Vineyard Hailstorm Alert Action Plan Memo

interoffice memorandum

to:	Winery employees
from:	General MAnager
subject:	hailstorm alert action plan
date:	July 19, 2014
cc:

The purpose of this memo is to alert and inform all winery employees of the risk of potential hailstorms and our plan of action to protect our grape crops.  The weather channel has announced a potential risk of hailstorms in a matter of days.  It will be necessary to protect the vineyard from the threat of hail damage.  I have included, in this memo, the steps that will be put into place to ensure that this year’s grape harvest will be safe.

The first course of action will be to have vineyard hail nets installed throughout the vineyard.  Vineyard hail nets are made from heavy duty polyethylene yarns.  They serve multiple purposes in a vineyard, such as:

·      Reduction of hail damage

·      Allowing sunlight with a 10% shade factor

·      Having a multiple year life-span which is cost effective

·      Protecting vines from UV rays

·      Reducing the risks of windrub and sunburn

·      Lowering irrigation costs by slowing evaporation

The hail nets will be our main instrument in crop protection.  Next, I will ask all winery employees to closely monitor the weather and be available to assist if a situation arises.  Hailstorms are very unpredictable weather events.  The vineyard hail nets are wind resistant but if a breach occurs it will require immediate attention. 

The consequences of not installing the hail nets would be disastrous.  The hail could potentially destroy this year’s entire harvest.  Also, hail has been known to damage the grapevines themselves.  It can rip leaves, branches and grapes directly from the vines.  Hail could not only ruin this year’s harvest but destroy the grapevine’s buds, which puts next year’s crops in danger (Reay-Jones, 2007).

References

Weather Warning – Hail. (2007). Retrieved from website http://www.oxfordwine.co.uk/features/winter_07/hail.html

Wind Control and Weather Control. (1998 – 2014).  Retrieved from website http://www.usgr.com/net-fabrics/wind-break.php