Natural Alfalfa Fields:

Reservoirs for Beneficial Insects in Farmscapes

by Jan Dietrick

I learned about alfalfa from Everett (Deke) Dietrick (my dad). He may have swept and vacuumed insects in more alfalfa fields than anybody before or since. He had a mind map of the unsprayed fields on the highways and byways of California's farming regions. He would pull over, pull out his net, and take a look at what was living in a field. He might know the landowner by name, might have helped strengthen his commitment to not spray the field.

The University of California Department of Biological Control conducted a survey of all the insects in cotton in California in the 1950's. Deke did much of the actual field sampling for that survey. The cotton fields were often adjacent to and affected by the natural enemy complex living in the alfalfa fields. The study found a thousand insects living in untreated alfalfa fields. Those repeated observations in many untreated alfalfa fields showed that they could be managed to provide natural enemies for neighboring crops of cotton or vegetables.

Farmers have always been able to grow pesticide-free alfalfa. With good cultural practices supporting a good stand, weeds in alfalfa have never been significant. The cost of spraying pencils out neutral or negative as a return on yield and profit. Why would so many hay growers think it's good for business to pay more for RoundUp Ready seed and for more Roundup and for more fertilizer due to the destruction of nitrogen fixing bacteria by the herbicide? They are spending more money to use more toxics on the farm. They are upsetting fields that are normally high in soil foodweb activity, good for fertility. They are compromising beneficial insect habitat. They are producing GMO alfalfa with Roundup residues that has not been a problem before in hay and is not good for animals that eat the hay. It decreases sperm count and reproduction, increases still births and increases disease.

So, keeping alfalfa out of spray is the best strategy for pesticide use reduction in California and support better livestock production. Alfalfa can make an important contribution to an areawide biocontrol program. To help achieve that goal, soon after doing the cotton survey, Deke helped introduce the parasites against the Spotted Alfalfa Aphid in order to keep alfalfa out of spray. Under the leadership of Prof Harry Smith and Robert Van den Bosch, the University of California Department of Biological Control accomplished many successful natural enemy introductions. This one was surreptitious and dramatic; another story.

Later members of our family helped Deke set up release tents to colonize Bathyplectes sent by USDA-ARS research William Day to establish biocontrol of the alfalfa weevil. Dr. Day was among many whose work was guided over the decades by knowledge of the importance of not spraying alfalfa. We helped Deke teaching farmers how to manage untreated alfalfa in fields or strips in a way to conserve the natural enemies of pests in neighboring fields. We taught people to value the alfalfa stand as habitat; to manage it without toxic chemicals, and especially herbicide sprays. An alfalfa field, or even a strip, that has a few weeds in and around it is home to the most lively foodweb. It can be habitat for a natural enemy complex, including less common players in the wasp and fly families, as well as ground beetles and tiny spiders. When pests come into the field, a diverse search and destroy complex attacks it.

Now we are learning from Dr. Don Huber, professor emeritus, Purdue University, that Roundup causes disease in plants, reduced mineral content, etc. When animals are fed genetically engineered grains or forage they have health problems above and beyond those caused by the Roundup in the feed.. See Huber interviews at www.Mercola.com and wvwv.AcresUSA.com. See GMO Myths and Truths at www.earthopensource.org. Disease increases in plants and animals from the chelating effects of Roundup. The soil microbial community is stressed and soil tilth suffers. The environment suffers with an increased pesticide load. Monsanto that sells the RR alfalfa seed and the Roundup increases its sales and everyone else suffers sooner or later. The value of the alfalfa as a habitat is lost. The value of alfalfa hayas animal feed is compromised.

When the USDA deregulated RR Alfalfa with no restrictions, it was a major disappointment. Since then we have been working on the campaign to label GMO food so that free market forces can operate. The result is Proposition 37, a brilliantly designed law for deterrence without awards for damages. But this is not about whether our heroic friends wrote the perfect law. It represents a precautionary stand about the future of life, supporting consumers to avoid products that have not yet been tested for safety to animals, humans or the environment. If more data shows it's value, those who want to support that value will be able to vote with their dollars to buy GMO food and those who value unmodified genomes in their food can buy something else to eat and farmers will return to cost-effective biological farming systems for alfalfa.