Pesticide MIDAS's removal hurts strawberry farmers

From the outset, the methyl iodide controversy pitted the emotional wrath of environmental activists against the calculated science of a pesticide company bringing a new product to market.

After several years of heated debate and jousting in the courts, you could practically hear the manufacturer Arysta shouting out "No mas!" as it announced recently that it was withdrawing the pesticide from California.Some might find these types of high-profile political battles entertaining.

They may leverage them for profit or headlines or status. But they aren't the ones who ultimately feel the pain resulting from all the gamesmanship, misinformation and uncertainty.

As a California strawberry farmer, I wake up every day wondering if my plants are healthy, if my harvest will support my family and my roughly 100 full-time employees and their families. The portrayal of farmers as eagerly seeking to flood their fields and plants with toxic chemicals was not just naive but phenomenally insulting.

California farmers follow the toughest environmental laws in the nation. We would never do anything to put our families, employees and communities at risk.

Also lost amid the rhetoric was the fact that strawberry farmers never embraced methyl iodide. Contrary to claims of widespread use, only one of more than 500 family strawberry farmers in the state ever used it.

Nonetheless, the removal of methyl iodide raises serious concerns because it was developed by the University of California as a safer alternative to another fumigant, methyl bromide, which is being phased out by international treaty.

Methyl iodide's registration as an acceptable alternative served as the basis for an accelerated phase-out of methyl bromide. This could prove disastrous because fumigants are necessary to clean the soil of diseases before seedlings are planted. A UC Davis study predicts that if both fumigants are canceled, California would lose 23,690 jobs and $1.58 billion in income.

These aren't just any jobs. I'm a third-generation Hispanic farmer. I have personally witnessed how strawberries have provided a ladder to the American Dream for my parents and countless other Mexican-American immigrants. An estimated 70 percent of California strawberry farmers are Hispanic, farm an average of 90 acres each, yet collectively contribute $1.4 billion annually to our local communities.

Protecting this way of life is a priority. Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, is urging the governor to establish a working group to develop ways to protect California's farm communities. "We can't just say it's over," he told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. "As we continue to face the worst fiscal crisis in the history of California, the potential loss of agriculture jobs and revenue is unthinkable and unacceptable."

I agree. This situation is no bueno.

First, as Alejo suggests, we need consensus that protecting farming communities is a priority. We must simultaneously preserve existing pesticide options as we develop more sustainable alternatives.

These policies are not mutually exclusive. For example, I have grown both organic and conventional strawberries. The conventional approach provides the financial stability for me to risk growing organic strawberries. Similarly, through organic farming I acquire new skills I can apply to conventional farming. This is how the environment and economy can and do support one another.

Second, our elected officials and regulators should urge the EPA to allow the continued use of small amounts of methyl bromide. California strawberry farmers have a proven track record in phasing down methyl bromide – winning an EPA environmental award. But now the rules have changed. The replacement EPA told farmers to use is no longer available.

Third, we must continue researching viable alternatives to fumigant pesticides. Earlier this month, the state's Department of Pesticide Regulation and the California Strawberry Commission announced a major research partnership toward this goal. We applaud Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal, which directs industry fees paid to DPR to be used to research new tools for farmers.

I take pride in farming the right way. It's common practice for strawberry growers to farm holistically, incorporating such organic methods as bug vacuums, flowers that attract beneficial insects and other ways to limit reliance on pesticides.

We cannot afford to ever again be held hostage by battles between a single chemical company and a handful of misguided activists who don't understand the realities of farming. We need to be in our fields growing real California jobs, healthy food and a safer environment for generations to come.