Spray Drift Reminder & WSPC Commissioner Nominations

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

The state Department of Health would like to remind ag producers to be ever vigilant this year when applying pesticides. DOH's Wayne Clifford says that many of the drift cases they see are farm-to-farm and that better communication between farming operations would go a long way in preventing spray drift events.

CLIFFORD: That might mean notifying the neighboring farm that you're going to be applying across the road in the orchard so that they have an opportunity to maybe put their workers on the other side of the farm or something like that.

It also remains important for producers to monitor weather conditions and be prepared to stop the application if necessary.

CLIFFORD: I know that the applicators check the local weather station to see what the atmospheric conditions are for the day before they apply. The weather station is a good indicator, but when you get out to the application site sometimes it's worth double-checking because the localized conditions might be a little bit different than whats being recorded at a weather station.

Growers seeking nomination for positions opening on the Washington State Potato Commission in District 1 and 2 must have five producers sign their nominating petition and return their petitions to WSDA by April 10. Candidates must be a citizen and resident of Washington state over the age of 18, have actively produced potatoes for at least 3 years, and, paid an assessment to the commission on potatoes in each of the preceding three calendar years. 

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray with the Ag Information Network of the West.