Environmental Information for the
California Almond Industry

Almond Industry Headline Environmental News  Sept. 13, 2007

   Air Quality

  • Almond Industry Looks at Climate Change Regulations - - New regulations are likely to drive agriculture toward sustainable farming practices focused on reducing the impacts of energy and fertilizer use on greenhouse gas emissions. AB 32, passed by the state legislature in 2007, mandates a 25-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, reducing current emissions to pre-1990 levels. Production agriculture has been identified as the fourth largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the state. While 80 percent of current statewide greenhouse gasses come from energy consumption, researchers and regulators believe production agriculture contributes 8.4 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in California. Already, grower groups are looking for ways to develop and incorporate sustainable farming practices that may have a positive impact on those estimated greenhouse gasses. <more> Sept. 13, 2007 California Almond News
     

  • Cost-Share Opportunities Help Almond Growers Reduce Environmental Impacts - - California almond growers should act now to secure technical and financial assistance for integrating sustainable conservation practices into their operations and facilities in 2008. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service provides incentives to help growers reduce environmental impacts from their farming practices through the Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP). As it works through finalizing a 2007 Farm Bill, Congress has extended funding and guidelines for the EQIP program for upcoming fiscal year 2008 similar to previous year’s, but growers must act quickly to secure funds while they are available. Applications for 2008 are due no later than Nov. 2. <more> Sept. 13, 2007 California Almonds
     

  • Clean almonds, clean air is growers' goal. Advances in harvesting techniques make almonds cleaner and healthier - - As we speak, California almond growers and their processors and handlers are bringing in what is expected to be the largest crop in the state's history. But what might distinguish the crop even further is what it does not include - dust and contaminants. Scraping almonds off dry orchard floors from the northern end of the Sacramento Valley to the extreme southern end of the San Joaquin Valley is bound to be a dusty job. Advances in equipment, grower diligence and improved understanding of harvesting techniques are reducing the amount of dust created significantly. <more> Sept. 13, 2007 Capital Press

Endangered Species

  • EPA Updates Website on Pesticides and Endangered Species Protection Program - - U.S. EPA has updated and redesigned its Pesticides and Endangered Species Protection Program website to make it easier for visitors to find relevant information about the program and to reflect enforceable limitations on pesticides that will be put in place through its Endangered Species Protection Program (ESPP).  Visit http://www.epa.gov/espp/ to view the website that now includes a more streamlined interface and more visible and useful links on the homepage, allowing the user to quickly navigate through the many different topics.  Topics include: Endangered Species Protection Bulletins; Risk Assessment; Effects Determinations, and Species Information Aug. 28, 2007 EPA Press Release
     

Crop Protection

  • Commentary: Legislation results in expanding options for pest management - - By Mary-Ann Warmerdam , Director, California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Thanks to a law enacted by Gov. Schwarzenegger, the Department of Pesticide Regulation's registration process is introducing new, more nature-friendly products that benefit both the environment and the farm community. A new DPR report finds a 36 percent increase in new pesticide product registration and a 43 percent decrease in the time needed to process submissions in 2006, the first year since the governor signed Assembly Bill 1011. (Find the report online at www.cdpr.ca.gov ) Carried by former Assemblymember Barbara Matthews of Tracy, AB 1011 allowed the department to focus its limited resources on reviewing new pesticide products containing new active ingredients and major new uses not currently registered in California. <more> Aug. 27, 2007 AgAlert
     

  • DPR has little choice but to move ahead with fumigant reductions - - The debate swirling around California’s plans to limit the amount of fumigants used on farm fields continues to gain momentum, with industry experts arguing that reductions will make little difference to the state’s air quality. State officials are countering that they are under court order to make it happen by the end of this year. The latest round of talks on fumigant emissions took place recently during a day and a half regulatory conference hosted by Western Plant Health Association (WPHA). Speakers were featured from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), industry and university experts, as well as keynote speaker George Gomes, undersecretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. <more> Aug. 24, 2007 Western Farm Press
     

  • Pyrethroid reevaluation will reach far beyond California - - Fair warning American agriculture: When California leads, the nation bleeds. Golden State regulators are in the beginning stages of the most extensive pesticide reevaluation in the state’s history. It focuses on widely used pyrethroid pesticides. It will impact the use of the pesticide class — not only in California, but nationwide, where it has been used for more than three decades without any major biological/environmental impact until now. The California Department of Pesticide Regulations placed 20 synthetic pyrethroids in 608 products from 123 registrants under review, after the active ingredient was discovered in sediments — not the water — of California urban and rural waterways. <more> Aug. 23, 2007 Western Farm Press

General Industry News

  • USDA nixes almond pasteurization delay - - There will be no delay of the pasteurization plan for the 2007 California almond crop. The mandatory program developed by the industry is still set to begin on Sept. 1. The Almond Board of California asked the USDA on Aug. 1 to wait until capacity of processors and handlers to treat the nuts during peak movement of the crop was verified. The USDA nixed the request to delay pasteurization until March 1, 2008 and advised the board on Aug. 16 that the original date would be enforced. "They put concern for food safety first rather than delay the requirement. They took the safe route," said almond grower and Almond Board alternate Dave Phippen of Turlock.Phippen said that, although the board was disappointed, they were not surprised by the decision. <more> Aug. 29, 2007 Western Farm Press

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Modesto, CA 95354 USA

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