October 2007 Newsletter

MONTHLY COLUMNS

President's message

From the Executive Director

From the Ag Commissioner

Farm Bureau has been working for you . . .

Farm & Home Advisor's Report

Employer-Employee: Farm employment issues

FEATURE ARTICLES

SSN "no-match" letters on hold

Gil Henry named 2007 Farmer of the Year

Irv Erdos to be featured guest speaker at Farmer of the Year event

An interview with Jim Bethke

Free UCCE Train-the-Trainer workshops coming

Scholarship golf tournament successful again this year

Green Solutions: Recycling pays off for Mellano & Company

President’s Message

Prompt membership renewal has many benefits

by Chuck Badger

Farm Bureau’s strength as an organization has always been its grassroots membership. That fact always hits home in October because many of our members renew during this month. As important as membership is to our collective influence in political and other matters, it is also key to our financial strength. Our membership dues are the No. 1 source of income for San Diego County Farm Bureau, and voting memberships (both new and renewals) help us earn royalty monies offered by the California Farm Bureau Federation.

In addition to all the volunteer hours put in by our members to accomplish our many tasks, our county Farm Bureau has the best full-time staff in the state—dare I say in the country. And frankly, they are our employees. They do the heavy lifting for us that allows us to keep doing what we all enjoy. Recently, they’ve been working to protect us from onerous storm water regulations. They’ve been spending a lot of their time dealing with local and regional water agencies to minimize the effects of coming water cutbacks and making sure farmers are treated fairly. They’ve been deeply involved in advocating for our property rights in the County’s writing of General Plan 2020 and Multiple Species Conservation Programs. They’ve been following the immigration reform debate and keeping us informed on the best ways to deal with the coming Social Security no-match letters. And, of course, they are always available to help each of us with any issues we may have.

Unfortunately, their job and ours will not be getting any easier. To protect the farming way of life, our volunteers and our staff will face more and more political and environmental challenges. To overcome these hurdles, we must have a strong membership. How can you help? To begin with, thank you for renewing your membership on time. This helps more than you know—especially in helping us to receive our state Farm Bureau royalties. In addition, you can also refer potential new members to our staff who can follow up and draw these people into our family. And finally, you can contact 1st Vice President Mike Anthony Mellano to discuss any ideas about new ways our county Farm Bureau can generate revenue. Mike is heading up a new committee designed to find different ways that we can enhance funding our activities. I’m sure he would welcome any help he can get. The bottom line is that, to continue the good work that Farm Bureau does for you, we must continue to have a healthy, growing bottom line ourselves. Thanks for your help.

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From the Executive Director

We must help educate the public to irrigate wisely

by Eric Larson

We all have our daily routines, and I’ll admit mine includes picking up a Grande Mocha at the Starbucks a couple of blocks from the Farm Bureau office. What I don’t like about that routine is sloshing through a shopping center parking lot that is flooded each and every day from irrigation that is wayward and saturated.

The San Diego County Water Authority tells us that 60 percent of the non-agricultural potable water used in the county goes on our landscapes. The fact that we have chosen to have irrigated landscape in our communities doesn’t bother me, because I love a great landscape and I think it adds to our quality of life. Also, our container plant growers make up the biggest single sector of our farm economy in the county and, as a good promoter, I want to see people plant plants. What I hate to see are plants that are drowning and gutters that are washed clean daily.

There are good messages floating around about planting “California Friendly” plants that use amounts of water in keeping with our arid climate. If the public is driven to those plants, there is no doubt the nurseries will ramp up and fill the need. While planting the right plants can be important, how the landscape is irrigated is even more important. If a landscaped area that is now being over-watered every day of the week is reduced to an efficient twice-a-week irrigation, the savings can be huge. If you multiply the water lost in the parking lot I boat through each morning times the number of personal stories most everyone can tell about observed water waste, we’re not talking gallons; we’re talking thousands of acre feet. Now multiply that by years. It’s not the landscape. It’s the amount of water put on it.

While farmers in San Diego County are preparing to shrink their businesses to comply with mandatory cuts in water, it’s painful to see a single drop of water wasted. Somehow, we have to get a handle on the waste. As a community, we have figured out that recycling is good. We have figured out that reducing emissions from our cars is good. We have figured out that conserving energy is good. Now we have to figure out how to convince people that putting just the right amount of water on the landscape at the right time is good as well.

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From the Ag Commissioner
Bob Atkins, Agricultural Commissioner/
Sealer of Weights and Measures

Certified Farmers’ Markets are growing in size, popularity

Certified Farmers’ Markets ( CFMs) provide multiple benefits for farmers of any size. CFMs differ from swap meets, flea markets or street fairs, which typically offer spaces to retailers of clothing, prepared foods, crafts and other gift items. A “Certified” market is approved by the local county agricultural commissioner. Only farmers who are “Certified Producers” (also approved by the county agricultural commissioner) may sell agricultural products that they have grown themselves. This is often referred to as direct marketing. Nearly 520 CFMs are found in California with 24 markets operating throughout San Diego County. In the past 12 months, 143 San Diego County farmers have been certified to sell at CFMs. Certification is verified by an on-site inspection by Agriculture, Weights and Measures’ inspectors ensuring products listed on the certificate are grown by the farmer.

CFMs provide an outlet suited to moving smaller volumes of products, thereby providing a marketing channel outside large traditional distribution systems. Certified farmers’ market regulations exempt farmers from size requirements and packing their fresh fruit and vegetables in standard containers. Nursery stock, eggs and honey are also sold at these sites. In these cases, the farmer must have appropriate state licenses to sell nursery stock, eggs and honey.

Communities also benefit from CFMs as the market can be a non-profit community service organization which contributes economically to the town or city they operate in. These markets bring together people from diverse backgrounds and provide a sense of community. Consumers receive the freshest produce available while benefiting from cost savings made possible by the direct sale between farmer and consumer.

With the strong agricultural presence in San Diego County, farmers’ markets serve as a tremendous opportunity for farmers and consumers to meet, creating a personal link between the urban and rural farming communities. If you want to become a Certified Producer or sell at a Certified Farmers’ Market, call our San Diego Office at (858) 694-2778. If you wish to sell your produce at a CFM, you must contact each market directly. However, we can provide contact information. For a list of Certified Farmers’ Markets locations, visit our Web site at sdcawm.org, click on “Agriculture” and then “Farmers’ Markets.”

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Farm Bureau has been working for you . . .

• Conducted Ag Water Outlook for 2008 event for local growers
• Submitted comments to County on Boutique Winery Ordinance
• Attended CFBF board meeting to discuss water issues
• Participated in events put on by Bates Nut Farm and Rainbow Valley Orchards
• Met with Southern California Ag Water Team
• Put on annual Scholarship Fund Raiser Golf Tournament

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Farm & Home Advisor’s report

by Valerie J. Mellano, Ph.D.
UC Cooperative Extension, San Diego County

Quagga mussels are a problem for local waters

Q: I have heard about a new mussel that can clog our irrigation lines. Can you please give me more information on this?

A: Invasive, freshwater Quagga mussels ( Dreissena bugensis) were discovered in California in August 2007. They are smaller relatives of the Zebra mussels that have created havoc in the Eastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. Native to the Dnieper River of Ukraine, Quaggas were first found in the United States in Lake Erie in 1989. Although no bigger than a fingernail when full-sized, Quagga mussels can overgrow and clog any underwater surface, including intake pipes for irrigation, municipal and power plant water systems, and boat hulls, rudders, engines and bilge areas. They are voracious feeders, rapidly consuming plankton (microscopic plants and animals) and thus starving other aquatic life, disrupting the food chain, and releasing toxins. Damages could reach millions of dollars if they are allowed to spread.

If you like to go boating in our lakes and rivers, you can help! Boats are primary carriers of the Quagga mussel, so your actions will help to keep them in check. Here are steps the California Department of Fish and Game recommends you take:

• Thoroughly wash the hull of each watercraft once it is out of the water, removing all plants and animal material.
• Drain any water through the vessel’s hull plug and ensure the area is dry.
• Make sure the vessel’s lower outboard unit is drained and dry.
• Clean and dry any live-well aboard the vessel.
• Empty and dry any buckets.
• Any vessel traveling from Lake Mead or the Colorado River should remain dry and out of water for five days.
• Dispose of all bait in the trash.

California Department of Fish and Game is our lead agency for Quagga mussel control in California. For more information, call their toll-free hotline at (866) 440-9530 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or visit their Web site at: www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/quaggamussel/.

UC Cooperative Extension Advisors Carrie Culver, Monique Myers and Sabrina Drill of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties are gearing up to organize a Quagga mussel early-detection network and training manual.

Article provided by Leigh Taylor Johnson, Marine Advisor, University of California Cooperative Extension, San Diego County. For information on controlling invasive species on boats kept in saltwater, visit her Web site at http://seagrant.ucdavis.edu.

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Employer-Employee: Farm Employment issues

Keep records on pesticide training

Reprinted from Farm Employers Labor Service (FELS) Newsletter

It is important to train pesticide handlers and field workers in pesticide safety as required by Department of Pesticide Regulation rules, found in title 3, California Code of Regulations, sections 6724 and 6764.

Here is the record-keeping requirement for section 6724(e), Handler Training: “The date and extent of initial and annually required training given to the employee and the job to be assigned shall be recorded. This record shall be verified by the employee’s signature and retained by the employer for two years at a central location at the workplace accessible to employees.”

Under section 6764, fieldworker training doesn’t require a record. Here is what section 6764(c) says about training records for fieldworker training: “An employee who holds a valid personal pesticide license or certificate issued by the department, a valid verification of training card issued under the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, current documented pesticide handler training pursuant to Section 6724, or other valid certificate of pesticide training approved by the director is considered to be trained for the purposes of this Section.”

Despite this, employers are encouraged to record pesticide safety training for field workers.

The person who provides pesticide safety training to a field worker and issues an EPA “Worker Protection Standard Training Worker Verification Card” is responsible only to provide accurate and thorough information to the trainee.

The person who performs the training is certifying, by issuing the card, that the worker “has completed the Agricultural Worker pesticide safety training as required by the Federal Worker Protection Standard.”

Samples of a training record and of a verification card are posted online at www.fels.org/find#0707.

Since the Federal Worker Protection Standard requires handler training only once every five years and the California DPR rules require annual training, the Federal WPS handler card is not valid in California.

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SSN “no-match” letters on hold

A federal court ruling on August 31 has temporarily set aside the Social Security Administration’s plans that would have begun on September 14 to send thousands of “no-match” letters advising employers of discrepancies between Social Security numbers on employee records and the agency. Failure by the employer to rectify the situation by either correcting the discrepancy or releasing the employee could result in enforcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The court set October 1 as the date to hear arguments from the plaintiffs and the federal agencies. The result could merely be a delay in the program’s implementation.

The plaintiffs in the case including the AFL-CIO, American Civil Liberties Union, and others claimed that the new enforcement rules threaten workers’ rights and impose burdensome obligations on the employers who receive “no-match” letters.

Despite the pending decision by the court, employers are advised to make certain the
I-9 verification forms for current and future employees are complete.

Because enforcement of the new rule will likely cause confusion with employers, California Farm Bureau Associate Counsel Carl Borden has made a standing offer to travel to San Diego County to conduct a seminar for Farm Bureau members should the “no-match” rule go into effect. When that time occurs, Farm Bureau members will be notified. Meanwhile, a four-page summary on compliance with the DHS rule written by Borden is available electronically on the Farm Bureau Web site (www.sdfarmbureau.org) or in hard copy form from the Farm Bureau office.

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Gil Henry named 2007 Farmer of the Year

by Nancy Walery

Gil Henry’s name is synonymous with avocados. In fact, many avocado growers might like to thank him for his contributions to making the avocado commodity the thriving industry that it has become today. On October 18, the agriculture community will have that opportunity, when Henry is honored as San Diego County Farm Bureau’s 2007 Farmer of the Year at a special celebration held at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

“Gil was one of those guys who was a pretty quiet mover and shaker in the early years developing the avocado business, and he was one of the principals to make sure we had a strong avocado society and commission,” said Bob Vice, Farm Bureau’s 1987 Farmer of the Year. “As a grower, packer, shipper and marketer, he had a lot of influence over the early development of the avocado as a commodity and an industry. It’s important to recognize people like Gil, who laid the foundation decades ago and had a hand in the success we enjoy today.”

The Henry family’s rise in the avocado industry

Born on his parents’ 84-acre Escondido avocado ranch in 1925, Charles Gilman (“Gil”) Henry, and his younger brother, Warren, learned at an early age about growing avocados, running the family ranch and the Henry Avocado packinghouse operation started by his father, Charles Henry. The elder Henry, a Los Angeles gardener in the early 1920s who cared for a number of estate properties, had become fascinated with the avocados growing at one Bel-Air estate. Eager to grow his own, Charles and his wife, Florence, moved in 1925 to Escondido, where they purchased 84 acres of mainly brush land near what would become Dixon Lake in 1969 for $8,500 and started planting avocado trees (primarily the Fuerte variety, since Hass didn’t debut until the late 1930s). By the late 1920s, Charles started planting avocado and citrus trees and, by the late 1930s, he and Florence had started packing and marketing their avocados.

The Henry family weathered the Depression years packing and selling Henry’s fruit and that of neighboring growers to Los Angeles-area hotels and restaurants. During World War II, avocado prices held steady at a reasonable .40¢ per pound. But when the Fallbrook area developed into an avocado Mecca after the war, prices dropped to a record low of .04¢ per pound. Gil, who had recently returned from service in the Army, decided that, rather than continue his studies in accounting at Woodbury College in Los Angeles , it was time to start earning a living and joined his father on the farm. He convinced his father that, with avocado prices so low, the best way to grow the business was to adopt a more aggressive sales and marketing strategy.

In 1953, Charles Henry was killed in a tractor accident on the farm. Gil’s younger brother, Warren, who had just completed his service in the Korean War, joined the family business and focused on the farming side of the operation, while Gil continued to develop the sales and marketing side.

The birth of the California Avocado Advisory Board

Gil began working with a handful of growers and shippers and convinced them that the industry needed a united advertising message as well as a strong promotion effort to get consumers more familiar with avocados and generate more demand. To do that, they needed to establish an official board sanctioned by the state to guide the effort and authorize the first avocado marketing order. In 1961, the California Avocado Advisory Board (a precursor to today’s California Avocado Commission) was established, with Fallbrook grower Walter Beck named Chairman of the Board and Henry as the only other board member.

Gil was also one of the first packers to develop and use branding to promote avocados. Working in partnership with Kraft Foods, a sticker was placed on each avocado suggesting consumers try it with Kraft salad dressings. The partnership led to a successful advertising campaign between Kraft Foods and the California Avocado Commission.

Marketing of ripened fruit

Gil soon learned that growing the avocado market was being hampered by the fact that consumers had to buy hard fruit and wait for it to ripen, making it difficult for menu planning. That revelation led to a turning point for not only Henry Avocado, but the industry at large.

With the help of his friend, Vic Tokar, Gil converted one of his large refrigerators into the first commercial avocado ripening room. It took nearly another 20 years to convince the majority of chain store produce buyers that consumers would be interested in buying ripened avocados and that stores wouldn’t be stuck with a lot of “overripe” fruit. But buying ripe avocados grew in popularity, with sales increasing dramatically. Today, Henry Avocado runs more than 40 ripening rooms and pre-ripens 80-90 percent of its avocados, which are delivered nationwide through distribution centers in Phoenix, San Jose and San Antonio.

“Gil was always willing to look at something new,” said Charley Wolk, SDCFB’s 1986 Farmer of the Year and Chairman of the National Hass Avocado Board. “He was one of the early guys in the industry pushing for   and advocating the ripening of avocados. In fact, when the industry was reluctant, Henry Avocado went on its own and got it going.”

In 1989, Gil received an Award of Honor from the California Avocado Society for his outstanding meritorious service to the avocado industry with a specific commendation for his contributions to the “now universally accepted Avocado ‘Ripe’ Program.” He was also recognized for his contributions to the industry at the 1999 World Avocado Congress held in Uruapan, Mexico.

Henry Avocado’s next generation

Gil Henry may have sold his interest in Henry Avocado several years ago to four junior partners (Phil Henry, Rick Opel, Don Hoey, and Vic Varvel), but he’s still a grower and packer at heart and keeps regular business hours in an office that overlooks the packinghouse operation. He’s the first person to arrive every weekday morning at 3:30 a.m. to open the property gates, and then he heads to his computer to log on for the latest stats on Wall Street.  

Don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate with Gil Henry on Oct. 18. The event, which is sponsored by American AgCredit, Allied Insurance, Nationwide Health Plans, State Compensation Insurance Fund, and San Diego Gas & Electric, will begin with cocktails at 6 p.m., and dinner will be served at 6:45 p.m. Watch for your invitation and reservation order form coming in the mail soon!

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Irv Erdos to be featured guest speaker at
Farmer of the Year event

Get ready for a little “Ham on Wry” at this year’s Farmer of the Year event. The famed North County Times humor columnist, Irv Erdos, is Farm Bureau’s guest speaker, who will join the members and guests in honoring Gil Henry as the 2007 Farmer of the Year on Oct. 18 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

Erdos is the multiple recipient of the Best Column Writing award and the Best Humor Writing award from both the Society of Professional Journalists and the San Diego Press Club. He has offered his humor commentaries on radio and for ABC-TV and has performed his one-man comedy show to sold-out audiences at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. He also appeared recently on the ABC-TV news program, 20/20. In his “day job,” Erdos, who lives in Escondido, is a real estate broker specializing in residential sales in North County.

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An interview with Jim Bethke

Jim Bethke recently joined San Diego County’s University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) office as its full-time floriculture and nursery farm advisor after a 25-year career as a Staff Research Associate for UC Riverside’s Department of Entomology, where he supervised a staff and performed research on insects that attack ornamentals in nurseries in greenhouses. In 2005, Bethke, who has become a nationally recognized expert on invasive and exotic insects affecting the floriculture and nursery industry, was “loaned” part-time to UCCE from UC Riverside. At UCCE, Bethke will continue to concentrate on entomology research as it relates to issues affecting the local floriculture and nursery industries.

Bethke holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Entomology from UC Riverside. His current research projects include the biology and control of the glassy-winged sharpshooter; efficacy of conventional and biopesticides for the eradication of Diaprepes root weevil in San Diego County; developing a local eradication program for the bamboo mealybug; and eradication of root mealybugs and magnolia white scale from palm nurseries in Riverside and San Diego counties. He has authored 114 publications that include 95 scientific and technical publications and 150 technical reports and made more than 150 scientific and technical research presentations for industries related to ornamental horticulture. He regularly writes articles for a number of nursery and floriculture publications on the subject of integrated pest management for floriculture and ornamental nurseries.

What attracted you to your new position?

Due to the budget crisis a few years back, UC Riverside, in following other campuses in the UC system, eliminated the permanent Staff Research Associate positions, which included my position. Since then, I had been funded by grants alone or soft money. For the last two years, UCCE in San Diego was borrowing me in support of the ornamental industry in the county because of my 25 years of experience in the field. This position is a promotion for me and also gives me more independence to acquire funding to run my own program.

Working at the university is very research oriented. Working at UCCE, I have the opportunity to take my knowledge and experience off campus to serve the industry with the work I’ve completed. I really enjoy working directly with growers, providing answers to their questions and solutions to their problems. When I give presentations, I’ve noticed that many growers are already well versed in the areas of integrated pest management and biological control, but when it comes to chemical use, they don’t have many scientists giving them good recommendations on the products they should be using.

Have you discovered any unique qualities about   San Diego’s nursery and flower industry?

San Diego’s horticulture industry offers many unique qualities, and I will share my top four:

1.   San Diego is home to some nationally recognized, proactive horticulture leaders, such as Michael Mellano Sr., Michael Anthony Mellano, the late Paul Ecke Jr., and Paul Ecke III who are involved with notable organizations like the Society of American Florists, the California Cut Flower Commission, and sit on a variety of boards of directors, commissions and committees making significant decisions that impact the entire industry. Having those kinds of industry leaders here in Southern California is huge, especially when this is the hub of horticulture activity for the entire nation.

2.   San Diego offers an exceptionally cooperative group of growers who want to work with UCCE. The majority of growers I come in contact with have offered me whatever I need to conduct my research, from pots, plants and soil to greenhouses, nurseries, field space, and even farm employees. All I have to do is ask, and growers will supply anything I need. That is spectacular for research purposes. It’s obvious that they see the value in the results produced.

3.   Southern Riverside County and San Diego County form the largest ornamental horticulture growing area in the United States. The region has more growers, more production capability and more value than just about any other place in the nation. With approximately 2,200 ornamental producers of one plant variety or another in these two regions (and that’s probably a conservative estimate), it rivals virtually any state in both production capability and value. Between these two regions, we have well over a $1 billion industry.

4.   San Diego County offers the greatest variability in commodities and production types. From tropicals to desert plants, San Diego County grows so many different plant varieties that it would be hard to describe them all. Plus, some growers produce from seed and plugs, to 60-inch boxed trees and specimen palms. And the growing architecture of each plant between one grower and another is also completely different. I’ve seen cactus growers that use Perlite as their growing medium, and bromeliad growers that use pure peat moss. Bromeliad growers also have to use ethylene in order to flower the plant, which is quite unique in the ornamental industry. And there’s also hydroponic cut- flower production and field-grown foliage producers. The variability is amazing—which makes my job very difficult.

What have you found to be the key needs of growers you will have to focus on?

1.   Establishing a legal use of an immigrant workforce and their ability to find suitable housing: It is a fact of life that we have, and need, an alien workforce in the agriculture industry, along with affordable housing nearby. The result of current negotiations going on in Congress over this issue will greatly impact the industry.

2.   Controlling water conservation and runoff techniques: Not only are water availability issues making front-page news these days, but the Department of Pesticide Regulation is also scrutinizing runoff from agriculture and, more specifically the ornamental industry, to detect pesticides in runoff. Water runoff is a big deal on both sides. The law says you cannot allow it to leave your property, and growers say it cannot be reused on plants because of the risk of spreading plant diseases. Research is in progress by Val Mellano, UCCE’s Environmental Issues Farm Advisor, to find acceptable uses for that recaptured water and/or acceptable mitigation before reuse. In addition, Val is involved in many other water issues such as water quality grower education, the Conditional Water Waiver Program, etc., and these issues are very important for my position here as well.

3.   Preventing and treating for invasive pests: This currently dominates my workload. There has been a marked increase in invasive pests over the last 10 years because of the changes in world trade. Because there is more trade and looser restrictions on items moving from one place to another, there are more pests coming in. This problem dovetails with 9/11 because our inspectors now look more for bad guys than invasive bugs and plants. In short, we are being inundated with highly destructive pests and quarantines more than ever before. Add to that the conundrum that when these bugs arrive, pesticide use is mandated by the CDFA yet it is being searched for in runoff. The bugs are coming in so fast that the CDFA only has time to   address the most serious ones, leaving many of the minor pests to proliferate. And it’s the minor ones that are actually causing many problems for minor crops in the ornamental industry, such as the eucalyptus tortoise beetle on baby blue eucalyptus, the bougainvillea looper on bougainvillea, and the myoporum thrips on myoporum, just to name a few.

4.   Addressing urban encroachment: This, too is a very big and growing issue on both sides of the fence. Those at the UC Riverside campus as well as environmental groups are concerned about urban expansion into native environments where we are losing species due to the encroachment. Yet growers rely on urban growth so that there are plenty of people to buy their plants. We also have potentially invasive urban plants being planted around people’s homes, spreading insects and diseases from industry to the urban environment and into the native environment. UC Riverside is currently trying to hire an extension researcher who would be dedicated to the ornamental industry in focusing on the impact of ornamentals and urban encroachment on the native environment.

5.   Controlling the increase in regulations: The California legislature currently has about 1,000 bills to consider, many of which impact agriculture. CDFA is constantly watching these issues and forming compliance agreements for the ornamental industry because of plant diseases and pests, so there are ever more water regulations, pesticide regulations and county ordinances all compounding themselves on the ornamental industry, all of which increase the financial burden on the ornamental grower. And this doesn’t even factor in costly workers’ compensation and health care bills that are also on the legislature’s radar.

How much of your time will be applied to research projects?

My job is all inclusive, incorporating research, writing, committee work, administration, etc., but I will be dedicating a significant amount of time to research. Research projects are the cutting edge of making improvements in production, and they are, many times, the answer to problems growers face. With research, we are answering questions for growers on issues they have not had to deal with before, and in many cases, the research has not been done before. Being on the cutting edge is incredibly important. Because of research, we can reduce the amount of pesticides used, control water usage, and guide them to improved efficiency, productivity, and product quality. Diaprepes is one good example: There is a lot of research on it in Florida, but not in California, so we don’t know the impact of this destructive pest on our environment. In addition, many of the post-harvest issues that growers face can be improved through research, and soil-borne diseases can be mitigated. Many people overlook it, but through research we can get cost-effective answers.

Without a local research station, where do you do most of your work?

Many projects are conducted on the property of local growers who have offered greenhouse space, supplies, equipment, water, and even labor. I have access to the facilities at UC Riverside, which includes greenhouse and field space, and I can also use the South Coast Field Station in South Orange County, so we have plenty of locations to carry out our research when it’s needed.

How will growers in San Diego County learn about the work you’ve done?

I continue to produce a two-page monthly newsletter, which addresses the latest issues or alerts coming up in my searches. The newsletter is distributed electronically using UCCE’s master grower e-mail list. If growers want to join this list, all they need to do is e-mail me at bethke@ucr.edu. (This e-mail will eventually change to the UC Davis domain name, but growers should continue to use this address for awhile to contact me.)

I also publish information in other newsletters, such as the San Diego County Flower & Plant Association and in popular press publications such as the Greenhouse Product News. I will also post information on the UCCE Web site (http://cesandiego.ucdavis.edu/)

In the next few months, many growers will be facing serious water supply issues. What advice can you offer them?

This is a complicated question that does not have one simple answer, because the growers in San Diego are so varied in their commodities and growing architecture. However, one common denominator is that every grower needs to start conserving water—not just because they are facing significant water cutbacks in 2008, but also to comply with strict runoff mandates already in place.

I visit enough growers to know that there is room for improvement in the area of water conservation. Growers need to become more sophisticated about this by knowing their actual water usage and how much water a plant requires. For example, there are still many nurseries—and even some greenhouses—that still use overhead watering systems, which is a practice that will not maximize water conservation. It is time for them to convert to drip irrigation, or at least some kind of system that does not allow any water to drip onto the ground. I’ve seen growers that have gone through a progression, from overhead to hand watering to drip irrigation. Each step reduced water use. Greenhouses can use ebb-and-flow benches so that irrigation occurs from the bottom of the pot rather than over the top. Some nurseries and greenhouses use capillary matting which also irrigates from the bottom of the pot. I know that some growers don’t like these systems because of potential disease issues, so each grower will have to decide what’s best for their particular business. However, all growers know that no water should be leaving their property and that they must capture any runoff for reuse or recycling.

The first step toward conservation is to know each plant’s need for water and provide only what it needs. In addition, they can group plants with similar water needs to improve efficiency. Once growers have implemented irrigation and runoff controls, the next step would be to gradually change over to new irrigation technologies, so that soon their whole operation will be more water efficient.

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Free UCCE Train-the-Trainer workshops coming

The popular Train-the-Trainer workshops are coming to the San Marcos area October 23-24 (English) and October 25-26 (Spanish). The workshops are primarily designed to teach participants how to train the worker and pesticide handlers and will qualify those who operate or work in California and Arizona in that specific area.

The workshop will also provide information about laws and regulations that are unique to California, Arizona, Mexico, and local tribal communities. Participants will receive an overview of the Worker Protection Standard, an instructor’s handbook, and EPA materials.

Even if you are already qualified to train workers or pesticide handlers through your DPR license, this workshop will provide the latest rules and codes plus show you new methods to use to train your audience. Continuing Education credit is available for participation in this workshop.

Registration is free; however, space is limited to 30 people for each session. Participants must pre-register to reserve a place. Upon registering, participants will receive written confirmation and the workshop location. (No walk-ins will be accepted.)

Registration materials are available online at the UCCE San Diego Web site at http://cesandiego.ucdavis.edu under the calendar section. If you don’t have online access, call Jennifer Weber at (602) 542-0985 or the UCCE San Diego, San Marcos office at (760) 752-4724.

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Scholarship golf tournament successful again this year

The San Diego County Farm Bureau thanks the following sponsors of the 2007 Annual Scholarship Fund Benefit Golf Tournament which again raised more than $10,000!

Major Sponsors

Jim Roberts	Harry Singh & Sons
Mellano & Company	Briggs Tree Company
Sunlet Nursery	Roberts Irrigation
State Compensation Insurance Fund	Pacific Golf Cars
New Urban West

Tee Sponsors

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Green Solutions

Recycling pays off for Mellano & Company

by Nancy Walery

We’ve all heard the saying, “what goes around, comes around.” At Mellano & Company, they are taking that message very seriously. They are one of an increasing number of San Diego County growers who are sensitive to the volume of recyclable materials going into local landfills and have made it a policy to recycle wherever possible.

Mellano & Company started recycling in earnest about two years ago. Discarded paper from the office and green waste from the fields and greenhouses were combined and recycled back into the land. They bought a baler and started recycling cardboard. With the help of Express Waste and Recycling of San Diego, they expanded their recycling commodities to include a variety of plastics, from drip tape, old plastic buckets, and plastic crates, to irrigation tubing and greenhouse plastics/film. Today they also recycle old iron pipes, support wires and miscellaneous metal parts. And they are being paid to do it.

“Express Waste pays us a small amount each time they pick up,” explained Ken Taniguchi, a supervisor in the growing area who oversees the recycling effort. “It saves us the hauling charge (around $600) that we would have to pay to get rid of a Dumpster full of stuff.”

Taniguchi said that getting the recycling program underway took some initial time and effort because materials had to be separated into piles, wires removed from plastic tubing, and each pile compacted and baled to make it ready for pickup. Now that the program is up and running, he said it practically runs itself, at little cost, with only a crew chief in charge to ensure that dumped materials are properly sorted and to oversee the compacting and baling processes.

“American waste is the most valuable waste stream in the world because it’s the cleanest and most recyclable,” explained Armen Derderian, President of The Resource Management Group (www.rmgrecycling.com), commodity brokers of commercial waste materials and the parent company of Express Waste & Recycling. “Ever since the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, was released, many forward-thinking companies have been seeking us out to reduce their impact on landfills.” And agricultural organizations, he said, have plenty to contribute to the recycling world.

“Virtually everything used in the agricultural industry is recyclable because you’re dealing with earthly products—tubing, PVC, HDPEs, plastic buckets, crates and polypropylene—that are readily recyclable,” said Derderian, whose client roster includes some of the largest retail and industrial companies in the region. However, RMG is still searching for a buyer of fumigation plastics—which has been a challenge, not because of the chemicals the plastic comes in contact with, but because of the dirt and dust that adds weight that buyers will not pay for. But overall, Derderian said, the technology of recycling plastics has come a long way in recent years.

Not every grower who contracts with Express Waste and Recycling will necessarily enjoy the same perk of being paid for their recycled materials like Mellano & Company, because the program cost, which is unique to every agricultural operation, is dictated by the volume and variety of recyclable materials collected. Companies who have a high volume of recyclable material may even be able to   “finance” the cost of the recycling equipment by using the revenue generated by the recylables. But even if there is some cost involved to the grower, the effort is still worth it to protect our landfills, said Michael A. Mellano.

“We want to recycle as much material as possible,” said Mellano. “It’s an important issue—especially for those of us who are part of the original ‘green’ industry—and we want to participate in productive recycling solutions. I hope other growers will be inspired to do the same.”

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