UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Extension offers a series of live webinars and self-paced education, online and by mail, designed to help Pennsylvania licensed pesticide applicators earn recertification credits.
Pennsylvania has more than 15,000 licensed private pesticide applicators. Certification is required to purchase, apply, or supervise the use of restricted-use pesticides for producing agricultural commodities on land owned or rented by applicators or their employers. Core and private category recertification credits are required every three years to renew their certification.
To that end, Penn State Extension offers a variety of options from real-time webinars to self-paced workbooks and online courses, including three new online courses: “What’s New in Agronomic Pest Control: 2021,” which highlights the latest developments in the agronomic pest market; “Pesticide Labeling,” which provides information about pesticide labeling regarding safety, application, disposal and hazards; and “Pesticide Application Procedures,” which covers how to select the application equipment and calculate the amount of pesticide needed.
To accommodate applicators with limited or no internet access, extension offers recertification credits by mail with their newly released correspondence courses, which include workbooks. Extension educators have developed a series of workbooks, all of which feature activities to ensure subject matter understanding.
A written quiz must be completed and returned to Penn State for grading. To obtain credits, the applicator must earn a 70% or greater score. Topics include adjuvants and pesticides, forage diseases, pesticide recordkeeping, pesticide spill protocol, pollinators and pesticides, pumpkin diseases, and tomato diseases. Workbooks on fumigation and soybean diseases will be released in February.
A complete list of pesticide recertification education options can be found at extension.psu.edu/pest-2021. For a full list of workbooks and to order, call 1-877-345-0691.
During the month of January, extension is offering a 50% discount on select online course enrollment, including pesticide recertification courses. In addition, there will be free shipping and handling on workbooks through March 31.
About Penn State Extension
Penn State Extension is dedicated to translating scientific research into real-world applications to drive progress. In support of Penn State’s land-grant mission, extension programs serve individuals, businesses and communities, while promoting a vibrant food and fiber system, a clean environment, and a healthier population in Pennsylvania and beyond. With support from federal, state and county governments, the organization has a tradition of bringing unbiased information and support to the citizens of Pennsylvania for more than 100 years.
EDITORS: Contact Pesticide Education Program at pesticide@psu.edu.
Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. It is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.
–Penn State Extension