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Spray Safe, Spray Well: Reducing Pesticide Use Risks for Beginning Organic Growers and Spanish-Speaking Farmers

Ethan Grundberg

Summary

The ”Spray Safe, Spray Well” project team delivered a series of eight simultaneously interpreted webinars over the winter of 2021-22 designed to support beginning, organic, and Spanish-speaking vegetable farmers in reducing their risks associated with pesticide use. Over 100 individuals participated in at least one webinar, while 35 more completed the pesticide applicator license preparatory course resulting in four participants acquiring their applicator’s license. The project team worked individually with growers underserved by crop insurance over the summer of 2022 to provide tailored on-farm technical support to further reduce the production, legal, and financial risks associated with pesticide use. Specifically, growers were supported in developing and adopting Integrated Pest Management strategies for the crops they were growing, calibrating spray equipment, trialing and evaluating new spray nozzle types to improve pesticide deposition and coverage, adjusting the pH of spray water using OMRI-listed citric acid buffers, and more. In-person meetings were also offered to a group of 9 vegetable farmers in Eastern New York’s “North Country” region focused on calibrating boom sprayers and appropriate adjuvant selection to improve pesticide efficacy and to a group of 11 urban farmers in Brooklyn, NY to discuss tips for reducing risks associated with backpack sprayers. Ethan Grundberg is a regional vegetable specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program. Grundberg and his colleagues conduct applied research, provide technical support to commercial farmers, and organize educational opportunities for vegetable growers in the region.

Details

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