June 15, 2011, Lompoc, CA — After an initial year of record-keeping and an independent audit of the facilities, the Ball Horticultural Company’s 200-acre production facility in Lompoc has been awarded the highest MPS-A certificate.
The MPS system rates growers for their use of energy, water, recycling, fertilizers and crop protection agents, and compares their use to other growers.
“If you don’t have a way to measure yourself, you have no idea where you are in terms of your impact on the environment and use of these inputs,” says Budd LaRue, general manager of the PanAmerican Seed facility.
Budd cites several practices of the Ball Horticultural Company as contributing to their high score:
• Extensive soil sampling.
• Including moisture probes at various levels.
• Exclusive use of drip irrigation in all of the fields.
The goal is to provide the optimum growing environment for seed production while minimizing the use of crop protection agents and maintaining or improving the ecosystems that they are growing in.
“We found MPS helpful and interested in our success. Although this is still a work in progress, and we continue to have areas to work on and learn from, we are pleased that we have established a benchmark for this Ball Horticultural facility and can continue to work to lessen our impact on the environment.”
For more information, visit the MPS website at www.my-mps.com. For more information about the Ball Horticultural Company, visit www.ballhort.com.
GROWER INQUIRIES
• West coast coordinator is Charlotte Smit at 805-524-9685 or
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• East coast coordinator is Sandy Hering at 508-758-3008 or
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