Spring 2024 Newsletter

SPRING 2024

THE ROOT annual newsletter

THE ROOT

Welcome Dear Friends and Partners, Welcome to our annual newsletter. In our last communication, we talked about the 2023 season being on track to being another record year for Sunridge, and I am proud to report it was! I want to thank all of you for your continued business and allowing us to have record growth year over year for the last 5 years. Your support means everything to the Stollers and the entire Sunridge family.

We have been doing this for over 47 years and our goal is to keep going for generations to come. We want to make sure we continue to keep your confidence in us as the best quality nursery in the industry. This newsletter will keep you informed on how we are investing in our people and our facilities to ensure we remain on top.

In this update the team will bring you up to speed on some of our latest projects, including our new callusing facility, new potting line, new budwood cutting machines, and new state-of-the-art fertigation system. And when it comes to our people, we are excited to introduce the very talented additions to our team. You will also hear about our investment in the sales team’s continued education as they spent valuable time in France looking for ways to better serve all our partners.

I want to conclude by putting the spotlight on our greatest attribute, which is our loyal team members. The experience and loyalty of our team is no doubt what makes us better than everyone else in the industry. I am very pleased to share with you our ever-growing list of team members who commemorating their time with the Sunridge family. This is a testament to the camaraderie and dedication that our team embodies, and it fills me with pride to see how far we've come together.

Sincerely,

Rick Burnes, President

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Contents 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13

Sales Contact Information

Welcome Note

Andrew Jones VP of Sales - Wine Grapes 805.234.4920 andrew@sridge.net

Contents / Sales Contact Info

Water sanitation and fertigation system

High capacity potting line

New callus room coming soon

French automated bud-cutters

New ARRA™ table grape varieties

First commercial cherry plantings

Wine sales team’s continued education

Wine sales team’s continued education

Dustin Hooper VP of Sales - Table Grapes 661.301.7399 dustin@sridge.net

Annie Steimle Regional Sales Manager CA North Coast 707.974.2642 annie@sridge.net

Dave Haggmark Regional Sales Manager CA Central Coast 805.391.0905 dave@sridge.net

Nicholas Podsakoff Regional Sales Manager CA Northern Interior 808.333.9394 nicholas@sridge.net

Sebastian Traviesa Regional Sales Manager Pacific Northwest, Eastern States, Baja CA 707.975.3646 sebastian@sridge.net

Meet our newest experts Clay Watson Meet our newest experts Linsi Guttierrez, Bryant Valdez Employee celebratory milestones

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Industry leading innovation The very first U.S. nursery to implement an in-house water sanitation and fertigation system.

In 2023, Sunridge Nurseries has partnered with Ritec (fertigation & irrigation technology) and Sobionics (water treatment technology), both from Spain, to install a state-of-the-art water sanitation and fertigation system for its more than 700,000 sq. feet of greenhouse space. This makes Sunridge the pioneer nursery in the U.S. to use this technology, which has already been successfully implemented in the Spanish horticulture and floral industries. The innovative HidroBlue equipment generates Pure Hypochlorous Acid (PHA) to sterilize irrigation water from unwanted and harmful bacterial, fungal or viral pathogens, as well as eliminating all algae and biofilm, while simultaneously increasing available oxygen to the root systems of Sunridge's potted vines. The system combined with crop-stage tailored fertigation blends results in improved rooting, vegetative growth and transplantability of its vines before they are shipped to their customers. With a storage capacity of over 100,000 gallons, the fertigation system can simultaneously irrigate 18 greenhouse bays, or 900,000 vines. This investment in the most advanced greenhouse horticultural technology continues to allow Sunridge to be industry leader in grapevine propagation and the successful fulfillment of its customers' orders.

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High capacity potting line Now equipped to produce over 200,000 pots per day with the capability to fully customize our soil blend In our ever-continuing effort to improve vine quality and increase production capacity, Sunridge has installed a custom-built highcapacity potting line for our unique and innovative greenvine soil blend. This new line, manufactured and installed by HortiEquip, allows us to produce over 200,000 pots per day with the capability to fully customize the mix of soil components, nutrients and beneficial amendments. After many years of testing and trials, Sunridge has perfected a blend of peat moss, coconut coir, wood fiber, fertilizers and beneficial microorganisms. This mix, in conjunction with our new fertigation system, allows us to fine tune our greenvine cultural practices to ensure we are producing the highest quality vines in the industry.

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Coming next season...

Our new callus facility will provide us with precise temperature and humidity control of over six million vines in callus at a time.

We are excited to announce that we have broken ground on the new callus facility. Despite a few delays provided by mother nature this year and the heavy rains (which we are happy to accept in light of the alternative), we expect to have the new facility fully up and running for the 2025 season. As discussed in previous newsletters, the new callus room will provide us with precise temperature and humidity control of over six million vines in callus at a time. This allows for a better establishment of the newly formed graft unions and root development. The new facility will have six-inch insulated metal paneling to protect against any outside temperature swings, and four fully sealed off chambers inside the larger structure to allow each week of grafting to acclimatize in its own room. This facility, located directly east of our grafting room, ensures the grafted vines can immediately enter callus after grafting in a well-controlled environment. In addition, once they are ready to exit callus, there will be a fifth room on the south end of the structure where the planting preparation and waxing will occur, as well as staging prior to potting in the greenhouse or planting in the field. We are excited to see this new facility being constructed and the benefits it will bring to our production practices.

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SPRING 2024

Quality and Consistency Learn about our new French automated bud-cutters Another investment that Sunridge has made improving both efficiencies and vine quality is the automated bud-cutters from the French nursery machine manufacturer: BM Emballage. Now in their second full year of operation, these bud-cutters use high speed cameras to identify each bud on scion cuttings harvested from the field for optimal cutting into individual buds. The operator can pre-select the distance above and below each bud to be cut, with the machine then adjusting the feed through the double-bladed knives that will then cut each bud to the optimal size to be used for grafting. These machines not only standardize the buds used, sorting out ones not suitable, but also can increase the efficiency that one person can process cuttings fivefold.

These have been proven quit effective, and each grafting line has its own bud-cutter that provides 90-100% of the buds needed.

Based on our successful collaboration with BM Emballage, Sunridge is in the early stages of testing out an automated grafting machine as well, so look to future newsletters to see how we continue to improve, innovate and enhance our production processes.

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Now offering new ARRA™ table grape varieties

VARIETIES ARRA Early Sweet™ ARRA Honey Pop™

Sunridge is proud to announce our new partnership with Grapa®, a

ARRA Fire Kiss™

global family business that specializes in breeding and licensing

ARRA Mystic Charm™

premium table grape varieties worldwide, under the ARRA™ and

ARRA Passion Fire™

Early Sweet™ brands. The ARRA™ Varieties are successfully grown and

ARRA Sugar Drop™

licensed globally, in over 30 countries across 6 continents, under various weather conditions. The

ARRA Fire Crunch™

ARRA™ program boasts many unique advantages, notably

ARRA Yum!bo™

featuring the earliest white, red, and black trio in the world. Additionally,

ARRA Sunny Pop™

the varieties demonstrate an impressive tolerance to rain, and an

ARRA Sweeties™

ability to thrive in diverse climates, including extreme heat. Known for

ARRA Cherry Crush™

their short production cycles, prompting early harvests and

ARRA Mystic Dream™

economic efficiency, these advantages lead to reduced labor costs as well as a decreased need for irrigation and pesticides. These characteristics make the varieties

As early as ARRA™

more environmentally sustainable and grower-friendly, all while achieving high yields and a long shelf life.

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SPRING 2024

First commercial cherry plantings delivered

Tecuya Tree & Vine Last Spring Sunridge delivered its first commercial planting to Tecuya Tree & Vine. Dennis Frick pictured with Antonia Sanchez, Bloom Fresh Global Cherry Licensing Manager for the U.S.

Starrh Family, GP Last winter Sunridge also delivered to Starrh Family, GP. Pictured here is Brad Kroeker, who manages the family business farming operations along with his father, Jay Kroeker.

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Wine sales team continues education of latest viticulture updates in

France

Our dedicated sales team consistently invests in their ongoing education to expand their knowledge of the newest varieties and clones available and cutting-edge advancements in viticulture, allowing us to provide our winegrowers with unparalleled service.

The Sunridge sales team had the honor of being invited to France last summer to tour for a week with the ENTAV and IFV team. As

Domaine de Rocheville - Chenin Blanc winery and vineyard in Parnay, Loire Valley

Sunridge was the first California nursery to partner with ENTAV and support bringing classic French clonal material into the FPS program, this trip was extra special.

The tour began in the Loire Valley with a visit to the Montreuil Bellay mother blocks and test plots for IFV. These test blocks act as a library for over 100 unique Chenin Blanc selections taken from historic vineyards throughout the area. These blocks are also the home for new varieties like Voltis and Floreal that are both powdery mildew resistant and geared towards

Annie and Sebastian in Voltis mother block at Montreuil Bellay

a potential future of global warming.

vineyard tour in Champagne with Géraldine Uriel, Comité Champagne

Sebastian and Guillaume Careil of Viaud Nursery

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SPRING 2024

Following the mother blocks, the team toured two nurseries, Viaud and Gibault. It was interesting to see the variation of rootstocks preferred in the area along with some similar interest from French growers in taller vines compared to the traditional size vines.

The ENTAV IFV teams walked the Sunridge group through a tasting of several of the new varieties. As Voltis is one variety that Sunridge can now offer its customers, this was exciting to sample.

Following the Loire Valley visit, the team moved north to Champagne. The tour through Champagne began with a visit to the Comité Champagne headquarters in Épernay. This organization is the governing body for the region and maintains the regulations for producers and growers. The team finished up with tours of Champagne houses, Canard Duchêne, Ruinart, and H. Goutorbe.

The Sunridge team was honored to be invited on this trip and took home an increased knowledge of new varieties and the incredible research ENTAV and IFV work tirelessly on, to promote health of the industry and the land.

Viaud Nursery

tasting of new varieties with IFV ie Voltis, Floreal, Grolleau Noir

Research mother block for Comité Champagne

tasting in Comité Champagne of Voltis and Floreal as Champagne varieties

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MEET our newest experts We are thrilled to announce the newest members of our skilled and seasoned team. Each individual brings a wealth of expertise, enriching our collective knowledge and further enhancing our capabilities. Each of their unique backgrounds will undoubtedly contribute to our continued success and innovation.

Clay joined Sunridge in May of 2023. He is responsible for overseeing the financial operations of the organization, providing technical and operational leadership across accounting functions, while providing strategic financial guidance and efficiency. In addition, Clay is also responsible for leading and guiding the Information Technology and Human Resource functions at the nursery.

He earned his BA in Accounting from Utah Valley University and his MBA in Finance from the University of Utah at David Eccles School of Business. Clay is a member of Adjunct Faculty at California State University Bakersfield where he teaches courses in Agribusiness Management and Ag Accounting. His professional background

Clay Watson Role includes over 15 years of experience in Accounting & Finance with the

Vice President of Accounting and Finance

“I look forward to contributing to an already great culture.”

last 7 years in an executive leadership role.

When asked about his experience so far, Clay stated, “Sunridge is a remarkable company. The love that the employees have for the nursery, especially those that have been here for multiple decades, is truly inspiring. I look forward to contributing to an already great culture.”

Clay grew up in rural West Bakersfield and attended Shafter High School. Outside of work, he spends most of his time being ‘Dad Uber’, shuttling all four of his children to different activities, sports practices and games throughout the year.

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Linsi was hired as Horticulturist for Sunridge Nurseries in November of 2023. Her primary focus is to oversee the plant health, growth, consistency and quality of our vines with a wide range of responsibilities from plant nutrition to pest and disease monitoring.

Linsi graduated from Cal State Bakersfield and earned her master’s degree in Traditional Biology with an emphasis on Plant Pathology.

Both as a grad student, and undergrad, she gained much experience in working with numerous agriculturally important plant pathogens in a lab setting. Linsi is a licensed Agricultural Pest Control Advisor which

Linsi Gutierrez Horticulturist

“I couldn’t have asked for an easier transition in joining the team here.”

has allowed her for the better part of the last decade to gain quite a bit of experience working with grapevine diseases and pests in the field.

When asked about her experience with the company so far, Linsi said “I couldn’t have asked for an easier transition in joining the team here.

The onboarding process was very smooth, and everyone has been so welcoming and supportive. All of my initial stress and anxiety melted away almost immediately and was replaced by excitement for my future at Sunridge.”

Linsi grew up in the country just south of Arvin. She is proud graduate of Arvin High School. (Go Bears!) Outside of work, between raising six children, school, and work she doesn’t have much time for hobbies, but something she does enjoy is listening to history or true crime podcasts.

Bryant was hired as Staff Accountant in December of 2022. He works alongside the accounting team to ensure accurate and timely financials are presented to management.

He earned his B.A. in Philosophy and B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from our local Cal State. He has a wide range of experience in different sectors including forensic accounting, aviation, taxes, and now agriculture.

Bryant Valdez Staff Accountant

“It is a joy to work at Sunridge. I can sincerely say it’s the best place I’ve worked at so far.”

When asked about his experience at the company so far, Bryant said, “It is a joy to work at Sunridge. I can sincerely say it’s the best place I’ve worked at so far. I enjoy working with my co-workers, the culture is incredible, and the work-life balance is amazing. Sunridge takes care of their employees; the many employees with 30 plus years of commitment to Sunridge is evidence of that.”

Bryant grew up in Bakersfield and attended Golden Valley High School.

Outside of work, he enjoys studying theology and spending time with family and friends.

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We are thankful for all you do!

Join us in congratulating our Sunridge family who celebrate these incredible milestones for both 2023 & 2024 seasons.

35 years

Maria O Guzman

Jesus M Heredia

Francisco J Manzo

30 years

Jesus C Martinez

Jose Sanchez

30 years

30 years

Manuel G Duran

Salvador Leon

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Janet Ward

SPRING 2024

25 years

Manuel G Tinoco

Juan F Chavolla

20 years

30 years

Salomon Z Gallardo

Jose R Moreno

Andrew Jones

15 years

Patricia Trujillo

Nan Lipco

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Valerie Rafal

Sunridge Nurseries | 441 Vineland Road Bakersfield CA 93307 (661) 363-8463 | sunridgenurseries.com