PRESS :: Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 3003

Stanislaus Walnut BIOS Growers Yield Favorable Results

A recently completed two-year project demonstrated that farmers can maintain high yields at lower expense while reducing pesticide use. The Community Alliance with Family Farmersê Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) project for walnut growers in Stanislaus County encourages farmers to reduce overall use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers that might run off into the San Joaquin River and its tributaries. With extensive weekly orchard monitoring, technical assistance and field days, the enrolled growers were able to significantly improve the impact of their orchard on the natural environment while maintaining competitive yields.

This project is a collaborative partnership of CAFF, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors, farmers and other biological farming experts. BIOS growers are implementing ecologically sound farming methods such as cover cropping, composting, and habitat management while either eliminating or reducing pesticides, creating a –whole systems” approach to orchard management. Recent research demonstrates that cover crops significantly reduce pesticide runoff and irrigation-induced sedimentation. They also offer food and habitat to beneficial insects, and add nitrogen to the soil.

Recent analysis of the project indicates favorable results. The BIOS grower survey showed a 41% reduction in synthetic nitrogen fertilizers over a two-year period. The orchard monitor routinely informed growers about the presence of pests and beneficial insects, enabling them to make timely choices to reduce or eliminate pesticides. This was a cost-cutting measure for the growers.

Besides farming in closer harmony with the natural environment, the Walnut BIOS growers, on the whole, are producing prime crop yields with minimal nut damage. Their yields per acre ã 3,902 pounds in 2001 and 2,699 pounds in 2002, averaging 3,300 pounds per year over the two-year period ã compare favorably with the statewide average of 2,500 pounds per year.

Interest in native plant hedgerows was sparked among walnut BIOS growers at a field day in the spring of 2002. At this event, growers learned about hedgerows and grassed waterways ã from site planning to establishing uniquely appropriate native plants and estimating costs. This project is demonstrating the many benefits of hedgerows and grassed waterways, including reducing soil erosion, creating aesthetic borders that attract predator insects and providing habitat corridors that protect wildlife.

For further information you may contact CAFFês Biological Agriculture Project Director, Mark Cady, at (530) 756-8518, ext. 20 or via email at mark@caff.org.