Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/629061
February 2016 WINES&VINES 35 VINEYARD VIEW ners. There is no question that applying more rather than less pesticides and fertilizers takes some of the risk out of wine grape growing. Not only that, but relative to other farming costs such as labor, the cost of pesticides and fertilizers and their application is relatively low, so overdoing it a bit is not going to get a farmer into much financial trouble. The risk a pest-management consultant faces by recommending reduced pesticide use is poor pest or disease control, which can result in significant damage to the wine grape crop. Reduced fertilizer use can result in lower yield and/or reduced wine grape quality. In either case, the outcome for the consultant can be the loss of a valued client if recommendations don't go as expected. So why take the chance? The alternatives When I was an agricultural consultant, I worked for what is known as an independent consulting company, which means we did not sell inputs but made money by charging grow- ers for offering pest and nutrition-management recommendations based on monitoring their orchards and vineyards. The more common alternative to this independent approach is for input supply companies to pay employee com- missions based on the sale of pesticides and fertilizers. For this model, input-management recommendations and monitoring are included in the cost of the inputs. Most (if not all) grow- ers are familiar with the potential conflict of interest when working with commission-based consultants, and many growers will say the consultants they work with are not influenced by commissions. I spent years trying to figure out a way of illustrating the conflict of interest without ap- pearing to attack consultants that work for input supply companies. I failed miserably each time, because no matter what analogy I came up with, consultants felt attacked. I'll share the story of my last attempt to help you understand the challenge. I got the idea to use an analogy of a vacuum cleaner salesperson as a way to call attention to the problems with the system rather than the people working in it. I outlined the scenario in a presentation about reducing pesticide use during a meeting Divergan F – PVPP The Revolutionaries Behind Wine's Visionaries Malolactic Bacteria, Non-Saccharomyces Yeasts Fermentation Nutrients Membrane Cartridge Filters, Laboratory Consumables OenoFoss - FTIR Analytical Instrumentation Filter Sheets, Lenticular Cartridges, Cellulose Pre-Coat Fibers Cross Flow Filters, RO Systems Liquid and Granular Enological Enzymes Oak-Mor ® / Oak Avantage ® Chips and Granular Oak CO 2 Analytical Instrumentation At Gusmer, we know the wine you create is just as unique as you are. Portable Ozone Systems H 2 S Preventing Saccharomyces Yeasts Lysozyme For over 90 years, Gusmer has oered a full range of innovative enological tools that enable your creative expression through unique and interesting wines. Equipment, analytical instruments and processing aids brought to you from leading suppliers in the wine industry, all backed by strong Gusmer technical support. The options for expression have never been greater and the tools have never been better – so go ahead, be unique, express yourself. For more information, contact Gusmer today. West Coast : 81 M Street Fresno, CA 93721 Tel: 559.485.2692 Midwest : 1401 Ware Street Waupaca, WI 54981 Tel: 715.258.5525 The Wine Lab TM : 640-D Airpark Road Napa, CA 94558 Tel: 707.224.7903 East Coast : 1165 Globe Avenue Mountainside, NJ 07092 Tel: 908.301.1811 Gusmer Sonoma Store : 9025 Old Redwood Hwy, Ste C Windor, CA 95492 Tel: 707.836.1056 NEW www.gusmerwine.com sales@gusmerenterprises.com French Oak The current system does not contribute to sustain- able winegrowing goals of doing more with less— in fact, the system can work against those goals.