The Madera County Sheriff has declared a local emergency pursuant to Government Code section 8630 and Title 3, California Code of Regulations (3 CCR) section 6990, allowing for neonicotinoid pesticides to be applied to crops susceptible to the beet leafhopper (BLH), the vector of Beet Curly Top Virus, a disease known to cause serious crop damage.
This local emergency is currently in effect, and will remain in effect as ratified by the Madera County Board of Supervisors, on June 10, after which the local emergency will continue.
This local emergency declaration is in response to increases in populations of the BLH in the wildland/agricultural interface in Madera.