Environmental Information for the
California Almond Industry

Almond Industry Headline Environmental News  Dec. 8, 2008

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Environmental Stewardship

  • Environmental issues to be featured at Almond Board annual conference - - Environmental issues will be woven throughout the 36th Annual Almond Industry Conference Dec. 10 and 11 as experts address issues ranging from consumer demands for sustainability to resource management, pest management and environmental regulations. On Wednesday afternoon, a grower, food processor, and retailer panel will discuss how changing consumer expectations for food safety and sustainability are affecting their operations in "What Happens in the Orchard Affects the Shelf." A representative of the global food processor, Frito Lay, will share the development of their own consumer-driven quality assurance programs to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and food safety. <more> November 2008 California Almonds Newsletter
     

  • Meeting Regulatory challenges - -  by Dave Baker, Chairman, Environmental Committee - - The Almond Board of California’s Environmental and Production Research Committees continue to fund research projects geared at helping almond growers comply with several environmental regulations expected to take center stage in 2009. Among those regulatory issues are VOC emissions from soil fumigant applications, diesel truck emissions, and water quality to reduce the impacts of applied pesticides on both surface and ground water. <more> December 2008 California Almonds Newsletter

Air Quality
 

  • San Joaquin Valley almond growers face Jan. 1 deadline for new rules on internal combustion engines - - San Joaquin Valley almond growers have until Jan. 1, 2009, to meet new emissions requirements for gas-powered irrigation pump engines. A new rule by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District establishes new thresholds for spark-ignited internal combustion engines in agricultural operations as part of its effort to reduce agricultural emissions of NOx, CO and VOCs in the Central Valley. Under District Rule 4702, growers with irrigation pumps or other engines powered by gasoline, natural gas, propane/LPG, biogas or other fossil fuels must retrofit engines that do not meet those thresholds with an emission control device, such as an exhaust catalyst, or replace them with a more efficient lean-burn, electric or diesel engine that meets the limit. <more> Sept. 2, 2008 California Almond News
     

  • California grants will promote environmentally sensitive approaches to IPM - - The U.S. EPA is awarding grants totaling nearly $1 million nationwide to fund five innovative projects that will use integrated pest management approaches aimed at successfully reducing pesticide risk. The California 2008 Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act Partnership Grant recipients are:  California Department of Pesticide Regulation, $159,494 for “Reducing Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Pesticide Use in Nuts and Tree Fruit Orchards in California’s San Joaquin Valley.” This project will reduce surface water runoff and volatile organic compound emissions from pesticide use in almond, peach, and walnut orchards in California’s northern San Joaquin Valley. Almond, walnut, and peach orchards encompass 324,000 acres and contribute $1.1 billion to the agricultural economy. <more> Dec. 4, 2008 EPA Press Release
     

  • Proposed rules target fumigants that make smog - - The California Department of Pesticide Regulation issued proposed rules aimed at reducing fumigant emissions in regions with some of the worst air quality in the state, including the central San Joaquin Valley. State regulators are targeting the smog-making pollutants known as volatile organic compound (VOC) fumigant emissions that contribute to the creation of the potentially harmful ozone gas. "Reducing air emissions from pesticides is complex and requires a comprehensive approach," said Mary-Ann Warmerdam, Department of Pesticide Regulation director. "These revised rules will give us needed flexibility, while fulfilling our commitment to cleaner air for all Californians." In the Valley, where farmers inject fumigants into the soil to kill pests and disease, fumigant gases make up 36% of the total pesticide VOC emissions. <more> Nov. 26, 2008 Fresno Bee
     

Crop Protection

  • Orchard replant field day offers insights on soil fumigants - -  Almond growers attending a late-October field day on orchard replant management learned about the latest research and strategies for managing orchard replant disorder, nematodes and other below-ground problems without methyl bromide and in an increasingly difficult regulatory environment for soil-applied fumigants. <more> December 2008 California Almonds Newsletter
     

  • Jury verdict against dealer/applicator raises liability concerns about pesticide volatilization drift - - In a civil court decision that could have broad implications for applicators and distributors of crop protection products in California, a Santa Cruz County jury has found a pesticide dealer/applicator liable for evaporative drift of organophosphate pesticides applied according to label directions in conventional crops. An organic culinary herb grower brought suit against the distributor when its herbs showed slight levels of chlorpyrifos, diazinon and dimethoate that had been applied according to label directions on its neighbor’s conventional vegetable crops in 2006 and 2007. The pesticides evaporated after application and moved off site through air dispersion and fog deposition. The herbs could not be harvested, and the jury awarded the grower $1 million in damages plus costs and attorneys fees. <more> November 2008 California Almonds Newsletter
     

  • Dormant Spray Alternatives - - California’s almond growers have substantially reduced the use of organophosphate dormant sprays, thanks to studies supported since 1998 by the ABC, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and US EPA Region 9. Numerous UC researchers and advisors played a role: Frank Zalom, Carolyn Pickel, Joe Connell, Roger Duncan, Mario Viveros, Walt Bentley and Franz Niederholzer. The studies show that best management practices can reduce the use of dormant sprays, and that newly-available reduced-risk materials applied either in-season and/or in combination with a dormant oil application can control peach twig borer and other insects and mites. <more> November 2008 California Almonds Newsletter
     

Water Availability

  • Delta Vision: Dual conveyance - - Over the next few issues, California Almonds will highlight three distinct studies released over the past several months that are likely to play a role in guiding future water policy and infrastructure decisions. This first article focuses on the Delta Vision Strategic Plan, a 12-point integrated plan released in January 2008 by Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force. <more>  December 2008 California Almonds Newsletter

General Industry News

  • Ag Fame for Flory - - Early in the last century, Floyd Flory got one of those newfangled milking machines for his dairy farm near Salida. It was said to be the first such machine in Stanislaus County, and it would not be the last time the Flory family innovated. Flory Industries evolved from dairy farming to custom harvesting, then to the nut farming machines that dominate its business today. Thursday evening, the 150-employee company was inducted into the Stanislaus County Agricultural Hall of Fame. "They are very humble people and very hardworking people," said John Scheuber, president of the Stanislaus Ag Center Foundation. "They have brought a lot of recognition to our area for technology." <more> Nov. 17, 2008 Modesto Bee

     

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