The Challenge: Clean Farming

The name ‘The Monarch Challenge’ comes from the fact that since Roundup’s introduction into the market in 1974, the Monarch butterfly population has declined by 90% and is currently under threat of extinction. The environmental impact goes beyond the Monarch to frogs, bees, other pollinators and even on to our human health.

Monarch Challenge-farming

THE GOAL

Our goal is to have the areas of Sonoma and Napa be known as wine regions that are recognized among the finest of the world not just for their quality of wine but also for setting an example of how to farm at the highest level. We would like to build a platform that other wine regions can adopt. With gained momentum, we also hope to find a way to help bring this higher level of farming to other agricultural industries in an effort to blanket our planet with farmlands that benefit and regenerate Mother Nature.

THE Why

Every year as farmers, we are faced with challenges. In this modern era, these challenges can be met with a wide array of options and products to help us get through the growing season the best we can. Some products are necessary and beneficial, while others are less so and harmful. The goal here is to align our farming community with the best options available to them that are effective and allow our wine region to be recognized not only for its world-class wines but also for its conscious alignment with nature and our community.

Right now, the biggest issue is also the easiest to fix and that is the unnecessary, overuse of herbicides. Not just Roundup and glyphosate, but all herbicides. They are bad for the environment, ruin the soil structure, which is so important in farming, bad for our health, and end up in your products, your neighbors’ products, our rivers, our air space and our backyards. It’s time we as a community elevate our farms to a higher standard and set a global example. Our goal here is to teach our community – from the weekend farmers to the big corporate farmers – why we should walk away from certain paths and follow others. We want Napa and Sonoma to set an example that other wine regions and farming communities can follow.

The name ‘The Monarch Challenge’ comes from the fact that since Roundup’s introduction into the market in 1974, the Monarch butterfly population has declined by 90% and is currently under threat of extinction. The environmental impact goes beyond the Monarch to frogs, bees, other pollinators and even on to our human health.

THE HOW

Wine has been cultivated and enjoyed since the earliest days of human civilization. Whereas, this modern chemical farming era only recently began post-World War II when chemicals like DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro- ethane) had been developed and used in modern warfare. Farmers nationwide took note of the chemical’s ability to kill insects and other “pests” and eagerly adopted the use of the pesticides and pesticide companies experienced immense profit. Needless to say, it is time we reevaluate what we put in our soil and go back to our ancient, tried and true farming roots.

Currently, there are several ways to have beautiful under-the-vine weed management with tractors and weed-whackers without the use of herbicides. The cost at the moment is a bit more than spraying glyphosate at roughly $500 to $1,500 dollars per acre, which is $0.02 to $0.18 per bottle based on 3 tons to the acre (Roundup or glyphosate is about $90 to $160). We are putting together books on how this can be done with the best technology we have today.

At the moment, we are asking Napa and Sonoma to elevate the farming at a small cost. With that said, we are also looking into technology that can make farming without herbicides cost the same or even less than conventional practices.

THE WINE

Each year, RAEN Winery donates a bottling of rosé of their Pinot Noir to The Monarch Challenge to raise awareness to these challenges in order to bring about the necessary change in farming practices. Thank you to The Activists – our supporters and partners – who help make this possible, and please reach out if you are interested in getting involved or have questions! Only together can we expand this conversation to elevate the health of our soils that ultimately elevates the health of humanity.

Hear winegrower Carlo Mondavi talk about the Monarch Challenge here.