I am a pear grower with a response to Dennis Jones, the newcomer who complained about spray drift. We farmers do our best to avoid such problems by spraying at times when air movement is away from the roads and by training our drivers to shut off the sprayer if they see a car coming; however, they don”t always see it in time. Because the last thing we want to do is spray a car, many of us have removed a row of trees next to the road or planted a border hedge as mitigating measures. The spray warning signs are our best way of warning car drivers that a spray is under way. It is easy to see a spray rig coming and a prudent driver will cooperate by stopping temporarily.
It is a false assumption that all sprays are “poison.” The spray that we are currently applying ? and that Mr. Jones probably encountered ? is dormant oil in a highly diluted mixture of about 42 parts water to one part oil. This mixture is certainly not poisonous. We farmers have invested heavily over the years in university research to enable us to grow our pears with as few sprays as possible, using the safest materials possible. Pears are a very difficult fruit to grow because they are susceptible to an amazing number of insect and disease problems that can either render the fruit unmarketable or kill the tree itself. Failure to apply preventative treatments will put a grower out of business.
Most people who live in Lake County recognize the important role that agriculture plays in our local economy. They willingly tolerate the noise, dust, and spray annoyances of farming because they don”t want to see our orchards replaced by houses. Newcomers to the area would do well to read our county”s Resolution No. 2003-59 adopting the “Lake County Code of the West,” which says, in part, “If you choose to live among the orchards, farms and ranches of our rural countryside, do not expect county government to intervene in the normal day-to-day operations of your agri-business neighbors.”
Diane Henderson
Kelseyville
