The 13th annual Nebraska Winery and Grape Growers Forum and Trade Show, organized by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Viticulture Program in cooperation with the Nebraska Winery and Grape Grower’s Association, is scheduled March 4-6 at the Holiday Inn in Kearney. The theme is “Nebraska Wines of Highest Quality: Grower and Winery Practices that Make them a Reality,” said Paul Read, professor of horticulture and viticulture.

The event includes three featured speakers. The first is Tim Martinson, senior extension associate from Cornell University who is responsible for New York’s statewide viticulture extension program.

Martinson, the lead author for a vineyard management book called “Vine Balance,” will present a workshop on the topic of “Vine Balance: Motivators, Impacts and Grower Responses” on March 4 and will lecture on March 5 on the topic of “Canopy and Crop Management: What Do they Cost and What is the Payoff?”

Martinson also will meet with growers as part of a roundtable discussion, lead a session on bud break and discuss trellis comparisons.

A second concurrent workshop entitled “Wine Making Challenges: Harvest, Crafting, Quality Assurance Critical Points” will be presented by Steven Menke, a native Nebraskan who serves as the Colorado state enologist. He also will present a lecture March 5 focusing on the basics of grape and wine analysis and will meet growers during roundtable discussions. On March 6 he will discuss wine identities and growth and also will discuss the importance of communication in making quality wine from hybrid grapes.

The third featured speaker will be Donniella Winchell, executive director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association, who will present a workshop on marketing and promotion of the grape and wine industry. She will present an opening lecture emphasizing sustainability and quality and lead a roundtable discussion on marketing and promotion of the grape and wine industry on March 5.

The first 20 registrants will take part in an additional session on “Marketing to Different Ages and Ways to Market Electronically” on March 6.

The format of the program is changed from recent years, Read said. This year a white wine tasting event will be held March 4, a red wine tasting on March 5 and a banquet on March 6.

The cost for the entire event is $200 for an association member and $230 for a non-member. Per-event prices are available as well. To register, go to http://agronomy.unl.edu/viticulture.

Fu-Hung Hsieh, a University of Missouri professor of biological engineering and food science at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, is finishing a project to create a soy product that looks, feels, pulls apart and, most importantly, chews like real chicken.

Hsieh has developed a process that takes soy, something that usually chews like a lump of spaghetti, and simulates the fibrous qualities of a chicken breast.

If picked up by industry, the product could provide shoppers a low cost alternative to the white meat. It would also allow consumers to more easily add soy—known for its healthy qualities—to their diets without giving up any dining satisfaction.

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Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said Thursday the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement of the final rule to implement new Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) regulations includes indirect land use models which will be a burden on the biofuels industry.

“This is a serious issue, and I will work with my colleagues to ensure U.S. agriculture policy is not based on unreliable data and decisions made by other countries,” Smith said. “While I’m glad to see ethanol and biodiesel will qualify as advanced biofuels under the RFS, I have concerns with the international indirect land use portion of this final rule.”

On Wednesday, Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., also expressed disappointed that the EPA remains “fixated on their flimsy, untested, and unreliable theory that holds our farmers and ethanol producers responsible for land use decisions made half way around the world.”

“I am additionally disappointed that with all of today’s announcements, there was no mention of E-15,” he said. “Increasing the percentage of ethanol in gasoline to as much as 15 percent is the next logical step in the expansion of this nation’s ethanol production capacity. It would not only benefit the economy, but also our nation’s energy security.”

The RFS in the 2007 Energy Bill mandates the use of 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2020. To qualify for the RFS, fuels must meet various goals for greenhouse gas reduction.

The EPA’s indirect land use rules count the emissions of greenhouse gasses resulting from land use decisions in other countries against domestic biofuels. With international indirect land use factored into ethanol’s greenhouse gas score, it dramatically reduces the overall environmental benefit of domestic ethanol production.