Laws & Regulations

California Governor Jerry Brown signed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) on September 16, 2014.

As the name implies, the legislation created a framework for sustainable groundwater management, defined as: Management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without causing undesirable results. This course was updated for 2019 to reflect current regulations.

This online Continuing Education course, sponsored by Suterra, the global leader in environmentally sustainable pest control, discusses the identification of vine mealybug (VMB), how it damages grapes and grapevines, monitoring and treatment options, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and Pesticide Safety.

Vine mealybug (VMB, Planococcus ficus) is a serious insect pest of grapes and has three characteristics that make it particularly damaging:

• it easily moves from vineyard to vineyard
• it is difficult to control with insecticides
• it is implicated in the spread of viruses that cause grapevine leafroll disease

Information provided herein does not constitute a recommendation. Always consult with your PCA to determine the best pest management practices and timings for your operation. Adhere to state and local regulations and the current pesticide label and check with your organic certifier.

This course will provide an overview of several areas that are key to pesticide safety and application. We will cover subjects such as types of licenses, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), labeling and label interpretations, application equipment and techniques, first aid and decontamination procedures, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and techniques. It is critical that the fundamentals are taught and reviewed regularly by all applicators and advisers.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or Reactive Organic Gases (ROGs) are natural and man-made gases that can combine with nitrogen oxides (NOx) and react with sunlight to form ground-level ozone, one component of smog.

Ozone can damage lung tissue in humans and animals, cause respiratory illnesses, compromise immune systems, and harm crops. Ground-level ozone is harmful to both human health and vegetation when present in high concentrations. VOCs play a part in the formation of ground-level ozone.

California must reduce every source of VOCs to help solve its air pollution issues. 

This course will familiarize applicators with California's regulations regarding pesticide use and was last updated with 2019 information.

This online course covers the management of spray drift to minimize problems. Spray Drift Management (SDM) has been a critical element for Western agriculture for decades. Keeping crop protection chemicals on the crop for which they are intended has been a cornerstone of Western farming not only to protect neighboring crops, but to avoid wasting money by allowing products to drift off the intended target. Spray drift management has taken on greater significance as cities encroach upon rural areas. Every year, increasingly more houses and other types of developments are springing up in prime growing areas, oftentimes alongside fields, orchards or vineyards. This leads to increased concerns about the use of agricultural chemicals and the ways they are applied. This course will review many aspects of spray drift – from practical, hands-on ways to minimize drift, to the regulatory issues surrounding it.

This course is sponsored by Western Farm Press. There are an estimated 150,000 named species in the insect group called Lepidoptera. Outnumbered only by the beetles, Lepidoptera represent the second-most diverse order of insect pests, and virtually every cultivated plant is attacked by at least one type. They are ready to defoliate and weaken plants or mine plant tissues, leaving holes and frass behind and rendering crops unmarketable. Their scientific name comes from the Greek Lepidos, for “scale,” and Pteron, for “wing”--literally “scale wing,”--because the wings of adult butterflies and moths are covered with microscopic scales. This course will specifically highlight six lepidopterous pests: the beet armyworm, cabbage looper, diamondback moth, tomato fruitworm, tomato pinworm and western yellowstriped armyworm. The course will also cover managing Lepidopterous pests in a wide array of crops and includes an additional section on Pesticide Safety.