Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/853816
28 WINES&VINES August 2017 GROUNDED GRAPEGROWING need of improvement; 31%-69% is considered adequate, and more than 70% would be con- sidered optimum. Grower-management guide- lines are also provided. We have nothing like this in place for the western United States, and if the Cornell standards were used for our soils, it probably would not be highly accurate as the system is based on soil conditions and cropping patterns that occur in the northeastern United States. Our soils are not part of the normalized distribution that has been used to determine benchmarks for soil health, and therefore the results of the Cornell Soil Health Assessment may not apply. Regardless, this is a thoughtful system that the vineyard industry in the west- ern United States could use as a model. Additionally, testing services are being of- fered for microbial identification and popula- tion size. While this will ultimately be useful, understanding the results and implications on soil health is not clearly defined. It will take time to sample a large number of vineyard soils, correlate test results with management objectives (soil carbon content, vine growth, soil physical properties, etc.) and provide wine- growers with useful information to guide deci- sion making. Continuing the conversation "Healing the planet through agriculture" is a catchphrase from Demeter USA, the organiza- tion that certifies Biodynamic farms in the United States. A center concept in both organic and Biodynamic farming systems is healthy soil that includes active organic matter manage- ment. As California strikes off on its own to find solutions to global climate change, agriculture will be part of the mix of strategies to reduce greenhouse gases and sequester carbon. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has created the Healthy Soils Incentives Pro- gram and already has allocated $7.5 million in incentives for growers to sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gases. Expect a rollout of the program later this year. The Resource Con- servation Districts of Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma—with the assistance of the USDA Na- tional Resources Conservation Service and the UC Cooperative Extension—have formed the North Coast Soil Health Hub to focus on vine- yard soil health issues by creating discussions between growers, researchers and extension (see soilhub.org) backed by current research and published information. In the years to come we can expect a different conversation about soil: How "soil health" is meaningful not only to our vines but to our environment and our- selves as stewards of the land. Glenn McGourty is the University of California Coopera- tive Extension winegrowing 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.