Bob writes:

> The new formic strips of David Vanderdusen are being sent in under a section 18. However Liz said she hopes for a full registration in the next  12-18 months for most states ( section 3 I think its called)

From NOD:

> A Section 3 (full federal) registration application was submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency for Mite Away Quick Strips (MAQS). It is anticipated federal registration will be approved in 2011.  Before NOD was informed of the petition requirement, 3 states, Hawaii, Montana and Oregon approved Special Local Needs (SLN) registrations for MAQS. These registrations allow legal use of MAQS within those states only.  Due to the petition process, these SLN registrations have been put on hold until the petition is cleared by EPA. NOD is unable to export MAQS to the US. Once the petition is cleared, these SLN registrations can be reinstated.

* * *

In my opinion, the EPA is really not being helpful on this issue. We, in NYS, want the MAQS. I have had it up to here with pyrethroids, organophosphates, and all the rest. Formic and Oxalic are the only way to go, even with less than 100% efficacy. These products have been available in Canada for a long time and are used surreptitiously in the US. 

There is another one in the works, too. Hop Guard is a product of the hop industry. They tout hop extracts for a variety of ailments, including cancer. However, I would point out that there is a huge glut of hops on the market so there may be other motives for trying to bring hop products to market.

* * *

> An unprecedented hop supply surplus. In crop year 2008, 2,600 tons of the alpha harvested was surplus to requirements; in crop year 2009, the surplus alpha amounted to 3,500 tons. The 2010 crop will probably add another 1,000 - 2,000 tons of alpha to this surplus. In total, by the end of the 2010 marketing campaign growers and merchants will be left with stocks of surplus hops amounting to approximately one year's production. Before the 2010 harvest has even started, the warehouses of the trading companies are bursting at the seams with hops harvested in crop years 2008 and 2009 which have been sold but not yet shipped.

> For one thing is clear. The faster the hop industry is able to eliminate the structural hop surplus, the faster the markets will enter a phase of recovery. The longer it takes to remove this surplus, however, the bigger the surplus stocks will become and the longer it will take the market to absorb the surplus. Experience shows that these old stocks are sold at rock-bottom prices and will thus affect markets for years to come, even if everything has returned to normal in structural terms. For that reason time is of the essence, especially here in Hallertau.

Press release from the German Hop Industry Association

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