Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audience is commercial, non-commercial, and private pesticide applicators as well as other other individuals that use pesticides (ex., homeowners, Master Gardeners, etc.) in the state of Arkansas. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?I serve on the Professional Development Committee for the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators (AAPSE). In addition, I attended the following professional development meetings: 1/9-11/13 - National No-Till Conference, Indianapolis, IN 1/23/13 - The Arkansas Green Industry Association Annual Meeting, Hot Springs, AR 1/24/13 - The Arkansas Turfgrass Association Annual Meeting, Hot Springs, AR 2/4-7/13 - The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance Annual Meeting, Mobile, AL 3/17-20/13 - The Association of American Pest Control Officials, Washington, DC 5/4-6/13 - The Southern Region Pesticide Safety Educators Meeting, San Antonio, TX 8/4-9/13 - The Pesticide Applicator Certification Training Conference, St. Paul, MN How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Via the PSEP meetings conducted in 2013 and by interaction and involvement with professional societies. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
As coordinator of the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) I coordinate the certification and recertification programs for over 26,000 applicators in Arkansas. I trained approximately 1,878 Commercial and Non-Commercial applicators in 2013. Twenty-one training sessions were conducted for these applicators around the state from January 2013 through December 2013. County Extension agents are the primary trainers of private applicators and over 4,800 were trained in 2013. Both private and commercial applicators are trained on the various aspects of pesticide safety including, personal safety, environmental protection, integrated pest management, drift minimization, equipment calibration, proper handling and disposal. Slide presentations, videos, hands-on demonstrations, Extension specialists, and other invited speakers are all used to ensure informative and interesting training sessions. In cooperation with the Arkansas State Plant Board, I am responsible for the exam study kits as well as developing and writing the exams for commercial applicators. I have developed and maintain a Pesticide Training, Licensing, Education, and Recommendations webpage (www.aragriculture.org/pesticides). The site contains information and links to certification and recertification training schedules, study kits, licensing & testing, the Worker Protection Standard, pesticide recordkeeping, pesticide resources in Spanish, Arkansas crop profiles and pest management strategic plans, "Ask the Pest Crew", Extension recommendations for disease, insect, and weed control, crop management newsletters, and other pertinent resources. I have also spoken this year about pesticide issues to Master Gardeners, grower groups, seasonal technicians at the Lonoke Extension Center, and cotton scouts. I am responsible for the dissemination of pesticide information to agents, growers, government agencies, and other interested groups and individuals. Information on pesticide cancellations, label changes, emergency exemptions, data call-ins, etc., is distributed via e-mail, the internet, letters, and phone calls. I am a founding and active member of the Arkansas Abandoned Pesticide Collection Committee since its establishment by the legislature in 1999. The Committee oversees a program to collect old, unwanted, unusable, or abandoned agricultural pesticides and dispose of them properly at no cost to producers. I have worked diligently to keep the Committee moving forward as quickly and efficiently as possible on this extremely valuable program. As of spring 2013, all 75 counties have conducted collection events. This is an ongoing, permanent program funded by pesticide registration fees collected by the Arkansas State Plant Board. I am the current Co-Chair of the National Certification & Training Assessment Group (CTAG). My term as Co-Chair began in March 2012 and ends in April 2014. CTAG is a collaborative organization focused on maintaining and improving the quality of pesticide training and certification programs in the U.S. Members include representatives from state pesticide regulatory agencies, pesticide educators from land grant universities, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency personnel, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (http://ctaginfo.org). As a CTAG member I also Co-Chair a committee on developing a new electronic reporting system (CPARD) for the states' Pesticide Safety Education Programs. I was elected President of the Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) in February 2013. TPSA is a collaborative partnership of government agencies - federal, state and local, educational and research institutions, public organizations, private corporations and individuals actively involved in stewarding the pesticide life cycle. Founded in 2000, TPSA utilizes education, training, outreach and other activities to accomplish stewardship objectives in local, national and international arenas. I am also a Past-President of the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators, the Arkansas Crop Protection Association, and the Arkansas State Horticulture Society.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Wilson, G., W. Kirkpatrick, C. Capps, A. Vangilder, T. Barber, P. Spradley, S. Sadaka. 2012. Burn it Down, Clean it Up: Avoiding Crop Injury Due to Sprayer Contamination. FSA 2170
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Selden, G.L., J.P. Spradley, T. Faske. 2013. Asian Soybean Rust Fungicides and Aquatic Organisms. University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture. FSA7532 (Update)
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