Good Fruit Grower

January 2012

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/50994

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 21 of 39

Labor MORE RULES PROPOSED on child labor Six thousand comments have been filed. by Richard Lehnert month comment period, some 6,000 comments were filed. Frank Gasperini, executive vice president of the National Council of Agri- P cultural Employers, filed 13 pages of comments. State Farm Bureaus were among the leaders publicizing the content of the new rules and urging farmers to submit comments and submitted comments themselves. Now, it's time to wait and see. Gasperini expects that growers will know the outcome by spring. The Department of Labor can proceed to make the pro- posed rule final, it can rewrite the proposed rules, or it could back away from this hot potato and do nothing at all. "They must by law read and consider all the comments," Gasperini said. Some 70 members of Congress representing farm-states have been agitated in this process and could choose to hold hearings on the matter, making the Department of Labor defend its decision. roposed new rules from the federal Department of Labor would fur- ther restrict the kind of work young people may do on farms—and might even restrict farmers' rights to allow their own children to work. The new labor rules were proposed in September. During a three- Is farming different? For many years, child labor laws have prevented agricultural employers from hiring children under the age of 12 and restricted the hours and kind of work those under 18 can do. But, Gasperini said, since the first laws were enacted in 1937, Congress realized that agriculture was different, so the rules for young people working on farms were not as restrictive as those governing other industries. Now, with an urban president from Chicago and a secretary of labor from Los Angeles, this agricultural exemption is being questioned. Why should the rules governing farmers and ranchers be different? The Department of Labor specifically stated it intends to move toward parity on rules governing child labor. The proposed new rules not only further restrict the kind of work youths under age 16 may do, they tighten some of the definitions of family members who are exempt from those restrictions. A literal reading of the new rules, according to the Farm Bureaus, means that youths could not ride on hay wagons to stack bales, stand on a ladder more than six feet tall, care for animals, milk cows, scrape manure, or feed cat- tle, weld or use power tools, mow a lawn with a lawn tractor, move irrigation Sy s s t em- C AL™ The Perfect PGR Partner Apple growers need to do many things early season at the same time to ensure quality fruit at harvest. Four of the most important early seasons tasks are 1) maximizing calcium uptake into the developing fruit, 2) improving fruit size 3) managing terminal growth and 4) managing tree fruit load. Sysstem Cal from Agro-K can improve the performance of the most important PGR tools used for sizing, thinning and managing terminal growth that are critical to maximizing fruit quality and grower profitability. Untreated Control Carbaryl 1 lb/100 gal + NAA 7.5 ppm Carbaryl 1 lb/100 gal + NAA 7.5 ppm + Sysstem- CAL 2 qts/100 gal Control Carbaryl 1 lb/100 gal + MaxCel 100 ppm Carbaryl 1 lb/100 gal + MaxCel 100 ppm + Sysstem- CAL 2 qts/100 gal Trial conducted by Duane Greene, University of Massachusetts - 2010 Large, firm apples, free from bitter pit generate the highest per acre return. Private and university research shows Sysstem-Cal's positive effects on size. Dr. Duane Greene, UMass stated, "clearly Sysstem-CAL when combined with MaxCel® had a profound effect on increasing fruit size." Not only does Sysstem-CAL aid in maximizing fruit size, but it also supplies needed calcium at the same time for better firmness and storage life. 255 a 156 c 191 b Carbaryl 24 oz + Sysstem-Cal 2qts Carbaryl 24 oz + Maxcel 2qts + Sysstem-Cal 2qts Carbaryl 24 oz Carbaryl 24 oz + Maxcel 2qts 46.0 39.0 Trial Conducted by Reality Research, Wayne Cty, NY - 2010 41.0 37.0 13.0 24.0 Apples need early season calcium for best quality. Growers want early applications of Apogee® to manage terminal growth, but calcium can be antagonistic to Apogee®. University research from WSU, Penn State and UMass as well as private researchers have documented that Sysstem-CAL™ does not interfere with Apogee®, allowing it to control terminal growth and help growers manage fire blight more effectively. Sysstem-CAL Effect on Apogee and Shoot Growth 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 wk Check Apogee Apogee + Sysstem-CAL 1 wk 3 wk 5 wk 7 wk Trial conducted by Dr. J. Schupp, Penn State - 2009 9 wk 11 wk The unique formulation of Sysstem-CAL links calcium to a highly systemic phosphite. This patent-pending technology provides rapid calcium penetration and translocation into the fruit where calcium is most needed. Sysstem-Cal maximizes calcium and cell wall development, resulting in reduced bitter pit and improved pack-out while maximizing storage and shelf life. Call 800-328-2418 or visit . Science-Driven NutritionSM © 2012 Agro-K Corporation. Sysstem-Cal is a trademark of Agro-K Corporation. Sevin, MaxCel, and Fruitone are registered trademarks of Bayer, Valent, and AMVAC, respectively. Apogee is a registered trademark of BASF. Use of Sysstem-Cal as a spray adjuvant with PGRs is not registered in California. 22 JANUARY 1, 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com mean shoot lenght (cm)

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Good Fruit Grower - January 2012