SUPPLY & DEMAND
Critical News for Growers & Packers
Vol. 2 No. 2 January 26, 2002

The application deadline for the USDA Tree removal is Thursday, January 31. Funds will be lost if growers do not fully subscribe to the Program. While over 300 applications have been received by the PMC, millions of dollars remain unallocated and will be lost if growers do not sign up by the 31st.

In order for the industry to return to a balance supply and profitability, all of the funds need to be allocated. Growers are urged to submit an application or this opportunity will be lost.

Applications must be received in the PMC office by the 31st. Growers are encouraged to send in their application even if they don’t have all the supporting documents. These may be provided later.

Application Tips

PMC staff have provided the following tips for growers filling out the USDA tree removal application:

Line 5, producer’s status. If a box other than owner operator is checked, be sure to get the signature of the other party involved as well as the applicant’s signature.

Line 11, total net planted acres. Include total acres less roads, ditches, etc. of the block or blocks represented by the P-1 gradesheets that you provide. Unless you have indentifying block names on your P-1’s, you will probably need to submit all the P-1’s for your production in the county that the block is located in.

Line 17, enclose P-1 Forms and Crop Insurance Statements for 1999 and 2000. Growers may contact packers if they don’t have copies of their P-1’s, or send a letter to the PMC requesting copies of their P-1’s.

The crop insurance forms are the production and yield reports. Claim forms may be submitted in addition to the production and yield reports to support the fact of a crop loss for a given year, but are not required.

Line 18, documents enclosed. A plat map is an official map from the county tax assessor. Two documents with an APN are required.

If I pull Prunes, What am I going to Plant? Answer: A Cover Crop

Some growers are hesitant to put acres into the tree removal program because they are unsure what they will plant back, and/or the soil may be best suited for prunes in their location. If the orchard is near the end of its economic life, the plant back restriction may not be the stumbling block that some think. By using the fallow period to their advantage, growers can address soil borne pests and diseases in an economical fashion. In addition, funds may be available from local Conservation Resource Districts to help with the costs of planting cover crops and other expenses.

Orchard soils that have a long history of tree crops will benefit from a fallow period. Many locations suffer from nematode infestation, compaction, or poor soil tilth. If you have looked into the cost of fumigation of an orchard site, you know that it is becoming so costly that it may not be economically feasible for your operation to consider, yet soil borne pests have such a detrimental impact on tree growth and orchard establishment that it is foolish to plant a new orchard on such soil without addressing these pests first.

A fallow period and planting the right cover crop can address many of these issues. Recent research has shown that IPM techniques that involve cover crops and a fallow period can be used to reduce or eliminate the damage from certain key soil pests. In fact, one key pest, ring nematode (causative agent of bacterial canker) can really only be fully addressed by the use of a fallow period in combination with a cover crop such as sudan grass. More information will be available at next week’s meetings.