| Media Contact: Veda Federighi, Glenn Brank (916) 445-3974 |
November 2, 2000 (00-25)
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Eight "Natural" Innovators Honored for IPM Work
| Note to editors: Award winners are based in Alameda, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Sonoma, and Stanislaus counties, with some operations in other areas of the state. DPR digital photos of IPM Innovators receiving their awards will be available after the ceremonies. Call the media contacts listed above for details. |
SACRAMENTO -- One winner substituted steam for toxic gas. Another proved that reducing pesticide risks saves poultry producers a lot more than chicken feed.
Eight IPM Innovators will be honored Friday, November 3, by the California Environmental Protection Agency's Department of Pesticide Regulation. DPR Director Paul E. Helliker will present the awards at 1:30 p.m. in the Governor's Council Room at the State Capitol.
IPM -- integrated pest management -- works with the environment to encourage beneficial organisms while making it difficult for pests to survive. IPM Innovator awards recognize organizations that develop least-toxic approaches to pest control and then share their "natural" solutions with others.
DPR Director Paul E. Helliker commended the innovators for their pioneering pest-management solutions. "One of our highest priorities is to encourage alternatives to the use of methyl bromide, a highly toxic fumigant," said Helliker. "C&M Nursery in San Luis Obispo County developed a practical steam treatment facility to sterilize potting soil that completely eliminated their need for methyl bromide fumigations.
"Innovators show 'green' results in more ways than one," Helliker continued. "The California Poultry Federation is being honored because it found alternatives to formaldehyde, a harsh disinfectant. The producers also report that adopting reduced-risk sanitation methods have saved about $1 million."
Cal/EPA Secretary Winston Hickox also congratulated the Innovators. "We at Cal/EPA encourage the use of reduced-risk and non-chemical methods of pest control to better protect public health and the environment," he said. "In many cases, the use of innovative pest management is both good for the environment and good for California's economy."
Innovator awards are one component in DPR's overall reduced-risk pest management strategy. While the awards provide rare public recognition for IPM pioneers, DPR also encourages adoption of innovative pest management through demonstration and applied research grants.
Since 1995, DPR has awarded almost $5 million in grants for reduced-risk pest management. Another $1.4 million will be allocated during this fiscal year.
DPR sponsors both localized, industry-specific projects (Pest Management Grants) and large-scale, industry- and statewide projects (the Pest Management Alliance). About 150 projects have been funded by these programs. DPR staffers also meet informally with agricultural and urban interest groups to share IPM information and exchange ideas.
More information on DPR's reduced-risk programs is available from DPR's Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management Branch, 830 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814-3510, phone (916) 324-4100. Additional information on the IPM Innovator program is also available on DPR's Web site.
The 2000 IPM Innovator awards go to:
California Poultry Federation (CPF), Modesto. In 1998, this trade association created an Alliance partnership with DPR, researchers, producers, and allied members. The goal was to reduce pesticide risk when managing disease, insect, rodent, bird, and weed problems. CPF and other participants demonstrated that high-risk pest control options -- including use of formaldehyde as a disinfectant -- could be replaced with lower risk control options that also cost less. To date, the California poultry industry has saved more than $1 million, providing incentive for grower members to adopt reduced risk practices. CPF also developed mandatory continuing education programs for its members that include the new reduced risk options. In addition, CPF offers on-farm training and assistance programs for members and contracts with an independent, nationally recognized pest management research consultant to provide expertise in pest management. CPF keeps members informed about IPM research progress and results through a newsletter, Web site (www.cpif.org), a weekly update of industry news, articles in the national poultry and agricultural press, and CPF-produced videos available at no cost. This highly organized group of poultry livestock producers has a strong history of supporting and promoting IPM research. Media contact: Bill Mattos (209) 576-6355.
C&M Nursery, Nipomo. C&M provides trees for commercial orchards, garden centers, and chain stores, and is California's second largest producer of avocado trees. To maintain its status as a state-certified nursery, C&M must sterilize all potting media. For 28 years, the nursery made more than 30 methyl bromide applications annually. Last year, C&M developed a practical steam sterilization facility that allows it to treat large truckloads of potting soil and media at a cost comparable to fumigating soil with methyl bromide, eliminating the nursery's need for the highly toxic pesticide. C&M has presented information about its innovative steam treatment facility to other nursery growers at industry conferences and proceedings. Media contact: Kim Wilenius (805) 878-0563.
Lake County Areawide Codling Moth "Puffer" Project, Kelseyville. This informal coalition of ten pear growers who farm adjacent to each other, and their licensed pest control advisors, is coordinated by the University of California Cooperative Extension. The group manages codling moth with an area-wide, mating disruption program that disperses a pheromone, or scent, of female codling moths. "Flooding" an area with the scent makes it difficult for male codling moths to find and mate with the females. The group uses "puffers" -- mechanized devices that emit periodic "puffs" of pheromone -- to disrupt mating. In five years, use of puffers has grown from 160 acres to nearly 1,000 acres, more than 20 percent of Bartlett pear acreage in Lake County. "Puffer" mating disruption replaced one to four applications of organophosphate insecticide applications annually. The group encourages other growers to adopt "puffer" technology with demonstrations at field days in Lake and Mendocino counties. Combined with intensive pest monitoring, the group also uses reduced-risk practices for other pests. Media contact: Rachel Elkins (707) 263-6838.
Sonoma County Grape Growers Association (SCGGA), Rohnert Park. SCGGA represents about one-third of Sonoma County's 1,100 grape growers. Its members produce and sell at least 50 percent of their grapes to wineries. SCGGA promotes IPM practices that include increased field monitoring; damage tolerance assessments and damage thresholds; mulch and cover crops; "softer" chemicals for disease, insect, and mite pests; canopy management to prevent disease; pest-resistant grape varieties and rootstocks; alternating treatments to manage resistance; replacement of pre-emergence herbicides with mechanical, cultural and post-emergence alternatives; best application practices for sulfur, and practices to reduce the potential for pesticide off-site movement to surface and ground water. SCGGA conducts extensive education and outreach efforts with the winegrape industry. Media contact: Nick Frey (707) 206-0603.
Straus Family Creamery, Marshall. Straus staked a claim as the first organic dairy in the Western United States in 1993. As California's only organic dairy processing plant that operates a family farm, Straus processes certified organic milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter. The dairy takes a wide-ranging approach to prevent adverse environmental impacts and the waste of natural resources. For example, Straus cows feed on organically grown silage and pasture from the dairy's own acreage, and their milk is sold in returnable glass bottles. An extensive waste-management program, which includes a methane digester, returns all liquids and solids to farm fields as fertilizer, eliminating runoff problems and potential pollutants. In the dairy, Straus controls flies with bug zappers instead of insecticides. Hydrogen peroxide is substituted for chlorine or iodine as a sanitizer in the creamery. Straus offers monthly public tours of the dairy and creamery organized through the Marin Agricultural Land Trust. A Web-based newsletter (www.strausmilk.com) describes Straus' reduced-risk pest management practices. Media contact: Vivien Straus (213) 481-0745.
Ukiah Valley IPM Pear Growers Inc., Ukiah. A grower-run, nonprofit corporation established in 1998, the group's goal is to continue a codling moth mating disruption program that began in 1996 as a research project. Using area-wide pheromone mating disruption, the group reduced its overall use of organophosphate insecticides for codling moth by 95 percent and eliminated postharvest cleanup sprays in 1999. Inspired by this success, neighboring growers have adopted the program and its monitoring techniques. Growers, pest control advisors, U.C. Cooperative Extension, and the Mendocino County Agricultural Commissioner's Office work together, sharing information at weekly breakfast group meetings. The group has a grower relations program in Mendocino County, as well as a communications program for wider outreach. Joint field days with Lake County growers allow the groups to compare monitoring methods, pheromone application techniques, pheromone products, and other details. Media contact: Peter Chevalier (707) 462-0597.
Vino Farms, Inc., Lodi. A family-owned vineyard and vineyard management organization established in the early 1970s, Vino Farms manages 9,700 acres of winegrapes in seven counties: San Joaquin, Sacramento, Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, Monterey, and Santa Barbara. Committed to reduced-risk pest management for its entire operation, Vino Farms has five full-time employees dedicated to IPM. The business develops, uses, and promotes numerous cost effective, environmentally-sound practices including evaluation of reduced pesticide use rates; leaf removal; canopy management; refuges for beneficial insects and wildlife; insect pest monitoring with pheromone and sticky traps; extensive pest population monitoring; cover crops, and release of predatory mites. Since 1988, Vino Farms has reduced insecticide use up to 67 percent, and fungicide use by 10 percent. Vino Farms has a long history of providing pest control research sites, and was one of the first U.C. Biologically Integrated Farming Systems grower-cooperators. Media contact: John Ledbetter (209) 334-6975.
Wente Vineyards-Vineyard Operations, Livermore. Founded in 1883, Wente is one of the oldest family-owned wineries in California. It is the largest winegrape grower in the Livermore Valley with vineyards in both Alameda and Monterey counties. Wente uses organic practices in 5 percent of its vineyards and gives first priority to ecologically beneficial practices in all of its vineyards. For example, Wente commits $400 per acre annually specifically for soil balancing and cover cropping. It conducts cover crop research for effects on organic matter and nematode counts; compost application trials for effects on insects, nematodes, and yields; humus enhancement trials for effects on vine and cover crop growth; and the use of electron enriched water for mildew prevention. Wente sponsors field days, grower meetings and technology updates; provides group vineyard tours that explain the importance of biologically-friendly growing techniques; hosts seminars for the Society of Wine Educators; and has hosted field trips that educate students and teachers about IPM. Wente also holds winery events to educate the public about its farming practices. Media contact: Ralph D. Riva (925) 456-2314.
One of six boards and departments within Cal/EPA, DPR regulates the sale and use of pesticides to protect human health and the environment.