Finger Lakes Trellis Supply

Profil Alsace Vineyard Posts

Tammy — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 19:12:32 +0000

Top Selling Trellising System in Europe, Now Available in the USA!

-Patented Hooks

-Patented Cross Arm CLICK Lock

-Mechanical Harvester Approved

-Maintenance Free

-Most Cost-Efficient Installation

-No Clips, Bolts or Nuts Necessary

-Environmentally Friendly Carbon Footprint

P5L Heavy Duty Vineyard Post – 8’6” x 1.75” x 2”

P5M Medium Duty Vineyard Post – 8’6” x 1.5” x 2”

3-Gather the Right Tools

bill — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:31:36 +0000

Our tools are designed to work with our fencing to make the installation process as easy and trouble-free as possible. We recommend using two stretcher bars and pulling the wire to the center. Splicing is much easier using a fence tool and sleeves. All tools needed are available from us.

2-Plan Your Fence

bill — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:23:31 +0000

Planning your fence thoroughly is the easiest way to ensure that your fencing project goes as smoothly and economically as possible.

Sketch out a map of your property. Designate different land use areas—grazing acreage, pens, cultivated fields, etc. If possible, get aerial images of your property to use as the base of your sketch. You can get aerial photography from the U.S. Soil Conservation service, your local agricultural extension agent, or even online from sources like Google Earth.
Now sketch out your fence lines, corners, angles, and gates to scale with your land use map. Don’t forget to take into consideration natural obstacles like cliffs, stream-beds or other dips in the projected path of the fence. Always avoid water gaps if at all possible. Think about the optimum placement of gates for the best vehicle/animal access. Plan ahead for possible facilities expansions and feeding areas.

In planning your fence layout, remember:

All fences require end braces, regardless of length.
Post center spacing should be 20-25 feet for high-tensile wire, and 12-16 feet for low-tensile. Post centers are a guideline, not an exact science.
Use rigid posts in all dips, hips (bumps), and ledges.
A combination of line bosses and tee posts will give the best results.
If there is a possibility that other fence lines will connect to the fence in the future, place end posts for the connecting fence now.
Don’t set gates perpendicular to the fence line. If a gate must be perpendicular, use a gate foot.
Gates must have close tolerances, and set them so that they swing back against the fence, not through. Plan for equipment height in facilities if you use an overhead gate

1-Three Essentials For A Good Fence

bill — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:16:03 +0000

THREE ESSENTIALS FOR A GOOD FENCE:
1. Get professional guidance
2. Buy quality materials
3. Build according to the manufacturer’s recommendations
PLANNING
• Make sure you know where the property line is as existing fences may or may not be on the line.
• Never fence across easements like gas pipelines and power lines without notifying the necessary authorities.
MATERIALS
• Always use Class 3 galvanized T-post clips, pipe post clips, and staples.
• Galvanized pipe or tubing makes the best cross members.
• Used pipe requires a lot of maintenance.
• Never use landscape timbers or 4x4s for braces or line posts. Always use round posts; they will not warp.
• Holding the fence down in dips or up on crowns requires longer, bigger line posts.
• If shade cloth is going to be used on the fence, additional posts will be required for wind load.
• Use heavier post for gates. Most gate manufacturers trim 4” for hardware.
• We recommend a minimum of 1.33 weight t-posts for use with fixed-knot fence.
• Galvanized t-posts will last a lot longer than painted t-posts.
INSTALLATION
• Always set staples so that the wire under it can move on impact, distributing the load over the entire fence.
• A full brace is required for every pull of wire regardless of the length of run.
• Set posts 4’ to 6’ deep. Hi-Tensile wire will not stretch and loads are constant on braces.
• Driven or tamped wood posts hold better.
• Always place the fence fabric between the stock and the posts whenever possible.
• Brace spacing can be up to 1320’ apart. Make sure you know the actual length of the gates BEFORE setting the gate posts
• On steep terrain posts should be set perpendicular to the soil.
• Brace alignment is VERY important as poor alignment will result in brace failure.
• Concreted posts should be belled at the bottom if you are building in clay soils. Double bracing may be necessary in light sandy soils.
• Use straight lines between braces. Curved fence lines will not stay tight.

Bird Gard Testimonials

bill — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:32:22 +0000

Bird Gard

We chose a Pinot Noir block at our Carneros ranch that has had bird problems since 1976. This particular block…has consistently suffered annual bird damage and subsequent yield reductions. It was very impressive to set up the various Bird Gard systems and watch the bird damage be eliminated. It was quite amazing to see no bird damage occur at all in the entire block. We were able to extend the ripening time with no pressure to pick early due to the annual bird damage that many times determines the harvest date in this block. The system has many advantages, the most obvious being the reduction of bird damage and subsequent yield savings. In addition, there are labor savings as well as an increase in quality if you are picking early to avoid excessive bird damage.
-Kelly Maher, Vineyard and Landscape Manager
Domaine Chandon, Napa Valley, CAI am now a convinced zealot and am relieved that the awful problem of vineyard bird control appears to have an economical and non-violent solution. I believe our neighbors would also concur with my relief. This year we had no complaints about our bird control methods, as we have had in past years. With the cost of your equipment and the batteries to run the systems I believe the savings from one year closely approximates the capital costs….I am sure this system makes economic sense in our given vineyard setting. After this harvest seasons experience I would error on the side of overkill rather than skimping. It seems that multiple systems of distress calls, and (harassment sounds) creating total confusion worked the best. With a strong system in place we called in hawks and drove off all pest birds including cedar waxwings. Thanks for your product introduction and if you have any skeptical grape growers with bird problems have them call me to listen to a testimonial.
-Ted Gerber
Foris Vineyards Winery, Cave Junction, ORLast year’s yield was decreased 50% on the red varieties. This year the harvest was virtually left undamaged due to the Bird Gard unit. I was very pleased with the Bird Gard and would not hesitate to recommend it to other grape growers.
-Rutgers Cooperative Extension

The bird repellent equipment was highly successful in the fall of 1999. I was…a bit skeptical due to my past failures with sound cannons, shotguns and artificial bird stress calls. Our vineyard is surrounded by ash and oak trees that attract large numbers of roosting birds. Prior to fall 1999 we used costly and labor-intensive bird netting for damage control. This harvest year we had zero bird damage due to our use of Bird Gard sound equipment. In early November when we harvested the last of our grapes, we disconnected the sound system early in the morning and started picking grapes. As we were picking hundreds of robins, starlings, and cedar waxwings flew into the vineyard. As an experiment we reconnected the sound system, all birds immediately flew far away. I look forward to using Bird Gard bird repellent equipment for many years.
-David Buchanan, Owner
Tyee Wine Cellars, Corvallis, OR

The Bird Gard unit’s performance was very impressive and we are pleased with the results. The test (vineyard) was part of a 3.8-acre block stripped of its crop over a two-day period by birds last year. While the vineyard is far from its potential, we did harvest 1.5 tons of grapes this year. I believe that the yield would have been much less if not for the Bird Gard. The alarm does a good job of scaring birds and it also does a good job of attracting predators.
-Cornell University

I wanted to let you know how pleased I am with bird control in our newest vineyards. As you know, I now have nearly 30 acres of wine grape planted directly in the heart of federally designated conservation reserve program (CRP) land. We have always been a prime target for birds. I have used cannons, hawk kites, and netting in the past. I am delighted to tell you that we suffered less overall bird damage with the Bird Gard system this year than any year previous. In fact, for this particular vintage, the Bird Gard system proved superior to the netting and cannons used (previously). I am convinced of its effectiveness compared to the alternatives and with your guidance on installation, it was a “piece of cake”.
-Rick Small, Winemaker
Woodward Canyon Winery, Lowden, WA

The three (Bird Gard units) we used together are extremely effective for bird control and our neighbors appreciate the lower sound levels.
-Bob Gabriel
Oregon Blueberry Farms and Nursery, Silverton, OR

The species controlled was the common robin. The check in this instance was 14 years of annual loss. This year I experienced zero losses. It resulted in an additional six to eight tons of harvest on five acres of (blue)berries.
-Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service

I went by our Madras substation last week and was extremely gratified to find that even though the bird population around the nearby stockyards has increased dramatically over last summer’s numbers, there were no birds anywhere near our substation. In addition, there was no bird fecal material on the substation structure. The Bird Gard appears to be working very well at both the Madras and the Bend substations.
-Jim Crowell, Member Services Director
Central Electric Cooperative, Inc., Redmond, OR

Control expenses in the past…were significant. With the start of damage and the deployment of the Bird Gard units, crows abandoned (the orchards). We observed crows, sometimes in sizable flocks, in the vicinity…but, not in the treated orchards. Damage levels were…the lowest we have ever recorded. Based on bird counts, damage assessments, and economic analysis the approach was successful. Operating during the daylight hours, the Bird Gard units provided a full-time degree of control when farm personnel were not present. The distress calls also reduced the need for shooting and pyrotechnics and thus the costs for those aspects of control. The initial response was dramatic; crows virtually abandoned the orchards after the start of the broadcasts. The integrated crow control program resulted in low damage levels on the study orchards. Distress calls played an important role in the overall control program. Distress calls for crows should be incorporated into control programs designed to protect agricultural crops whenever possible.
-University of California, Davis

I am writing to let you know how successful we were with your products during the 1999 harvest. We used a variety of your devices at Knudsen Vineyards and installed them as per your recommendations. There are sections of the vineyard that we normally write off as too hard to protect. This year the harvest was on and off so that on off days there was no one around to scare the birds. We took days off with the confidence that no disasters would occur in our absence. It was not a problem.
-Allen Holstein, Manager
Argyle Winery, Dundee, OR

I have completed tests with the Bird Gard unit in cherry plantings. The trials in sweet cherries were very successful, and the orchard manager indicated he harvested the largest crop he can remember this year. Typically that block had suffered 40-50% crop loss each season. The standard chip with starling, robin, and finch distress calls should work well in cherry orchards.
-Cornell Cooperative Extension

Our technician who handles the peach harvesting in the trial was finding 10-20% damaged fruit each harvest. The day after we installed the Bird Gard repeller, our percentage of bird damaged fruit dropped substantially to 2-3%. We feel like the repeller helped greatly.
-Auburn University

I’d like to thank you for your help in getting the birds out of my barn. With the new Bird Gard I still can’t believe we have never seen more than 5 to 10 birds and there used to be thousands of them. Again, thank you for your help in controlling diseases spread through these birds.
-John Van Biert
Vaby Farms Ltd., Abbotsford B.C., Canada

The Bird Gard units were used during a study of wading bird depredations at aquaculture facilities. At Site A, we lost no fish from open (unnetted) ponds protected by (the Bird Gard unit). At Site B, we lost no fish from open (unnetted) ponds protected by (the Bird Gard unit). At Site C, there was a great deal of bird activity before we installed (the Bird Gard unit). During the study period, the number of (birds) at Site C declined substantially compared to the number observed there before the units were installed. At site C, we did not lose any fish from open (unnetted) ponds protected by the distress calls.
-US Department of Agriculture, Florida Field Station

Cornell

bill — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:23:07 +0000

3/19/07

Ms. Anna M. Bridger

35 William St PO Box 380

Lyons, NY 14489

Dear Ms. Bridger.

I am writing on behalf of Todd Smith of Finger Lakes Trellis Supply. I am a Senior Extension Associate with Cornell University now situated at Cornell University’s Hudson Valley Lab in Highland NY. Previously I was Extension Educator with the Lake Ontario Fruit Extension Program in Western NY for 25 years. My specialty was researching, developing, and teaching efficient cultural practices to commercial fruit growers. With three other specialists I designed and delivered educational programs f0r these clientele.

A major part of my responsibility was to advise growers on how to plant, train, prune, and grow fruit. Over the years, our research has developed and verified methods for establishment of much more profitable high-density orchards. And as is evident as one travels the counties bordering Lake Ontario, these systems have been embraced and are rapidly replacing standard orchards. Since these orchards use dwarfing rootstocks, they must be supported by a post and wire system.

Todd and his father has been an important supplier of materials and installation for these advanced planting systems. I can tell you that having a local source has been very favorable for our local fruit industry and I hope it can continue. They have also been instrumental in designing cost effective planting systems suitable for fruit growers in eastern US and have published much of their work in their catalogues. We have had an excellent working relationship brainstorming ideas and testing theories.

I understand that Todd wishes to establish a new facility in Wayne County. Todd has boundless energy and vision. I have seen him across NY state this winter at trade shows from Lake George to Kingston to Rochester to Syracuse. He appears very committed to success in this venture. I would support helping him expand his business. I know there is a need and he has the experience energy and knowledge to make it a success.

Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information.

Sincerely,

Stephen A Hoying

Senior Extension Associate

ProGuard doesn’t cost, it saves!!

bill — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:13:49 +0000

When you do the math, ProGuard doesn’t cost, it saves!!

Mechanically harvesting Ice Wine has many advantages over hand picking but not all nets are the same. If you could pay for your netting in the first year just on what you normally lose, wouldn’t you think about buying it?

Sample Calculation, Vidal in Niagara	Loss
Average Yield 8-12+ tons/acre (assume 8 ton / acre)	8 tons/acre
Average loss vs. large hole netting 20-50% (assume 15%)	8 tons/acre x 15%= 1.2 tons loss per acre
Average yield per ton of Grapes 200-350 L/ton (assume 150 L/ton)	1.2 ton x 150 L/ton = 180 L loss
Price per L $15-20 (assume $15 / L)	180 L x $15.00 = $2700/acre loss

$2700.00 per acre will more than pay for the netting in the first year alone!

This does not even take into consideration the speed at which our netting can be harvested and the labour savings from going over vineyard hand picking behind the harvester.

The ease of installation and removal (if required), storage, longevity of the netting and the versatility makes ProGuard a great investment!

Imagine if you pressed 250 L/ton and was paid $17.00 per L, you would get an extra $5,100.00 per acre! Estimated numbers are conservative and individual results can be and have been much better!

Pro Guard Vineyard Netting

bill — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:51:39 +0000

Look at all the advantages Gintec ProGuard netting offers before you decide.

Stays up all year! Pro Guard is designed to stay up all year, even at harvest. You do not have to remove and store the netting, resulting in labour savings. Even if you decide to remove it every year, Pro Guard is easily installed and removed compared to conventional bird netting. Ask about our “Grape Machine”.
Trains shoots! When applied early enough vines do not require tucking; vines grow up through the center between the netting for additional labour savings from tucking.
Improved Bird Control! Exclusion is the best single method of reducing loss and damage due to birds on grapes. The smaller openings in our net stop the damage due to pecking through the net compared to regular netting.

Hail protection! Added protection against hail.
Wind protection! Keeps everything compact to prevent damage from strong winds.
Fewer large insects and MALB! Netting makes it difficult for larger insects to get at the grapes.
Thermal effect! In certain areas, netting can be dropped early to create a thermal effect that puts heat into the vines earlier in the spring.
Reduced sunburn! The netting reduces the damaging effects of the sun in high UV periods.
Improved spray coverage! The netting shatters the spray drops deflecting them in all directions for an improved coverage area.

Vine Morphology! When netting is dropped early, vines adapt to the netting to minimize any negative effect of the netting.

Reduced labour! Reduced tucking, the ability to leave the netting up year round and harvesting with the netting on can reduces your labour costs.

Reduction of desease! Damaged grapes leaking into the cluster can cause mold and disease.

Ice Wines Netting! A special Ice Wine reinforcement tape is fastened to the bottom, holding grapes until harvest increasing yield by reducing waste. The Ice Wine tape also allows the ability to mechanically harvest Ice Wine at speeds over 3km/h. Less shaking is required, reducing the damage on the plants.

The structure of the weave of our netting makes it easier to control and easier to work with. Gintec Pro Guard is made of H.D.P.E. (High-Density Polyethylene), 4mm x 7mm (0.157″ x 0.276″) mesh openings. Reinforced edges designed to withstand top hooks and bottom staples. Standard widths available are .8m (31″) and 1.1m (43″), also, drape over if quantities warrant. The technology is from Europe, and has been in use there for decades. Gintec Pro Guard is U.V. resistant, tough material. With proper care netting can last 15 years or more.

“It saves the headache of installation and removal of nets. This will amount in a labour savings as well as allowing workers to concentrate on vineyard and maintaining vines.” – Mike Burns, Carmela Estates

“Love the durability of the netting and fine enough to keep birds out. Best netting I’ve seen to keep tonnages up when harvest is delayed especially for Ice Wine.” Jon Wiley, Erigan Valley Vineyards

“Effective at preventing bird losses. Don’t have to remove and store.” Doug Whitty – J.D.Whitty Farms

Harvest Supplies

bill — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:26:02 +0000

We carry a variety of Harvest Supplies- picking buckets, tools & lugs. Visit the E-Store!!

Mechanical Wire Twister

bill — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:09:15 +0000

How to use the Mechanical Wire Twister!