The Practices - Agroecology in Action - page 126

once-hidden ecological relationships visible. After Hendricks started to
report his findings, he encountered controversy, according to Anderson:
“I went to some of his colleagues' meetings in other parts of the valley. I
mean they were roasting sessions. 'You're out of it, Lonnie. You're going
to be back. This whole thing you're doing is taking you the wrong direc-
tion. You're going to be in trouble here. You cannot be even suggesting
that this stuff is right, that this could be the right direction.' Oh yeah. I
went to a couple of those with him.” Other Farm Advisors observed pro-
fessional courtesy in public with Hendricks, but not with CAFF staff
once they began an outreach program. Affiliated PCAs were none too
happy with him either. Hendricks's experience with biological control,
the strength of his scientific training, and his confidence in observation
convinced him BIOS could work. Because of this, he was a true scientist,
according to Anderson. He did not say growers had to follow BIOS prin-
ciples, but he was sure they could succeed if they wanted to.
Efforts to put agroecology into action have confronted a public and
private extension system that depends on a science of universal truths,
when in fact pests and beneficial organisms are dynamic in time and
space. Temperatures and precipitation vary just enough along a north-
south gradient in the Central Valley, and cool summer breezes across the
Sacramento Delta moderate temperatures slightly in the northern San
Joaquin Valley. Almonds and navel orange worms do not develop at the
same pace in Butte and Kern Counties. G. legneri does not consistently
survive winters north of Merced County, so it must be augmented from
an insectary. A 2001 study led by Walt Bentley failed to find consistent
control by G. legneri , although many BIOS growers and several inde-
pendent PCAs find it effective. 8 Broad spectrum insecticides mask the
ecological variability of a farming system. Taking advantage of agroeco-
logical strategies requires an approach to decision making that can
account for geographic variation and ecological dynamics.
When non-UC extensionists involved in the BIOS and Lodi winegrape
partnerships promoted alternatives to the dominant UC recommenda-
tions, they often encountered controversy even when UC researchers
themselves had varied views. For example, the BIOS manual conveyed
Legner's suggestion that removing mummies could deny overwintering
habitat necessary for his namesake parasitoid, making caveats that this
could increase NOW habitat as well, and recommending growers