Rice Pesticide Stewardship Practices
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Education For
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CURES Update - October 2003
CURES Continues Growth in Grants
CURES continues its second year of growth in grant-funded projects aimed at fulfilling its mission of implementing projects that advance stewardship practices when storing, handling or applying crop protection products, pest control products and nutrients. Here’s a rundown of our current activities:
Grant Projects Total $1.9 million
In July 2003, we received news that three new CURES projects were approved for funding under the PRISM (Pesticide Research and Investigation of Source and Mitigation) program. The projects, two in the Sacramento Valley and another in western San Joaquin Valley, include funds for developing Best Management Practices (BMPs) for field runoff and for conducting outreach to farmers on ways to protect water quality. Grant funds will also be used to purchase high-tech orchard sprayer calibration instruments and pay for installation of vegetative filter strips, as well as a range of other water quality projects.
Year 1 of CALFED Watershed Grant
August 2003 marked the end of year one activities throughout the Sacramento Valley funded by a CALFED Watershed Program grant. Tasks completed over the last 12 months of this three-year, $310,000 project, “Promotion of Farming Best Management Practices to Mitigate OP Pesticide Runoff into the Sacramento River Watershed” include presentations on BMPs by CURES Executive Director Parry Klassen at 13 continuing education meetings for growers and crop consultants in the region. In addition, orchard growers in the Sacramento Valley were surveyed to gauge the level of BMP adoption throughout the region. Publications on BMPs were also mailed to orchards growers and provided to Agricultural Commissioners to distribute when grower applicator permits were renewed.
Upcoming CALFED / CURES Activities in Sacramento Valley
Projects for the upcoming year include developing a field site assessment, a tool for helping growers evaluate the potential for off-site movement of farm inputs from individual fields. A wall poster showing various BMPs for growers and applicators will also be published in English and Spanish and distributed at grower meetings and other outlets. County Agricultural Commissioners in the Sacramento Valley will distribute two CURES booklets outlining BMPs: "Orchard Practices for Protecting Surface Water", and "Orchard Air Blast Sprayers; Tips and Techniques for Protecting Surface Water". Copies are available on request by contacting CURES at (916) 646-9551 or on the web at www.curesworks.org
CURES Supports Watersheds
The effort to form regional Watershed Coalitions in the Central Valley is being supported by CURES through the active involvement of Parry Klassen in three coalitions. Forming coalitions is one option given growers of irrigated cropland under the new Conditional Waiver of Waste Discharge Requirements for Irrigated Agriculture. The new regulations, adopted July 11 by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, grant farmers a waiver from individual field monitoring and reporting if they participate in a watershed coalition. A responsibility of the watershed coalitions will be to provide growers with information on BMPs should farm inputs be causing toxicity in local surface waters. CURES will be an important source of existing information while also using its grants to develop new or refining existing management practices. Funding in the CALFED and PRISM grants will assist the coalitions in developing important information required by the regulations. CURES actively participates with the Sacramento River Water Quality Coalition, led by the Northern California Water Association (NCWA); the West San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition, led by the San Joaquin River Drainage Authority; and the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition, which covers the region bordered by the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced Rivers.
Grants Being Pursued
Even with several grants already approved, CURES continues to pursue funding for additional activities. In a recent $138 million Consolidated Request for Proposals sponsored by CALFED and the State Water Board, two Concept Proposals with CURES’ involvement were approved to develop full proposals. The two proposals, covering outreach and BMP development activities for east and west San Joaquin Valley, total $4.6 million. Proposals approved for funding are due to be announced in February 2004.
NPS Conference in Ventura
U.S. EPA Region 9 and the State and Regional Water Boards are including CURES in its lineup of speakers for an event entitled “California 2003 Non-Point Source Conference.” The presentation by Parry Klassen, “Using Grower Outreach for Pesticide TMDLs Implementation” will describe efforts by CURES, agriculture and crop protection stakeholders to promote management practices for pesticide runoff. The conference is set for November 5-7, 2003 in Ventura.
Further Updates
CURES completed its second year of a PCO outreach program funded by urban stormwater agencies in the cities of Sacramento and Modesto. Parry Klassen made presentations for the project to more than 600 commercial pest control operators in Stockton and Sacramento in Fall 2002. The presentations cover best management practices that PCOs can use to prevent pest control products from entering urban waterways. Distributed at the meetings was the CURES publication “Tips and Techniques for Protecting Water Quality: Turf Management, Parks and Recreation.”
For the fourth year, CURES distributed drift stewardship booklets for the Sulfur Task Force. More than 2000 English and Spanish booklets emphasizing drift management practices were provided to grower groups, crop protection retailers and county Agricultural Commissioners.
The CURES Board of Trustees welcomes Ryan Broddrick, Ducks Unlimited and Robert Falconer, California Association of Nurseryman and Garden Centers as its newest members. Mr. Broddrick and Mr. Falconer join Board Chairman Len Richardson, California Farmer magazine; Jasper Hempel, Western Growers; Dennis Kelly, Syngenta; Lon Records, Target Specialty Products; and Bryan Stuart, Dow AgroSciences.
Support remains strong for CURES stewardship programs. The following are supporting CURES activities and projects in 2003: CALFED Watershed Program, California Plant Health Assn., City of Sacramento, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, Helena Chemical Company, Makhteshim-Agan North America, Metropolitan Water District and Syngenta. This support greatly enhances CURES’ ability to fulfill its mission of creating programs and distributing materials that promote stewardship of crop protection products, pest control products and nutrients.
Join the CURES Stewardship Effort
Want to join the CURES stewardship bandwagon and contribute to this worthy effort? Support our programs in either agriculture or urban areas: it’s good for the environment and your company or organization. For more information, contact Len Richardson at 925-687-1662 or lrichardson@farmprogress.com or Parry Klassen at 559-325-9855 or parry@curesworks.org or contact CURES directly.
For information on CURES, contact Parry Klassen: parry@curesworks.org.
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