Environmental Information for the
California Almond Industry

Almond Industry Headline Environmental News  Jan. 8, 2009

Having trouble viewing this e-mail? Please click here to get an HTML version.

Environmental Stewardship

  • Sustainability: Responding to Consumer Demand - - The role of growers in shaping and responding to consumer demand took center stage at the 36th annual Almond Industry Conference as a diverse group of speakers discussed the future of sustainability and traceability in almonds and how "What Happens in the Orchard Affects the Shelf." Almond Board President Richard Waycott said that what growers do to make almonds the "crop of choice" among regulators, legislators, suppliers and researchers has an impact on making almonds the "nut of choice" among retail buyers, manufacturers and consumers. "Everything is interconnected, and what you do as a grower matters," Waycott said. <more> Jan. 2009 California Almonds Newsletter

Air Quality

  • Air Board Passes New Rules for on-road Diesel trucks - - The California Air  Resources Board on Dec. 12 passed its long-awaited new rules for on-road heavy-duty diesel trucks that will require retrofit or replacement of nearly the entire fleet of long-haul trucks that travel in California. The rules were established to help bring California in line with Clean Air Act requirements for air pollutants including particulate matter and NOx emissions, and to reduce diesel soot, which California considers a toxic air contaminant. In a nutshell, the regulation requires all trucks and buses operated within the state of California with a gross vehicle weight ratio more than 14,000 pounds comply with 2010 engine standards for PM10 and NOx emissions within the next 14 years. "In the short term you will have to have a soot trap filter in place and in the long term the new rules will require replacing diesel engines with a newer, cleaner burning engine. When you have to get this done depends on the age of the motor," said ABC's Gabriele Ludwig. <more> Jan. 2009 California Almonds  Newsletter
     

  • DPR  Issues Revised VOC Rules for Public Comment  - - The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has released a revised draft of its rules to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from pesticides that may give San Joaquin Valley almond growers more latitude to fumigate replanted orchards. While the new draft increases the pesticide VOC emissions cap during the peak ozone period from May 1 through Oct. 31, SJV growers during that time period will continue to be confined to lower emissions soil fumigant application methods and other restrictions that may impact the efficacy of those fumigations. In response to a 2006 federal court order, DPR enacted a set of regulations on the use of VOC-emitting pesticides, notably soil fumigants and emulsifiable concentrate (EC) pesticides that severely restrict application methods, timing and volume of all commonly used fumigants during the peak ozone period from May 1 to Oct. 31 in the San Joaquin Valley. The new rules went into effect January 2008. <more> Jan. 2009 California Almonds Newsletter
     

  • Schwarzenegger names new Air Board member - - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger filled another seat on California's Air Resources Board, the powerful panel in charge of implementing the state's greenhouse-gas emission law, on Tuesday. Schwarzenegger tapped Ken Yeager, a Santa Clara County supervisor for the position. Yeager, a Democrat, previously served on the San Jose City Council and is a member of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Crop Protection

  • Drought, Production, Pest Management Drive ‘Hot Topics’ - - An overflow crowd filled the Grand Ballroom of the Modesto Centre Plaza as UC and USDA researchers shared their latest findings on such hot topics as irrigation scheduling, horticulture research and pest management at the 36th Almond Industry Conference. The daylong presentations and panel discussions included the following timely tips and pointers from the specialists for growers to consider as the beginning of the next season approaches: <more> Jan. 2009 California Almonds Newsletter
     

  • California pesticide use dropped 8.4 percent in 2007 - - Pesticide use in California has dropped for the second consecutive year, according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). Approximately 172 million pounds of pesticides were applied statewide in 2007, a decrease of nearly 16 million pounds, or 8.4 percent, from 2006. Production agricultural use dropped by more than 11 million pounds, as did almost every other category. Reports are mandatory for agricultural and pest control business applications, while most home, industrial, and institutional uses are exempt. “While pesticide use varies year to year based on weather conditions, economics, types of crops, acreage planted, and other variable factors, the reduction in 2007 reflects DPR’s efforts to promote pest control through a combination of techniques that pose the lowest risk to public health and the environment,” said DPR Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam. “I am especially encouraged to see an across-the-board drop in categories of pesticides with the greatest regulatory concern,” Warmerdam said.
     

  • USDA opposes new limits on common soil fumigants - - The USDA believes new restrictions on common soil fumigants proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency are overly burdensome for farmers. The EPA should change its proposed rules for metam sodium, methyl bromide, dazomet and chloropicrin, USDA Secretary Ed Shafer said in a letter to the agency. Buffer zones for fumigant applications and other mitigation measures proposed in the EPA rule are flawed because they disregard on-the-ground circumstances, according to the letter, which was made public Dec. 22. "They may or may not actually achieve the desirable level of performance; they may be redundant, overprotective or underprotective; and they provide no incentive for the regulated community to improve the technology so that it is more protective and cost-effective," Shafer wrote. <more> Jan. 8, 2009 Capital Press

Water

  • Leaders must take bold action to secure safe water supply for all - - By Gabriele Ludwig, Sr. Manager Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs, Almond Board of California - - An estimated 250,000 acres of almonds, fully one-third of the state’s planted acreage, have been affected by recent lawsuits related to the endangered Delta smelt and winter-run salmon in the Sacramento River. With reservoirs statewide reportedly at only about one-third of capacity and additional demands for urban and environmental surface water allocations on the horizon, even a normal rainfall year in 2009 and beyond will not alleviate the current crisis. The water woes affecting all users in California will only be alleviated by long-term vision and bold action by water officials and politicians in the state. These are near-term issues that require long-term solutions, willing leadership and significant investment to protect both ecological and human uses for water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Three studies released over the past several months have put plenty of ideas on the table for solving the state’s water crisis. All three studies, with their attendant proposals, are sure to play a role in how water policy and infrastructure is developed over the next several years. <more> Dec. 15, 2008 Western Farm Press
     

  • Panel urges building of delta canal -- A panel of state leaders is calling for California to begin building a canal to divert water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by 2011, without approval from lawmakers or voters. The final report released recently by the Delta Vision Committee, made up of five state Cabinet secretaries, thrusts the controversial canal into the top tier of California political battles. The canal would divert a portion of the Sacramento River around the delta in order to protect a freshwater supply serving 25 million Californians from earthquakes, floods and sea level rise. It is a modern-day version of the peripheral canal rejected by voters in 1982. Natural Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman, chairman of the committee, asserts that the state has the authority under existing laws to build the canal. The price tag is at least $15 billion, and many water agencies that would benefit have said they would pay the bill. "We think it's a reasonable goal to set," Chrisman said of the 2011 construction target. "We don't need the Legislature to do that. We already have that authority. Some members of the Legislature don't agree."
     

  • Betancourt Off Water Board - - Paul Betancourt was not reappointed to serve a second term on the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board by the governor’s office, according to a report in Watershed Coalition News, published by Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental Stewardship. According to several reports, Betancourt, an almond and cotton grower from Kerman, was not reappointed due to an eligibility rule restricting income to less than 10% from an entity regulated by the Regional Water Board. Betancourt apparently violated the rule because his almond processor holds a construction permit with the Regional Water Board.  Several candidates for the agriculture representative position are being encouraged by several watershed coalitions to apply for the position.  Dec. 12, 2008 Watershed Coalition News

General Industry News

  • Beekeepers hope dry weather won't dampen almond pollination - - Beekeepers attending an industry conference in Fresno said Wednesday that they hope that the region's uncertain water supply doesn't affect almond pollination, which starts next month. "If they get less water, they [farmers] may not pollinate some groves," said Ken Haff, a North Dakota beekeeper. Reduced pollination could be damaging for beekeepers who rely on the almond crop to start their season. Worries of a third year of drought in California have been stoked recently by reports of a La Niña starting to appear on the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The vast stretch of cool water alters global storm patterns, and meteorologists say the phenomenon helped create a record dry spell last March and April. Haff was among the more than 300 beekeepers and industry representatives from across the nation gathering at the Radisson Hotel this week for the American Honey Producers Association's 40th annual convention. <more> Jan. 8, 2009 Fresno Bee
     

  • Central Valley almond growers feel price squeeze - - Almonds grow on trees but money doesn't. That's what local almond farmers have learned this year.  Average prices for the popular nut have gone from about $2 a pound last year to a little more than $1 a pound, according to Livingston almond grower Wil Hunter. At that price, farmers will find it hard to make a profit.  "At 90 cents or a dollar, it's pretty tough to make it," said Turlock almond grower Ron Macedo. "A lot of us aren't going to be making any money in 2008, 2009. It's a guessing game." Almonds were a $936 million crop in 2007 in the Northern San Joaquin Valley, with almost half that number generated in Stanislaus County, where almonds are the second-ranked cash crop, behind milk. <more> Jan. 3, 2009 Modesto Bee

     

PLEASE SEND US YOUR GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS!

If you have good news to share about positive almond environmental practices, please send an email to us 

* Visit our website

The Almond Board of California
1150 Ninth Street, Suite 1500
Modesto, CA 95354 USA

Subscribe Have a friend who would like Almond Environmental News delivered directly to their email in-box? Email Mark Looker at mllooker@ainet.com and request their email address be added to the mailing list.

Unsubscribe?

We respect your privacy rights. If you are receiving this email newsletter in error or  wish to unsubscribe, please email Mark Looker at mllooker@ainet.com and request removal.