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26 WINES&VINES March 2018 Here's What Works O ne year ago, this column focused on how leading growers were using cutting-edge tech- nology such as aerial imaging to improve crop uniformity and optimize irrigation. Other topics included new mechanical harvesting and sorting machinery that addressed the lack of available labor to hand harvest and hand sort. Today, labor availability has become the No. 1 issue affecting all agriculture—and especially for high-touch, labor-intensive crops such as wine grapes. It's an even bigger challenge for the small grower, who doesn't have the financial resources of the big operations. The labor issues are well known: The average age of a vineyard worker is increasing. Fewer young people are migrat- ing to the United States to replace retirees due to increased border restrictions and the availability of good jobs in Mexico. Many experienced vineyard workers have learned enough English to allow them to get safer, indoor jobs away from heat, cold, rain and dust. Labor costs are increasing due to minimum- wage increases and overtime rules changes. When I started this column, I was surprised by a sense of hopelessness among small growers that they couldn't envision a good solution, that they were never going to be able to compete with "the big guys" who have the capital to invest in vineyard mechanization. A Lodi vineyard-management services provider said, "I can't think of smaller growers that are doing much with mechanization due to the cost of equipment over fewer acres." This was echoed by a Sierra Foothills grower who said, "I am not aware of anyone here who is moving to automation. Just not cost effective for the (small) size of the vineyards here." A Napa Valley vineyard owner with 12 planted acres stated, "Most automation is directed to—and only affordable to—large growers. We use an electric pruner but cannot automate other jobs." Happily, there are solutions for the small grower. What follows is what I learned after talking to a vineyard-management company, an equipment sup- plier and a leading growers' association scientist. Keep asking questions Aaron Fishleder is the president of Vinescape, a Napa Valley vineyard-management company. Vinescape was founded by Far Niente Wine Estates to be its internally fo- cused farming company. Now Vin- escape manages between 400 and 500 acres for about 30 clients in the Napa Valley and Russian River Valley appellations. Primary varieties grown include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties. Fishleder has 17 years of experience and holds a master's degree in viticulture from the University of California, Davis. Vinescape's guiding principles are centered on having (and adhering to) written procedures, getting feedback and measure- ments for everything they do. Fishleder's first piece of advice to the small grower is to keep trying. "If we try something and it doesn't work, we'll try some- thing else." He researches what growers are doing in Australia and other regions where labor is scarce. He observes that, "With fire reconstruction, it's going to be even harder to find workers in Napa and Sonoma counties." Fishleder assumes that if you ask questions, then the answers can be found. Starting in 2013, he began to address the labor shortages by asking his team the question: "What are the jobs that require the most labor that we could get a machine to do?" They started small with suckering, pointing out that "you need a brain to sucker well, but a machine can sucker the stuff near the ground well enough." They purchased a suckering machine that year, then measured savings and increases in productivity. They also noted that automating this step didn't impact quality. Since 2013, his labor-saving list has grown and includes har- vesting and planting activities. Planting: In June 2017, Vinescape started using a planting machine instead of more labor-intensive manual methods. The machine does three things in one pass: marking the vineyard, planting the vine and inserting the vine stake, all at the rate of 10-14 vines per minute. Following the machine, a small team uncoils a drip line, so irrigation is available 10 minutes after planting. Fishleder planted 58 acres with six people and didn't have to pull workers off other continuing vineyard tasks to get this vineyard planted. In addition, trellis installation became a task separate from planting and can be done at a convenient time over the next year. Pruning: Fishleder is not pre-pruning with ma- chines yet, but he is using a cane-puller to remove pruned wood. With the cane-puller, he estimates his workers can now prune 70-80 vines per hour, compared to 30-40 per hour when they had to hand-clear the wood. Harvesting: Fishleder started by asking the question: "How can we use mechanization in small, 5-acre vineyards?" Like Goldilocks, in the first year the harvester they used was n ANDY STARR Solutions to Labor Problems for the Small Grower