Burning Continued from Page 7
The legislation also provided an exemp- tion that if the county agricultural com- missioner certified a vineyard was infested with economic pests, such as viruses, the grower could burn it. That’s because sim- ply chipping and incorporating the vines into the soil could allow diseases in the woody material to carry over and infect a new vineyard. Even with the agricultural commission- er’s affirmation, the grower must still ob- tain a burn permit. The air district declares a burn day and issues permits only if it fore- casts atmospheric conditions the following day will allow for smoke dissipation, said Sheraz Gill, deputy air pollution control officer. During the winter, the district also has to factor in pollution from residential wood burning. The cause for concern are minute par- ticles known as PM 2.5, which are about 1/40th the diameter of a human hair and have been linked to respiratory problems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified the San Joaquin Valley as a PM 2.5 nonattainment area, meaning it exceeds federal thresholds. If the air dis- trict can’t bring the area into compliance, the region risks losing millions of dollars of federal funding, he said. Because the EPA continues to ratchet down the PM 2.5 threshold, Gill said the air district has had to reduce the number of burn days and burn permits the past sever- al years. Even if a grower obtains a permit, it may be for only a fraction of the overall material he or she needs to burn. Tom Murphy, who farms winegrapes and nuts with his brother, Chester, near Lodi and Farmington, recalled their ex- periences when they removed a vineyard about three or four years ago. “It was a real challenge to get burn days,” Tom Murphy said. “We had a couple hun- dred acres and would get 10 to 15 acres, and then we’d have to wait to see if there
A tractor pushes over vines and trellises while removing a vineyard. Farmers say there aren’t enough facilities to process the vineyard biomass.
was another burn day. It was very slow.” Based on how this season fares and whether wineries renew some of their contracts, Murphy said they may consid- er removing additional vineyards that are not economical. Learning about disposal options was one reason he and Chester attended the agricultural burn meeting. Aaron Lange, who heads vineyard op- erations for Lange Twins in Acampo, said he likely will remove 400 acres of vineyards after this season. Over the years, Lange Twins has worked to reduce vine mealy bug infestations and remove individual virus-infected vines. To avoid pest management setbacks,
Lange said he planned to use an air-cur- tain burner to dispose of the old vineyards. The device allows for open-air burning while reducing particulate emissions by about 80%. Because it still emits 20%, the curtain burner does not quality for air dis- trict cost-share. “We’re being very cautious about how we remove them so we’re not creating a problem for ourselves down the road,” Lange said. With low grape prices and lapsing win- ery contracts, Lange said he fears some growers may not have the money to push and remove diseased vineyards. Left in the field, the old vines could host pests—in-
cluding particularly dangerous threats— that can spread to nearby vineyards. “I’m not blaming anybody,” Lange said. “But I’m just saying the situation is really ripe to spread leafroll 3 and vitivirus, which we now know is the primary cause of sud- den vine collapse.” (Vicky Boyd is a reporter in Modesto. She may be contacted at vlboyd@att.net.)
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