I'm passing this along for two Iowa CSA growers who need help
quickly with an atrazine drift problem for which they're seeking
reimbursement. Any help would be appreciated; please send it to
Michael and Linda. Their contact info is at the end.
Thanks a bunch.
peace
misha
PS--STEVE--can Laurie be of help to them?
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 06:28:19 -0600
From: Michael & Linda Nash <sunspot@netins.net>
Reply-to: sunspot@netins.net
Organization: Sunflower Fields Organic Farm & CSA
[distlist snipped]
Subject: can you help?
Last year our organic farm experienced a severe pesticide drift from a
neighboring acreage. We reported this to the state, and samples were
taken and an investigation done.
Without going into too much detail, the results showed atrazine on
our orchard at almost an application rate, and command on raspberries
and many other plants. We had extensive damage and are now "working"
with the other side's insurance investigator to receive compensation
for damage.
This farm was two years into the 3 year wait for certification, and
so the biggest damage is that we have to start over this year in the
certification process. With comments coming from the insurance co.
like "Why can't you just wash the vegetables and sell them as
certified?" and "Since the spray was accidental, why do you have to
report it to an organics inspector?" it has been pretty tough.
Specifically, we are now asking for help on two final issues:
How many pounds of vegetables can a CSA farmer produce per acre?
In general what is the price difference per pound paid to producers
by retail stores for certified organic compared to conventional
produce?
If you have the time to address either or both of these questions,
somewhat formally, on letterhead, could you mail or fax a copy to us
and we will get it to our lawyer. We REALLY appreciate it. It has
been a lot of work and very expensive fighting these guys, but we
think it's really important, too.
THANK YOU! Linda and Michael Nash
-- *************************** * Sunflower Fields CSA and Sunflower Design * sunspot@netins.net * 776 Old Stage Road * Postville, Iowa 52162 * Voice: 319o864o3847 * Fax: 319o864o3837 * * _> Do you know who grows your food? <_ ***************************To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest".