Almond Industry Headline Environmental News Nov. 2, 2005

   Air Quality

• Financial Incentives For Almond Growers’ Air Quality Compliance on Tap at Central Valley Workshops, Nov. 1-4 - - Almond growers in the San Joaquin Valley who attend upcoming workshops can learn more about various financial incentives available to assist them in complying with new air quality regulations for agricultural internal combustion engines. <more> Oct. 27, 2005 Almond Board of California Press Release
   

• Test device measures dust from almond harvesting - - While the California almond industry pursues various ways to reduce the dust associated with the crop, a group of engineers at the University of California, Davis is testing equipment designed to monitor the amount of particulate matter released during harvesting. One of them, Ken Giles, a professor in the biological and agricultural engineering unit, recently described the experimental device during a regional almond day program at Coalinga. Basically a sensor originally designed to measure power plant smokestack emissions and attached to an almond harvester, the unit uses a pulsing light beam directed across air-flow tubes as the nuts are picked up. <more> Oct. 26, 2005 Almond Board of California Newsletter
   

• Diesel Pump replacement. Almond Growers Find Incentive to Replace Polluting Diesel Pumps - - Campos Bros. has revamped several facets of its almond growing operation to reduce particulate matter emissions that hamper air quality.  “We have been steadily making efforts in recent years to reduce our overall emissions,” says Todd Ayerza, purchasing manager for Campos Bros. Two years ago, the Caruthers, Calif.-based almond grower began shredding rather than burning its fall prunings and last year completed the transition to a 100-percent non-burn operation. In addition, Campos Bros. has continuously updated its harvesting and sweep equipment to take advantage of the latest innovations from equipment manufacturers for reducing dust emission from those two critical operations. The grower for years has also controlled dust on its roads and relied on mowing rather than disking to manage orchard middles. <more> Oct. 26, 2005 Almond Board of California Newsletter 
   

• Doing away with the dust. Machine could clean up harvest - - Out on Blue Gum Avenue on Friday morning, almond harvesting equipment blew a small but dense cloud of dust across the road. Drivers on this route west of Modesto, if they had any sense, slowed and made sure they could get through safely. About a mile farther west, Tony Ringeisen showed off a new machine that he said can greatly reduce the dust. It's a conditioner, which removes dirt and other debris from the almonds after they are shaken from the trees to the ground. "We have a closed-loop air (blower) system, and we do not have a high-velocity discharge," said Ringeisen, sales manager for Exact Harvesting Systems, the Modesto company that designed the equipment. "It's like a street sweeper." Such innovations are emerging to deal with the hazards dust can cause. They include traffic accidents — an Empire woman was killed in a 2002 collision blamed in part on a dust cloud — and air pollution. <more> Oct. 15, 2005 Modesto Bee

Crop Protection

• Almond growers rely on pest control advisers for integrated pest management - - Results of a comprehensive survey by the UC Statewide IPM Program and the Almond Pest Management of full-time almond growers in the three primary almond-producing regions of California show that growers rely substantially on pest control advisers (PCAs) for pest management decision-making. The study, published in the October-December 2005 edition of California Agriculture, says independent PCAs communicated more frequently with growers than PCAs who are employed by agricultural product suppliers. Growers who use independent PCAs tend to feel more knowledgeable about integrated pest management (IPM) and report the use of more complex pest-monitoring techniques and control practices. The use of insecticide sprays, however, is independent of the type of PCA employed, and the percentage of growers using them has declined substantially since a 1985 survey.  Almond growers with independent PCAs did not use fewer insecticides than those with supplier-affiliated PCAs, but were more likely to follow IPM advice. The complete article can be found by clicking here. Oct. 27, 2005 California Agriculture
   

• Pesticide Case Is Upping the Ante. A poisoning trial pitting two brothers comes as farm activists, regulators seek stricter controls. - - The March 2004 poisoning of a Oakdale farmworker has triggered California's first criminal prosecution in a pesticide-related matter in 14 years. Trial is scheduled to begin next month against Oakdale ranch manager John Becerra — the injured worker's brother — and Jon Hoff, a co-owner of Golden West Nuts, whose offices and processing plant are in nearby Ripon. The case comes as regulators and farmworker advocates press for stricter and more consistent pesticide enforcement. <more> Oct. 10, 2005 Los Angeles Times  
   

• Gov. Schwarzenegger signs bill to collect pesticide fees from retailers  -- Governor Schwarzenegger has signed legislation to help the Department of Pesticide Regulation collect its fair share of environmental fees on pesticide sales. "This legislation promotes economic and environmental fairness," said DPR Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam. "All those who sell pesticides in our state should pay their fair share for environmental programs. And we depend on full payment of these fees to protect the health and safety of Californians."  <more> Oct. 7, 2005 DPR Press Release  

Water Quality

• Orchard Sprayer Calibration Instrument Begins Regional Clinics - - A high tech instrument to assist orchard growers in improving pesticide application efficiency is being showcased at a Nov. 9 grower meeting in Yuba City.  The orchard sprayer calibration instrument is an Austrian-built device purchased by the Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES) with funding provided by a grant from the State Water Resources Control Board. <more> Nov. 1, 2005 CURES Press Release

Endangered Species

• House shrinks species shield. Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, spearheads overhaul of landmark environmental law. But Senate review awaits. - - The House on Thursday passed the most sweeping overhaul to the Endangered Species Act since the landmark environmental bill was born 32 years ago. The House approval by a 229-193 vote marks a triumph for Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, who has unsuccessfully sought changes in the law for more than a decade. But with environmentalists and moderate Republicans still skeptical, the bill's long-term prospects are uncertain. "We knew the Endangered Species Act had problems," Pombo said. "We knew there were things that needed to get fixed, that weren't working in current law." <more> Sept. 30, 2005 Sacramento Bee

General Industry News

•  Almond Industry Committed to Facilitating Increased Bee Supply - - The Almond Board of California (ABC) hosted a “Honey Bees and Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) Seminar” bringing together almond industry members, government officials, pollination researchers and beekeepers to find solutions to facilitate the transport of bees to California for almond pollination.  At this October 12, 2005 seminar, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, (CDFA), in response to feedback by beekeepers and the almond industry, launched the idea of a pilot voluntary apiary certification program to minimize the time and complications at border inspections.  Shipments of bees could be inspected and issued RIFA-free certification from a regulatory official in their state of origin prior to departure which would expedite inspections at the California border. <more> Oct. 25, 2005 Almond Board of California Press Release
   

• Almond growers seeing dollar signs. Other crops like cotton fall by the wayside as attractive prices push up production - - Starting next year, Mike Young will convert 2,000 acres of the family farm into two crops that won't bear any fruit for years. Over the last 75 years Young's family has grown cotton, tomatoes, carrots and lettuce at Wegis Ranch in the Buttonwillow area. But Young believes his bold move to almonds and pistachios, two crops that won't start producing for three to 10 years, is worth it. "Farming is a gamble," he said. "Hopefully it will give me a significant increase in profits." Young said he can make close to $2,000 more an acre with almonds than cotton at today's prices. <more> Oct. 16, 2005 Bakersfield Californian

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