Organic Farms/West Nile Spraying in Southeastern, PA

Some food for thought:
I saw a sign the other day that said "Organic Farm: DO NOT SPRAY!".
This was because local officials are going nuts over West Nile virus, and implementing mandatory spraying. If you live in Southeast PA, chances are, your township, or one within 5 minutes of you was the subject of aerial spraying recently.

Aerial spraying that gave less than 24 hours notice!

While I was pondering covering my garden, I hadn't thought about the FARMS. I buy produce every Sat. at the farmer's market.
What about THEIR "gardens"?
Oh, Snap!
What any ingenius way to put organic alternatives out of business. Why hasn't Monsanto thought of this? Or did they?
Here is a very informative note from a local organic farms' newsletter I receive, that explains it in detail.
Please take action. It's your CHOICE.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


West Nile Virus Spraying

As many of you may know, areas within Southeastern, PA, including Montgomery County, have recently undergone spraying in an effort to help control the mosquito population due to the West Nile Virus. Two things have come to light through such spraying:

1 - Public notification of such spraying

2 - Type of Pesticides being used & their impact on the environment

The County implemented Aerial spraying of Resmethrin, a synthetic pyrethroid product, and also ground spraying. Many of our customers have asked us about the spraying and have expressed great concern.

Our farm is Certified Organic through the National Organic Program, and IF our township had been sprayed, all of our current crops would not be able to be sold, labeled, or represented as organic until the next harvest. Obviously, very troubling!! We take great pride in caring for our farm according to the National Organic Standards, only using approved materials through the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), so for a government agency to possibly fly overhead and take that away is a bit frustrating, to say the least!

But the heart of the matter for us is simply, we know better. There are alternatives to synthetic pesticides, and even the pyrethroid product that they are using, we use a natural version for sprays on our farm! (I'm still investigating to see if the spray we use has an aerosolized version, capable for aerial sprays.) We understand that West Nile Virus is a serious insect-borne illness, but Lyme Disease is a much greater threat, with similarly devastating manifestations, and thousands of reported cases in PA every year, and planes aren't flying overhead for Lyme...so what's the criteria for such sprays?? And from an environmental perspective, is widespread spraying a truly effective measure of protection?

We feel their needs to be a dialog for the public to understand the threat, and we agree that we should use our tax dollars to respond appropriately to maximally protect health and property, but we believe that natural and organic compounds should be a big part of the discussion.

I would encourage everyone to contact their legislators, visit the PA West Nile website for more information, and if you live locally to attend a Town Hall Meeting held by State Representative, Jay Moyer, this evening, Thursday, Sept. 4th, 7:00 P.M.-8:30 P.M.at Worcester Community Hall on 1031 Valley Forge Rd.

We have been advised by our Certifying agency to act proactively to protect our farm from future sprays by seeking an exemption. So we are asking for your support to sign a petition the next time you are in the market to protect Willow Creek Orchards from synthetic pesticide spraying. We are the only Certified Organic Fruit and Vegetable Farm in Montgomery County, PA and we want to safeguard our land for you!!