Henry A. Wallace Institute for
Alternative Agriculture
9200 Edmonston Road, #117
Greenbelt, MD 20770
(301) 441-8777
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EPA Will Phase Out Uses of 36 Pesticides 1
35 States Have Found Pesticides in Groundwater 2
Herbicides Contaminate Drinking Water for 14 Million People 2
Poultry Litter Can Be an Asset 3
Positions 3
Half of Illinois Farmers Now Using Fewer Pesticides 3
Pecan Cover Crops, Definitions of Sustainable Ag in Journal 4
Farmers to Return Increased Acreage to Crop Production 4
Large Hog Producers May "Cripple" Iowa Family Farms 4
Upcoming Events 5
EPA WILL PHASE OUT USES OF 36 PESTICIDES UNDER LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will begin
phasing out uses of 36 cancer-causing pesticides as a result of
an out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit that charged the agency
had violated the Delaney Clause by allowing residues of
carcinogenic pesticides in processed foods. The Delaney Clause
prohibits the presence in processed foods of even minute amounts
of cancer-causing pesticide residues. The settlement also calls
for the EPA to review within five years an additional 49 cancer-
causing pesticides to determine whether they should also be
eliminated from certain uses. According to the Natural Resources
Defense Council, the lead plaintiff of the lawsuit, the 36
pesticides and their uses include: alachlor, used on soybeans and
peanuts; benomyl, a fungicide used on apples, citrus, grapes,
rice, and tomatoes; captan, used on grapes, plums, and tomatoes;
mancozeb, used on cereal grains and grapes; and dicofol, used on
fruits and tomatoes.
"The most pronounced effect of the settlement will be to
increase the pressure on Congress to enact a far-reaching new law
governing pesticides," said an article in The New York Times.
"Such an overhaul could supersede the EPA settlement." The
Clinton Administration had proposed a new bill creating a less
rigid standard for pesticides used in processed food, but neither
that bill nor any other pesticide reform bills introduced in
Congress was passed during the past session. Those proposals are
expected to be reintroduced when the next session of Congress
starts early next year. The pesticide agreement will be
submitted for approval to the U.S. District Court in Sacramento
later this year; the pesticide industry will have an opportunity
to comment on the settlement prior to that hearing.
35 STATE TESTING PROGRAMS HAVE FOUND PESTICIDES IN GROUNDWATER
At least 35 state groundwater testing or monitoring programs
have detected pesticides in their groundwater, according to a
survey of state pesticide programs done by the North Carolina
Center for Public Policy Research. The 42-question survey was
completed by 45 states, 41 of which reported they had a program
for monitoring or testing groundwater for pesticide
contamination. Of the 45 states, 27 have banned or restricted
the use of any pesticide beyond federal requirements. The
comprehensive survey, which examined the breadth of
responsibilities and extent of regulatory powers of each state
program, included questions in nine categories: general
information, licensing and certification, record keeping,
environmental concerns, farmworker safety and health,
administration, regulatory authority, aerial application of
pesticides, and miscellaneous information. The results were
published in a special double issue of North Carolina Insight, a
quarterly magazine published by the Center, devoted to analysis
of state pesticide regulation.
Asked which topics were included in the state's pesticide
applicator training or education program, 43 of the 44 states
responding said they included health and safety issues and
integrated pest management; 39 included pollution prevention; 35
included alternatives to chemical pesticides; 31 included
biological pest controls; and 6 included organic farming.
Included in the magazine were articles examining the
scarcity of pesticide usage information, an integrated pest
management course for farmers, and recommendations for state
regulation of pesticides. Copies of North Carolina Insight are
$14.75 from N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, P.O. Box 430,
Raleigh, N.C. 27602; (919) 832-2839.
HERBICIDES CONTAMINATE DRINKING WATER FOR 14 MILLION PEOPLE,
STUDY SAYS
Fourteen million people in 15 states routinely drink water
contaminated with five major agricultural herbicides, according
to a study released last month by the Environmental Working Group
and Physicians for Social Responsibility. The study examined the
use and contamination of five herbicides: atrazine, cyanazine,
simazine, alachlor, and metolachlor. Each spring, farmers apply
more than 150 million pounds of these herbicides to corn and
soybean fields, according to the report. The report found that
11.7 million of the people drinking contaminated water lived in
the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio.
The other 2.4 million people found by the report to be drinking
contaminated water were in the District of Columbia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
"As a result," the report said, "more than 3.5 million
people in 120 cities and towns face cancer risks that are 10
times to 100 times higher than the federal benchmark, based on
average annual exposure to these herbicides in drinking water."
The report analyzed results of tests on 20,000 samples taken by
state and federal investigators from treated tap water, rivers,
and reservoirs that are drinking water sources. Tap Water Blues
is $43 from EWG, 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW, #600, Washington,
D.C. 20009; (202) 667-6982.
POULTRY LITTER CAN BE AN ASSET, ACCORDING TO RESEARCHERS
Poultry litter will be shown to be an asset as a fertilizer,
instead of a liability as an environmental problem, through
research being funded by the SARE program. Disposing of poultry
litter in a timely, profitable, and environmentally sound manner
presents producers with exorbitant disposal rates due to
insufficient available land areas. Researchers, cooperators, and
farmers in Texas and Oklahoma are evaluating broiler litter in
low-input, sustainable vegetable production systems which will
offer broiler producers opportunities to diversify into
profitable alternative enterprises. Studies will identify litter
application strategies which will prevent excessive
concentrations of nutrients in soils, and reduce nutrient
pollution of groundwater and loss to runoff. Contact: Dr. D.R.
Earhart, Project Coordinator, Research Horticulturist-Vegetable
Culture, Texas A&M University, Box E, Overton, TX 75684; (903)
834-6191.
POSITIONS
Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture seeks
a postdoctoral research associate with a Ph.D. in agricultural
economics, rural sociology, political science, or policy analysis
for a one-to-two year research position with its Policy Studies
Program; send letter, resume, and three references by Dec. 31 to
Dr. Katherine Reichelderfer Smith, Director, Policy Studies
Program, Wallace Institute, 9200 Edmonston Road, #117, Greenbelt,
MD 20770-1551.
Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture seeks a Media Director
and Assistant Campaign Coordinator based in Washington, D.C.; it
may be either a full or part-time position. For full job
description, contact the Campaign, 12 Church St., Goshen, N.Y.
10924.
Dordt College seeks candidates for three positions: possible
appointment in agri-business with teaching responsibilities;
possible appointment in agriculture with responsibilities for
teaching and farm operation on the 160-acre Agriculture
Stewardship Center; and one-year agriculture position with
teaching responsibilities; for more information, contact Dr.
Rockne McCarthy, Dordt College, 498 Fourth Avenue NE, Sioux
Center, IA 51250; (712) 722-6333.
HALF OF ILLINOIS FARMERS NOW USING FEWER PESTICIDES, POLL FINDS
Half of the 540 Illinois farmers recently polled by the
University of Illinois said they were using fewer pesticides than
they were five years ago, according to the poll results compiled
in "How Illinois Farmers View Agriculture and Food Policy
Issues." Approximately 34 percent of those polled said they were
using the same amount of pesticides as five years ago, and 3
percent said they were using more; the remainder didn't know or
didn't respond. When asked about what to do with the 36 million
acres under conservation reserve program contracts that expire in
late 1995, 37 percent of respondents preferred to extend some
contracts with new bids on the most erodible acres; 26 percent
would like to extend all contracts a few years at the current
payment rate; and 18 percent would like to discontinue the
program. Of those polled, 39 percent said the government should
regulate specified farming practices and land uses to reduce
pollution of underground and stream water; 44 percent disagreed.
Asked if farmers should be required to plant grass protection
strips along stream banks and waterways to protect water quality,
56 percent agreed, and 30 percent disagreed; 64 percent said
farmers should be compensated for planting the strips, and 21
percent disagreed. Copies of the complete survey are available
from Harold D. Guither, University of Illinois, 305 Mumford Hall,
1301 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Il 61801; (217) 333-1807.
PECAN COVER CROPS, DEFINITIONS OF SUSTAINABLE AG FEATURED IN
JOURNAL
Articles about Midwestern land-grant university scientists'
definitions of sustainable agriculture, and screening cool-season
legume cover crops for pecan orchards are among the articles in
the new issue of American Journal of Alternative Agriculture
(Volume 9, No. 3), the Wallace Institute's quarterly, peer-
reviewed journal of research on alternative agriculture. Other
articles examine the transformation of Cuban agriculture, the
identification of suitable regions for amaranth production, and
participatory assistance for promoting changes in farming.
Annual subscriptions to AJAA are $44 for institutions, $24 for
individuals, and $12 for students; contact the Wallace Institute,
9200 Edmonston Road, #117, Greenbelt, MD 20770; (301) 441-8777.
FARMERS TO RETURN INCREASED ACREAGE TO CROP PRODUCTION, SAYS
SURVEY
Farmers nationwide plan to return 63 percent of acreage now
in the conservation reserve program (CRP) to crop production, an
increase from 53 percent in 1990, according to a new survey by
the Soil and Water Conservation Society. Farmers also plan to
keep 23 percent of CRP land in grass for hay or for grazing; 4
percent in trees for commercial wood products; 2 percent in grass
or trees for wildlife; 3 percent in grass or trees with no
anticipated use; and 3 percent to be sold. Copies of the survey
results, "The Future Use of Conservation Reserve Program Acres: A
National Survey of Farm Owners and Operators," are $19.50 ($15
for members) from SWCS, 7515 Ankeny Road, Ankeny, IA 50021; 1-
800-843-7645 ext. 19.
LARGE HOG PRODUCERS MAY "CRIPPLE" IOWA FAMILY FARMS, PAPER
REPORTS
Large corporate hog producers in Iowa are not only
"destroying the quality of [Iowans]' lives with intolerable odors
and the threat of groundwater contamination," but also
threatening eventually to "cripple the traditional backbone of
Iowa agriculture, the family farm," according to a recent front-
page article in The Washington Post. With large producers
"invading the state," constructing huge facilities that "yield
with assembly-line efficiency growing amounts of leaner pork...it
is not just the air and water that are threatened, critics argue,
but a way of life." Large corporate producers have been
responsible for substantial gains made in North Carolina's pork
production, and were also responsible for transforming the
poultry industry, shifting its center from Iowa to Arkansas,
Maryland, and Virginia. A government task force has been set up
to study the environmental issues at stake, and when the state
legislature convenes in January, several measures will probably
be introduced to restrict the growth of large hog farms,
according to the article. Iowa currently accounts for 25 percent
of the nation's pork production.
UPCOMING EVENTS
November 30 is the deadline for submitting technical paper
abstracts for the Wildlife Habitat Council's Second Annual
Wildlands Conference, "Risks, Regulations, and Resolutions:
Creating the Process," to be held May 1-2 in Dearborn, MI;
contact Wildlife Habitat Council, 1010 Wayne Avenue, #920, Silver
Spring, MD 20910; (301) 588-8994.
December 1, the first Organic Food and Herb Marketing
Conference will be held in Orlando, FL; contact Organic Food
Business News, P.O. Box 161132, Altamonte Springs, FL 32716; fax
requests to (407) 628-9935.
December 1-4, the Fifth Conference on Rural and Farm Women
in Historical Perspective will be held at the National 4-H
Conference Center, Chevy Chase, MD; contact Ann Effland,
ERS/USDA, Room 932D, 1301 New York Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
20005-4788; (202) 219-0788; e-mail aeffland@ers.bitnet
December 3, "Putting Small Acreage to Work," sponsored by
the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service, will be
held in Springfield, IL; contact Information Services, 65 Mumford
Hall, 1301 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 333-4785.
December 6-7, "Soil Health: The Basis of Current and Future
Production" will be held in Decatur, IL; contact Deborah
Cavanaugh-Grant, Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Network, PO Box
410, Greenview, IL 62642; (217) 968-5512.
December 12-13, "Protecting Groundwater: Promoting
Understanding, Accepting Responsibility, and Taking Action" will
be held in Washington, D.C.; contact Terrene Institute, 1717 K
St., NW, #801, Washington, D.C. 20006; (202) 833-8317.
The December 14 annual conference of the Fertilizer Research
and Education Program in Parlier, CA, has been postponed until
further notice.
January 10-12, 1995, the 1995 California Chapter, American
Society of Agronomy, Annual Meeting will be held in Visalia, CA;
contact Shannon Mueller, Fresno County Farm Advisor, (209) 488-
3285.
January 23-25, 1995, the 1995 Conference on Sustainable
Agriculture, sponsored by The Council for Agricultural and
Science Technology, will be held in Washington, D.C.; contact Jon
Hiler, Membership & Community Services, ASAE, 2950 Niles Road,
St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659; (616) 428-6327; e-mail hiler@asae.org
or hilerj@aol.com
January 24-25, 1995, the 16th Annual Eastern Iowa
Conservation Tillage Show, sponsored by the USDA Soil
Conservation Service, will be held in Cedar Rapids, IA; contact
C.W. Lawrence, Jones County Soil Conservationist, 405 East Main
St., Anamosa, IA 52205; (319) 462-3196.