Agricultural Viability, Public Health Shape a Debate

The residents of Ventura County are blessed with the best of both worlds--a vibrant economy and a delightful place to live. Important to the economic vitality and beauty of this area are the productivity and vast open spaces provided by our agricultural base.

The people of Ventura County have clearly voiced their desire under the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative to maintain the viability of agriculture in this area. To do so, however, a balance must be achieved between urban interests and the need for agriculture to remain economically competitive in a global marketplace.

What we don’t need is to politicize the office of the county agricultural commissioner. Neither public interests nor the interests of agriculture are served if regulatory enforcement and rule-making are fanned by the politics of fear and innuendo.

For our almost $1-billion agricultural industry to survive, we must be globally competitive. Our local agricultural industry is one of the most progressive and regulated industries in the United States.

Not only are local growers some of the most productive to be found anywhere in the United States, they are also on the cutting edge of many progressive farming practices. For example, the Fillmore Protection District is a global model for the use of beneficial insects in lieu of pesticides, an approach called integrated pest management (IPM).

Whenever possible and where economically feasible, the industry is attempting to utilize IPM practices. Agricultural chemical usage is also meticulously overseen by a state regulatory system that is implemented by the county agricultural commissioner and his professional staff.

State and federal laws governing the use of chemicals in agriculture are the strictest in the world. These laws have been developed based on sound science and are subject to constant review by the state Department of Pesticide Regulation, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the federal EPA and legislative overview. Because of the small size of Ventura County relative to other major agricultural areas of the state, coupled with the close interface between agriculture and urban interests, the county is among the most publicly scrutinized production areas in the state.

The recent methyl bromide controversy has focused attention on local agriculture and the enforcement of statewide methyl bromide application rules. It has spawned a host of attacks by advocacy groups upon the chemical, local farmers and the integrity of Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail.

Activists are attempting to intimidate the Board of Supervisors individually and collectively into not reappointing the current agricultural commissioner but appointing someone more to their liking. The true issue in this public controversy is the integrity and objectivity of the agricultural commissioner’s office. The environmental community is attempting to politicize the office of agricultural commissioner to achieve regulatory goals not grounded by sound science or supported by state or federal environmental agencies.

It is unfortunate that Mr. McPhail has become the unwilling poster child for the environmental community’s campaign against pesticide usage. If Mr. McPhail has a flaw, perhaps it is that he has failed in reaching out to such groups and others to educate them about the role of his office and the manner in which public safety is protected in Ventura County.

Having said that, in almost 22 years of representing agricultural employers in this county I have yet to hear of a single instance in which the agricultural commissioner deviated from the strict enforcement of pesticide usage or other regulatory laws. As one industry observer astutely noted, “A beef with the law should not be confused with a beef with the ag commissioner.”

The Ventura County Agricultural Assn. suggests that the environmental community’s attack on the use of agricultural chemicals by attempting to politicize the office of the agricultural commissioner is not in the public interest. The need for an individual with Mr. McPhail’s personal integrity, experience and knowledge of production agriculture, as well as knowledge of regulatory standards, is paramount if the needs of the farming community and the public at large are to be served.

The Board of Supervisors must not be drawn in by political activists who, through fear, misinformation and innuendo, are attempting to manipulate not only public opinion but also scientifically based policies adopted by state and federal agencies. The Board of Supervisors should fully reinstate Earl McPhail as Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner.