New funding for research aimed at developing alternatives to methyl bromide may be even more significant with the delay in the federal phase-out deadline for the agricultural fumigant, says the head of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. "We've received $1 million from the state legislature specifically to find alternatives to methyl bromide and another $1 million to demonstrate biologically integrated farming systems," says Robert Reginato, interim director of the UC Davis-based program. "That's in addition to the $225,000 we're awarding for our regular agricultural production and community development projects." New California legislation and continued support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state legislature is allowing the sustainable agriculture program to offer a new cycle of funding for production and community agriculture projects, more money for biologically integrated farming systems projects and a whole new grants program for methyl bromide alternatives research. "We've gained four more years to support creative research and demonstration efforts related to alternatives to this ozone-depleting agrochemical," Reginato says. The sustainable agriculture program is soliciting three types of research proposals with different emphases from California researchers, institutions, commodity groups and private organizations. Copies of the requests for proposals can be printed from the sustainable agriculture program's Web site at or by contacting the program's grants manager, Bev Ransom, at (530) 754-8546, baransom@ucdavis.edu.