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Email: tgarner@pdsolutions.ca ☰

As information moves more easily in todays society with internet, newspapers, television, etc. many people believe cancer rates in humans are on the rise regardless of the type or cancer. This web cast seminar looks at the safety of pesticides and their impact on the human health. The basics of pesticides will be examined and compared to other substances we consume or use everyday. Also discussed are ways an applicator can reduce exposure to pesticides.

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.

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.

This presentation will discuss what artificial Intelligence is and how it can assist applicators in most application categories to move from a reactive approach of IPM and toward proactive, precise and sustainable IPM programs. A general overview of the key elements of IPM with AI Pest Management Programs will be discussed that include automated pest identification and monitoring, predictive modeling and forecasting, precision control strategies and ongoing and real time evaluation of pest management activities.

This presentation will focus on current applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) I to enhance IPM approaches in most applicator categories. Category specific approaches and equipment will be identified for pest identification, monitoring, pest management and evaluation of pest management activities. It will also include the benefits currently being achieved and projections in the future of the benefits of AI programs for each category of applicator.

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.