Almond Industry Headline
Environmental News
Almond Industry Headline
Environmental News
Edited by Mark Looker
USDA Official to Unveil Air Quality Initiative for
San Joaquin Valley Farmers - - USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural
Resources and Environment, Mark Rey, will visit Fresno on Thursday to announce a
new initiative to help San Joaquin Valley farmers adopt on-farm practices to
improve air quality. The new Air Quality Initiative will assist producers in
adopting technologies that lower smog-producing emissions. The new three-year
proposal combines technical and cost share assistance through the USDA’s Natural
Resources Conservation Service. NRCS would oversee the initiative using both
conservation technical assistance as well as its Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP), which shares the cost of structures and practices
that farmers undertake to protect natural resources. Additionally, Rey will make
some money available immediately to fund a portion of California’s backlog of
eligible applications to voluntarily improve air quality. Since the California
Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and the San Joaquin Valley Air
Pollution Control District will soon be requiring agricultural growers to reduce
on-farm emissions of smog-producing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s), there is
a heightened need to help producers now to meet the mandate. July 11, 2007
NRCS Press Release
Boxer's push to protect honeybees -- In addition
to representing her 36 million human California constituents, Sen. Barbara Boxer
wants to serve the nation's billions and billions of hardworking honeybees. U.S.
populations of pollinating honeybees are mysteriously collapsing, and that could
cause irreparable damage to crops worth billions of dollars a year across the
nation. That in turn could mean higher food prices, and because all kinds of
wildlife depend on pollinated plants for food, the decline of pollinators could
spell trouble for other animals. "California's almond crop alone is worth $2
billion per year and requires nearly one-half of all the honeybees in the
country," Boxer said in introducing her bill recently. "The future of that crop
and other important crops such as avocados, apples, berries and soybeans is in
jeopardy if there aren't enough bees to pollinate them for harvest."
<more> July 6, 2007 SF Chronicle
2007 Almond Forecast: 1.330 billion pounds - -
The June 29, 2007 objective almond forecast for the 2007-2008 crop year is 1.330
billion meat pounds, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics
Service – California Field Office (NASS/CFO). This forecast is based on 615,000
bearing acres. Doug Flohr, statistician for USDA-NASS, California field office,
said the forecast is up 1.5 percent from the May 9, 2007 subjective forecast of
1.310 billion pounds and up 19 percent from this year’s crop to date of 1.113
billion pounds as of May 31, 2007. The official announcement was made today at
the Modesto office of the Almond Board of California, which funds the forecast.
The average nut set per tree is 7,413, up 10 percent from the 2006 almond crop.
The Nonpareil average nut set of 7,067 represents a 3 percent increase from last
year’s set. The average kernel weight for all varieties sampled was 1.47 grams,
down 6 percent from last year. To view the NASS report,
please click here (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
June 29, 2007 Almond Board of California Press Release.
Almond Board of California urges growers to comment
on soil fumigant issues - - State and federal agencies are seeking public
comments on two separate proposed soil fumigant regulations. The regulations
could have immediate and far-reaching effects on how, and to what extent,
current pre-plant soil fumigants are used on almonds and other California crops,
according to the Almond Board of California (ABC). Critical to almond and other
specialty crop growers is a California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)
proposal to cap soil fumigant use in the San Joaquin Valley to reduce pesticide
volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. While the caps currently would only
affect growers in certain air quality districts, parts of the regulations are to
be implemented statewide, the ABC says.
<more>
June 20, 2007 Western Farm Press
Bracero program opened the door for retiring Kern
County farm advisor - - His immigrant path to the United States was a
typical story, says University of California Cooperative Extension Kern County
farm advisor Mario Viveros. For him, it led to a distinguished academic career
that helped the county's almond growers boost their annual yield as much as 50
percent. Viveros retires June 29. A native of Panindicuaro in the Mexican state
of Michoacán, Viveros' father came to the United States at the beginning of
World War II as a Bracero. For two decades, he faithfully sent money to his wife
and visited the family in Mexico every three years. With the support of his
grateful Imperial County employer, the family was reunited in Holtville in 1961.
Viveros was in the sixth grade. The transnational relocation and new living
arrangements weren't easy, he said. The family moved to Parlier, where all the
children joined their father working in the fields. Ultimately, four of the six
children would go to college, including Viveros.
<more>
June 19, 2007 UCCE Press Release
Reduced risk grants
available soon from DPR - - The Department of Pesticide Regulation will
offer $585,000 in grants to reduce pesticide risks under a program revived by
Governor Schwarzenegger and nearing approval by the Legislature. Upon
legislative approval of DPR's budget for 2007-08, the Department will resume
awards for Pest Management Grants. Meanwhile, DPR has prepared a fact sheet
describing the process we will use to invite proposals for projects. Projects
must focus on implementing integrated pest management (IPM) programs that reduce
the use of pesticides of environmental or human health concern in the urban
environment and in production agriculture. Link to the fact sheet and other
information at
www.cdpr.ca.gov/dprgrants.htm.
June 15, 2007 DPR Press Release
Ag and emissions: Grow crops or suburbs? - - Is
California agriculture part of our air-quality problem or is it part of the
solution? This summer, the Department of Pesticide Regulation will hold public
hearings on new rules that sharply reduce air emissions from farm fumigants.
These gaseous pesticides clear the soil of weeds, insects and mold for a wide
variety of crops, from carrots in Kern County to strawberries on the Ventura
County coast. Unfortunately, fumigants also contribute to smog. Under the
federal Clean Air Act, most regulatory efforts against smog for the past two
decades have focused on vehicles, gasoline and stationary sources, such as power
plants and factories. But as growers have shifted to higher-value fruit and
vegetable crops, they have used more fumigants. Three areas — the San Joaquin
Valley, the southeast desert and Ventura County — now fail to meet pesticide air
goals. Last year, a federal judge ruled that DPR must put unprecedented
restrictions in place by Jan. 1. The truly daunting challenge is whether we can
meet our environmental obligations and sustain a farm economy that produces more
than half the fresh fruits and vegetables for our nation. Some critics of
agriculture would simply ban pesticides, but reality and environmental
sensibilities are far more complex.
<more> June 13, 2007 Opinion Piece by Mary-Ann Warmerdam, DPR Director,
Ventura County Star
Methyl bromide on front burner at International
Issues Workshop - - The United States has reached the level where needs of
methyl bromide are exceeding availability, an industry expert told attendees at
the 2007 International Issues Workshop in San Francisco last week. "There are
chemical alternatives and non-chemical alternatives," said Gary Obenauf, owner
of Agricultural Research Consulting and a consultant to the California Dried
Plum Board. "The problem is, there is no silver bullet." Obenauf outlined
several alternatives to methyl bromide that are under consideration.
<more> June 12, 2007 Capital Press
Almond
Growers Urged To Comment on New Soil Fumigant Proposals - - State and
federal agencies are currently seeking public comment on two separate proposed
soil fumigant regulations that could have immediate and far reaching effects on
how and to what extent current preplant soil fumigants are used in almonds and
other California crops. Most critical to almond growers is Calif. Department of
Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) proposal to cap soil fumigant use in the San
Joaquin Valley to reduce pesticide VOC emissions. The regulations are required
to be in place by Jan. 1, 2008 to bring DPR in compliance with a 1994 State
Implementation Plan (SIP) for air quality under terms of a judge’s ruling in
federal lawsuit ruling last fall. The cap and related restrictions would take
effect for the 2009 ozone season. Gabriele Ludwig, Senior Manager, Global
Technical & Regulatory Affairs for the Almond Board of California, said almond
growers can provide valuable information on soil fumigant preplant uses and
application methods to be sure the industry is accurately represented in the
methods of application. Growers can also provide input their ability to use
methods to reduce off-gassing. Also DPR is seeking alternative ideas for how to
allocate the soil fumigants under a cap, such as first come/first serve, or some
kind of cap and trade system (such as was used for rice burning in the
Sacramento Valley), etc. Another concern is ensuring the regulations are
flexible enough to incorporate new data on the actual contribution to ozone
formation or off-gassing of new methods. “DPR needs to hear from growers on
this,” Ludwig urged.
<more> June 7, 2007 Almond Board Newsletter
Almond Board
Helps Identify Technology Research Priorities. Workshop highlights coordinated
effort to solve specialty crops challenges through engineering and technology
research - - The Almond Board of California and other specialty crop
industries are engaged in a coordinated effort with government scientists and
technology providers to identify and secure funding for engineering research to
solve common industry challenges. Gabriele Ludwig, the Almond Board’s Senior
Manager of Global Technical & Regulatory Affairs and Mel Machado, Field
Supervisor for Blue Diamond Growers, participated in an April workshop titled
“Engineering Solutions for Specialty Crop Challenges.” The workshop was
sponsored by The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) and the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service
(CSREES) along with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
<more> June 7, 2007 Almond Newsletter
June workshops will discuss ag engine replacement rules
- - A series of workshops in June will educate farmers about a new rule
designed to lower emission levels from natural gas and diesel engines in the San
Joaquin Valley. The first workshop is set for June 20 in Stockton and Modesto
and will conclude with a June 29 session in Hanford. As of Jan. 1, 2008,
nearly all stationary and portable internal combustion engines that are over 50
horsepower in size in the San Joaquin Valley will have to be replaced or
retrofitted to meet the rule requirements. Seven June workshops have been
scheduled to provide rule detail and layout options for an engine
owner/operator.
<more>
June 7, 2007 Almond Newsletter
Both sides oppose rules.
Pesticide proposals draw criticism from farmworkers, growers. - - In an
effort to prevent pesticide drift incidents, state regulators are proposing new
permit conditions on two fumigants known to cause eye and respiratory
irritation. But farmers, farmworkers and pesticide reform activists said those
recommendations aren't the answer during a Wednesday night workshop in Tulare.
Farmers said they comply with current standards and are doing their best to
prevent drifts. They said the proposed conditions would make treating their
crops difficult. Farmworkers and activists questioned how the permit conditions
would be enforced because they don't believe current standards are followed.
Some called for a ban on fumigants.
<more> June 1, 2007 Fresno Bee
California Expects
Record Almond Crop - - They may have started as a few trees planted by
Spanish missionaries, but almonds are now a big crop in California, where ideal
climate and irrigation have let the nuts bloom into a $2 billion-a-year
business. On Scott Hunter's farm in the hot, fertile San Joaquin Valley, limbs
on some of the younger trees are having a hard time holding up what he predicts
will be part of "a once-in-a-lifetime type of crop" when the harvest begins in
mid-August. "Like any ag commodity, we've been faced with a lot of ups and
downs," said Hunter, 37, who farms 1,200 acres of almonds in Livingston. "This
year is definitely an up." A record harvest, along with more growers dedicating
acreage to almonds, is expected to solidify California's position as the world's
leading producer of a crop that once grew wild in Mediterranean countries. The
state already produces 80 percent of the almonds sold worldwide, according to
California's food and agriculture department.
<more>
June 1, 2007 AP
Many causes blamed for honeybee die-off. Colony
collapse disorder could cost $15 billion – - A team of entomologists
and other scientists studying the alarming die-off of honeybees across the
country is expected to report that there are multiple causes of the deaths,
called colony collapse disorder. The finding compounds a crisis for growers of
crops dependent on pollination, a Central Valley congressman said Thursday. Rep.
Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater (Merced County), said he has seen portions of the
report being prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to be released
later this month. He said it lays out several possible causes, including
parasites and a lack of genetic diversity. The challenge, Cardoza said, will be
to tailor research efforts to return the most benefit. "Most likely it is a
combination of factors,'' Cardoza said on the edge of a watermelon field outside
Hilmar, where working honeybees had performed their morning pollination duties
Thursday. ”When you look at multiple factors it really complicates the
research,'' he said.
<more> June 1, 2007 SF Chronicle
Die-off silences buzzing beehives. Growers and
keepers in a quandary about threat to pollination - - Dan Avila planted
his watermelon field, set out his rented beehives and hoped for the best. The
Livingston-area grower is one of many who rely on honeybees to pollinate their
crops. And he's one of many who worry that they could lose this vital service
if a mysterious die-off of colonies around the nation continues. "The vines
will set little if any fruit if the bees aren't there," Avila said. "It will
decrease production 80 or 90 percent." His farm was the site of a news
conference held Thursday by Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, and others
concerned about the bees. Cardoza is seeking a boost in federal funding for
research on the die-off, which started in the fall. Some beekeepers have had
little or no damage, while others have lost most of their colonies.
<more>
June 1, 2007 Modesto Bee
Ban on burning old orchards takes effect. Clean-air
regulation meant to stop half the agricultural smoke in valley - - Starting
Friday, farmers will have to cease another part of the burning that has long
sent smoke into the San Joaquin Valley sky. The ban will apply to most of the
wood waste created by the removal of orchards. It is part of a burning phaseout
that already has affected disposal of some of the pruned limbs from living trees
and residue from field crops. The orchard-removal ban will take care of about
half the agricultural burning in the region, according to the San Joaquin Valley
Air Pollution Control District. Growers will have to use alternatives, mainly
chipping the wood into mulch or power plant fuel. This is already a common
practice because of the clampdown on burning pruned limbs. "In general, the
industry is ready for this," said Gabriele Ludwig, senior manager of global
technical and regulatory affairs for the Almond Board of California, based in
Modesto. "If you're doing an orchard removal in the San Joaquin Valley, most
growers are doing some kind of chipping."
<more>
May 31, 2007 Modesto Bee
New rules tighten fumigant restrictions to improve
valley air. Proposed regulations would limit when and how all fumigants are
applied - - Stricter rules for use of soil fumigants by California farmers
have been proposed by the state's Department of Pesticide Regulation. The agency
is taking action to comply with a federal court order to reduce smog-forming
gases resulting from pesticide use. Targeting the biggest producer of such gases
- soil fumigants - the state hopes to reduce emissions by more than 50 percent
in areas with the worst air quality. This action comes as the state agency
complies with a 2006 federal court order that requires the Department of
Pesticide Regulation to enforce a 20 percent reduction in pesticide volatile
organic gases, compared to 1991 levels. The court order stemmed from a lawsuit
that claimed the state failed to meet its obligations under the federal Clean
Air Act.
<more> May 31, 2007 Capital Press
Big 2007 crop offers a glimpse of future 1.5 billion
pound crops - - There are few certainties in farming — but California almond
growers are on a definite fast track to produce 1.5 billion pounds of almonds
annually in the very near future. As Richard Waycott, president of the Almond
Board of California, was driving from the board’s offices at Modesto to Arbuckle
for the 30th annual Nickels Almond Field Day, he visualized the certainty of
that future. “My Lord, what a big crop we’ve got coming on (in 2007),” says the
CEO of the marketing and promotion arm of the California industry. He told the
200 growers and others at the field day that the almond board has been sharply
focused for several years on marketing those projected huge future crops.
<more>
May 24, 2007 Western Farm Press
House panel short on money for land stewardship
-
- Members of a House Agriculture subcommittee were thwarted by a lack of money
on Tuesday from expanding "green payments" to farmers and from creating a $305
million program to combat asthma-causing dust. Lawmakers put the ideas on the
table during the first bill-drafting session for the farm law being written this
year. But they withdrew them without a vote in hopes that money will become
available this summer to pay for the programs. California Democrat Dennis
Cardoza said stewardship programs must be expanded so that fruit, vegetable, nut
and nursery crop growers can meet a mounting regulatory burden and so that
specialty crop growers get a more equitable share of supports. He proposed a
$305 million air quality program to combat dust and ozone but withdrew it
because there was no money. "This is one of the most important issues we have,"
said Cardoza, who said 300 congressional districts violate federal standards for
clean air. "Air quality problems are going to be putting farmers out of business
in my state."
<more>
May 22, 2007 Reuters
Growers Could Take Financial Hit in Pesticide
Crackdown -- State officials are hoping to clean up the air by cracking down
on the use of fumigant pesticides widely used on some of San Joaquin County's
biggest crops. The state's action comes in response to a federal court order.
But it will be growers who take the hit: The state Department of Pesticide
Regulation estimates farmers across the state may have to pay an extra $10
million to $40 million a year to use new, low-emission methods of applying the
pesticides.
<more> May 20, 2007 Stockton Record
DPR proposes fumigant rules to clear the air --
The Department of Pesticide Regulation today proposed rules to sharply reduce
fumigant air emissions that contribute to smog. Acting under federal court
order, DPR will begin allocating fumigant use in areas with poor air quality.
The rules also would eliminate some fumigation methods that permit high
emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air. While farm
chemicals comprise only about 2 percent of California's overall VOC emissions,
pesticides are among the top ten VOC sources in the San Joaquin Valley and
Ventura air attainment areas. The Southeast Desert area also fails to meet
pesticide VOC goals. The Department predicts its plan will reduce emissions by
more than 4.5 tons per day statewide. Proposed rules would reduce fumigant
emissions from about 38 to more than 50 percent within the three large areas.
<more> May 18, 2007 DPR Press Release
Farm air
pollution targeted.
The state plans strict, costly
rules on the use of fumigants in soil.
- - California plans to
enact the most costly pesticide regulation in state history as it cracks down on
use of fumigants in farm fields to comply with a court-ordered deadline to
combat smog.
Under the proposed regulation,
to be unveiled today, California will be the first place in the nation to target
the widely used chemicals, imposing statewide restrictions on how fumigants are
applied as well as limits on use in three farming regions.
State officials warned that
the cost will be extremely high — estimated at $10 million to $40 million a year
— and that growers of strawberries, carrots, tomatoes and peppers will bear the
brunt of it. The biggest burden will fall on Ventura County's strawberry
growers, who will face strict caps on emissions and may have to resort to
pulling thousands of acres out of production to meet the smog targets.
<more> May 18, 2007 LA Times
Bees are going missing, yes, but the crops are just
fine. Colony Collapse Disorder may not be a problem of apocalyptic proportions.
- - It’s like a scene out of a Stephen King novel: One sunny day, the happy
buzzing sound of bees doing that spring thing that bees do fades to silence. The
bees disappear, abandoning hives and leaving flowers unpollinated, never to bear
fruits and vegetables. Gradually, the world starves. That's the picture some are
painting this spring in the wake of heavier than normal losses by beekeepers.
"Unless someone or something stops it soon," one recent wire service story
speculates, we could all be living on a "bread and water diet". But though that
picture may have a certain apocalyptic appeal, it ignores some inconvenient
facts. For starters, California's almond farmers — who grow the most
bee-intensive crop in the country — are forecasting a record harvest this year.
In fact, the latest estimate, released last week, is for this year's crop to be
almost 20% bigger than last year's. The state's plum, peach and nectarine
farmers say that their trees are full of fruit too. And so do Washington state
cherry, pear and apple farmers.
<more> May 16, 2007 LA Times
Almond burn band slated for June 1 - - Almond
growers in the San Joaquin Valley as of June 1 will no longer be able to burn
removed orchards as part of a ban on open agricultural burning being phased in
by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Growers still will
have until June 2010 to obtain permits to burn prunings from almond trees. The
June deadline marks the third phase of gradual elimination of open burning in
the San Joaquin Valley to manage agricultural products, including prunings.
<more> May 11,2 2007 Fresno Bee
Even after winds knock almonds from trees California
growers expect a record crop - - Wind gusts up to almost 80 miles per hour
in mid-April wind storms whipped through California’s 600,000 acres of
heavily-laden almond trees like weeping willows in a hurricane. Orchard floors
were littered with almonds after the series of storms blew through the state
within a week. Trees were toppled in sustained winds of 40 miles per hour and
gusts much higher, especially older trees, and orchards both young and old that
were in wet soil. High winds threshed limbs of corn rows and grape-like clusters
of almonds that would have been worth $2 per pound or more at harvest. Still,
almond growers, consultants, UC farm advisors, hullers, and marketers say even
after the winds that were more like West Texas than serene California, a record
crop remains on the state’s bearing orchards.
<more>
May 9, 2007 Western Farm Press
Regulators See Almond Industry Progress in
Addressing Environmental Concerns - - Regulators from a number of state and federal agencies that
establish and enforce environmental laws impacting almond production practices,
spent a beautiful mid-bloom day learning the latest steps the almond industry is
taking to address environmental issues in farming and processing practices. The Almond Board of
California’s third annual Environmental
Stewardship Tour at the facilities of Travaille and Phippen Inc. in Manteca on
March 2, 2007 allowed some 50 regulators, media members, researchers and other
invited guests to see first-hand the progress growers are making at the ground
level to address air quality, water quality, endangered species, pesticide use
and other environmental issues. Merle Jacobs, the Almond Board’s associate director for
industry relations, stressed that the industry is working to implement an
integrated sustainable approach that addresses a number of sometimes competing
environmental challenges along with food safety concerns and the need for
economic viability of those new practices.
<more> April 2007 Almond Board Newsletter
Burn Ban for Almond Orchard Removal in San Joaquin Valley Takes Effect
this June - - Almond growers in the San Joaquin Valley as of June 1,
2007 will no longer be able to burn removed orchards as part of a ban on
open agricultural burning being phased in by the San Joaquin Valley Air
Pollution Control District. Growers will still have until June 2010 to
obtain permits to burn prunings from surface harvested crops such as
almonds.
<more> May 7, 2007 Almond Board Press Release
Workshops scheduled to detail ag engine
replacement rules - - A new rule designed to lower emission levels from
natural gas and diesel engines in the San Joaquin Valley will kick into gear
in the next few months as the first of several air quality deadlines arrive
starting Jan. 1, 2008. Nearly all stationary and portable internal
combustion engines that are over 50 horsepower in size – in the San Joaquin
Valley will have to be replaced or retrofitted to meet the rule
requirements. Seven workshops have been scheduled to provide rule detail and
candidly layout options for an engine owner/operator. The rule falls under
the jurisdiction of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
and is part of a statewide effort to lower specific emissions – oxides of
nitrogen, volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide – that have been
linked to the formation of lower ozone. Owner/operators are encouraged to
attend the informational meetings to learn how it will affect their
operation and what measures are needed to ensure compliance.
<more>
May 7, 2007 Western Farm Press
EPA Seeks Public Comment on Risk-Reduction
Options for Soil Fumigants - - As part of EPA's ongoing evaluation of
soil fumigant pesticides, the agency is seeking public comment for 60 days
on risk- reduction options for the soil fumigants: methyl bromide, metam
sodium, dazomet, and chloropicrin. Another soil fumigant,
1,3-dichloropropene, is included for comparison purposes, but its
reassessment is complete and no regulatory changes are anticipated. EPA also
will host public meetings on these soil fumigants in Washington State on May
22 and in Florida on June 6, and will participate in a public meeting in
California on May 30. The public meetings will allow the agency to obtain
first-hand comments on possible risk mitigation options from all
stakeholders. Fact sheet on soil fumigant risk mitigation options and how
to comment:
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/soil_fumigants/risk_mitigation.htm
May 2, 2007 EPA Press Release
Almond acreage climbs to 730,000 - - This
year's almond crop will be coming from 615,000 bearing acres, according to
USDA/NASS. California’s 2006 almond acreage is estimated at 730,000 acres, a
6 percent increase from 2005's acreage of 690,000. Bearing acreage was
585,000 acres and non-bearing was 145,000 acres. Nonpareil continued to be
the leading variety, followed by Carmel and Butte. Monterey, Fritz, and
Padre varieties showed significant acreage increases. Kern, Merced,
Stanislaus, and Fresno were the leading counties. These four counties had 64
percent of the acreage in 2006 compared with 63 percent in 2005. The acreage
came from a voluntary survey of approximately 6,000 almond growers. This
year's data also reflects tree removals from nearly 14,000 acres (mostly
planted in the 1970's and 1980's) during the past t12 months. Of this
number, a significant amount of acreage was harvested in 2006 prior to being
pushed out, and that acreage has already been removed from the detailed
data. To arrive at the estimated almond acreage, the NASS almond acreage
data base was compared with pesticide application data maintained by county
agricultural commissioners and the California Department of Pesticide
Regulation. May 2, 2007 Western Farm Press
VOC Research Symposium May 22 – 23 in Sacramento
– - The state Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is sponsoring a
symposium May 22-23 at the Red Lion Hotel in Sacramento. Speakers will
present the results of current research on the topics of emission inventory
issues, fumigant application methods and use, pesticide product
reformulation, pest management methods, innovative technologies, and
economic issues that affect the reduction of VOCs from pesticide use. Agenda
details and registration information is available from the DPR website at
http://www.cce.csus.edu/conferences/dpr/07/index.htm
May 2, 2007 DPR
Press Release
Almond growers’ environmental stewardship hailed
by USDA - - Two California almond growers who are using environmentally
friendly practices are among growers featured in an online exhibit launched
by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS.) Robyn Singh, a
Madera grower, is featured for converting from flood irrigation to a
micro-jet irrigation system. He received cost-share assistance from the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP.) Livingston-area grower Lee
Moren is highlighted for his practice of shredding his annual orchard
prunings rather than burning them. He also is receiving cost-share
assistance from EQIP. Their stories appear on the NRCS-CA webpage entitled
“The Faces and Places of Conservation,” at
www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov/news/stories/
May 2, 2007 NRCS Press Release
DPR plans new restrictions on 2 fumigants, offers
more public input on risk decisions - - The California Department of
Pesticide Regulation will impose new restrictions on two fumigants to
prevent drift incidents and injuries in farm fields and neighborhoods. By
fall, DPR will put additional controls on metam-sodium and metam-potassium.
Both pre-plant fumigants break down into a volatile gas that may cause eye
and respiratory irritation. Several major drift incidents related to these
chemicals have occurred in recent years. Warmerdam said the fumigant rules
also would serve as pilot project for more public involvement in DPR risk
management decisions. In the past, DPR issued local use recommendations to
agricultural commissioners without formal public input. There is no
statutory requirement to do so.
<more> April 26, 2007 DPR Press Release
Move over, milk -- almonds are headed for
pasteurization - - Glenn Anderson is having a tough time swallowing the
almond industry's new rules that require heat treatment or chemical
fumigation of the nuts he grows on 12 organic acres in the Central Valley.
"Most of our customers have called me and said, 'We don't want pasteurized
almonds, we want them raw, directly from the field,' “says Anderson, 72, an
organic pioneer whose farm in Hilmar, near Turlock, has been in his family
since 1912. "I think it's being shoved down all of our throats."
"Pasteurization" is the California almond industry's response to two
salmonella outbreaks, traced to almonds, that sickened a total of about 130
consumers -- and resulted in lawsuits -- in 2001 and 2004.
<more> April 25, 2007 SF Chronicle
Bees Vanish, and Scientists Race for Reasons - - What is happening to the bees? More than a quarter of the country’s 2.4
million bee colonies have been lost — tens of billions of bees, according to
an estimate from the Apiary Inspectors of America, a national group that
tracks beekeeping. So far, no one can say what is causing the bees to become
disoriented and fail to return to their hives. As with any great mystery, a
number of theories have been posed, and many seem to researchers to be more
science fiction than science. People have blamed genetically modified crops,
cellular phone towers and high-voltage transmission lines for the
disappearances. Or was it a secret plot by Russia or Osama bin Laden to
bring down American agriculture? Or, as some blogs have asserted, the
rapture of the bees, in which God recalled them to heaven? Researchers have
heard it all.
<more>
April 25, 2007 NY Times
Regulators witness environmental stewardship at
Manteca almond orchard - - Dave Phippen of Travaille and Phippen Inc. in
Manteca is proud to welcome regulators to his almond orchard. Phippen, an
almond grower, San Joaquin Farm Bureau board member and chairman of the
Almond Board of California, has good news to share about the integrated pest
management and sustainable farming, harvesting and hulling/shelling
practices underway at Travaille and Phippen. In March, Phippen hosted some
20 regulators from various local, state and federal agencies during the
Almond Board of California’s Third Annual Environmental Stewardship Tour to
showcase what he and other almond growers are doing to address air quality,
water quality, endangered species, pesticide use and other environmental
issues.
<more>
April 2007 San Joaquin County Farm Bureau Newspaper
Burn Ban for Almond Orchard Removal in SJV Takes
Effect this June - - Almond growers in the San Joaquin Valley as of June
1, 2007 will no longer be able to burn removed orchards as part of a ban on
open agricultural burning being phased in by the San Joaquin Valley Air
Pollution Control District. Growers will still have until June 2010 to
obtain permits to burn prunings from surface harvested crops such as
almonds. The June deadline on orchard removal burning marks the third phase
of the gradual elimination of open burning in the San Joaquin Valley to
manage agricultural products, including prunings. “This process has been
going on for several years but this is the first phase-out deadline to
affect almonds directly,” said Gabriele Ludwig, Senior Manager, Global
Technical & Regulatory Affairs with the Almond Board of California.
<more>
April 15, 2007 Almond Newsletter
Regulators See First-Hand Environmentally Friendly
Almond Farming and Processing Practices - - Regulators from state and
federal agencies that establish and enforce environmental laws in
agriculture spent a beautiful mid-bloom day in March at the facilities of
Travaille and Phippen Inc. in Manteca for the Almond Board’s third annual
Environmental Stewardship Tour. The tour gave regulators, along with media,
researchers and other invited guests, a first-hand look at the steps almond
growers and handlers are taking to address air quality, water quality,
endangered species, pesticide use and other environmental issues.
<more>
April 15, 2007 Almond Board Newsletter
Manteca Almond Grower Showcases Environmentally
Friendly Farming for Regulators - - Dave Phippen of Travaille and
Phippen Inc. in Manteca is proud to welcome regulators to his almond
orchard. Phippen, an almond grower and chairman of the Almond Board of
California, has good news to share about the integrated pest management and
sustainable farming, harvesting and hulling/shelling practices underway at
Travaille and Phippen. Phippen in March hosted some 20 regulators from
various local, state and federal agencies during the Almond Board of
California’s 3rd Annual Environmental Stewardship Tour to
showcase what he and other almond growers are doing to address air quality,
water quality, endangered species, pesticide use and other environmental
issues. Phippen said the operation has been practicing Integrated Pest
Management for more than a decade, relying on monitoring and sampling,
biological control and orchard sanitation to control pests with reduced
reliance on broad-spectrum insecticides.
<more> April 15, 2007 San Joaquin County Farm Bureau Newspaper
Watershed Coalition newsletter now available
- - The latest edition of the Watershed Coalition News is now available from
the Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES.) Developed
by CURES with funding from the Almond Board of California, the project’s
goal is to link growers to the watershed coalitions. The Winter/Spring 2007
edition features stories about the boost in watershed coalition memberships;
the new scrutiny facing those applying for membership after the Dec. 31,
2006 deadline; a UC Davis study that says high E. Coli levels in many
Central valley waterways may be coming from human sources; ongoing surveys
to document grower use of Best Management Practices; and new methods to
determine orchard sprayer coverage. The newsletter can be download as a PDF
file at the CURES wesbite www.curesworks.org/newsletter.asp
April 13, 2007 CURES Press Release
Reducing off-site movement of pyrethroids not difficult - - Sampling of various agricultural water bodies in 17 Central Valley counties by University of California researchers has shown
that roughly one-quarter to one-third of the sites have toxic levels of pesticides or other substances. Using Hyalella azteca, a small amphipod commonly used to text toxicity, Donald Weston,
adjunct professor, University of California, Berkeley, determined that pyrethroids were largely responsible for presence of toxicity among the 127 sites. <more>
April 6, 2007 Western Farm Press
Buzz grows on bee deaths. Keepers tell House
panel about crisis in Valley, elsewhere. - - Gene Brandi is losing his
six-legged livestock, and lawmakers want to know why. A Los Banos-based
commercial beekeeper, Brandi normally manages about 2,000 colonies. On
Thursday, Brandi told a House panel about 40% of his colonies died over the
winter -- by far, his worst loss in three decades of business. "Even though
my loss is substantial, other beekeepers throughout the country have
suffered much greater losses," Brandi testified.
<more>
March 30, 2007 Fresno Bee
Almond Board’s Environmental Tour Educates
Regulators - - The Almond Board of California’s (ABC) spring
environmental stewardship tour opened the eyes for Sacramento’s water, air,
and pesticide regulators to the challenges and positive solutions in the
industry. Hosting the one-day event in early March was Dave Phippen,
chairman of the ABC board of directors and co-owner of Travaille and
Phippen, growers, packer and shippers of almonds in Manteca, Calif. The tour
was part of Almond Board’s implementation of a five-year plan (2003-2008)
“to be the healthiest specialty crop in the world” benefiting the consumer,
the environment, and the industry. Joining Phippen in the tour was his
son-in-law Nick Gatzman, one of the operation’s farm managers. Both led
attendees through their orchards and processing facility and outlined ways
they are reducing their impact on the environment. PNP Nut Grower & PCA magazine Feb 16, 2007
Click here to download PDF file
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Budding Prospects. Pathogen worries can make it
tough for green farmers - - Almond growers aim to keep their customers
healthy by keeping salmonella and other germs out of the orchards. Many try
to do this by excluding rodents and other creatures that can track germs
onto the orchard floor, where the nuts lie after being shaken from the
trees. But many growers also like to maintain at least some ecological
diversity on their farms. They might do this with grassy cover crops between
the trees, or hedgerows at the orchard's edges. Trouble is, these
mini-habitats could nurture the very animals that growers want to keep out
so the crop doesn't become tainted. "Human pathogens are unfortunately
carried by these birds and squirrels and so forth," said Merle Jacobs,
associate director for industry relations at the Almond Board of California,
during an orchard tour near Ripon last week. "There's always a balance: Are
you mitigating one problem and adding to another problem?"
<more>
March 10, 2007 Modesto Bee
Bee shortage won't hurt almond crop, say experts -
- The almond industry has faced cold and rain and a shrinking bee supply
during this year's bloom, but it appears to be making it through just fine —
so far. Enough blossoms likely are being pollinated to assure an adequate
nut harvest in late summer and fall, the Almond Board of California reported
this week. That verdict was based on a survey of orchards by a task force
for the Modesto-based group. "Their expert opinion was that we would have
enough bees to complete the pollination of our almond crop," said Marsha
Venable, spokeswoman for the board. The bloom started in mid-February and
likely will fade out next week. The emerging nuts still could get hit by
spring storms, but for now the board is confident, Venable said.
<more> March 10, 2007 Modesto Bee
Almond
tour highlights stewardship. Growers want to have ‘the healthiest specialty
crop in the world - - ’Mummified nut removal, cover crops and
specialized shredding equipment, all examples of farming practices that help
the environment, were highlights of the annual Environmental Stewardship
tour by the Almond Board of California. Members of federal, state and local
regulatory agencies as well as other growers were on hand to learn farming
and processing practices aimed at making almonds "the healthiest specialty
crop in the world." The tour was hosted by Dave Phippen, chairman of the
Almond Board of California, at the Travaille and Phippen plant. Under a
canopy of almond blooms, Nick Gatzman, who leads the pest control and
cultural operations for Phippen's almond orchards, spoke emphatically about
their goal of reducing pesticide use. "The most cost-effective control is
orchard sanitation," Gatzman stressed.
<more> March 9, 2007 Capital Press
Miticide choices fortunately plentiful - -
Tree nut growers in California have been blessed with a rapidly expanding
arsenal of miticides over the past few years, according to David Haviland,
Kern County University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor.
“All of a sudden, we’ve added eight new products to our portfolio in only
the past two years,” he told attendees at a Bayer CropScience sponsored Tree
and Vine conference held this winter. “I sincerely hope the days of
monitoring and treating if and when you hit a threshold are back.”
<more> March 7, 2007 Western Farm Press
Bad biz for bees. Almond growers, beekeepers
stung by disappearance, death rate of insect. - - In this high-tech age
of tractors steered by Global Positioning System, some things in agriculture
come down to what Bryan Beekman held in his hand. Bees. The insects are
needed desperately for production of almonds and many other crops. A simple
act of nature -- pollination by these critters -- is the key to a third of
the world's food production. But disaster lurks in bee country. The insects
are dying -- or disappearing -- in droves. Many of Beekman's pollinators,
for example, are dead. And nobody knows what happened to half of the 100
million bees owned by David Bradshaw of Fresno. They simply vanished.
<more>
March 7, 2007 Fresno Bee
Time is ripe to support sustainable food system.
Keynote speaker at California Farm Conference appeals for support to develop
sustainable food system by 2030 - - Small-scale farmers who are adept at
growing healthy food, can help urban consumers reconnect to their agrarian
roots and develop a network of supporters for a sustainable food system in
California by 2030. Michael Dimock, executive director of Roots for Change,
an alliance of California-based foundations, today delivered that message to
more than 300 participants at the 2007 California Farm Conference in
Monterey. Launched in 2002, the program promotes social goals such as food
choices that lead to more healthy eating, environmental benefits, and
economic goals to create new revenue streams on farms through tourism,
on-farm energy production and direct farm-to-consumer marketing.
<more>
March 6, 2007
Almond growers raising environmental
consciousness - - It was too blustery to be buzzing about Dave Phippen's
almond orchard on Friday - only one bee could be found pollinating the white
blossoms. There was plenty of sweet talk, though, about farmers' efforts to
aid the environment. For the third time, the Almond Board of California
hosted a tour promoting the crop and the way it is grown.
<more>
March 3, 2007 Stockton Record
Nominations open for IPM Innovator Award - -
Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Every revolutionary idea
seems to evoke three stages of reaction ... (1) It's completely impossible.
(2) It's possible, but it's not worth doing. (3) I said itwas a good idea
all along." If least-toxic pest management once seemed impossible, it's
becoming the preferred strategy on the farm and in our urban environment.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is now taking nominations
for its 14th annual IPM Innovator Awards. IPM - - integrated pest management
- - uses nature-based solutions that offer the least risk to people and
their environment. For more information on how to nominate an individual or
organization for an IPM Innovator Award, go to
www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/ipminov/innovatr.htm . Or contact DPR staffer Bob
Elliott, 916 324 4156, belliott@cdpr.ca.gov March 4, 2007 DPR Press
Release
Pesticide illness cases rise in 2005, new
toll-free line established -- The number of pesticide-related illnesses
in California rose in 2005, and a new service announced today by the state
Department of Pesticide Regulation will make it easier for people to file
pesticide complaints. DPR officials announced today in a department news
release that 911 individual cases of pesticide illness were reported in
2005, up from 828 cases the prior year. Of the 911 cases in 2005, 647 cases
-- or 71% -- were in agricultural settings. DPR Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam
said that pesticide drift has been one of the major sources of injuries and
illnesses in the agricultural sector, as the 2005 DPR data show. Half of the
total cases related to agriculture in 2005 were related to one mishap from a
farm fumigation in Salinas.
<more>
March 1, 2007 Capital Press
Sustainable agriculture meetings set for Valley - - A series of meetings to discuss the objective of developing sustainable food and farming systems in California by the year 2030 will be held in the San Joaquin valley in February and March. Roots of Change (ROC) and co-host Great Valley Center are holding the meetings to discuss “Our Common Vision: A Bright Future for Healthy Communities, Farms, & Food in California."
The Fresno meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 1- 4p.m. at the Ramada University, Room Shaw A, 324 East Shaw Ave.
The Modesto meeting will be held Thursday, March 1, from 1 -4 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel, Vineyard Room, 1612 Sisk Road.
The Chico meeting will be held Monday, March 12, from 1-4 p.m. at CSU Chico, Bidwell Park Room.
The Davis meeting will be held Tuesday, March 13, at the UC Davis Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center, AGR Room.
The meetings will discuss proposed initiatives to achieve a sustainable food system, how to help shape plans and implementation of projects, and ROC’s role and proposed services and requests for grant proposals. For more details, visit www.ROCFund.org. To register for the meetings, contact Nicole Mason at Nicole@rocfund.org, or call 415) 391-0545. More information about ROC can be found on its website www.ROCFund.org Feb. 16, 2007
New pesticide regulations loom in 2008 . VOC,
spray drift seminar at World Ag Expo - - New state pesticide regulations
loom next year to control smog-producing emissions from farms, but officials
hope new technology, research and strategic alliances can minimize the
impact of growers. At a seminar at the 2007 World Ag Expo in Tulare
Wednesday, farmers were advised that new regulations on volatile organic
compounds, which mix with nitrogen oxides and sunlight to create smog, will
be finalized late this year, according to Jerry Campbell, assistant director
of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. "We expect to have VOC
regulations on the books by December 31st of this year, with regulations to
go into effect in 2008," Campbell said. "We hope to have a draft of the
regulations in March and hearings on the VOC package during the summer and
hopefully finalized by the end of the year."
<more>
Feb. 15, 2007 Capital Press
Migrant bees key to state's crops. Rising demand
drives up prices as supply of insect labor dwindles. - - In sheer
numbers, it's the biggest migration of workers in the world. This month,
nearly three-quarters of all the nation's commercial honeybees will be in
California's ever-expanding almond orchards to do the work that only a bee
can do: gather pollen from the blossom of one tree and drop it in the
blossom of another. Drawn by the rocketing prices now offered by almond
farmers, beekeepers from as far away as Florida are hauling more than 2,200
tractor-trailer loads of hive boxes into the state. That's at least 10
billion bees.
<more>
Feb. 12, 2007 Sacramento Bee
Plight of the Bees. Growers worry as pollinators
decline - - This time of year, John Cox usually has 300 bee colonies
ready for duty in almond orchards about to pop into bloom. This year, he has
35. The rest of the colonies failed to live through the winter, for reasons
that elude him and many of the other beekeepers across the nation. "It's
somewhat depressing to try to keep overcoming all the odds," said Cox, who
raises bees near Stevinson as a sideline to his job with a food-processing
company. Concern about the bee supply has been growing for several years
among nut and fruit growers who depend on the insects for pollination. The
concern has become acute this year, with beekeepers in several states
reporting major losses. Nowhere does this matter more than in the almond
orchards of the Central Valley. They grow 80 percent of the world's supply
of the nuts and use two-thirds of the commercial bee colonies in the nation
each February. "It's the single most important time of the year for us in
terms of determining the crop," said Chris Heintz, who manages pollination
research for the Almond Board of California, based in Modesto.
<more>
Feb. 10, 2007 Modesto Bee
DPR moving closer to VOC air quality rules -
- The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has taken the next
step in its initiative to reduce the amount of volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) that are released into the air from pesticides. Late last summer, DPR
proposed to cancel the registrations of 27 pesticide products that were on
the agency’s hit list because the registrants had failed to comply with DPR
orders to submit plans to reduce VOC emissions from their liquid products to
a 20 percent level, or to justify their exemption from that DPR goal. “Some
of these were voluntary cancellations,” says Bob Ehn, with R3 Ag Consulting
LLC, a Clovis-based firm that provides research, registration and regulatory
services to the crop protection chemical industry. “None of these are
major-use products and in total, the agricultural chemical industry stepped
up and provided DPR with the needed information. It’s not time to panic
yet,” he added.
<more>
Jan. 24, 2007 Western Farm Press
Felony counts dropped in pesticide case.
No-contest to misdemeanor for nut company, manager - - A criminal case
against a Ripon-based almond grower fell apart Thursday, when prosecutors
dropped all charges related to the alleged methyl bromide poisoning of a
laborer. Golden West Nuts Inc. and ranch Manager John Becerra pleaded no
contest to one misdemeanor charge, for failing to notify Stanislaus County's
agricultural commissioner before using a controlled pesticide. Several other
charges were dismissed, and a defense attorney said his toxicologist
concluded that the laborer had not been poisoned. Company President Jon Hoff
seemed pleased by the outcome but troubled by the legal system. He had been
charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors stemming from his company's
alleged failure to provide safety equipment and training in the use of
pesticides. "We have not been able to figure out why we have been put in
this position," Hoff said after the charges he faced were dismissed.
<more> Jan. 19, 2007 Modesto Bee
State Department of Pesticide Regulation gets $3
million budget increase. California regulators plan to use money for
enforcement, safety and programs on less-toxic alternatives. - - The
California Department of Pesticide Regulation is using a $3 million boost in
its budget to increase enforcement, pay for programs for less toxic
alternatives and push pesticide safety. Mary-Ann Warmerdam, the department's
director, is also aiming to reduce major pesticide illness incidents to
zero. While Warmerdam acknowledged it's a lofty goal — the state averages
about 50 such incidents a year — she said it is a necessary one. "Anything
less than zero major incidents is not doing right by our obligation,"
Warmerdam said. "These are the incidents that affect people, in particular
farmworkers."
<more>
Jan. 12, 2007 Fresno Bee
EPA Authorizes Critical Uses of Methyl Bromide for
2007 - - In accordance with the Clean Air Act and Montreal Protocol, EPA
has issued final methyl bromide production and import critical use
exemptions for 2007. EPA also authorized uses that qualify for the 2007
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.
<more>
Dec. 12, 2006 EPA Press Release
East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition annual meetings set for next week - - The East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition (ESJWQC) is holding its second annual meetings next week to review 2006 monitoring results and water quality problems likely associated with agriculture. Topics Include: • Surprising results of a coalition-funded E.coli study designed to identify sources of numerous detections of the bacteria in local waterways. • Information on new requirements of coalition members. • Information on management practices to mitigate farm runoff found in local waterways. Meeting Locations:
• Tuesday; December 12; 1-3 pm, Merced County Agricultural Commissioners office, 2139 Wardrobe Avenue, Merced
• Wednesday, December 13, 10 am -12 pm; Stanislaus Agricultural Center, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, (lunch provided to those who RSVP: 209-522-7278)
• Thursday, December 14, 10 am -12 pm; Madera County
Farm Bureau, 1102 S. Pine Street, Madera, (lunch provided to those who RSVP:
559-674-8871) Dec.7, 2006 ESJWCQC Press Release
Grassley continues fight against EPA rule on
agriculture dust - - Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, is continuing his
efforts to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating
agriculture dust — this time offering an amendment to the Agriculture
Appropriations bill. “This is about the future. The rule is setting a bad
precedent for agriculture,” Grassley said in a statement. The amendment,
introduced Tuesday, has been endorsed by 13 of the nation’s largest
agriculture groups. In October, Grassley hosted EPA Administrator Stephen
Johnson at farm in Perry to watch a soybean field harvested so he could see
how the process stirs up dust. A steady rain prevented the demonstration,
but the senator said it didn’t wash away concerns that the dust proposal
could lead to lawsuits against farmers.
<more>
Dec. 6, 2006 AP
New study: Public-private partnerships providing ag
environmental solutions. Almond Board partnerships hailed as successful
models. - - Partnerships between researchers, extension agents and
growers that encourage greater participation and a cooperative learning
environment are providing real-world solutions to many of the environmental
issues facing California farmers, according to a recent study. The study by
a leading university agro-environmental researcher points to the Almond Pest
Management Alliance as a primary example of the success of such
public/private partnerships. Study author Keith Douglass Warner of the
Environmental Studies Institute at Santa Clara University said many of these
partnerships, such as the Biologically Integrated Farming Systems and Pest
Management Alliance projects, have helped successfully integrate
alternatives to widely used traditional pesticides into mainstream farming
systems by promoting a high level of grower participation and support.
Titled “Integrated Farming Systems and Pollution Prevention Initiatives
Stimulate Co-Learning Extension Strategies,” the study reports that the
growth and success of these programs reflects a shift from the cooperative
extension’s early model of “technology transfer” to an emphasis on
participatory co-learning and decision-making support.
<more> Dec. 3, 2006 Almond Board of California Press release
Farmers seek less-toxic pesticides to control mold,
mildew - - California's wet growing season in 2005 contributed to higher
pesticide use as farmers applied more fungicides, especially sulfur, to stifle
mold and mildew. But state officials pointed to declining use of several
highly toxic chemicals at the same time. Mary-Ann Warmerdam, who leads the
Department of Pesticide Regulation, said California continues to encourage
alternatives to harmful chemical applications. "While last year's weather
presented challenging conditions for growers, we see a growing reliance on
sustainable pest management," she said earlier this month. And San Joaquin
County is among the leaders of that trend, with Lodi-area grape growers
supporting a third-party auditing program that certifies producers who employ
sustainable farming practices.
<more> Nov. 30, 2006 Stockton Record
Almond industry poised
to market 1.5 billion-pound crop - - A 45 percent increase in the supply
of a commodity from the largest crop ever recorded over a short, four-year
time span would be cause for concern for most California commodities. However,
almonds are not like any other California commodity. California almond growers
have gathered record and near-record crops the past five years coupled with
receiving record and near-record prices. With 100,000 acres of non-bearing
orchards to add to the current inventory of 580,000 acres that basically
produced the five-year of records, the industry is expected to reach 1.5
billon pounds of production in just four years. However, according to a report
from the USDA NASS California field office given at the recent 25th annual
Agribusiness Management Conference in Fresno there is a “wide array of
positive and democratic indicators” that provide assurance that California
growers will profitably market the 1.5 billion crop with relative ease.
<more> Nov. 30, 2006 Western Farm Press
Growers Can Make Money if They Use UC Integrated
Pest Management Year-Round Program for Crops - - The California Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering $125 per acre to growers to
use the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management
Program's year-round IPM programs for their crops. In the 2002 Farm Bill, NRCS
was tasked to promote adoption of new pest management practices and IPM
programs to reduce environmental problems associated with pest management. The
program resulted in the establishment of a Pest Management Standard,
incorporation of pest management goals into funded NRCS conservation plans,
training and certification of NRCS staff in pest management, and
identification of pest management practices that would improve environmental
quality. To be eligible for NRCS' Environmental Quality Incentives Program
(EQIP), a crop must have a complete year-round program available on UC IPM's
Web site at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu (Under "How to Manage Pests", click the link
for "Agriculture and floriculture" and then choose your crop). Currently,
programs are available for almonds, cotton, grapes, nectarines, peaches,
plums, and prunes.
<more>
Nov. 17, 2006 UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program
Guthion phase out for almonds detailed by EPA
- - The U.S. EPA has issued its final decision to phase out the remaining 10
uses of the organophosphate insecticide azinphos-methyl (AZM, known by its
trade name Guthion, over the next few years. The EPA decision means that
almond growers will be able to continue the use of Guthion for a total of
three more growing seasons, explained Gabriele Ludwig, senior manager of
global technical and regulatory affairs for the Almond Board of California. Guthion’s use on almonds will be canceled by October 2009. Originally, EPA had
proposed canceling the nut uses for Guthion in September 2007. In return for
extending the use, EPA is requiring several additional measures to protect
waterways, farmworker housing and other residential sites and reduce
applicator exposures. Use in almonds is now limited to June, July and August.
Additionally, there must be a 300 or 500 foot buffer to waterways depending in
which county the orchard is located, a 60-foot buffer for all residential or
occupied structures (excluding farm structures) and applicators must use an
enclosed cab.
For additional information about the AZM phase out:
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/op/azm/phaseout_fs.htm
-- The agency's AZM reregistration web page: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/op/azm.htm
-- AZM docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0061: http://www.regulations.gov
DPR reports pesticide use data; highly toxic
categories down again -- The California Department of Pesticide
Regulation today reported a statewide decline in the use of several highly
toxic chemicals in 2005, including fumigants and other pesticides of
regulatory concern. DPR tentative statistics for 2005 show 194 million
pounds applied for all commercial uses, compared to 180 million pounds in
2004. Half of the increase was attributed to sulfur, a natural compound used
by organic and conventional growers to combat mold and mildew. Wet weather
was a factor for many growers in 2005. At the same time, use of many higher
risk chemicals declined, both in pounds applied and acres treated, while use
of some reduced-risk compounds increased dramatically.
<more> Nov. 15, 2006 DPR Press Release
Report shows greater farmer acceptance of
reduced-risk pesticides - - The California Department of Pesticide
Regulation today announced details of its Pesticide Use Report for 2005,
which showed a statewide decline in the use of several highly toxic
chemicals and greater farmer adoption of sustainable pest management tools.
The report indicates pesticides applied for all commercial uses in 2005
totaled 194 million pounds, up from 180 million pounds a year earlier, but a
major reason for the increase was the need for sulfur to control mold and
mildew in winegrapes, which suffered from a cool, wet spring. DPR Director
Mary-Ann Warmerdam said 2005 saw a decline in many highly toxic pesticides
and greater use of reduced-risk pesticides. "DPR continues to put strong
emphasis on reducing pesticide risks and use whenever possible," Warmerdam
said in a news release. "While last year's weather presented challenging
conditions for growers, we see a growing reliance on sustainable pest
management."
<more>
Nov. 15, 2006 Capital Press
Environmental Issues Panel at Almond Board
Conference Dec 7th in Modesto - - The Almond Board of California is
including a California Environmental Issues Panel Discussion on Thursday, Dec.
7 at its annual conference in Modesto. The issues to be addressed range from
air and water quality to consumer expectations of farming practices. Panelists
and environmental topics include:
• Senator Jeff Denham - As the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture
Committee, having jurisdiction over bills relating to agriculture and water
supply management, the Senator will offer an overview of current California
environmental legislation.
• Jim Wells - The principle of the consulting firm Environmental
Solutions LLC based in Sacramento, Jim will offer a general introduction to
air quality issues including volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and the
changes growers can anticipate.
• Caroline Silveira - The Grocery Manufacturer Association’s Director
of State Affairs for the Western Region of the United States, Caroline will
discuss how environmental issues influence consumer buying decisions and steps
being taken to educate consumers.
Parry Klassen, Director for the Center for Urban and Rural
Environmental Stewardship (CURES) program, as well as one of the Irrigated
Land Coalitions will provide more detail on the landscape of water quality
regulations. <more>
Nov. 3, 2006 Almond Board of California Press Release
U.S. Methyl Bromide Stockpile Under Scrutiny at World Ozone Meeting in India - - President George W. Bush's administration is seeking world permission to produce thousands of tons of a pesticide, methyl bromide, that an international treaty banned nearly two years ago, even though U.S. companies already have huge stockpiles of the chemical. Methyl bromide has been used for decades by farmers to help grow plump, sweet strawberries, robust peppers and other crops, but it also depletes the Earth's protective ozone layer. The United States and other countries signed a 1987 treaty promising to end its use by 2005. Americans failed to meet the Montreal Protocol deadline and since have been getting annual exemptions allowing methyl bromide's continued use on certain crops in specific states. Other nations have sought far smaller exemptions. The latest exemption requests are being considered this week at an international meeting in New Delhi, India. <more> Nov. 3, 2006 AP
Workshop covers crop runoff. Reedley event Nov.
16 offers information to protect water quality. - - A workshop
highlighting practical on-farm practices to reduce water quality impacts of
runoff from orchard and vineyard crops will be held at 10 a.m. Nov. 16 at
Moonlight Packing Corp., 17719 E. Huntsman Ave., Reedley. Fresh fruit and
nut producers, crop consultants and commercial applicators can attend the
free workshop, "Management Practices to Keep Farm Inputs out of Farm
Drainage and Irrigation Runoff," which includes lunch. The workshop will
provide information on ways farmers of permanent crops can protect water
from farm drainage, sediment and agricultural chemical runoff.
<more> Nov. 1, 2006 Fresno Bee
Sustainable ag promoted in farm tour. Groups push
for more farm bill conservation funds - - Escalon diversified farmer
John Lagier is the face behind a national campaign to elevate the interests
of sustainable agriculture in the 2007 Farm Bill. This week Lagier hosted a
group of farmers and sustainable agricultural groups, including the National
Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, in a tour of his 120-acre ranch
southeast of Stockton. The tour was organized by the California Coalition
for Food and Farming.
<more> Oct. 20, 2006 Capital Press
Almond
Industry Hosts Seminar as Bee Business Faces New Challenges - – As the
almond industry harvests what is anticipated to be the second largest crop
on record, some industry members took time off to plan ahead for bloom,
examining the role of the honey bee in producing the state’s largest
exported crop. The Almond Board of California (ABC) recently hosted a Honey
Bee Seminar, bringing together almond industry members, government
officials, pollination researchers and beekeepers to discuss new challenges
as well as familiar issues facing the bee and almond industries as we head
into the 2007 almond bloom. Dan Cummings, Almond Board member and grower,
said, “Almond growers and beekeepers are uniquely dependent upon each other,
our trees need healthy bees and so the almond industry must take a proactive
role in problem solving bee pest issues.”
<more> Oct. 16, 2006 Almond Board Press Release
Growers, beekeepers abuzz over pest. Will there
be enough bees to pollinate almond trees? - - Every February, a massive
labor force gets to work in the almond orchards of California. Honey bees —
billions upon billions of them — fly among the trees, spreading pollen so
the winter blossoms can turn into mature nuts by late summer. This
biological marvel has helped make almonds the No. 2 farm product in the
Northern San Joaquin Valley, after milk. But the approach of another winter
has renewed concerns that the bee supply, provided by commercial beekeepers
across the nation, might fall short of the demand. "There appears to be a
good possibility of a tight supply," said Orin Johnson, a Hughson-area
beekeeper, at a meeting held in Modesto on Thursday by the Almond Board of
California. A key problem is the varroa mite, which invades hives and drinks
the bees' blood. Experts say the mites have cut bee numbers by as much as 60
percent in some hives and have become resistant to pesticides.
<more> Oct. 8, 2006 Modesto Bee
As Farmers Reap More Almonds, Thieves Do, Too - - For Scott Phippen, a third-generation almond man, the hole in his fence was the first sign of trouble. And sure enough, a quick once-over confirmed the worst: two of Mr. Phippen’s trucks were missing. But the thieves were not after vehicles. They were after almonds. And at Mr. Phippen’s farm here in the Central Valley, they had hit the mother lode: 88,000 pounds of the nuts, with a street value of some $260,000. “You don’t just put that in your garage,” Mr. Phippen, 52, said with a smile. “You don’t move that at the local flea market.” Mr. Phippen had become just another victim of what farmers and the authorities say is a rash of almond heists, with the latest reported last Sunday, when a truck containing more than 40,000 pounds was stolen from a shipping yard in Fresno. <more> Oct. 8, 2006 NY Times
Almond
Grower Looks Long-Term with His Orchard Growing Practices - - Matt
Billings, a fourth-generation almond farmer based in Delano, Calif., takes a
long view of his vertical almond operation. The father of two young
children, Billings said sustainable farming will help ensure the health and
production of his land and orchard for future generations. “For us, the goal
is to not use such heavy inputs that you ruin the soil, tree or orchard for
short-term gains,” he said. “Especially with a permanent crop. If you have
an orchard in the ground, you are committed for 25 to 30 years, so you have
sustainability built in from the beginning.” The key to successful
sustainable farming, he said, is more footwork in the orchard, carefully
monitoring pest and disease pressures and staying on top of irrigation and
nutrient status on a block-by-block—and even tree-by-tree—basis. Billings
never sprays on the calendar, and makes decisions about irrigation,
fertility and other inputs with consideration for variety, soil type,
petiole samples, trap counts, yield potential and orchard conditions.
<more>
October 2006
California Almonds Newsletter
Almond Industry Explores the Definition of
Sustainable Agriculture - - This past year, the Environmental
Stewardship Campaign has explored the concept of “sustainability,” a term
growing in popularity and use by regulators, academia, granting and funding
sources, the media and the consuming public. The use of the term
sustainability and sustainable almond growing practices was the topic of
professionally moderated focus groups with almond growers, handlers, PCAs
and UC farm advisors in Chico, Modesto, Fresno and Tulare. The first—and
perhaps most remarkable—finding of the focus groups was that not a single
participant opposed the idea of developing a definition for sustainable
almond growing. In essence, defining and pursuing efforts in sustainability
was not a controversial issue among these industry members. “From my
perspective as someone who has studied several commodities, I found this
alone surprising and encouraging,” said the focus group facilitator, Dr.
Keith Douglass Warner, Director of the Faith, Ethics & Vocation Project at
Santa Clara University’s Environmental Studies Institute.
<more>
October 2006 California Almonds Newsletter
Regulators Show Interest in Sustainability at
International Conference - - State and federal regulators were well
represented at the International Conference on the Future of Agriculture in
Sacramento, illustrating intensifying interest in the dominant themes of
stewardship and sustainability. DPR’s chief Mary Ann Warmerdam emphasized,
“Governor Schwarzenegger wants clean water, air, and soils and no excuses.
He wants environmental improvement with economic growth within the concept
of sustainability.” “The bottom line is, assessment of
sustainability could become a tool for development of agricultural policy,”
said Gabriele Ludwig, senior manager of global technical and regulatory
affairs for the Almond Board of California. “This is the direction
regulators are going.”
<more>
October 2006 California Almonds Newsletter
When is it “Conservation” and when is it
“Sustainable”? - - Those involved in sustainability and conservation
efforts seem to use the words interchangeably. In fact, conservation and
sustainable are two different terms, says Dr. Keith Douglass Warner,
Director of the Faith, Ethics & Vocation Project at Santa Clara University’s
Environmental Studies Institute. Warner should know. He’s got the book on
the subject due to be published in November 2006, Agroecology in Action, MIT
Press. “Conservation focuses on individual resources like air and water,
while sustainability is a broader concept, a goal or vision,” said Warner,
who also happens to be a Franciscan Friar. “Where conservation is about
certain individual practices, sustainability is a collective effort, a
mechanism to coordinate actions. It involves the behavior of institutions
and assumes organizational strength.” What does the almond industry need to
do? The Friar has an answer: “That same organizational strength that
brought farmers together for marketing purposes is now needed to survive the
pressures of farming in California.” October 2006 California Almonds
Newsletter
ABC Funds Environmental Research - - The Almond
Board of California’s Environmental Stewardship Committee is funding a
number of ongoing research projects for 2006-07 to address environmental
issues related to almond production and orchard management. For a closer
look at some of these projects,
click here. October 2006
California Almonds Newsletter
Water Board Sets Deadline for Joining Watershed
Coalitions - -
In a
5-2 vote, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board earlier
this summer agreed to extend the Irrigated Lands Program for five years and
added a deadline for landowners to join regional watershed coalitions or
face requirements to get individual waste discharge permits. The Water Board
has also ordered names of individual coalition members to be turned in to
the Water Board annually beginning in October 2006. Coalitions must provide
the lists and maps indicating properties covered by coalitions, according to
Parry Klassen,
executive Director of the Coalition for Urban/Rural Stewardship (CURES).
<more>
October
2006 California Almonds Newsletter
Bee
worries plague almond growers. Pollination costs soar as demand for colonies
increases - - Their critical 2007 pollination season is still months
away, but California almond growers are already fretting about a potential
shortage of healthy bees. Concerns were aired at the Almond Board of
California's Annual Honey Bee Seminar in Modesto this week. In the audience
were almond growers, beekeepers, bee brokers, county agricultural
commissioners and officials from California Department of Food and
Agriculture, USDA and the University of California. Chico almond grower Dan
Cummings, chairman of the board's bee task force, said with "literally
hundreds of thousand of acres" of almond orchards coming into bearing in the
next few years, bee demand is soaring. "About 60 percent or a little more of
European honeybees that are transportable in the United States come to
California for almond pollination," Cummings said. "The total number of
colonies that are required in California for almond pollination is going to
go up substantially in the next five years."
<more> Oct. 6, 2006 Capital Press
Most Widely Used Organic Pesticide Bt Requires
Help To Kill - - The world's most widely used organic insecticide, a
plucky bacterium known as Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt for short, requires
the assistance of other microbes to perform its insect-slaying work, a new
study has found. Writing in the Sept. 26 issue of the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a team of researchers from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison reports that without the help of the native
bacteria that colonize the insect gut, Bt is unable to perform its lethal
work. The startling new insight into the workings of one of the most
important and environmentally friendly weapons in the human arsenal against
insect pests has significant implications not only for the control of
insects in agriculture, forestry and human health, but for understanding
microbial disease in humans and other animals.
<more>
Sept. 27, 2006 ScienceDaily.com
Spinach scare shakes up almond growers - -
Upward of 300 billion almonds will rain to the ground in the harvest now
under way in the Central Valley. And if all goes according to plan, none of
those nuts will make anyone sick. The prospect of a food-safety scare always
hovers over the valley's farmers and food processors. They see what is
happening in the Salinas area, the source of raw spinach believed to have
sickened more than 100 people with E. coli bacteria, killing one. "It
doesn't take much for the market to turn on you," said Doug Wells, an almond
grower near Livingston. "In order to protect our commodity and our
marketplace, we have to make sure we have a safe product."
<more>
Sept. 20, 2006 Modesto Bee
On The Job: Reaping what he knows. Farm adviser's
expertise helps growers - - Like a doctor making house calls, Roger
Duncan travels from orchard to orchard examining and diagnosing sick trees.
He identifies the disease attacking the tree and advises farmers how to
breathe life back into their ailing crops. But there are occasions when
Duncan is unable to pinpoint the problem, and his role switches from adviser
to researcher. "Sometimes we find new diseases or insects, and I'm unable to
offer a good solution because we don't yet know the answer," Duncan said.
"It might take a few years to realize how a disease is working." It can be
the most vexing part of his job as a farm adviser for the University of
California Cooperative Extension in Stanislaus County.
<more>
Sept. 19, 2006 Modesto Bee
U.S. Has Been Stockpiling Banned Pesticide Methyl
Bromide - - The United States has stockpiled millions of pounds of
methyl bromide, a pesticide that depletes the ozone layer, according to
newly public documents — information that could create a stir during
international negotiations next month, when the Bush administration seeks
permission to produce more. Methyl bromide has been banned for almost two
years under the United Nations' Montreal Protocol. Under that pact —
designed to stop the thinning of the ozone layer, which shields the planet
from harmful ultraviolet radiation — the United States is granted annual
exemptions to use the chemical at farms that grow California strawberries,
Florida tomatoes and other crops deemed "critical." The new Environmental
Protection Agency data, which show that the stockpile is big enough to
provide those farmers more than a year's supply, are likely to put the Bush
administration in the position of defending the size of the U.S. reserve
while seeking approval for chemical companies to manufacture more.
<more>
Sept. 15, 2006 LA Times
Almonds may take belated heat wave hit.
Temperatures killed many bees needed in pollination - - The bee industry
took a heavy hit in the historic July heat wave, a beekeeper said Thursday,
and that could mean trouble when almonds and other trees start to bloom next
year. The heat wave, which topped 110 degrees three days in a row in Modesto
at its worst, killed at least 19 people in Stanislaus County and 110
statewide. The toll to bees — vital to pollinating almonds and several other
major crops in the Northern San Joaquin Valley — was among the dire stories
to come out of a meeting on the heat's impact on farmers. Dennis Gudgel,
agricultural commissioner for Stanislaus County, said he is concerned that
the bee supply will fall short when blossoms need to be pollinated in late
winter and spring. The supply already was tight because of a mite that
infests hives.
<more> Sept. 15, 2006 Modesto Bee
Almond orchard pesticide felony case will go to
trial - - Criminal charges against the owner of Golden West Nuts Inc. of
Ripon and two employees will stand, and the case will go to trial Feb. 5, a
Stanislaus County Superior Court judge said Thursday. Defense attorneys
argued that an indictment against owner Jon Hoff, ranch manager John Becerra
and foreman Everardo Ruiz should be thrown out because prosecutors did not
properly instruct a grand jury. Judge Loretta Murphy Begen dismissed a few
allegations in the charges, but said a jury must rule on the overall
charges. The case involves a laborer who was sickened by methyl bromide
while he fumigated tree holes in an Oakdale almond orchard. The toxic
pesticide may be used only under controlled circumstances.
<more>
Sept. 15, 2006 Modesto Bee
Almond theft: Tough cases for growers to crack
- - With the almond harvest well under way in the Central Valley,
growers and sheriff's deputies are renewing their efforts to combat the
increasing problem of stolen almonds. The farmers and officers are working
together to develop information that may lead to suspects as well as prevent
further thefts. The ACTION (Agricultural Crime Technology Information and
Operations Network) Project recently reported that during the 2005-06 crop
year, more than $1.3 million worth of almonds were stolen from growers and
shippers in the San Joaquin Valley.
<more> Sept. 13, 2006 Ag Alert
New dormant
orchard spray regulations in effect - -
Orchard growers in California have
new regulations to follow when applying most types of dormant sprays. More
than two years in the making, the new rules from the California Department
of Pesticide Regulation went into effect on Aug. 17. Driving the new
regulations is the long recognized problem of dormant sprays being washed
from orchards during winter rains. Runoff from two insecticides used in
dormant sprays, diazinon and chlorpyrifos, prompted adoption of Total
Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for the Sacramento, Feather and San Joaquin
Rivers. The new label restrictions apply to all organophosphate,
pyrethroid and carbamate insecticides. Exempt are dormant oil only
applications or biocontrol agents such as spinosad or Bt or if the orchard
is in a “hydrologically isolated site.” This site is “any treated area that
does not produce runoff capable of entering any irrigation or drainage
ditch, canal, or other body of water.”
<more> Sept. 8, 2006 Watershed Coalition News
EPA Methyl Bromide Inventory Data Shows Downward
Trend - - Today EPA released data showing a steady decline in the
aggregate methyl bromide inventory held by companies in the United States
since 2003, when the Agency began collecting such information. The data
includes, in aggregate form, the inventory held by approximately 35
companies in the United States from 2003 to 2005. The methyl bromide
inventory data shows a continued decrease – approximately 16,422 metric tons
in 2003, 12,994 metric tons in 2004, and 9,974 metric tons in 2005 - and
demonstrates that the United States is managing its domestic inventory
appropriately, said EPA.
<more>
Sept. 8, 2006 EPA Press Release
California
pesticide regulators announce data call-in on pyrethroids - - - The
California Department of Pesticide Regulation today ordered a data call-in
from more than 120 pesticide makers and sellers to help DPR assess pesticide
impact on waterways and to protect the environment. The data call-in targets
pyrethroids, a class of insecticides originally derived from the
chrysanthemum flower, and DPR's action is based on studies that show they
may accumulate in stream sediment and are toxic to aquatic invertebrates.
Pyrethoids do not pose any immediate health concerns for people or drinking
water. DPR Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam said the action will require detailed
scientific data on 608 products from 123 registrants with deadlines that
range from six months to two years, depending upon the complexity of work.
The data call-in will serve two purposes. "First, we must take all
appropriate steps to protect the environment," Warmerdam said in a news
release. "While these products pose no direct threat to people, their impact
on aquatic ecology must be assessed so that we can take appropriate actions
under state and federal clean water law."
<more> Sept. 1, 2006 Capital Press
’06 California almond harvest begins - -
California’s 6,000 almond growers are moving into high gear gathering the
state’s fourth 1-billion-pound crop in the past five years. And everyone is
all smiles with harvest time prices of $2.45 cents per pound for Nonpareil
and $1.90 for California varieties. Between 70 million and 80 million pounds
of this year’s crop will be hulled and shelled through one of the five
hulling/shelling plants operated by Central California Almond Growers
Association (CCAGA) in Kerman, Calif. and Sanger, California. CCCAGA is the
largest huller/sheller in the world and will process $200 million worth of
almonds by Thanksgiving. The association is opening this season with a new
state-of-the-art $9.5 million huller/sheller in Kerman to handle a large
portion of the crop delivered by the association’s 453 members harvested
from 50,000 acres or orchards in a service area stretching from Pixley,
Calif. to Chowchilla, Calif. in the Central San Joaquin Valley.
<more>
Aug. 31, 2006 Western Farm Press
Judge Strikes Down Pesticide Usage Rule - - A
federal judge on Thursday rejected a Bush administration decision to weaken
rules governing pesticide use, saying the change lacked scientific
justification. It was the second time in recent years that U.S. District
Judge John C. Coughenour chastised federal agencies for failing to follow
the Endangered Species Act in licensing pesticides for sale.
<more> Aug. 25, 2006 AP
USDA sets listening sessions on cooperative
conservation - - --The Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior, Commerce,
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairman
of the White House Council on Environmental Quality today announced the
dates and locations of the next set of listening sessions on cooperative
conservation and environmental partnerships. The listening sessions will
give citizens an opportunity to exchange ideas on incentives, partnership
programs, and regulations that can improve results and promote cooperative
conservation and environmental partnerships.
<more>
Aug. 22, 2006 USDA Press Release
Conference peers into
future of ag - - Leaders from around the nation convened in Sacramento
for three days to explore the future of agriculture in an international
conference focusing on science, stewardship and sustainability. The hope was
to bring some of the best and brightest in agriculture together with their
equals in the environmental world to advance stewardship and develop
practical management solutions for an industry that has been the focus on
increasing regulation. Optimism was in the air Aug. 7 as industry leaders
gave an overview of the environmental challenges and opportunities in
farming. "By putting good minds together we can come up with effective
solutions," said Dwayne Buxton, western regional director for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. Buxton said
changes to the global economy and rapid urbanization present challenges to
the agricultural industry and finding solutions to such issues was the name
of the game this week in Sacramento. While various government, private and
industry groups have set out on the path to promote better sustainability,
more work needs to be done, said Richard Rominger, a Winters farmer and
former USDA undersecretary. "We pride ourselves in California and the U.S.
of being out in front, but in some cases other countries ... have surpassed
us," Rominger said. He adding that the industry could benefit by creating
more critical alliances and partnerships. Sustainability means "finding
solutions where everyone wins," he said.
<more> Aug. 17, 2006 Capital Press
VOC Issue Comes to the Forefront. New
air quality regulations could impact price and availability of many popular
almond compounds - - California pesticide regulators are aggressively pushing to reduce
smog-forming emissions from pesticides, called volatile organic compounds,
or VOCs. This move is likely to change how and to what degree several major
pesticides and fumigants are used in almond orchards and other crops. The
state Department of Pesticide Regulation in June announced it is initiating
an intensive program to meet federal and court-ordered mandates to reduce
VOCs from pesticides in some of the state's smoggiest areas. The
announcement made clear that the decade-old VOC issue is becoming a priority
in the air quality regulatory arena, with potential implications for almond
growers in the very near term. "This is the first time pesticides are being
regulated as air pollutants," said Gabriele Ludwig, senior manager, of
global technical and regulatory affairs for the Almond Board of California.
"This could impact 10 to 15 compounds widely used in almond orchards."
<more> July 2006 Newsletter Almond Board
of California
How VOCs came to the forefront - -
As with other environmental issues,
there are several often confusing, and sometimes conflicting, regulatory and
judicial circumstances placing increased emphasis on the reduction of VOCs
from pesticides. The San Joaquin Valley is currently operating under a 1994
State Implementation Plan developed by the California Air Resources Board to
bring the region into compliance with federal clean air standards for ozone.
That State Implementation Plan, or SIP, required a 12-percent reduction in
pesticide VOCs by 1999 in the San Joaquin Valley. Unfortunately, Ludwig
said, the basis for how those baseline VOC levels were calculated changed in
the process and DPR found itself out of compliance with the requirements of
the SIP in the last 2 years.
<more>
July 2006 Newsletter Almond Board
of California
EPA announces phase out of Guthion on
almonds by 2007 - - U.S. EPA announced June 9 a proposal to phase out all
uses of azinphos-methyl (AZM), an OP insecticide known by its trade name
Guthion, which has been under regulatory scrutiny for several years. Use on
almonds, Brussels sprouts, pistachios, walnuts, and nursery stock is to be
phased out in 2007 and other remaining uses are to be phased out in 2010.
During the phase out, EPA is proposing additional restrictions, including
reduced annual application rates, additional worker monitoring, and larger
buffer zones to help minimize ecological risks. Guthion is highly valued by
almond growers for control of Navel Orangeworm (NOW), one of the most
serious pests in almonds. NOW causes direct damage to the mature nuts.
Damaged nuts are locations where the mold, Aspergillus, can gain a foothold
and produce aflatoxins.
<more>
July 2006 Newsletter
Almond Board of California
Central Valley residents
air pesticide complaints at workshop - - The problem of pesticides' role
in air pollution may be scientifically complex, but that doesn't mean it
doesn't hit home emotionally for Central Valley residents, if a Monday night
forum on the issue is a good measure. Representatives of the state
Department of Pesticide Regulation heard from farmworkers complaining of
chronic pain from agricultural overspray, those who blame pesticide
companies for the problem and a grower who defended his industry at a
Pesticide Air Initiative Workshop in Parlier. The purpose was to get public
comment about the department's strategy to cut the part pesticides,
particularly fumigants, play in producing the Valley's serious air pollution
problem.
<more> Aug. 16, 2006 Fresno Bee
USDA ag air quality task
force meets Aug. 30 - - The USDA’s Agricultural Air Quality Task Force
will hold a meeting Aug. 30-31 in Harrisburg, Pa. to discuss current issues
facing agriculture and the potential impacts to air quality from
agricultural operations. The meeting will be held at the Harrisburg Hilton
Hotel, One North Second Street, Harrisburg, Pa. It is open to the public and
USDA will allow each speaker up to five minutes for an oral presentation.
Written comments also will be accepted. "This task force has worked
tirelessly to raise awareness of the importance of air quality issues," said
Merlyn Carlson, USDA's Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and
Environment. "Task force members are very interested in hearing from the
public about air quality issues and innovative solutions to address them."
<more>
Aug. 16, 2006 USDA Press Release
Almond Industry Works to Meet
Water Quality Regulations - - The recent decision to extend the
Conditional Ag Waivers for Irrigated Lands program for five years will allow
almond growers and other irrigators to continue seeking cooperative
solutions to water quality concerns as they arise, according to the Almond
Board of California. The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board
voted in July to extend the Irrigated Lands Program for five years. It added
a deadline for landowners to join regional watershed coalitions or face
requirements to get individual waste discharge permits. Landowners who
discharge irrigation water have until the end of 2006 to sign up for a
coalition in their watershed area or face the costlier alternative.
<more> Aug. 7, 2006 Almond Board of
California Press Release
EPA Gives Green Light to
One Group of Pesticides, Bans Another - - After a decade-long review,
the Environmental Protection Agency has decided to allow continued use of 31
popular but controversial agricultural pesticides, concluding cumulative
exposure does not pose a health risk. Although the potential danger of the
chemicals, known as organophosphates, has been assessed individually over
the years -- and in some cases their uses curtailed -- this was the first
time the EPA examined the chemicals' risk as a group. Seventeen
organophosphates have been taken off the market during the 10-year review
period. But diazonin and chlorpyrifos as well as 29 others may still be used
in agriculture, said the EPA.
<more>
Aug. 7, 2006 AP
DPR’s Environmental Justice
advisory group meets Aug. 24 - - The California Department of Pesticide
regulation has created a Web page on its Environmental Justice planning
efforts
www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/envjust/planning.htm.
DPR encourage interested parties to submit comments on discussions and
recommendations. Working drafts of documents will be posted, along with
agendas and minutes for meetings of the informal workgroup providing DPR
recommendations on EJ strategic and implementation planning. The next
meeting of the EJ planning advisory workgroup will be from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m., Thursday, Aug. 24, Room 133, Department of Food and Agriculture
building, 1220 N Street, Sacramento. The public is invited to attend. An
agenda for the meeting will be posted on the EJ Web page the week of Aug.
14. Aug. 4, 2006 DPR Press Release
Demand and Price Rise for
Organic Almonds - - It’s the plaintive cry heard from the crunchiest
food cooperative to the most profit-hungry corporation: Got almonds?
Specifically, any organic ones? Jesse Schwartz, president of the tiny nut
and nut butter operation called Living Tree Community Foods in Berkeley,
Calif., says he has his sources but he’s not sharing them, especially not
with a newspaper reporter. And they’ve given up the search entirely at
Newman’s Own Organics, the organic branch of the Newman’s Own food line.
“The reason we never put organic almonds in our chocolate, which we would
love to do, is just that there aren’t a lot of organic almonds around,” said
Peter Meehan, who runs the company with Nell Newman, daughter of the actor
Paul Newman. In the last year, organic almond prices have more than doubled,
to the highest that people in the business can remember.
<more>
Aug. 2, 2006 NY Times
EPA Says U.S. Pesticide
Safety Highest in the World - - Americans today can be confident that
pesticides used in the United States meet the highest health and safety
standards in the world, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. On
Aug. 3, 2006, EPA is expected to complete a 10-year review of 231 food use
pesticides that resulted in changes to how these chemicals are regulated in
this country. "EPA's groundbreaking effort is being welcomed at dinner
tables across the nation. The Bush Administration is ensuring pesticides
used to grow the fruits, vegetables and other foods families are serving
meet the highest protective standards in the world," said EPA Administrator
Stephen L. Johnson. "This 10-year review enables farmers to grow a
bountiful, healthy food supply for generations of American families."
<more> Aug. 1, 2006 EPA Press Release
Air board workshops set on proposed diesel emission
rules - - A proposal to expand state regulation of agricultural
stationary engines will be the focus of public meetings in Colusa, Durham
and Sacramento next week. The California Air Resources Board will go over
the proposed regulations, similar to those already adopted in the San
Joaquin Valley and South Coast air districts, at meetings on July 26 and 27.
The regulations are intended to reduce emissions for the estimated 9,000 to
11,000 in-use ag engines operating throughout California on agricultural
operations. The state Air Resources Board puts emissions from stationary
irrigations pump engines, alone, at 700 tons to 800 tons of diesel
particulate matter and 10,000 tons to 12,000 tons of oxides of nitrogen.
<more>
July 25, 2006 Ag Alert
Almond growers ripe for
boost in processing. Expansion in Kerman has environmentally friendly
impacts - - Already the largest sheller and huller of almonds in the
world, the Central California Almond Growers Association is poised to
expand. The move will nearly double the pace at which almonds can be
processed. The addition of a third huller-sheller operation at the
association's plant seven miles south Kerman will have some significant
environmentally friendly impacts when it starts in mid-August to separate
hulls and shells from nut meat, said Don McKinney, a Madera grower and the
association's chairman of the board. Those impacts include: It will mean
less stockpiling of almonds before they go through the plant's machinery.
The new plant should virtually eliminate the need to truck almonds from
Kerman to the Sanger processing plant, a round trip of 75 miles. It will
reduce truck traffic traveling through metropolitan Fresno. The proximity of
the Kerman site to the Panoche Creek Packing Co. will also reduce truck
miles.
<more> July 21, 2006 Fresno Bee
DPR sets workshops on air
quality, updates pesticide cancellations - - The California Department
of Pesticide Regulation will hold three public workshops in August to hear
comments on DPR's air quality initiative. Workshops will be held in:
* Oxnard, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8, at the Marriott Courtyard, 600E. Esplanade
Drive, Oxnard.
* Sacramento, 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, at Cal/EPA Headquarters, 1001 I St.,
Sacramento.
* Parlier, 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 14, at the Kearney Agricultural Research
Center in Fresno County.
DPR launched its air quality initiative in May to reduce volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) in pesticides that contribute to smog. DPR has committed to
VOC reductions that will meet state air quality standards-- and set a
national standard for pesticides - by 2008.
<more> July 18, 2006 DPR Press Release
Q&A: Pombo
pushes habitat bill. Law is unfair to landowners, ineffective for animals,
he says - - U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo, the Tracy Republican who heads the
House Resources Committee, stirs conflict with almost every major initiative
he launches, from offshore drilling to Indian gambling. Few members of
Congress have as much influence over the nation's environmental laws as
Pombo. And no topic has been more contentious than his legislation to
overhaul the Endangered Species Act. The House approved Pombo's sweeping
rewrite of the 1973 law on a 229-193 vote in September. Environmentalists
widely denounced it as a disturbing retreat from habitat protection and a
paperwork nightmare for agencies seeking to revive the country's 1,268
threatened and endangered plants and animals, 186 of which are in
California. In the Senate, even Republicans greeted Pombo's bill with a
measure of skepticism. The Bush administration, while supporting it, is
worried about the cost of Pombo's plan to compensate landowners for
restrictions on property use. In an interview, Pombo discussed why he thinks
the act President Nixon signed into law needs an overhaul and how his bill
would work.
<more> July 17, 2006 Modesto Bee
Household Pesticides
Scrutinized. State agency may curtail use of pyrethroids after discovering
runoff is killing aquatic life. - - Alarmed that popular insecticides
that end up in urban streams are killing tiny aquatic creatures,
California's pesticide agency is conducting a review that is likely to lead
to restrictions on many products used on lawns and gardens. The chemicals,
pyrethroids, are man-made versions of natural compounds in chrysanthemum
flowers. Their use has skyrocketed in the past few years as U.S. consumers
and exterminators search for less-toxic alternatives for dangerous
insecticides already banned. But last fall, a UC Berkeley scientist reported
that pyrethroids are polluting streams in Northern California suburbs,
wiping out crustaceans and insects vital to ecosystems. Mary-Ann Warmerdam,
director of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation, said Thursday that
notices will be sent next month to manufacturers of about 600 pyrethroid
products informing them that the state is reevaluating their use. That kicks
off a process that will probably culminate in new regulations, and perhaps
bans of some products in California.
<more> July 14, 2006 LA Times
Ozone town halls set for San Joaquin Valley - - The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is hosting six town halls July 26-28 to discuss reaching new federal health-based standards for ozone. Town Hall Meeting schedule is: July 26 1 to 4 pm, Bakersfield, Air District offices, 7 to 10 pm, Delano, Cesar Chavez High School; July 27 1 to 4 pm, Fresno, Air District offices, 7 to 10 pm, Huron, Huron Middle School; July 28 9 am to 12 noon, Modesto, Air District offices, 2:30 to 5:30 pm, Stockton, San Joaquin COG offices. An informational flier and a discussion paper with background information are available at: http://www.valleyair.org/Town_Hall/Town_Hall_Meetings.htm July 13, 2006 SJVAPCD Press Release
1.05 billion-pound almond
crop forecast. Good weather, greater acreage combine to put projection near
record - - About a dozen almond handlers gathered in a Modesto
conference room Thursday and waited for the federal government to spill a
secret. They were there to hear an updated projection on California's 2006
almond crop, a number kept under wraps until the stroke of noon so no one
would get an unfair advantage in the market. The estimate — 1.05 billion
pounds, close to the record 1.09 billion in 2002 — was not a surprise, given
the good weather since late spring. A little suspense hung in the air
nonetheless, because fluctuations in the almond supply can affect prices and
the willingness of candy-makers and other customers to keep buying the nuts.
Thus, the handlers had their cell phones to their ears, ready to pass on the
projection to distant colleagues as soon as a federal official revealed it
at the Almond Board of California headquarters. Afterward, they said the
projection was about what they expected. "This might cause (prices) to firm
up a bit," said Conrad de la Torre, general manager of The Almond Co., a
Chowchilla processor. "At least we know where we are headed."
<more> July 7, 2006 Modesto Bee
Objective forecast: 1.050
billion pounds - - The July 6, 2006 objective almond forecast for the
2006-2007 crop year is 1.050 billion meat pounds, according to the USDA’s
National Agricultural Statistics Service – California Field Office (NASS/CFO).
This forecast is based on 580,000 bearing acres. Doug Flohr and Jennie
Peterson of NASS said the forecast is up 3 percent from the May 10, 2006
subjective forecast of 1.020 billion pounds and up 15 percent from this
year’s crop to date of 911 million pounds as of May 31, 2006. The official
announcement was made today at the Modesto office of the Almond Board of
California, which funds the forecast.
<more>
July 6, 2006 Almond Board of California Press Release
Atrazine declared “safe”
following 12 year EPA study - - A 12-year review of nearly 1,000 studies
has determined the popular herbicide atrazine is safe. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says there is a “reasonable certainty
that no harm will result” to infants, children or other consumers from
possible exposure to atrazine. Atrazine is one of the more commonly used
protection products. It not only saved farmers up to $37 an acre in
broadleaf weed control costs and yield losses in corn last year, it is the
herbicide of choice for farmers who practice environmentally-friendly
no-till planting.
<more> June 30, 2006 Brownfield Ag News
Irrigation Waiver Program
Enforcement Letters Sent to Hundreds - - More than 350 owners of
irrigated lands in the Central Valley received registered letters from the
Water Board in April asking how they intend to comply with the Irrigated
Lands Program. Known as a “California Water Code 13267 Letter,” the
communications ask landowners to file a “Technical Report” within 30 days so
the water board can determine if the landowner is a discharger under the
Water Code, according to the Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental
Stewardship’s spring newsletter. The letters were mailed to landowners in
nine counties in the Central Valley including Kern, Kings, Tulare, Madera,
Merced, Colusa, Yolo, Solano and Glenn counties. Sources for the landowner
names included county tax assessor records and coalition non-responder or
membership lists. The entire newsletter can be downloaded by clicking
here.
June 28, 2006 CURES
Watershed Coalition
newsletter published - - The Spring 2006 Issue of Watershed Coalition
News (WCN), a publication developed by the Coalition for Urban/Rural
Environmental Stewardship (CURES) with a grant from the Almond Board of
California, is now available. The goal of the project is to link growers to
the watershed coalitions throughout the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys.
WCN is published quarterly and made available as a PDF file (combined
version) or a 4 page, 2-color hard copy newsletter (either North or South
Valley). PDF versions are available at
http://www.curesworks.org/newsletter.asp.
June 27,2006.
Water board cracks down on
farmers - - Water-quality enforcers acted Thursday to ensure the state
will be able to identify farmers who discharge water into Central Valley
streams, saying a network of voluntary coalitions were not adequately
reporting membership or pollution data. “We do not know which farmer is and
is not in the program," said the board's Assistant Executive Director Ken
Landau. "It is a major drain on staff time, and it severely hampers our
enforcement efforts." Consequently, on Thursday, the water board set a Dec.
31 deadline for enrollment in coalitions, and these groups, in turn, will
have to identify members annually. Farm groups decried the water board's
decision, saying that it will alienate those growers who have made a
good-faith effort to comply with the program and make it even more difficult
to bring polluters to task.
<more> June 23, 2006 Sacramento Bee
Water runoff program gains
five more years - - Water officials extended a controversial farm water
monitoring program Thursday after pleas from Valley residents who say their
water's too dirty to drink. In doing so, the Central Valley Regional Water
Quality Control Board acknowledged the program may be headed back to court.
Some experts believe farm runoff is the Central Valley's biggest source of
water pollution, as waters seeped in pesticides, animal feces and sediment
drain into waterways, the Delta and underground basins. A 2001 state law
made farmers subject to the Clean Water Act. But the board's so-called
waiver program lets farmers avoid strict wastewater discharge requirements
and monitor their own runoff by joining special coalitions. After a slow
start, the board extended the program for five years Thursday over the
objection of environmentalists who say the waiver program isn't doing any
good.
<more> June 22, 2006 Stockton Record
Ag contributes to air cleanup
- - A two-pronged
effort by state regulators to reduce smog from agricultural sources should
make the San Joaquin Valley a healthier place to live.
With the help of growers
and manufacturers, the effort should significantly reduce one of the top
sources of smog-forming compounds in the San Joaquin Valley one of the
smoggiest air basins in the nation. The state Department of Pesticide
Regulation is targeting fumigants -- gases injected into the ground to kill
pests -- and volatile organic compounds in chemicals used on the soil or on
plants to kill pests and weeds.
<more> June 22, 2006 Bakersfield
Californian editorial
EPA targets Guthion for
phase-out - - Fruit and nut growers are among those slated to lose a
highly effective pesticide – azinphos-methyl – in a proposed phase-out of
the chemical. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal also
includes longer restricted entry intervals for workers when phosmet is used.
Growers will also be hit with additional restrictions during the phase-out
period, which for almonds ends in 2007 and for other crops in 2010. While
azinphos-methyl, which Bayer markets as Guthion, has not been shown to pose
a dietary risk to consumers, it does pose potential risks to farmworkers,
pesticide applicators, water quality and aquatic ecosystems, says EPA
<more> June 16, 2006 Capital Press
That Nutty Jackrabbit.
Ripon manufacturer makes unique specialty equipment for walnut, almond
harvests - - Jackrabbits dart through almond and walnut orchards as
growers work to bring in the crops each year. They aren't a nuisance. Far
from it. They are pieces of nut-harvesting equipment made by Jackrabbit Inc.
at its plant just south of downtown Ripon. The company, founded by Earl
Anderson in a Modesto garage in 1982, has become a major supplier to nut
growers in the Central Valley and elsewhere. Anderson, the company
president, said his machines are designed to move quickly, an advantage for
growers hoping to finish the harvest before autumn rain. A 335-cubic-foot
cart can be filled in five or six minutes, he said. "It used to be you could
do a load of nuts an hour - that was high speed," he said. "The harvesters
have gotten faster over time."
<more> June 12, 2006 Modesto Bee
EPA Proposes Phaseout of Pesticide
Azinphos-Methyl and Longer Restricted
Entry Intervals for Phosmet
- - To increase
protection for farm workers and the environment, EPA is
proposing to phase out the
remaining uses of azinphos-methyl (AZM). Use
on almonds, Brussels
sprouts, pistachios, walnuts, and nursery stock
will be phased out by
2007, and use on apples, blueberries, cherries,
parsley, and pears by
2010. During the phaseout, EPA is proposing
additional restrictions,
including reduced annual application rates,
additional worker
monitoring, and larger buffer zones to help minimize
risks. The Agency expects
growers of these crops to successfully adopt
and transition to the
available safer alternatives. All other uses of
this pesticide have been
voluntarily cancelled by the manufacturer.
<more> June 9, 2006 EPA Press Release
First ’06 almond crop
estimate 1.02 billion pounds - - If realized, it will be the fourth
billion pound crop in the past five years and maybe one of the most welcomed
billion-pound crops. In a bit of a surprise, the initial forecast for the
2006 California almond crop is 1.02 billion pounds. It was surprising
because an early frost damaged early blooming varieties and the spring was
one of the wettest and coldest in recent years, prompting growers to spray
fungicides repeatedly to protect the crop. However, growers reported some of
the most aggressive bee pollination in many seasons and bee supplies were
more than adequate. Earlier growers were concerned there would not be enough
bees to pollinate the crop, but record hive rental prices enticed more
out-of-state beekeepers to bring more hives into the state.
<more> June 6, 2006 Western Farm Press
Air monitoring results
start for rural Parlier - - A state pesticide air sampling program
focusing on Parlier is expected to announce Friday that the first three
months of the program, from January through March, found no airborne levels
that are of any human health concern. The monitoring program was triggered
by grassroots efforts and complaints that the state Department of Pesticide
Regulation should do more to protect public health, notably among farm
workers and residents who live in areas that may be vulnerable to pesticide
drift. DPR issued a brief note today stating that pesticide levels were
within those considered safe.
<more> June 2, 2006 Capital Press
Growers group is bullish on almonds - - Inspired by the changing economic landscape, a group of Mid-Valley farmers got together to meet a demand that almost exists. They call themselves Cortina Hulling & Shelling, LLC. In a few years, fields where tomatoes once grew will yield protein-rich almonds. Thanks in part to a successful health-food marketing campaign, demand and thus prices for almonds are booming. There has been a 5.8 percent increase in almond consumption over the last 20 years. Growers are following the cash and investing in trees, said Daryl Brun, a field supervisor for Blue Diamond Growers, a cooperative made up of almond farmers. <more> June 2, 2006 Yuba City Appeal Democrat
State reveals plan to
reduce air pollutants. Announcement follows appeal of court order to do so -
- The state Department of Pesticide Regulation is promoting its new
initiative to improve air quality just days after California appealed a
federal court order telling it to cut down on smog-forming pollutants from
pesticides in the San Joaquin Valley and elsewhere. The department announced
the plan Tuesday, saying it would reduce a key component of smog that
evaporates from chemicals used to fumigate insects and pathogens. Fumigants
make up a fourth of the pesticides used in California every year. Yet on
Friday, the state appealed an April order by U.S. District Judge Lawrence
Karlton that California was violating the Clean Air Act and required it to
reduce volatile organic compound emissions from fumigants and other
pesticides by 20 percent of 1991 levels by Jan. 1, 2008. The suit was
brought by five citizen groups from the San Joaquin Valley and Ventura
County.
<more>
May 31, 2006 SF Chronicle
One nutty pest. Leaffooted
plant bug strikes almonds and pistachios. - - A flying brown bug with a
long, piercing snout is giving central San Joaquin Valley nut growers fits.
The leaffooted plant bug has been found from Kern to Butte counties, with
damage ranging from insignificant to severe, said University of California
farm advisers who have been helping growers battle the bug. "This can be a
major pest for almonds and pistachios," said Mark Freeman, a UC farm adviser
in Fresno. "And just a few bugs can cause severe damage. They don't just hit
one nut; they hit hundreds." Freeman said he knows of one farmer who lost a
third of his almond crop to the inch-long bug. He said dollar losses on what
had been expected to be a bumper crop could escalate into the thousands.
<more> May 31, 2006 Fresno Bee
State to Target Pesticide
Pollution. Officials are seeking the reformulation of hundreds of products
and plan stricter rules on soil fumigants to cut smog-causing emissions.
- - State officials are mounting a major initiative to clean up California's
smoggy farm regions with new regulations and policies that will target
hundreds of pesticides. The Department of Pesticide Regulation - long
criticized for failing to act as air quality deteriorated in the San Joaquin
Valley - has developed a strategy to eliminate tons of smog-forming gases
that waft daily from fields treated with fumigants and other agricultural
chemicals. The agency has asked manufacturers to begin reformulating more
than 700 insecticides, herbicides and other pest-killing chemicals, and it
plans to impose stricter rules next year on the use of soil fumigants, which
are highly polluting gases that by weight account for about one-quarter of
all pesticide applied on California crops. The state initiative would
establish the only air pollution standards for pesticides in the nation. The
aim is to begin cleaning up emissions soon, reducing air pollution from
pesticides at least 20% by 2008.
<more>
May 30, 2006 LA Times
DPR announces air quality initiative, pledges to
meet goals -- The California Department of Pesticide Regulation today
launched a comprehensive pesticide initiative to improve air quality
statewide. The initiative -- which targets air toxins and smog-producing
chemicals from pesticide emissions -- will achieve state air quality goals
by 2008 and set a national standard. "For years, there have been complaints
that we dragged our feet as air quality declined," said DPR Director
Mary-Ann Warmerdam. "That is history. This Administration is committed to
cleaning up our air, and DPR will do its part to achieve that goal. The
challenges are difficult, but if government and industry work together, we
will help our environment, enhance our economy, and create a model pesticide
air program for the nation."
<more> May 30, 2006 DPR Press Release
International conference on ag’s future set for
Sacramento Aug. 7-9 - - A conference on environmental issues in
agriculture and strategies for addressing those issues through the
integration of science, technology and policy will be held in Sacramento
Aug. 7-9. Registration is underway for the "International Conference on The
Future of Agriculture: Science, Stewardship, and Sustainability", to be held
at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sacramento. The agenda includes discussion
of success stories in the areas of air quality, water quality, waste
management, and environmental stewardship and a look at how to exchange
knowledge on best management practices and technical solutions for farming
challenges. The conference is sponsored by the US EPA ORD Hazardous
Substance Technical Liaisons Program, the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, the Midwest Hazardous Substance Research
Center--Kansas State University, the California Department of Food and
Agriculture, USDA ARS, and California EPA. Complete information can be found
at
http://www.dce.ksu.edu/dce/conf/ag&environment/
May 25, 2006 CalEPA Press Release
100,000 acres of almonds moving into production.
Experts predict the California almond crop will reach 1.5 billion pounds
annually with a few years. - - There have been 100,000 acres of new
almond orchards planted in California within the past three years, according
to the California field office of the National Agricultural Statistics
Service. These new orchards can easily produce 300 million pounds more
annually of almonds when they reach maturity. These orchards will be added
to the estimated 580,000 bearing acreage inventory now in the ground that
have proven to easily produce more than 1 billion pounds annually.
<more> May 22, 2006 Western Farm Press
Ag burning rule up for
discussion June 5 - - Potential changes to the air quality rules
governing burning of agricultural waste will be discussed at a scoping
meeting to be held June 5 at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control
District’s office. The meeting will be video-conferenced to the district’s
Modesto and Fresno offices. The regulations, known formally as Rule 4103
(Open Burning), are required under state legislation SB 705 signed by Gov.
Davis in 2003. The scoping session will deal with the prohibition on burning
orchard removals which is scheduled to be enforced as of June 1, 2007.
District staff will present preliminary information on alternatives to
burning ag waste. Farm groups are being asked to provide technical
feasibility and compliance information that may be used in developing the
draft rule. The meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Fresno office, 1990 E.
Gettysburg Ave. Documents associated with this meeting can be downloaded
from the District's website at
http://www.valleyair.org/Workshops/public_workshops_idx.htm
May 18, 2006 Air District Press Release
Kern growers go nuts -
- Kern County almond producers have finally squashed grapes to become the
Golden Empire's top agricultural commodity. According to the county
Department of Agriculture and Measurement Standards' 2005 crop report, which
will be presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, increased acreage
and high prices launched almond value into the stratosphere, bringing in
$594 million last year to displace grapes ($537 million) and take the No. 1
position.
<more> May 13, 2006 Bakersfield
Californian
Agriculture works to clear air on volatile organic
compounds regulations. - - It’s been an environmental murmur in the
agricultural industry for almost two decades now, but the ramifications
could soon be seismic if the issue of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from
pesticide emissions are not given due diligence. VOCs contribute to the
formation of ground level ozone and are regulated under the federal Clean
Air Act. “VOC emissions are essentially the next step for pesticide
regulation,” says Paul Buttner, manager of environmental affairs for the
California Rice Commission. “We’ve long assessed pesticides for impacts on
water quality and wildlife. Air is the new frontier. Future VOC regulation
will likely elevate pesticides to more of an even par with other
pollutants.” Many pollutant sources contribute to VOC emissions, including
vehicular traffic, oil and gas production, dairy waste and many more. In the
grand scheme of air quality, VOC emissions from pesticides are only a minor
contributor, estimated to account for less than 3 percent of the VOC
emissions inventory in California, according to the California Air Resources
Board (ARB). However, in certain agricultural areas such as the San Joaquin
Valley and the Sacramento Valley, pesticide VOC emissions are estimated to
account for as much as 10 percent of the inventory. <more> May 11, 2006 Western Farm Press
Mounds of almonds.
Subjective forecast is 1.02 billion pounds - - Despite weather worries
early in the year, the state's almond crop will likely bounce back to 1
billion pounds, a federal agency reported Wednesday. Industry people were
concerned that the harvest would fall short for a second straight year
because of cold and rainy conditions during and after the late-winter bloom.
But plenty of nuts have emerged on the branches, and the August-November
harvest looks to be a strong one, the National Agricultural Statistics
Service said in its initial report for 2006. "It started off a little scary,
but it's made a nice recovery," said Doug Flohr, a statistician for the
agency, during a briefing at the Almond Board of California offices in
Modesto. The report, known as the "subjective" estimate, was based on a
telephone survey of 368 growers, representing 24 percent of the acreage. The
"objective" estimate, based on the agency's own inspection of the orchards,
will be released in late June.
<more> May 11, 2006 Modesto Bee
Demand for farmland grows. Investors are
increasingly sinking their money into Valley ag real estate. - -
Farmland in the central San Joaquin Valley is in strong demand, often by
buyers who have little interest in the crops. As a result, the value of
agricultural real estate in the Valley rose last year, according to
appraisers who compiled the 2006 Trends in Agricultural Land and Lease
Values report. In many cases, investors are more interested in the land than
in the crops, with the possible exception of almonds, which are expanding in
acreage and value. Investors are buying farm ground using 1031 exchanges,
which enable people who sell property to invest in other real estate tax
free.
<more> May 11,
2006 Fresno Bee
EPA releases National Strategy for Agriculture
- - The U.S. EPA today released its National Strategy for Agriculture to
initiate a closer partnership with agriculture in fulfilling the agency's
mission of protecting human health and the environment. "President Bush
understands that agriculture is a vital part of our nation's economy and a
vital partner in protecting our nation's environment," said EPA
Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "By working together on our shared
challenges, EPA and the farming community can do what's good for
agriculture, good for our environment, and good for the American people."
EPA intends to use communication, collaboration and innovation to strengthen
its relationship with the agricultural community. The agency considers
agriculture a producer of solutions to environmental problems.
<more> May 8, 2006 EPA Press Release
EPA Drops Plan to Approve Methyl Bromide Substitute - - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn its plan to approve a highly toxic fumigant for strawberries and other high-value crops after California officials, labor unions, environmentalists and others objected that nearby residents and farmworkers could be in danger. The new pesticide, methyl iodide, is designed to replace methyl bromide, which is banned under an international treaty because it damages the Earth's ozone layer. Strawberry growers, concentrated mostly in Ventura and Santa Cruz counties, have been searching for nearly 15 years for a fumigant to replace methyl bromide, which they have been phasing out but are still using under exemptions granted by the United Nations. Facing criticism that it was substituting one dangerous chemical for another, the EPA decided not to register methyl iodide, also known as iodomethane. It will reevaluate the pesticide next year. <more> April 27, 2006 LA Times
Regulators get up-close and
personal view of environmental stewardship at Hunter Farms - - Scott
Hunter believes actions speak louder than
words when it comes to farming
commercial almonds in an environmentally friendly way. Hunter talks often
about the importance of environmental stewardship as former chairman of the
Almond Board of California’s board of directors. But he also takes steps at
Hunter Farms to “walk the talk” of environmentally friendly farming in his
commercial almond operation in Livingston, Calif. Virtually
every aspect of his farming operation has been recrafted with an eye toward
reducing impacts to air and water quality and improving pesticide use
efficiency.
<more> April 2006 Environmental
Stewardship Newsletter
Ag Waiver requirements to
increase this summer - - The next phase of the Conditional Ag Waiver for
Irrigated Lands program begins this summer, and could have significant
long-term impacts on the availability and regulations for many commonly used
crop protection products in almonds. Under Phase II of the Conditional Ag
Waivers program, watershed coalitions this summer will expand their toxicity
sampling procedures to screen for more than 50 commonly used pesticides. The
expanded sampling requirement could raise coalition dues as much as 50
percent for almond growers and other farmer members.
<more> April 2006 Environmental
Stewardship Newsletter
Methyl bromide on its way
out. Supplies will become critically tight, perhaps sooner than growers
think - - Almond growers are working on borrowed time when it comes to
fumigating new orchards and should be prepared perhaps within two years to
live without Methyl Bromide as a pre-plant soil treatment. Methyl bromide
has been on the chopping block under the international Montreal Protocol
since 1996. Because the process has dragged in and out of the news for
nearly 10 years, growers may have developed “methyl bromide fatigue” when it
comes to worrying about the loss of this important fumigant, says Gabriele
Ludwig, the Almond Board’s senior manager for technical and regulatory
affairs. However, she says, growers need to take notice and realize there is
only a limited amount of time Methyl Bromide will be available for both
pre-plant and post-harvest treatment.
<more> April 2006 Environmental
Stewardship Newsletter
DPR proposes nearly 100
pesticide cancellations -- The California Department of Pesticide
Regulation today proposed cancellation of nearly 100 pesticide products
because registrants failed to provide data to protect the state’s air
quality. DPR took action based on a reevaluation notice sent to registrants
-- manufacturers and sellers -- on February 16, 2005. The notice required
registrants to submit data on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in their
products by the end of last year. VOCs contribute to ground-level ozone, an
air pollutant harmful to humans and plant life. DPR is working to reduce
VOCs in pesticides to meet state air quality goals.
<more> April 25,
2006 DPR Press Release
Activists sue over dust rule. Environmentalists say
the EPA approved a weak, redundant measure to control farm pollution. -
- Activists sued the federal government this week over a San Joaquin Valley
dust control rule, saying powerful farm lobbies swayed the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency to approve a weak measure. Earthjustice
filed the suit on Wednesday against EPA in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in San Francisco. EPA officials, who approved the farm dust rule in
February, declined to comment on the case.
<more> April 21, 2006 Fresno Bee
Draft requirements for ag
diesel engines posted by CARB - - The California Air Resources Board
(CARB) has posted a public workshop agenda and draft regulatory requirements
for in-use stationary diesel engines used in agriculture at
http://www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/ag/inuseag.htm. At
the same website, you will find a public workshop notice providing
information about the April 26 (Modesto) April 27 (Sacramento) workshop
arrangements and about CARB's intention to amend the Airborne Toxic Control
Measure for Stationary Compression Ignition Engines to add emission
standards and other requirements for in-use stationary agricultural
engines. April 19, 2006 CARB Press Release
Sustainable farming award nominations sought for California farmers
- -
For the first time, the Leopold Conservation Award will be presented in 2006
to a California landowner who demonstrates responsible stewardship and
management of natural resources. Nominations of California farmers and
ranchers are sought for the $10,000 prize. The deadline is July 14, 2006.
“We’re proud to bring the Leopold Conservation Award to California in
partnership with Sustainable Conservation and the California Farm Bureau
Federation to honor the voluntary conservation work of private landowners in
the Golden State,” said Dr. Brent Haglund, President of Sand County
Foundation, the award’s sponsor. “California has extraordinary natural
resources, a strong and diverse agricultural sector, and untold
opportunities for effective conservation.”
<more> April 19, 2006 Sand County Foundation press release
Scientists Scramble to Find
Alternatives to Banned Pesticide - - Since the 1940s, methyl bromide has
served farmers well as a stunningly lethal fumigant, killing off pests such
as fungi, weeds, insects and rodents. But amid requirements that farmers
stop using it, University of Georgia students are joining an international
effort to find an earth-friendly alternative. Alex Cisnos, a plant
pathologist, and other researchers at the university's Coastal Plain
Experiment Station in south Georgia have been testing an alternative
fumigant, metam-sodium, in a one-quarter acre test plot of vegetables,
including tomatoes and squash.
<more> March 31, 2006 AP
Schwarzenegger names new
CalEPA undersecretary - - Gov. Schwarzenegger has named Dan Skopec,
undersecretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency. He
replaces Jim Branham who left in October 2005 to become the first Executive
Officer of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. Skopec, 34, has served as deputy
cabinet secretary in the Office of the Governor since 2003, handling energy,
environment, and resources issues for the Governor and is a member of the
Governor’s Climate Action Team. Skopec served as staff director of the U.S.
House of Representatives Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy Policy,
Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs. Prior to that, he served as
Congressman Doug Ose's legislative director. His appointment does not
require Senate confirmation. March 30, 2006
Gov. Schwarzenegger Press Release
MJC panel Thursday examines
Kennedy environmental book - - Modesto Junior College will present a
Panel Discussion on Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s book “Crimes Against Nature” on
Thursday, March 23 at 7 p.m., in Forum 110 on East Campus, located at 435
College Avenue in Modesto. Panelists who represent a variety of political,
social and economic points of view will discuss and debate the major issues
raised by Kennedy’s book. Dr. Gabriella Ludwig, Senior Manager of Global,
Technical & Regulatory Affairs at the Almond Board of California, will be
one of the panelists. The event is free and open to the public. In his
book, Crimes Against Nature, Kennedy, criticizes many of the current
policies and actions of President George W. Bush and his administration as
being detrimental to the environment. <more>
March 22, 2006 MJC Press Release
Pesticide case stands
against nut firm. Prosecutor must add details to indictment - - A case
against the owner and two employees of Golden West Nuts Inc. of Ripon will
stand, a judge said Wednesday, but a prosecutor must add more detail to an
indictment that lays out six criminal charges. The case involves a laborer
who was sickened by methyl bromide while he fumigated tree holes in an
Oakdale almond orchard. The toxic pesticide may be used only under
controlled circumstances. Arturo Becerra became sick after a hose on a gas
mask broke and methyl bromide was splashed on his face. He spent a week in
the hospital and has ongoing stomach ailments. His brother, his immediate
supervisor and the president of the company now stand accused. Defense
attorneys argued that an indictment handed down by a grand jury on Nov. 16
should be dismissed because prosecutors did not specify the facts on which
they will rely to prove the alleged violations.
<more> March 9, 2006 Modesto Bee
Trees' impact varies
-
-The tree is a beloved symbol of environmental health, but when it comes to
combating pollution, not all trees are equal. Just as some provide better
shade than others, some types apparently are superior at filtering
particulates from the air. In the Central Valley, where particulates are a
wintertime scourge, evergreens are considered more useful than trees that
drop their leaves in fall. Pines and deodar cedars, with their abundant
needles, are favorites of Tom Cahill, a University of California, Davis,
atmospheric physicist who has studied particle pollution around the world.
Deodars especially are suited for the dry summer climate of Sacramento, he
said: "They have a low water requirement, a lot of surface area and are very
pretty."
<more> March 9, 2006 Sacramento Bee
March
31 deadline for IPM Innovator nominations - - The California Department of
Pesticide Regulation will honor IPM Innovators for the 13th year this fall.
Nominations will be accepted
until March
31. See
www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/ipminov/innovatr.htm
for DPR contact information
Anxious for almonds. Late
rains may hurt pollination, yield - - Almond growers are waiting to see
whether the past month's weather — an uneasy mix of sun, frost and rain —
will take a bite out of the 2006 crop. Wet weather could keep bees from
efficiently pollinating almond orchards that already have endured spells of
cold and rain over the past month, in between unseasonably warm days. Ron
Fisher of Fisher Nut Co. in Modesto said it's too early to say how the
weather will affect this year's crop. The blossoms have to survive the
elements in February and March if they are to develop into nuts that mature
in the heat of summer. "We will know a lot more at the end of April — what
was pollinated and what the trees can hold," Fisher said.
<more> March 7, 2006 Modesto Bee
Almond Environmental Stewardship Tour showcases
industry's commitment to environmentally responsible production methods - - More than 20 members of state, federal and regional environmental
regulatory agencies recently toured Hunter Farms in Livingston to see the
latest innovations and technologies almond growers are using in their
adoption of environmentally friendly farming practices. From shredded and
composted orchard prunings to high-tech spray technology, almond grower
Scott Hunter displayed the innovative approaches he is using to meet
mounting regulations while maintaining a productive and profitable orchard
system. Hunter, chairman of the Almond Board of California, joined other
grower members of the Almond Board's Environmental Committee at the Almond
Board of California's Environmental Stewardship Tour to give regulators, in
some cases, their first in-person look at the orchards they regulate.
<more> March 3, 2006 Almond Board of California Press Release
EPA Publishes Final Water Quality Criteria for
Diazinon - - The EPA made available on February 23rd the final
recommended aquatic life ambient water quality criteria for diazinon. This
pesticide is traditionally used throughout the US to control insects in
agricultural areas, households, and urban settings. While it became unlawful
to sell diazinon for residential uses in the US after December 2004, it is
still lawful to use diazinon properly for non-residential or agricultural
uses. Mobile and moderately persistent in the environment, diazinon is
frequently found in wastewater treatment plant effluent and storm water
runoff in urban and agricultural areas. For more information, visit EPA's
web site at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/diazinon/."This is an
important addition to the Clean Water Act toolbox," said Benjamin H.
Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for Water. "EPA's scientifically-based
criteria for pesticides, such as diazinon, and for organic chemicals, such
as nonylphenol, help states and tribes set standards to protect watersheds,
fish, and wildlife." March 6, 2006 EPA Press Release
Pesticides found in most
U.S. rivers -- Most of the nation's rivers and streams - and the fish in
them - are contaminated with pesticides linked to cancer, birth defects and
neurological disorders, but not at levels that can harm humans. Pesticides
were found in almost all U.S. rivers and streams between 1992 and 2001, says
a study released Friday by the U.S. Geological Survey, although most
drinking water supplies haven't been affected. "While the use of pesticides
has resulted in a wide range of benefits to control weeds, insects and other
pests, including increased food production and reduction of insect-borne
disease, their use also raises questions about possible effects on the
environment, including water quality," said Robert Hirsch, the USGS
associate director for water.
<more> March 4, 2006 AP
Fewer bees, high
pollination fees hurt farmers, crops - - With all the sophisticated
technology today's farmers use, little honeybees remain crucial, pollinating
billions of dollars of fruit, vegetable and nut crops each year while
collecting food for their hives. But the number of honeybees and managed
beehives is down so much that production of pollinated plants has fallen by
about a third in the last two years from the usual $15 billion per year.
"I've heard people complaining about bee shortages all over the country,"
said Kevin Hackett, head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's research
program for bees and pollination. He said 15 years ago, "there were twice as
many hives as there are now."
<more> March 4, 2006 AP
Stopping to smell the
blossoms - - Silva Esajian is getting ready for some unexpected
visitors. In the tiny shop at the edge of her family's orchard, she and an
employee quickly arrange gift sets of nuts and dried fruits as the
snow-white petals of almond trees dance in the breeze outside. The 20-acre
almond farm she bought in August with her husband, Edward, is a stop on the
Fresno County Blossom Trail, which brings busloads of visitors during the
blooming season from February to April. "It's my first Blossom Trail," she
said. "We're going to stay open longer. We're getting a lot of city people
who are fascinated by the trees because they look like they go for miles."
The 90-mile trail through peach, plum, apple, orange and nut orchards shows
off the picturesque side of the San Joaquin Valley's staple industry:
agriculture. But the colorful treetops set against the majestic peaks of the
Sierra Nevada are part of a changing landscape. Already the trail has been
altered several times since its 1988 inception to accommodate the region's
growing population.
<more> March 1, 2006 AP
Farmers Tout Pollution
Strides -- Worries about winter frost have been keeping almond growers
awake at night, but there are plenty of other concerns on farmers' minds
year-round. For example, how to take good care of the earth while still
turning a profit. That was the topic of the Almond Board of California's
Environmental Stewardship Spring Tour at Hunter Farms in Livingston on
Friday. The event brought growers together with representatives from state,
federal and regional environmental agencies to showcase the latest
innovations in environmentally friendly farming. As farmers face an
ever-growing list of regulations designed to limit impacts on air and water
quality, the Almond Board has responded by forming an environmental
committee to fund research and programs that help growers practice cleaner
farming.
<more> Feb. 25, 2006 Merced Sun-Star
Bloomin' Uncertainty.
Almond farmers worrying about the weird weather - - Bill McKinney sliced
through an almond blossom with a penknife to see how it was faring in this
rather strange February. "There's the kernel in there," the Modesto-area
grower said. "It's nice and green. That's still a viable bloom. When you
find one that's frost-damaged, it's black in there." McKinney and other
growers are waiting to see how the 2006 almond crop will be affected by this
month's unusual weather. One week it was in the 70s, prompting some trees to
blossom early. Then a cold snap hit, knocking many of the blooms — potential
nuts — off the branches. It's nice again this week, but another storm is
heading in. "Right now, every farmer in the almond business is sweating the
rains coming up next week," grower Will Hunter said. He hosted McKinney and
other industry people at his farm south of Livingston on Friday, in an event
sponsored by the Almond Board of California. The main aim was to show
regulators and reporters what growers are doing to control air and water
pollution. New harvesting equipment, for example, kicks up far less dust
than conventional models. Autumn prunings increasingly are chipped into
mulch rather than burned.
<more> Feb. 25, 2006 Modesto Bee
Agencies run afoul of air
regulations. Rules were needed to reduce pollutants in farm pesticides -
- California violated the Clean Air Act when it decided nine years ago that
no regulations were necessary to cut smog-forming compounds in farm and
commercial pesticides, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge
Lawrence Karlton's decision means that lawyers for environmental groups and
the state will meet to discuss possible remedies for the pollution. Lawyers
for both groups have been ordered to file briefs in 20 days. "The bottom
line is that the state should have had regulations in place to have a 20
percent reduction of these emissions in five basins by this year," said
plaintiffs' attorney Brent Newell of the Center on Race, Poverty & the
Environment. Karlton said the California Department of Pesticide Regulation,
the Air Resources Board and the California Environmental Protection Agency
violated the Clean Air Act in 1997 when they decided new rules weren't
needed to reduce pollutants from pesticides.
<more> Feb.
24, 2006 AP
State Pesticide Dept.
proposes new rules to better protect workers -- The California
Department of Pesticide Regulation will propose new rules this year to
provide workers with more information about pesticides in the fields. The
regulations will provide California agricultural workers with protection
that goes beyond any other state or federal guidelines. DPR’s Worker
Notification Regulations culminate several years of investigation and
analysis by the Department’s health and safety experts, who also consulted
with industry and worker advocates. The proposed rules will: • Require
pesticide applicators to notify the grower before and after a chemical is
used, and re-notify if the scheduled application date changes; • Require the
grower to manage his property as if the application could occur anytime
within a 24-hour time window, and • Require hired contractors and growers to
assure prior notification for any employees who walk within one-quarter mile
of a treated field.
<more> Feb. 23, 2006 DPR Press Release
Ripon
almond family farmers in tune with industry changes - - As
a member of the Almond Board, Dave Phippen is perhaps more in tune than the
average farmer to industry changes. He is the third generation running a
successful family farm. Phippen owns and runs the almond farm on the
outskirts of Ripon with his brother, Scott Phippen and cousin, Bud
Travaille. “I think a big change in the almond industry has been worker
safety,” Dave said. “We’re much more aware of crop protection chemicals (CPCs)
and we’re using less harsh chemicals.” Not only are they changing the kinds
of CPCs (more commonly known as pesticides), they are also using much less
than they used to. In order to have the same harvest success with less
chemicals, they are using integrated pest management to monitor for harmful
insects before farmers will spray for them. Increased worker safety is not
the only new change. There has also been an increase in awareness of food
safety on both the production and consumer ends. From the grower’s
perspective, says Dave, food safety starts in the orchard.
<more> Feb. 21, 2006 Manteca Bulletin
Cold snap may hurt almonds -
- While tonight's frost warning is not unusual this time of year,
temperatures in Merced County are abnormally cold, according to
meteorologist Jeff Myers. Myers, with the Hanford office of the National
Weather Service, said temperatures in the 20s are not typical for this area
in late February, especially the low of 26 degrees on Monday morning. "I
wouldn't say it's normal to get all the way down to 26," he said. "That's
pretty cold. Normal temperatures in Merced hover around 40 for the minimum."
Myers said there is a cold air mass covering a large part of the San Joaquin
Valley. "Clear skies, light winds and the cold air mass allow (the
temperature) to drop really low at night," he said. The cold temperatures
make it easier for frost to form, which kills almond blossoms, and reduces
the number of almonds produced.
<more> Feb. 21, 2006 Merced Sun-Star
Fumigant Could Pose Health
Risk. The EPA is expected to approve replacement of an ozone-depleting
pesticide with methyl iodide, which the state calls a carcinogen. - -
Fourteen years ago, as chemicals gobbled up the Earth's ozone layer, an
international treaty ordered a phaseout of a popular pesticide for
strawberries and other high-value crops. Now, U.S. officials are poised to
replace it with a new pesticide — one that is highly toxic and has been
declared a cancer-causing chemical by the state of California. The
Environmental Protection Agency is expected to approve a new fumigant,
methyl iodide, as it eliminates methyl bromide, which damages the ozone
layer. With few options for killing diseases and insects in soil, the EPA is
faced with a decision that could exchange one toxic hazard for another.
California — particularly Ventura and Santa Cruz counties — and Florida have
the most at stake. California is the leading producer of strawberries,
valued at more than $1 billion a year, and strawberry growers alone could
use 3 million pounds of methyl iodide annually to replace methyl bromide.
Fumigants, used to sterilize soil before planting, are considered
particularly risky among the hundreds of agricultural pesticides in use
today. Because methyl iodide is a gas, it can evaporate from soil and drift
into nearby areas.
<more> Feb. 20, 2006 LA Times
Hot February cooling down
- - Spring does not officially begin until March 20, but California had a
taste of it earlier this month when temperatures reached record highs. The
Weather Service recorded record highs for Feb. 7 through 10. It was as hot
as 80 degrees on Feb. 8, nearly 30 degrees above the February norm,
Goldstein said. By the time the temperature dropped to a typical 54 on
Wednesday night, acres of almond blossoms had already unfurled their pale
petals to the warm sun. Now many growers are hoping winter ends without
another frost, which could damage blossoms and potentially lead to low crop
yields. With threats of frost and rain looming, all growers can do is wait
and see how their crop will fair, said Franz Niederholzer, farm adviser for
the University of California Cooperative Extension. Some trees may have
already been damaged by the temperature swing. “It's hard to imagine that
there are businesses out there where your entire annual salary can be frozen
out, but that is the potential in the almond business,” iederholzer said.
<more> Feb. 18, 2006 Marysville
Appeal-Democrat
USDA bee lab teams pursue
Varroa mite controls - - Essential oils show promise in killing the
parasitic Varroa mites that devastate crop-pollinating honeybees, but a
successful delivery system for them has yet to be found, according to USDA
scientists at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson.
<more> Feb. 16, 2005 Western Farm Press
Cold snap threatens
blooming almonds - - Almond growers were preparing Wednesday for a
predicted overnight freeze that threatened emerging blooms on trees
throughout the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Late Wednesday morning, the
National Weather Service in Sacramento issued a freeze warning that included
the Northern San Joaquin Valley. "We've got what appears to be a good bloom
cycle in the works," said Chris Heintz, director of production research for
the Almond Board of California. "A freeze during the bloom (cycle) is never
a happy time for almond growers." The freeze was expected to produce
record-low temperatures from Redding to Modesto. As of midnight, the
temperature in Modesto had dipped to 43.
<more>
Feb. 16, 2006 Modesto Bee
DPR poll finds strong
enforcement in key counties -- An informal survey of pesticide
enforcement actions by County Agricultural Commissioners showed proposed
fines nearly doubled from 2004 to 2005, the Department of Pesticide
Regulation reported today. DPR polled a dozen key counties -- most in the
Central Valley – that account for more than three-quarters of the pesticide
pounds applied annually. The survey found almost $180,000 in pesticide fines
proposed during calendar 2005, compared to about $90,000 in 2004.
<more> Feb. 14,
2006 DPR Press Release
Almond blossoms vulnerable as temperatures rise
- - Faced with a shortage of cold winter weather, the buds in many of
California's almond orchards are starting to swell and an occasional blossom
is opening up-a sign that pollination season is right around the corner. In
the Central Valley's Merced County, Ballico almond grower Dave Passadori
said his trees are just days away from bloom.
<more> Feb. 13, 2006 Ag Alert
Beehive thefts on the rise,
possibly hurting almond industry. In past two weeks, 89 hives have been
stolen in Merced County - - Spring is in the air, fruit and nut trees
are in bloom, and the Merced County Sheriff's Department Rural Crime Task
Force is facing a seasonal problem -- the theft of beehives. To the almond
industry, one of the top commodities in Merced County, the bee is a
necessity for the trees to bear nuts, said sheriff's Detective Frank
Swiggart. If it wasn't for the tiny buzzing bees gathering the nectar and
pollen from each bloom and thus spreading the pollen from tree to tree,
there would be no nuts to harvest. The need for pollination is so great that
California beekeepers cannot support the need for bee pollination, and
out-of-state beekeepers are brokered to help meet the demand, Swiggart
said.And the beehive thieves are already at work, Swiggart said.The theft of
89 beehives in three separate thefts over the past two weeks have already
cost farmers close to $20,000.
<more> Feb. 11, 2006 Merced Sun-Star
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
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
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
Bees arriving for almond
bloom - - In advance of the county's annual almond "bloom," the delivery
of beehives to aid pollination in almond orchards has begun. Bee and honey
supplier Mike Tolmachoff said there are not enough bees to pollinate
California orchards. With his most recent acquisition of hives from
Washington state, 400 to 500 hives per truck load, Tolmachoff spent time
assessing and culling the new arrivals to pick out the weaker bees. <more>
Feb. 2, 2006 Madera Tribune
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
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
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
Farmers sweat winter's lack of chill hours
- -
Tehama County almond and walnut grower Bruce Lindauer's farming operation
weathered the New Year's rainstorms pretty well, but still he said he
worries about his nut crop. "I'm really getting concerned about our chilling
hours on our tree commodities, because it has been too warm through December
and into January," said Lindauer, who is president of Tehama County Farm
Bureau. "This is supposed to be prime time for chilling hours to meet the
dormancy requirement of the trees, and it is not happening. "This could be a
problem that affects all of the tree commodities--almonds, walnuts, prunes,
pistachios, pears, peaches. With this 60-degree weather in December and
January, as a grower I'm getting worried."
<more> Jan. 23, 2006 Ag Alert
CDFA Secretary Kawamura
applauds environmental stewardship in central valley speech - - CDFA
Secretary A.G. Kawamura called for more recognition for agricultural
producers who practice environmental stewardship during the keynote address
today at the Energy and Clean Air Business Exposition in Bakersfield.
"Environmental stewardship provides a wide variety of public benefits, and
agriculture has a key role to play as responsible environmental stewards,"
said Secretary Kawamura. "We see it with agriculture's contributions in
meeting federal air quality standards for particulate matter. We also see it
in the tremendous opportunity for agricultural production of biofuels,
including dairy methane, ethanol and biodiesel. They provide clean,
renewable fuels and are also a bridge to Governor Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen
Highway. Government agencies must work together to assist agriculture as it
continues to make the journey to the Hydrogen Highway."
<more> Jan. 20, 2006 CDFA Press Release
New research points to plants,
trees as source for methane - - Cows burp it, pipelines and landfills
leak it, and vast amounts lie frozen beneath the ocean floor. Methane is
ubiquitous — as fuel for heating and cooking and as a source of concern for
atmospheric scientists. Molecule for molecule, methane packs thousands of
times more punch as a "greenhouse gas" than carbon dioxide does. Until now,
scientists tracking debits and credits in the globe's methane "budget"
figured they had a pretty good handle on where the gas comes from — mostly
from microbes breaking down organic material in places where oxygen is
relatively scarce. Enter Frank Keppler. Working with colleagues from
Northern Ireland and the Netherlands, Dr. Keppler has discovered that plants
may give off significant amounts of methane just by growing. And the amount
they give off appears to rise with temperature. The results have stunned
many researchers because no one expected methane to form biologically out in
the open air, where oxygen abounds.
<more> Jan. 20, 2006 Christian Science
Monitor
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
Curbs on Dust in the West
Targeted. The EPA wants to drop the clean-air rules for rural areas. An
official with the air quality district for Owens Valley calls it
'outrageous.' - - Bush administration officials are moving to strip
significant clean-air protections from broad areas of California and other
Western states, saying that rural areas should no longer have to meet
federal rules for windblown clouds of dust, and that mining and farming
operations also should be exempt. The proposed rules were published in the
Federal Register on Tuesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
They would become final later this year after a public comment period. In
contrast to rural areas, the proposal would toughen rules on so-called
coarse particulates in urban areas, including parts of Southern California.
In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, dust from roads and construction
sites has been a major contributor to smog. That part of the proposal has
not been a subject of major controversy. <more>
Jan. 18, 2006 LA Times
Fresno County entomologist
retires from the University of California - - The University of
California Cooperative Extension entomology farm advisor for Fresno County,
Richard Coviello, has retired after devoting 35 years to the study of Fresno
County agricultural pests. During retirement, Coviello, who was honored with
emeritus status by the vice president of UC’s Division of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, also plans to maintain a monitoring program he
established for tree fruit and almond pests. “It’s interesting and fun,”
Coviello said. “It gets me out in the field. I stay abreast of what’s going
on. And the growers and pest control advisers seem to really appreciate it.”
<more> Jan. 17, 2006 UCCE 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
DPR collects $1.6 million
in unpaid environmental fees, penalties -- The Department of Pesticide
Regulation today reported $1.6 million in payments and penalties for
unregistered pesticide sales and unpaid environmental fees during fiscal
2004-05. "It is absolutely critical to establish a level playing field in
the marketplace," said DPR Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam. "Law-abiding
businesses face unfair competition if others sell unregistered products
or fail to pay environmental fees in full. And every dollar unpaid is a
dollar denied to regulatory programs that protect the public."
<more> Dec.30,
2005 DPR Press Release
In Winters, you can have an almond tree of your very own - - You don't need an almond ranch to enjoy your very own crop of nuts. You can harvest your own almonds on your own tree and, best of all, you can get someone else to do all the work. The most st