Pesticide Spraying Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. Pesticide spraying is underway in many Northwest tree fruit orchards or ready to begin in others.
Washington State Department of Agriculture Pest Management Division Program Manager, Scott Nielsen says make sure everyone on your farm knows they’re job and knows how to protect themselves …
NIELSEN … “Obviously, for their workers and their handlers, make sure that they’re providing them the right personal protective equipment and the decontamination supplies. That’s a big part of it for safety for their employees. Make sure that they’ve all been trained properly, and everybody does a pretty good job of this.”
To be on the safe side, Nielsen says, just check, check, and double-check …
NIELSEN … “Really make sure that the decontamination supplies are there and always kept available for them. And that the personal protective equipment not only is provided for all the different things that’s out there, but make sure that everybody’s wearing it properly.”
And then, if you’re still in doubt, Nielsen says, they’ve got your back …
NIELSEN … “Our Technical Services, TSP Program, within the Department of Agriculture, they offer on-farm training. They will do assessments. So they’ll go out and work with the farms and help them to set up and calibrate their equipment and see how they’re doing it. It’s a service that they provide.”
Nielsen says if you’ve got questions or concerns about pesticide spraying in your orchard, give the Washington Department of Agriculture a call, any time, at 360-902-2040.
