- Author: Ben Faber
7th VENTURA COUNTY SPRAY SAFE EVENT
MARCH 20, 2018
VENTURA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
I. Registration (7:30–8:30 a.m.)
II. Opening Session (8:30–8:55 a.m.)
1. Welcoming Remarks and Introductions — Brian Benchwick, Chairman, Ventura County Spray Safe Planning Committee
2. Ventura County Spray Safe Overview — John Krist, Chief Executive Officer, Farm Bureau of Ventura County
3. The Importance and Value of Compliance — Eric Lauritzen, Policy Advisor, California Department of Pesticide Regulation
III. Morning Speakers (8:55–10:10 a.m.)
- How Water Quality Regulations Address Pesticide Use and Safety— Jenny Newman, TMDL Unit Chief, Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board
- Understanding the Pesticide Registration Process — Debbie Stubbs, Regulatory Product Manager, Syngenta Crop Protection
- Protecting Schools Near Farms — Colleen Robertson, Principal, Somis School
IV. Station Training Sessions(10:15 – 11:50 a.m.) Attendees will be divided into four groups, which will rotate through the stations, with 20 minutes per station and 5 minutes of move time per rotation.
1. Improving Water Quality Through Pesticide BMPs — Nancy Broschart, Farm Bureau
2. Drift Avoidance and Safety — Kevin Miskel, Aspen Helicopters; Danny Pereira, Rio Farms
3. Spray Rig Calibration — Marianna Castiaux, California Strawberry Commission
4. Field Inspection and Worker Safety Compliance — County Agricultural Commissioner
V. Buffet Lunch (11:50 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.) — Marshall's Bodacious BBQ
VI. Closing Session (12:45 – 1:30 p.m.)
1. Speaker Introductions — Brian Benchwick
2. Statewide Regulatory Perspectives and Issues — Brian Leahy, Director, California Department of Pesticide Regulation
3. Closing Remarks — William Terry, Vegetable Grower, Terry Farms
Attendance is free, but advance registration is
required. Fax (805) 987-3874 or email
spraysafe@farmbureauvc.com
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- Author: Cheryl Reynolds
UC Statewide IPM Program
November has arrived, and before you know it we'll be ringing in 2018! For those who hold a license or certificate from the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), and have a last name starting with the letter M through Z, this is your year to renew.
DPR is urging license and certificate holders to mail in applications now to avoid late fees and to allow enough time for processing so that you can receive your new license or certificate by the beginning of the new year. Renewing early gives DPR time to notify you if you are short any continuing education (CE) hours and allows you time to complete any additional CE courses without having to retest.
If you need more hours to complete your renewal application and don't have time to attend an in-person meeting, then check out the online courses available from the UC Statewide IPM Program (UC IPM).
The following UC IPM and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources online courses have been approved by DPR and are available whenever and wherever you want to take them.
Laws and Regulations
- Proper Pesticide Use to Avoid Illegal Residues (2 hours) $40.00 charge
- Providing Integrated Pest Management Services in Schools and Child Care Settings (1 hour Laws and Regulations and 1 hour Other)
Other
- Citrus IPM: California Red Scale (1 hour)
- Citrus IPM: Citricola Scale (1 hour)
- Citrus IPM: Citrus Peelminer (1 hour)
- Citrus IPM: Citrus Red Mite (1 hour)
- Citrus IPM: Cottony Cushion Scale (1 hour)
- Citrus IPM: Forktailed Bush Katydid (1 hour)
- Pesticide Application Equipment and Calibration (1.5 hours)
- Pesticide Resistance (2 hours)
- Tuta absoluta: A Threat to California Tomatoes (1 hour)
- Urban Pesticide Runoff and Mitigation: IPM – Pesticide Properties (1 hour)
- Urban Pesticide Runoff and Mitigation: Impact of Pesticides - Urban Pesticide Runoff (1 hour)
- Urban Pesticide Runoff and Mitigation: Water Quality and Mitigation: Bifenthrin and Fipronil (1 hour)
- Urban Pesticide Runoff and Mitigation: Herbicides and Water Quality (1 hour)
For those of you with last names A through L (or those of you who want to get a jump on your CE hours), look for new online courses from UC IPM coming in early 2018.
View the list of all DPR-approved online or in-person courses. For more information on the license and certification program and renewal information, visit the DPR website.
For more information about pest management and other training opportunities, see the UC IPM website.
- Author: Ben Faber
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- Author: Stephanie Parreira
UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), poisoning is the number one cause of injury-related death in the United States, and 1073 people in California were poisoned by pesticides in 2014 alone. Each year since 1962, National Poison Prevention Week has taken place during the third week of March, to raise awareness about avoiding these tragedies. No one wants their workers or family members to experience illness or death from pesticide exposure, so the UC IPM Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) would like to bring special attention to preventing pesticide poisoning this week. The program also published a new edition of The Safe and Effective Use of Pesticidesin 2016, which contains a wealth of pesticide safety and hazard prevention information for people who work with pesticides.
Both agricultural and household pesticides can poison people if they are not properly handled. In agriculture, poisoning most often results from pesticide mixing and loading, and the most harm occurs due to spills, splashes and equipment failure. In the home, many pesticide poisoning incidents involve children swallowing pesticides, including garden products, disinfectant cleaners, or other chemicals used to control pests.
One of the most important things you can do to prevent pesticide poisoning is to follow the instructions on the pesticide label. Labels address critical information about how to use a pesticide safely, including the kind of personal protective equipment (PPE) you should wear to prevent overexposure, how much of the product to apply, the minimum time you must wait to enter the area after applying the pesticide (the restricted entry interval), and the minimum time that must pass between application and harvest (preharvest interval).
Labels also include important signal words such as “Danger,” “Warning,” or “Caution” that indicate how acutely toxic the chemical is to humans, as well as directions to avoid pesticide contamination of sensitive areas such as schools and hospitals. These instructions are meant to protect anyone who is at risk of being exposed to hazardous pesticide residues. It is essential to thoroughly read and understand the pesticide label before working with the pesticide, and to carefully comply with label instructions throughout the process. The UC IPM guide to Understanding Pesticide Labels for Making Proper Applications can help you do this, and is available in both English and Spanish.
If you apply pesticides in or around your home, be sure to store them properly and keep them out of the reach of children. Keep in mind that even mothballs may look like candy to very young children. It is illegal and unsafe to store pesticides in food or drink containers, which can easily fool people into consuming them and being poisoned. According to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, these mistakes caused 62 incidents of child poisoning from pesticide ingestion in California in 2014, and 47 of those cases involved children under six years of age.
To learn more about poisoning and how to prevent it, consider visiting the following resources:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention Leading Causes of Death Reports
National Poison Prevention Week website
National Pesticide Information Center
UC IPM online course: Proper Pesticide Use to Avoid Illegal Residues
- Author: Sarah Risorto and Lisa Blecker
We are in the midst of a new and changing era of Worker Protection Standards (WPS). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) recently published the revised WPS, which is meant to increase protections for agricultural fieldworkers and pesticide handlers from pesticide exposure when they're working in farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses. The changes are already affecting California agriculture!
What major regulatory changes have already gone into effect?
Several changes are required to have been in place as of January 2, 2017. These include:
- All 417,000 fieldworkers in California must attend annual pesticide safety training.
- Records of all fieldworker pesticide safety trainings must be kept on file for 2 years.
- Fields must be posted when the restricted entry interval (REI) exceeds 48 hours.
- “Application-exclusion zones” must be implemented to prevent the entry of anyone into areas up to 100 feet from pesticide application equipment.
- Instructors previously qualified via a DPR-approved Instructor Training programs (Train the Trainer) are qualified to train through 2017. If you wish to be qualified to train fieldworkers and handlers after December 31, 2017 using this qualification, you must complete an updated, DPR-approved Train the Trainer workshop.
Now is the time to make sure these changes are put in place!
What major regulatory changes are still in store for us? When will they happen?
The regulatory changes that must be in place by January 2, 2018 include:
- Additional training topics for fieldworkers and handlers have to be added to the curriculum.
- Handlers have to suspend an application if anyone enters the application exclusion zone.
Who do these changes affect?
Many people who work in the California agricultural community will be impacted by the WPS revisions. These include fieldworkers, pesticide handlers, farm labor contractors, private and in-house safety trainers, growers, farm managers, licensed pesticide applicators (private and commercial), pest control advisors (PCAs), and crop consultants, to name a few.
How do I know if I am qualified to train?
If you attended one of the DPR-approved Train-the-Trainer programs you are qualified through 2017. However, if you wish to continue training after the end of the year, you must complete a DPR-approved Instructor Training Program, which includes the 2018 training topic requirements.
If you maintain certain licenses/government designations, including PAC, QAC, QAL, PCA, and certain County Biologist licenses you are qualified to train. UCCE Advisors are also qualified to train.
How can I get qualified as a trainer?
To become a trainer, take an Instructor Training program that is approved by DPR for 2018 topics. The University of California Pesticide Safety Education Program (part of the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, UC IPM), in partnership with AgSafe, will offer multiple workshops this spring that cover the new federal requirements for fieldworker and handler training. You can reserve your spot now. At the end of the training you will be a certified pesticide safety instructor.
If I am currently qualified, how can I make sure I stay up to date on all the new requirements?
If you are currently qualified as a trainer because you maintain a California PAC, QAC, or QAL, or if you are a PCA, you can attend an Instructor Training Program this spring to learn about the new WPS requirements and additional training topics. While a certification may qualify you, an Instructor Training Program will prepare you to train! Register today!
UC IPM Pesticide Safety Education Program