Weekly Update Dec. 11, 2009

Weekly Update is a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES), designed to bring you valuable information and helpful tips for compliance with the Waste Discharge Requirements of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Each week you will find features on compliance issues, regulatory changes or common questions, as well as workshop notices and introductions to the WUES technicians. If you have missed any of our past issues, they can be found on our website at www.wuenvironmental.com.

Despite oft-repeated claims by sources ranging from the United Nations to music star Paul McCartney, it is simply not true that consuming less meat and dairy products will help stop climate change, says a University of California authority on farming and greenhouse gases. UC Davis Associate Professor and Air Quality Specialist Frank Mitloehner says that McCartney and the chair of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ignored science last week when they launched a European campaign called "Less Meat = Less Heat." The launch came on the eve of a major international climate summit, which runs through Dec. 18 in Copenhagen. McCartney and others, such as the promoters of "meatless Mondays," seem to be well-intentioned but not well-schooled in the complex relationships among human activities, animal digestion, food production and atmospheric chemistry, says Mitloehner. "Smarter animal farming, not less farming, will equal less heat," Mitloehner said. "Producing less meat and milk will only mean more hunger in poor countries." <more> Dec. 9, 2009 UC Davis Press Release

Managing price risk on your dairy will be the topic of an educational seminar set for Dec. 15 in Modesto and Dec. 16 in Tulare. The sessions are hosted by Western United Dairymen. Sponsors are American AgCredit; Bank of America; F&M Bank; Western Milling and Yosemite Farm Credit. The meetings will provide an introduction to price risk management. Information will be provided by the leading brokers and consultants in the field: Blimling, Downes-O'Neill/FC Stone and First Capitol Ag. Seminar topics include The Changed Economic Landscape; Risk Management as Margin Management and California Uniqueness, Execution and Outlook. The Modesto seminar will be held Tuesday, Dec. 15 at the Stanislaus County Ag Center, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Tulare seminar will be held Wednesday, Dec. 16, from 9a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tulare Ag Center, 4450 S. Laspina Street, Tulare. Registration is free to WUD members. Non-member registration fee is $30. Registration deadline is Dec. 9, 2009. Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Heidi Savage at hsavage@westernuniteddairymen.com. A registration form can be downloaded at http://www.westernuniteddairymen.com/RiskManagementSeminarsFlyer.pdf.

Growers in the eight-county San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District have until January 2010, to replace older, high-polluting, Tier 0 diesel engines greater than 50 hp with EPA-certified Tier 3 or Tier 4 engines. The rule is the latest installment in complying with District Rule 4702, which regulates air pollution emissions from Ag engines not used in tractors or Ag implements, such as irrigation pump engines. Growers statewide will need to meet a similar requirement by January 2011 under parallel rules by the State Air Board. In addition, San Joaquin Valley growers after January face more onerous permitting requirements if they plan to install or modify Ag engines, depending on whether or not they qualify as a "significant polluter." The cut-off for "significant polluter" will be lowered from 12.5 tons per year due to the severe non-attainment for ozone status of the SJV. The classification is based on NOx and VOC emissions determined by type and number of internal combustion motors and hours of operation. Estimates indicate growing operations with as few as two or three irrigation pump motors greater than 50 hp may exceed the limit that allows them to register under the District's Permit Exempt Equipment Registration (PEER) program. Those growers will instead need an "Authority to Construct" permit, which requires significantly more process and paperwork. Contact the SJV Air District at (559)-230-6000 for additional information.

Herd managers and other interested supervisors can attend a one-day Spanish seminar on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010, at the UC Cooperative Extension office in Merced. They will learn how to deal with difficult disciplinary situations, give positive feedback, and deal with other interpersonal interactions. The cost of the seminar is $36 and it includes lunch and materials. There is a discount for registrations postmarked on or before December 30, 2009. Instructors will be farm advisor Gregorio Billikopf and labor consultant Ryan Boothe. For more information contact Billikopf at gebillikopf@ucdavis.edu or call 209-525-6800. Dec. 9, 2009 UCCE Notice

1^st of the month	Photograph Free Board in Ponds
Weekly	Visual inspection (production and waste storage areas; ponds)
Manure Exports	Measure volume/density OR weight/moisture (require lab analysis)
Harvest	Yield, lab analysis

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