DriftWatch Updated, Improved

Sprayers and applicators alike can benefit from recent changes to DriftWatch, an online tool to identify fields where commercial specialty or pesticide-sensitive crops are being grown. In Nebraska 70 counties have registered such areas, said Craig Romary, environmental programs specialist with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Even more counties may have crops, beehives, or other enterprises that should be registered.

"We want to encourage growers to register and applicators to check it," Romary said this week.

Figure 1. Sample map showing pesticide-sensitive sites in Nebraska.

Personnel from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) and FieldWatch, which manages DriftWatch, have been working to make the information in DriftWatch™ 2015 as accurate and current as possible for applicators, Romary said. Many old, outdated, and inaccurate locations have been deleted and new sites are being added.Figure 1. Sample map showing pesticide-sensitive     sites in Nebraska.

The predecessor of DriftWatch offered dots on a map to indicate sensitive areas. These could be somewhat inexact, Romary said. The new tool lets registrants use GPS coordinates and outline areas on a map to be more accurate and provide more detail. Also, user guides for producers, applicators, and beekeepers on FieldWatch offer valuable information and tips for registering and updating data.

The locator map (Figure 1) and many site services are free, although there is a subscription for extended services such as mobile live data feeds.

Features recently added to DriftWatch include:

• Beekeepers now can choose whether their beehives appear on the public DriftWatch map or are visible only to registered applicators. This will make registering as an applicator—which is free of charge—especially important.
• A GPS locator helps users quickly identify their current location before mapping the site or marking the beehives. They can use the notes section when registering a field to provide crop information and other details to the applicator and data stewards.
• A registered applicator, who is also a member of FieldWatch, can now select specific counties from multiple states for notices when new information is added to the map. Membership also allows access to real-time map data. See www.fieldwatch.com for more information. Registered applicators should watch for email notices directly from FieldWatch.

While there are 692 site registrations for Nebraska (Table 1), Romary would like to see even more as well as more users who check the site before spraying.
In addition to Nebraska, DriftWatch now features information for Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Saskatchewan.

Source:unl.edu