Pesticide Ban Sows Frustration Among Farmers

A new United Nations report recommending the worldwide elimination of the pesticide methyl bromide--a chemical used heavily in local strawberry production--has rekindled a longstanding debate between Ventura County agricultural officials and area environmental activists.

The U.N. report, released this month, targets the pesticide and fumigant as a primary factor in the destruction of the Earth’s protective ozone layer.

Methyl bromide may be responsible for 10% or more of the destruction of the thin stratospheric shield that protects plants and animals from harmful exposure to ultraviolet radiation, the report states.

But county agricultural officials and strawberry farmers say that without an acceptable alternative to the pesticide, local growers will lose as much as 40% of their crops to reduced production and pests in the three years following the nation’s phaseout of the product in 2001.

“From a global standpoint, it seems to me (the U.N.) should be more worried about our soon-to-be diminished capacity to grow food,” said Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. “If we don’t find a suitable alternative to this chemical, strawberry farmers in this county are going to be in serious trouble.”

However, Neil Moyer, chairman of the Ventura County Environmental Coalition, said county strawberry farmers will either learn to adapt, grow other types of crops or leave the business.

“The depletion of the Earth’s ozone is a far more pressing matter than whether they will be able to produce the same amount of crops as they have while using methyl bromide,” Moyer said.

Used in Ventura County primarily by strawberry farmers, the chemical is injected about 18 inches deep into the soil. The ground is then covered with large tarps to prevent the highly toxic pesticide from escaping into the air.

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Once in the soil, the powerful chemical sterilizes the soil--killing virtually all biological organisms within its range. High on its hit list are nematodes, microscopic worms that love to eat the delicate roots of strawberry plants.

But the effect of chemical--a clear, odorless gas that must be mixed with a trace of tear gas so agricultural workers will know when it has escaped--doesn’t stop there. It also reliably kills rodents and plant pathogens such as fungi, bacteria and weed seeds, agricultural officials said.

“That’s the problem,” said David Buettner, Ventura County’s deputy agricultural commissioner. “We haven’t been able to find an alternative pesticide that has the same one-shot effectiveness.”

Strawberry industry officials said a multimillion-dollar research effort is under way to find an alternative to the substance, which has been used by American farmers for decades.

“There are a number of chemicals that show promise in dealing with specific problems faced by the farmer but, so far, we have not been able to isolate an agent that covers all the bases that methyl bromide covers,” said Frank Westerlund, director of research for the Watsonville-based California Strawberry Commission.

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And there is a lot on the line, agricultural officials say.

Although second to lemons, Ventura County’s annual strawberry crop is worth in excess of $110 million, officials said. The state’s crop--which delivers 80% of the nation’s demand for the sweet, red berries--is worth an estimated $500 million.

What’s more, agricultural officials say, the removal of the chemical without a similar replacement will result in higher costs for consumers for strawberries and other crops grown with the assistance of methyl bromide.

Environmental activists say that the U.N. reports, compiled in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, remove any doubt that the world’s ozone layer is endangered and that methyl bromide is among the leading causes.

“The U.N.’s conclusions show that methyl bromide’s contributions to ozone depletion is not a fantasy. It is a real threat,” said Marc Chytilo, chief counsel for the Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center.

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And the panel of 226 scientists who compiled the reports released March 2 believe that methyl bromide is at least 50 times more destructive to the ozone layer than chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs.

To be sure, man-made sources of ozone destruction, such as CFCs from aerosol cans, continue to add to the problem, according to scientists.

Even the Earth’s oceans factor into the ozone’s degradation. They release naturally occurring bromine--the powerful root component of methyl bromide. But scientists also believe that the oceans may reabsorb much of the bromine they emit.

“Contrary to the Rush Limbaughs of the world, the U.N. reports confirm that the ozone layer is in serious trouble,” said Joe Mendelson, director of the Ozone Protection Project of Friends of the Earth, a New York-based environmental group. “And yes, the oceans do emit bromine, but there is strong evidence that they also take it back in. It’s a weak argument offered by desperate special-interest groups.”

Although it is used primarily in agriculture, methyl bromide is also employed extensively as a fumigant in the home pest-control industry. Because it was identified as a threat to the ozone layer, federal officials added it to a list of materials to be phased out on the authority of the Clean Air Act of 1990.

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But among the farm owners and managers who oversee the estimated 4,500 acres of strawberries grown in Ventura County, the consequences of a methyl bromide phaseout without a suitable chemical replacement would mean a massive restructuring of their businesses. Some could be forced out of farming altogether.

“There are a lot of guys who may just have to quit if there isn’t something to take its place,” said Chris Deardorff of Deardorff-Jackson Farms in Oxnard. “Others, like our operation, will have to go to other crops to make do. Either way, it’s not going to be easy.”

But should a replacement not be found, environmental activists say that farmers can successfully turn to alternative, or organic, methods of strawberry production, including the use of steam or solar energy for soil sterilization and natural fertilizers such as compost to encourage crop growth.

Other methods include plowing certain vegetables under the soil so that a naturally occurring chemical, produced when the vegetables decay, can be released. This chemical is believed to be effective in fighting many of the organisms that inhibit strawberry growth.

While local berry growers and agricultural officials say they object to a methyl bromide ban because of the possible economic consequences, one longtime organic farmer says the transition away from such chemicals will be easier than some growers think.

“The first thing they’ll say is that organic farming techniques can’t be brought to large farms,” said Michael Ableman, manager of Fairview Gardens in Goleta, one of the oldest organic farms in Southern California. “But that’s not accurate. These techniques are being used right now on big farms. It’s well-documented. They don’t want to make a big deal of it, but Gallo wines is currently farming thousands of acres without using these chemicals.”

Moyer of the Environmental Coalition agreed.

“Frankly, I’m not too worried about the farmers--they’re very resourceful people. They’ll be able to get off the methyl bromide kick they’re on and learn to grow their crops in other ways.”