Released March 10, 2011
MANHATTAN, Kan. – It’s in the air – spring and the flurry of agricultural activity that accompanies it is at hand. Now is a good time to plan for the application of pesticides -- herbicides, fungicides or insecticides.
A good place to start is to review U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements for pesticide recordkeeping. The requirements apply only to restricted use pesticides, but it is a good idea to keep quality records for all pesticide applications.
The Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade (FACT) Act of 1990 (1990 Farm Bill), states that private applicators must record the use of any restricted use pesticides (RUP) they apply. Application records must be kept for two years from the date of application. Certified private pesticide applicators should retain these records and must be able to make them accessible for copying by authorized regulatory and medical representatives.
There is no set method for recording the use of RUPs. Applicators can develop their own methods, which may include hand-written records, or computer-generated records. But there are requirements as to what must be recorded.
For each field application the records must include:
- Brand/product name
- EPA registration number (EPA Reg. No.)
- Total amount applied
- Crop/commodity/site/stored product
- Field location
- Area treated
- Application date
- Name of certified applicator and certification number (Cert. No.)
More information is available in the K-State publication P-1102, Pesticide Application Field Records, and on the Kansas Department of Agriculture website.
The Record Keeping Manual for Private Pesticide Applicators is online.
- 30 -
Kansas State University, http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/story/briefs031011.aspx
Contact: Elaine Edwards, elainee@ksu.edu