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The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing $4 million in emergency funding to help California fight the spread of the invasive glassy-winged sharpshooter, which threatens the state’s wine industry, the office of Rep. Mike Thompson announced Friday.
Thompson (D-St. Helena) worked with other California lawmakers to urge the USDA to provide additional support, his office said.
According to a press release Friday, the funding will allow the California Department of Food and Agriculture to expand inspections and investigations, remove infested plant materials, and increase trapping and surveys in areas at high risk for the pest.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter can spread Pierce’s disease, a bacterial disease that can kill grapevines and other plants. In May, the state found that grapevines infested with the sharpshooter were supplied to multiple Costco locations across California, including in the Tri-Valley. The infected plants, numbering in the thousands, came from Burchell Nursery in Fresno County.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has allocated more than $15 million to California for glassy-winged sharpshooter activities in fiscal year 2026.
“I have been working to ensure our Agriculture community receives the support it needs to address this issue, and while this is a great step in the right direction, there is still more work to be done to protect our community,” Rep. Thompson said.
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