Environmental Information for the
California Almond Industry

Almond Industry Headline Environmental News

   Air Quality

  • Kern County almond field day explores environmentally friendly practices - - Nearly 60 almond growers and pest control advisers gathered in a Kern County almond orchard May 5 to learn how “SmartSpray” technology can be used to more effectively apply pesticides, and how a reduced-risk spray program can lessen potential environmental hazards. The field day was sponsored by the University of California Cooperative Extension, the California Department of Pesticide regulation and the Almond Board of California. <more> May 6, 2005
     

 

 

Crop Protection

  • Environmentally responsible pest management practices in almonds to be highlighted at June 2 Chico meeting - Environmentally responsible pest management practices in almonds will be discussed Thursday, June 2, at a Chico almond grower meeting.  This meeting is sponsored by the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE), the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), the Almond Board of California, the Butte County Agriculture Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9.   The meeting will be held at G & N Creekside Farms, located on Crouch Avenue, between Stevens Avenue and Cosby Avenue in Chico, California. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 11:30 a.m. <more> May 23, 2005 Almond Board of California press release.
     

  • Pesticide no-no list on state Web site - - A state Web site launched this week for farmers can break down to the square mile what pesticides are restricted because of nearby endangered plants and animals. The website by the Department of Pesticide Regulation replaces an unwieldy "phonebook-sized set of documents" used by farmers and county agriculture commissioners, said agency director Mary-Ann Warmerdam. <more> May 21, 2005 Modesto Bee
     

  • Parlier Group advises DPR on air monitoring project - - The California Department of Pesticide regulation reports that the Parlier Local Advisory Group (LAG) was formed to advise DPR on the pesticide air monitoring project it is conducting in Parlier, in Fresno County. The project is one of several environmental justice pilot projects being sponsored by the California Environmental Protection Agency. Although the LAG is not a decision-making group, its views will influence how DPR conducts its project. For more information on this project, please visit the DPR website.  May 19, 2005. Source: DPR
     

Water Quality

  • Farm Bureau prevails in court ruling on waiver - - A Sacramento County Superior Court judge last week agreed with California Farm Bureau Federation's position that the State Water Resources Control Board and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) abused their discretion and overstepped their bounds in adopting a waiver for farm-water discharges that violated private property and privacy rights. <more> May 20, 2005 Ag Alert
     

  • Farm drainage plan evokes fears - - A federal plan to drain mineral-laden irrigation water from farms includes a proposal similar to one that caused an environmental disaster more than two decades ago, leading to bird deformities and deaths. Environmentalists fear that leaving the tainted water to accumulate in evaporation ponds, even if it's treated to reduce most of the toxic minerals, could lead to problems similar to what happened in the Kesterson Wildlife Refuge in the 1980s, when entire colonies of birds died and many were born with missing limbs. <more> May 21, 2005 Associate Press  
     

  • Farmers may pay more per acre to aid with cleanup costs. Up to an additional 30 cents would help in treating water pollution -- State water pollution regulators are leaning toward charging farmers 12 cents to 30 cents for each acre they farm -- money that would pay to clean up water pollution caused by farming operations. The State Water Resources Control Board has showed support for a proposal that would raise up to $1.9 million a year to pay for an additional 22 staffers. The extra employees would review water-testing reports, help teach farmers ways to reduce pollution and otherwise aid efforts to enforce pollution rules. <more> May 5, 2005 Stockton Record
     

Endangered Species

  • Online animal database debuts. State Web site locates endangered species, advises safe pesticides. - - A new online resource that debuted Tuesday for tracking the habitat of endangered species in California is drawing praise from agricultural officials, pest-control advisers and environmentalists. <more> May 18, 2005 Fresno Bee
     

  • Species act draws Pombo, Cardoza fire  - - The courtroom has become a natural habitat for the Yosemite toad and critters like it. Along with the mountain yellow-legged frog, the Yosemite toad is at the center of a lawsuit designed to secure better federal protection for the species. But while the Sierra Nevada amphibians are unique, the lawsuit they have inspired is not. <more> May 18, 2005 Modesto Bee
     

  • Valley reps again target species act - - Central Valley lawmakers have been more successful at criticizing the Endangered Species Act than they have been at rewriting it. That's where Turlock Irrigation District official Steven Boyd comes in. On Wednesday, amid a renewed congressional campaign, Boyd put an acutely local spotlight on the 32-year-old environmental law. Water districts such as Turlock's, Boyd testified, need relief.
     

  • Endangered Species Act plays growing role in use of crop protection tools by almond growers - - At least 20 pesticides used by almond growers might be impacted by Endangered Species Act lawsuit decisions.   Click here to download newsletter on what ESA means to almond growers (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
    Click here for a html version of story.

     

General Industry News

  • Mighty mites -- Kim Gallagher is like a general in the battle of good versus evil. Not so much in the epic, apocalyptic sense, but in the nearly microscopic bug sense. Her official title is general manager of the Sterling Insectary, a facility that opened this year in McFarland after eight years of being in Delano. It grows good bugs to devour bad bugs. <more> May 4, 2005 Bakersfield Californian
     

  • Parts of Tejon Ranch safe from development. Partners pick 100,000 acres as part of ambitious plan - - Tejon Ranch and its conservation partner, The Trust for Public Land, have figured out which 100,000 acres of the ranch's 270,000 acres will be carved out into a preserve. <more> May 24, 2005 Bakersfield Californian.
     

  • Time for a new approach to crop pollination - - The parasitic mite that devastated honey bee colonies across the United States this spring served notice that we are overly reliant upon the honey bee for crop pollination. Beekeepers report the mite infested 40 to 60 percent of managed beehives. Unless we find alternate pollinators to cart around, or another means to pollinate our fields, we risk periodic crop failures due to lack of pollination. And not just of almonds (whose February bloom faced severe honey bee shortages), but of any of the more than 100 insect-pollinated crops grown in the United States as well. <more> May 21, 2005 San Francisco Chronicle
     

  • SUBJECTIVE FORECAST IS 850 MILLION POUNDS - - The initial forecast for the 2005 California almond production is 850
    million pounds.  This is down 16 percent from last year's revised production of 1.01 billion pounds.  Estimated bearing acreage for 2005
    is 550 thousand.  This forecast is based on a telephone survey conducted April 21 - May 4 from a sample of almond growers.  Of the 430
    growers sampled, 254 reports were usable.  Acreage from the usable reports accounted for 16 percent of the total bearing acreage. <more> May 11, 2005
     

  • For Almond Growers, Honeybee Shortage Is a Hard Nut to Crack  - - California almond growers are once again being stung by a shortage of honeybees. A doubling of almond prices since 2001 has spurred farmers to plant new orchards, and "demand is reaching the limit of the bee community to keep up," said Gene Brandi, a Los Banos beekeeper — or apiarist — and former chairman of the National Honey Board. <more> May 7, 2005 Los Angeles Times
     

 

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