Author: Matthew Adams
Major Program: Pesticide Safety – Plant Pests
Pesticide usage is a necessary part of modern conventional agriculture. One issue with pesticide use that most don’t think of is the amount of used plastic containers in which the pesticides are purchased in. A resurgence in use of these smaller containers has also come due to herbicide resistance issues promoting farmers to use different chemicals that are used at lower rates. Many of these containers will have very small traces of pesticides left on the inside of the containers, making t
Author: Shane Bogle
The importance of the private pesticide applicator license process has not changed in many years. Producers wishing to purchase and use restricted and general use pesticides are required to hold this license. But in recent years just as many license holders are not farmers but general land owners, and gardeners. Training's held in Caldwell County the last several years have focused heavily on all types of applicators not just our large farmers. Topics including pesticide re
Author: Michele Stanton
One of the many challenges to Horticulture and Agriculture agents is the need for pesticide education. Our culture promotes the idea that there is a product in a bottle or a bag somewhere that will cure whatever ails your plants. This concept is pervasive; in 2012, the EPA estimated that $25,000,000,000 was spent on the purchase of herbicides alone.The use of pesticides is not new. 4500 years ago, Sumerians used sulphur compounds to manage insects and mites. Colonists used arsenic to c
Author: Kathryn Wimberley
SITUATION: Chemical application at its best is simultaneously safe, effective, economical, and environmentally-conscious. Achieving each of these attributes for plant pest management is an ongoing educational process for a variety of applicator groups, including farm managers and workers, gardeners, crop advisors, point-of-sale employees, and industry and government agency representatives. This process will include educational sessions, hands-on demonstrations, test plots, coordinated recom
Author: Garrard Coffey
In the spring of 2015 I collaborated with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture again to do the noxious weed spraying in hay and pasture fields in Whitley County. The demos were completed on 6 farms and approximately 110 acres were sprayed to demonstrate the correct use of chemical control on buttercup and thistle. The demos were used to show how to calibrate sprayers, applying the correct amount of chemical per acre, and safety when spraying. There was a 20 acre increase in 2016 and there was
Author: Curtis Judy
One hundred-six farmers received Restricted-Use (RU) Pesticide Certification training this program year at eight Todd County Extension pesticide educational programs. As always, safety when handling chemicals was a major emphasis of these sessions, along with proper pest identification so that appropriate control methods may be utilized. In these trainings, farmers were reminded about the importance of the pesticide label and how to read it to get the information they need to safely
Author: Leann Martin
Application of crop protection chemicals and lawn/landscape chemicals are important industries 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 12 hours of continuing education during a three year cycle to maintain their applicator license. 3 of these hours must address specific topics that pertain to their license category. Many applicators were having a difficult
Author: Thomas Miller
The advent of dicamba tolerant soybeans has been one of the most newsworthy and controversial subjects in the grain production areas of Kentucky over the last year. The four river counties of Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman and Fulton have been at the forefront of battling herbicide resistant weeds because of our location on the river and yearly flooding, therefore dicamba technology will be very important for our producers going forward. Unfortunately, our local news media did several stories last s
Author: Benjamin Rudy
In October 2017 the EPA made revisions to the labeling of the new formulations of dicamba products that are marketed as Engenia (BASF), Xtendimax (Monsanto), and FeXapan (DuPont). These new herbicides were developed for use with dicamba-tolerant soybeans (Roundup Ready2 Xtend soybean varieties). These products, which were first available for applications during the 2017 growing season, are now classified by the EPA as “RESTRICTED USE” pesticides, meaning that either a commercial or p
Author: Vicki Shadrick
A private applicator is a person certified to use any pesticide, restricted or general use, for purposes of producing any agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by him/her or his/her employer. Each year, Agriculture and Natural Resource agents offer private applicator certification trainings throughout the state. Producers must attend an approved training every three years to keep their certification. The County Extension Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Web
Author: Roger "Darrell" Simpson
The Tobacco GAP program requires that workers be trained in Worker Protection Standards. This agent conducted two trainings for H2A Spanish speaking migrant workers in late June and in September so as to train workers coming into the farm on the initial contract and then those on the secondary contract.. A combined sixty three workers attended the programs. Spanish language videos provided by Dr. Lee Townsend, Extension Entomologist, were utilized to train the workers regarding handling and appl
Author: Samantha Anderson
The University of Kentucky Research and Education Center at Princeton serves as a valuable resource for agricultural activities in western Kentucky. Both commercial scale producers and homeowners can benefit from the services that are offered through the Research and Education Center. An example of the individual impact made by Cooperative Extension personnel was demonstrated through the identification and treatment recommendations for a pest infestation presented by a homeowner. The homeowner s
