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July 27, 2010
· Growers face crackdown on pesticide use
· Tracking fresh produce from field to fork
· Italian farmers facing a tomato disaster
· High tunnels becoming farm mainstays
· Program turns war refugees into farmers
Growers face crackdown on pesticide use
(McClatchy
via Yahoo! News)
The eight-year-old ruling by a federal judge in
The agencies moved recently to restrict the use of three of the chemicals, including a widely used one with the trade name Sevin, near bodies of water that flow into salmon-bearing streams, and they're considering restrictions on 12 additional chemicals. The Washington State Department of Agriculture says such restrictions would prevent pesticide use on 75 percent of the state's farmland.
A federal judge in
Rather than continuing to file piecemeal lawsuits, the Center for Biological Diversity says it will file a broader suit this summer that involves nearly 400 pesticides and almost 900 species that are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Dan Newhouse , the director of the
Washington State Department of Agriculture , who farms hops, apples, cherries
and other row crops on 600 irrigated acres in the
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that 20 to 40 percent of global crop production is lost annually because of weeds, pests and disease.
Manufacturers of agriculture chemicals have threatened to sue the EPA , alleging that the agency's method of crafting restrictions is riddled with "major flaws" and the industry wasn't asked to participate.
Newhouse said there was so much uncertainty that it was
impossible to tell how widespread or dramatic the effects of tighter
restrictions might be. In
The Endangered Species Act, which was signed into law in 1973, requires federal agencies that are contemplating any action that could "jeopardize" listed species to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service and come up with a plan to alleviate or lessen the effects. The National Marine Fisheries Service has jurisdiction over some fish species, such as salmon, and the Fish and Wildlife Service covers everything else.
The EPA has jurisdiction over pesticides, but environmentalists said it had largely ignored the endangered species requirements.
That began to change in 2002, when U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle ruled that the EPA had violated provisions of the Endangered Species Act by not consulting with the National Marine Fisheries Services about how the use of pesticides and other chemicals could affect the more than two dozen salmon runs that are protected under the act in Washington state , Oregon , California and Idaho .
"Such consultation is mandatory and not subject to unbridled agency discretion," Coughenour wrote.
After years of study, the fisheries service concluded in 2009 that three pesticides — carbaryl (Sevin), carbofuran (sold as Furadan, Curater and other brand names) and methomyl (sold under a variety of names) — were jeopardizing salmon runs and suggested that the EPA ban their use within 1,000 feet of salmon habitats and impose other restrictions that involved aerial spraying, wind speed and weather.
The EPA essentially agreed, but the manufacturers of the three chemicals say they won't adopt new labeling requirements for their products voluntarily, and they've threatened their own lawsuit.
The EPA has a 2012 deadline to finish studying the other chemicals and adopt restrictions on those that threaten salmon.
"For years and years and years, EPA didn't do these
consultations on pesticides," said Steve Mashuda
of the
Jeff Miller , a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity , said that until now, his group and others had approached the issue species by species and region by region.
"We are trying to get EPA to do it nationally," Miller said.
He said that even now, the EPA continued to drag its feet.
"I know Obama has a lot on his plate right now, but the EPA is still not aggressively taking on this issue," he said.
Newhouse of the Washington State Department of Agriculture said that state agriculture directors across the country were worried.
The consultation process between the EPA and the National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish and Wildlife Service needs to be overhauled, and that could entail changes in the Endangered Species Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, Newhouse said.
In addition, he said, the EPA needs to examine recent studies
such as one
The companies that manufacture the three pesticides at the heart of the controversy argue that if the chemicals are used properly they won't jeopardize endangered or threatened species.
The industry also has argued that pesticides help maintain habitat for endangered species by controlling the spread of noxious and harmful weeds, pointing to endangered orchids that have thrived in various rights-of-ways that have been sprayed with herbicides.
EPA officials didn't respond to e-mail and telephone requests for comment, but they've notified the manufacturers that if they don't agree to the new labeling restrictions voluntarily, the agency will pursue "administrative procedures" against them.
On Capitol Hill , lawmakers are tracking the controversy, but no legislative fix has been introduced.
Tracking fresh produce from field to fork
(projo.com) – With the produce industry being slammed periodically by damaging recalls, food makers are working on a system to trace produce back to its source.
The multiyear effort will result in tracking codes being assigned to every one of the four billion cases of fruits and vegetables that move through the country annually, enabling companies to quickly trace produce back to the farm, field and day it was harvested. That’s key to investigators finding and isolating the source of food contamination.
Industry members will meet in
The Produce Marketing Association is leading the initiative as the Food Safety Enhancement Act is under consideration by the U.S. Senate.
It will give the Food and Drug Administration the power to require product recalls — something that’s now voluntary under a 1938 law that governs how the FDA operates. The measure passed the U.S. House a year ago.
“The food industry is working very hard to improve the safety of the food supply,” said Jon Mellor, a spokesman for GS1-US, the American arm of not-for-profit organization that helps set global industry standards.
The produce industry is motivated by outbreaks of food-borne
illnesses such as the ones that crippled tomato and spinach growers and the
salmonella-in-pepper outbreak that damaged the business of cured sausage-maker
Daniele Inc. here in
“There have been numerous food-borne illnesses that have shut down entire commodities markets,” said Julie Stewart, a produce association spokeswoman. “These kinds of incidents cost the industry dearly.
“Consumers have to be able to trust us.”
Shoppers are used to seeing bar codes on just about every thing they buy.
They’re also familiar with those little stickers imprinted with numerical codes on the fruits and vegetables.
The numbers are known as price look-up codes, or PLUs.
Bar codes and PLUs help retailers track inventory and help cashiers know what to charge you.
But they’re of limited use during an outbreak of a food-borne illness.
“PLUs cannot play a role in produce traceability,” Stewart said.
For instance, a PLU cannot help trace salsa ingredients to their separate sources.
“Forget it. You’ve got no way,” said Elliott Grant, whose
The next step the produce industry is taking is to replace PLU codes with data bars. A data bar will tell the cashier, among other things, not just that she’s scanning a bunch of bananas, but that they’re Del Monte bananas.
“There’s more information in that bar code than in that PLU,” Grant said.
Then the 14-digit tracking code, known as Global Trade Item Number, will be added to cases of produce.
The codes include a unique multidigit identity number for each company. Codes for produce companies will precede digits describing the origin, size, grade and other attributes of fruits and vegetables.
The GTINs will follow a case of produce wherever it goes, be it food processor, restaurant or supermarket.
The GTIN will allow businesses and government regulators to find suspect produce faster than they can now and remove it from the supply chain.
“You don’t have to necessarily recall every strawberry out there,” said Christine Cunnick, of the National Grocers Association. “That’s the whole point of the GTIN.”
The effort has been challenging, Stewart said.
Figuring out how to put a label on something being packed in a farm field is just one example. The effect on small-scale farmers is another.
“There are disagreements over how to get there, when to get there and how much it’s going to cost,” Stewart said. “[But] everyone in the industry needs to do this.”
At a glanceCrack the code
The numbers on the little stickers you see on fruits and vegetables hold PLU (price look-up) codes.
What’s a 9 mean?
A five-digit code that starts with 9 means item is organic.
What if the code starts
with an 8?
A five-digit code that starts with 8 means the produce was genetically modified.
Suppose it’s a four-digit PLU?
A four-digit code beginning with 3 or 4 means the produce was grown conventionally.
Italian farmers facing a tomato disaster
(nzherald.com via Independent) – A new chapter is about to be added to the history of Italian disasters. It may not be quite up there with the Fall of Rome or Vesuvius erupting, but the Great Tomato Massacre of 2010 is bad news for a country which has the humble but versatile pomodoro at the heart of its culinary life.
The farmers' trade union, Coldiretti, said yesterday production of the tomato was down as much as 25 per cent because of exceptionally high temperatures.
After getting battered by heavy rains that pounded much of
The average harvest of pomodori per hectare of land will tumble from 80,000kg last year to 60,000kg this year, said the union.
Rolando Manfredini, a food expert working for Coldiretti, said: "Above 30C, plants become stressed and are no longer able to grow, in spite of irrigation. The fields have been caught in a pincer of extreme weather - first the torrential rains of last month flooded the fields and prevented roots developing, while now the heat and humidity are weakening the tomatoes, which dry up, making flowers and fruit fall.
"A reduction in yields of 20 per cent is disastrous for tomato farmers, as their profits are well below 20 per cent."
Irate farmers took to the streets last week, demanding government support. Dairy farmers, meanwhile, report their cows are producing 15 per cent less milk than normal because of the heat.
Farmers have set up showers, fans and air-conditioning in their cowsheds, as well as giving the cattle potassium salts in their food.
High tunnels becoming farm mainstays
(agrinews.com)
– Adam Montri, an outreach specialist at
"For small- and mid-scale farms, the high tunnel is
beginning to be as much a mainstay as the tractor," Montri
said during an interview while he was leading a high tunnel building workshop
as part of a Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day at Tammy and Rob Faux's
Sally Worley, PFI communications director and horticulture program director, said that a high tunnel is a passive solar greenhouse that allows farmers to expand their growing season and improve profitability.
Montri taught participants how to construct a movable high tunnel that can be used year-round without supplemental light or heat. Representatives from Four Season Tools helped with the construction and answered questions about their products.
Worley said the workshop shows farmers who want to put up a high tunnel what it takes to organize a build.
Montri said lots of high tunnels are going up. The oldest ones were built in the 1980s.
"Growers like Eliot Coleman had structures whether it was greenhouses or overwintering nurseries and they noticed that there were green weeds growing in the coldest months, and they thought if weeds could grow in the winter why not crops," Montri said. "In the past few years high tunnel building has exploded."
High tunnels increase farm viability because farmers can grow premium crops in winter and have more stable income.
With the growing interest in local food, consumers want to buy local produce throughout the year, Montri said.
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service launched a three-year pilot program earlier this year to provide cost-share funding to farmers who want to use high tunnels, said Worley. The Fauxes are participating in the program.
NRCS will fund one high tunnel per farm through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. To sign up or learn more about EQIP assistance, contact a local NRCS office.
Greg Garbos, president of Four
Season Tools in
A
The focus at Four Season Tools is small-scale organic farms, Garbos said. Movable high tunnels are their niche. The company also offers farm development consultation and implements suited to small farms.
An estimated 35 to 40 people were involved in some aspect of
building the Faux Farms' high tunnel. Participants came from
Shelley Cords-Swanson of
"We came to learn about the process," Cords-Swanson said. "The hands-on experience is great. I have a lot better idea of how this goes together, what tools we need and the number of people we need."
Hanson, who manages Fresh Connections Food Co-op in Algona, plans to raise vegetables in her high tunnel.
Program turns war refugees into farmers
(boston.com)
Nearby, Bessie and Samuel Tsimba tend African maize. The Zimbabwean immigrants deflect questions about the country's violence and instead direct attention to the freshness of their cucumbers. "They'll taste better than what you'll get at most supermarkets," promises Bessie, 43.
Proum and the Tsimbas got their start through a program that has quietly trained about 150 refugees of war, famine and genocide in modern farming to help them integrate into American life. On farms along the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, the refugees have slowly replaced aging farmers and put back into use land that has been idle for years, the program's organizers said.
They supply the region's farmers markets and ethnic stores with beets, cabbage, egg plant, Asian spices and other produce.
"Some were farmers. Some come from a family of farmers," said Jennifer Hashley, project director of the 12-year-old New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. "What we do is provide them with the means to return to agriculture by figuring out financial resources and developing a production plan."
The program was launched in 1998 largely with the help of
John Ogonowski, the pilot on American Airlines flight
11 to
Proum credited Ogonowski for introducing him to modern irrigation techniques and said Ogonowski wouldn't accept money from him, only fresh vegetables.
After Sept. 11, Ogonowski's widow,
Peggy, helped create a farm trust as a memorial to her husband. Meanwhile,
Under the program, refugees take a six-week course at Tufts on agriculture and commercial farming. Would-be farmers then enter a three-year transition program in which they farm small plots, typically earning $5,000 to $10,000 a year to help supplement their non-farm incomes.
Bessie Tsimba, of Tyngsboro, a second-year trainee with her husband, said working her plot has introduced her to the basics of farming and allowed her to pick up techniques from other refugees. "You hear all sorts of languages when you're out here," said Tsimba, while cutting weeds with a machete. "We pick up new ideas from each other."
The apprentice farmers also work to find steady, new markets to sell their produce.
"People call me up for orders and I can barely keep
up," said Tsimba, who sells to African churches
in northern
After three years, graduates lease a new plot from the trust set up by Peggy Ogonowski or New Entry helps them find other land.
Visoth Kim, 64, of Lawrence, one
of the program's original farmers, has built a steady business on a couple of
acres he leases. A former teacher and survivor of the Khmer Rouge, a regime
that slaughtered more 20 percent of the Cambodian population in the 1970s, Kim
sells sweet potatoes, redroot pigweed and tomatoes to Boston-based Tropical
Foods and stores in
"I wake up at 4 every morning and pay close attention to everything I grow," Kim said. "They like what I give them."
Lori Deliso, marketing manager for
the Lexington Farmers Market in
"They've been great to work with and they always bring different kinds of ethnic foods," Deliso said. "They offer wonderful suggestions on recipes and are quick to show us how good everything tastes."
The program has developed a reputation for teaching about locally grown food and is now attracting American-born would-be farmers, Hashley said. In three years, it has grown from 15 trainees a year to 30 -- with more than half American-born.
Amanda Munsie, 34, of
"They farm so differently than the way we did back in
Proum, who recently lost his full-time job at a technology company, said farming his 3-acre lot gives him solace and keeps him busy. If he is idle, his mind drifts to painful memories of the Cambodian-Vietnamese war or losing his friend Ogonowski on Sept. 11, he said.
"I don't like to think about all of that," Proum said while looking over his Chinese long beans. "I want to think about these."
End Transmission