By Jimmy Smith, Founding Agent, Insure.ag
I sat in on the California Association of Winegrape Growers wildfire smoke webinar recently, and I came away thinking about the same thing I always think about after one of these: the coverage is usually there. It’s the paperwork that decides whether a grower actually collects on it.
That’s not a satisfying thing to hear. When smoke has been sitting over your blocks for a week and your buyer has gone quiet, the last thing you want is a documentation project. But the growers who come through a smoke year in decent shape are almost always the ones who started pulling samples and taking notes before they knew whether they had a claim at all.
Here’s what I’d want any winegrape grower to understand before the next fire season, not during it.
Yes, smoke is a covered loss
Multi-peril crop insurance covers weather-related causes of loss, and wildfire smoke falls inside that. The plain-language version I’ve heard used, and I think it holds up: if you can point at Mother Nature, you can make the case.
What smoke coverage is not is automatic. A covered cause of loss means you’re entitled to have the claim considered. Getting it paid comes down to whether you can demonstrate the damage and the loss of marketability.
You don’t need a sales contract to file
This one surprises people every year. You don’t have to hold a contract to carry a policy, and you don’t have to produce a contract to file a claim.
What does help is evidence that you tried and couldn’t sell. Rejection emails, a notice from a winery that they can’t take the fruit, a buyer who walked away after testing: keep every piece of it. That correspondence becomes the backbone of your file.
File notice of potential loss within 72 hours
Once you notice smoke damage, get a notice of potential loss in within 72 hours. Call your agent or carrier and open a smoke claim notice.
There is no penalty for filing a notice you later don’t pursue. There is a real penalty for filing late. If you’re on the fence, file. I would much rather have a grower open a notice they don’t need than talk to one in November who is trying to reconstruct a September event.
A notice is due within 72 hours of discovery and never later than 15 days after the end of the insurance period.
Pull samples before harvest, even if you haven’t decided to claim
This is the single step that separates a clean claim from a mess. Get fruit off the vine before harvest, assuming it’s safe to be out there, and do it whether or not you’ve opened a claim yet.
How to handle the samples:
- Keep them separate by variety and by block location
- Identify the location with photos, labels, or both
- Freeze them, or take them straight to a lab, or both
- Follow the lab’s own guidance on sample size and handling
Testing is at your expense, and it needs to be an independent accredited lab or another credible source, such as a winery lab with proper testing resources. Either a micro-ferment or a fresh berry test is generally acceptable. Micro-ferment is more common in practice. Ask your adjuster which they want before you spend the money.
On markers: carriers are looking for elevated guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol. Worth knowing that the policy itself doesn’t set a numerical threshold. The markers need to be elevated.
Never co-mingle the fruit
The identity of your grapes has to be maintained all the way through. Don’t let your production get mixed in with another grower’s.
If a winery takes your fruit contingent on testing, they have to keep it separate. If they reject it outright after taking delivery, they need to be able to show it was dumped. Get that understanding in place with your buyer early, because it’s very hard to retrofit.
Get the letter from the winery
If a winery rejects your fruit or reduces what they’ll pay, ask for a letter stating that the cause was smoke.
Buyers are usually willing to provide this. They’re also busy during harvest and will not think of it on their own. Ask while the decision is fresh.
Keep marketing the fruit
Keep trying to sell your grapes, and write down every attempt. Who you called, when, what they said.
I know how that feels when you’re fairly sure the answer is no. But a documented record of genuine marketing effort is what converts a bad year into a payable claim, and an undocumented one into an argument.
You don’t have to harvest, but run the numbers first
With a confirmed loss, you’re not obligated to harvest. But before you destroy or abandon fruit, the adjuster must appraise it to establish its remaining value, so don’t touch the block until that’s done. If the fruit is rejected and left on the vine, harvest cost deductions apply, and those are set by county and by harvest method. The gap between hand and machine is wide enough to change the answer. Ask for your county’s figures before you make the call.
Rejection versus a reduced-value sale is a math problem
Here’s where I’d push growers hardest to slow down.
If a winery takes your fruit at a reduced price, a quality adjustment factor comes into play. The important thing to understand is that the policy insures yield, not dollars. A revenue loss gets converted into a yield loss using a factor built from what you were paid, what damaged fruit is worth, and what undamaged fruit is worth.
Which means a straight rejection is sometimes the better financial outcome than accepting a low offer. Sometimes it isn’t. It depends on your numbers.
Do not make that decision on instinct in the middle of harvest. Call your agent and work the math first. This is a conversation that takes twenty minutes and can be worth a great deal.
The science is still moving, and that cuts both ways
Smoke marker research is evolving, and wineries have gotten stricter than policy language strictly requires. If your fruit shows other markers of smoke exposure but not elevated guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol, that’s not automatically the end of the conversation. The policy doesn’t name those two exclusively. There are grounds to push back, and you should.
Don’t forget your crew
Everything above is about fruit. The other half of a smoke event is the people working in it.
California employers have specific obligations for protecting outdoor workers from wildfire smoke under Title 8 CCR Section 5141.1, and there’s separate guidance for nighttime agricultural operations, which matter a lot during smoke and heat years when harvest moves after dark. CAWG and the West Coast Smoke Exposure Task Force both maintain worker protection materials in English and Spanish, including tailgate training posters. If you haven’t looked at those since the last bad year, it’s worth an hour.
What I’d do this week
Before there’s smoke in the air:
- Know who you’d call and what your policy covers. If you’re not sure, that’s a phone call, not a research project.
- Identify the lab you’d use and ask what they need from a sample.
- Talk to your buyers now about separation and documentation, while nobody is under pressure.
- Pull your county’s harvest cost figures so you’re not learning them during a decision.
Smoke years are hard enough. The part you can control is being ready before the smoke shows up.
Helpful resources
Jimmy Smith is a Founding Agent at Insure.ag. He brings over a decade of experience in the specialty crop industry, working with growers of every scale, from farming families to large grower/packer/shippers and institutional investors. A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Agribusiness Finance and Economics, he blends agricultural know-how with economic insight to help farmers navigate diverse risk profiles with confidence. He’s based in Visalia, California.
This article is general information, not a substitute for your policy documents or guidance from your adjuster. Coverage terms, county figures, and carrier requirements vary. Talk to your agent about your specific situation.