Almond Industry Headline Environmental News

Edited by Mark Looker

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• Valley growers upset as bill excludes nuts, dried fruits - – Congress dissed dried fruits and nuts in the latest farm bill, and growers are feeling ambushed.In a last-minute maneuver that is only now coming to light, farm bill authors cut out dried fruits and nuts from an ambitious school snack program. The action could slam the door on some potentially lucrative markets. "This is a real problem with the bill, excluding an entire industry," said Dan Haley, a lobbyist for California specialty crops. <more> Aug. 19, 2008 Sacramento Bee
   

• Lawsuit seeks EPA pesticide data - - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is refusing to disclose records about a new class of pesticides that could be playing a role in the disappearance of millions of honeybees in the United States, a lawsuit filed Monday charges. The Natural Resources Defense Council wants to see the studies that the EPA required when it approved a pesticide made by Bayer CropScience five years ago. The environmental group filed the suit as part of an effort to find out how diligently the EPA is protecting honeybees from dangerous pesticides, said Aaron Colangelo, a lawyer for the group in Washington. In the last two years, beekeepers have reported unexplained losses of hives - 30 percent and upward - leading to a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder. Scientists believe that the decline in bees is linked to an onslaught of pesticides, mites, parasites and viruses, as well as a loss of habitat and food. <more> Aug. 19, 2008 SF Chronicle
   

• Feds: Common pesticides jeopardize salmon survival -- Three pesticides commonly used on farms and orchards throughout the West are jeopardizing the survival of Pacific salmon, the federal agency in charge of saving the fish from extinction has found. Under the settlement of a lawsuit brought by anti-pesticide groups and salmon fishermen, NOAA Fisheries has issued a draft biological opinion that found the way chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion are being used now, they get into salmon streams at levels high enough to kill salmon protected by the Endangered Species Act. The chemicals interfere with salmon's sense of smell, making it harder for them to avoid predators, find food, and even find their native spawning streams. Banned from many household uses, tens of millions of pounds of the chemicals are still used throughout the range of Pacific salmon on a wide range of fruits, vegetables, forage crops, cotton, fence posts and livestock to control mosquitoes, flies, termites, boll weevils and other pests, according to NOAA Fisheries. <more> Aug. 14, 2008 Capital Press
   

• Thirsty orchards' plight in Central Valley - - Standing on a ridge between a sluggish water canal and a swath of spindly, gray almond trees, farmer Jim Jasper has a good view of California's water crisis. Drought forced one of Jasper's friends to abandon these trees. The adjacent canal's flow has been reduced by more than one-third to protect an endangered fish. To offset the loss, Jasper has leased the land beneath the dying trees to use its water on his own 2,500 acres of almond trees, some of them "babies." Being a farmer in drought-prone California always has been a struggle. But 2008 is turning into one for the history books. This year, natural and man-made water shortages will cost the agriculture industry more than $160 million, not to mention the reduced plantings for next year and the ripple effect through banks, farming equipment businesses and consumers who could pay even higher prices for food. <more> July 11, 2008 SF Chronicle
   

• Local Growers, Local Solutions at Almond Pest Management Alliance Sutter County Field Day July 31 - - The Almond Pest Management Alliance, a collaborative project of almond industry stakeholders aimed at demonstrating reduced risk best management practices in almonds, will present its first field day Thursday July 31 in Sutter County.  The field day will be held at a Pest Management Alliance Demonstration Orchard from 8:00 am until 10:00 am at the Spilman Ranch near Live Oak.  <more> July 10, 2008 Almond PMA Press Release
   

• Three keys to properly managing late season navel orangeworm - - By Bob Curtis, Senior Manager, Production Research, Almond Board of California - - Moving toward almond harvest, it is important to take steps to effectively manage the navel orangeworm (NOW). This pest is a double threat to almond quality: In addition to causing direct damage to the kernel, NOW has broader quality implications because it opens the door to fungal infections and contaminants. Research shows the mold Aspergillus and the aflatoxin contaminant it produces is associated with reject kernels, particularly those damaged by navel orangeworm. Aflatoxin produced by Aspergillus mold is a known carcinogen and mutagen. Aflatoxins are regulated the world over, with the European Union (EU) having particularly low maximum limits. The EU is the largest market for California almonds, even larger than the U.S. market, and has put pressure on the California almond industry to reduce aflatoxin contamination, which requires NOW prevention and control. Growers must take critical steps to minimize NOW damage to attain a goal of no more than 2 percent damage, which reduces the risk of aflatoxin contamination. <more> July 9, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Almond growers expect another record crop - - Almond growers are in for another record-breaking season, according to a federal government projection released Monday in Modesto. The orchards that paint the valley a pale shade of pink every spring will yield about 1.5 billion pounds of nut meat this year, according to a National Agricultural Statistics Service projection released Monday. That's an 8 percent growth over last year's record production. "Bloom conditions up and down the valley were just about perfect," said Almond Board of California Chief Executive Officer Richard Waycott. "Eight percent is a significant increase. Fortunately, our industry has proven it can market the increase." <more> July 1, 2008 Modesto Bee
   

• Valley growers, UC advisers discuss almonds, pests, water. - - With the Panoche Hills wrapped in haze not far away, the almond orchard near Firebaugh offered welcome respite from the sun this week as 60 growers and pest-control advisers exchanged information on challenges they face. They gathered at that orchard and another near Mendota to talk of ways to minimize spraying and still kill pests, how to avoid damage that can come when winds whistle through the trees and the proper use of a sometimes-scarce resource -- water. Almond Pest Management Alliance sponsored the field day, which drew some of the top pest and almond experts with the University of California. <more> June 28, 2008 Fresno Bee
   

• Honey bee crisis could lead to higher food prices - -  Food prices could rise even more unless the mysterious decline in honey bees is solved, farmers and businessmen told lawmakers Thursday. "No bees, no crops," North Carolina grower Robert D. Edwards told a House Agriculture subcommittee. Edwards said he had to cut his cucumber acreage in half because of the lack of bees available to rent. About three-quarters of flowering plants rely on birds, bees and other pollinators to help them reproduce. Bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion annually in crop value. <more>  June 27, 2008 AP

   

• Aerial sprays are so 20th century - - By A.G. Kawamura, CDFA Secretary - - When a pest such as the light brown apple moth comes along - a pest that threatens not only crops but forests, habitat and landscapes - the California Department of Food and Agriculture is called upon to eradicate the infestation using the safest, most effective tools available. When we began this eradication effort more than a year ago, aerial pheromone treatments were the clear choice, and they remain a remarkably progressive option. Behind the scenes, CDFA and USDA scientists are hard at work developing tools to eradicate not only the light brown apple moth, but many other invasive species. These scientists have made advances in a program that will add another safe eradication method to our toolbox. <more> June 23, 2008 SF Chronicle Editorial

   

• Local Growers, Local Solutions at Almond Pest Management Alliance Field Day June 25 - - The Almond Pest Management Alliance, a collaborative project of almond industry stakeholders aimed at demonstrating reduced risk best management practices in almonds, will present its first field day Wednesday June 25 in Fresno County. The field day will be held at two Pest Management Alliance Demonstration Orchards, starting at 9 a.m. at Pik-A-Lok orchard in Mendota, then moving at 11:30 a.m. to Windfall Farms in Firebaugh. UCCE Farm Advisors Walt Bentley, Brent Holtz and David Doll and retired UCCE Farm Advisor Mario Viveros will present workshops on wind damage, preventing and controlling almond diseases, and navel orangeworm monitoring and control. PMA cooperator growers will also discuss their role in the second Pest Management Alliance project. <more> June 12, 2008 PMA Press Release

   

• We need to be busy like bees to help save them - - By California Sen. Barbara Boxer. Most people don't spend much time thinking about bees. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, however, between 15 percent and 30 percent of the food we eat in the United States depends on honeybees for pollination. Without bees, avocados, strawberries and almonds are just a few of the California crops that would suffer. Not only would yields be reduced, but so would the jobs that go with them. The idea of a world without bees sounds farfetched, but the truth is that honeybees and other native pollinators -- like bumblebees, butterflies, even bats -- are in danger. Last August, I visited an almond orchard in Merced County to meet with local farmers and beekeepers and learn more about the sudden decline in the honeybee population and its impact on our agricultural communities. Since 2006, an estimated 25 percent of the nation's honeybees have mysteriously disappeared as a result of what the USDA calls "colony collapse disorder." <more> June 5, 2008 Modesto Bee

   

• New alternaria fungicide gets California Section 18 for almonds - - The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has granted Section 18 emergency exemption approval of Inspire fungicide from Syngenta for use on Alternaria in almond orchards. “Alternaria can devastate an almond orchard,” said James Adaskaveg, professor of plant pathology, University of California –, Riverside. “California almond growers should be encouraged by this new tool to control this damaging disease.” Though new to this market in the United States, difenoconazole has been used extensively for more than two decades in 96 other countries on more than 100 crops. “Difenoconazole is one of the most powerful triazole fungicides available and offers years of proven performance to California almond growers,” said David Laird, fungicide brand manager, Syngenta. “Applied at low use rates, Inspire has high preventive and curative activity. Through translaminar movement, Inspire is rapidly absorbed into the leaves, providing strong residual control and protecting leaf surfaces.” June 2, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Fumigant rules may tighten. Organic compound numbers higher than first estimated - - San Joaquin Valley growers will have to do more than limit field fumigant use to meet air quality standards for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in 2009. Regulators now say that emulsifiable pesticide formulations are adding more volatile organic compounds to the air than originally estimated.  The state Department of Pesticide Regulation initially said that limiting field fumigant applications and restricting the timing and application methods during the peak ozone period of May 1 through Oct. 31 would reduce emissions in the valley air basin enough to satisfy terms of a 2006 court order on air quality. Finding that formulations for pesticides are included in the mix adds to the complexity of the situation. <more> May 30, 2008 Capital Press
   

• Agricultural research and extension symposium set for June 18-19- - At a symposium June 18-19 in Sacramento, agriculture professionals and policymakers will get a first look at new research that shows the rate of growth of public funding for agricultural research and extension has declined and the rate of growth in agricultural productivity is also slowing. A soon-to-be-released study by agricultural economists Julian Alston of UC Davis, Philip Pardey of the University of Minnesota and Jennifer James of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, shows that from 1949 to 2002, in inflation-adjusted terms, total U.S. public spending on agricultural research grew by 1.85 percent per year, but from 1991 to 2002, spending growth slowed to only 0.43 percent per year. Research and development spending in California's state agricultural experiment station also slowed dramatically in the 1990s. <more> May 28, 2008 UC Press Release
   

• Almond grower cultivates an extraordinary team. Cummings brings family tradition and Ivy League education to orchards -  - If Dan Cummings wasn't a farmer, he'd likely make a good football quarterback. He has developed a keen business sense to read the field in front of him. His turf includes 6,000 acres of almond and walnut orchards owned by Cummings-Violich, Inc. based in Chico, Calif. Cummings, 45, makes the farm management calls with the help of a support team of managers and field personnel. "I have a wonderful team, an extraordinary team. All of my senior managers in this large farming operation are in their 30s. Many of them have only had this as their career," Cummings said. "They do a tremendous job, so I am able to delegate a lot of responsibility to my team and they rock. They are really good at what they do." <more> May 27, 2008 Capital Press
   

• USDA to end surveys of farm pesticide usage - - The federal government is eliminating a long-running program that gathers data on the use of pesticides on farm fields. But the move will not affect California, which funds its own comprehensive pesticide-monitoring program. Since 1990, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual survey has collected information on herbicides, insecticides and other chemicals used on American farms and made it available to the public in a database on the USDA Web site. Released this week, the 2007 survey showed, among other things, that the rate of herbicide use on the nation's cotton fields has increased 53 percent in the past six years. Tracking such trends in the future would be essentially impossible without the USDA data. <more> May 25, 2008 Sacramento Bee
   

• Almond crop to pass last year's record, government predicts - - Another record almond crop, about 1.46 billion pounds, will come off California orchards this year, the federal government projected today. The estimate is 6 percent more than the 1.38 billion pounds last year. It reflects favorable weather in winter and spring and an adequate supply of bees for pollinating, said Doug Flohr, a statistician for the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The steady growth will help keep supply in line with demand, said Richard Waycott, president and chief executive officer of the Almond Board of California. <more> May 7, 2008 Modesto Bee
   

• Still seeking a cause of colony collapse disorder - - The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Apiary Inspectors of America have conducted a combined survey of beekeepers to get a snapshot of how well managed colonies made it through the winter of 2007-2008. Surveyed beekeepers reported a total loss of about 36.1 percent of their honey bee colonies, up about 13.5 percent from the previous winter. Losses attributed to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) appear to be about the same, with just over one-third (36 percent) of the operations reporting some lost colonies in which all adult bees disappeared, a primary symptom of CCD, according to Jeff Pettis, research leader of the ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. <more> May 7, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• New clean-air rules for trucks set off battle between enviros, industry - - As the nation focuses on greenhouse gas regulations set into motion by landmark legislation in 2006, state regulators are set to pass a less-publicized, wide-reaching rule on emissions from diesel busses and trucks that business groups say could cost billions of dollars to implement. Environmentalists hailed the state Air Resources Board after its staff released a draft of the new regulations earlier this year-the first such rules in the nation. But following a public hearing last Friday, the regulations were modified in the wake of howls of protest from business groups-a move that immediately kindled environmentalists' suspicions. A critical piece of the draft regulation required some truckers' engines to be replaced twice in nine years in order to comply with the rule, but that language has been eliminated from the draft regulation, the ARB said. <more> May 1, 2008 Capitol Weekly
   

• Pending emissions rules among top concerns of haulers, growers. Industry asking for seasonal-truck exemptions - - Agricultural haulers say new diesel-emissions rules proposed earlier this year by the California Air Resources Board will push them out of business. The state's proposed rules, published in late January, would create stringent new requirements for cleaning up diesel exhaust. The diesel engines of the goods-transportation industry are blamed for most of California's transportation-related smog. A central argument among those in agriculture - growers as well as crop transporters - is that regulations should allow exemptions for trucks and field machines that operate only seasonally. Many of those engines run for many years and replacing or retrofitting them with emissions-control systems can be a sizable investment. <more> April 18, 2008 Capital Press
   

• Valley's greenery gives off pollutant. Scientists looking at role of hydrocarbons in the ozone problem -- An astonishing fact is buried in dirty-air data: Valley trees and plants produce far more hydrocarbons than vehicles do. In the summer, crops, trees, lawns and the rest of nature release 360 tons daily of the key smog component. That's four times more hydrocarbons than from cars and trucks. Hydrocarbons combine with other gases in vehicle exhaust to form the San Joaquin Valley's ozone, considered one of the nation's worst air problems. Between the valley's millions of farmland acres and the Sierra Nevada's sprawling forests, this region has a lot of plants. How big a role does all this greenery play in the valley's bad air? Scientists need the answer to help meet smog cleanup targets over the next 20 years. But it is difficult to know how much of nature's hydrocarbons are involved in creating ozone. Because plants play a role in cleaning the air, nobody has found a way to calculate the possible net benefits that trees and other plants provide for the valley. <more> April 17, 2008 Modesto Bee
   

• Regulators get good news from almond industry - - Growers often hesitate to invite regulators onto their property. “Why invite scrutiny,” they reason. But almond grower and handler Dick Braden of Braden Farms warmly welcomed regulators during the Almond Board’s Fourth Environmental Stewardship Tour in February. After all, Braden Farms has a great story to tell. Some 30 state and federal regulators, local dignitaries and media members toured Braden’s 13,000-acre almond operation in Hickman, Calif., to learn first-hand what he and other growers are doing to address environmental issues, including air and water quality, reduced-risk pest management and endangered species. The tour highlighted new technologies and methods designed to reduce the impact of almond production on the environment. At Braden Farms, land is laser leveled and designed with collection ponds and cover crops to reduce fertilizer and soil runoff into nearby waterways. Micro-irrigation systems help Braden reduce water use and runoff and apply fertilizers more efficiently. And pests are managed through careful monitoring and timely sprays of softer insecticides. <more> April 10, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Government sued after approving 4 pesticides - - Environmental and farmworker advocates have sued the Bush administration for allowing the continued use of four pesticides, saying the government brushed aside its own findings that the chemicals are dangerous to workers, children and wildlife. The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, challenged the Environmental Protection Agency's decision in 2006 to reauthorize the four pesticides sprayed on fruit and vegetable fields in California. A 1996 federal law required the EPA to reassess the safety of all pesticides used on foods and decide by 2006 whether to approve their use. Patti Goldman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the agency found that four substances posed risks to human health but concluded their cost savings to growers outweighed the dangers. <more> April 8, 2008 SF Chronicle
   

• California almonds: Fumigation rules affect new plantings - - New state restrictions on the use of soil fumigants are expected to hit Ventura County strawberry growers hard, but these new rules will also have an immediate impact on the ability of San Joaquin Valley growers to fumigate ground for planting permanent crops like almonds and other tree and vineyard crops. The new regulations will apply to the use of all seven fumigants with the potential to release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the months of May through October. These include methyl bromide, 1,3-Dichloropropene (Telone), chloropicrin, metam-sodium, metam-potassium, dazomet, and sodium tetrathiocarbonate. Almond growers rely on soil fumigation to prevent orchard replant disorder when they pull out aging orchards to replant new trees. Soil fumigation is the best way to destroy microorganisms that can otherwise jeopardize the growth and yield potential of young new orchards, said Roger Duncan, a University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor in Stanislaus County. <more> April 1, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Season of hope. The growing California almond industry depends on honeybees to pollinate the trees. - - Every spring, just as the swallows return to Capistrano, so do the bees buzz back to Bakersfield. But don't expect to look up in the sky and see a swarm of them making their way west. These bees travel by truck. And though the place they're visiting is certainly beautiful, trees arranged in graceful allées and topped with billowing white and pale pink clouds of blossoms, this trip is all business. The almond industry, which has emerged over the last decade as one of the biggest and most profitable in California agriculture, depends on bees for pollination. And so every spring, fully 60% of the commercially kept honeybees in the United States -- more than 1 million hives -- are trucked to California's Central Valley to do their thing. But what happens when one of the state's fastest-growing businesses depends on workers who are disappearing almost as quickly? That's what California's almond farmers are waiting to find out. <more> March 26, 2008 LA Times
   

• UC developing Web site for drought water management in almonds - - A number of critical issues are at play concerning the short- and long-term availability of water for the California almond industry. The most pressing of these is the recent Delta smelt decision that will impact about 216,000 acres of almonds served by the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. In response, irrigation and water experts in the UC Division of Ag and Natural Resources are developing a Web site for drought water management in almonds and other crops. UC researchers, farm advisors and Extension specialists have developed extensive information over the years on water management practices during periods of reduced water availability. The Web site will compile this information, and in particular, will focus on drought management and irrigation. <more> March 21, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Valley workshops set on future of irrigated lands program -- A series of workshops will be held throughout the Central Valley later this month and in early April to discuss the future of the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program. The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board is conducting the workshops to gather comments on the program elements and environmental information that should be considered in the development of a long-term program. The meetings will be held in Sacramento March 26; Modesto April 1; Tulare April 2 and Durham April 8. "The irrigated land program will very likely be changed to include groundwater and that is a very significant change which growers should be aware of," said Gabriele Ludwig, the Almond Board of California’s senior manager for technical and regulatory affairs. "These workshops will discuss how groundwater monitoring might be implemented and it is important for growers to attend and voice their opinions on how such a monitoring program should be developed. Thus, this program will affect every almond grower in the Central Valley.” <more> March 18, 2008 Almond Board of California Press Release
   

• Out-of-state researchers visit California to test bee health - - Ever since the devastation of honey bee colonies by Colony Collapse Disorder made its way onto television news programs and newspaper headlines nationwide, these hard-working pollinators have been in the spotlight. While people learn more about the mysterious phenomenon that causes bees to leave the colony and not return, top bee researchers from around the country are feeling the pressure to find answers to a variety of pests and diseases that impact bees and that may be causing this disorder. Researchers from the University of Minnesota visited several Northern California bee breeders in late February to gather data and test hive health. <more> March 14, 2008 Ag Alert
   

• Hive loss is enigma - - For many beekeepers, the mystery is as deep as the devastation. A hive begins as a set of wooden frames whose combs hold thousands of worker bees, pollinators of all manner of crops. Then the insects scatter without warning, deserting the colony and leaving the queen bee and her young to starve — and farmers scrambling to keep up their fruit and nut orchards. The syndrome, colony collapse disorder, has gutted numerous beekeeping operations since its discovery two years ago. At the start of a new growing season in the Mid-Valley, many farmers — especially almond growers — must cope with a tightening stock of healthy bees as researchers continue looking for the cause of dying hives. "This is the problem which has befuddled us the most," Eric Mussen, an entomologist at the University of California, Davis, said Tuesday. "Since we can't put a finger on why or how this is how it is, it's difficult to tell anybody how to treat it." <more> March 13, 2008 Yuba City Appeal Democrat
   

• Scientists work to protect vulnerable bees - - It's almond blossom time in California. The orchards are bursting into bloom and the almond trees, their canopies ablaze in white and pink, are all abuzz with millions upon millions of honey bees avidly gathering pollen and nectar for their hives. Here at UC's honey bee research center, scientists are seeking to breed new strains of the immensely valuable insects called Apis mellifera carnica, while others are probing the recently sequenced bee genome to understand the most important qualities conferred upon each tribe by its unique genetic heritage. The researchers are bent on improving the ability of the bees to pollinate the flowering fruit trees and vegetables that account for more than $35 billion a year in crop value for California, and right now they hope to understand and perhaps halt the spread of the disease called Colony Collapse Disorder that has devastated the hives of many professional beekeepers in California and across the country. <more> March 10, 2008 SF Chronicle
   

• Beekeepers get stung by hive heists as California nut trees bloom - - Third-generation beekeeper Roscoe Hall spent the last year fretting over a disease that's inexplicably caused thousands of his industrious insects to abandon their colonies. Now, entire hives are disappearing, too. In the long, flat valley where the nation's almonds grow, bee thieves are striking hard this winter, nabbing increasingly valuable hives from farmer's fields where bees are used to pollinate blossoming nut trees. A few weeks ago, 180 of Hall's hives were lifted over a period of days, a bit of banditry he estimates cost him nearly $70,000 in lost bees, pollination fees and honey production. <more> March 10, 2008 AP
   

• Regulators view environmental successes on almond orchard tour - - More than 30 regulators, members of the media and local dignitaries gathered in February for the Almond Board of California's fourth annual Environmental Stewardship Tour in Hickman, Calif., to hear first-hand how the industry is tackling environmental issues. State and federal regulators praised the work of almond growers and handlers — including tour host Braden Farms — who are finding solutions to environmental challenges, including endangered species, air and water quality and reduced-risk pest management. Pamela Creedon, executive officer with the Central Valley Water Board's Irrigated Lands Program, said the Environmental Stewardship Tour helps illustrate not only the impacts of various regulations on industry, but opportunities for partnerships in meeting the Board's water quality mandates. "It's encouraging to see some of the things we've seen out in the field today," Creedon told tour attendees. <more> March 9, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Bees and blooms go nuts in valley. Almond pollination conditions, weather excellent this year - - From north to south, California's Central Valley has been fragrant with the scent of almond blooms and filled with the buzzing of honeybees. This year's bloom season arrived almost three weeks late, but hit a patch of perfect weather to the delight of almond growers and beekeepers alike. It also peaked quickly, with good overlap among varieties, a promising scenario for cross-pollination. Earlier this year, north state almond growers suffered major tree losses as storms raked the area. In the south, growers were worried if their water allocations would carry them through the growing season.  As weather worries have diminished, it appears Mother Nature has cooperated, providing excellent pollination conditions for almonds and other tree fruit. <more> March 7, 2008 Capital Press
   

• Almond, honey industries face changes -- California's almond growers and bee wranglers will now be voting to change their businesses.  On Monday, the Agriculture Department set in motion two distinct referendums that could touch San Joaquin Valley farmers and consumers alike. The elections will shape how almonds are labeled, what quality standards may apply and how the honey industry pools money for ads and research. Alarms already are ringing in some quarters. "I fear this is going to lead to mass confusion," cautioned Orin Johnson, a Hughson-based beekeeper. Almonds and honey are each covered by different but related Agriculture Department programs funded by industry fees and voted upon by participants. <more> March 4, 12008 Fresno Bee  
   

• Almond industry 'greens up'. Stewardship tour highlights environmentally friendly operation - - Almond blooms were few and far between for the annual Environmental Stewardship Tour hosted by the Almond Board of California, but the springtime green hills complemented the "green" practices used on the 13,000-acre Braden Farms operation. The tour has been held for the past four years to show regulators and the media innovative ways growers reduce pesticides and dust and ensure food safety. Almonds are the nation's No. 1 horticultural export and the leading tree crop in the Central Valley, but the popular nut comes with an environmental price tag. Dormant sprays for pests have been implicated in surface-water pollution. Dust from harvest operations contributes to poor air quality. <more> March 3, 2008 Capital Press
   

• Plight of the honeybees. So far this year, pollination and weather forecasts are good. But can a reduced bee force stay healthy and get the job done? - - Mother Nature appears to be smiling on California almond growers: Honeybees are in their orchards, ready to make it possible to grow a $2.5 billion crop. But the forces of nature don't appear to be as pleased with the nation's beekeepers. They remain locked in battle with colony collapse disorder, mites and poor weather conditions. Each year, the almond crop starts with bees from 1.2 million colonies -- many of them from outside the state -- pollinating the blossoms. This year, beekeepers scrambled to get their hives into orchards before a spell of rain and cold weather hit. A later-than-usual bloom followed those rains and is coming just as a string of warm days arrives. <more> March 3, 2008 Fresno Bee
   

• Bee decline still baffles scientists, worries growers. In area that grows 80% of world's almonds, colony collapse a serious concern --The beleaguered honeybees are back, working to pollinate another almond crop despite a population decline that still baffles scientists. The bloom began in earnest this week in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. It's a crucial time each year for a crop that is second only to milk in gross farm income in the region. "The trees are just starting to explode everywhere," said Orin Johnson, a Hughson- area beekeeper who rents hives for pollination. "If we have good weather, we could easily get a good crop again." The bloom is about two weeks later than usual, grower Dick Braden said during a tour of his orchards east of Hickman last week. <more> March 1, 2008 Modesto Bee
   

• High bee prices sting almond growers - - California almond growers are feeling the sting of higher prices for bees that pollinate their crops. Bees are the perfect pollinators — no man-made creation can accomplish what sterile adult female worker bees do. California is home to more than 600,000 acres of almond orchards, and Kern County produces the largest amounts of the high-protein nuts, according to the state’s Almond Board. Per-hive costs are more expensive than ever before, between $125 and $180 depending on colony strength, said Joe Traynor, a bee broker and founder of Scientific Ag Company. Traynor works with 40 almond growers from Bakersfield to Modesto and about 40 beekeepers from around the country. <more> Feb. 24, 2008 Bakersfield Californian
   

• Almonds grown greener. Tour shows farmers using environmentally friendlier techniques - - The rain kept bees from pollinating almond blossoms Friday, but there was a buzz about something else. The Almond Board of California held its fourth annual tour to show regulators and the media what growers are doing for the environment. They spray less pesticide than in the past. They try to capture irrigation runoff so it does not taint streams. They chip their pruned limbs and till them into the soil, rather than burning them in the open air. "We live in this area," said Jim Wagner, who works on pest control at Braden Farms, host of the tour. "We have children in this area. We aren't going to do anything negative." The Almond Board, based in Modesto, has done research on environmental issues as part of its effort to promote the industry. Almonds are second only to milk in gross income among farm products in the Northern San Joaquin Valley, bringing an estimated $833 million to growers in 2006. <more> Feb. 23, 2008 Modesto Bee
   

• Almond industry explores sustainability - - By Gabriele Ludwig, Senior Manager, Global Technical & Regulatory Affairs, Almond Board of California. It seems everyone is claiming that the products they make or sell are “sustainable” or “green” nowadays. But what exactly is sustainability and what does it mean to California almond growers? Sustainability is about ensuring the health of a particular industry or company while also ensuring the health of the environment and local community. With the help of Dr. Keith Warner, director of the Faith, Ethics & Vocation Project at Santa Clara University’s Environmental Studies Institute, the Almond Board of California (ABC) has created a working definition of sustainable almond farming. That definition was developed based on input from focus groups of almond farmers, PCAs, farm advisors and handlers, all of who unanimously agreed that the almond industry should continue to pursue the concept of sustainability. <more> Feb. 19, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• MegaBee nourishes beleaguered honey bees - - Bees busily ferrying pollen from one cream-white almond blossom to another in California orchards this winter might get some of their zip from a new food called MegaBee: The Tucson Diet. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman created the research and development agreement that led to this new, convenient source of proteins, vitamins and minerals that bees need for good health. Bees can eat MegaBee as a meal or snack when days are too cold for venturing outside of their warm hive, for example, or when flowers — bearing pollen and nectar, the staple foods for adult bees — aren't yet in bloom. <more> Feb. 18, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Almond crop looks promising again - - Almond industry officials look forward to another strong year for the $2.5 billion California crop as the crucial annual bloom begins to pop. Despite January wind storms that downed some trees in northern Sacramento Valley orchards, statewide this year more acres than ever are expected to yield the nuts, said Dave Baker, director of grower relations for the Blue Diamond cooperative. He estimates that winds destroyed 8,000 to 10,000 acres. On average, winds blew down 9 percent to 10 percent of the trees, but losses in individual orchards varied, running as high as 50 percent of the plantings. "The loss is just devastating for growers," Baker said. "Overall, we probably haven't seen the entire magnitude of it."  <more> Feb. 15, 2008 Stockton Record
   

• Almond growers warned about runoff potential. Pesticides found in water; sprays blamed - - Growers were warned about dormant spray applications and the potential for runoff into surface water at a regional almond meeting here last week, but the damage had already been done. Tests of Merced River water near Ballico found pesticides - likely from an almond grove dormant spray application - according to Perry Klassen of the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition. Melissa Cregan, deputy agricultural commissioner for Madera County, told growers attending the meeting that state regulations are now in place to keep pesticide runoff from polluting streams and rivers in the San Joaquin Valley. Next year, she warned, there would be enforcement and penalties for allowing pesticide runoff to leave property. <more> Feb. 11, 2008 Capital Press
   

• Almond growers weigh options in storm's wake - - Butte County farmer Rick Fortier has a huge mess on his hands--and he's not alone. A fierce storm that swept through northern and central California in early January left many of the state's almond orchards in ruins, with toppled trees, brush and debris scattered across the fields. "It's ugly," said Fortier. "It's not what we need. I think we're all trying to digest everything and get through it." Wind gusts as high as 70 mph coupled with heavy rains caused many of the trees to weaken and blow over. Now farmers with tree losses must make some difficult decisions about whether to replant just the damaged trees, remove entire blocks of their orchard or plant a different crop altogether. <more> Feb. 11, 2008 Ag Alert
   

• Ferocious January winds fell Sacramento Valley almond orchards - - Northern California almond growers, relatives, friends, and neighbors armed with arsenals of chainsaws, chippers, and shredders were entrenched in almond orchards in California’s Sacramento Valley in mid-January. The beehive of activity was the result of devastating wind gusts up to 100 miles per hour that unearthed hundred of thousands of almond trees during a Jan. 4 Pacific winter storm. “Some of these orchards look like a war zone,” said Dave Baker, director, member relations for Blue Diamond Growers, Sacramento, Calif. “It looks like a bomb went off in the orchard.” Nearly 300,000 almond trees were blown over in Glenn County alone, according to Mark Black, county agricultural commissioner. The toppled trees represented from 16 percent to 18 percent of the county’s almond tree plantings. Butte County also suffered major almond trees losses with fewer losses found in Colusa and Yolo counties. <more> Feb. 6, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Coordinated Research Aims To Improve Honey Bee Health - - In response to a fast-spreading syndrome called colony collapse disorder (CCD) that's striking honey bees nationwide, scientists at Agricultural Research Service (ARS) bee laboratories across the country are pooling their expertise. They want to learn what's causing the disappearance of the honey bees that add about $15 billion a year to the value of U.S. crops by pollinating fruit, vegetable, tree nut and berry crops. Some beekeepers have already lost one-half to two-thirds of their colonies to CCD. Jeff Pettis, research leader at the ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., is a coordinator of the newly established five-year Areawide Program to Improve Honey Bee Health, Survivorship and Pollination Availability. Entomologist John Adamczyk at the ARS Beneficial Insects Research Unit in Weslaco, Texas, helps Pettis coordinate the program, along with Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman at Tucson, Ariz., and Tom Rinderer at Baton Rouge, La. This is the first such initiative to bring various components of all of the federal bee laboratories together to solve a single problem. <more> Feb. 1, 2008 ARS Press Release
   

• Separating the Chaff from the Nuts - - The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has signed a cooperative research and development agreement with Flory Industries of Salida, Calif., to develop an add-on device to control dust emissions from nut harvesters. Researchers Derek Whitelock, Carlos Armijo and Ed Hughs at ARS’ Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory in Mesilla Park, N.M., and Michael Buser in ARS’ Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit at Lubbock, Texas—working with Flory Industries engineers Seth Richmond and Mike Flora—are testing a prototype device that uses centrifugal force to trap soil and bits of leaves and sticks so the harvester emits cleaner air. <more> Jan. 24, 2008 ARS Pres Release
   

• Court decides farmers may continue using methyl bromide -- A federal court is easing California farmers' continued access to the powerful but dangerous pesticide methyl bromide despite international plans to phase out the chemical. The Bush administration acted properly in how it permits "critical use" of the pesticide, three appellate judges agreed this week. The ruling relieves the California farmers who apply more than 6.5 million pounds of methyl bromide annually to protect crops including almonds, grapes and strawberries. "One of the problems has been that there hasn't been a material to take its place that would satisfy everybody," Madera County Agricultural Commissioner Robert Rolan said Wednesday. <more> Jan. 24, 2008 Fresno Bee
   

• California Department of Pesticide Regulation budget backs clean air goals - - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2008-2009 budget supports new rules by the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to reduce pesticide air emissions that help meet California clean air goals. The proposed DPR budget includes about $2.6 million to implement new regulations to reduce pesticide volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions that contribute to smog. Under federal court order, the rules are expected to take effect by January 25. “The Governor’s Budget underscores our commitment to being part of the solution to air quality issues in the Central Valley and throughout California,” said DPR Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam. “Implementing the new regulations is our top priority for 2008.” <more> Jan. 18, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Honey bee research is long-term solution to almond industry’s growing pollination needs    - - California’s almond bearing acreage is expected to mushroom about 22 percent in the next five years, from 615,000 bearing acres in the 2006-2007 crop year to 750,000 bearing acres in 2011. Yet what’s a stinging concern in the side of almond growers is whether adequate and healthy honey bee numbers will be available for crucial pollination every spring. Research is a fundamental answer to honey bee issues, including the so-called colony collapse (CCD) disorder that killed millions of bees over the last few years. There is no single answer to the massive bee die-off that helped push colony rental prices up to the $135 per hive range during the 2006-2007 almond season. “For almond growers, the price of colonies of bees has tripled in the last five years. It has become quite a significant cost of our operations,” said Dan Cummings, owner and general manager of Cummings-Violich, Inc., Chico, Calif., which manages 7,000 acres of almonds and walnuts. Cummings is also co-owner of Olivarez Honey Bees, an apiary business. <more> Jan. 16, 2008 Western Farm Press
   

• Storm batters state, knocks down trees - - The hurricane-force winds and driving rain that pounded California last week knocked down trees, blew roofs off barns and disrupted electrical power in widespread locations. "The most severe damage to almond trees occurred in the northern Sacramento Valley. But, there's no dollar or total damage estimate yet available. Some of the older orchards took a big hit," said Dave Baker, Blue Diamond Member Relations Director. He added that the central and southern parts of the San Joaquin Valley did not have the high winds nor the amount of rain experienced in the north and were spared major damage. He said he expects almond growers in the northern areas of the valley, where trees are reported down everywhere, will have larger economic losses. <more> Jan. 9, 2008 Ag Alert
   

• Colony collapse creates buzz at bee conference. Beekeepers and researchers discuss threat facing nation's 2.5 million colonies - - More than a year after it was first discovered, colony collapse disorder remains a mystery to bee researchers and a source of high anxiety for the nation's beekeepers. At a national bee conference here Thursday, a standing room only audience listened as beekeepers and researchers discussed the challenges of the disease, which threatens the nation's 2.5 million bee colonies and the billions of agricultural crops that they pollinate. Colony collapse disorder, known as CCD, causes a rapid loss of the adult bee population. Dr. Jeff Pettis, who heads up the research team at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service Bee Research Lab in Beltsville, Md., said the key for researchers is to look at the interactions of the various stressors to get to the bottom of colony collapse disorder. He said CCD is likely an interaction.<more> Jan. 11, 2008 Capital Press
   

• Almond Pest Management Alliance Honored by DPR with Second IPM Innovator Award  - - The Almond Pest Management Alliance’s latest recognition as an IPM Innovator is the result of a cooperative effort between growers, industry groups, researchers, and regulatory agencies to help integrate economically and environmentally sound production practices into commercial orchards, according to project participants. The Almond Pest Management Alliance (PMA) was selected by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to receive an unprecedented second IPM Innovator Award for 2007 for its publication of “A Seasonal Guide to Environmentally Responsible Pest Management Practices in Almonds.” The IPM Innovator award will be presented in a ceremony Jan. 17 at the Cal EPA headquarters in Sacramento. <more> Jan. 10, 2008 Almond Board of California Press Release
   

• Bees: Steep population loss hits agriculture hard - - The Issue: Colony collapse disorder continues to vex researchers and decimate beehives. At stake is the routine pollination of many farm crops by honeybees. More than half of the nation's 2.4 million bee colonies each year pollinate California's almond crop. Bob Koehnen, a beekeeper and farmer in the small Sacramento Valley town of Glenn, has a big worry. Koehnen normally puts his 15,000 beehives to work in his orchards, pollinating 3,000 acres of walnuts and almonds. This year he faces the prospect of hiring beekeepers whose prices will jump because of a nationwide decline in honeybees. Many adult bees have mysteriously disappeared – leaving only the queen and the young brood bees – and researchers don't yet know exactly why. But Koehnen hopes they figure it out soon. <more> Jan. 10, 2008 Sacramento Bee

• Farmers urged to keep water pollutant-free. Coalition says action is needed now to avoid more costly measures later. - - They know when you are seeping. They know if you foul a lake. They know if you've been bad or green. So be green for the water's sake. "They" in this case are Regional Water Board officials -- and maybe even some state assembly types -- who are worried about an influx of farming-related pollutants into local water sources. At the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition's annual meeting Wednesday, Merced County farmers were warned they need to step up their clean-water efforts or expect future restrictions and costs. <more> Dec. 19, 2007 Merced Sun-Star

• Methyl Bromide Alternatives- - The Almond Board’s Gabriele Ludwig attended the annual Methyl Bromide Alternatives Outreach Conference in October to stay informed about the latest research and regulatory issues related to soil fumigants. Much of the research was focused on finding alternatives to methyl bromide and tools to reduce emissions from soil fumigants in light of increased regulatory scrutiny over bystander exposure and VOCs. <more> December 2007 California Almonds Newsletter

• Meeting Environmental Challenges - - By Dave Baker Chairman, Environmental Committee, Almond Board of California - - Growers face a growing number of environmental challenges as new technology allows more scrutiny on the impact of production practices. The almond grower has always been proactive in meeting past challenges to the betterment of society and we are working toward an enhanced understanding of these new ones. <more> December 2007 California Almonds Newsletter
   

• Water Quality Goals - - The Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, previously known as the Conditional Ag Waivers Program for Irrigated Lands, turned four years old this summer and water quality sampling has revealed a number of problems in key almond growing regions. As more becomes known about water quality runoff issues near almond orchards, growers are implementing strategies that can help reduce the impact of almond production on surface water quality. <more> December 2007 California Almonds Newsletter

• Farmers join clean-air fight - - On his Madera County almond ranch, Chester Andrew is far from air-quality politics. But he's in the middle of the fight. Andrew just finished switching diesel engines on almost three dozen massive water pumps to clean-running electric motors. He hasn't burned almond prunings for years; he grinds them up instead. And he uses stingy drip irrigation to save water and electricity, which, in turn, reduces air pollution from fossil-fuel power plants. Andrew says clean air protects his family and his business. "We live out here right in the middle of the farm," he said. "We want to be on the forefront of keeping the environment clean. We know a lot of farmers doing this." <more> Dec. 18, 2007 Fresno Bee
   

• Almond Pest Management Alliance earns IPM Innovator Award - - The Almond Pest Management Alliance (PMA), with its publication of a Seasonal Guide to Environmentally Responsible Pest Management Practices in Almonds, has earned an IPM Innovator Award from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) for 2007. Since 1994, DPR has given out more than 100 Integrated Pest Management Innovator awards to honor California organizations that emphasize pest prevention, favor least-hazardous pest control, and share their successful strategies with others. The award will be presented to the Almond PMA Jan. 17 in a ceremony at Cal EPA headquarters in Sacramento. In 1998, the Almond PMA was initiated by the Almond Board of California with funding from DPR to evaluate the possibility of reducing pesticide use in California almonds. “This is the second time that the almond industry has been honored with an Innovator Award,” said DPR Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam. “This underscores the fact that the Almond Alliance is one of the most progressive commodity groups in California.” <more>  Dec. 6, 2007 UC Press Release
   

• Proposed diesel truck regulations will be costly to agriculture - - By Gabriele Ludwig, Senior Manager, Global Technical & Regulatory Affairs, Almond Board of California - - Newly proposed air quality regulations could dramatically alter the fleet of heavy-duty diesel trucks on California’s roads and highways, including those used to transport farm inputs and harvested agricultural products. New regulations in development by the State Air Board will require significant and expensive retrofitting of older diesel engines to bring trucks into compliance, including seasonal diesel trucks used to transport harvested almonds and other agricultural commodities to and from the field and processing facilities. It may also impact delivery costs for farm inputs if suppliers pass on the cost of retrofitting their fleets to their customers. Air Board staff are currently surveying diesel truck operators, including a separate survey for agricultural vehicles, to obtain information about truck ages, mileage, and vehicle use patterns in advance of submitting a formal proposal to the Air Board by mid-2008. <more> Dec. 4, 2007 Western Farm Press
   

• Pesticide use down on California farms in 2006 - - California farmers used 10 million fewer pounds of pesticides on crops last year, but strawberry growers increased their reliance on fumigants, which are considered among the most dangerous pest-killing chemicals, according to a state report released Thursday. Mirroring a three-year trend, the state's farmers used smaller volumes of some of the most hazardous pesticides. Compounds linked to cancer or affecting reproductive and neurological functions declined by 2.5% to 9.3% in 2006, according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation report. <more> Nov. 30, 2007 LA Times
   

• Valley counties' use of pesticides down in 2006 - - Pesticide use in the central San Joaquin Valley dropped last year, as farmers dealt with fewer bugs, drier weather and a decline in acreage. Fresno County, the state's top agricultural producer, is also California's No. 1 pesticide user, applying more than 31.8 million pounds in 2006, a drop of about 1% from 2005, according to the Department of Pesticide Regulation's annual pesticide-use report released Thursday. Larger declines in pesticide use were recorded in other Valley counties, including Kings County, down nearly 2% to 6 million pounds; Tulare County, down 3% to 16.9 million pounds; and Madera County, down 13% to 9.7 million pounds. <more> Nov. 30, 2007 Fresno Bee
   

• Pesticide use declined in 2006, reports DPR - - The California Department of Pesticide Regulation today reported 2006 pesticide use statistics that showed continued progress toward safer, less toxic pest management. Overall statewide pesticide use declined by nearly six million pounds from 2005 to 2006 (from 195.3 million to 189.6 million). While use increased in landscape maintenance, public health and other categories, production agriculture saw a 10 million pound drop. Use of many high-toxicity chemicals dropped for the third consecutive year. "DPR works hard to promote least-toxic pest management, and our efforts are paying off," said DPR Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam. "At the same time, we will continue to strive for long-term success in pest management, and we have more work to do.” <more> Nov. 29, 2007 DPR Press Release
   

• Water leader: '08 supplies grim. Smelt protections will leave parts of state 35 percent drier - - A Nov. 13 water seminar presented by the Almond Board of California left no doubt about the grim outlook for agricultural water supplies should the 2008 rainfall season be a repeat of 2007. "There are 216,000 acres of almonds south of the delta that rely on water deliveries. Chances are it will be tough next year unless you can find water to buy," said seminar speaker Mike Wade. Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition, presented a statewide picture of surface farm water supplies. "Storage has fallen drastically since January. We have the lowest overall storage since 2001. Without a wet winter, 2008 will be a tough year," Wade said. <more> Nov. 27, 2006 Capital Press
   

• Nominations sought for EPA ag advisory committee - - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it is seeking nominations for a new farm, ranch, and rural communications federal advisory committee. This first-ever agricultural advisory committee will advise the EPA Administrator on environmental policy issues impacting farms, ranches, and rural communities, and is a part of EPA’s continuing effort to strengthen relations with the agricultural community. The committee is expected to meet approximately twice a year and will consist of approximately 25 members representing large and small farmers, ranchers, and rural communities; rural suppliers; marketers and processors; academics and researchers who study environment issues affecting agriculture; tribal agriculture groups; and environmental and conservation groups. USDA and other federal agencies have also been invited to nominate members. Although EPA did not publish a deadline for submitting nominations, EPA did indicate it is expected to decide on membership by early January 2008. A copy of the Federal Register notice, which includes instructions on submitting nominations, is available at
   http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-22380.pdf  Nov. 16, 2007 EPA Pres Release
   

• Almond conference has environmental focus - - New environmental regulations as well as marketing strategies for the burgeoning almond industry will highlight the annual Almond Industry Conference Dec. 5-6 at the Modesto Center Plaza. The Almond Board of California will present a panel discussion on regulatory changes for air and water quality and pesticides. Panelists will include Cynthia Cory, California Farm Bureau's environmental affairs director; Parry Klassen, director of the Center for Urban and Rural Environmental Stewardship and Mary Ann Warmerdam, director of California Department of Pesticide Regulation.  Greenhouse gas regulation, new truck motor legislation and future regulation for agriculture equipment motors will be reviewed by Cory. Klassen, who will speak about the Irrigated Lands Program. Soil fumigant regulations and volatile organic compounds will be discussed by Warmerdam. <more> Nov. 16, 2007 Capital Press
   

• Ag, water leaders at Almond Board  water forum discuss how to keep taps flowing - - The prospect of a dry 2008 is just one of the threats facing farmers in the San Joaquin Valley, experts said at a Modesto forum Tuesday. Another threat is legal -- a possible reduction in West Side water deliveries so more can be used to sustain fish. And another threat is seismic -- the chance that an earthquake could shatter the delta levees that keep seawater from mixing with the state's main fresh supply. "It seems like we move from crisis to crisis over there on the West Side," said Bill Harrison, general manager of the Del Puerto Water District, which irrigates about 40,000 acres in that area. The forum, held by the Almond Board of California, drew about 100 people to the State Theatre. It dealt not just with the water needs of almonds, the second-highest-grossing farm product in the Northern San Joaquin Valley, but with the state's agriculture overall. <more> Nov. 14, 2007 Modesto Bee
   

• Linking research dollars to innovative products that improve almond pollination - - By Christi Heintz, Liaison, Bee Task Force Almond Board of California - - The Almond Board of California (ABC) has long made research a cornerstone to provide industry-wide benefits in production and marketing. Commitment to horticultural research by the ABC has progressed continuously for 35 years. This research has led to the development of new varieties and rootstocks, improvements in management practices such as irrigation, pest and disease control, and many other improvements that have allowed the almond industry to climb from yields of 500 pounds per acre to over 3,000 pounds per acre in some areas. The single most important factor determining almond yield is pollination during the bloom period. Almonds are self-incompatible and therefore require pollen from one variety to be transported to another variety via an insect vector in order to produce a crop. Over 1.2 million colonies of honeybees are required to pollinate this crop alone, with California beekeepers supplying about half that need. Thus, honeybees travel from throughout the United States to California for almond pollination, some coming from as far away as Florida. <more> Nov. 7, 2007 Western Farm Press
   

• Environmental Panel Discusses What’s New in Environmental Regulations Dec. 6 at Almond Industry Conference in Modesto - -  The Almond Board of California is featuring a panel of environmental experts within its annual conference being held at the Modesto Centre Plaza on Dec. 5-6.   The panel discussion entitled, “What’s New in Environmental Regulatory Issues?” will provide attendees with an update of the regulatory changes affecting growers in the areas of air quality, water quality and pesticides.  The expert panelists include:
  • Mary-Ann Warmerdam, Director of California Department of Pesticide Regulation.  Ms. Warmerdam will speak to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and soil fumigant regulations.
  • Cynthia Cory, California Farm Bureau’s Environmental Affairs Director.  Ms. Cory will speak on the implications of greenhouse gas regulation as well as new truck motor legislation and the future expansion to ag equipment motors.
  • Parry Klassen, Director of the Center for Urban and Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES) program.  Mr. Klassen is very involved in water-quality issues relating to agriculture and will bring us up-to-date on water quality regulations and the Irrigated Lands program.  <more> Nov. 6, 2007 Almond Board of California Press Release
   

• East San Joaquin Water Coalition meetings set for December - - Three meetings of the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition are scheduled to be held in December. The meeting dates and locations are:
  Tuesday, Dec. 11, 10a.m. -12 p.m. Madera County Farm Bureau, 1102 S. Pine St., Madera. RSVP to (559) 674-8871.
  Wednesday, Dec. 12, 10a.m. -12 p.m. Plus Sponsored Lunch. Merced County Ag Commissioner's Office, 2139 Wardrobe Ave., Merced. RSVP to (209) 522-7278.
  Tuesday, Dec. 18, 10 a.m. -12 p.m. Plus Sponsored Lunch. Stanislaus County Ag Center, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Suite B, Modesto. RSVP to (209) 522-7278. Oct. 31, 2007 ESJWC Notice
   

• 2007 almond crop - excellent quality nuts, good yields, and no reported thefts - - In a nutshell, the 2007 California almond season now winding down included good growing weather, minimal disease and pest pressures, decent prices, good to superior quality nuts, and no reported almond thefts. “It’s a good almond crop. It may not surpass the (NASS) estimate (1.33 billion pounds) but it will still be an exceptionally good crop,” said Don McKinney, almond grower and president of the Kerman, Calif.-based Central California Almond Growers Association (CCAGA). “Prices are relatively good considering the crop size. We don’t see a big swing from $1 to $4 like what happened over the last few years. It’s good for the industry to be stabilized. Supply and demand are in good harmony right now.” <more> Oct. 30, 2007 Western Farm Press
   

• Almond Board of California Hosts Water Availability Seminar Nov. 13 in Modesto - - The Almond Board of California on Nov. 13 in Modesto is hosting a panel of experts to discuss water availability issues facing the Central Valley.  Recent court decisions related to protecting the endangered Delta Smelt in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and restoring salmon to the San Joaquin River—coupled with drought and population growth in California—are putting unprecedented strain on the future availability of agricultural surface water. This seminar will provide an opportunity for growers to learn from the experts just how these water challenges will affect California agriculture and the almond industry in particular. Speakers for this event will include: * Mike Wade, Executive Director, CA. Farm Water Coalition, presenting the statewide perspective on the water issues;* Todd Manley, Director, Government Relations Northern California Water Association, discussing the Sacramento Valley perspective; * Bill Harrison, General Manager, Del Puerto Water District, presenting the North San Joaquin Valley perspective; * Jim Beck, General Manager, Kern County Water Agency, discussing the issues affecting water availability for the South San Joaquin Valley. The seminar will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 from 1-4 p.m. at the State Theatre of Modesto, 1307 J Street.  If you are interested in understanding how water issues affect you, please R.S.V.P. your interest in attending by e-mailing Debye Hunter at dhunter@almondboard.com or by calling her at 209.343.3230.  Please respond by Nov.  1, 2007.  The Almond Board of California administers a grower-enacted Federal Marketing Order under the supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture.  Established in 1950, the Board’s charge is to promote the best quality almonds, California’s largest tree nut crop.  For more information on the Almond Board of California or almonds, visit www.AlmondsAreIn.com. Oct. 24, 2007 Almond Board of California Press Release
   

• Beekeepers say things looking better after mysterious die-off - - Very gingerly, beekeepers are predicting better times in 2008, despite a mysterious die-off plaguing the industry. The Almond Board of California, whose grower-members are the biggest users of commercial honey bees for pollination in late winter, hosted a meeting this week in Modesto to get an update on the situation. "From my own opinion and the beekeepers I know, it does appear that bees are in a little bit better shape this year than they were a year ago," said Gene Brandi, a beekeeper based in Los Banos. Many beekeepers across the country reported major losses last winter to what has been dubbed colony collapse disorder. The cause of the die-off is not known, but researchers suspect viruses, poor weather, pesticides and a few other possibilities. <more> Oct. 20, 2007 Modesto Bee
   

• Valley NRCS air quality specialist earns national award for efforts - - John Beyer, state air quality coordinator with the Natural resources Conservation service in Fresno, has been awarded the USDA’s Secretary 2007 Honor Award for protecting and enhancing the nation’s natural resources base and environment. The announcement was made by Acting USDA Secretary Chuck Conner at a recent ceremony in Washington DC.  Beyer was cited for his work in successfully pioneering agricultural air quality conservation measures in California that offer technical and policy models to USDA conservationists nationwide. “John Beyer was called upon to do something new for NRCS: find ways for California’s agricultural community to improve air quality in a way that would satisfy federal and state regulators and was acceptable to producer,” said NRCS State Conservationist Ed Burton. Beyer’s efforts have been especially noteworthy in programs that have helped farmers achieve compliance regarding PM-10 emissions. “His work has resulted in 6,000 farmers implementing conservation measures that removed 130,000 tons of emissions from the sky,” said Burton. “His work also meant cleaner air in a geographic location that reports one of the highest incidences of respiratory disease in the U.S.” A resident of Madera, Beyer is retiring this month after working for NRCS since 1971. Oct. 16, 2007 NRCS Press Release
   

• Dispelling myths swirling around pesticides - - By Richard Cornett, WPHA Communications Director. It’s kind of interesting to note the items you come across on the Internet while searching for other things. For instance, while doing research on pesticides I ran across an article by John Stossel of “20/20” TV fame. You might know Stossel — he’s the in-your-face reporter who has a way of boiling down controversies into their essential ingredients and then confronting the interviewee with simple straight talk and direct questions. He’s also a New York Times best-selling author who has a popular book out called “Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity.” It was the excerpts from the book that I found fascinating, especially the segment about myths dealing with pesticides. In one portion there’s an interview with Dr. Bruce Ames, who is a UC Berkeley professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Center. This seemed rather odd to me because most people attending this liberal enclave are perceived to be staunch environmentalists who would like nothing better than to see pesticides banished entirely from Mother Earth. <more> Oct. 16, 2007 Western Farm Press
   

• The Almond and the Bee. A global biological process begins with Joe Traynor and his brokering of bees for California's most valuable horticultural export - - Every year about mid-January, Joe Traynor says goodbye to his wife, moves out of his house and sets up shop in a second-floor apartment on the other side of Bakersfield. In a small room with a rumpled bed, he manages to get a few hours of sleep most nights. Three phones ring persistently. Traynor is a bee broker for apiarists and almond growers. For six weeks every year Traynor - under the auspices of Scientific Ag Co., the company he founded in 1973 - concentrates on honeybee pollination of California almond trees. This unassuming man has become the best-known middleman in the business, a respected intermediary in the largest managed pollination event in the history of the world. <more> Oct. 15, 2007 SF Chronicle
   

• Grower input is critical on proposed new soil fumigant restrictions - - By Gabriele Ludwig, Senior Manager, Global Technical & Regulatory Affairs, Almond Board of California. Proposed new state and federal regulations could have immediate and far-reaching effects on how and to what extent preplant soil fumigants are used in almonds and other California crops. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Department of Pesticide Regulation are currently seeking public comment on two separate proposed soil fumigant regulations. These rules are likely to limit fumigant use during certain periods and require new application methods and mitigation measures. Most critical in the short term, DPR has proposed rules to sharply reduce soil fumigant air emissions that are thought to contribute to smog-forming ozone in areas with poor air quality, which includes the San Joaquin Valley, Southeast Desert and Ventura County. The regulations must be issued by Jan. 1, 2008 to bring DPR in compliance with a federal judge’s ruling last fall. <more> Oct. 12,2007 Western Farm Press
   

• Mixed nuts. 2007 almond crop high on quality, but small size a problem - - California’s 2007 almond harvest is a mix of big and small. Growers are bringing in a record 1.33 billion-pound crop, but individual nut sizes are running smaller than normal. Dave Baker, director of member relations for Blue Diamond, said this year's harvest started about two weeks earlier than last year. The crop "looks good" and the nonpareil crop appears on track to meet estimates. <more> Oct. 11, 2007 Capital Press
   

• State air board approves new air-quality measures. Plan should help farmers meet future emissions deadlines - - The California Air Resources Board has approved its 2007 State Implementation Plan to improve air quality and announced new measures that should work to help farmers meet future deadlines in cutting emissions. At a Sept. 27 meeting in Diamond Bar, the board approved two regional plans to help meet federal mandates for emissions standards for the South Coast and the San Joaquin Valley. Both plans focus on ground-level ozone and particulate matter emissions. Target dates for compliance are 2014 for PM 2.5 and 2023 for ground-level ozone in areas like the San Joaquin Valley that are federally designated as "extreme" for air pollution. The federal ozone attainment deadline remains at 2023 for the San Joaquin Valley, but new Air Resources Board proposals will fast-track efforts to reach 90 percent compliance by 2018. <more> Oct. 11, 2007 Capital Press
   

• Less Pesticide Runoff From Almonds with Vegetation - -  A new study in dormant almonds set for this winter intends to verify what is strongly suggested by University of California and industry research: resident vegetation during winter decreases storm runoff of dormant season insecticides, according to the latest newsletter published by the Coalition for Urban Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES). <more> Oct. 5, 2007 CURES Newsletter
   

• Ludwig Selected to CURES Board - - The Almond Board of California's Gabriele Ludwig has been selected to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES). CURES is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 to support educational efforts focusing on the proper and judicious use of pest control products. The group’s mission includes education and implementation of practical measures in the field and home to reduce the impact of inputs on water quality. The Almond Board has been a long-time supporter of CURES and its activities. October 2007 California Almonds Newsletter
   

• New Lab Methods Speed Testing of Fumigant Emissions - - A simpler, quicker way to track pesticide emissions from agricultural fields has been devised by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. Using low-cost laboratory tests and mathematical models, research leader Scott Yates and colleagues at the U.S. Salinity Laboratory in Riverside, Calif., are able to evaluate--and even predict--fumigant emissions. With a ban looming on methyl bromide, a pre-plant soil fumigant widely used by fruit and vegetable growers, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulators are evaluating various emissions-lowering fumigation alternatives. Each potential methyl bromide replacement will require its own set of regulations, based on findings from complex field studies. <more> Oct. 4, 2007 ARS Press Release
   

• Air Quality Regulations in Development for On-Road Diesel Trucks - - Newly proposed air quality regulations could dramatically alter the fleet of heavy-duty diesel trucks on California’s roads and highways, including those used to transport harvested agricultural products such as almonds. The California Air Resources Board is proposing new regulations on diesel-powered on-road heavy duty trucks in California to reduce air pollution causing emissions. The new regulations would move the Air Board toward achieving mandates in the California Diesel Risk Reduction Plan to reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter (<PM2.5) and ozone forming nitrogen oxide (NO_x). The plan was adopted in 2000 and calls for a 75-percent reduction in particulate matter emissions by 2010, and an 85 percent reduction by 2020. <more> Oct. 4, 2007 California Almonds Newsletter  
   

• Almond crop trades size for quantity - - Erasing worries about whether the nation's ailing honeybees successfully pollinated California's 65 million almond trees last winter, crews are now bringing in a record harvest. But the huge tonnage -- predicted to be as high as 1.33 billion pounds -- comes from numbers, not size. This year's almonds, it turns out, are puny -- perhaps 15 percent smaller, on average, than in a typical year. "Many of us are debating the reasons for that," said John Edstrom, a University of California Cooperative Extension farm adviser in Colusa. The main variables are weather, water and bees, Edstrom said, but it's difficult to say just how they interact. <more> Oct. 1, 2007 Sacramento Bee
   

• Farmers don't have 'waiver' to 'pollute freely'. Water policies in the Valley mean tight regulation - - When Record columnist Michael Fitzgerald wrote in August about the Regional Water Quality Control Board letting agriculture "pollute" the water, I chalked it up to someone who didn't have enough information. His Sept. 9 column about the Irrigated Lands Program ("Pollution law soft on ag industry") showed he is misinformed and trying to sway public opinion with conjecture and innuendo. California agriculture is under a program that regulates discharge of water from irrigated land. It doesn't have "a waiver from laws" and isn't able to "pollute freely." <more> Sept. 28, 2007 Stockton Record
   

• Almond Natural -- Students at Yale University might be munching this morning on granola made with organic almonds grown in and near Stanislaus County. The Ivy League school is among the customers of Big Tree Organic Farms, a grower cooperative that serves a niche in the almond market. Big Tree, made up of 24 growers mainly in Stanislaus and Merced counties, gets a premium price because the buyers like the idea of farming without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Organic nuts are less than 1 percent of the total almond crop in California, which provides about 80 percent of the world's supply. But they could be ready for a boom, thanks to positive health reports on almonds in general, and to the growing interest in sustainable farming. <more> Sept. 15, 2007 Modesto Bee

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  Pesticide pollution deliberated. Those at Clovis meeting seek to protect ground water. - - Within a couple of years, state regulators can be expected to train their sights on pesticides from farms and ranches seeping into ground water. That was the one clear message that emerged from a meeting in Clovis on Thursday where growers defended their approaches to curbing pollution and community activists emphasized a need to step up efforts to stop ground-water contamination. For the past four years, regulators have focused on runoff from irrigated farmland into rivers, streams and canals or lakes and ponds. A standing-room-only crowd filled the Clovis City Council meeting room where a joint meeting was held by the state's Water Control Board and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board to gather comments on the Irrigated Lands Program. <more> Sept. 14, 2007 Fresno Bee
   

• Farmers, Residents Debate Valley Water Pollution Regulations -- Small-town residents sick of finding chemicals in their wells and farmers wary of costly new regulations crowded a meeting hall Thursday in Clovis to give water regulators an earful on their attempt to monitor pollution streaming from farms. Growers argued they've spent more than $9 million dollars and much effort to comply with the four-year-old Irrigated Lands Program, which asked them to monitor runoff from their land that potentially carried chemicals or animals waste into rivers. But rural residents who rely on groundwater said the program doesn't go far enough. The monitoring needs to expand to include the water that sinks from farm fields into the ground, leaving their drinking water with unhealthy levels of chemicals, they said. <more> Sept. 14, 2007 AP
   

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

• Almond Industry Looks at Climate Change Regulations - - New regulations are likely to drive agriculture toward sustainable farming practices focused on reducing the impacts of energy and fertilizer use on greenhouse gas emissions. AB 32, passed by the state legislature in 2007, mandates a 25-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, reducing current emissions to pre-1990 levels. Production agriculture has been identified as the fourth largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the state. While 80 percent of current statewide greenhouse gasses come from energy consumption, researchers and regulators believe production agriculture contributes 8.4 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in California. Already, grower groups are looking for ways to develop and incorporate sustainable farming practices that may have a positive impact on those estimated greenhouse gasses. <more> Sept. 6, 2007 California Almond News
   

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

• EQIP air quality cost-share program deadline is Nov. 2 - - The 2008 Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) cost-share program for air quality emission reductions is currently available for sign-up by growers. Each county office is accepting applications. The deadline for making applications is Nov. 2. The Conservation Practices to be cost-shared on for Air Quality are: Dust control on roads; Conservation tillage; Chipping of almonds and walnuts (Annual prunings); Chipping of orchard removal (Any orchard or vineyard); Older stationary diesel engine replacement; Disposal of treated wood stakes; Soil injection of dairy waste; precision spray technology, and establishment of shelterbelt for Confined Animal Feeding Operations. The cost share rates for the 2008 EQIP program may be different from last year’s rates. Visit with your local county NRCS office to obtain the 2008 EQIP cost share rates. Contact your local NRCS county office for details or contact the Fresno Air Quality office at 559-252-2191 Ext. 121. Sept. 6, 2007 NRCS Notice
   

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

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

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

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

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

• Watershed Coalition newsletter available on-line - - The  Summer 2007 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 on-line at http://www.curesworks.org/newsletter.asp. The goal of the project is to link growers to the watershed coalitions. The PDF version is a combined North and South Valley issue. Aug. 14, 2007 CURES Press Release
   

• Simple steps can reduce almond harvest dust - - By Gabriele Ludwig, Senior Manager, Global Technical & Regulatory Affairs Almond Board of California. Mounting air quality regulations and pressure from urban neighbors in the San Joaquin Valley continue to place pressure on growers to find ways to reduce the amount of dust and fine particulates emitted from their farming operations. The valley has been in narrow compliance with federal PM10 (particulates 10 microns or less in size) standards in recent years. While the ag industry can certainly feel good about the voluntary efforts they are making to help meet PM10 standards, growers still need to pay attention to dust, and find ways to further reduce their emissions at harvest. <more> Aug. 8, 2007 Western Farm Press
   

• Water board gets report on water-monitoring program - - Coalition groups representing 21,000 Central Valley farmers reported to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board Thursday that progress is being made to analyze and enhance water quality under a three-year-old Irrigated Lands Program. The regional board was presented water-monitoring data collected by nine coalitions in four geographic zones in the Central Valley. Monitoring of rivers, streams, creeks and sloughs from Redding to Bakersfield was mandated by the board in 2003 in lieu of imposing waste discharge permits on individual landowners. Margie Read, a senior environmental scientist for the regional board, presented the first region-wide results in a series of zone maps, charts and tables. The report includes some 96,000 data points that were collected during the three years of monitoring. Read said the data provide a baseline for water quality conditions. <more> Aug. 8, 2007 Capital Press
   

• Bee deaths hurt almond growers - - Standing in a sun-dappled orchard surrounded by almond trees almost ready to harvest, Scott Hunter held an empty honeycomb in his hands. "I just can't farm without bees," the Livingston almond grower said quietly. Those honeybees, the fuzzy insects that fly from tree to tree pollinating the crop in late winter and early spring, can make or break an almond farmer. But the bees are dying. And no one knows why. On Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., stood with Hunter in his family's orchard and promised to push for $86.5 million in funding to find out why beehives are being devastated by colony collapse disorder (CCD). The funding would be part of farm bill legislation wending its way through Congress. <more> Aug. 8, 2007 Merced Sun-Star
   

• USDA listening session on research needs set for Modesto Aug. 29 - - A high-level USDA advisory board will hold a “listening session” in Modesto on Aug. 29 to hear from local farmers, producers, community and state leaders, scientists, educators, and environmentalists on issues relating to studying the scope and effectiveness of the research, extension, data and economics programs affecting the U.S. specialty crop industry. The National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board Specialty Crop Committee was created by Congress and approved by President Bush in 2004 to review Federal agriculture research, education and economics initiatives and make recommendations for the purpose of increasing fruit, vegetable, and nut consumption and improving the competitiveness of United States specialty crop producers. The Specialty Crop Committee reports to the NAREEE Advisory Board, which reports to both the Secretary of Agriculture and to the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture and Appropriations. This event is open to the public, and time will be set aside for comments from the audience. The Listening Session will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at the Double Tree Hotel, 1150 Ninth Street, Modesto.  For more information and to indicate your intent to present an oral statement not to exceed three minutes in length, you may call Shirley Morgan Jordan, (202) 720-6012 or Kari Severe, (209) 341-7760).  Aug. 8, 2007 USDA Press Release
   

• Social networks influence growers' water-quality management -- Growers are most likely to trust their county's agricultural commissioner, Farm Bureau and UC Cooperative Extension office for information about water-quality management, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the July-September 2007 issue of the University of California’s California Agriculture journal. Mark Lubell, UC Davis associate professor, and Allan Fulton, UC Cooperative Extension advisor, surveyed more than 1,200 growers in the Sacramento River Valley about how they make production decisions regarding water-quality management. The surveyed growers had the lowest levels of trust in the U.S. and California environmental protection agencies, and the state water board. The survey also found that Sacramento River Valley orchard growers need an average of nine contacts with a "diffusion network" of peers, private advocacy groups and public agencies before they will adopt a new best management practice (BMP) to protect water quality. The authors define a diffusion network as a social system for communicating information about agricultural practices, through both formal and informal connections and interactions <more> July 20, 2007 UC ANR News
   

• Farm Bureau indicates concerns over fumigant use rules - - In the continuing effort to improve California's air quality, the Department of Pesticide Regulation is proposing to sharply reduce and cap the use of certain soil fumigants. The regulatory effort is aimed at cutting volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions that are a component of smog. "While we continue to review the proposed regulations, our preliminary analysis indicates, however, that DPR's methodology seriously overestimates VOC emissions from fumigants," said Cynthia Cory, California Farm Bureau Federation governmental affairs division. "Application methods proposed for elimination are critical to growers and the economic impacts are significantly greater than DPR has previously indicated." <more> July 16, 2007 Ag Alert
   

• Simple Steps to Reduce Dust at Harvest - - Almond growers in the San Joaquin Valley continue to face pressure from air quality regulators and the public to reduce dust emissions from their harvesting operation. The Almond Board of California for the past four years has been supporting research to help better understand and reduce PM10 dust emissions at harvest. The Valley has been narrowly in compliance with federal PM10 standards in recent years, but growers still need to pay attention to dust and find ways to further reduce their emissions at harvest. A careful look at the different stages of almond harvest by Flocchini and Cassel at UC-Davis reveals that pick-up at harvesting emits the most dust, followed by sweeping and then shaking. Pickup machines typically emit four times more dust than sweeping, which is about 10 times dustier than shaking. Research efforts, as a result, have focused more on reducing PM10 and other dust emissions from pickup harvesting and sweeping. Downey & Giles at UC-Davis have measured relative amounts of dust from sweepers and pick-up machines with various set ups. <more> July 2007 California Almonds Newsletter
   

• Federal government will pay growers to up the precision in pesticide application. - - Machinery that can zap weeds and apply pesticides more efficiently is at the center of a plan unveiled Thursday to help farmers do their part for clean air. The federal government will spend nearly half a million dollars over the next three years to make use of precision spray equipment available to more farmers. "This should help to keep agriculture competitive and productive while ... providing environmental benefits," said Mark Rey, U.S. Department of Agriculture deputy undersecretary for natural resources and the environment. <more> July 13, 2007 Fresno Bee
   

• Hearing on state's pesticide rules set. Farmers, anti-fumigant groups split over ideas to be discussed today. - - Proposed state rules aimed at cutting nearly 40% of smog-forming gases from pesticides in the San Joaquin Valley will be the subject of a public hearing in Parlier today, with growers and anti-pesticide activists divided over whether the rules go too far or not far enough. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation will hold its hearing on the proposed rules at 5 p.m. today in the Nectarine Room of the University of California Kearney Agricultural Center at 9240 S. Riverbend Ave. in Parlier. At that hearing, growers concerned with the rules' expected $40 million-plus price tag are likely to contrast with anti-pesticide groups calling for a more aggressive stance to reduce pesticide use in the Valley and other areas in the state.<more> July 12, 2007 Fresno Bee
   

• EPA Holds First-Ever Dialogue with Agriculture Leaders - - As part of a new and closer relationship EPA seeks with the farm community, Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today in Washington presided over the agency's first-ever dialogue with leaders of the agriculture industry. Johnson discussed three primary issues with attendees: (1) environmental issues facing agriculture in the next 10 years; (2) how the changing face of agriculture will impact the environment; and, (3) how EPA can improve its relationship with agricultural producers and get them more involved in environmental protection. Participants offered support for EPA's idea of establishing a permanent advisory group to advise the administrator on regulations and policy from a rural perspective. <more> July 12, 2007 EPA Press Release
   

• 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 gro