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34 WINES&VINES April 2017 GROUNDED GRAPEGROWING in the region. In our study, we found that the additional costs were about $217 per acre to ob- tain and apply the preparations. Finally, the Demeter Biody- namic Farm Standard encourages multiple crop enterprises on the farm. Most Biodynamic wine- growers have olive trees, peren- nial herbs, vegetables or fruit and nut trees that they sell either to processors or direct to consumers. In this cost study, we didn't put a value on that since no two opera- tions are identical. Comparison of farming costs The cost studies are quite thor- ough and can't be completely reproduced here. The following are some compiled excerpts that allow us to compare the ex- penses incurred comparing con- v e n t i o n a l , o r g a n i c a n d Biodynamic farming systems. The organic and Biodynamic farming costs are from the "Men- docino County Cost Study" and concern a white grape variety such as Chardonnay or Sauvi- gnon Blanc producing 6 tons per acre. Conventional farming costs were taken from another UCCE cost study, "Sample Costs to Pro- duce Winegrapes Chardonnay & Pinot Noir North Coast Russian River Valley Sonoma County 2016," by UCCE farm advisor Rhonda Smith, UCCE economists Karen Klonsky, Dan Sumner and Don Stewart. It is important to note that the conventional farm- ing costs are based on labor rates that are about 20% higher than in Mendocino County, and that farming in the southern part of the Russian River Valley requires more fungicide applications due to the cooler and more humid weather. In this study, assumed yield is 6.5 tons per acre. The total cultural costs at the end of the table are not the sum of the excerpted costs presented but come from the cost studies. Conclusion Many costs are very comparable in all farming systems. Men- docino County growers are paid almost $600 per ton less for their fruit than their counterparts in Sonoma County, so they tend to spend less on production costs. Conventional growers spend less on fertilizer compared to Biody- namic growers but more on fun- gicides, particularly in the cool and humid lower Russian River area. Yields are comparable. You can find examples of excellent wines produced from any of these three farming systems. Glenn McGourty is the University of Cali- fornia Cooperative Extension winegrow- ing and plant science advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties. He tends a 1-acre vineyard of the aromatic Italian wine grape variety Arneis on his property along the Russian River near Ukiah, Calif. This table refers to the cost of producing white wine grapes in dollars per acre in California's North Coast region during 2016. COMPARISON OF PRODUCTION COSTS FOR CONVENTIONAL, ORGANIC AND BIODYNAMIC FARMING Item Conventional Organic Biodynamic Pruning, Canopy Management $1,272 $1,066 $1,066 Weed Control $92 $65 $100 Vineyard Floor Management $50 $103 $103 Pest Management $124 $85 $85 Disease Control $333 $178 $178 Fertilizer, Compost and/or BD Preparations $168 $49 $266 TOTAL CULTURAL COSTS $3,103 $2,116 $2,305 Harvest Costs (Mechanical harvesting and hauling) $776 (6.5 tons) $802 (6 tons) $802 (6 tons)