Rob said:
> It's deceptive to measure pesticide use by pounds used.

Exactly. I run a small orchard and use chemical sprays on certain fruits.
Some wetable powders take ounce levels only in large sprayers.

Far to complicated an issue to simply say because less poundage is being 
used problem solved or improving.

The problem in the delta grows every year and researchers agree the problem
is coming from fields up river.

Atrazine was
> applied to my farm, before I bought it, at the rate of 1/4 oz per acre.
> It's so concentrated, very little will grow except beans, corn and sorghum
> for nearly two years after application.  And at 1/4 oz per acre, it's now
> detectable in the Indianapolis water supply, cause for concern around
> here.

Atrazine is in our water. I have had serious discussions with our water
department and have learned many things *off the record*.
The future for many U.S. water supplies in the Midwest has problems. The
departments have no solutions. One employee said about all the department
can do is say the amount of atrazine in the water today *should* not be a
problem.
Takes many years for chemicals to leach into water supplies. The atrazine in
the supply today is from many years ago like in Rob's situation.

As the amount of atrazine in supplies increases in their opinion the dept.
will raise the amount considered safe. Removing the atrazine (or ther 
chemicals )is too costly
on a large scale.

People can buy clean water to drink but food animals will have to drink 
water with chemicals until a serious effort is made to stop the 
contamination. Those animals (Cattle, chickens,hogs etc.) will enter the 
food system in the not so distant future.

Luckily tests of water have to be made public so people like myself can
confront water company employees which always have bottles of bottled water
(not their water) at their desks which I always point out when I visit!

Atrazine in water has been shown to cause problems in frogs.

bob

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