We just received the lab reports taken and sent to Columbia Food Laboratories, Inc.
In the interest of full disclosure to our CSA members and others who have an interest of the farm - here are the details.
Spray time and date: July 27, 6:50 PM
Applied by air to soybean field located N and W of farm.
Winds out of the NNW
Products applied were Lorsban, 4E, Stratego YLD and Sniper
Chemicals are: Trifloxystrobin, Chlorpyrifos, Bifenthrin and Prothioconazole
Samples were taken on Monday, late afternoon - July 30, after the Pesticide Bureau investigator also took samples. Sent soon after by overnight courier to the lab. Received on Aug 2.
Five samples were sent.
SW Field West End
SW Field East End
High Tunnel next to the building
High Tunnel inside the building
Northwest poultry pasture
All tests came back with measurable levels of each chemical with most being well above acceptable food use maximums.
The area around and inside the high tunnel was, as expected, lowest.
The west end of the SW field and the poultry pasture were worst, but there is not sufficient lessening by the East end of the SW field to make much difference. We will consult with our legal representative regarding how much information should be shared, but doubt that it is inappropriate to share this information with our CSA farm share members, our customers and those who support the farm.
We will continue to research what these numbers mean on other levels. But, we can safely say that we will not provide you with any of the produce from any of these locations. The only way we could do that would be to submit a similar battery of tests over and over until they come back clean.
Simply put, it isn't worth the cost. These tests alone cost $1700 to do. The wait is long enough, and the crops won't wait long enough...to make a difference.
What does this mean for you:
1. As we guessed earlier. All peppers, eggplant, dry beans, green beans, hot peppers from the SW field will be destroyed. We are sorry, they are not safe to give to you.
2. We hoped this would not be true. But, all peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, green beans, eggplant, paprika peppers and hot peppers in the high tunnel will also be destroyed. We simply cannot guarantee their safety either.
3. Now that we have numbers, we hope we can get answers about how long it will take our laying flock to flush these toxins from their systems. We are hoping four weeks will be sufficient, but are reluctant to make any promises.
4. We are also hoping to get straight answers regarding the turkeys. We are optimistic that they can flush their systems prior to processing.
Thank you for your support.
Rob & Tammy
In the interest of full disclosure to our CSA members and others who have an interest of the farm - here are the details.
Spray time and date: July 27, 6:50 PM
Applied by air to soybean field located N and W of farm.
Winds out of the NNW
Products applied were Lorsban, 4E, Stratego YLD and Sniper
Chemicals are: Trifloxystrobin, Chlorpyrifos, Bifenthrin and Prothioconazole
Samples were taken on Monday, late afternoon - July 30, after the Pesticide Bureau investigator also took samples. Sent soon after by overnight courier to the lab. Received on Aug 2.
Five samples were sent.
SW Field West End
SW Field East End
High Tunnel next to the building
High Tunnel inside the building
Northwest poultry pasture
All tests came back with measurable levels of each chemical with most being well above acceptable food use maximums.
The area around and inside the high tunnel was, as expected, lowest.
The west end of the SW field and the poultry pasture were worst, but there is not sufficient lessening by the East end of the SW field to make much difference. We will consult with our legal representative regarding how much information should be shared, but doubt that it is inappropriate to share this information with our CSA farm share members, our customers and those who support the farm.
We will continue to research what these numbers mean on other levels. But, we can safely say that we will not provide you with any of the produce from any of these locations. The only way we could do that would be to submit a similar battery of tests over and over until they come back clean.
Simply put, it isn't worth the cost. These tests alone cost $1700 to do. The wait is long enough, and the crops won't wait long enough...to make a difference.
What does this mean for you:
1. As we guessed earlier. All peppers, eggplant, dry beans, green beans, hot peppers from the SW field will be destroyed. We are sorry, they are not safe to give to you.
2. We hoped this would not be true. But, all peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, green beans, eggplant, paprika peppers and hot peppers in the high tunnel will also be destroyed. We simply cannot guarantee their safety either.
3. Now that we have numbers, we hope we can get answers about how long it will take our laying flock to flush these toxins from their systems. We are hoping four weeks will be sufficient, but are reluctant to make any promises.
4. We are also hoping to get straight answers regarding the turkeys. We are optimistic that they can flush their systems prior to processing.
Thank you for your support.
Rob & Tammy
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