Farmers need to acquaint themselves with new regulations on spraying

BY SINEAD DEVANEY AND TIM HYDE

THE introduction of the Sustainable Use Directive (SUD) has created many questions for farmers and Teagasc staff over recent months.

Many of the questions are answered below and simply any farmer that uses spray or sprayer is affected. If you are a farmer and apply professional use plant protection products (weed killers, fungicides, insecticides), then the SUD applies to you.

If you spray grassland, arable crops etc with a sprayer or if you spot-spray with a knapsack or lance, you need to register. However if you get a contractor to do all my spraying, you don’t need to register but the contractor must be registered.

A farmer can buy pesticides after November 26, 2015, but cannot apply the spray with their own sprayer unless they have completed the following:

Registered with the Dept. of Agriculture (See below) as a professional user and have completed the Pesticide Application module as part of a Teagasc (FETAC level 5 or 6) course will meet the requirements for professional user training (or equivalent).

What is the Sustainable Use Directive (SUD)? The SUD is a new EU directive governing all aspects of pesticide use. It is being implemented in Ireland by the Dept. of Agriculture to include herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, seed dressings, certain rodenticides etc.

What is the purpose of the SUD? The overall aims of the SUD are to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and to        promote the use of integrated pest management (IPM) and of alternative approaches or techniques to pesticides

What is IPM? IPM is essentially good, sound farming practises such as growing competitive, healthy crops, choosing the correct variety, applying pesticides to get the most from them, practising a good rotation, etc. See more examples under number 10 (below).

Who will the SUD affect? The SUD will affect the following: pesticide advisors (Teagasc/ACA); pesticide distributors (merchants, anybody selling chemical/pesticides); professional users of pesticides (farmers, contractors, sprayer operators, spraying companies) and inspectors of sprayer equipment

What is a professional user of pesticides? A professional user is any person who uses pesticides such as anybody using a sprayer (farmers, contractors, operators, technicians, employers and self-employed people), both in the farming and other sectors. All professional users must be registered by November 26, 2015. From this date, only a registered professional user can apply pesticides authorised for professional use.

How does a professional user register? There will be an online registration facility available for professional users on the PCS (Pesticides Control Section of Dept. of Agriculture: pcs.agriculture.gov but you can only register if you are fully trained as outlined below.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.