Outside growers in Carpenteria, CA have issues with pesticide applications when adjacent crops have different restrictions. In this case, avocado growers aren’t spraying pesticides on their trees, fearing lawsuits from neighboring cannabis farmers if there is drift. Do you, or does someone you know, have a similar situation? If so, how are you working it out?
Here’s a link to the story:
Hello,
I personally don’t have any experience with a similar situation, seeing as I grow in an indoor facility, however, I am a certified and licensed pesticide applicator, so I’ll give my two cents.
Normally, in instances like this, the best way to avoid any particle or vapor drift is to change pesticides all together. Instead of using emulsifiable concentrates, flowables or any other pesticide that can be sprayed, a farmer could switch over to pesticides which can be implemented in another way. Some examples would be soluble granulars and pellets. Generally, going from contact pesticides to systemic ones is a good place to start.
There are almost always different pesticides which treat the same pest or pathogen, that are permitted to be used in the food industry.
I have been a PCA for 25 years. I work both on the Ag side and the Commercial Cannabis side. Many of us have gone through drift issues which are a result of many different reasons sometimes outside of application issues. I just spoke in front a County Board of Supervisors in regards to hemp cultivation in a heavy ag county with various crops. Does anybody remember the MCP and 24D lawsuits with cotton in Northern California in the 1990’s? We were all sued over that deal some progressive farmers began moving cotton in to their rotation…it was looked upon as “in many respects” like cannabis from the local ag industry. Many wanted to get involved but saw that it was foreign to them and took a different approach but it could be another way to generate revenue. Well cotton didn’t do well, disease, varieties, climate issues, water quality, various things that we all looked over the fence and pointed out it looks like that crop doesn’t belong here! But after a bit of research by these cotton growers and investors of what is going on here it looked like the crops were being severely disabled by 24D and MCP which we sprayed in almost every crop. Lawsuits flew everybody got caught in it, neighbor on neighbor…customer on supplier. We all knew there was lift off from time to time and inversion but we didn’t understand the magnitude of the effects on all crops. Anyways buffer zones and restrictions were put into effect and over the years we have lost a very cost effective tool but many crops in the area improved in yield and health. But the moral of the story is sometimes we do not know what type of issues we may have until you move a more sensitive crop into an area. I just spoke to that county on that on behalf of CAPCA as I am the local president, we need to slowly integrate these crops to minimize lawsuits. Yes there are interchangeable IPM programs and conventional ag is in the process of becoming less IPM curative but you just cant change your spray program especially in avacados. You cannot just throw 25B products on permanent crops and get the same production overnight. In controlled environments you have just that a controlled environment humidity, air flow, irrigation, isolation, etc. Many more factors that you can control. So yes this is an issue all over the state where Cannabis is being cultivated next to historical crops. Im an advocate for it all but it will take a while to integrate them, we can be smart and look at history or force it on each other and let the showdowns begin. Eventually we will all be on the same team in 10 years it just depends on how you want to get there.
