Ask a Specialist: How do farmers manage and prevent drift?

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bY CURT HADLEY HOW DO FARMERS MANAGE OR PREVENT DRIFT?

The issue of off-target spray drift on sensitive crops is a concern that has only grown in the past few decades with the increase of organic crops and farms, as well as the growth of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in commercial agriculture. This is why the DriftWatch registry was established in 2008 by the Purdue University College of Ag and Biological Engineering. This registry was just the beginning of what has become now a non-profit called FieldWatch, which has created many other registries since 2012 to meet specific needs of crop producers, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators. These registries act as a communication tool to help increase stewardship of pesticide applications with awareness of sensitive crops and honeybees. Today the FieldWatch registries are available in 23 US states, Washington DC, and Saskatchewan:

Registering and mapping your farms and crops on the DriftWatch registry is one of the best tools to inform pesticide applicators of your sensitive crops, and it also provides pesticide applicators the opportunity to modify their behaviors and practices near these sensitive areas. As of early 2022, outside of seasonal seed corn fields that are mapped across the corn-belt, just over 50 percent of the 1.1 million acres mapped were either Certified Organic or in transitional status to certified. Commercial commodity crop growers, as well as pesticide applicators, are becoming more aware of the extreme sensitivities and risks that are present when working near any organic crop. Using the FieldWatch registries is one step to help your neighbors become aware of sensitive crops. Another step is increasing adoption, in an effort to inform crop producers, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators of these critical tools that can foster essential communication.

The recent growth of GMO commodity crops and the use of herbicides such as glyphosate and dicamba have also brought about changes to these registries. All states with commodity row-crops now have the ability to map both GMO (pesticide tolerant) as well as non-GMO crops, in order to raise awareness about these crops amongst pesticide applicators. Short of mapping there is no other way for the applicators know what crops and specific tolerances (or lack thereof) are present.

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• First, record the date, time, location, and any applicator information (including company name and aircraft tail number.) • Then visit your state’s DriftWatch registry page: Navigate to the Contact Us tab, where you will find your

State Data Steward contact info as well as a link to your state’s page for pesticide resources. • And finally, remember that timely actions and connecting with your state as soon as possible are critical in these types of situations.

Learn more by visiting fieldwatch.com. On the homepage, you can find links for creating an account as a grower in participating states.

Curt Hadley is the Business Development Manager at FieldWatch where he maintains FieldWatch’s registries and implements marketing and development strategies to enhance support from our diverse agricultural stakeholders. Curt also works to strengthen relationships with the Certified Organic certifying agencies through outreach and education.

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