California Strawberry Commission goes to bat for methyl bromide
California Strawberry Commission goes to bat for methyl bromide
The California Strawberry Commission has breathed life into the fumigant methyl bromide, used on strawberries and numerous other crops such as tomatoes and almonds.
Methyl bromide has shown to be an affordable and effective weed and pathogen control soil treatment substance. The issue with respect to methyl bromide use centers on the chemical?s impact on the ozone layer.
Rodger Wasson, president of the commission, is a staunch supporter of strawberry growers? need to use methyl bromide until viable alternatives are identified. The commission represents an industry of approximately 600 growers, shippers and processors. Since 1992, the commission has invested more than $8 million of member funds in research into alternatives to methyl bromide, Mr. Wasson said.
The Montreal Protocol treaty " signed by more than 100 nations " identified methyl bromide as an ozone-depleting chemical. As a result, the strawberry industry has been transitioning to alternate fumigants over the past 14 years.
Methyl bromide was supposed to be phased out by 2005 but lobbying efforts by the California Strawberry Commission and others has staved off total phase out of the chemical.
In early March, Mr. Wasson testified before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development & Research about the Critical Use Exemption process for methyl bromide and the importance of the fumigant. His presentation focused on the industry's dedication to producing an affordable, bountiful crop while growing in a manner that protects the earth?s resources. The presentation also focused on the commission?s work with the parties of the Montreal Protocol on the CUE process, which gives industries with a critical need the ability to apply for use of methyl bromide after its phase-out.
Mr. Wasson gave the committee a description of the strawberry industry's 14-year transition to alternate fumigants. This transition enabled 35 percent of the state?s strawberry acreage to be fumigated with alternatives in 2004.
In speaking with The Produce News on March 14, Mr. Wasson said that despite this success, many growers continue to face numerous challenges when transitioning to alternate fumigants, including a significant increase in production costs, limits in availability of alternatives and difficulty when applying alternative fumigants on severely sloped fields.
The commission?s testimony commended the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and international parties which oversee the CUE process. Mr. Wasson said that certain aspects of the process needed to be changed to allow for the continued availability of methyl bromide while the industry develops safer, more suitable alternatives. Switching to an emissions-based management strategy rather than usage reduction would protect the ozone layer by reducing emissions while allowing growers to continue to use methyl bromide until suitable alternatives are found, he said.
Mr. Wasson said his hope is key members of Congress "defend what we need for production. He said he hopes arbitrary goals for methyl bromide?s phaseout are resisted and that any decision is based on science. New technology known as VIF " virtually impenetrable film " is showing good success in preventing emissions that could deplete ozone and may allow for methyl bromide?s continued use, Mr. Wasson said.
In regards to methyl bromide use, California must contend with state, federal and international issues. Some alternatives to methyl bromide have limits to how much can be used in a township " which is 36 square miles. Also, there are safety concerns with arbitrarily eliminating methyl bromide?s use without being certain of the alternatives, Mr. Wasson said.
Mr. Wasson told The Produce News that there has been a fair amount of experimentation on alternatives to methyl bromide in every California growing district. He said that it's a very difficult job to "mix and match? elements that will make an effective alternative to methyl bromide. There?s a certain art to strawberry production, he said, and growers on similar soil and in a similar growing area may not receive the same results.
?A slight variation gets an entirely different result," Mr. Wasson said. "There?s a high risk if you?re wrong." Some southern districts in California are flat and they can get used to a "drip applied, Inline approach," Mr. Wasson said. Inline is a Dow Chemical product that some growers have had success using. Groundwater contamination is a concern with the use of some alternatives to methyl bromide.
There are "disease issues that are a little more pronounced in Watsonville," Mr. Wasson said. Mr. Wasson points to strawberries grown in greenhouses in some Scandanavian countries. "No one could afford to buy them if we did greenhouses," Mr. Wasson said.
California strawberries are grown on a larger scale, so small-scale thinking doesn?t apply, he said.
Among the unique elements to agricultural practices in California " and as applies to strawberry growing " is that several crops a year are grown in the same soil. California grows about 88 percent of all commercial strawberries in the United States. In 2004, California produced $1.6 billion pounds of strawberries. Of that amount, 1.2 billion pounds were fresh and the other 400 million pounds was frozen.
Whereas methyl bromide?s use in the United States initially was supposed to be phased out by 2005, the phaseout has been more relaxed for other countries. One such country that could enjoy an unfair advantage is China " especially in frozen strawberries " Mr. Wasson said.
Though the frozen strawberry component for California?s growers is small compared with fresh product, the frozen business "has a huge impact on profitability," Mr. Wasson said.
(For more on the California strawberry deal, see the March 28 issue of The Produce News.)
Methyl bromide has shown to be an affordable and effective weed and pathogen control soil treatment substance. The issue with respect to methyl bromide use centers on the chemical?s impact on the ozone layer.
Rodger Wasson, president of the commission, is a staunch supporter of strawberry growers? need to use methyl bromide until viable alternatives are identified. The commission represents an industry of approximately 600 growers, shippers and processors. Since 1992, the commission has invested more than $8 million of member funds in research into alternatives to methyl bromide, Mr. Wasson said.
The Montreal Protocol treaty " signed by more than 100 nations " identified methyl bromide as an ozone-depleting chemical. As a result, the strawberry industry has been transitioning to alternate fumigants over the past 14 years.
Methyl bromide was supposed to be phased out by 2005 but lobbying efforts by the California Strawberry Commission and others has staved off total phase out of the chemical.
In early March, Mr. Wasson testified before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development & Research about the Critical Use Exemption process for methyl bromide and the importance of the fumigant. His presentation focused on the industry's dedication to producing an affordable, bountiful crop while growing in a manner that protects the earth?s resources. The presentation also focused on the commission?s work with the parties of the Montreal Protocol on the CUE process, which gives industries with a critical need the ability to apply for use of methyl bromide after its phase-out.
Mr. Wasson gave the committee a description of the strawberry industry's 14-year transition to alternate fumigants. This transition enabled 35 percent of the state?s strawberry acreage to be fumigated with alternatives in 2004.
In speaking with The Produce News on March 14, Mr. Wasson said that despite this success, many growers continue to face numerous challenges when transitioning to alternate fumigants, including a significant increase in production costs, limits in availability of alternatives and difficulty when applying alternative fumigants on severely sloped fields.
The commission?s testimony commended the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and international parties which oversee the CUE process. Mr. Wasson said that certain aspects of the process needed to be changed to allow for the continued availability of methyl bromide while the industry develops safer, more suitable alternatives. Switching to an emissions-based management strategy rather than usage reduction would protect the ozone layer by reducing emissions while allowing growers to continue to use methyl bromide until suitable alternatives are found, he said.
Mr. Wasson said his hope is key members of Congress "defend what we need for production. He said he hopes arbitrary goals for methyl bromide?s phaseout are resisted and that any decision is based on science. New technology known as VIF " virtually impenetrable film " is showing good success in preventing emissions that could deplete ozone and may allow for methyl bromide?s continued use, Mr. Wasson said.
In regards to methyl bromide use, California must contend with state, federal and international issues. Some alternatives to methyl bromide have limits to how much can be used in a township " which is 36 square miles. Also, there are safety concerns with arbitrarily eliminating methyl bromide?s use without being certain of the alternatives, Mr. Wasson said.
Mr. Wasson told The Produce News that there has been a fair amount of experimentation on alternatives to methyl bromide in every California growing district. He said that it's a very difficult job to "mix and match? elements that will make an effective alternative to methyl bromide. There?s a certain art to strawberry production, he said, and growers on similar soil and in a similar growing area may not receive the same results.
?A slight variation gets an entirely different result," Mr. Wasson said. "There?s a high risk if you?re wrong." Some southern districts in California are flat and they can get used to a "drip applied, Inline approach," Mr. Wasson said. Inline is a Dow Chemical product that some growers have had success using. Groundwater contamination is a concern with the use of some alternatives to methyl bromide.
There are "disease issues that are a little more pronounced in Watsonville," Mr. Wasson said. Mr. Wasson points to strawberries grown in greenhouses in some Scandanavian countries. "No one could afford to buy them if we did greenhouses," Mr. Wasson said.
California strawberries are grown on a larger scale, so small-scale thinking doesn?t apply, he said.
Among the unique elements to agricultural practices in California " and as applies to strawberry growing " is that several crops a year are grown in the same soil. California grows about 88 percent of all commercial strawberries in the United States. In 2004, California produced $1.6 billion pounds of strawberries. Of that amount, 1.2 billion pounds were fresh and the other 400 million pounds was frozen.
Whereas methyl bromide?s use in the United States initially was supposed to be phased out by 2005, the phaseout has been more relaxed for other countries. One such country that could enjoy an unfair advantage is China " especially in frozen strawberries " Mr. Wasson said.
Though the frozen strawberry component for California?s growers is small compared with fresh product, the frozen business "has a huge impact on profitability," Mr. Wasson said.
(For more on the California strawberry deal, see the March 28 issue of The Produce News.)
