Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy

December 22, 2009           

The New Year brings about many educational and informational programs and opportunities.  For us it’s that time of year when we provide Private Pesticide Applicator certification and recertification training.

Who needs to be certified or recertified as a Private Pesticide Applicator?  If you plan to apply any pesticides to an agriculture commodity worth $ 1000 or more, you need to be certified.  It does not matter what pesticide you apply (herbicide, insecticide, or fungicide, etc.) you need to be certified as a Private Applicator.  You have two options to get certified.  You many attend a 3-hour recertification class at any certification site or you may stop at your local Extension Office and pick up the materials to complete the open-book home-study exam. 

I just thought I share a little bit about the exam with you.  For starters, how long is the exam?  There are 66 multiple-choice questions on the exam.  This exam has been re-written since the last time you took it and it has been taking people a lot longer to complete it.  Also, the exam is open-book but not all answers are found within the book.  You will use the information that you have read and will have to think through to answer a few of the questions.    

Why do I need to become certified?  First and foremost, it’s the law but certification gives you the tools to apply pesticides more properly, safely, and profitably.  You must be competent to read and follow a label, calibrate your sprayer, and apply pesticides.  Your certification is good for five years and allows you to buy and apply general and restricted use pesticides.  A private applicator cannot accept cash for spraying applications but can trade agricultural services; for example, you can spray your neighbor’s field if they bale your hay.

A private applicator is required to keep records for two years of all RESTRICTED USE PESTICIDES that they apply.  Record keeping is a requirement for restricted use pesticides but consider keeping records of all pesticide applications as part of a good farm management plan.  Record keeping books and information are available at your local extension office.  There are a certain percentage of individuals spot checked by the State Department of Agriculture every year.

For those of you who are coming to training we hope you will find the program very useful and practical.  We will cover the South Dakota rules and regulations about applying pesticides.  Depending on location, we will also discuss drift management, how to read a pesticide label, and how to calibrate your sprayer.  I was surprised by the number of people who said that they did not know how to calibrate their sprayer and that they were glad that we covered this in our training last year.  The training session is 3 hours long but it goes by fast (I know, because I have heard it more than once!).    

There will not be any charge for attending the private applicator class or taking the open-book home-study exam to become certified or recertified as a private pesticide applicator.

Private applicator training will be held on the following dates, times, and locations:

 

January 11, 2010  (1:00 pm – 4:00) at the American Legion Hall in Renner, SD

 

January 13, 2010  (1:00 pm – 4:00) at the Community Building in Parker, SD

 

January 19, 2010  (1:00 pm – 4:00) at the Community Building in Crooks, SD    

 

February 2, 2010  (1:00 pm – 4:00) at the Bridges of Beresford meeting room in Beresford, SD

 

February 3, 2010  (1:00pm – 4:00) at JoDean’s in Yankton, SD

 

March 23, 2010  (6:30 pm – 9:30) at the Minnehaha County Extension Office in Sioux Falls, SD

 

Individuals needing to become certified or recertified are encouraged to attend one of the 3-hour private applicator sessions listed above.  I hope to see you at one of our trainings in January, February, or March.  For more information please feel free to contact me at the Turner County Extension Office at (605) 297-3112.

For your information:  We will be having our annual Row Crop Clinic again this year.  The program will be held at the Parker Community Building on January 13 (coffee and rolls sponsored by Farm Credit Services and Dinner is sponsored by Cargill and CENTRAL Farmers Cooperative).  The program runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Anyone interested may attend.  We will also be having a private applicators training in conjunction with our crops clinic in Parker on January 13, 2010.  To receive pesticide applicator certification you must attend the entire afternoon session from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  You also must bring along your driver’s license or similar government issued photo ID card.  

Due to the weather the Beef Cow Winter Management Meeting was postponed and will be held on January 8, 2010 starting at 1:30 p.m. at the Minnehaha County Extension Office in Sioux Falls, S.D.        Topics covered include the safe utilization of moldy feeds, cow mineral requirements, pre-calving nutritional considerations, body condition scoring, and management of the young cow.  This meeting is free of charge and open to anyone who is interested in beef herd management.  Questions regarding this program should be directed to Lincoln County Extension Livestock Educator Jeff Lounsbery at 605-764-2756.  For weather related cancelations listen to AM 1000KXRB or AM 570 WNAX. 

The fifth annual I-29 Dairy Conference will be held on January 21-22, 2010 in Sioux Falls, S. D. at the Best Western Ramkota Inn & Conference Center.  Registration begins at 3:30 to 9 p.m.  Registration costs $20 per person and includes materials and lunch.  Those who wish to register may also mail contact information and payment to Valerie Denison, SDSU Dairy Science Box 2104, Dairy Microbiology Building, Room 109, Brookings, SD 57007.  For other information, contact organizer J.W. Schroeder of the North Dakota State University Animal Sciences Department at (701) 231-7663 or jw.schroeder@ndsu.edu.

 

The dates for the 2010 Sioux Empire Farm Show / Sioux Falls Farm Show are January 26-30, 2010 in Sioux Falls, S.D.  The livestock shows are held in The Expo Building at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds and begin Tuesday evening January 26 and run to Saturday January 30 and will feature a Supreme Row, Mayor’s Roundup and Sale of Champions events again this year.  Livestock related vendors will have booth displays set up there as well.

The Sioux Falls Arena and Convention Center will host the Sioux Falls Farm Show portion of the event which runs January 27, 28 and 29 and features the farm machinery and agricultural trade show. This event also features educational events hosted by the South 1 Extension Field Education Unit (Extension Offices in Minnehaha, Turner and Lincoln Counties).  These educational programs sessions will be held in Conference Rooms 9 and 10.  Admission is free.

Here are the educational programs that will be offered:

Jan. 27 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.  .  Grain Storage & Drying - Steve Pohl, SD Extension Structures & Environment Specialist will address how to store and dry wet grain and what to watch for this spring. 

Jan. 28  1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.  Grain and Livestock Market Outlook - Alan May and Matt Diersen, SDSU Extension Marketing Specialists will be on hand to recap the current market situation and to look ahead at what 2010 holds in store.

Jan. 29 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.  Crop Weather Outlook for 2010 - Dennis Todey SDSU Extension Climatologist will review what happened in 2009 and look ahead to possible weather trends for the 2010 spring and summer growing seasons.