WAWG
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is hosting a pesticide usage collection meeting on Jan. 19 at the Washington Association of Wheat Growers office in Ritzville from 9 am to 12:30 pm. Joel Demory, an agricultural practices specialist from the WSDA Spokane office, will be leading the meeting.
The goal of the meeting is to collect updated pesticide usage data for applications made on both wheat and wheat fallow in Eastern Washington. The information to be collected includes: product names, application date ranges, typical rates, number of applications per year, percentage of total acres treated, application method(s) and target pests. It’s recommended growers bring application records or a working knowledge of their annual pesticide applications. WSDA collects pesticide usage data in order to effectively communicate real-world pesticide usage information during federal pesticide registration periods. If the Environmental Protection Agency does not collect, or is not presented with real-world pesticide usage data during the federal registration period, they will assume maximum application rates on all crops allowed on the label.
It is essential for WSDA to share real-world pesticide usage data for Washington state with federal entities to help to limit these assumptions. Names of participants will not be collected or affiliated with the data in any way.
Growers will be eligible to receive 2 credits towards their pesticide applicators license for participating.
Please RSVP by emailing lori@wawg.org or call the WAWG office at (509) 659-0610.