Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/302136
ByAudreyMcavoy TheAssociatedPress WAIALUA, HAWAII Youcan trace the genetic makeup of most corn grown in the U.S., and in many other places around the world, to Hawaii. The tiny island state 2,500 miles from the nearest con - tinent is so critical to the na- tion's modern corn-growing business that the industry's leading companies all have farms here, growing new varieties genetically engi - neered for desirable traits like insect and drought re- sistance. But these same farms have become a flash point in a spreading debate over ge - netic engineering in agricul- ture. Kauai and Hawaii coun- ties have moved in the past several months to regulate genetically modified organ- isms and the pesticides the farms use. In Maui County, a group is collecting signa- tures for a potential bal- lot measure that would im- pose a temporary ban on the crops. "People are very con- cerned, and it's my job as a council member to deter- mine whether those con- cerns are valid and take steps to protect them," said Gary Hooser, a councilman in Kauai. Hooser and the council passed a law last year, over the mayor's veto, to require large farms to create buffer zones around their crops and to disclose what pesticides they use. The law is set to take effect in August. Seed companies with Kauai operations — Syn - genta, Pioneer, BASF and Agrigentics — have sued the county to stop the law, saying they are already reg - ulated by state and federal laws and there is no need for additional county rules. "We don't plant anything that isn't permitted and ap - proved through the proper regulatory agencies, be it the EPA, the FDA and UDSA," said Mark Phillipson, the head of Hawaii corporate affairs for Syngenta, refer - ring to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hawaii's origins as a crit - ical node in corn produc- tion dates to the 1960s when James Brewbaker, a recently arrived researcher at the University of Hawaii, noticed he could plant three crops a year in Hawaii's warm cli - mate instead of one as in most places on the mainland. Around the same time, Pi- oneer Hi-Bred was trying to squeeze more research into a year by using greenhouses and farms in Florida. Brew- baker suggested research- ers come to Hawaii. Seed farms grew as re- search expanded and more land became available as Hawaii's sugar and pineap- ple plantations became less competitive in the global market and shut down. Asof2012,themostrecent data available, seed crops in Hawaii were worth $217 mil - lion, up from $140 million in 2007. About 95 percent of it is corn. In all, they exceed the value of the state's next several largest crops — in- cluding sugarcane and mac- adamia nuts. Developing a new seed variety takes about 10 to 12 growth cycles, said Phillip - son. "It's getting your newest and best hybrids to market quickly," said Richard Mc - Cormack, who leads Hawaii operations for Pioneer Hi- Bred International, which is part of DuPont and has farms on Kauai and Oahu. In Hawaii, residents have also expressed concern about pesticides used in the growing of seed crops. Mon - santo and Dow AgroSci- ences, a unit of Dow Chemi- cal, both have farms in Maui County. State Sen. Clarence Nishi- hara predicted the wran- gling over genetically modi- fied crops will continue. "There's no one side that's going to say, 'OK, we had enough. We've given up on the issue,' right?" said Nishi - hara, who chairs the state Senate's agriculture com- mittee. "They'll keep fight- ing it. Isn't that the Ameri- can way?" AgrIcULtUre Ha wa ii i s ge net ic al ly e ng in ee re d cr op fl as h po in t Are you suffering from a deep cough, sore throat, runny nose, itchy eyes, feel- ing tired, sinus and nasal congestion? Some have de- veloped bronchitis or hoarse voice, too. The allergies are espe- cially bad this month since just about everyone you talk to has some of these symp- toms. The walnuts, cottonwoods and oak trees are in bloom, while the grasses and weeds are shedding their pollen in the north wind. When the south wind blew the atmo - sphere was like smog, be- cause there was a brown haze against the foothills. Cowshipping My family has been busy the week following the Red Bluff Round Up, shipping their fall-calving cows to the summer ranch. Each day three trucks were loaded for the trip. Back in the 1960s Bill would be able to load 50 cows on a truck and trailer, and still make legal weight. Kevin, Bryce and Mike were able to put only 35 cows on a tr uck t he ot he r da y. O ur cattle are larger now, and we can sell 600-700 pound steers where we used to be happy with a 550 pound calf at sale time. Last week when the cows were pregnancy checked, they received a booster shot of lepto-vibrio 5 and pouron Dectomax for internal and external parasites. Lassen eruption My parents were histo- rians, and my father told of his memories of Mt. Lassen eruption. This was among my mother's papers. "Lyman said he was just a kid on the spring sheep drive tothemountainswhenLassen Peak erupted. His father Hill - man,UncleOraWillardanda couple of herders were on the drive. All either rode horse- back, walked or drove the cook wagon, pack horses, too. "They could see the moun - tain peak blowing smoke, some days light color, some times darker. "They drove the sheep thru the soft, silty dust. Very fine dust, sometimes shoe top high from about Wil - son Lake to our sheep cor- rals on Willard Creek. It was real deep near Chester and the Big Meadows. Very fluffy, our feet felt funny walking. "The sheep could not find grass, they nibbled on brush. Their wet noses collected dust. Dust on their wool in the early morning when they were wet with dew. The dust on brush would fall off in the afternoon winds. "All the time in the moun - tains dust was in the air. It fell on our beds, on the ground. Yes, we even had some Mt. Lassen dust at our place near Susanville that summer." Driving sheep on foot The sheep were driven to the summer range going up the Hogsback, by foot, and these notes were from Anne Willard. Now we can make it in 2 hours with a truck. 1st night - Grecian Bend, 2nd night - Finley Lake, 3rd - Lyman Springs, 4th - Min - eral, 5th Wilson Lake, 6th high bridge, 7th Chester, 8th Robbers Creek, and home on 9th night. In the fall, they made Mountain Meadows the 1st night, 2nd - The Cliffs, 3rd Chester, 4th Willow Creek, 5th Feather River, 6th Mor - gan Springs, 7th Cold Creek, 8th - Ben Wood -nearby spring, 9th Grecian Bend, 10th - home to Red Bluff range. Letter to my great- grandfather This is a copy of a letter written by my grandfather Hillman Willard (1866-1922) to his father Charles Willard (1834-1883). My great-grand - father Charles was sick and Hillman was a boy of 17 years old. "Susanville, Lassen County, California, June the 13, 1883 "Dear Father: I thought I would write you a few lines to let you know that we got up all right, except breaking one of the wheels broke out all of the spokes in one front wheel, we broke down on top of the Battle Creek grade, we got Chauncey Burgess wagon to move over here. We brought the wheel over to Susanville to get it fixed. I think I will send Edmund (hired man) back to get the wagon and I will separate the sheep and doctor some of the lambs. "Jake left this morning. I got another man to take his place, he acted lazy coming up here. Ben Owens camped here three nights ago, he we nt d ow n to t he De vi ls C or - ral made camp there about two nights and yesterday we see his team going through town, he was going to dip over to Perkins place. He told people that he was going to stop on our range two weeks and eat us out. "The road was rough, it had not been worked. We didn't get much feed for the sheep until we got to Wilson Place. We started with 4452 head of sheep and when I counted up here I made 4457 head. I think I made a mis - take up here, we could not count but seven head that gave out. We picked up a few strays that made it up. The grass looks nice now, the grass looks nice in the hay fields. "Did you want me to make th at s cho ol h ou se l ar ge r? "Cha ncey Burgess charged $17.50 total. That is all for this time, so good by, from Hillman Willard, write soon" Charles Willard was also Jacqueline Leininger's and my first cousin Charles Willard's great-grandfa - ther. Jacqueline's grandfa- ther Chester was a younger brother of Hillman. Jean Barton has been writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbar- ton2013@gmail.com. JeAn BArton Allergy season in the north Courtesyphoto shipping time to summer feed at tehama Angus ranch. Linda Borror recorded each cow identification number before each was loaded on the truck. Kevin Borror was making sure the cattle headed toward the truck, using a flag to move them along. "All the time in the mountains dust was in the air. It fell on our beds, on the ground. Yes, we even had some Mt. Lassen dust at our place near Susanville that summer." — Jean Barton's father's recollection of the Lassen volcanic eruption. 900JacksonSt.• 527-1833 Lic. #0530362 Home Auto Farm Commercial www.andy4ins.com ANDYHOUGHTON Insurance Agency Motorcycle Boat RV Life RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 NoMoney Down! "NoJobTooSteep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA. LIC#829089 Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate SERVICESATLOWERPRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K MembersWelcome STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Whenitcomestofinding the perfect home, make sure you have the right realtor on your side. MeetYour Dream Team Stromer Realty (530) 527-3100 590 Antelope Blvd. Bldg. A, Suites 10 & 20 Red Bluff ~ Specializing in residential to ranches ~ http://redbluff.stromerrealty.com FARM » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, April 26, 2014 More AtFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5