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In This Issue
Fumigation Workshop for Applicators The Grain Fumigation Workshop will be December 1 and 2 in Reynoldsburg. Sponsored by OSU Extension and the Ohio AgriBusiness Association, the workshop will offer new applicator training classes and recertification opportunities for commercial applicators. December 1 will focus on training for commercial applicators wanting to become licensed in fumigation (category 10c). Speakers include Joanne Kick-Raack, Pesticide Education Program, OSU Extension and Curtis Young, OSU Extension, Allen County. December 2 will feature fumigation planning and methods and applicators will be able to receive recertification credit. The speakers will be John Mueller and Jeff Waggoner, Fumigation Services and Supply, Inc. and they will discuss cylindrized phosphine fumigants, empty bin treatments and a blueprint for a fumigation management plan. For more information, and registration information, visit the Ohio AgriBusiness website at http://www.oaba.net Mark your calendars for the Pesticide Applicator Training Agent Inservice on January 5 & 6, 2005. The event will be held in the Agriculture Auditorium in the Agriculture Administration Building on OSU main campus in Columbus. The agenda will include horticulture updates in the morning of January 5 with regulation and core updates in the afternoon of January 5. January 6 will focus on agronomic updates. Registration information and a detailed agenda will be coming out soon. Minnesota Considers Ban of Atrazine The Minnesota state legislature is considering a ban on atrazine, a herbicide widely used for corn for over 40 years. The controversy is focusing on studies that suggest atrazine causes sexual deformities in frogs. Recently, an EPA interim re-registration eligibility decision of atrazine listed the active ingredient as not likely to cause cancer in humans. (Source: Greenwire via U.S. EPA, October 29, 2004) U.S. EPA could be facing an eight percent cut in the fiscal 2005 budget. Before this announcement, EPA already initiated a 35 percent cut in funding for state pesticide safety education programs. This cut is a continuation of reduction for the programs that started in fiscal 2004. (Source: U.S. EPA, October 25, 2004) California Law for Victims of Pesticide Drift A new law in California requires pesticide applicators to reimburse the medical costs of anyone who was accidentally exposed to pesticide drift and became sick. This is in addition to any fines that may be levied to the applicator. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the appropriate county agricultural commissioner would determine the applicator who would be responsible for the drift. (Source: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 32, No. 51) Methyl Bromide for Shipping Materials Methyl bromide will continue to be available to use on wood-packaging materials such as pallets and crates used to carry goods into and out of the country. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service finalized this rule to help guard against introduction of plant pests through packaging material. (Source: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 32, No. 49) Pesticide Sales and Usage Report Available EPA has released the report on pesticide industry sales and usage for 2000 and 2001. It's available on-line at: http://www.epa.gov/oppbead1/pestsales/index.htm Overall, conventional pesticide use was down in 2001 to 888 million pounds, a decline of about 38 million pounds. Pesticide use occurs on more than 941,000 farms and in more than 78 million households in the U.S. Herbicides were the leading type of pesticides used and the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup and other products) replaced atrazine as the most widely used pesticide in the agricultural market. (Source: The Label newsletter, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension, Vol. 16, No. 10) EPA Study on Children Draws Fire U.S. EPA is planning a study on the effects of pesticides on children's development. The planned study will be done in a Florida county and involve monitoring children under the age of three for their exposure to a variety of pesticides and household chemicals in their homes. Opponents argue that introducing pesticides into homes occupied by children should not be the focal point of an EPA study. EPA has responded that the study is designed so that participants are not asked to apply any pesticides, but will be studied on their normal pesticide use patterns to get actual in-field exposure data. Other partners in the study include the Centers for Disease Control and the local county health department. Companies Cited for Selling Canadian Pesticides U.S. EPA is seeking more than $500,000 in penalties from two companies cited for selling pesticide products from Canada in the U.S. The products were sold in home improvement stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Even though the products were legal to sell in Canada, the EPA is charging the companies for violating FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act). In order for a pesticide product to be used legally in the U.S., it must have two sets of numbers on the front label of the container. The first number (EPA registration number) indicates that the product is registered with EPA. The second number (EPA establishment registration number) is placed at the bottom of the label and shows which facility manufactured the product. (Source: U.S. EPA media release). Herbicides
Misc. - Wood Preservation
(Sources for Pesticide Crop Watch: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 32, Nos. 48 & 50)
------------------------------------------------------------------------ All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension. . |
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