This month, Congress (barely) passed the Inflation Reduction Act, known colloquially as "The Climate Bill." This bill puts an unprecedented $369 billion towards reducing carbon emissions and investing in domestic energy production and manufacturing. A big slice of this is ear-marked for agriculture. How much you ask? Let's see... $4 billion is included specifically for drought-assistance for the West and the Colorado River Basin via the Bureau of Reclamation.  $14 billion is going to support rural electric cooperatives' transition to cleaner energy and help farmers invest in renewable/more-efficient energy. This is the single largest investment in home-grown biofuels...ever.  $5 billion is going to protect communities from wildfires and combat the climate crisis through climate-smart forestry.  $25 million is going towards climate-smart ag and soil health innovations. Some of this can be a little nebulous, but one very clear point is that $20 billi

Vines' nutrient needs vary across the season, and bloom is a particularly sensitive time. Leading up to bloom, you want to make sure your micronutrients are on point. Boron and Zinc for instance are crucial if you want to ensure good set. On the other hand, too much nitrogen can reprogram your vines to think veggie and forgo fruit production all together.  Once fruit is set though, it's time to lay on the macro-nutrients. Most vines benefit from Nitrogen and Phosphorous at this time. These will help your canopy expand and ripen up all those grapes you've got coming.  If your vines need Potassium, now is a good time to apply it. Again...if they need it. I don't need to tell you how much winemakers freak out about the big K, but at this point vines are making good use of it and harvest is a long way off. You can read all about the importance of Potassium here.  Calcium and Magnesium are also important, but overdoing one or the other can seriously mess with

Looking to fund your next water/energy-saving project? The CDFA's SWEEP grant is now open for applications! SWEEP awards up to $200,000 per project to fund things like: Soil moisture monitoring Plant stress sensors Irrigation automation Updating/replacing irrigation pumps  Installing flowmeters and well/tank depth sensors Installing Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) Installing weather stations Let AV help you take advantage of the over $40 million reserved for improving on-farm water use and energy. Contact Loni@advancedvit.com to start putting together your application. Applying early is essential!  Don't forget to check out our most recent blogposts on soil moisture and upcoming legislation regarding ground water. Now is the time to invest in efficient resource management.