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Organic Farmers Puzzle Over Mexican Fruit Fly Dilemma

Organic Farmers Puzzle Over Mexican Fruit Fly Dilemma

Agriculture: Certification Could Be at Risk if Pesticides Used

BY LEE ZION

Staff Writer

VALLEY CENTER , Al Agent, an organic grower of oranges, said he was confused by the options available to him.

“I’ve got fruit on my trees that I don’t know what to do with, and nobody seems to be able to commit to taking it from me, because they don’t know what the regulations are yet,” Agent said.

Agent, like other farmers in the quarantine area, has been devastated by the effects of the Mexican fruit fly. But as a certified organic grower, he has an additional problem , if he uses chemical sprays to contain the pest, his farm could lose its certification, which takes three years to obtain.

Agent hopes he’ll be able to sell his crop for juice. There are fewer restrictions on moving processed fruit out of the quarantine area, he said.

The quarantine, announced Dec. 5 after Mexican fruit flies were found in Valley Center last month, could be in effect until September or even later. So far, 78 adult fruit flies have been found at 28 sites, as well as nine sites with fruit fly larvae, according to a fact sheet from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency Dec. 18 in response to the fruit fly infestation. If the Mexican fruit fly were to spread to the rest of California, the impact to the state economy could be as high as $2 billion, he said.

The 117-square-mile quarantine area affects about 1,000 farmers growing $75 million worth of crops, said Kathleen Thuner, commissioner of the San Diego County Department of Agriculture, Weights & Measures.

Thuner said there are 91 growers registered as organic farmers in San Diego County. Statistics on how many are inside the quarantine area aren’t immediately available, although she believes Valley Center has the largest concentration of organic growers in the United States.

Thuner led a special session Dec. 17 to inform organic growers about procedures they can use to stop the Mexican fruit fly without putting their certification at risk.

Certified growers can use Spinosad, a pesticide derived from the fermentation of bacteria. The pesticide itself is organic, although the spray does not qualify as organic since Spinosad is mixed with other ingredients, she said.

Still, farmers can add Spinosad to their arsenal. Federal law permits organic growers to use it in an emergency, without risking loss of their certification of their farms, Thuner said.

However, any crop growing when Spinosad was sprayed cannot be labeled as organic, she said.

“It’s not good news for your crop, but at least it’s good news for your land,” Thuner said.

In case farmers have any qualms about putting inorganic substance on their organic crops, Thuner said only .0004 ounces of chemicals end up in the mix , for every acre sprayed.

An all-organic version of Spinosad is available, but is extremely difficult to find, she added.

Thuner said an organic juicer is looking to set up a processing plant inside the quarantine area to assist stricken farmers. Half Moon Bay-based Odwalla may set up a station in January, Thuner said.

Organic farmer Bill Lucas said he understands he’ll retain his certification for his farmland. However, he’s not sure what to do with a crop that is sprayed with pesticides, since he’d have to find another buyer to handle crops that aren’t organic.

“I haven’t got an outlet to do that. I’d have to find another packer,” he said, adding that he hopes to find a purely organic version of Spinosad.

Buzz Uber, who owns Uber Farms in Valley Center, said the quarantine has affected him less than other growers, since the season for Valencia oranges just ended. However, since the quarantine will likely last until September, the regulations will hit him next season, he said.

Applying Spinosad will be yet another expense to absorb, he said.

“(That’s) another cost involved in the production of my crop and I will not be able to pass that cost on, I believe, to the marketplace,” Uber said. “There’s not a lot of margin there now.”

Another loss is that Uber will not be able to market next year’s crop as organic fruit, which fetch a higher price in the marketplace. But he’s grateful the farm won’t lose its certification.

“To be able to maintain the certified status of organics on the property will be a huge plus,” he said.

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