Source: UNH Cooperative Extension submitted to NRP
UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FY 2012 PESTICIDE EDUCATION PROGRAM
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0231197
Grant No.
2012-48679-20222
Cumulative Award Amt.
$10,000.00
Proposal No.
2012-03482
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2012
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2013
Grant Year
2012
Program Code
[PSEP]- Pesticide Safety Education Program
Recipient Organization
UNH Cooperative Extension
RM 212 Nesmith Hall, 131 Main St
DURHAM,NH 03824
Performing Department
Cooperative Extension
Non Technical Summary
The Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) in New Hampshire is coordinated by UNH Cooperative Extension, in coordination with the NH Department of Agriculture. To accomplish this we strive to educate pesticide applicators of the responsibilities of personal and environmental safety in the area of regulation, environmental and human safety, calibration, integrated pest management, pest control, and pesticide storage and disposal. This program serves as an important vehicle to introduce agricultural producers and commercial applicators to the concepts of integrated pest management, water quality protection, endangered species protection and farm worker protection programs. The PSEP is a key element in Cooperative Extension's commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable agriculture. Trainings will be held in all counties of New Hampshire for private applicators to recertify their licenses and/or prepare for exams, and in select locations across the state for commercial applicators. In addition, Cooperative Extension is responsible for the manuals used by New Hampshire applicators as study guides for certification. Manuals include a ?core? with materials that all applicators must know, plus 20 category-specific manuals for commercial applicators and 10 category-specific manuals for private applicators.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2111120113030%
2131480114030%
2142199106010%
2161480113030%
Knowledge Area
214 - Vertebrates, Mollusks, and Other Pests Affecting Plants; 211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems; 213 - Weeds Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
1120 - Blueberry; 1480 - Sweetcorn; 2199 - Ornamentals and turf, general/other;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems); 1130 - Entomology and acarology; 1140 - Weed science;
Goals / Objectives
1) The purpose of the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) is to provide educational training for pesticide applicators to enable them to become certified and to aid certified applicators to maintain certification (by regulatory agencies) which allows them to apply restricted-use pesticides and informing and enabling them to follow proper safety practices. 2) The Project Director (PD) will coordinate planning with the State Lead Agency (NH Department of Agriculture) which is the state pesticide agency responsible of executing the US-EPA federal pesticide laws and regulations. 3) Development of educational activities to include: presenting educational programs or hands-on environmental activities; developing and updating manuals and other training materials; developing and/or coordinating re-certification education programs; informing pesticide applicators of programs and materials though newsletter(s) and web site(s); and other face-to-face and on-line educational programs.
Project Methods
1) Training will be provided via meetings presented in all counties of New Hampshire. Information to be presented will be in the form of PowerPoint presentations, DVD/CD, and via on-line course materials. Certification Training will be provided periodically in all counties for private applicators and in select locations for commercial applicators. Private Applicator Certification materials will be provided to all county extension offices. Training materials will be updated and/or developed on an as needed basis. Currently, New Hampshire has 20 certification categories for commercial applicators and 10 categories for private applicators. Study manuals have been developed for each of these. Updates to study materials are either underway or being planned, with the goal of addressing the most critical needs first. 2) The PD will be working closely with the NH Department of Agriculture. Correspondence will be conducted in person, and via phone, fax, and email. This will help make certain that applicators are aware of current state and federal laws and regulations. 3) The PD will provide a copy of annual reports upon request to the NIFA-National Program Leader responsible for the Pesticide Safety and Education Program. State-generated reports shall include quantifiable impacts, which may include multi-year efforts. Annual reports will provide a success story concerning one and/or multiple activities conducted within New Ham

Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience is all pesticide users involved in commercial agriculture in New Hampshire Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? UNH Cooperative Extension Staff also attend the Initial Certification training and Re-Certification Clinics gaiing up-to-date- knowledge about pesticide selection, use, sprayer calibration and other pesticide and pest managment topics. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Private Applicators either directly use or supervise the use of agricultural chemicals (or apply pesticides or fertilizers through irrigation systems) for agricultural or forest crops on land they own or operate. We target Private Applicators and Commercial Applicators throughout New Hampshire. We have 563 Private Applicators Certified as of September ’13. Commercial Applicators apply or supervise the application of pesticides on the land or property of another person for compensation, or apply pesticides or fertilizers through irrigation systems on the land or property of another for compensation, or offer technical advice and recommendations about agricultural pesticides. Some 1,342 Professional Applicators are licensed statewide in 22 different certification categories. Our Initial Certification programming goal was met for 2012-2013. We held two sessions for the new Supervisory Registration Certificate- General Use for Right of Way and Turf. These sessions were held in Concord and Manchester and we instructed over 117 potentially new Commercial Applicators. As a result of the Supervisory Registration Certificate- General Use for Right of Way and Turf there are presently 40 applicators licensed in Right of Way and 31 licensed in Turf. Extension also held Initial Certification Training Workshop in Rockingham, Grafton, Hillsborough and Merrimack Counties where approximately 44 new Private and Commercial Growers were trained for the NH Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Applicator Exam. Non-certification training especially targeted our statewide staff of Master Gardeners; 103 new 2012-2013 Master Gardener volunteers. These individuals provide recommendations to thousands of homeowners annually about yard & garden pesticides and have a substantial impact on improving home pesticide use. New Hampshire County Extension Educators and State Extension Specialists annually convene local and state workshops that are specifically designed as recertification seminars. We provided recertification training opportunities through a series of extension-sponsored workshops, twilight meetings and conferences. Finally, we also offered recertification training by speaking as technical subject-matter experts at workshops sponsored by other agencies. Pesticide Training and Re-Certification Clinics for commercial applicators and private applicators were conducted at 62 sites during the months of October ’12 to September ‘13. At these meetings, 1,303 participants received training and a total of 900 applicators received re-certification credits. The clinics were taught by Specialists and Educators from NH and professionals from surrounding states. We also conducted Initial Certification training and a total of 304 individuals participated in training and received training material from UNH Cooperative Extension to become certified in the state of New Hampshire.

Publications