New Interactive Website Helps Avoid Pesticide Drift Problems
SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: June 14, 2012
Media Contact: Brad Berven, 605-773-4432
New Interactive Website Helps Avoid Pesticide Drift Problems
PIERRE, S.D. – A new online mapping tool is available for agricultural producers in South Dakota who grow crops and livestock that are particularly sensitive to pesticide drift, such as organic production areas and vineyards.
The tool is intended for commercial producers of those crops and to inform pesticide applicators of sensitive areas. The website is not intended for homeowners.
Apiary sites are included on the site through the Apiary Program. Apiary owners do not need to register on the website.
The South Dakota Department of Agriculture (SDDA) has developed the South Dakota Sensitive Site Registry, which can be used to help prevent adverse drift effects during pesticide or fertilizer operations.
The South Dakota Sensitive Site Registry allows producers of crops that are sensitive to pesticides to register and enter their contact information, include their field data, and identify the crop on an online map. The site can be accessed through SDDA Office of Agricultural Services webpage, http://sdda.sd.gov/Ag_Services.
Pesticide applicators can indicate their service area and reference the map to identify any pesticide sensitive sites in that area. GPS units compatible with the GPX format can download a GPS file with the outline of all sensitive sites (including apiaries) in a specified service area.
Producers of pesticide-sensitive crops and livestock are encouraged to register their sensitive production areas on the website. When a sensitive-site producer registers a production area, an email is sent to each applicator who has registered a service area including that production location.
Licensed commercial pesticide applicators are encouraged to register their service areas. Certified private pesticide applicators are encouraged to register their production areas if, after looking at the map, they discover a sensitive site close enough to their production areas that drift may be a concern.
In 2011, SDDA investigated 64 reported drift cases. From 2007 to 2011, the department investigated 308 reported drift incidents. SDDA investigation maps by can be found at http://sdda.sd.gov/Ag_Services/Agronomy_Services_Programs/Regulatory_Compliance_Enforcement/default.aspx
Agriculture is South Dakota's No. 1 industry, generating nearly $21 billion in annual economic activity and employing more than 80,000 South Dakotans. The South Dakota Department of Agriculture's mission is to promote, protect, preserve and improve this industry for today and tomorrow. Visit us online at http://sdda.sd.gov or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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