A Lodi vineyard qualifies for certification if it meets two criteria.

• First, the farming practices used in the vineyard must achieve a score of 50% or better for each chapter of The Lodi Rules. Scoring below 50% on any chapter, even if the scores are very high on all the others, disqualifies the vineyard from certification. Moreover, a vineyard cannot have scored a 'Fail Chapter' on any of the 11 of the 'Fail Chapter' standards discussed previously.
• Second, the environmental impact units for the pesticides used in that vineyard for the year, calculated by The Lodi Rules PEAS model, cannot exceed 50 units.

The vineyard must qualify for certification each year. An independent auditor visits the vineyard to ensure compliance with The Lodi Rules and, using The Lodi Rules PEAS model, verifies that pesticides used in the vineyard for the year have not exceeded the environmental impact unit threshold. A grower joining The Lodi Rules program pays a sign-up fee that also covers the first year of certification. In subsequent years, an annual application fee is required, which is less than the sign-up fee. There is also an annual dollar fee per acre of vineyard seeking certification. The fees pay for administration and auditing of the certification program by Protected Harvest.

Lodi growers chose Protected Harvest as the third party certifier of The Lodi Rules program. This decision was based on several important factors. First, Consumer's Union gives Protected Harvest its highest report card rating for a third party certifying organization. Second, to achieve endorsement by Protected Harvest the sustainable farming standards must pass a scientific peer review process as well as a Protected Harvest Board review. Last but not least, we liked the rigor of the two component model that constitutes the requirements for achieving Protected Harvest certification, the two components being farming practices standards as well as assessing the environmental impact of pesticides used in the vineyard.

PEAS Emergency Addendum Standard Only for Vineyards Infested with Vine Mealybug (Planococcus ficus):
To qualify for certification, the PEAS EIUs for all pesticides used during the year cannot exceed 50 until the year when VMB has both been discovered in the vineyard and the grower initiates the University of California's pesticide protocol for VMB management. This year will be labeled Year 1. For Year 1 and Year 2, the PEAS EIUs for all the pesticides used during the year cannot exceed 625. In Year 3 and following, the PEAS EIUs for all the pesticides used during the year cannot exceed 350.

From Year 4 onward growers have to have a written VMB IPM plan. The Lodi Rules committee will bring a proposal to the board for the specifications of this plan by 2008.

By 2011 the Protect Harvest Board will revisit this Emergency Exemption Standard to address its efficacy and consider further reductions in the PEAS threshold based on available pest management tools.

See Appendix B for full explanation and justification of the PEAS Emergency Addendum for Vine Mealybug-infested vineyards.

Rational for the Vine Mealybug Addendum (PDF)