On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) lauded the $5 million in Federal funding that he requested that will be provided through the FY2022 Appropriations bill by the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Subcommittee.

Thompson requested this funding in an April 2021 letter, citing the adverse effects of the recent fires on the wine community, both in California’s Fifth Congressional District and up and down the West Coast.

“As our district continues to recover from the worst fire season on record last year and prepare for an upcoming fire season, it’s crucial we have every federal resource and tool available to rebuild and mitigate the impact of future fires,” said Thompson. “That’s why it’s important that the Appropriations Committee included my request for $5 million in federal funding to study the impact of smoke exposure on wine grapes. This will allow growers and wineries to reduce the economic impact of future fires. It will in turn allow our entire local economy to recover faster after future fires. I will continue working to ensure this funding is included in the final spending bill so we can get this done for our district.”

This $5 million in funding would go to the Mitigating the Adverse Consequences of Wildfire Smoke of Wine Grapes program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It would allow industry representatives to collaborate with land grant university researchers in West Coast states to research what causes the grapes to be damaged by smoke and how to best mitigate this damage.

This research would provide for better testing and prediction of risk, thereby reducing the uncertainty for producers in fire-prone areas.

You can click here to read Thompson’s letter requesting this funding and click here to read the committee report.

Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties.