Fumigant Label Changes: Learn about them on January 29

Soil Fumigant Phase 2 Labels have taken effect.  These new labels have some significant changes that will impact all growers who utilize soil fumigants.  To learn more about fumigants and implementation of the labels visit the EPA's Soil Fumigant Toolbox.

On Tuesday January 29th, the NC Cooperative Extension Service in collaboration with Southern States and the NC Department of Agriculture will hold a meeting on the new fumigant labels.   This meeting will begin at 8:30 am and will be held at the Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Office located at 94 Coxe Ave in Asheville.

Below you will find the agenda for this meeting.

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8:30 am – 9:00 am	Breakfast and Introduction
9:00 am – 10:00 am	What you need to know about the changes in Fumigant Labeling for 2013 Bruce Nicely – NC Pesticide Inspector Charlie Clark – NC Pesticide Inspector
10:00 am – 11:00 am	RUP Record Keeping and Storage Sue Colucci Area Specialized Agent, Agriculture
11:00 am – 11:30 am	Questions

Reminder to All Agriculture Fumigant Users

In addition to the fumigant label changes that we were required to follow last growing season the new “Phase Two” changes will be in effect for the upcoming year.

 These changes include:

1. Buffer Zones and Posting
2. Emergency preparedness and response measures
3. Training required for at least one certified applicator supervising the application (at this time the training must be completed online until further notice)

Changes to label last year are still in effect:

1. Fumigant Management Plans (FMP’s)
2. Good Ag Practice Requirements (GAP’s) which includes requirement for yearly respirator fit testing

Visit the EPA website-  www.epa.gov/opp00001/reregistration/soil_fumigants/   

to view the “toolbox”  for information on all label requirements

Online training for the new required certified applicator training can be completed at:

www.epa.gov/fumiganttraining      

at this site go to   

Soil Fumigant Training for Certified Applicators  to begin the training.

EPA Plans Stricter Rules to Protect Pollinators

We all agree that pollinators are critical for fruit and vegetable production. Check out the article "EPA Plans Stricter Rules to Protect Pollinators" from the Western Farm Press on what EPA is doing to help protect this important resource.


From the article:

• EPA is planning to strengthen its certification requirements for pesticide applicators to protect bees and other pollinators -- the latest effort by the agency to limit pollinators' exposure to the chemicals.

• EPA also is weighing changes to how it assesses the risks that pesticides pose to pollinators but the revised applicator certification requirements action likely will precede that because the changes have broad support and can be implemented quickly.

To read the entire article click here.