regulatory inspection, all fresh fruit from the vineyard found to have the infestation and any vineyard within 200 meters of the boundary (500 meters where widespread mating disruption is used) of such vineyard will not be eligible for interstate shipment or shipment of out the country unless subjected to an approved post-harvest treatment (fumigation).

If you have any questions about these requirements, please contact the Ag Commissioner at (707)253-4357 or toll-free: 877-279-2980.