The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention is offering trainings through their on-line Integrated Pest Management webinar series. These have been approved for commercial pesticide applicators CEU credit through the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the registration, distribution, sale, and use of pesticides by their authority through the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). There are two types of certified pesticide applicators defined by FIFRA: private and commercial…

Inherently, pesticides have some risks to the environment, the plants or animals being protected, consumers, and/or the applicator. Those pesticides with higher risks have been designated Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP), which require training and certification for their users, while pesticides…

This month, ALG Health released a notification for a temporary stop-sale of all their NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) products (including respirators) until their non-conformance investigation is completed. ALG Health noted on the NIOSH website that these…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that they are revoking all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos. This will take effect 6 months after the announcement of the Federal Register. This is the Notice of Intent to Cancel these food…

There have been several reports of dicamba off-target movement onto soybean and other sensitive crops reported over the last two weeks in parts of Kentucky.   Despite four years of applicator training and three label changes to enhance restrictions and nullify…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Center for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is hosting an ongoing series of webinars featuring experts from across the country relaying educational information and practical strategies for establishing and improving integrated pest management and pesticide safety…

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) has expanded the locations for persons to test for commercial and noncommercial applicator licenses. In addition to the Frankfort and Gilbertsville locations that have been the only testing locations during the pandemic, the KDA…

February is National Pesticide Safety Education month. This is a time to reinforce the core principles of safe and responsible pesticide use with many audiences. Pesticides are key tools used to manage a diverse group of pests, diseases, and weeds.…

Effective December 31, 2020, new regulations mandate that any paraquat products under 120 gallons distributed or sold by paraquat registrants require a closed system. This also means that the new requirements do not allow for jar testing when testing for…

Applying pesticides safely and effectively takes training and experience. Applying pesticides improperly can result in risks to one’s health, to food safety, and to the environment. From a regulatory perspective, pesticides are classified as either General Use Pesticides (GUP) or…

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there are fewer testing locations for persons needing certification as commercial applicators. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is offering testing in Frankfort and Gilbertsville in western Kentucky. At each location, testing is limited to nine individuals…

Pesticides aren’t cheap, so it is important to take care of them. Pesticides can become degraded or unusable during the winter months if not stored properly. Some pesticides can be degraded with extreme temperatures or high humidity. This can result…