permaculture

[Victor Guest <vic@daena.eepo.com.au>]

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From: jvickery@iatp.org (John Vickery)
To: Multiple recipients of list <ag-impact@freedom.mtn.org>
Subject: pesticide EIA news & response digest to IFP query
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X-Comment:  Agricultural and Environmental Impact list

Colleagues:  I recently posted a message with background info on Integrated
Fruit Production, a request for info. on the process used to assign
pesticides to one of the three or four IFP rating categories, and an offer
to send a brief bibliography of IFP papers.  Following some "news" is a
digest of responses that included info. that might be of interest to other
ag-impacters.  

I will soon post a follow-up message concerning the IFP pesticide rating
criteria and process.

NEWS

1.  Chuck Benbrook has graciously offered to post a revised version of my
IFP description at the Pest Management at the Crossroads website:
http://www.pmac.net    The IFP description is not on yet, but the site has
many items of interest for those working in IPM, envirolabels for food, and
IPM measurement and assessment.  

2.   I highly recommend the most comprehensive document to date on EIA for
pesticides by Lois Levitan at Cornell University.  Thanks to Chuck
Benbrook, it has just been posted at the PMAC site.  The citation is:

Levitan, L. 1997. An overview of pesticide impact assessment systems based
on indexing or ranking pesticides by environmental impact. (5/19/97 revised
draft) prepared for the Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development Workshop on Pesticide Risk Indicators, April 21-24, 1997,
Copenhagen, Denmark. 
Available at http://www.pmac.net/loisbig.htm]

3. Another important paper for the pesticide EIA community has also
available just posted at the PMAC site.  This is a prepublication version
submitted by fellow Ag-Impacter, Hayo Van Der Werf.  The citation:
Hayo M.G. van der Werf & Christophe Zimmer. Version 23 May 1997.  An
indicator of pesticide environmental impact based on a fuzzy expert system. 
The URL http://www.pmac.net/benbfuz1.htm

************************************************************************
IFP PESTICIDE EIA RESPONSE DIGEST

from Meriel Watts       m.watts@auckland.ac.nz

Re your request for a material ratings list for pesticides: there is one
currently under development in New Zealand, but not due for completion for
some time yet - contact Dr Jim Walker at Hort+Research
(jwalker@hort.cri.nz).

****************

from Bill Coli  wcoli@umext.umass.edu

The info I received from Ernst Boller (currently the guy in charge of IOBC
IP Certification) indicated that the criteria that needed to be taken into
account re: red, yellow, green pesticides, were not prioritized. That is,
they all needed to be taken into account. I have one reference that
mentions that "all insecticides, acaricides and fungicides registered in
Switzerland for use in viticulture have been tested with respect to their
toxicity to T. pyri and/or A. aberrans" (the 2 main predatory mites
present). He goes on to say "these tests are conducted in the field by
specialists of the two Swiss Federal Research Stations at Wadenswil and
Changins on a  voluntary basis."  He goes on " We also are participating in
the activities of the IOBC working group on "Pesticides and Benficial
Organisms" that is systematically testing pesticides with respect to their
side effects."
        He gives two references: Boller, E. 1985. Die Frielandprufung der
Neberwirkung von Pestiziden auf Raubmilben im ostscheizerischen Weinbau.
Schweiz. Z. Obst-Weinbau 121: 322-325, and Guignard, E. 
Anonin, Ph. & Baillod, M. 1984. Efficacite et effets secondaires des
insecticides utilises contre les vers de grape (Effectiveness and secondary
effects of insecticides used against grape pests). Rev. suisse Vitic.
Arboric. Hrotic. 16: 338-346. In addition, he refers to work of Hassan et
al. 1985, titled: Standard methods to test the side effects of pesticides
on natural enemies of insects and mites developed by the IOBC/WPRS Working
Group "Pesticides and Beneficial Organisms". Bull. OEPP/EPPO 15: 214-255.
The paper these are in is by E.F. Boller. The ecosystem approach to plan
and implement Integrated Plant Protection in viticulture in eastern
Switzerland. in:  Proceedings of joint CEC/IOBC symposium "Plant protection
problems and prospects of integrated control in viticulture" Lisbon,
Portugal, 6-9 July, 1988. p. 607-617.
        Elsewhere in the paper he says " The Swiss list 1988 of pesticides
authorized in viticulture exhibiting low toxicity to the predator
mites...contains 23 fungicides, 8 acaricides and 5 insecticides. The 
side effects of these pesticides on other non target organisms have been
documented recently but need further investigations."
        In another piece from Ernst (Checklist for the endorsement of
regional/national guidelines for IP of pome fruits in Europe), setion
10.3.1 asks "are the following pesticides forbidden, permitted with
limitations, or permitted in the guidelines". Listed are "pesticides with
high human toxicity (Per. with Limits gets 0 points, permitted gets -3
points). Pyrethroids are unacceptable if PWL or P, as are "very persistent
insecticides (organochlorines)"  Similar negative points (but not
Unacceptable) are given for Benzimidizole or EBDC fungicides, and for sulfur.
        Hence, it seems like, specialists do tests (as in US), to determine
negative effects (regarding the criteria in the general guidelines, and a
working group develops the red, yellow or green designation.

 ***********************************

From: Hayo van der Werf         vdwerf@colmar.inra.fr

Like you, I am interested in certification, both certification of products
and of farms. I recently received a 1993 report by CLM in the Netherlands
which supplies a materials ratings list for pesticides for an Integrated
Fruit (apples and pears) Production and information about the PROCESS used
to assign pesticides to the three environmental impact categories. They use
Dutch government criteria and the "pesticide yardstick" to assign
pesticides to categories. However, the report is in Dutch . . .

 . . .  In particular I am interested in a "typology" of certification
approaches as you start to develop a little bit in the text you posted. I
just started looking into these matters and have not found much yet . . .
*********************************************

from: Franklin R. Hall  hall.1@pop.service.ohio-state.edu

I also have an ASAE paper out on Coupling Environmental Costs etc, which
also addresses these same problems  . . . Hall, F. l996.  Coupling
Cost/Benefit/Environmental Risk Assessment Models for Decision Makers:  An
Overview of the the Opportuntities.  ASAE paper No. 961034, ASAE Ann Mtg,
Phoneix, AZ. l996.
And you should be aware of the recent Oskam et al editing of the Pesticides
Workshop notes (EU) recently released - pesticide policy. We do not have
certification programs for IFP in the US and except that in Mass, you might
check on Cal, but I doubt they exist except in Europe who are further ahead
on this.  Note that fruit brokers will be glad to espouse any so-called
IPM, etc program in order to attain price advantages and which growers will
be quick to grab onto - regardless of the verbage  on "IPM" etc practices.
Commercial processors on the other hand do require contracting growers to
adhere to specific practices which embody some aspects of BMPs, IPM, etc.,
but are still at risk from "worms in the can" complaint feedback from the
consumers.  

David Manktelow, Horticulture in NZ was working in this
area in apples and may have data for you --- old address is
DManktelow@HORT.CRI.NZ.

Arie Oskam in Wageningen is the contact for the workshop Proceedings on
Pesticides.  Address I have is:  Arie.Oskam@ALG.AAE.WAU.NL  He is also
looking for an electronic db on plant protection policy - is there such
available?  

*************************************

From: Philippa Rowland  pcr@mailpc.brs.gov.au

I am sure you must be aware of the Wegmans's IPM labelling 
excercise going on in New York State and Pennsylvania, with IPM elements
developed by Kovach and Petzoldt from Cornell.

Other classifications I'm aware of include the Dutch Agri-Environmental
certification, based on the Environmental Yardstick for Pesticides
developed by Joost Reus and others from the Centre for Agriculture and the
Environment in Utrecht - although at the time I visited them in 1995 they
were only certifying a first run of grain, onions and one other crop which
escapes me at the moment. In Australia, Les Penrose has done a considerable
amount of work developing integrated pest and disease management protocols
for the pome fruit industry and has been trialling his Pest-Decide rating
index on farms for over a year.  . . . His pesticide rating index sounds
like what you're after, combining efficacy with environmental impact.

There is increasing interest in this area of certification and quality
assurance in Australia also, with approaches varying from full-blown ISO
14000 certification to more general on-farm HACCP programs.

I have attached a small snippet from IPMnetNEWS about a recent Pesticide
Risk Reduction Workshop held in Canberra, Yours sincerely

         * Australian Sessions Discuss Crop Protection *
                    -------------------------
        Representatives of federal, state, and local government plus
farmer, industry, consumer, and environmental groups attended a national
pesticide risk reduction workshop at Canberra in April.
"The agreement reached by all the major stakeholders involved with
pesticides," said agricultural scientist and workshop co- organizer P.C.
Rowland, "will greatly enhance efforts to minimize risks posed by pesticide
use."
    An interim advisory group has been formed to provide advice to the
national government on further development of the draft National Strategy
for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals.  The strategy will include
elements such as: pest management techniques that minimize pesticide use,
introduction of safer products and application methods, and other related
environmental and human safety concerns.

*********************************************************************

End digest.


John Vickery, Program Associate
Environment & Agriculture
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy
2105 1st Ave., S.
Minneapolis, MN  55404-2505
612-870-3430;  FAX -4846
jvickery@iatp.org
http://www.iatp.org/iatp