By Bruce Fry, SJFB President
OK, I am for clean air and clean water, but the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] and DPR
[Department of Pesticide Regulation] are hindering businesses not helping by implementing more regulations. Example, there was an article in the Western Farm Press on Sept. 15, 2012, entitled,
“EPA approves California air quality plan for VOC [volatile organic compound] reduction.” It sounds great but, in my opinion it will not help our air quality. VOC’s are emissions from pesticide applications in which the VOC’s combine with nitrogen oxide in sunlight to form ozone. EPA and
DPR want to reduce VOC’s from fumigant pesticides to improve air quality.
But here is the problem, as stated in the article “...pesticides contribute only 2 percent of statewide
VOC emissions, DPR is proud of its contributions to improving air quality.....” So by creating more regulations on our farmers and ranchers it will help our air quality by a maximum of 2 percent! I agree, everyone must do their part but, you’ve got to be kidding me!
Again, as I stated in my August president’s message, the problem with air quality in our state is the automobiles idling in traffic on I-5 and Highway 99, not VOC’s! So use our tax dollars wisely and fix our roadways. This is another great example of our government having a “feel good” regulation, rather than solution.
This is an example of why we need a organizations like Farm Bureau to go to Sacramento and
Washington, D.C., to lobby on behalf of all the farmers and ranchers of San Joaquin County and
California to stop the over regulation.
We need a strong and growing membership. As of today we have reached our goal of renewing
100 percent of our “4th quarter membership.” As I write this article we still need about 50 more renewal/new memberships to reach 100 percent for the year.
So, we need all of you to take this newspaper and Ag Alert with you to all your neighbors and show them all the issues we are dealing with and trying to make changes for the better. Jack, Andrew and I, or any staff member, would be happy to help you with any questions or membership applications you might need. Farm Bureau advocates for all farmers and ranchers.
Next on the list are annual meetings. First, the California Farm Bureau Federation 94th Annual meeting is scheduled for Dec. 1-5, 2012 in Pasadena. San Joaquin will have four delegates voting on the delegate floor on all the TBR’s [tentative basic resolutions] or policy changes.
I am very proud to say there are two policy changes that came from our county this year. The first is on Food Safety. Due to the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act in 2009 it is now mandated that farmers and ranchers have a food safety program and this new policy would address this.
Next is an amendment to the estate tax policy. Due to so many horror stories on the estate tax, we have suggested changes to address these problems. These changes would state how we deal with estate tax audits by the IRS, what powers the IRS agent should have, and the period of time the estate would have to pay additional tax. As of today, the estate only has two weeks and it should be changed to be at least nine months.

Finally, I will run again to be a delegate at the 94th American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in
Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 11-16, 2013. I had a great experience last year and hopefully will be able to continue my experience this year.