Kathy Brunetti, Agriculture Program Supervisor
California Department of Pesticide Regulation
1020 N Street Room 161, Sacramento, California, USA 95814-5624
voice (916) 324-4100, FAX (916) 324-4088, brunetti@empm.cdpr.ca.gov
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AWARDS GO TO AGRICULTURAL INNOVATORS
SACRAMENTO -- Some of California's most innovative warriors in the fight
against agricultural pests were honored today in ceremonies at the State
Capitol.
Cal/EPA's Department of Pesticide Regulation presented its "IPM
Innovator" awards to the Artichoke Research Association, Campbell Soup
Company, Del Monte Foods, Sun-Maid Growers, and the Yolo County Resource
Conservation District.
"IPM Innovators" are leaders in adopting techniques that increase
the benefits and reduce the risks of pest control. DPR Director James W.
Wells presented the honorees with an IPM Innovator award plaque, baseball
caps and lapel pins featuring the IPM Innovator logo--a ladybug, the
best-known beneficial insect (or "good bug") and a symbol of integrated
pest management (IPM). IPM is an approach to managing pests that combines
biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools, choosing a method or
combination of methods that is effective and is the least disruptive to the
environment.
Also in attendance to applaud the Innovators were Ann M. Veneman,
Secretary of the Department of Food and Agriculture, and Ann C. Heywood,
Cal/EPA's Deputy Secretary for Environmental Technology.
"California's farmers don't make a big deal about all their hard
work, or about the chances they have taken when they experiment with new
pest management strategies," said Wells. "That's why we started giving out
IPM Innovator awards in 1994--to recognize these pioneers for their
accomplishments and help them share their discoveries with others.
California is not only the nation*s preeminent agricultural
producer, but our farmers are also leaders in finding and using new
environmentally friendly ways to fight pests," said Veneman. "These IPM
awards show first-hand how projects of this nature benefit our communities,
agriculture and the environment."
"DPR is working to advance cooperative, local problem-solving
because it creates a climate where growers are better informed and more
willing to try the IPM practices that work," said Wells. "By honoring
these innovators, we hope to encourage others to form groups to work out
solutions to their own unique, local pest management problems."
Wells added that "the commitment of large organizations like
Campbell, Del Monte and Sun-Maid to grower education in IPM attracts
considerable attention. They
provide an example of leadership not only to their members and associates
but also to growers of other commodities."
The Innovator award recipients are:
*Artichoke Research Association, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Research Station in Salinas. In 1973, the artichoke growers formed the
association to develop pest control strategies specific to artichokes and
problem pests. The association has developed pheromone traps, monitoring
programs, and other IPM strategies that have helped reduce annual crop
losses from 30 percent to less than 5 percent. Insecticide use has been
cut by as much as 20 percent.
*Campbell Soup Company, Sacramento. Beginning in 1989, Campbell
adopted an innovative pesticide control program working "hands-on" in
cooperation with its growers. Campbell has developed and implemented
strategies that reduced the use of synthetic insecticides and fungicides in
tomatoes by 30 percent; reduced the use of synthetic pesticides in celery
by 40 to 90 percent, depending on location; and reduced the need for soil
fumigation for carrots by 60 percent.
*Del Monte Foods, Walnut Creek, is responsible for risk reduction
efforts for 17 crops grown by 3,000 farmers on 200,000 acres, the
production of $1.4 billion in canned fruits and vegetables. The unit has
developed disease- and insect-resistant vegetable crops; biological
controls for diseases; processing equipment that removes insects; and new
pest monitoring techniques.
*Sun-Maid Growers of California, Kingsburg. Sun-Maid is a
cooperative owned by 1,200 raisin grape growers from Kern County north to
Livingston in Fresno County. The goal of Sun-Maid's IPM program is to
improve chemical selectivity, reduce pesticide usage, eliminate the use of
harsher pesticides, improve worker safety, improve raisin yields per acre,
and ultimately improve grower profit margins.
*Yolo County Resource Conservation District, Woodland. The
District is the lead agency for integrated resource management assessment
for the 131,000-acre Willow Slough watershed in western Yolo County. DPR
is recognizing the RCD for working closely with farms to restore native
habitats and farm area biodiversity while reducing the use of pesticides
and their associated costs.
Growers interested in more information on the IPM Innovator program
or in organizing to promote greater use of IPM may contact David Supkoff of
DPR's Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management Branch, 1020 N Street,
Sacramento 95814, phone (916) 324-4100. Additional information on the IPM
Innovator program is available on DPR's Internet Home Page
(http://www.cdpr.ca.gov).