Comment submitted by Dale T. Rowley, Cherry Hill Farms Inc.

My name is Dale Rowley. I am a orchard manager for Cherry Hill Farms Inc. located in Santaquin, Utah. I manage 120 acres of apples that are all susceptible to fire blight. We were able to manage our fireblight with streptomycin until 5 years ago when our fire blight doubled. We sent in fire blight samples to Utah State University labs and had them tested for strep resistance. They came back and told us that we could no longer use streptomycin because the samples tested 90 percent resistant to the spray. We have followed up every year since to see if the resistance has decreased but it has only come down a little so they continue to recommend using another source of material to fight fire blight with. We only have one choice and that is Mycoshield (Oxytetracycline). We have been told by our extension agents from USU that Kasugamycin can be another tool that can help get our fire blight back under control and help prevent resistance to Mycoshield. Our farm has pulled out 21 acres of apples due to severe fire blight in those blocks. That equates to around $210,000 up front costs before any production. The apples that our markets are requesting are all fire blight susceptible. Our farm, and all of the apple growers in Utah would strongly suggest that you approve this application for Kasugamycin, an Emergency Exemption for the State of Michigan and also any other requests from apple growing states i.e. Utah. I know that we are a small player in the apple industry but we have established strong markets with the fruit that we grow. It would be very advantageous if we could have another tool to help us fight fire blight. Thank you, Dale T. Rowley Manager--Cherry Hill Farms Inc. 801-367-6770