Continuing Education Courses
State: Vermont

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.

Este curso en línea cubre el manejo de la deriva de aspersión para minimizar los problemas. La gestión de la deriva de la pulverización (SDM) ha sido un elemento crítico para la agricultura occidental durante décadas. Mantener los productos químicos para la protección de cultivos en el cultivo al que están destinados ha sido una piedra angular de la agricultura occidental no sólo para proteger los cultivos vecinos, sino también para evitar el desperdicio de dinero al permitir que los productos se desvíen del objetivo previsto. La gestión de la deriva de la pulverización ha adquirido mayor importancia a medida que las ciudades invaden las zonas rurales. Cada año, surgen cada vez más casas y otros tipos de urbanizaciones en zonas de cultivo privilegiadas, a menudo junto a campos, huertos o viñedos. Esto genera una mayor preocupación sobre el uso de productos químicos agrícolas y las formas en que se aplican. Este curso revisará muchos aspectos de la deriva de la aspersión, desde formas prácticas para minimizar la deriva hasta las cuestiones regulatorias que la rodean.

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, often times 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 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.

GM alfalfa has been back on the market for about eight years, after a detour through the courts that began not long after it was first introduced in 2005 as the fifth glyphosate-resistant crop to be commercialized.