California's Central Valley shores up counter-agroterror programs

Butte County, California rests on an agricultural plain close to the northernmost point of the state’s Central Valley. Aside from the bohemian confines of the state university in Chico, most of the land is taken up with farming, and so while the notoriously liberal university students there may find fault with the president’s counterterrorism policies, the conservative farming constituency takes the threat of agroterrorism seriously. “Our biggest issue is misuse of material in terrorist acts, and also corruption of food products or contamination with biological,” said Butte County Agriculture Commissioner Richard Price.

The county is justly proud of its efforts. According to Price, the county now requires more secure locking devices for cropdusters; large-scale outdoor storage of fertilizer is a thing of the past; those that wish to buy large quantities of it must also show identification; and pesticides are more strictly controlled by regulating the total amount a farmer or spraying company can have on hand at any one time. “It’s not like life like it used to be,” said Price. Thank goodness.