Pesticide safety for Iowans

Feb. 24, 2020, message from John Lawrence

ISU Extension and Outreach began offering pesticide safety education in 1976, when legislation first required applicators to be trained in the safe and effective use of pesticides. This program, which used to be delivered to our county offices by huge satellite dishes, now is distributed via Blu-ray discs. Technology isn’t the only thing that changes in our Pesticide Safety Education Program. Each year, the PSEP provides the latest information to keep all Iowa applicators up to date on current pesticide safety and pest management. Did you know?

  • Our PSEP provides Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) recertification programs that cover a variety of topics, including laws and regulations, personal protective equipment, pesticide labels, safe application techniques, storage and handling, protecting sensitive areas such as groundwater, non-target sites and pollinators, and pests and pest management.
  • During the 2018-2019 season, PSEP held 278 programs across Iowa that educated 13,831 private applicators with the help of field agronomists and county extension staff. Last year 11,198 commercial applicators attended a CIC recertification program.

CIC programs are offered throughout the year in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. PSEP also is involved in integrated pest management, worker protection, environmental quality and agricultural health.

More notes

  • Congratulations to 12 extension professionals who will be honored at the ISU 25 Year Club banquet on March 2. Reaching 25 years of continuous service during calendar year 2019 are Patricia Gibler, Patrick O’Malley, Vicki Speake and Richard Wrage. Reaching 35 years are Richard Jauron, Christine Knight-Gipe, Jane Hayes-Johnk, Jerolyne Packer, David Stender, Jill Weber and Jeanne Wiebke. Donna Donald will be honored for reaching 45 years of continuous service this year.
  • The archive of the 2020 Census webinar (from Feb. 11) is available. In the coming months you may get questions about the Census or you may have the opportunity to educate people about it. A video, handouts and other helpful materials are available from the Indicators website.
  • On Feb. 28 from noon-1 p.m. you can join Human Sciences’ Acts of Kindness Celebration on Zoom to share and celebrate all the acts of kindness that were completed during the month. You’ll also find out who wins the grand prize – an assortment of homemade/specialty items from our Human Sciences community. For more information contact hs_wellbeing@iastate.edu.
  • Registration is open for our 2020 Annual Conference, Wednesday, April 1. You’ll find plenty of professional development, inspiration and networking as we celebrate successes and make progress toward our personal and professional goals. Some breakout sessions have attendance caps, so register soon. Annual Conference is open to everyone in ISU Extension and Outreach. Please join us.
  • ISU Extension and Outreach is part of the Extension Disaster Education Network, which focuses on reducing the impact of disasters through education. Extension safety specialist Chuck Schwab is our EDEN contact. EDEN is asking extension professionals to respond to the Extension Disaster Needs Assessment Survey, at http://bit.ly/Extension-Disaster-Needs-Assessment. Please respond by the end of February. Your input will help EDEN draft the request for proposals for their competitive grant program for developing new or updating existing resources.

— John D. Lawrence
Iowa State University Vice President for Extension and Outreach

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.