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question
dear sanetters,
the items below came across agnet . . . they got me wondering how many
agencies have the authority/power to order a spraying (or other phytosanitary
measure); does an agency with that authority/power have to make any showing
that no alternatives exist and/or that the proposed action is optimal by some
criteria (e.g., sustainability) . . . that in turn got me wondering what would
happen if a grower practicing some form of alternative agriculture refused,
for financial or human health reasons . . . for example, if the agency did the
spraying on its own, could an organic farmer sue for loss of certification
specifically on these two cases, i'd be interested in hearing from people in
the two affected areas if there are any alternatives, and/or if research is
being done on alternatives . . . i'd also be interested in knowing more about
the ecology of the two pests, and about what growers in the affected areas
think about the situation
cheers,
craig
| SWEET POTATO WEEVIL
| June 20/96
| BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Department of Agriculture is instituting a
mandatory spraying program for the sweet potato weevil after it was discovered
for the first time in the northeastern part of the state last year. In
northeastern Louisiana, the sweet potato crop in 1995 was valued at $23
million and, with more value added in processing and sales, the Agriculture
Department estimates its total value at about $50 million.
|
| BARLEY RUST
| June 20/96
| LEWISTON, Idaho -- Rust race 24, a barley disease, was found this week in
Nez Perce County, and farmers were urged to begin spraying fungicide
immediately. The disease is known to spread in cool, damp weather and can
result in crop losses as high as 40 per cent after the first year.
|
| AGNET IS SPONSORED BY THE ONTARIO MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL
AFFAIRS PLANTS PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
| AGnet June 20/96
| Douglas A Powell <dpowell@uoguelph.ca>
| Thursday, June 20, 1996 11:35 AM
craig k harris
dept of sociology michigan state university east lansing michigan
48824-1111
tel: 517-355-5048 fax: 517-432-2856