Part 3 of a three-part series. Nurseryman Doug Femrite of Aurora grows bare-root trees on his 280 acre nursery on Arndt Road, and has been since 1920. Femrite understands his business and the limitations he must learn to work within, but like many agribusinessmen he has been frustrated by conflicting realities. We put nothing back in the soil with that crop. No agribusiness likes this dependency.
Chemicals are expensive.
The more you use the more you need to use. And ecological concerns have led to more and more restrictions on their use. In 1998 the Environmental Protection Agency announced that the pesticide methyl bromide, a nursery standard, would be reduced by 50 percent in 2001 and phased out completely by 2005. Growers have become more and more frustrated, caught between a rock and a hard place, and they want answers. Ingham asked, voicing the question on the lips of growers worldwide.