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The Agricultural Health Study (AHS) - Non-cancer Health Risks is a prospective study of health effects (e.g. diabetes, asthma, kidney and hear disease etc.) in a cohort of 89,000 licensed pesticide applicators and their spouses from Iowa and North Carolina. The AHS began in 1993 and continues with ongoing studies with the goal of answering important questions about how agricultural lifestyle and genetic factors affect the health of farmers and commercial applicators. The study is a collaborative effort involving investigators from National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Alberta Environment and Protected Areas updated the Pesticide (Ministerial) Regulation, the Pesticide Sales, Handling, Use and Application Regulation in 2018 and again in 2022 and 2024. The Environmental Code of Practice for Pesticides was updated in February 2025 with significant changes, especially regarding applications near water, ability to control aquatic invasive weeds, structural, biting flies, forestry and industrial vegetation applications. In addition, changing label statements (ie. users must be certified), changing record keeping and transportation requirements will result in significant changes for pesticide applicators, assistants, vendors etc.

This module will provide an overview of IPM, discuss the botanical characteristics of these 3 weeds, their method of spread, their economic impact and the application of IPM techniques and strategies to control these 3 noxious weeds in agricultural, industrial and urban environments.

Small sprayers need to be calibrated too. Many misapplications have been made with small sprayers as anyone can purchase these sprayers and most people do not know how to calibrate them properly. Join Tim as he shows you his approach on how to calibrate these sprayers so your pesticide application can be done accurately and safely.

Nozzle manufacturers over the last few years have really stepped up to the plate when it comes to developing drift reducing nozzles. As pesticide applicators, we are always concerned about spray drift to off target locations, thus many applicators have chosen drift reduction nozzles to reduce the potential for spray drift. Unfortunately spray coverage may not be adequate for some pesticides with drift reduction nozzles and the pesticide may not be doing as good a job as we have hoped for. Join Tim as he looks at the topic of balancing spray drift vs. spray coverage.

The Presentations examine incidents that occurred resulting in significant human and animal health, environmental (eg. bee kills), property damage issues that could have been eliminated if the applicator had undertaken to provide notification to adjacent landowners and bystanders. Notification can be as simple as a 5minute call, an email with a factsheet on spraying etc. to ensure neighbors are aware that spraying is going to occur and to provide some simple steps they can take to eliminate an incident should drift or off-site movement of the pesticide occur.

Most things we do each day pose a risk to us, whether that is driving your vehicle to work or applying a pesticide. The public tends to focus on the risks of pesticides and not the benefits. Join Tim as he looks at the huge benefits that we receive by using pesticides in our world. You will be surprised when you see all the primary and secondary benefits of the pesticide industry. It is time to look at and promote the benefits of pesticide in the modern world.

Rinsate water when cleaning your sprayer is a huge concern for pesticide applicators. We need to clean our sprayers, yet how to we dispose of the rinsate in an environmentally friendly way. Join Tom Wolf as he talks about a new alternative when dealing with rinsate, Biobeds.

This webinar looks at the current status of biological weed control agents in Canada. Biological control has had some success over the years but with increasing pressure on chemical pesticide use, it is important to keep updated on what is happening with biological control agents. Join Tim as he reviews the current status of biological weed control agents and what the future looks like.

Join Vivianne Servant as she reviews the following documents and presents the findings in this informative web cast. - Alberta Biomonitoring Program (2005): Surveys and blood samples taken to establish the magnitude of women's exposure to environmental contaminants during pregnancy in all regions of Alberta - Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007-2009): study to provide benchmark data (surveys, blood and urine tests) of Canadians across Canada on indicators of environmental exposures - Agricultural Health Study (1993-2013): Tracking health and pesticide exposure of 89,000 farmers and commercial applicators and their spouses in the U.S.