In This Issue:
Calendar
Notes on Captan Registration
Repeal of Ergonomics Regulations
Market Loss Sign Up
Tuneup Your IPM Practices
Dole Sells Fruit Holdings
Dow Buys Rohm & Haas Agricultural Chemical Line
March 10: Ohio Berry Growers School, OSU Piketon Research and Extension Center, Piketon, Ohio. Presenters for this year's school include Dr. Barclay Poling (North Carolina State University), Dr. Fumiomi Takeda (USDA Appalachian Fruit Research Station), and Peter Bierman and Brad Bergefurd (OSU Piketon). For more information call Brad Bergefurd at (740) 289-3727 or e-mail at bergefurd.1@osu.edu.
March 28: North Central Fruit Crops Breakfast, Vanson's Restaurant, Monroeville, Ohio; 8:00 a.m. followed by pesticide update at 9:00 a.m. Contact Ted Gastier at Huron County Extension, (419) 668-8210.
June 30: Ohio Fruit Growers Society Summer Tour and Meeting, Patterson Fruit Farm, Chesterland. For more information, contact John Wargowsky at (614) 249-2424, or e-mail at jwargows@ofbf.org.
A revised label for Captan fungicide on small fruit and tree fruit was submitted to the EPA in 2000. I received a copy of this proposed label and was under the impression that it was approved and the Federal registration was granted. This was not the case, and the label is still in review and should be approved during spring or summer of 2001.
I coordinate plant disease control recommendations for the Midwest fruit worker's group. This group represents fruit workers from Universities in several states across the Midwest. The group publishes a regional "Commercial Tree Fruit Spray Guide" and a "Commercial Small Fruit and Grape Spray Guide".
The 2001 Ohio Commercial Spray Guides for Tree Fruit and Small Fruit and Grapes have the recommendations for the proposed Captan label incorporated in them. As of yet, the label has not been approved and all Captan products being marketed still contain the old (2000) label information.
The following changes (mistakes) were made in the 2001 spray guide and they need to be pointed out to growers:
Small Fruit:
1. Captan is not registered for use on brambles until the new label is approved. Several states (including Ohio) have 24-C registrations for Captan and brambles so it can be legally used in Ohio as long as the grower has a copy of the 24-C registration in their possession at the time of application. Growers can obtain a copy of the 24-C registration from me (Mike Ellis). The old reentry period is 4 days, so under the 24-C registration the reentry period is still (2001) 4 days. The new label proposes reducing the reentry interval on brambles to 24 hours.
2. No change on strawberry. Captan is registered for us on strawberry and the reentry interval is 24 hours.
3. On grapes, the reentry interval is still 4 days. The new label reduces the reentry interval to 3 days.
4. On blueberries, the reentry interval is still 4 days. The new label reduces the reentry interval to 3 days.
Tree Fruit:
1. On apple and stone fruit (peach, nectarine, plum and cherry) the reentry interval is still (2001) 4 days. The proposed new label reduces the reentry interval from 4 days to 1 day (24 hours) on apples and stone fruits.
2. No other changes have occurred in relation to Captan use on tree fruit.
I apologize for the confusion related to this mistake. It is important that growers remember that they must always read and follow the current label information on the product they are using.
Hopefully, the new registration will be approved this year. Our spray guides (recommendations) will be changed to accurately reflect the most current label information in 2002. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions related to this matter.
President Bush is expected to sign soon, legislation passed by Congress this week, that will revoke ergonomic rules issued late in the Clinton administration. The House passed the legislation Wednesday night by a vote of 223-206 following a Senate vote of 56-44 on Tuesday evening. This action marks the first time Congress has overturned an executive order under the 1996 Congressional Review Act.
The ergonomics regulations were aimed at preventing carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and other health problems associated with repetitive motion, awkward postures, contact stress, and the like. If injuries were reported, adjustments to work stations would have been required according to the AP Press.
Previous to the votes, the White House had released the following statement. "This administration is committed to protecting the health and safety of workers. That's why the Department of Labor will pursue a comprehensive approach to addressing this issue. There is real concern about the overly burdensome current rules because of the negative impact they would have on jobs and economic growth." Labor Secretary Elaine Chao assured Congressional members that ergonomics injuries would be addressed in well-thought-out regulations that did not penalize businesses and still helped workers.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had estimated the cost of compliance to be $4.5 billion, but opponents said the tab could run between $20 billion and $120 billion.
Ohio's Senators DeWine and Voinovich both voted for passage of the repeal. Ohio's Representatives (district indicated) voted as following:
Source: http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2001&rollnumber=33
| John A. Boehner (8th) | Yea |
| Sherrod Brown (13th) | Nay |
| Steve Chabot (1st) | Yea |
| Paul E. Gillmor (5th) | Yea |
| Tony P. Hall (3rd) | Nay |
| David L. Hobson (7th) | Yea |
| Stephanie Tubbs Jones (11th) | Nay |
| Marcy Kaptur (9th) | Nay |
| Dennis J. Kucinich (10th) | Nay |
| Steven C. LaTourette (19th) | Yea |
| Robert W. Ney (18th) | Yea |
| Michael G. Oxley (4th) | no vote recorded |
| Rob Portman (2nd) | Yea |
| Deborah Pryce (15th) | Yea |
| Ralph Regula (16th) | Yea |
| Tom Sawyer (14th) | Nay |
| Ted Strickland (6th) | Nay |
| Patrick J. Tiberi (12th) | Yea |
| James A. Traficant, Jr. (17th) | Nay |
The phone number and building address for your Representative can be found at: http://clerkweb.house.gov/107/mcapdir.php3 if you are interested in sending appropriate comments about how their vote could affect your farm. The mailing address is: United States House of Representatives, Washington D.C. 20515
You can go to this site if you wish to send your representative an e-mail message: http://www.house.gov/writerep/
The Official Alphabetical List of the House of Representatives of the United States is available at: http://clerkweb.house.gov/107/oalmbr.php3
Senator DeWine can be reached at: 140 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 - (202) 224-2315 or web site: http://www.senate.gov/~dewine/request_form.html
Senator Voinovich can be reached at: 317 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510 - (202) 224-3353 or E-mail at: senator_voinovich@voinovich.senate.gov
Fruit growers can sign up for their portion of the $100 million in market loss assistance payments beginning March 8 through April 13. The assistance will go to growers who have suffered from three - four years of low prices for a host of reasons, including unfair competition from overseas and severe weather conditions. Following publication of the program's details in the Federal Register on Thursday, March 8, growers will have until April 13 to submit an application for assistance. Apple producers may obtain an application, Form CCC-891 (Apple Market Loss Assistance Payment Application), in person, by mail, telephone or fax from any county Farm Services Agency (FSA) office. The application is also available from http://www.sc.egov.usda.gov. A list of FSA offices can be obtained at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/edso/.
Payments will be made on a grower's first 1.6 million pounds of production in either 1998 or 1999. Actual payments will depend on the number of growers who apply, and the volume of production they report. The regulations for an additional $38 million for quality loss assistance - for poor quality fruit due to weather and disease - are still under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Although Congress approved the funds as part of the fiscal year 2001 agriculture appropriation bill, their release had been delayed by a review of USDA regulations conducted by OMB. Apple growers have lost an estimated $760 million over the past three years due to unfairly priced imports of apple juice concentrate, adverse weather conditions and rising regulatory costs, according to the USDA.
State specialists including Doug Doohan, Mike Ellis, Dave Ferree, Dick Funt, Diane Miller, and Celeste Welty contributed to six sub headings for IPM practices. These sub headings are Educational IPM Considerations, Soil and Nutrient Management and Cultural Practices, Pesticides and Pesticide Records, Disease Management, Arthropod Management (insects and mite), and Weed Management.
IPM elements for apple, cherry, peach, pear, and plum can be found at:
http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ipm/element/index.htm
Dole Fresh Fruit Co. announced recently that it will stop growing California grapes and tree fruit in part of the state because costs are too high. The company reported Kern and Tulare counties grape and fruit tree deals have been unprofitable and it plans to put its 5,000 acres of vineyards and orchards on the market.
Despite a cutback in the fruit arena, including table grapes, peaches, plums, apples, apricots and nectarines, the company will keep its California vegetable operations and continue marketing imported Chilean fruit. The company reportedly is in the midst of an ongoing cost-cutting effort, having previously sold its citrus operations to Paramount Citrus.
The Dow Chemical Company is purchasing Rohm and Haas's agricultural chemical business for $1 billion. Under the terms of the agreement Dow AgroSciences will acquire all of Rohm and Haas's fungicide, insecticide and herbicide lines including other product lines, trademarks and license to all agricultural uses of its biotechnology assets. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2001, and is subject to regulatory approval.
In 2000, Rohm and Haas's ag products sales were $531 million. With this acquisition, Dow AgroSciences' annual sales are expected to be approximately $3 billion annually.
"The decision to sell our agricultural chemicals business was a difficult one, especially considering the long history with our company," said Raj Gupta, Rohm and Haas's chairman and CEO. "The business has a premier reputation in the market and has contributed substantially to the success of the company for some 70 years. However, as we continue to reshape our portfolio for the future, it has become increasingly evident that the agricultural chemicals business will flourish more as part of a global firm with a stronger presence serving the agricultural markets. Dow AgroSciences is among the world leaders in the crop protection business. They have the experience, the know-how, and the resources to ensure the continued vitality of this business as part of its presence in the marketplace."
Ted W. Gastier
Extension Agent, Agriculture
Tree Fruit Team Coordinator
Ohio State University Extension Huron County
180 Milan Avenue
Norwalk, OH 44857
Phone: (419)668-8210
FAX: (419)663-4233
E-mail: gastier.1@osu.edu
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