Fruit and vegetable growers have a unique opportunity to adopt innovative practices—with part of the cost picked up by the federal government. To qualify, the practices must address resource conservation. The good news is many fruit and vegetable production practices such as integrated pest management can enhance resource conservation so growers can put together a strong application for these federal programs. The government is also reaching out to encourage more specialty crop growers to apply

The encouragement comes from EQIP, the Environmental Quality Incentive Program first implemented under the 1996 Farm Bill. Funding was beefed up under the 2002 bill. Last year, about $13 million came to Michigan and about the same is expected this year.

Visitors get a look at a new agrichemical containment facility at Altonen Orchards.

At Altonen Orchards near Elk Rapids, John and Brian Altonen signed an EQIP contract to build three agrichemical containment facilities (one at each of their widely separated farm locations) and to implement practices such as installing sod centers for erosion control and mulching trees as part of a nutrient management plan.

At Todd Greiner’s farm near Hart, Todd signed on to install a grassed waterway, travel lanes, a windbreak, a spray building and IPM practices.

In both cases, the local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) District Conservationists played large roles in helping them participate.

Brian Altonen credits Pepper Bromelmeier, the NRCS District Conservationist in Antrim and Kalkaska Counties, who admits to being a strong advocate for “her farmers” and working hard to find ways to help them qualify.

“It’s tough to get a contract now with just one practice,” she said. Fruit and vegetable farmers compete with livestock producers who want to build manure containment facilities or put in fence and water for grazing systems and with crop producers who want to change tillage systems. But because horticulture is so complex, there are lots of ways to accumulate the points needed for a successful application. Bromelmeier makes sure her clients know all their options for point-building practices.

In the same way, Todd worked with Oceana County NRCS District Conservationist Mark Kelly. Kelly walked Todd’s 400-acre farm and pointed out where EQIP-funded projects would apply.

The Altonens were already well along on adopting IPM practices, which are a good source of points. Eight years ago, they hired an IPM scout, Mark Doherty with HortSystems, Inc., who traps to identify pests, monitors weather information on growing degree days and wetting periods and recommends when to spray and what are the least-damaging spray materials for pest control. The Altonens use two Smart Sprayers that sense presence and absence of foliage and turns spray nozzles on and off accordingly.

Mark sits on the foundation board at the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Station and feels a high degree of “ownership” of Michigan State University’s weather monitoring system. He uses web sites like MIfruit.com and PestNet (Editors note: these services now available since 2006 at www.enviroweather.msu.edu), which keep growers informed about wetting periods that affect scab and fireblight and growing degree days that mirror insect development.

Still, together, Doherty and Bromelmeier found new things Altonen Orchards could try, much of it based on research by MSU specialists and the staff at the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station.

Sod centers composed of mixed grasses and legumes are a practice EQIP pays for. Not only do sod alleys reduce soil erosion, they provide habitat for beneficial mites and insects and trap and release nutrients. Legumes in the mix produce nitrogen that benefits the grass without the need for added N fertilizer.

As a part of a “Pest Management” plan, producers can mulch their trees. Mulch suppresses weeds that would otherwise require herbicide applications and can be managed as part of a nutrition program using slow-release materials. The mulch the Altonens put down was legume hay, which is richer in nutrients than straw or wood chips. As the legumes break down, they provide additional nutrients to the trees.

Mating disruption is a practice EQIP encourages because pheromones have less impact on the environment than pesticides for insect control.

“I appreciate Pepper’s approach,” Brian said. “She has the attitude, ‘How can I help you qualify?’ and suggests new things. I can guarantee you, if I had to do the paperwork by myself this building wouldn’t be here now.” We were all standing in a new 40- x 40-foot pesticide containment facility, which has a bowl-shaped concrete floor coated with an epoxy sealant and a concrete trench in the center covered by a grate. In the event of a pesticide spill while filling a sprayer or moving a container, all the spilled material can be recovered—rather than contaminating a well or percolating though the soil and into groundwater.

EQIP contracts can be for up to 3 years and offer financial incentives often at 50 percent of the cost to implement. The Altonens have more than 300 acres of fruit and vegetables and maintain a roadside market for about a third of their sales. They raise squash, pumpkins, asparagus and strawberries, and tree fruits include sweet and tart cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, pears and more than 20 varieties of apples. Some of their fruit is sold to Gerber Products.

Brian Altonen discusses the apple crop with Mark Dorherty of HortSystems, Inc.

Greiner’s 400 acres include 125 of asparagus plus sweet and tart cherries, peaches, pumpkins and evergreens. He says he’s wanted to do more scouting and “really needed the spray shed.” It only takes one unguarded moment to overfill a sprayer and contaminate the ground with pesticide.

Working with Kelly, Greiner devised a plan that included:

• A grassed waterway for an eroding hillside with seeps that need to be shaped, drained and seeded.
• A windbreak of Imperial Carolina poplar to improve pollination in a young orchard and shield fruit from bruising.
• Travel lanes in three areas that were steep and eroding and that needed to be reshaped and graveled.
• IPM practices that would be carried out by a scout who will monitor fruit and vegetables to improve timing of spray applications for insects, diseases and weeds.
• A spray building, called an ACF or agrichemical containment facility with a floor designed to hold 750 gallons as “secondary containment” if a first container, the sprayer or pesticide tank, is damaged or overflows. “It also provides a safe place to power wash the sprayer so the wash water can be recovered with a sump pump and properly disposed of away from the well,” Kelly said.

While Kelly worked closely with Greiner in developing the EQIP plan, it was Greiner who made the first move. “We had a public meeting sponsored by MSU Extension on EQIP last winter and about 20 farmers showed up,” Kelly said. “He indicated his interest. We made an appointment. I visited his farm and the plan evolved from there.”

Back to top

"Farming is in my blood. It's where I belong," says Paul Hubbell, a fruit grower in Grand Traverse County.

Hubbell grew up in farming and left for only a brief time before making it his career. He is part of a 300-acre family operation that produces cherries and apples. In July 2003, the business expanded to an on-site farm market and seems successful so far.

Traps help monitor pests in cherry orchards.

To leave the land a better place for his children, as well as protect his business, Hubbell is involved in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The program is a voluntary federal program administered by USDA NRCS that supports the use of structural and land management practices by growers on their land. The aim is to address key resource concerns and to improve the farm's economic outlook at the same time. Hubbell received EQIP funds to start a scouting program several years ago and has continued with the practice since the funding ended.

"I used to spray by the Fruit Calendar every seven days. Then someone mentioned how much money they saved by scouting, which is a key element to IPM. We thought we would give it a shot and right away we could see the benefit. One important part of IPM is the weather. We use weather data to help us manage things like apple scab, leaf spot - basically all major insects and fungal diseases. We can't live without scouting now because of its economical value," says Hubbell.
After Hubbell's scout, Mark Doherty, looks through the orchard and finds the problem areas, he gives a written report to Hubbell. Decisions are based on what Doherty finds and what the Hubbell family concludes is best for the farm.

"One of the main reasons to use IPM is because every year it gets harder and harder to farm with so many pesticides being removed from the market. I decided I wanted people to know that I wasn't just spraying to spray. I was practicing IPM and showing people I care about what we put out there. I'm not going to spray something that will hurt my family and neighbors, and I want people to know that," comments Hubbell. "My advice for someone who is not already involved with EQIP is that they should think really hard about it. It's a great program because they evaluate your farm and help you improve. You can really learn a lot."

Changes to the Farm Bill in 2002 are intended to make the EQIP program more accessible than ever. For example, contract lengths shortened from 5 to 10 years to 1 to 5 years, and funding increased. A fundamental aim of the new Farm Bill is to give farmers the opportunity to optimize environmental benefits and improve their farm's production.

This weather station is similar to the one used on Hubbell's farm. To get current data from the weather station nearest you, visit: www.enviroweather.msu.edu

Besides the scouting practices, the Hubbells also built an agrichemical containment facility and installed a windbreak on their farm using cost sharing from EQIP and other related programs. Both have been wonderful additions and would have been cost prohibitive without EQIP.

Growers who are interested in EQIP should contact their NRCS district conservationist to discuss potential options. The district conservationist will help target important environmental concerns on the farm and recommend ways they can be addressed. This process is at the heart of a "conservation plan" and includes practices like IPM or structural changes like updating a fuel tank loading area. Items in the conservation plan are considered for partial payment through EQIP and other programs.

"Being in the EQIP program has been a piece of cake for us. They give you recommendations and you go with it. There is nothing that would turn me away from it and my dad would say the same. We want to be a part of something that works so well," says Hubbell. "I want to leave my land a better place for my children, and these changes can help us achieve that."

A windbreak is one way that EQIP promotes cost-sharing farms.

Back to top

New technology often boasts of improved ways of doing things. The challenge is to determine which technological advances serve your purposes and how to afford its implementation and use. Dick Walsworth is one farmer who has taken advantage of the EQIP Program to materialize the technology that is environmentally and financially beneficial for his farm.

Walsworth and his son farm 900 acres of asparagus, alfalfa, small grain and corn. Walsworth's wife, Marcia, worked as a school bus driver for the first ten years to help with living expenses. Since then, Walsworth has built up the acreage and it has become their major source of income.
Because he knew that some things needed to change to be more productive, the idea of sharing some of the costs with EQIP made it seem too good to pass up. Walsworth applied and received funds from EQIP for scouting two or three years when he heard about the program around 1998.

"If you farm commercially, you have to use chemicals. But you have to be prudent. People think that we just spray whatever we want at whatever rate we want. But that's just not true. We would go broke if that were the case. I spray when there are pests that need to be controlled," comments Walsworth.

Scouting helps maintain control of pests in fields. For example, Walsworth keeps an eye on asparagus beetle and sprays only when he needs to.

Dick Walsworth explains how EQIP helped pay for improvements on his farm such as the new fuel storage.

Many people think of farming in terms of food and livestock. A quick look outdoors shows us that the landscape and nursery industry is an important part of our economy and environment. Mike Yancho is a nursery grower who realizes how his production practices affect everyone around him and has become involved in the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP).

Mike Yancho demonstrates how the nurse tank can fill the sprayer in the field.

Trim Pines Farm is a 100-acre, family-owned business that has been selling locals Christmas trees and evergreens for their landscapes since 1976. Mike Yancho has been running Trim Pines Farm since his father, George Yancho, passed the reins to him. George remains an important part of the business by scouting trees for pests and helping to make decisions regarding integrated pest management.

“We’re a close group of people here. Not only are my son and my daughter with me every day, but I also have a strong emotional attachment to all of my employees’. Even my 5-year-old granddaughter is part of the business. She has her own set of garden tools and her own garden,” said Mike Yancho.

Because everyone plays an important role to help keep the business running smoothly, and he cares about those working with him, Yancho has been looking for ways to improve the nursery financially and environmentally. That is why about six years ago he applied to EQIP.

EQIP is a federal program administered by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that supports the use of structural and land management practices by growers on their land. The aim is to address key resource concerns and to improve the farm’s economic outlook at the same time.

The program was first implemented in the 1996 Farm Bill. Today, it is more accessible than ever with increased funding, which is just one of the significant changes that went into effect in 2002. For example, contract lengths shortened from 5 to 10 years to 1 to 5 years, and funding increased. A fundamental aim of the new Farm Bill is to give farmers the opportunity to optimize environmental benefits while improving their farm’s production.

When Jay Blair, Genesee County district conservationist, approached Yancho they found several potential upgrades for Trim Pines Farm. The first was a nurse tank to use when mixing pesticides. The advantages of having this device include keeping the filling of pesticide application equipment away from wells and ponds. And rotating the mixing and loading station from place to place to avoid a build up of possible contamination. The tank also has additional unintended uses. It can be used for watering trees during times of drought and emergency fire protection.

Yancho explains how the nurse tank operates.

“We have been able to practice better IPM with the nurse tank and save money in the long run. We can fill the nurse tank up from the well and then take the water to the various sprayers, right where they are working. We can mix right in the field where we are making the application. Also, when just a few newly planted trees are under drought stress, we just fill the tank with water and spot water the places with the most problems. This keeps us from using a full irrigation system and requires less manpower. Also, when the trees are under the additional stress, pest problems become a factor. It’s a good cultural practice to have the nurse tank,” said Yancho.

Other resources that Blair helped Yancho obtain are back flow preventors and a spill kit. The back flow preventor keeps pesticides from contaminating water while mixing pesticides. The spill kit is conveniently packaged for emergency use and contains things like water, gloves, a Tyvek suit, and absorbent material to soak up spilled pesticides.

“You hope you never have to use something like the spill kit, but it’s a comfort that it’s there – especially since my father is the one out there spraying. I also want to look out for all of my employees safety,” says Yancho.

Blair guided Yancho through the EQIP process and application paperwork. “It was surprising how easy it was. Jay helped me out with all of the paperwork, which wasn’t that difficult. He assured us that everything would be completely confidential and not used for any kind of enforcement. I would definitely recommend contacting your district conservationists to see what they can help you with,” Yancho advised.

Growers who are interested in EQIP should discuss potential options with their NRCS district conservationist. He or she will help target important environmental concerns at the nursery and recommend ways they can be addressed. This process is at the heart of a conservation plan and includes practices like IPM or structural changes like a new pesticide storage facility. Items in the conservation plan are considered for partial payment through EQIP and other programs.