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In This Issue
Court Rules in Farmers' Favor for Crop Damage The Supreme Court ruled that 29 peanut farmers in Texas could proceed with their lawsuit against Dow AgroSciences. The farmers claim that Dow failed to warn of possible crop damage risks of Strongarm, a herbicide used by the farmers in 2000. A lower court dismissed the farmers' claim, reasoning that federal law bars states from imposing labeling requirements on pesticides other than those set by EPA. The Supreme Court decision opinion said the farmers' claims could also involve questions of whether the product or manufacturing was defective. (Source: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Update, April 25, 2005.) How Much are Herbicides Worth? Farmers could lose more than 289 billion pounds or $13 billion in farm income if weeds were left unchecked in crop production. The numbers are from a report issued by the Crop Protection Research Institute. The report estimates the total value of herbicides to be more than $21 billion for farmers. These economic benefits include a $7.7 billion reduction in weed control costs and savings of approximately $13.3 billion in potential crop losses. The institute also emphasis the importance of herbicides in conservation production practices such as no-till. The report is available at http://www.croplifefoundation.org/cpri_benefits.htm (Source: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 33, No. 22) Improved Labels for Mosquito Control Products EPA is issuing seven new recommendations for mosquito labeling to pesticide registrants. The products involved are applied by ultra-low volume aerial or ground application methods for control of adult mosquitoes. The changes are intended to help public health mosquito control officials. The recommendations are:
EPA is currently in the review and public comment period for these label recommendations. (Source: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Update, March 9, 2005.) Children's Exposure Study Cancelled EPA has cancelled a planned study of children's exposure to pesticides in their homes. Called the Children's Health Environmental Exposure Research Study, the focus was to determine how children were exposed to pesticides in their homes, and the types of pesticides used regularly in a home. The study came under attack by environmental groups who accused EPA of putting children at risk through the study. (Source: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Update, April 8, 2005.) Mosquito Vector Control Workshops Do you know any pesticide applicators who will be doing mosquito spraying this year? Encourage them to attend the Vector Control Workshops, coordinated by Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Department of Health. These workshops will be held around the state in June and the dates and locations are listed below. Applicators will be able to bring in their mosquito ULV spraying equipment for droplet testing. The sprayers must be in working condition and calibrated prior to the workshop. Droplets can be taken only using pesticide as the spray, so have some pesticide in the tank. At selected locations, an educational program and license exam testing will be available. The program includes a morning of new applicator training for the mosquito category on a pesticide applicator license. Applicators will be able to take their licensing exam the same morning. The afternoon educational session will feature an update on West Nile Virus and mosquito control. Pesticide recertification credits for the mosquito category will be available in the afternoon session. The dates and locations of the workshops are:
On-line registration and more information is available on the Pesticide Education Program website at http://pested.osu.edu or by calling (614) 292-4070. New Active Ingredients Registered The registration of 26 new active ingredients was a highlight of the EPA annual report, available on-line at http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/annual/2004/04annualrpt.pdf . Of the 26 active ingredients, 14 are biological, two are antimicrobial, five are reduced-risk conventional and five are conventional pesticides. The report states that these ingredients represent alternatives for organophosphates and methyl bromide. In 2004, EPA also registered 231 new food uses for previously registered active ingredients which include 40 reduced risk, 20 organophosphate alternatives and 10 methyl bromide alternatives. Jim Jones, director of the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), discussed the annual report during a recent speech. "OPP is well on its way to meeting the Food Quality Protection Act deadline to reassess all 9,721 tolerances by August 2006, with more than 7,000 completed at the end of fiscal year 2004," he said. He pointed out that the reassessments that will be done must meet the new safety standard of a reasonable certainty of no harm. (Source: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs 2004 Annual Report.) Label Changes Anticipated for Endangered Species EPA is working on changes for the Endangered Species Protection Program, which may result in changes to pesticide labels and county bulletins. The label changes will amend pesticide labeling so labels may include language that directs users to their local bulletins. The endangered species bulletins available at the county level will include specific areas where the pesticide could not be used because of endangered species. EPA anticipates the review and implementation process will take until the October 2008 deadline for reregistering older chemicals. (Source: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, March 21, 2005) New Date for PAT Agent Inservice The Pesticide Applicator Training Agent Inservice for OSU Extension will be December 8 and 9, 2005. This is a move from our usual date in early January. The program will be held in the Agriculture Administration Auditorium on OSU Campus in Columbus. The new date will help to avoid conflicts with other programming and allow educators more preparation time for county schools. Hopefully, there will be less treacherous weather for traveling! Wood-Destroying Insect Inspection Training - June 1 June 1 will be the next training session for inspectors wanting to become licensed for wood-destroying insect inspections. Ohio regulation requires a license for anyone performing insect inspections as part of a real estate transaction. The license requires the inspectors to attend a mandatory five-hour training session and take a test. Anyone interested in attending the training can go to the Pesticide Education Program website at http://pested.osu.edu to register. If there are any questions, they can call the program at (614) 292-4070. The class will be held from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.. The registration, which includes lunch, is $90 if pre-registered and $100 at the door. Ohio State University Extension Educators who would like to learn more about inspecting structures for insect damage can attend the training at the discounted rate of $25. Call (614) 292-4070 for more information. Herbicides
Misc.
(Sources for Pesticide Crop Watch: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 33, No. 25; EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Update, Feb. 25, 2005)
------------------------------------------------------------------------ OSU Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that all educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, age, gender identity or expression, disability, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or veteran status. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and Director, OSU Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868
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Pesticide Education Program • Ohio State University Extension |