1. August 2008 Organic Agriculture and Pesticide Drift Michael L. White and Kathleen Delate Modified by Georgia Agriculture Education Curriculum Office

2. August 2008 What is organic agriculture? “Organic agriculture uses naturally occurring amendments for fertilization and pest control. Fields must be free from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for a minimum of 3 years. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) are not allowed. Animals grown organically feed on organic grains and pasture. Synthetic hormones or antibiotics are restricted. The foods are processed, packaged and distributed without the use of synthetic pesticides, artificial preservatives or irradiation.”

3. August 2008 Organic history Most food and fiber prior to 1940 was organic Organic crop production is now a $4.2 billion industry in the U.S. 1989-1996 saw a 20% annual growth rate in the U.S. Certified organic acres in Iowa –1996 - 21,733 –1997 - 62,000 –1998 - 100,000 +

4. August 2008 Organic agriculture laws U.S. Organic Food Production Act of 1990 –Rules out by 2000? Iowa Food Production Act of 1988 - Code of Iowa Chapter 190C –Law rewritten in 1998 to establish state certification requirements

5. August 2008 Certification Crops must be certified organic by 1 of 6 organic agencies in Iowa Cropping records for a minimum of 3 yrs, preferably 5 yrs. Field or farm organic for past 3 years Organic farm plan Use a crop rotation 3 out of 4 years Audit trail of production, input, harvest, storage, sales and transportation

6. August 2008 Pesticide drift Against the law Accidental pesticide drift can result in loss of a high value crop for 3 years Pesticide residue analysis is expensive

7. August 2008 Droplet size vs. drift distance *Dv0.5,  m Source: Herbicide Spray Drift, NDSU Extension

8. August 2008 IDALS drift case examples Command ® drift on organic garden in 1997 resulted in $755 civil penalty and unknown damage claim to organic producer. Custom applicator accidentally sprayed outside 2 rounds of a 49 acre organic oats field in spring of 1998. Case has not been resolved.

9. August 2008 Drift precautions 25 to 30 foot buffer strip required but wider is recommended Post “CERTIFIED ORGANIC” signs Know your neighbors Read the label Know wind direction and speed Use nozzles producing larger droplets Avoid volatile herbicides –2,4-D –clopyralid (Stinger ® ) –dicamba (Banvel ®, Clarity ® )

10. August 2008 Other options Drift retardants Cultivation instead of postemerge spraying Pesticide-free crop rows adjacent to organic buffer areas Pesticide-free forage crops next to organic crops Enroll buffer areas into CRP, wetland reserve or forestry reserve Other ideas?

11. August 2008 Report drift complaints to: Chuck Eckermann Chief, Pesticide Bureau Iowa Dept. of Ag & Land Stewardship Henry A. Wallace Building Des Moines, IA 50319 (515) 281-8591

12. August 2008 Organic information Maury C. Wills IDALS - Organic Food Production and Certification (515) 281-5783 maury.wills@ idals.state.ia.us Kathleen Delate Iowa State University Organic Crops Specialist (515) 294-7069 x1delate@ exnet.iastate.edu