Story in Brief
Science is clear that pesticides are currently essential for U.S. farmer's to be able to feed and clothe the world. However, it is critical and will become even more critical that pesticides are used judiciously and carefully to protect the user, the consumer, and the environment. Five of the greatest regulatory challenges facing family farms today include: 1) the Endangered Species Act, 2) protecting pollinators, 3) herbicide resistance management plan, 4) the inability to tank mix pesticides during application, and 5) pesticide drift. The most important approach to overcome each of these challenges to ensure a strong food supply is to ensure pesticide applications are made only on-target, mitigating any off-target exposure. A joint effort between the University of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, and industry focused on training growers to help them apply pesticides more wisely. This partnership was unique and the first of its kind in an effort to improve the sustainability of agriculture by focusing on precise pesticide applications thereby mitigating off-target issues. In Georgia alone, 1,499 growers and 1,882 total people have been trained. When combining trainings across Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina, 2,114 people have been trained in the past two years. The Environmental Protection Agency has visited Georgia to better understand the training and is determining the potential for assisting in the implementation of this type of training approach across the country.