Success Stories By MajorProgram FY2025Jul 1, 2024 - Jun 30, 2025
New Pesticide Applicator Protocol at Local Regional University
Author: Matthew Chadwick
Major Program: Chemical Management
Issue or Situation:Murray State University implemented a new policy requiring student workers involved in pesticide application or entering areas treated with pesticides to attend a pesticide training class and obtain a private applicator's card as part of their employment. However, the timing of the trainings, offered only in late winter, created challenges for workers hired in the summer and fall semesters, leaving a gap in pesticide safety preparedness for these students.Outreach or Educa
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Rinse and Return Program
Author: Bryce Roberts
Major Program: Chemical Management
The Rinse and Return Program is coordinated with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture with local Cooperative Extension Service Offices throughout Kentucky. It is a recycling program that allows for the reuse of plastic containers that previously held pesticides and these containers cannot be recycled with other ordinary household plastics. According to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, “this reduces the amount of material enteri
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Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP)
Author: Ricardo Bessin
Major Program: Chemical Management
This is a service-oriented educational program that trains, certifies, and licenses both Private and Commercial applicators to use Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP) or pesticides as part of their commercial businesses. EPA requires that only trained and licensed applicators can purchase and use RUPs as they pose greater risks than other products. Private Applicators are farmers that use RUPs to produce agricultural commodities. Currently there are 10,653 licensed Private applicators who are traine
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Spencer Co. Pesticide CEU Update
Author: Bryce Roberts
Major Program: Chemical Management
Each fall, the Spencer County Cooperative Extension Service hosts a meeting for commercial pesticide applicators to help them receive Continuing Education Units so that they can keep their licenses up to date from year to year. For 2024, this was an online meeting, with 27 in attendance. Topics for the meeting included: Turf Disease and Weeds Update, Invasive Insects, Right of
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Pesticide Safety Education Program
Author: Tad Campbell
Major Program: Chemical Management
The University of Kentucky Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) develops educational materials for certification of Private Pesticide Applicators. Private Pesticide Applicators are agricultural producers applying restricted and general use pesticide products to owned or leased land to produce an agriculture commodity. Kentucky’s EPA approved certification program consists of a three-hour training covering core concepts or an in-depth examination covering the core co
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2024 Southern Kentucky Pesticide Applicator Training
Author: Gregory Drake
Major Program: Chemical Management
Application of crop protection chemicals and lawn/landscape chemicals is an important industry in South Central Kentucky. Professional applicators must receive training to stay current on issues, pests, techniques, and safety for the products they apply. They need to receive continuing education to maintain their license. The agriculture and horticulture agents around the Mammoth Cave responded to a need for a commercial training opportunity by developing the SOKY Pesticide Tra
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Southern Kentucky Commercial Pesticide Training
Author: David Embrey
Major Program: Chemical Management
Application of crop protection chemicals and lawn/landscape chemicals is an important industry in South Central Kentucky. Professional applicators must receive training to stay current on issues, pests, techniques, and safety for the products they apply. They need to receive continuing education to maintain their license. The agriculture and horticulture agents around the old Mammoth Cave area (Currently West Areas 7 & 8) responded several years ago to a need for a commercial tra
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Private Pesticide Applicator Training
Author: Clinton Hardy
Major Program: Chemical Management
Each year more than $12 million dollars of pesticides are purchased and applied to over 200,000 acres in Daviess County in no less than two applications resulting in a minimum of 400,000 acres treated annually. Not only are these applications expensive, they are ineffective if mixed and applied improperly. In addition to low efficacy, improper use can result in crop injury or off-site crop injury. Other problems which may occur with improper mixing and application may result in
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Private Pesticide Applicator Training
Author: Ashley Norton
Major Program: Chemical Management
In Hardin County, safe pesticide use is a priority for farmers who rely on them for crop protection but face risks to health, the environment, and compliance with regulations. To address this, Private Pesticide Applicator Trainings were held that covered laws, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), safe handling, application techniques, and environmental protection. Key partners included industry experts and University researchers that contributed up-to-date research and training resources. The train
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Use of AI to translate 2 additional pesticide training manuals into Spanish
Author: Ricardo Bessin
Major Program: Chemical Management
Describe the Issue or Situation.EPA has recently mandated chemical manufactures to produce bilingual labels for pesticides. The KY Department of Agriculture is considering offering pesticide certification testing in Spanish. These developments have pushed us to get our training manuals translated into Spanish, but we do not have the personnel or resources to get this accomplished. So we have turned to AI to get this done.Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if app
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- Lexington, KY 40546-0091
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