The Crush - October 2019 - 3

[ FROM THE PRESIDENT ]

The Positive Effects of Lobbying

WE TAKE PRIDE IN INFLUENCING THE PUBLIC POLICY PROCESS; OUR NO. 1 JOB IS TO EDUCATE

By John Aguirre
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines lobbyist as "...one
who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying
public officials and especially members of a legislative body
on legislation: a person engaged in lobbying public officials."
The very definition of the word hints at why many people hold
lobbyists in low regard. People are quick to assume the act of
"influencing or swaying public officials" involves shady and
unethical conduct, believing that without lobbyists, legislators
would do the right thing. Whatever that is.
CAWG is an organization that actively seeks to influence and
sway public officials, especially federal and state legislators
and regulators. We lobby - and we do so proudly on behalf of
winegrape growers. We take pride in influencing the public
policy process, because our No. 1 job is to educate.
This past September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture
unveiled the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus
(WHIP+) to help farmers affected by natural disasters in 2018 and
2019. In addition, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
have taken steps to fund research on how to mitigate or eliminate
wine quality problems associated with smoke exposed grapes.
CAWG played a key role to ensure WHIP+ benefits California
winegrape growers and to secure adequate funding for research
on the many issues surrounding smoke exposed grapes and wine
quality.
Many industry groups were involved in pushing for disaster
assistance for winegrape growers and to obtain federal funding
for smoke exposure research, but CAWG initiated these efforts.
WHIP+ will prove to be very important for many North Coast
growers who were affected by wildfires and smoke in 2018. The
program will cover quality losses attributable to smoke where the
affected grapes had a value of less than 75 percent of the average
market price of undamaged grapes of the same or similar variety.
Growers can receive WHIP+ payments for unharvested grapes
resulting from wineries that rejected smoke exposed fruit,
provided growers can document the fruit had elevated levels of
smoke compounds. This is a straightforward loss scenario, but
CAWG was instrumental in helping the California congressional
delegation understand that other more complicated loss
scenarios also deserve to be covered by WHIP+.

There are various scenarios
where the value of a grower's
crop may have been discounted
due to smoke exposure related
quality issues, either at the time
of sale or subsequent to being
processed into wine. WHIP+ will
cover these scenarios, based on
CAWG's lobbying efforts.
Example: Some growers alerted
by their winery buyer about
smoke exposure concerns agreed to a conditional sale, where
their grapes were crushed and made into wine. But if the wine
was determined through sensory evaluation to have significant
defects (due to smoke exposure), then the grower was required
to take possession of the wine. In these instances, where the wine
was returned to the grower, the wine may have only minimal
salvage value as a distillation product, vinegar, etc. WHIP+ can
cover this loss scenario.
Example: If a grower's grapes were rejected by a winery due to
concerns over smoke taint, that grower may have decided to bulk
wine at another winery on his/her own account. But now, that
grower realizes the wine is unsaleable. Again, this scenario is
covered under WHIP+.
CAWG educated legislators and their staff members about the
different scenarios in which growers may have experienced
losses. That's why WHIP+, which began on Sept. 11, is much
better than WHIP, which was available to cover wildfire related
losses in 2017.
At the same time, CAWG - working closely with industry allies
in Washington, Oregon and Wine Institute - is pushing hard to
get $5 million in federal funding for smoke exposure research.
We are making progress because it's a joint industry effort by
several groups, which translates into effective lobbying based on
education.
Lobbying groups, like CAWG, educate. CAWG is the only
statewide organization specifically focused on representing and
serving winegrape growers, and education is the most powerful
tool we have when we lobby on your behalf.

OCTOBER 2019 / 3
https://www.farmers.gov/recover/whip-plus https://www.farmers.gov/recover/whip-plus
The Crush - October 2019

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