Washington ranks third in the nation in dollar value and diversity of minor use crops, including such commodities as raspberry, mint, flower bulbs and lentils. While these crops are individually cultivated on a limited number of acres, they comprise the bulk of Washington agriculture production and, in some cases, a significant portion of the nation’s food supply. The Washington State Commission on Pesticide Registration (WSCPR) was created by an act of the 1995 legislature (RCW 15.92.090) for the purpose of helping Washington address critical pest control needs for minor use crops and minor uses. The WSCPR held its first meeting on September 15, 1995 and since that time, has supported 149 projects on a wide variety of crops and sites. The Commission is meeting its legislative mandate. The WSCPR efforts are regional and national in significance and promote collaboration between the public and private sectors, improve protection of the environment, reduce risks to human health and improve the economy of Washington and the region. This report provides information on WSCPR progress during 1997 and 1998 and gives an overview of the Commission’s activities to date.

The legislature created the WSCPR because the high cost of obtaining and maintaining pesticide registrations had severely limited grower access to safe and effective pesticides for crops produced on limited acres. These so-called minor use crops comprise 70% of Washington agriculture. The enabling legislation for the Commission states that its "moneys may be used for: evaluations, studies or investigations approved by the Commission on Pesticide Registration regarding the registration or re-registration of pesticides for minor uses and emergency uses."

The WSCPR consists of 12 voting members and 5 non-voting members. The following agricultural and non-agricultural sectors each nominate one voting member: nursery and landscape, professional pesticide applicator, hop, grape, vegetable and seed, potato, wheat, tree fruit, food processing, berry, chemical manufacturer and forestry. Non-voting members represent the following state agencies: Washington State Departments of Agriculture, Ecology, Labor and Industries, and Health, and the Washington State University IR-4 liaison. The IR-4 Project is a national effort that assists growers of minor crops to access pesticide registrations.

The WSCPR is privately administered by Agriculture Development Group, Inc. in Pasco, Washington. Alan Schreiber serves as Administrator. Tanya Wojtowych serves as Public Documents Officer and Secretary for the Commission. The Commission meets every other month. Annual election of officers is in January.

Commissioners met 17 times during 1997 and 1998. They have conducted a number of activities designed to meet the legislative mandate of the Commission. The primary activity of the WSCPR has been the solicitation, review and funding of projects proposed by a wide array of grower groups in Washington and the Pacific Northwest. Other WSCPR activities include hosting the 1997 and 1998 Washington Pest Control Tours in eastern and western Washington, supporting the Pesticide Notification Network, a pesticide tracking system outlined in its enabling legislation and coordinating WSCPR actions with WSU, the IR-4 Project and the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

The WSCPR has funded 95 projects on 44 crops or crop groupings submitted by grower groups during the period between January 1997 and December 1998. Funding totaled $964,855 or an average of $10,156 per project. Grower groups submitting proposals have generated $1,126,952 in cash or in-kind con-tributions. The total amount of project sponsor and WSCPR support for funded projects is $2,091,807 during 1997 and 1998, or an average of $22,019 per project. The IR-4 Project has provided invaluable additional support to 12 of the WSCPR projects during this time.

The enabling legislation creating the WSCPR requires that a minimum of 25% of funding be provided to projects for crops not ranked among the top 20 agricultural commodities in the state. During 1997-1998, 64 projects met this specification and accounted for 68% of all project funds committed during this period.

All projects funded during 1997 and 1998 began during this time, but many projects will not be concluded until 2000. This work should result in dozens of registrations for Washington and the Pacific Northwest. Registrations for food crops typically require three to five years for data generation, report writing and review by state and federal regulatory agencies. Registration for non-food crops such as vegetable seed and clover seed can take less time. Most registrations based on WSCPR 1997-1998 activities are anticipated by the 2001-02 growing season. WSCPR efforts are expected to eventually increase the registration workload of the Washington State Department of Agriculture by 25 to 50%.

By the beginning of 1998, the WSCPR had funded projects for three years and results of the effort were working their way through the registration system. During 1998, WSDA requested and received from the Environmental Protection Agency, a record number of Section 18 emergency exemptions for Washington crops. The State of Washington received 31 exemptions for 35 active ingredients on 20 crops—a 50% increase in three years. Nearly half (15) of the 1998 exemptions were supported by the WSCPR. No state received more emergency exemptions in 1998 than Washington.

Prior to 1997, the Pacific Northwest had not suffered from hop powdery mildew, the disease largely responsible for the demise of the hop industry on the East Coast of the U.S. This devastating disease of hops was discovered in June of 1997 in Washington’s Yakima Valley. Hop growers were facing a potential total crop loss of an estimated $100 million and had no registered means to control the disease. In response, the WSCPR and the hop industry co-funded a study to generate data to support registrations of fungicides to control hop powdery mildew. Results from this study were used to obtain Section 18 emergency exemptions for use of three fungicides that were used in 1998 to control the disease and save the Washington hop industry.

Most commodities produced in Washington are also produced in Oregon, Idaho and other states. Registrations resulting from activities funded by the WSCPR will benefit growers throughout the western Unite States, particularly, the Pacific Northwest. Matching funds from user groups outside of Washington supported 28 (31%) of WSCPR-funded projects during 1997-98. About 60% of WSCPR projects have the potential to result in registration in Oregon, Idaho and other states, as well as in Washington.

Cranberries are grown among the wetlands of coastal southwest Washington and are adjacent to significant fresh and marine bodies of waters. Prevention of movement of crop protection chemicals from cranberry beds is a high priority for the Washington and the entire United States cranberry industry. The WSCPR supported a project with a grower cooperative (Ocean Spray), The Cranberry Institute, Pacific Coast Cranberry Foundation, the British Columbia Cranberry Growers Association, Ag Canada and the Wisconsin Cranberry Board to develop a more environmentally protective and effective means of controlling one of the most destructive pests of cranberry, the blackheaded fireworm. A large scale research and demonstration project using an environmentally protective sprayable, microencapsulated pheromone was initiated in Washington, Wisconsin and British Columbia cranberry beds in 1997. Although the program is still experimental, it appears to be successful in controlling the pest.

On August 3, 1996, the Food Quality Protection Act became law. The primary intent of the FQPA is to reduce the risk from dietary exposures of pesticides, particularly for infants and children. An unintended consequence of EPA’s implementation of FQPA is that most of Washington’s most commonly used insecticides are at risk of cancellation. As a result, the need to fund additional pesticide registration activities has increased markedly. And the demand for WSCPR support is increasing correspondingly. Two-thirds of the insecticides used by Washington growers are potentially at-risk from the FQPA, including important products used on apple, pear, cherry, potato, asparagus, mint, pea and raspberry.

Example:

FQPA PLACES WASHINGTON CURANTS AT RISK

Washington produces most of the domestically consumed currants in the U.S. Production of currants is dependent on controlling the currant caneborer. To date, growers have had access to one single means of controlling this insect pest. Use of that product on currants was taken away as a result of the implementation of the FQPA, placing future production of the crop in jeopardy. The WSCPR funded efficacy trials conducted by Washington State University entomologist, Wyatt Cone. Based on trial results, the WSCPR funded a project to pursue registration of a candidate product recommended by Dr. Cone. In 1997 and 1998, Washington currant growers used this new product to successfully control the caneborer, and consequently maintained currant production in Washington and the United States.

Projects funded by the WSCPR are expected to result in significant economic advantage to production and protection of Washington agriculture and allied areas of forestry, aquaculture, urban and environmental pest control. The benefits to Washington are accruing at a rapid pace. Washington has obtained emergency exemptions (Section 18s) that allow access to 15 pesticide uses based, in part, on WSCPR-supported activities. The value of these use patterns is difficult to determine; however the dollar impact, had these pesticides not become available, is estimated to be in excess of $100 million. Many of these WSCPR-supported exemptions were also obtained in Oregon and Idaho, increasing the value and scope of the Commission’s impact. Section 24c (state) registrations have been obtained for vegetable seed crops, grape, clover seed crops, green pea, dry pea and lentils. It is important to remember that obtaining these new products was a joint effort between the WSCPR, grower groups, WSDA, Washington State University, Oregon State University, University of Idaho, the IR-4 Project, agrichemical companies and many other organizations.

Washington is a leading producer of green peas, dry peas and lentils and controlling aphids is important for maintaining yield quality and quantity. Due to the low value of these crops on a per acre basis, growers have to rely on a low cost, yet highly efficacious chemical. Threatened with the loss of this product, WSCPR and food legume growers in the Pacific Northwest co-funded a project to generate data that could save the chemical. Loss of this chemical threatens continued production of these commodities in the region and the country. Retention of this use pattern will result in over one million dollars in savings to Pacific Northwest growers.

The WSCPR hosted intensive 3-day tours of western and eastern Washington in July of 1997 and 1998, respectively. The tours highlighted the pest control needs of Washington. Groups of over 70 visitors included upper and mid-level managers and scientists employed by pesticide manufacturers and selected state and federal regulatory and legislative representatives and academicians. The tour of western Washington included the Skagit and Puyallup valleys, forestlands and rivers of west central Washington and urban areas of Tacoma. The tour of eastern Washington included the Yakima Valley, Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Basin and Walla Walla Valley.

The WSCPR enabling legislation instructs the Commission to provide guidance to the WSU Food and Environmental Quality Lab. Particularly, the legislation states, "regarding a program for tracking the availability of effective pesticides for minor crops, minor uses and emergency uses and to provide this information to organizations of agricultural producers." To meet this mandate, the WSCPR funded a project to develop a system called the Pesticide Notification Network. This system tracks the availability of commercially used, registered pesticides and provides this information to all of Washington’s 200 commodity groups having an interest in pest control. The PNN website can be located at http://www.tricity.wsu.edu/~mantone/pl-pnn.html

The WSCPR has worked extensively and closely with the IR-4 Project. The WSCPR and IR-4 have cooperatively funded over 60 projects with more than $600,000 from WSCPR and over $700,000 in matching support. For each of these, the WSCPR provides funding for the field and/or laboratory portions and IR-4 develops study protocols, provides project oversight and generates petitions for tolerance. IR-4 involvement is essential to the success of the WSCPR.

In the 4 years the Commission has been in existence, it has become the primary funding source of pest management research for most crops and sites in the state of Washington. Washington now has a highly effective mechanism for responding to state pest control needs. However, as WSCPR developed and matured it became clear that while the pesticide registration needs of Washington are being met, other pest management challenges are not.

To better serve Washington in the area of pest control, the WSCPR developed a request in 1998 to submit to the 1999 state legislature. The Commission has two legislative requests: 1) to broaden its mandate to fund a wider range of pest management projects and 2) to obtain the additional funds to address these needs. Successful passage of this legislation will allow the WSCPR to more fully respond to a wider and increasing need for pest management tools in the state of Washington.

During its first four years, the WSCPR funded $1.6 million for 149 projects on 42 crops or crop groupings. The total number of crops that will ultimately benefit exceeds 70. User groups have contributed more than 1.7 million in matching support either in cash or in-kind support. Total funds supporting Commission projects between 1995 and 1998 were $3.36 million.

Approximately two-thirds of these funds have been directed toward crops not in the top 20 agricultural commodities grown in Washington, more than amply meeting the legislatively imposed 25% rule.

The WSCPR has supported activities that resulted in several pesticide clearances, with 6 emergency exemptions in 1996, 12 in 1997 and 15 in 1998. More than one dozen Section 24c registrations have been granted based, in part, on Commission supported projects. The number of exemptions granted to Washington by EPA has increased 50% since 1995. Half of all exemptions are supported by WSCPR projects. More than 60 chemical/crop combinations are formally in the process of being registered. It is not possible to calculate the value of these clearances, but dollar value of exemptions alone is in excess of $100 million both in 1997 and in 1998. As more pesticide clearances are obtained, the significance and value of the Commission’s efforts will increase.

Access Commission information via the WSCPR website: www.wscpr.org