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Farm Chemicals Check Out of B&B

Over half a million dollars will be available over the next two years to apply model biologically integrated farming practices that have already eliminated organophosphate pesticides from acres and acres of Merced County almond orchards to other crops. Behind the grant, funded with money from both Assembly Bill 3383 and from EPA, is the goal of finding voluntary ways to reduce farm chemical use and associated environmental impacts such as polluted runoff.

The official title of the new grant program is Biologically Integrated Farming Systems, or BIFS, and it will be administered by the U.C. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. BIFS promotes use of a model with another four-letter name, BIOS, which was developed by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers and is now considered a nationally replicable model for voluntary reduction of chemical use. The two four-letter acronyms share the "biologically integrated" in common. But BIOS has focused on orchards (that's where the "O" comes from) to date, using locally proven farming systems that emphasize cover crops, beneficial insects and other biological practices over chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

"BIOS is a template for BIFS and represents a departure from most previous ag extension models in that it relies heavily on farmer-developed practices," says the U.C. program's analyst Dr. Bob Bugg. "Farmers are the great integrators, and a lot of times they're going to be on the cutting edge.

"Early this April, the U.C. program completed a four-page request for proposals from growers associations, commodity boards, marketing cooperatives, resource conservation districts, U.C. farm advisors and other groups interested in the $585,000 grant program (the proposal deadline is July 6). The request details criteria to be used to evaluate the proposals, including whether a proposed project addresses soil fertility and pest management decisions in the context of the whole system, and how the project plans to reach out to interested farmers and agricultural consultants. Aggregate chemical reduction from each funded project will be calculated annually.

Contact: Bob Bugg (916)754-8549

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