Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/95545
GRAPE GRO WING Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops Example Performance Metrics: Energy-Use Metrics a. Total BtU/ton harvested b. Total BtU/acre planted Nutrient Metrics a. Pounds nitrogen applied/ton harvested b. Pounds nitrogen applied/acre planted a. Pounds phosphorus applied/ton harvested b. Pounds phosphorus applied/acre planted Soil Metrics Soil organic matter/ soil organic matter potential February 6-8, 2013 Rochester Riverside Convention Center, Rochester, NY Learn, Shop, Network Water Metrics a. Acre-inches of water applied/ ton harvested b. Acre-inches of water applied/ acre planted c. Acre-inches of water applied/ETc I have written about performance metrics in two previous col- umns—"Introducing the Stewardship Index"1 "Measuring Sustainability" in September 2011, when I described California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance's2 rics project. in May 2009 and performance met- The goal of the SISC program being developed by major mem- bers of the agrifood supply chain (i.e. growers, buyers, NGOs) is to agree upon a set of performance metrics that everyone can use to measure their sustainability performance. One of the objectives of the CSWA project is to introduce performance metrics to wine- grape growers and winemakers, using metrics either the same or very similar to the SISC metrics. In promoting these two projects with growers in the past few months, I have had some interesting discussions about perfor- mance metrics. For the most part these growers have not felt these performance metrics would be useful in improving vineyard man- agement other than standard metrics most people measure such as yield and quality. The single biggest argument I have encountered from growers is that variability in yield from year to year would make track- ing vineyard performance metrics a challenging if not meaning- less exercise. Let's look at an example to better appreciate the situation: Ni- trogen use per ton of grapes is one performance metric for mea- suring the outcome of a nutrition-management program. This is a particularly good example for California vineyards, given the in- creased interest in nitrogen management in California agriculture following a University of California, Davis, study about nitrates in groundwater.3 If a vineyard yielded 5 tons to the acre one year, and a grower applied a total of 20 pounds of nitrogen per acre, then nitrogen use per ton of grapes for the year would be 4 pounds. If the nutrition- WINES & VINES DECEMBER 2012 57 Viticulture 2013 is your chance to learn, shop, and network with industry colleagues from over 20 states and several foreign countries. Three days of seminars cover viticulture, enology, legal/regulatory, finance, and marketing, starting with a huge "Big Picture" overview and the Northern Grapes Symposium supplemented by lots of topics covered by the world's top experts. And it's only $295, which includes all seminars, planned meals and receptions, and trade show access. The Big Picture: Past, Present & Future "The Big Picture" will kick off the conference on Wednesday morning with presentations in the first session by John Gillespie, President of the Wine Market Council; Danny Brager, Vice President of The Nielsen Company; and Dr. Greg Carpenter of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. The three are widely regarded as the best market researchers in the country, and their combined presentations will yield valuable insights into the main trends of today's wine market and how to take advantage of them. In a separate breakout session that afternoon, the trio will again team up to offer insights on how to market wine to both Millennials (20-somethings) and Baby Boomers (their parents). The second portion of "New York in the Big Picture" will feature California wine journalist Dan Berger providing a perspective on where New York stands in terms of reputation and distribution; a representative of Constellation Wines U.S. on that company's status and plans; and Steve Kronberg from National Grape Cooperative/Welch Foods discussing the evolution of the market for grape juice. Northern Grapes Symposium A special feature of Viticulture 2013 is the Northern Grapes Symposium beginning with a luncheon featuring cold climate varietal wines. The Symposium throughout the afternoon is the result of a special grant which involved collaboration among scientists in many states which grow extremely cold hardy grapes, including in New York's "North Country" regions of the Thousand Islands and Champlain regions. Three different sessions on viticulture, enology and marketing will be presented by collaborating scientists from various states. Register today: www.vit2013.com