“Lumo has been the linchpin in the re-engineering of our approach to water management.”  Michael and Kara Busselen, the Owners of Woodhawk Vineyards, farm 21 acres of world-class Cabernet Sauvignon for Silver Oak, situated 1,000 feet above sea level, overlooking the Alexander Valley and Russian River at the northern end of Sonoma County. They're also starting to make some of their own high-end Cabernet. Michael and Kara in the vineyard. Over the past couple years, they’ve evolved their irrigation strategy in collaboration with Fruition Sciences and Redwood Empire Vineyard Management, supported by data from a sap flow monitor they have installed in one of their blocks.  The big shift in practice has been getting away from running relatively frequent, short-duration sets and moving toward running longer-duration irrigations less often. “Far fewer but far more strategic,” with the aim of improving the root architecture

“We successfully automated almost every irrigation set last season,” said Andrew Oliver, Vineyard Manager at Antinori. “Lumo’s pump automation is an absolute game changer for our team,” agreed Hunter Emch, Northern Unit Area Manager at Redwood Empire Vineyard Management. REVM and Antinori are two early users of Lumo’s Pump Automation product, a powerful new integration with its smart valve platform that automates irrigation scheduling and execution from end to end. The solution has already been deployed at ranches ranging in size from 60 to 1,300 acres. Real-time, block-level flow and pressure data from Lumo smart valves is used to verify performance, dial in precision, and keep critical infrastructure safe. Over 150 ranches in Napa, Sonoma, the Central Coast, the Okanagan Valley and Washington State are already using Lumo’s precision irrigation system to close their execution gap, increase operational efficiency, and irrigate to plan. In July

Santa Rosa, Calif., August 21st, 2025—Lumo, the leader in precision irrigation technology for specialty crop growers, today announced the launch of Pump Automation, a powerful new integration with its smart valve platform. Select growers on the North and Central Coasts are already using Lumo pump automation to fully automate irrigations from pump to plant on ranches ranging from 60 to 1,300 acres. With block-level irrigation data, advanced safety checks, and verified performance, growers are able to save time and achieve precision across a wider range of irrigation systems and setups than ever before. With Lumo, growers are scheduling irrigations overnight and at off-peak times, without relying on overtime labor or pulling folks away from harvest. Real-time flow and pressure data from Lumo smart valves provides the feedback necessary to dial in precision, optimize which blocks to run at the same time, and minimize damage from dry runs and pressure spikes. “Pump automation i

Lumo, the precision irrigation system growers use to irrigate to plan, has just released their new Irrigation Insights Report titled, Closing the Execution Gap: How Block-Level Irrigation Data Drives Profitability. The report presents first-of-its-kind block-level irrigation data collected from more than 4,500 irrigation events across hundreds of premium vineyard blocks in Napa and Sonoma over the course of the 2024 growing season. The central finding is that irrigation system performance is highly variable at an individual block level—one in ten irrigations miss their target volume by 50% or more and three in four irrigations miss by 10% or more. This lack of precision hurts growers’ ability to execute irrigations to plan and is costing them thousands of dollars an acre in lost productivity. The good news is that the report also highlights four data-driven strategies winegrape growers can adopt to dial in their irrigation precision and produce better crop outcomes. &ldqu

How do you know if your vineyard blocks are actually receiving the right amount of water? If you’re like most growers today, you have no easy way to verify volumes at a block level because you don’t have the data.  This lack of visibility, along with infrastructure issues and labor constraints, leads to something called The Irrigation Execution Gap—a gap between your planned volumes and the volumes your vines are actually getting in the field.  This gap holds growers back, hurting crop quality and yield while increasing costs.  Join us for this webinar on April 3rd, where Josh Zoland, Senior Program Manager at Lumo, and Hunter Emch, Northern Area Unit Manager at Redwood Empire Vineyard Management, will show you how to:  Use block-level flow data to understand your irrigation system’s performance  Automate your irrigation scheduling and execution to remove labor constraints  Achieve block-level irrigation precision across every ranc

More Than 220,000 Acres in California are Enrolled in FFF Program  NAPA, Calif. (November 25, 2024) – Thirty-two winegrape growers and wineries from Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties have been recognized with the Founders’ Award from the Fish Friendly Farming Certification program for achieving and maintaining certification for more than 20 years. In 1999, the Fish Friendly Farming Certification program was created to protect and enhance the Russian River watershed in Sonoma County. Soon, it was expanded with a specific program tailored for Napa County and other regions. Today, more than 220,000 acres located in thirteen counties in California are enrolled in the innovative program that improves water quality and wildlife habitat. “The Fish Friendly Farming certification has become very popular among winegrowers as a sustainable certification program because it is highly effective in improving water quality and restoring fish and wildlife habitat,&rd

It’s generally believed that farmers are slow to adopt new technology. Yet, while this adage may be true for more expensive and untested innovations, when a new technology is practical, affordable and can prove its value and reliability, farmers will indeed set aside their innate caution and readily invest. Tyler Klick is a case in point. As the viticulturist and a co-owner of Redwood Empire Vineyard Management in Geyserville, CA, he decided to try an innovative smart irrigation technology developed by Lumo. Klick first installed Lumo smart valves on a few client vineyards last season. After seeing how they helped increase labor efficiency, reduce wasted water, and improve clients’ crop outcomes, he rolled it out to more than a dozen vineyards his company manages. “I’d love to get to a point where all of our clients have it installed,” says Klick. Lumo smart valves also help West Coast viticulturists adjust to changing weather patterns, which have brought

Growers Enjoy Near Perfect Growing Season SANTA ROSA, Calif. (October 31, 2024) – The 2024 winegrape harvest has just completed in Sonoma County and both growers and vineyard employees are raving about what may be one the best vintages in the past 50 years. According to Karissa Kruse, president and CEO of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, “the best word to describe the 2024 Sonoma County harvest is smooth!” Added Kruse, “The tonnage varied by grape variety and AVA, but the quality was outstanding across the region. As the vineyards turn dormant, most farmers are hosting celebratory lunches and parties for their vineyard employees and crews and relaxing a bit before pruning season and another cycle begins.” The start in early to mid-August for most grape growers was considered a return to normal, after a late start in 2023. The season was blessed with beautiful weather and little to no pressure to pick until the fruit was showing its best flavors and acid

The 3rd annual Healdsburg Wine and Food Experience was a weekend-long celebration that featured the best of Sonoma County and world-renowned food and wines. This year's festival showcased the region's makers – farmers, growers, winemakers and chefs – alongside globally recognized wines, highlighting the vibrant culinary diversity, deep connection to agriculture, and sustainable farming practices of Sonoma County. HWFE is deeply involved in the Sonoma County community, making substantial donations from this year’s ticket sales and sponsorships to local organizations that make a meaningful difference in the lives of farmers and their families, including the Sonoma County Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos. These funds will help support the Leadership Academy and workforce development for vineyard employees and their families, fostering future leaders in both the industry and the community. As well as being co-founders of HWFE, Sonoma County Winegro