Organic Farmers (CCOF) Approves LBAM Spray

Press Release

August 31, 2007
For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Viella Shipley
CCOF Marketing Director
(831) 423-2263, ext. 31
Viella [at] ccof.org

Peggy Miars
(831) 423-2263 ext. 12
peggy [at] ccof.org

CCOF Supports Pheromone Spraying in Monterey County

(August 31, 2007) Santa Cruz, CA – CCOF, one of the oldest and largest organic certification agencies in North America, announced its support of aerial spraying of a pheromone to control the Light Brown Apple Moth. CCOF confirmed today that the USDA National Organic Program approved the use of the Checkmate® pheromone in organic agriculture.

“We are confident that the CDFA has done their utmost to ensure the safest application possible. This is a pheromone that disrupts the breeding cycle of the moths, preventing them from reproducing. The State is being extremely careful to choose non-toxic materials and to minimize spraying to key areas. We feel that the State is respecting the needs of organic farms as well as the concerns of citizens,” said CCOF Executive Director Peggy Miars. “In this particular instance, we support the spraying.”

The Light Brown Apple Moth feeds on more than 250 varieties of plants and could have a serious impact on agriculture throughout California if not contained. CCOF, representing more than 1,600 organic businesses, has been concerned on two fronts – certified growers want the moth eradicated inorder to save their crops, and they want to ensure that those crops remain organic.

“I would support the pheromone spraying in my neighborhood. It means that local farmers hopefully won’t experience economic losses and citizens will still be able to buy fresh organic produce at affordable prices. We’re talking about the livelihood of thousands of organic farmers in the state who are terribly concerned about the impact of this moth,” said Miars. “I think the citizens of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, in particular, understand the importance of agriculture in our communities and the fact that this pest must be eradicated quickly.”

CCOF, certifies more than 1,600 organic farmers, processors, handlers, retailers, and private labelers in 14 states and 8 countries including about 75% of the organic acreage in California. More than 400 supporting members are comprised of consumers, suppliers and other individuals and businesses interested in furthering CCOF's work.

CCOF, one of North America’s oldest and largest organic certification agencies, certifies more than 1,600 organic farmers, processors, handlers, retailers, and private labelers. More than 300 supporting members are comprised of consumers, suppliers and other individuals and businesses interested in furthering CCOF’s work.


About CCOF
CCOF, a nonprofit organization formed by a group of grassroots activist farmers , is one of the oldest and largest organic certifiers in North America. CCOF’s purpose is to promote and support organic agriculture in California and elsewhere through:

• A premier organic certification program for growers, processors, handlers, and retailers.
• Programs to increase awareness of and demand for certified organic products and to expand public support for organic agriculture.
• Advocacy for governmental policies that protect and encourage organic agriculture.

Support for the organic movement is necessary and in that light I submit this story. A few years ago I had the occasion to be renting a house that was on an orchard that was inflicted with Cherry Fruit Fly. The whole orchard was so inflicted that there was approximately five or more maggots per cherry, and that was so destructive that zero cherries were harvestable. So I decided to try to bring the orchard back to livability. In the old days such orchards were burned down and different fruit trees were planted such as apples, pears, apricots, peaches and etc. so that the cherry fruit fly would die out after its eleven year life cycle in the ground. The question on my mind was what would work to bring this bing cherry orchard back to life. I checked in at the local hardware and with some neighbours and found that there was some CIL -- bio-degradable chemical poisons (exturnal and inturnal) that were said to be able to do the job of making a return to the cherry orchard theoretically after eleven years, which is the life cycle of the cherry fruit fly. I bought some hand-spray equipment and a container of bio-degradable spray and set to work. The spray was to be applied when the cherries first turned pink, for it is then that the cherry fruit fly emerges from the gound and flies to the softening cherry skin and borrows a hole in it and sheds its wings and becomes a maggot. The time this whole process lasts is approximately one month. That was the recomended spraying time. It took three years to get the crop back to about 60% livability again and by the final year that I lived there ( seven years) it was up to 99% clear of the fruitfly. Had I stayed the full eleven years I do think that the whole orchard would have been cleared and voila, Organic Cherries would again be in circulation.

It is here that the theory of Bio-degradable must be understood to some degree. In chemistry which is largely organized by the plus and minus valences of molecules and atoms it is possible to create molecules that only stay together for a short time, and in nature are viable for say two months, and then wheathering disassembles their constituent parts. This in scientific chemistry when applied to the particular disease causing cherry fruit fly which only has a one month life span outside of the cherry and its metamorposized state of life in the ground. Therefore if the cherries are sprayed within this month when it emerges from its dormant stage in the ground the bio-degradable spray kills it before it can bore into the cherry. After the month is up the sprayed chemical poison molecule dis-associates and returns to its nuetral elements and falls harmless to the groung. Thusly doing a job of clearing the cherryfruit fly from the cherry orchard and allowing the natural organic methods of agriculture to return. A kind of liberation process and has a progressive aspect to it. All this kind of method must be tested and guaranteed workable. In my experience, application of this chemical spraying should be done by the individual method and I have no known way of saying that spraying from planes would be effective as the spraying would be less concentrated and probably because of missing the diseased area cause quite a bit of unknown damage to other crops, animals, plants, and people. Caution is recomended and it does work after all aspects of the question are studied and known. What seems to be missing inthe (CCOF) is the testing and ensuring that no excessive damage would be done to the surrounding environment. Therefore CCOF ought to learn more of the process before giving blanket approval to spaying from the air, on both method of delivery and also on teaching the molecule and its function and how long it remains a killing molecule and how long it takes to bio-degrade molecularly and return to its nuetral elements and fall harmlessly to the ground.




I want to say that my goal was to get to a clear organic orchard

October 14, 2007


Nurseries question state efforts to eradicate moth and its high cost
By JENNIFER PITTMAN
Sentinel Correspondent


SOQUEL — Whether state agricultural officials or their critics will win the battle to spray for the light brown moth or not, the sure loser has been the local nursery business.

Nursery owners across the county are being asked to pay for interim eradication measures that many of them doubt will pay off. Most are being forced to shut down, at least temporarily.

Soquel Nursery Growers, where several moth larvae have been found, estimates the cost of lost business due to two state-mandated closures for localized pesticide spraying has topped $100,000 since spring when inspectors began trolling local nurseries for the dreaded moth.

Garden Haven Nursery in Soquel, which has been closed three times for spraying after inspectors found moth larvae, has lost more than $50,000 in business and costs, according to owner Ross Paratore.

"These people don't know what they're doing," said Paratore, who's owned the nursery for 45 years with his wife, Anna. Located at the end of Allred Lane just off Old San Jose Road, the Paratores have about 10 acres of neatly lined plants for wholesale. Ross Paratore calls inspections a futile disruption to business.

"It's not just the closures but the salaries of paying people to look for these things," said Tish O'Reilly of Pacific Ground Cover & Nursery on Mattison Lane in the unincorporated area of Santa Cruz. "I've got one guy who every day looks for these things. That's 20 percent of my salaries. That means nothing else is getting done"

What the nursery owners want is a way to keep business open and minimize their economic hardship when the light brown apple moth is found on their property. The moth larvae has been found at 46 nurseries in Santa Cruz County, all of which have been required to take certain measures.

Flurry over the moth


The moth, which burrows into leaves and crannies of plants, eats just about anything and threatens the economic and environmental equilibrium of Santa Cruz County, according to state and federal agencies. The moth is responsible for significant economic losses in Australia and New Zealand. Canada and Mexico have restricted imports from infested areas in California.

Santa Cruz County has reported the state's highest infestation levels by far. Of the total 8,691 moths found by state survey teams employed throughout California, 7,418 were found in Santa Cruz County. In Monterey County, 550 were found, according to an Oct. 11 summary posted by the state on its Web site.

The state estimates that eradication could take several years but is possible if strict measures are taken immediately.

Last month on the Monterey Peninsula, the state conducted one round of aerial spraying of a synthetic pheromone that seeks to confuse the male moth out of mating. A judge last week suspended spraying there until concerns about the pesticides safety could be addressed; a hearing is scheduled Thursday.

Spraying is scheduled to begin in Santa Cruz County in early November, though efforts are afoot to fight it.

"We think populations are still building," said Steve Lyle, California Department of Food and Agriculture spokesman. "We've caught this at a relatively early juncture, but the belief is that damage could occur far and wide because of the huge host range of this pest"

An overreaction?


Nurseries are at odds over several issues with the state Department of Food and Agriculture.

They want to end what they consider draconian alternatives when a moth or larvae is found on their property. They want to spray only the area in question or throw out the plants in a specified area rather than shut down operations completely and send home all workers.

The state offers them a choice of actions once an infestation — which may include a single larva — is detected. Nurseries are "put on hold" or effectively shut down completely until they take corrective action and are reinspected and given the green light to open again.

Nursery owners may spray chlorpyrifos, a broad spectrum pesticide that kills just about everything, nursery owners say. It is the only chemical known, however, that kills both eggs and larvae. It requires a 24-hour waiting period before a final inspection can take place. Nursery owners may try Bt and spinosad, both organic pesticides, which require longer mandated "holding" periods before a final inspection. Or, they may choose to dump the stock in question and quarantine the nursery for 30 days until an inspection clears them for business.

Each alternative is too costly and unrealistic, nursery owners say.

"For them to come in and find one larva and have us spray 14 acres doesn't make sense," said Christine Altermann, product manager at Soquel Nursery Growers. "Finding one doesn't mean you're going to find others"

The state is acting on an abundance of caution, Lyle said.

"The light brown apple moth has a host range of well more than 1,000 plants," he said. "Just about everything in a nursery is a potential host and vulnerable to infestation. Additionally, the eggs are extremely difficult to find. We want to make sure those nurseries are free from pests before they resume shipments"

Nursery owners also stress that large-scale spraying of chemicals throughout their property, which is often near watersheds, is not only dangerous to the environment, but ineffective since a moth could fly over from a neighboring land the next day.

"We're supportive about controlling it, but we feel it can't be controlled," Altermann said.

Teresa Aquino, owner of Blue Bamboo Nursery on Ocean Street Extension in Santa Cruz, refused to spray chemicals in June when inspectors found a larva on her property.

"Because my nursery is in front of my house, next to an organic farm and I'm opposed in general to the use of pesticides, for me there were not really any options initially," she said.

Eventually she hung pheromone wicks in her trees and sprayed with organic chemicals. She reopened a month later after peak season.

Nursery owners also argue that the pest is not nearly as dangerous as the government is claiming. State officials say they first detected the moth in 2005, but nursery owners say the moth has been here for years.

Altermann says the moth is just a leaf-roller that has been in the community for years.

"They're putting it out as being devastating, but we think it is more of a political thing," she says. "The huge economic risk is that other countries won't buy our things"

Contact Jennifer Pittman at kalexander [at] santacruzsentinel.com.

Nursery requirements

Wholesale nurseries have several options if the state finds evidence of the moth on their premises, which inspectors have done at 46 nurseries in Santa Cruz County. Each option requires halting movement of their products until a final inspection. The nursery foots the bill for all treatments. They can choose to:

1. Spray entire lot with approved ovicide such as chlorpyrifos or phosmet, which require a 24-hour waiting period before inspection.

2. Spray all plants intended for shipment within two weeks with Bt [Bacillus thuringiensis] or spinosad, both organic pesticides, [or other approved larvicide], which require a 10-day 'holding' period in a moth-proof enclosure before a final inspection.

3. Shelter all plants intended for shipment for 30 days before shipment in a moth-proof enclosure until an inspection clears them for business. Nursery may choose to dump stock.

4. Choose to treat and inspect per shipment. All plants intended for shipment within two weeks spray with approved ovicide/larvicide [like chlorpyrifos] and re-inspect.

5. A nursery can elect to take no action and remain closed.

LBAM regulatory procedures manual can be viewed at: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PDEP/lbam/lbam_main.html




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You can find this story online at:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/October/14/local/stories/01local.htm

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As a long time advocate and consumer of locally grown organic product, we are appalled by the response from the CCOF. We would like to hear how they plan on selling an "organic" product that has been sprayed with know toxic chemicals. It is very confusing to us how produce can be "organic" when it will contain know toxins. We look forward to a response and answers.

Shann and Dennis Ritchie

An organic mating disruption formulation for LBAM control, SPLAT LBAM LD, was recently approved by EPA for organic certified farms.

http://www.iscatech.com/exec/news140.htm