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Pesticide Safety Education Program

Ohio State University Extension

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FAQs

FAQs relating to Pesticide & fertilizer Applicator Training for New Educators

 

What are the recertification requirements for maintaining a private applicator's license and Fertilizer Certificate?

To maintain a private pesticide license, the applicator must attend 3 hours of approved recertification training anytime during the 3-year recertification cycle.  They also have the option to retest.   There is no grace period if they don’t recertify by their license expiration.  They do however, have 180 days to pay the renewal fee after the expiration date before their license is no longer valid.  The 3 hours must include 1 hour of CORE + ½ hour (minimum) of credit for each category on the applicator’s license, after which the remaining hours can be in any category they chose. One hour of fertilizer recertification is required every three years. The additional hour of fertilizer recertification may be held before or after your PAT program or held as a separate training.
 

what is the difference between recertifying and renewing a pesticide license or fertilizer certificate?

 A private pesticide license must be renewed every three years by filling out the renewal form issued by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and paying the $30 fee. License renewal is also available online HERE! Recertification requires that the private applicator recieves a minimum of three hours and a fertilizer certificate holder receives one hour of continuing education credit during the three year recertification cycle, by the expiration date on their license.  A fertilizer certificate holder who also holds a private applicator's license, will not owe any additional fees.  A fertilizer certificate holder, without a private pesticide license will pay a renewal fee of $30 every three years.  

An applicator told me they already paid the fee, but we never received payment!!

Applicators must pay a $30 fee to ODA for renewing their license every three years. This is separate from the fee (usually $35) charged to applicators for the recertification program sponsored by OSU Extension. You will need to explain to the applicator that they still need to pay you for the program and that the $30 fee is the renewal fee from ODA.

How do our private pesticide applicators and Fertilizer certificate holders know that they need to attend recertification?

Every December the Ohio Department of Agriculture sends a letter to private applicators whose licenses will expire the following March, detailing how much recertification credit they have acquired, and how much they still need to keep their license active. Enclosed with the letter is a flyer compiled by PSEP with the details of each county’s program(s) available for credit before March 31. Educators and growers are also able to check recertification status with a current license number and last name HERE.

How do I know which Private pesticide applicators or Fertilizer certificate holders in my county have a license and need recertification?

Each fall, the ODA will provide a list of all pesticide applicators and fertilizer certificate holders due to expire in Ohio. These lists will be available on the flash drive, as well as in OneDrive. A second list of those who still require recertification will be distributed in February, should you chose to reach out to those growers individually. 

Should I offer pesticide and/or fertilizer recertification in my county?  should I teach PAT in my first year? 

Yes.  Most educators co-teach within their Area, so one person doesn’t have to teach the entire program.  Use the expertise of the other educators to help you prepare a lesson or use an existing lesson which fits your teaching style, ability and background.  Teaching materials (ppts) are provided to you on a flash drive and OneDrive that you can use as a part of your training.  It not advisable to use the ppt verbatim, but to use the information provided to create a training and/or activity geared towards your applicators.  Don't hesitate to reach out to your specialists, as they may be willing to speak at one of your trainings.  You should also incorporate new material every three years to accommodate the 3-year recertification cycle.

How and When do I schedule my county pesticide and fertilizer trainings?

You will enter your meetings into the ODA Portal HERE at least 30 days prior the to event.  If you do not have a user name and password, please contact PSEP.  Once your meeting has been entered, PSEP will post your meeting details on the pested webpage and the ODA will email you the recertification codes. Be sure to confirm you have all of the approprite codes, well in advance.  Once you have submitted your meeting, you cannot go back in and make changes, you will need to call the ODA @ 614-728-6403 to edit or add additional categories. For details on how to enter your meeting into the ODA portal, click HERE!

What Topics are approved as part of the core curriculum? 

Every licensed pesticide applicator must pass a CORE test in addition to at least one license category.  The CORE material teaches how to store, handle, and apply pesticides in a safe and environmentally sound manner.   Some of the many topics you could cover in CORE presentations include pesticide safety practices, personal protective equipment (PPE), how to read a pesticide label, worker protection (WPS), pesticide regulations, environmental fate, IPM, effective spraying/application techniques, pesticide storage, recordkeeping, drift prevention and farm stress and mental health.  Click HERE for a complete list of the Private Core Competancies (ODA) that would qualify for Core credit.

What Topics are approved for Fertilizer Recertification?

For a list of recertification approved topics, click HERE. 

How much should I charge for my meeting(s)?

It is up to the individual county to determine what they will charge, some counties don't charge a fee at all.  In general, a 3-hour PAT is $35 and a 1-hour fertilizer recertification is $10.  You are also permitted to charge additional fees for lunch and/or publications, or seek sponsorships for assistance.  Counties can accept cash or checks only.  To accept credits cards, you must use CVENT.  

Is Online registration available to accept credit cards as payment for my meetings?

The only way to accept credits cards for an event is to use CVENT, OSU's approved online registration software.  This is completely optional, but please be aware that a credit card fee averaging 2.2% will be in addtion to the 5.7% university overhead to the college.  To use online registration, you must also enter your meeting details into the CVENT webform, which is spearate from the ODA Portal. 

Can I offer new applicator training in my county to help growers prepare for the exams?

Absolutely!  Training materials are available in OneDrive for Private New Applicator Training.  

Can I offer to host an exam following a training?

All exams are proctored by the Ohio Department of Agriculture free of charge.  The ODA will host an exam at your training location if the following criteria are met:  You have at least 25 people present, the exam is scheduled between 9 am and 1 pm, Monday through Thursday (no holidays), and the exam is open to the public.  To host an exam, please fill out the following form!

What do i do when a Private pesticide applicator or fertilizer certificate holder is unable to attend my scheduled county meeting?

You have videos available to you on a flash drive, as well as in OneDrive which include all private applicator categories and fertilizer.  You may use these videos in conjunction with your live trainings, or on their own as make-up sessions for those that can’t attend a live training.

How do my growers obtain study materials?

Most private study materials and supplemental information are available as a free download Here! Core and Category 1 are available to purchase from OSU Extension Publications.  You are welcome to have these items on hand at your county office and charge a fee, lend them out, or give them out.  It's entirely up to the county.  

Are pesticide and fertilizer exams offered online?

Presently, Ohio is not offering pesticide or fertilizer exams online.  All exams are proctored by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.  Testing sites are located throughout Ohio, but may have limited seating. Find a testing location HERE!

What do I do about a neighboring county with no ANR educator?

Work with your Area Educators to determine how to offer a program in that county OR to invite them to surrounding counties. If you offer a program in that county, you should speak with and work with the county director in that county. This relationship may help future funding for an ANR position in that county and help participants understand the office structure/funding for that office (and may be why they do not have an ANR educator).

My grower lost their License renewal form, HOw do they replace it?

Each applicator will receive a renewal letter that is specific to their license.  They will need to contact the ODA to receive a new form.  614-728-698.  Applicators may also renew online HERE or simply mail in a new license application form and add their ID number with "RENEWAL" written at the top!