Environmental Stewardship Media Tour

1. Environmental Stewardship Media Tour

14. Ideas in full bloomAlmond growers work to reduce pollution By Dana NicholsRecord Staff WriterPublished Wednesday, February 23, 2005 LIVINGSTON -- Almond grower Scott Hunter normally has his hands full tracking bees and blossoms this time of year. Instead, he spent three hours Tuesday talking about pesticides and dust at his Livingston orchards. The almond industry is trying to promote an environmentally friendly image, and Hunter is a point man in the effort. "I believe we need to leave agriculture better than when we started," he told a dozen newspaper and ag-trade-magazine reporters gathered at his farm. They were there for the first Environmental Stewardship Bloom Tour, sponsored by the Almond Board of California. Some of the tour was salesmanship, including a section devoted to equipment dealers touting the dust-reducing features on their almond harvesters. But the tour was also a chance for the almond industry to get public credit for work it has been doing for years. The Almond Board has been particularly successful at helping farmers to reduce their use of various sprays referred to as "dormants," because they are used in the winter when trees are dormant. The board has poured $500,000 of its own money into environmental research and has done extensive education to help farmers find alternatives to the sprays, said Chris Heintz, director of research for the board. In the past, agricultural-extension agents recommended that almond growers routinely use dormant sprays containing powerful organophosphate chemicals such as diazinon. The sprays were used to prevent infestations of over-wintering pests such as the peach twig borer and San Jose scale. But Almond Board research found that for many farmers, the sprays were wasted money.

15. Almond Board grows environmental efforts, awarenessby Amber Edwards, Reporter/EditorStanislaus Farm NewsFeb. 25, 2005 Way out a country road in Livingston, almond trees line both sides of the road in full bloom. It’s the perfect setting for the Almond Board of California’s Environmental Stewardship Tour hosted by Hunter Farms, an opportunity to share with the media just how far reaching the efforts of the industry to help the environment are.Guests were first treated to a rundown of the industry’s leading equipment including machinery from Flory Industries, Exact Harvesting Systems and Weiss/McNair. Almond harvesting equipment is making a sure and steady effort to incorporate technology that reduces dust and emissions via regenerative air systems and more efficient sweeping. The tour continued as guests boarded a bus to take them to the ranch of hosts Will and Connie Hunter. Scott Hunter then took over and relayed the rich history of how his family came to be a huge name in Merced County almond farming. Hunter himself had envisioned a career in first professional baseball and later in marketing but eventually settled into agriculture and has found it fulfilling and challenging ever since. “The position I take is that we need to leave agriculture better than when we started. The new equipment and technology are pieces to the puzzle that will ultimately help us to be more efficient and environmentally sensitive. There are no surefire solutions but there are a lot of viable optio