Almond Industry Headline Environmental News Feb. 10, 2006

   Air Quality

• Benefits of almond brush shredding cited - - Shredding of pruning brush has high promise as an alternative to burning and a way to improve soil microbes and water penetration in California almonds, but debris picked up with nuts raises issues in processing, says a Madera County farm advisor. Brent Holtz has been investigating shredding or chipping of brush instead of burning the piles of the material near orchards. He spoke about his findings at the Almond Board of California's recent 33rd Almond Industry Conference in Modesto and said he believes a sustainable alternative to burning can be found. <more> Feb. 6, 2006 Western Farm Press
   

• Air monitoring project to track airborne pesticides in Parlier- - With crop dusters buzzing the skies above, spray rigs stalking the fields and the occasional pesticide drift that hospitalizes scores of people, airborne chemicals are a fact of life in the little farm towns of the San Joaquin Valley. But no one knows what chemicals linger in the notoriously polluted air and whether long-term exposure could lead to increased rates of asthma, cancer or neurological problems. To find out, the state Department of Pesticide Regulation started a novel yearlong air monitoring program this month that will gauge levels of 40 airborne chemicals for the first time. <more> Jan. 31, 2006 AP
   

• State chooses Parlier for pesticide tests - - Parlier will be the first city in the state where pesticide use will be monitored to identify health risks, particularly to children. If the analysis shows a significant health concern, state officials could take action including rewriting use policies, forcing changes to pesticide labeling or outlawing certain chemicals statewide. A community forum will be held Saturday to explain the testing procedures to residents of the southeast Fresno County community. <more> Jan. 27, 2006 Fresno Bee
   

• Groups gasping over air proposal. New EPA standard would exempt rural areas' farms, mining - - People in the Central Valley might breathe dirtier air if a proposed rule ends federal dust monitoring in rural areas, local air officials said Wednesday. The Bush administration proposal, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, would establish a new dust standard and provide a national exemption for farming and mining in rural areas. The EPA proposal, announced Tuesday, would stop federal monitoring for larger particle pollution in rural places, said officials. The move could mean some loss of federal muscle — financial sanctions — in enforcing dust cleanup in the San Joaquin Valley, one of the nation's worst areas for air quality. For the valley, sanctions include the temporary loss of $2 billion in federal road-building money for missing cleanup deadlines. Jaime Holt, a spokeswoman for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, said the agency learned of the Bush administration's plan late Tuesday. While the district still is investigating the proposal, Holt pointed out Wednesday that the dust plan — if adopted — would set different standards for rural and urban areas. <more> Jan. 19, 2006 Modesto Bee
   

Crop Protection

• EPA Authorizes Critical Uses of Methyl Bromide for 2006 - - In accordance with the Clean Air Act and Montreal Protocol, EPA finalized a rule exempting methyl bromide production and import for 2006 critical uses.  EPA also authorized those uses that will qualify for the 2006 critical use exemption.  The exemptions for continued production and import of methyl bromide will honor the U.S. commitment to obtain methyl bromide for American farmers, in a manner consistent with the Montreal Protocol, while protecting the ozone layer. This action is authorizing 8,081,753 kilograms of methyl bromide for approved critical uses during 2006.  This amount totals 32 percent of U.S. 1991 baseline consumption levels, and amounts to approximately 90 percent of the U.S. request for 2006.  <more> Feb. 2, 2006 EPA Press Release
   

• Valley's pesticide use increases. Fresno County remains state's largest user in 2004, report says. - - Pesticide use increased in most areas of the central San Joaquin Valley during 2004 as farmers applied a mixture of conventional and less toxic methods of controlling pests, disease and weeds. A state report released Tuesday showed that Fresno County remained the No. 1 user of pesticides in the state, applying 29.4 million pounds of chemicals in 2004, up 7.9% from the previous year. Pesticide use rose 12.7% in Kings County and 13.1% in Tulare County but fell by 1.1% in Madera County. Statewide, pesticide use rose about 3%, up from 175 million pounds in 2003 to 180 million pounds in 2004, according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation's annual report. <more> Jan. 25, 2006 Fresno Bee
   

• Dept of Pesticide Regulation releases 2004 pesticide use data; more nature-friendly chemicals gain favor -- The California Department of Pesticide Regulation today reported a small increase in pounds of pesticides applied in 2004, but that included a dramatic rise in the use of some nature-friendly chemicals. Commercial pesticide use increased from 175 million pounds in 2003 to 180 million pounds in 2004, an increase of less than 3 percent. More than half of the five million pound increase in 2004 could be linked to two chemicals that qualify for organic agriculture --  sulfur and mineral oils. In addition, "A dramatic increase occurred in the use  of some newer, reduced-risk pesticides," said DPR analysts. Meanwhile, use of several classes of highly-toxic chemicals declined, both in pounds applied and acres treated. <more> Jan. 24, 2006 DPR Press Release
   

• Less is more for Bakersfield grower. California Department of Pesticide Regulation honors Almond grower Thomas Vetsch with an IPM Award - - A Kern County almond grower’s mission of environmental stewardship paid off when he was honored by the state of California for his innovative integrated pest management techniques. “Thomas Vetsch is an example of an increasing number of almond growers who are striving to improve reduced risk farming practices while maintaining a productive and healthy environment for future generations,” said Chris Heintz, director of production research and environment for the Almond Board of California. His accomplishments caught the attention of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, which honored him with an IPM Innovator Award. Vetsch was praised for using predatory mites, spraying low-risk pesticides and seasonal monitoring for pests and beneficial insects. <more> Jan. 13, 2006 Capital Press
   

• Changes for almonds - - Environmentally friendly farming practices and maximizing production can go hand in hand, says a Kern County almond grower who has been honored by the state of California for his innovative integrated pest management techniques. Thomas Vetsch, owner of Bakersfield-based Vetsch Farms, decided more than seven years ago to convert 160 acres of his conventionally farmed almond orchard to practices that reduce reliance on broad-spectrum insecticides and routine fungicides. <more> Dec. 26, 2005 Fresno Bee

Endangered Species

• EPA publishes plan for protecting endangered species from pesticides - - EPA has published a final notice on its enforceable program for the protection of Endangered Species. The Endangered Species Protection Program (ESPP) will address, to the degree possible, endangered species issues within the Agency’s existing processes of registration, re-registration and, in the future, registration review. If geographically specific pesticide use limitations are necessary, EPA will create an Endangered Species Protection Bulletin (Bulletin) that will contain enforceable use limitations for the pesticide. Bulletins will be referenced on the pesticide product label and available on the web at www.epa.gov/espp or by calling 1-800-447-3813. The existing "county bulletins" are not enforceable pesticide use limitations. <more> Nov. 3, 2005 EPA Press Release

General Industry News

• Bee-ting the heat. Unseasonably warm weather could sting the Valley's crops, residents. - - The almond trees are blooming, the bees are buzzing, the days are unseasonably balmy and much is right with the world of agriculture in the central San Joaquin Valley. But not everything. Bad things can happen when higher than normal temperatures cause fruit, nuts or even the bees to arrive early, before all threat of frost is over. An extended bloom period may increase disease pressures for some trees. <more> Feb. 9, 2006 Fresno Bee  
   

• No longer bugged by his job. Fresno County insect fighter Richard Coviello retires from the UC Cooperative Extension. - - Growing up around critters on his Fresno family farm, Richard Coviello took naturally to an appreciation of bugs years before he tackled battling insect pests for more than three decades in Fresno County. For 35 years, Coviello has pitted his pest-fighting prowess against legions of insects that plague farms in the nation's No.1 agricultural county. Last month, he retired as the county's entomology farm adviser with University of California Cooperative Extension. But he's still in the process of clearing out his cluttered roll-top desk where he sat when he wasn't in the field meeting with growers, pest-control advisers or others on the front line of insect-control efforts. "I'm going to continue checking pheromone traps in tree fruit and almond orchards, collect data and send out e-mails — at least for another year," Coviello said. "I enjoy doing it. It gets me out of the house." <more> Feb. 1, 2006 Fresno Bee

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