[Editor’s note: This is not a source of free money. This is an incentive program where growers must purchase equipment or services and get reimbursed. Also, growers must meet certain requirements. Not all growers will be eligible for this program. In addition, it could take from 6 months to a year, or longer from first contact with NRCS until you see any financial aid. In some areas, there are waiting lists – the sooner you apply the better.]

Fruit growers looking for financial help with implementing IPM practices on their farms need to be aware of a financial incentives program available through the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Financial incentives of $60 per acre, not to exceed $5,500 per year, are currently available to Michigan fruit growers for the 2005 season. Incentive payments for IPM are available to address resource concerns on your farm. Weekly pest and beneficial monitoring, use of EPA approved “reduced risk” pesticides, use of pheromone mating disruption and other biologically-based control measures, use of reduced-risk technology (e.g. electronic sensing technology for sprayers), and the use of cultural control measures, such as the use of mulches and groundcovers are all IPM techniques that may help your pest management and protect soil, water, and air quality on the farm. This program also provides financial incentives for practices that aid erosion control, conservation of water resources, wildlife habitat protection and nutrient management.

If you have had little experience with the Farm Bill, NRCS or government conservation programs, taking advantage of these opportunities may seem challenging. Here are the four basic steps to accessing these funds:

Step One – Contact the nearest NRCS office and tell them you want to apply for EQIP

They will schedule a time for you to meet with NRCS staff to start your application. The information in your application will be kept confidential. As part of this initial step, the NRCS district conservationist or a conservation planner will help you fill out a pre-application form to see if you are eligible for the program. The pre-application form asks basic questions about your farm. You fill in your name, county and the date. Then you circle the correct answers to the seven questions on the form. Be sure to submit the pre-application form directly to the district conservationist as soon as possible, because the date of submission will be used as part of the selection process if more funds are requested than are available.

Step Two- Work with NRCS to complete a site-specific conservation plan for your farm

The district conservationist or a conservation planner working with the district conservationist will come to your farm to help you identify practices that are eligible for EQIP or similar programs. You and the planner will develop a plan outlining conservation practices to implement. The goal is to work together to design a plan that makes sense for your farm, both for resource conservation and maintaining farm production.

Pest and nutrient management records from the past three years
A farm layout or aerial photo of the farm (Discuss with the conservationist whether you need to provide a map for the meeting or whether they can generate one.)
A list of areas where you have conservation concerns
A list of crops and rotation schedules, if applicable

The District Conservationist will help you identify practices that make sense for your farm and will help you identify which resources (such as soil, water, air, etc.) those practices will address. In doing so he or she will also help you determine whether your application is likely to have priority for funding under EQIP. As a general rule, growers who are able to apply multiple practices that improve more than one resource have a higher priority for funding.

Step Three - Complete the application

Once you have completed and submitted your application to NRCS, it will be ranked with other applications in the state based on the number of points it has received. The NRCS district conservationist will contact you about whether or not your application is funded. If your application has been accepted, you will complete and sign a contract stating the payments and your obligations.

The next meeting of the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council will be held on May 12 at 1:30 pm at Constitution Hall in Lansing. Contact the Council office for an agenda and directions if you plan to attend, 517 241-4468 . Wine grape growers who may be interested in submitting an application to the Governor's office to be considered for a Council appointment for the 2005 - 2007 term, can contact Linda Jones at 517-373-9789 to learn about the application procedures.

Grape Cooperative. A new positioner has been successfully designed and the 2005 model (Fig 1) will be capable of positioning both sides of the vine simultaneously.

Thus far we have seen increased node survival along the cordon with this unit but we also realize that shoot positioning often has a devigorating influence on vine growth. Therefore, an experiment beginning in 2005 will combine both shoot positioning and vine size stimulation. How can vine size be increased in mature vineyards? In a separate experiment we’ve tried to increase vine size with plastic mulching, straw mulching or multiple applications of nitrogen fertilization through the growing season. Thus far the nitrogen treatment looks most promising. We will now begin to look for economical ways to foliar feed nitrogen to vines as a part of the pesticide spray program. In addition to increasing node fruitfulness, other benefits of shoot positioning are a slight increase in fruit maturity and the structuring of the vine as a better target for mechanical pruning. Most mechanical pruning is performed on vines which have shoots and canes running along the length of the trellis. The hope for a new generation of mechanical pruning devices will depend upon a more systematic vine structure as a target for the pruning process. That’s why we’re working on mechanical shoot positioning.

Defining the Michigan Wine Experience
By: Linda Jones, Michigan Grape & Wine Council

The Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council recently conducted research to identify and describe consumer perceptions of Michigan wines and the Michigan wine experience. The research determined which elements are the most powerful motivators for consumer support of Michigan wines and wine touring. The purpose of the study was to create a shared vision of the Michigan wine experi-ence that describes valued tangible and intangible experiences for consumers. By documenting a shared vision, the industry (individual wineries, groups of wineries, WineMichigan and the Grape and Wine Council) may effectively develop products and services and plan promotional activities to attract customers.

Results:

The Michigan Wine Experience offers experiences that are distinctively Michigan in character. These experiences are defined by elements of:

·Place
·People
·Product

The Michigan wine industry can appeal most effectively to their audiences by using consumer benefits statements based on these elements to define marketing messages to prospective customers. The following are examples of consumer benefit statements that should be considered by members of the industry in planning their marketing messages:

When you taste a Michigan wine, you *will enjoy wines with unique regional style
When you visit a Michigan winery, you *have the opportunity to taste a number of different wines at one visit
When you support the Michigan wine industry, you *celebrate the bounty of Michigan's fruit industry

Starting last year, MSU started a project to see how regular weekly scouting of vineyards might help growers manage their pest problems. At each of seven grape farms (4 juice, three wine) in southwest Michigan, a trained IPM scout visited the vineyards each week, and provided information to the growers on how much insect, disease, and weed pressure he was finding. The growers used this information to make decisions about whether a spray was needed, what to spray, and if their spray program was effective.

Compared to non-scouted vineyards on the same farms, growers saved one insecticide spray and less than one fungicide spray on average as a result of the weekly scouting, without any loss in fruit quality or yield. Juice grape growers were able to save more sprays than the winegrape growers, reflecting the different quality standards and profit margins. All the growers cooperating in this project had greater confidence in their pest management because of the regular feedback, and all the growers plan to continue the project. This first year shows there is potential for growers to save money through regular scouting of vineyards by being better able to tailor their spray programs to the pests and diseases that are present. This year, we’ll continue to follow these vineyards and hope to learn more about the value of regular weekly scouting.

We encourage growers to scout their vineyards regularly so pest issues can be spotted early, and so management actions can be taken in a timely way. There is no substitute for getting a regular update on what’s happening in each vineyard. The new MSU Grape Website (www.grapes.msu.edu) will contain a weekly scouting report from the seven vineyards mentioned above throughout the 2005 season, and it also has links to the MSU Crop Advisory Team (CAT) Alert newsletter, and many other useful pieces of scouting-related information.

This year will be the fifth growing season that MSU Extension has sponsored field trips to Southwest Michigan vineyards and wineries. The purpose of these gatherings is to share ideas and experiences among those involved with wine grape and wine production in Southwest Michigan. Topics may involve research projects or grower experiences with varieties and various cultural practices. We rely on stakeholder input where everyone in our small but growing industry offers topics and locations for a meeting. These are field-oriented meetings rather than indoor seminars. Often we learn from looking at problems in vineyards as well as things going well. Please send your contribution of possible topics to us by April 29 by email or phone to either contact Al Gaus (gaus@msu.edu; 269-944-4126) or Tom Zabadal (zabadal@msu.edu; 269-944-1477 x 206).

We have scheduled our first meeting for May 19, and tentatively scheduled subsequent meetings for June 23, July 19, and a date yet to be determined in August. Our first meeting for the year will be at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center, 1791 Hillandale Road, in Benton Harbor, on Thursday, May 19^th, at 12:00 Noon. The registration fee is $15.00 per person, which will include lunch, and registrations are due by Monday, May 16, at 5:00 p.m. If you plan to attend, please contact Al Gaus (gaus@msu.edu; 269-944-4126) for a reservation form. We will discuss issues of early season importance and may try to have a wine tasting/evaluation. We will also discuss topics and locations for future gatherings.

Today, agriculture finds itself facing ever increasing costs and declining profit margins. As a result, efficiency of input costs is critical. Nitrogen costs will remain high as long as energy remains in short supply. Homeland security issues will also have an effect on what fertilizers are produced and in what quantities. Due to all of these factors, growers must find the lowest-cost inputs to compete in the world marketplace.

Recent discussions with fertilizer suppliers suggest that Nitrogen supplies, especially Ammonium Nitrate, will be tight. There are some indications that there may not be sufficient supplies to meet demand and prices will certainly be higher than last year.

We suggest that growers consider all Nitrogen fertilizers and evaluate them in terms of the cost per pound of actual Nitrogen. In addition to Ammonium Nitrate, consider Urea and 28% liquid fertilizer as alternatives. Urea and 28% solution are widely used in row crops and are more commonly available. There is no best source of Nitrogen so consider what will cost you the least per pound of nitrogen.

Based on recent research, we believe most producers are using more Nitrogen than necessary to sustain vine size and yield. Results indicate that most vineyards need 50 to 80 pounds of actual Nitrogen per acre, some of which can be supplied by decaying organic material in the soil. Soil type determines how much potential Nitrogen is contained in the soil reserves. It is difficult to determine the relationship between the level of organic matter and the amount of nitrogen it supplies. But, we do know that vineyards with high levels of organic matter may have the majority of needed Nitrogen.

Only 11% of Nitrogen applied as fertilizer is taken up by the plant. Nitrogen is the most effective vine size builder. We recommend a split application with the first one about bud break and the next just prior to or shortly after bloom.

When applying Nitrogen, consider where the roots are concentrated and target the Nitrogen to this area. If you have established sod middles, the majority of your roots will be concentrated under the trellis due to competition.

Time of application is the most important factor to consider when applying either 28%, or urea. We now understand that vine growth up to bloom is sustained from Nitrogen and carbohydrate reserves located in the canes, trunk and root tissues.

The most critical time to have supplemental Nitrogen available is from bloom to 30 days post bloom, Nitrogen requirements are highest at this time. This provides you with the opportunity to evaluate growth and crop load prior to bloom to determine the need for additives. We suggest applying most Nitrogen prior to bloom and adding supplemental Nitrogen after bloom. By delaying Nitrogen applications until later in May, the possible volization under high temperatures is increased, so that urea based Nitrogen needs adequate rainfall to get it down into the soil.

Growers should consider limiting competition from weeds and sod middles with herbicides to reduce water and Nitrogen requirements. Remember that elimination of competition only increases the amount of Nitrogen available to the grapevine.

Growers should also become more self-reliant by purchasing direct truckload quantities, therefore eliminating unnecessary costs by purchasing fertilizer from local retailers. The costs are minimal and the equipment is applicable to other farm operations.

The Michigan Grape Society was formed almost 30 years ago to represent the grape industry in Southwest Michigan, all the growers, all the processors and all wineries. The Michigan Grape Society sponsors Southwest Michigan Horticulture Days in February, which includes Grape Day and also the annual Viticulture Day at SWMREC in July. The Grape Society also produces this newsletter.

Annual dues for the Grape Society are $15. The dues are used mainly to produce and distribute this newsletter. The membership of the Grape Society has been declining for several years and we now have less than 100 members. Many people who attend our events believe that they are members because they attend our events. We are mailing our April newsletter to members of National Grape to remind them that the Michigan Grape Society needs their participation to represent their industry. National Grape and the Michigan Grape Society often cooperate in sponsoring educational events and lobbying Michigan and the National Representatives on issues important to our industry.