Department of Pesticide Regulation lands in Salinas to hear community concerns

More rules are on the way for agriculture businesses with respect to using pesticides near schools. Despite some concern about pesticides, one of the other main focuses is communication between farmers and schools.

The Department of Pesticide Regulation stopped in Salinas Tuesday at the Cesar Chavez Library as part of a state tour of workshops.

As it stands, the state doesn’t require farmers to notify schools before using pesticides. Instead, the DPR leaves that up to individual counties.

“I have to say there are going to be more rules put in place, it’s not a question of if,” DPR Spokesperson Charlotte Fadipe.

Exactly what those rules will be is why the DPR is open to ideas from farmers and community members.

“We’re not here to endanger anyone,” said Parker Jones, a second-generation farmer who was born and raised in Captiola, now works as a production manager at Providence Farms in Salinas.

“We never apply (pesticides) during the day when school is in session,” Jones said.

His strawberry field butts up against Bardin Elementary School.

“Most people don’t realize that most growers and farmers are local,” Fadipe said. “They send their kids to those schools. They themselves have attended those schools.”

“Why would we want to do something to harm our own future,” Jones said referring to young students.

It was standing room-only for the community’s workshop time with the DPR.

A majority of the community said they want a buffer zone of one mile between the pesticides and their schools.

“Second, we want a mandatory one week notification to these schools when these (pesticide) applications are going to take place,” said Francisco Rodriguez, president of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers.

The state was listening and taking notes all afternoon.

“So it’s all of that nitty gritty that we are collecting so that we can go back, analyze and come up with some kind of meaningful regulation,” Fadipe said.

Jones actually teared up during his time at the microphone and said a division between ag and the community isn’t good for anyone.

“We’re not doing anything shady–we’re just here to work, make a living for our families, provide food for everyone that’s around us,” Jones said.

Next stop for the DPR is Oxnard and Ventura, finishing up their workshop tour June 9.

Fadipe said they hope to have regulation proposals by the end of the year.