Webinar to Explore Grape Mechanization

Registration open for Jan. 20 WAVEx mechanization webinar

SEATTLE (January 6, 2021) – Wine grape growers are invited to register for an upcoming webinar dedicated to vineyard mechanization. The free WAVEx mechanization webinar is scheduled for January 20, 2021 from 12:30-1:30 p.m.

The webinar will feature results of a study led by Dr. Clark Seavert, Oregon State University agricultural economist, who recently benchmarked the economics of vineyard mechanization for the Oregon and Washington wine industries. The study, funded by Oregon’s Erath Foundation and the Washington State Wine Commission, used Oregon and Washington wine grape production costs to compare costs of vineyard tasks performed by hand labor and existing mechanical implements.

Dr. Seavert will use the AgBiz Logic program to show growers how to evaluate profitability with and without mechanization. AgBiz Logic is a suite of economic, financial and environmental decision tools for businesses that grow, harvest, package and sell agricultural products. The free tool enables growers to make more effective capital investment decisions by measuring their own specific profitability.

Growers attending the WAVEx webinar are encouraged to set up their own AgBiz Logic Profitability account prior to the webinar and input their data or use already generated enterprise budgets to establish a base to then analyze the potential mechanization investment.

Washington Advancements in Viticulture and Enology (WAVE) is the Washington State Wine Commission’s seminar and webinar series focused on wine research. WAVEx is the condensed, shorter webinar series.

Register for the free WAVEx mechanization webinar here.

For additional information, contact Melissa Hansen, Research Program Director at mhansen@washingtonwine.org.

About the Washington State Wine Commission: The Washington State Wine Commission (WSWC) represents every licensed winery and wine grape grower in Washington State. Guided by an appointed board, WSWC provides a marketing platform to raise positive awareness about the Washington wine industry and generate greater demand for its wines. Funded almost entirely by the industry through assessments based on grape and wine sales, WSWC is a state government agency, established by the legislature in 1987. To learn more, visit www.washingtonwine.org.