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  • From: "Liz Pike" <liz AT marketfarming.com>
  • To: "market farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Fw: Background story re: Quote of the Day (Iowa)
  • Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 22:16:31 -0400


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ericka" <doodles AT netins.net>
To: "Liz Pike" <liz AT marketfarming.com
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2001 7:38 PM
Subject: Background story re: the Quote of the Day (Iowa)


> Dear Liz, Cissy, Virginia, Mary, Katie, Tommy & Marcus -
>
> Thanks much for your good words & support. Your notes have surely cheered
me up today. (So did that fact that my new order of "Do Not Spray" signs
> finally came in yesterday and I spent most of today packing and shipping
> them - along with every bit of "how to protect yourself from drift" info.
I
> have - to organic farmers& gardeners all over the country.) I pasted all
of
> your great questions and comments below... thought it'd be fun to share -
> so, to clarify re: this piece of incredible nonsense -
>
> "It's none of my business, but what made y'all think you could plop down
> here in the middle of farm country and do organic farming?"
>
> Sandy, Secretary, Crop Production Services, Belle Plaine, Iowa
> 5/3/2001- 9 am.
>
> This is an *exact quote* which was part of a conversation I had on the
phone
> this morning while the chemical applicator company concerned was busy
trying
> to answer a question I had regarding the pre-emergent herbicide
Guardsman -
> which at that moment they were spraying on the corn fields (70 acres) to
the
> southeast of our farm, wind SSE at 8 mph. ("a restricted use herbicide due
> to ground and surface water concerns"):
>
> Active Ingredients:
> Dimethenamid* (2-chloro-N-[(1-methyl-2-methoxy)ethyl]-N-(2,4-
> dimethyl-thien-3-yl)-acetamide) - 24.8%
> Atrazine* (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropyl-amino-s-triazine) - 28.4%
> Inert Ingredients:** - 46.8%
> Total - 100.0%
> * contains 2.33 pounds of dimethenamid and 2.67 pounds of (atrazine) per
> gallon
> ** contains petroleum distillates
>
> (Their 70 acres of soybeans are right next to us to the south... watch
out,
> more to come!)
>
> My totally unprepared (and rather stupified) answer to her question was,
> "Well, we found a farm we liked and bought it... and organic farming is
> FARMING, isn't it? We just didn't realize that we'd subject to chemical
> trespass here."
>
> Sandy said, "Well, that's what YOU like to call it."
>
> I replied, "No, that's what it is. There are laws & legal restrictions
> regarding agricultural chemical application, and that's why there are Iowa
> Department of Land Stewardship Pesticide Division complaints,
> investigations, convictions, warning letters, monetary penalties (hardly!)
> and private (no-win) lawsuits. Chemical trespass is illegal here. We have
> the right to keep our property chemical free, no matter how we choose to
> farm. Nice talking to you... Goodbye."
>
> (The paranthetical bits I thought to myself but didn't dare speak aloud.)
>
> At that point I had found the information I needed re: Guardsman on the
> internet as I waited on the phone - the farm management company was still
> waiting for their "sales rep." to locate a label in their warehouse with
the
> current application information I requested, so I hung up.
>
> I have a boat-load of other answers I could have given her which of course
> I've thought of since (ie: "Well, that's what my great-grandparents did
when
> they moved here from Norway and Germany..."), but that was the answer that
> immediately came to mind and out of my mouth... Believe it or not, this is
a
> company we have a so-called "good" communications relationship with. The
> land is owned by an investor in Arkansas & the chain of command is LONG.
We
> bought our property from that same investor in '96 through a local realtor
> relative of theirs. (They still think we're from New York... WRONG - but
we
> did learn how to speak up for ourselves there...)
>
> What preceded that part of our conversation was my having to remind her
that
> we already had one conviction against them (May '98 - Guardsman), as well
as
> a pending investigation (Aug. '00 - Sevin), thus my suggestion that it
would
> be a good idea for them to make sure that their application this morning
was
> legal and did not affect our property, as we did not want to have to file
> another drift complaint.
>
> By the way (& Praise Be To Jesus!) our OCIA organic certificate finally
came
> in the mail last week, and this past Tuesday I sent both OCIA headquarters
> and our ROA all of our exciting new information, minus the still-pending
> second investigation results (the Furadan investigation has concluded,
> residue & conviction... a warning letter, in other words) and minus the
> results from the perennial plant samples I sent to the lab in Oregon to be
> tested for systemic residue this past week (finally had enough re-growth
> available to harvest for the sample needed to test).
>
> So, hard come, easy go, eh? At least I know now that I'm qualified to be
an
> bonified certified organic farmer (if there is no outside interference for
3
> years). Though our organic certification was short-lived, it was truly a
> relief and an honor to receive the actual certificate and good reports
after
> 4+ years of very hard work & intense record-keeping, which will continue.
>
> Thanks again for being with us through this. We're hanging in, but I tell
> you - it isn't easy or fun. The Midwest Anti-Drift Coalition is here to
> stay... whether or not we ever make it as organic farmers, we'll keep on
> doing what we can to help others like us stay alive & afloat. Rich is in
> Minnesota right now picking up our new honeybees so we can rebuild our
dead
> apiary.
>
> If you know anyone who would like this story, feel free to share it. We
have
> no secrets.
>
> xox,
> E.






  • Fw: Background story re: Quote of the Day (Iowa), Liz Pike, 05/03/2001

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