Farmers, bugs and chemical warfare

Part One: EPA phases out insecticide

Part Two: Local farmers adapt (as usual) to change
By: Cara Latham
EPA phases out insecticide AZM,br>
Use of pesticides has long been in practice as a tool to battle insects that may invade and destroy crops. But as in any industry, tools change.
   For myriad reasons — because newer, safer or better products emerge or maybe because insects simply become immune — some pesticides are gradually being phased out by the federal government and replaced with the next generation product.
   Azinphos-methyl, or AZM, which is sold under the brand name Guthion, is the latest chemical that is being phased out.
   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its final decision last month that requires farmers to phase out the use of AZM, an organophosphate insecticide that can cause serious health risks in cases of chronic exposure. AZM is used on farms around the country mostly to combat pests such as caterpillars. Phasing out AZM use will affect various industries at different dates.
   Those in the brussels sprouts and nursery stock industries will have to phase out AZM by September 2007, while those in the almond, pistachio and walnut trade will have until October 2009. Farmers who use AZM on apples, blueberries, cherries, parsley and pears must stop doing so by September 2012.
   AZM has been used for more than 40 years.

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   For farmers, of course, phasing out of pesticides is not a new idea.
   Doug Hallock, of Hallock’s U-Pick Farms in New Egypt, said that for the most part, farmers are notified ahead of time when a pesticide is being phased out, with information and newsletters from Rutgers University along with notifications from chemical suppliers.
   For farmers like Mr. Hallock, "if you’re not going to use (pesticides), you’ve got to go organic," he said. But "there’s no way we could go that far and people could still afford anything" when they come to the farm to buy their produce.
   And on his farm, they don’t use any more pesticides than they have to. Mr. Hallock said that now there are about three to four new products that cost about $600 a gallon, but the farmers get 2 ounces of the chemicals to the acre.
   "It scares you at first when you see that its $500 to $600 a gallon, but when you get down to it," there are 128 ounces per gallon, and that could be used on over 60 acres before it runs out, he said.
   "Don’t sneeze when you’re pouring it," he says of the high-priced newer chemicals. "You have to be a lot more careful than maybe what it was years ago."
   But the newer chemicals "do a better job, and are a lot safer for the environment, and for the customers, and for us in putting it down," he said. "It’s a lot more involved, and you’ve got to read the labels and go to the meetings (with Rutgers and different farming groups)."
   Plus, if a farmer uses too much pesticide, the product might not work as well the next year. Mr. Hallock said that farmers have to try not to kill everything because if one or two bugs of a certain species survive, that means they have become immune to the product, and when they reproduce the following season, their offspring will also be immune.
   Most of the time, the government makes the decision to phase out a chemical over the winter, but "sometimes they catch us in the middle of the season, and then we’ve got to scramble," he said.
   There are other solutions farmers could use to combat insects, such as a black light trap, which Mr. Hallock said he has been using for about 25 to 30 years. The method cuts down the amount of spraying, as farmers have to closely monitor their crops.
   Mr. Hallock said he checks the black light trap to see how many moths, another destructive pest, have been caught, which helps him determine if there are enough moths in the area to warrant a spraying.
   Ray Hlubik, of Hlubik Farms in Chesterfield, said that he, too, uses the black light trap for catching the moths in his sweet corn crop.
   "From that, we can tell how bad the population is, and when we need to spray," Mr. Hlubik said. "We’re not spraying too early, and we’re not getting it to the point where we can’t control it."
   Farmers also rely on weather models and reports from other parts of the county to be warned if a particular insect is set to infest area farms.
   "We know that it’s going to be hot and humid for the next week, and we want to get out and spray," Mr. Hlubik said.
   And for the most part, when the government phases out a pesticide, replacements are already available, he said, even if sometimes a rare insect infests.
   "It’s usually not too much of a shock," he said, adding that Rutgers will put out a warning to farmers to start looking for insects when they are known to have reached the area. "I hate to lose any chemical really, because there’s something once in a while that may control something that’s a surprise."
   And, remember, the newer, safer products do come with a higher price tag, as do all products these days for farmers, according to Mr. Hallock.
   "When it balances all out, the costs are going up," said Mr. Hallock, mentioning high diesel fuel gas, propane, fertilizer and transportation costs. "The only thing that’s not going up is what we’re trying to get for a profit."

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   Dean Polk, a statewide fruit integrated pest mangament agent with Rutgers’ The Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension in Chatsworth, said that discussion of phasing out certain pesticides has been going on for number of years.
   In 1996, the EPA Congress passed a law known as "The Food Quality Protection Act," with the core purpose of reducing pesticide uses that affect residents, primarily children.
   He explained that every insecticide has a residue tolerance in food, and that each residue was calculated after many toxicology tests and millions of dollars in spending.
   If a child or person eats many of these crops and uses an organophosphate also for the lawn and for their pets and for inside their house for termites, they can put themselves at a high risk. Because of this, the federal government needed to reduce the risk that people can put themselves in, he said."That meant that a lot of these older, more toxic chemicals" would begin to be phased out, he added.
   Those that are acutely toxic can kill a pet or human if that person or pet is overexposed, , he said.
   This led to the EPA beginning to gradually eliminate crops that certain insecticides could be used on, he said.
   "Now, Guthion, being one of the main insecticides in this class and one more broadly used, was one of the first ones targeted," he said. "This has taken years and years."
   Mr. Polk also said that at the same time, pesticide companies — many of which are owned by drug or petroleum industries — started coming up with new products, especially since some of the original products were getting old, and insects were developing resistance to them.
   But they also came up with these more expensive products because they are "softer materials" and are safer for humans and pets, he said.
   """"Organophosphates ——are considered to be very cheap in comparison with the newer replacements and are able to be used on a larger variety of bugs, he said. An average agricultural grower might spend about $8 to $11 an acre on Guthion, and would have used the product to protect crops against a number of insect pests.
   "Now, if you remove these organophosphates and use just some of the new products, instead of spending $8 to $11 an acre for one product to control about six to eight different pests, we may have to use two products, or sometimes three, that cost $20 an acre," each, he said.
   And this affects farmers differently.
   "If you look at peaches, to use these kinds of chemicals and new insecticides, and reduce the risk approach, it becomes much more expensive for the grower," he said. "And those growers are having a hard time making any profit," he said, adding that other costs like fertilizer have also gone up.
   Overall, the end result of the phasing out, particularly of AZM, means that growers will end up spending more money, and will start using more than one of the new, softer products at the same time in order to accompany for the wider range of insects Guthion was successful at killing, said Mr. Polk.
   Mr. Polk compared this to medication. If a person takes a drug that works well when taken properly, he or she will be fine. But taking many different medications at the same time could become dangerous.
   "They’re (new pesticides) all safe in the way they’re meant to be used," said Mr. Polk.
   Even with all the pesticides being phased out, farmers simply adapt, said Mr. Hallock.
   ""You’ve got to like farming to be in it," he said. "Most people who are into farming got to like doing what they’re doing."
Local farmers adapt (as usual) to change)
The pesticide Azinphos-methyl, or AZM, sold under the common brand name Guthion, is the latest to be phased out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but local farmers say the decision will not cause too much hardship for them.
   "We do use some of it, but not much of it," said Allentown farmer Nick Russo about the pesticide Guthion. "There is another alternative."
   Bill Sciarappa, an agricultural agent with the Rutgers Cooperative Research Extension, said farmers who use the pesticide for blueberry and cranberry crops might find it a little harder to find another effective pesticide, but in most cases, farmers are already using substitutes.
   "There are new, safer environmentally more friendly materials becoming available," Mr. Sciarappa said, noting substitute pesticides vary depending on the crop. "There’s a whole slew of other stuff out there that does the job."
   In addition, the pesticide, which has been around for more than 40 years, may not be as effective as it used to be, because over time some insects may have developed a resistance to it, Mr. Sciarappa said.
   But it does have environmental risks associated with it, which is why the EPA has required phasing it out, he added.
   "It’s inherently not safe" because it contains neurotoxins, he said. The chemicals "not only kill the intended target, they also have significant side effects, whether it’s on people, wildlife, avian, or insects."
   Mr. Sciarappa said that when applying Guthion to the crops, the the person applying the chemical must wear gloves and a respirator, to keep the chemicals out of the eyes, nose and mouth.
   "It will cause nervous system problems," he said, adding that chronic exposure to even low levels of this pesticide can lead to birth defects or, sometimes, cancer.
   But AZM has not been the worst chemical pesticide on the market; others banned by the EPAin the past posed much more of a threat, he said.
   Art West, of Westhaven Farm on Route 524 in Allentown, said that he, like Plumsted farmer Doug Hallock, stopped using Guthion, along with most chemical pesticides a few years ago.
   Art West of Westhaven Farm on Route 524 in Allentown, and Plumsted farmer Doug Hallock both say they stopped using Guthion along with most chemical pesticides, a few years ago.
   "As far as insecticides, we go as much with natural (insect-control measures) as we can," Mr. West said.
   But he said it is actually costing more to use natural substitutes. For example, he uses herbicides and natural parasites that kill the insects that cause problems for his crops, which include blackberries, peas, strawberries, snap beans, and pumpkins.
   "It’s a lot more difficult, it costs more, and you have to have a much closer inspection," he said. "Chemical insecticides were a remedy."
   Mr. West compared farmers who use natural predators and other safer materials with people taking vitamin C to prevent catching a cold — good for prevention, but not a cure once they are already sick. Using natural pesticides requires farmers to monitor their farms more closely to ensure the natural predators are used at the right time before insects destroy the crops.
   "We’re not trying to cure it; we’re trying to prevent it."
   Another reason Mr. West said he stopped using Guthion is that he didn’t really need it for his strawberry crops anymore.
   "There’s still definitely a need for the synthetic chemicals if you have the right crop," he said.
   Mr. Russo, owner of Russo’s Orchard Lane Farm in Allentown, which grows fruits and vegetables, including apples, said that he doesn’t anticipate any hardships with the phasing out of Guthion, and that the family farm will just use alternatives.
   Mr. Russo said that Guthion had only been used on his farm sparingly when recommended by the Rutgers Cooperative Research and Extension.
   "You never use any more than absolutely necessary at the time," he said. Most of the time when they phase out the chemicals, it costs too much money to get the patents back to use them. Not only that, they also want to sell just more expensive chemicals."
   But the farm will just have to make the necessary and mandated adjustments, he said.
   "You just deal with it," Mr. Russo said. "That’s all you can do."