Two Michigan vegetable
growers from Oceana and Newaygo counties were part of a delegation
that ventured to the nation’s capital in February to lobby lawmakers.
At issue was research funding targeting a plant disease poised to
wreak havoc for the state’s vegetable growers.
Representing Michigan were vegetable growers Kent Karnemaat of Fremont
and Ralph Oomen of Hart. Accompanying the local producers were Mary
Hausbeck, a Michigan State University (MSU) professor and Extension
specialist in plant pathology, and Sarah Black, Michigan Farm Bureau's
national legislative counsel.
In Michigan, the fungal disease Phytophthora capsici has been found
in 20 counties, including the state's top vegetable-producing counties.
Affected crops include cucumber, eggplant, gourd, bell pepper, hot
pepper, pumpkin, summer and winter squash, tomato, watermelon, zucchini,
snap beans and lima beans. The crops account for nearly 80,000 acres
with a value of $133 million, Hausbeck said.
Phytophthora crown, root and fruit rot causes vegetables to rot prematurely
in the field or on their way to market shortly after being harvested
with an otherwise healthy appearance. The stubborn disease is difficult
to detect, resists fungicides, is easily spread by water and can remain
in soils for 10 years or more. No disease-resistant crop varieties
have yet been identified, and once the disease is found, crop rotations
are limited, forcing some infested fields out of vegetable production
entirely.
Phytophthora is the No. 1 problem identified by Michigan vegetable
growers, according to Karnemaat, vice president of the Michigan Vegetable
Council.
"It's just like a hidden time bomb waiting to go off," said
Karnemaat, who farms in partnership with his brother on about 1,000
acres in Newaygo County. Phytophthora was discovered on 80 acres of
the Karnemaat family farm in the mid-1980s. Since then it’s
spread across a third of the acreage. In some years, it has caused
100 percent crop failure on his farm, resulting in losses of up to
$500,000.
He’s been forced to change his farming practices and turn increasingly
to the less profitable processing market. Just five years ago, 80
percent of Karnemaat's vegetables were sold fresh to several Midwest
grocery chains and the rest went for processing. Today, only 40 percent
are sold fresh.
From his base in Sheridan Township, south of Fremont, Karnemaat has
had to search out new land on which to raise vegetables, including
bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots and summer and winter squashes.
“We’ve had to abandon ground and move into different areas,
sometimes traveling 40, 60 miles north to find virgin ground,”
he said.
Incorporating corn and soybean rotations between vegetable crops has
lessened the Phytophthora threat somewhat. He’s also tried using
raised beds and switching varieties to ward off disaster. Anti-fungal
agents that once controlled Phytophthora are rapidly losing their
effectiveness, Karnemaat said.
“We’re seeing some resistance to most crop protection
agents we’ve used in the past and found to be effective,”
he said. “The efficacy of the different products is getting
to be less and less.”
Oomen is another of the many Michigan vegetable growers looking for
answers. In partnership with his brother, he grows vegetables on 1,200
acres in Oceana County near Hart. Phytophthora surfaced on his land
about 15 years ago. Half the acreage is now infested, and up to 400
acres have been taken out of vegetable production.
The disease is believed to have spread via water used for irrigation.
Water carrying Phytophthora looks clean and clear – a problem
for producers who may irrigate from open water sources open to runoff.
Three years ago Oomen quit raising squash, which "had been a
good money-maker," and switched to growing string beans because
he thought the risk for Phytophthora would be less. But last year
the disease was found in the beans as well, forcing him to move to
less profitable small grains.
Oomen has taken other steps to diversify and develop new crops, but
his location is more suited to vegetables. As a result, his fungicide
spray program, while limited in its effectiveness, more than quadrupled
last year from $30 an acre to $160 an acre in an attempt to ward off
Phytophthora in his zucchini.
"Right now I'm buying time, hoping something comes through in
the next five years," he said. "(If not) I will not be raising
a cucurbit. I guarantee that. It just won't be profitable."
Beyond their own hardships, Oomen and Karnemaat are concerned about
the trickle-down job losses that could occur if Phytophthora destroys
Michigan’s vegetable industry. On his own farm, which supports
two families, Oomen employs an average of 55 migrant workers a year
plus four full-time farm laborers.
"You're talking about employment in the thousands," Karnemaat
said of the food processors who located in Michigan strictly to take
local vegetables. "There's a lot more at stake than just this
year's crop or last year's crop.”
Hausbeck said Phytophthora's broad, long-ranging effects put the future
of growing certain vegetables in jeopardy.
"It's not just one-time losses," she said. “If we
can't get this turned around, we're going to lose a key industry for
Michigan and jobs. Michigan is No. 1 for pickling cucumbers. If processors
can't contract in Michigan, they won't be here."
February’s legislative trip hoped to prevent that outcome. Coordinated
as a joint effort by the Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia Farm
Bureaus,experiment station researchers and grower associations. “Fly-in”
participants met with Washington legislators Feb. 11-12.
The Michigan delegation, alongside counterparts from North Carolina
and Georgia, lobbied for federal support for research in the fight
against Phytophthora. At issue was a $10 million request for research
funding to be split between MSU, North Carolina State University and
the University of Georgia. The funding would be used to research controls
that limit and halt the spread of phytophthora, as well as methods
to remediate fields already infested.
The group held a special congressional briefing on Capital Hill Feb.
11, with 18 Congressional offices representing three states in attendance,
plus agriculture committee staff, USDA staff and press. The Michigan
delegation met individually with Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Reps. Peter
Hoekstra and Fred Upton; and staff from the offices of Rep. Joe Knollenberg,
Rep. Nick Smith and Sen. Carl Levin.
“For my first experience there in Washington; I think we were
really well received,” Karnemaat said after returning to his
farm. “Everyone seemed really sincere, but there’s a lot
of work to be done, and as I see it we’re just starting. We
need to continue to rally support, and encourage everybody to become
educated.”
“The reception from the legislators and their staff was very
positive,” said Sarah Black, Michigan Farm Bureau’s national
legislative counsel. Acknowledging that tight fiscal circumstances
will make the funding search a difficult one, Black said it is important
for Michigan vegetable producers keep the issue in front of their
legislators.
“We have to continue to follow up with our congressmen,”
she said. “Michigan needs to get this request included in the
fiscal year 2005 appropriations bill.”
Black urges farmers whose operations are affected by the disease to
call or fax a letter to their congressman and senators in support
of additional research funding.
Because of recent and past problems with mail in Capitol Hill office
buildings, it is best to send letters by fax. A faxed message is probably
more effective than one sent via e-mail. Sen. Carl Levin’s fax
number is (202) 224-6221 – other contact information is available
at www.levin.senate.gov. Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s fax number is
(202) 224-2066 – her other contact information is at www.stabenow.senate.gov.
Contact information for congressional representatives is at www.house.gov.
