Agriculture

Diseases, insects, weeds, and other pests can cause costly and irreparable harm to livestock and crops. Use Penn State Extension’s extensive resources on pest management and education for agriculture, including an introduction to the types of pesticide licenses you need, EPA worker protection standards, pesticide storage, safety, disposal, and IPM options.

Crop Pest Management Resources

Pests, weeds, and diseases pose a severe risk to agricultural producers, whether they grow agronomic crops, cover crops, or forages. There are various ways to manage pest problems, such as using pesticides or biological pest control.

Integrated Pest Management can be very effective across all types of agricultural production. It combines both methods of control and includes monitoring to reduce the overuse of pesticide applications. However, its focus is on prevention over remediation.

Some IPM strategies include crop rotation, which is excellent for managing belowground insect pests in field corn, managing crop pests with cultivar mixtures, and aerating stored grain to reduce or avoid insect infestations.

When producers use pesticides, it raises some social and ecological concerns. The residue from pesticides can contaminate our food supply, affect non-target species, poison the surface and groundwater, and negatively impact biodiversity. Find information and best practices on pesticides and IPM strategies for crop producers in this section.

Spotted Lanternfly

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect that can damage many crops. To protect Pennsylvania’s economy and residential quality of life, a Spotted Lanternfly Order of Quarantine has been established to stop this invasive pest from moving into new areas within or outside the current quarantine zone. Its aim is also to slow its spread within the quarantine area.

Inside the quarantine area, movement of any spotted lanternfly living stage, including egg masses, nymphs, and adults, is strictly prohibited. It also restricts the movement of any articles that may harbor the insect.

Any businesses operating within the quarantine zone must have permits to move equipment and goods within and out of the area. Penn State Extension has location-specific training resources for trainers who can train fellow employees within a company. Areas covered include Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland.

Pesticide Applicator Licenses for Producers

Green Industry professionals using pesticides need to stay compliant with pesticide laws and regulations. The first step is determining which pesticide license your business needs. Next, pesticide applicator certification and recertification are required.

Federal law states that any person who applies or supervises the use of restricted-use pesticides has to have a license per EPA regulations, state, territorial, and tribal laws. In Pennsylvania, a license is valid for three years. In order to maintain pesticide certification, applicators must obtain update training during three-year intervals by accumulating PDA-approved recertification credits. Penn State Extensions runs multiple online recertification courses.

Awareness of the EPA revised Worker Protection Standard regulations is also crucial. These regulations include standards for pesticide containers, repackaging, and label instructions.

Integrated Pest Management for Crop Producers

Integrated Pest Management is an approach to pest management that combines knowledge of the pest and the harm it can inflict, together with a variety of tactics to prevent, reduce, or eliminate pests.

The tactics used include cultural methods such as minimizing the conditions pests need to live, planting plants in the right place, and giving them proper attention. Physical methods involve preventing pest access to the host area or physically removing them using traps, mowing, or tillage. Genetical methods include using pest-resistant plant varieties and introducing biocontrols, in the form of predators, parasitoids, and pathogens.

Penn State Extension has an extensive library of resources for crop producers, from mushroom farmers and fruit growers to vegetable and Christmas tree farmers.