Pesticide Safety Education Month 2023

Feb 27, 2023

By Sam Polly

February 2023 marks the Sixth Annual National Pesticide Safety Education Month. This event was designed to "reinforce core principles of safe pesticide use with many audiences and raise awareness of and support for the land-grant university Pesticide Safety Education Programs (PSEPs)". Pesticides are a critical tool for agriculture, structural pest control, food safety, and human health. While opinions toward pesticides can sometimes be negative, the public often overlooks how important pesticides are in the production of the foods and goods they use, as well as the number of pesticides in their own homes.

Household products such as insect repellants, antimicrobials, weed killers, and disinfectants used against Covid-19 are pesticides registered with the US EPA. The hazards of organic pesticides are often underestimated. These examples illustrate the importance of pesticide education to safely use these products while protecting your household and the environment. Reading the product label every time you use a pesticide is the first step in using pesticides safely.

Additional safety tips for pesticide use on EPA's website include:

Store pesticides in their original containers with proper labels.
Store pesticides out of the reach of children and pets, preferably locked up.
Use the amount specified on the label. Using more will not be more effective and may harm you, your loved ones and the environment.
Wash hands with soap and water after using a pesticide. Wash clothes that have been in contact with pesticides immediately and separately from other items.
Don't let children and pets enter sprayed areas while they are still wet.
Keep pesticides away from food and dishes.

Understanding the safe and effective use of pesticides can help prevent problems resulting from misuse, such as damaged lawns, reduced bee populations, or human illness. Reducing misuse helps maintain pesticides as important tools in our pest control toolbox. We all have a responsibility to help educate the public to ensure a healthy, productive society.

Source : missouri.edu

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.