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December 25, 2015 CapitalPress.com 3 Study suggests nanotechnology may have unintended impact on pesticides By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Capital Press file A familiar sign bordering organic farms is shown in this photo. Oregon’s organic acreage grows, number of farms shrinks Capital Press PORTLAND — Organic acreage has surged in Oregon even as the number of organ- ic farms has shrunk in recent years, according to federal data. The total number of organ- ic farms in the state decreased 18 percent, from 657 to 525, between 2008 and 2014, ac- cording to the USDA Na- tional Agricultural Statistics Service. Meanwhile, organic acre- age nearly doubled in Oregon, from 105,600 to 204,000, the NASS report said. The agency found a sharp decline in the number of farm- ers who earn less than $25,000 in annual revenue, while the number of those with sales of more than $250,000 grew, said Dave Losh, Oregon’s state statistician for NASS. “The smaller folks are having a harder time and the larger operations are getting bigger,” Losh said, noting that the trend is occurring in over- all agriculture as well. In some cases, organic farms may not have gone out of business but opted to drop their organic certification for financial reasons, said Chris Schreiner, executive director of Oregon Tilth, an organic certifier. At the time of the survey, a USDA cost-share program that helped pay for certifica- tion costs had lapsed, so some growers decided the organic label was no longer financial- ly feasible, he said. That program has since been restored with funding from the 2014 Farm Bill. Even so, the 2008 survey was conducted shortly before the financial crisis, so some farms might have shut down during the ensuing economic downturn, said Ivan Maluski, policy director of Friends of Family Farmers, a nonprofit group. “I think the recession during that five-year window had a lot to do with it,” he said. The acreage increase is likely the result of larger con- ventional farms, as well as dairies with pasture, convert- ing to organic production due to the associated price premi- um, Maluski said. “As the organic indus- try matures, they tend to get bigger,” said Lindsey Eng, ODA’s director of market ac- cess and certification, which certifies organic farms. Oregon has the fifth high- est number of organic acres in the country, following Cal- ifornia, Montana, Wisconsin and New York. The state is also near the top of the list in sales of or- ganic farm products, with $237 million in 2014. Organic premiums have also attracted farmers who grow feed crops such as Timothy hay and alfalfa and who tend to have bigger op- erations than those growing vegetables, she said. Organic hay production in the state grew more than 20 percent, to 34,700 acres, between 2008 and 2014, according to NASS. “It’s a relatively low barri- er to entry because they grow well in Oregon without a lot of inputs,” Eng said. Organic farming states, 2014 How Oregon ranks among the top states by number of organic farms, organic acres and sales: Top 10 states by ... ... Organic farms (number) 1. Calif. 2. Wis. 3. N.Y. 4. Wash. 5. Penn. 6. Iowa 7. Vt. 8. Ohio 9. Ore. 10. Maine 2,805 1,228 917 716 679 612 542 541 525 517 ... Organic acres (thousands) 1. Calif. 2. Mont. 3. Wis. 4. N.Y. 5. Ore. 6. N.D. 7. Minn. 8. Wyo. 9. Texas 10. Idaho 687 318 229 213 204 135 could significantly reduce the amount of pesticides used on crops, according to multiple sources. But the OSU research indicates the encapsulated nanopesticides may be more toxic than expected. Harp- er and Meredith exposed the embryos of zebrafish to six progressively stronger doses of an off-the-shelf pesticide. Two groups received the dos- es in different-sized capsules; 2014 Carlton fire victims sue DNR; attorney investigates 2015 fires Capital Press 133 129 127 125 $2,231 515 313 237 201 199 164 147 125 103 cording to the National Nan- otechnology Initiative. A page of this newspaper is about 100,000 nanometers thick. Scientists believe that shrinking the size of pesti- cide droplets and encapsuliz- ing them in biodegradable plastic provides better sur- face area coverage on crops, more efficient pest control and, because of the capsule, longer-lasting, time-released protection. That combination By DAN WHEAT ... Organic sales ($ millions) 1. Calif. 2. Wash. 3. Penn. 4. Ore. 5. Wis. 6. Texas 7. N.Y. 8. Colo. 9. Mich. 10. Iowa Courtesy of Oregon State University Stacey Harper, who has dual appointments in OSU’s agriculture and engineering programs, is testing the toxicity of nano-pesti- cides. Source: USDA NASS Alan Kenaga/ Capital Press Oregon’s acreage growth has bucked a national trend, as overall U.S. organic acre- age contracted nearly 10 per- cent to 3.7 million acres be- tween 2008 and 2014. Regulatory problems were considered the primary pro- duction challenge nationally, with 34 percent of organic growers naming regulatory problems as their top concern. Laura Masterson, an or- ganic farmer and chair of the Oregon Board of Agriculture, said she was surprised that the number of organic farmers had dropped and that growers were worried about regulatory problems. “When the price is in the right place, a lot of those production challenges are re- solved,” she said. OKANOGAN, Wash. — An attorney who has filed a lawsuit against the state De- partment of Natural Resources for its handling of the 2014 Carlton fire is investigating claims regarding the 2015 Chelan and Okanogan fires. Alex Thomason, an attor- ney in Brewster and Seattle, said he has talked to dozens of victims of the 2015 fires interested in suing and is look- ing for more information from people who think they have claims of negligence in the ways fires were fought or not fought. “We need eyewitnesses and people who lost property. They may or may not have legal basis for a claim, but we will investigate,” Thomason said, adding people should contact him at his Brewster office at 509-689-3471. On Nov. 17, Thomason and attorneys with the Seattle law firm of Pfau Cochran Verte- tis and Amala, filed a lawsuit of behalf of plaintiffs David and Deannis Schulz and John Clees in Okanogan County Su- perior Court. The lawsuit claims the state Department of Natu- ral Resources was negligent in failing to fight the Golden Hike fire, one of four fires in the Methow Valley started by lightning the morning of July 14, 2014, that merged and be- came known as the Carlton Complex fire. The fire burned 256,108 acres, caused two deaths, killed about 980 cattle, destroyed 277 primary resi- dences, 50 cabins, 500 miles Dan Wheat/Capital Press Kent Stokes checks ear tag of cow killed in Finley Canyon near Twisp, Wash., in the Carlton Complex fire in July 2014. The Stokeses lost 250 head of cattle and 90 percent of their grazing but are not part of the lawsuit against the state. of fencing, millions of board feet of timber and thousands of acres of grazing for several years. Claims from more than 200 people total more than $75 mil- lion, Thomason has said. Ini- tially, he planned one class-ac- tion lawsuit, but instead filed on behalf of the Schulzes and Clees. If that is successful it will establish state liability on the rest of the claims, he said. The party with the single greatest losses, but not party to the lawsuit or claims against DNR, is the Gebbers fami- ly with the death of patriarch Danny Gebbers and estimated losses in timber, cattle, fences and orchards of $15.4 million to $17.8 million. The lawsuit states the Gold- en Hike fire initially was con- fined to a few acres on DNR land and surrounding residents promptly notified the DNR of the fire’s existence and loca- tion. Despite early notice, DNR was “negligent in responding” and when it did respond “was negligent in containing the fire,” the lawsuit states. The agency abandoned fire lines early in an evening and did not return until morning, refused the assistance of local residents and volunteers who knew the geography and failed to keep all available equipment and personnel on fire lines, the suit states. Joyce Capital, Inc. In agriculture, nothing is certain. Your interest rate should be. We offer competitive interest rates for your agricultural financing needs: • Term agricultural loans (purchases & refinances) • FSA Preferred Lender • Amortizations up to 25 years CONTACT: Kevin Arrien, or Joe Lodge at Joyce Capital, Inc. Agricultural Loan Agents (208) 338-1560 • Boise, ID joe@arrien.biz 52-4/#17 ROP-32-52-2/#17 By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Researchers believe nan- otechnology is changing agriculture and many other industries, but in some cas- es our ability to manipulate molecule-sized bits of mate- rial may be jumping ahead of what we know about the impact. An ongoing nanopesticide study at Oregon State Uni- versity showed encapsulated particles of pesticide were more toxic to laboratory fish embryos than the pesticide’s active ingredient alone. The results raise questions about nanopesticide toxicity, the ef- fect of encapsulation, applica- tion rates, handling, labeling and how nanopesticides may persist in soil and water. Environmental toxicolo- gist Stacey Harper and OSU doctoral student Alicea Mer- edith are conducting the re- search. Harper said compa- nies using nanotechnology to manufacture pesticides should be aware their product might be behaving differently than expected. Harper said her advice to pesticide producers is “Pro- ceed with caution and try to understand how applying that technology to the formulation may alter what you think you know about that ingredient.” Harper said the majority of pesticides produced today contain nano-sized material that has been engineered and encapsulated. The scale is in- credibly small. For reference, there are about 25 million nanometers in an inch, ac- a control group received the same doses but in an uncap- sulized version of the pesti- cide’s active ingredient. The fish embryos over five days showed the effect of pesticide poisoning, with mal- formations, tremors, paralysis and death, according to an OSU news release. But expo- sure to the active ingredient alone, without encapsulation, was “significantly less toxic.” Researchers use zebrafish because they are translucent and it’s easier to spot mal- formations or other internal damage. Harper said the toxicity finding was a surprise. The EPA tests active ingredients for toxicity, but doesn’t test the commercial, encapsulated products. As a result, toxicity screenings may underestimate the environmental impact of pesticides, according to OSU. Harper said she recently talked to EPA regulators about the agency’s risk assessment and they indicated additional scrutiny might be necessary. “So that’s great, as far as I’m concerned,” she said. Harper said the “next big thing” in nanopesticide re- search is how they transport through the soil and into aquatic systems. Researchers say nanotech- nology could have multiple uses in agriculture and food systems. Food packaging, for example, could be engineered to detect contamination. Harper’s research is fund- ed by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agricul- ture and by OSU’s Agricultur- al Research Foundation. 52-1/#18