Under clear, sunny skies, a group of VIPs last month trekked through tomato and strawberry fields getting an education on the tough challenges Florida growers face from the phase-out of the fumigant methyl bromide.

The tour was arranged by Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association and led by Dan Botts, director of FFVA’s environmental and pest management division. The group spent two days visiting fields and facilities to get a firsthand look at Florida’s efforts to come up with workable alternatives to methyl bromide.

Methyl bromide has been named by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Clean Air Act as an ozone-depleting substance and may only be used by a select group of producers. U.S. growers have been hit hard because methyl bromide is the foundation that allows plastic mulch culture of vegetables.
The guest of honor was Daniel A. Reifsnyder, deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department’s Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. The trip marked the first time a State Department representative has visited Florida for this purpose.

During a recent educational tour of Florida farms.federal officials and others listen closely as FFVA's Dan Botts (left) explains the finer points of applying fumigants.

Other guests included John Thompson, director of the Office of Environmental Policy at the State Department; Burleson Smith, Director of Pest Management Policy at USDA; Edward Ruckert of McDermott, Will & Emery who serves as counsel to the Crop Protection Coalition; and Nancy Burelle and Erin Rosskopf of the USDA’s Agriculture Research Service office in Fort Pierce.

Reifsnyder serves as head of the U.S. delegation and lead negotiator at the Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, as part of the overall effort to protect the ozone layer under authority of the United Nations Environment Programme. The group sets the rules for access to methyl bromide through Critical Use Exemptions, or CUEs. The CUE program allows methyl bromide users who have no workable alternatives to continue to obtain and use the fumigant.

“Having Mr. Reifsnyder get an up-close look at some of the challenges we’re dealing with was invaluable,” said Botts, who with FFVA’s Mike Aerts writes CUE petitions each year for tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and eggplants across the state.

Growers who hosted the group got the chance to tell the officials of their struggles even as research is taking place to identify alternatives. Jim Grainger of Grainger Farms said he welcomed the opportunity to show what growers are doing as good stewards of the environment to protect their future and continue to be successful.

“So many people think they understand our business, but they don’t,” he said, adding that he was impressed that Reifsnyder took the time out for the tour. “A lot of people are amazed at what we do and how we go about it. The line you always hear is: ‘I never realized what goes into this.’ People have to understand what’s being done behind the scenes so they can help us be successful and carry our torch. The more information someone has, the better job they can do for us, whether it’s in Orlando or Washington, D.C.”

Growers showed officials field trials such as this one where different "cocktails" of methyl bromide alternatives are being tested.

Grainger’s operation uses CUE methyl bromide and also is experimenting with some of the alternatives. Others who showed the group around or gave presentations included Joe Begley of Yoder Brothers Inc., Scott Dimare of Dimare Ruskin; Steve Godbehere, Ricky Keck and Larry Jefferies of Hendrix and Dale; and Dr. Joe Noling of the University of Florida’s IFAS and CREC.

Noling highlighted some of the research he’s leading using different types of films and combinations of fumigants. It’s important that Reifsnyder, as lead negotiator, see the science behind the issue, Noling said.

“We wanted to provide him with the scientific background from which he can negotiate the critical use nominations. That involves understanding the nature of the production system, the pests and diseases that affect yields, and the efficacy of the fumigants,” he said.

Noling and other researchers have taken a holistic approach to finding alternatives by evaluating pest management system components and how they work together.

Daniel A. Reifsnyder, deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department’s Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, says he came away from the tour with a better understanding of what Florida growers deal with on a daily basis.

“We’ve worked extremely hard since 1992 attempting to identify and evaluate all kinds of potential alternatives that go well beyond individual ‘silver bullet’ chemicals and take in non-chemical tactics,” he explained. “We’ve been looking at resistant varieties, crop-covering strategies, supplementary herbicides and soil amendments. There has easily been a couple of million dollars invested in research, and collaboration with researchers in other states, such as Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.”

Reifsnyder was clearly impressed and told the group the experience had been an eye-opening one.

“It’s our job to arm ourselves with information,” he told a group of growers and others at dinner. “It’s important for us to educate ourselves. We have to be able to explain the situation in a way that others [involved in negotiations] can understand.”

Reifsnyder said he came away with a better understanding of what Florida growers deal with on a daily basis. “The different uses of films, dosage rates and materials … There are a lot of things I didn’t appreciate before. This helps me in how I approach negotiations,” he said. “We need to show that the U.S. is part of the solution, not part of the problem.”