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In This Issue
West Nile Virus Satellite Conference Ohio State University Extension will be hosting a satellite conference on March 24 entitled, "Educating the Public about West Nile Virus and Its Prevention". The conference will begin at 2:00 p.m. The channel information for the conference is:
The satellite conference will be broadcast to county OSU Extension offices and will be broadcast in Room 244, Kottman Hall on Ohio State University campus. Registered sanitarian continuing education credits have been requested for the conference. The satellite conference will include a discussion of human infection with West Nile Virus, issues facing local communities and safeguarding horses from West Nile Virus. Speakers will be from the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio State University Extension. For more information about the satellite conference, contact Cindy Folck . EPA is urging retailers and distributors to be on the look out for counterfeit products used to control fleas and ticks on dogs and cats. Counterfeit versions of Frontline Top Spot, Frontline Plus and Advantage products have been found in retail stores. The counterfeit pesticides appear to have been unlawfully imported and packaged in retail cartons which are designed to look similar to legitimately registered pesticides sold in the U.S. Inside the cartons are applicators that are labeled and packaged for overseas markets. In some cases, the pesticide applicators may not have the proper child-resistant packaging or the accompanying instructional leaflet required by EPA. More detailed information about these is available . (Source: U.S. EPA Office of Information, March 3, 2004) The 24C Special Local need label was cancelled for Aim Herbicide. The herbicide defoliates and/or desiccates bindweeds, morning glories, pigweeds, velvetleaf present at harvest. The 24C label was cancelled and can no longer be used in Ohio. Free Ohio Program for Schools/Public Agencies Anyone who applies pesticides in public areas such as schools, daycare centers, apartments or hospitals is required to be a licensed pesticide applicator, or be a trained serviceperson if someone at the facility is already licensed. Even if the person is applying an over-the-counter pesticide such as wasp spray or mouse bait, they must have a license. To help schools and other public agencies train their personnel, Ohio State University Extension is offering three new applicator training sessions. The sessions will help prepare attendees for the core and category 10a, general indoor pest, pesticide exams and anyone completing the course will receive a "Trained Serviceperson" certificate. The sessions will be:
Registration for the sessions is available at http://pested.osu.edu . The sessions are being organized by the Pesticide Education Program with help from Tim Malinich, Cuyahoga Co., OSU Extension, Charles Behnke, Lorain Co., OSU Extension and Pete Lane, Montgomery Co., OSU Extension. Do GM Crops Affect Pesticide Usage? A recently released study says the adoption of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and cotton in the U.S. has resulted in a sharp increase in pesticide use since 1996. This report was done by the Northwest Science and Policy Center and funded by several organizations including the Union of Concerned Scientists, Consumer Union's Consumer Policy Institute and The Organic Farming Research Foundation. The usage of herbicides on herbicide-tolerant crops, especially soybeans, has attributed to the rise in pesticides according to the researcher who also says farmers have had to increase applications to keep up with resistance in weeds and the emergence of harder-to-control species. The report does says that crops engineered to resist insects have decreased insecticide usage by two million pounds. A separate researcher with the National Center for Food & Agricultural Policy points out the USDA numbers, which were used for the analysis in the report, do not differentiate between herbicides used for burn down and those used after the crop has emerged. In an unrelated story, an international agribusiness consulting firm has predicted that GM crops and generic glyphosate will reduce crop protection chemical sales by more than $1 billion over the next five years. Based on current trends, the company predicts that the introduction of new biotech seeds will negatively impact other pesticide markets in the future. (Sources: Pesticide & Chemical Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 32, No. 8) Organic Farmers May Be Exempted from Fees Producers and marketers of 100 percent organic products may be exempted from marketing program payments. These payments educational, research, promotional and quality-control programs for commodities such as milk, pork, prunes, tomatoes and others. Organic growers contend that unlike conventional growers, they must pay for organic certification and have extra marketing costs because they are targeting a different market. The change was inserted into the 2002 farm bill and would exempt organic sellers from about 65 percent of the fees they now pay. (Source: Chemically Speaking, University of Florida Extension, January, 2004) Community Mosquito Management Conference Community officials and administrators are invited to a Community Mosquito Management Conference on May 7, 2004, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on Ohio State University campus at the Agriculture Administration Building Auditorium. The conference is for people who will be overseeing and managing mosquito control for townships, counties, parks and agencies. The cost is $10/person and registration will be available in April on the Pesticide Education Program website at http://pested.osu.edu. Topics to be covered include a panel of Ohio county administrators discussing the challenges of mosquito control on a local level, industry representatives focusing on equipment and materials for control, an update from the Ohio Department of Health and an overview of the State of Ohio surveillance program. Please encourage local departments of health, county commissioners, township trustees, park and campground managers, fairground managers and anyone else involved with managing community and public outdoor areas to attend. Alexander the Great may have been the most famous victim of West Nile Virus. His death was sudden shortly after arriving in Babylon and epidemiologists have suggested the evidence shows the young conqueror showed symptoms of the virus. West Nile Virus is common in Africa, West Asia and the Middle East and writings around the time of Alexander's death note that ravens in Babylon were falling over dead. (Source: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 32, No. 8). Insecticides
Herbicides
(Source for Pesticide Crop Watch: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 32, No. 8)
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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