Decline in pesticide use by Canadian farmers.

Decline in Pesticide Use by Canadian Farmers Farmers in Ontario are spraying smaller amounts of pesticides on their crops than in the past. From 1983 to 1993, pesticide use dropped by a dramatic 28.3%, according to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). By comparison, pesticide use in the United States fell 15% between 1982 and 1992. Under the Food Systems 2002 project, OMAFRA has worked with farmers and agricultural and environmental groups since 1987 to cut pesticide use in half by the year 2002. Declining North American pesticide use resulted, in part, from the application of environmentally "safer" chemicals, although greater amounts of such chemicals might be necessary to achieve the same effect. Today, Ontario farmers use onethird as much atrazine on corn crops to control quackgrass as they did 10 years ago. This one million kilogram decrease represents nearly half of Ontario's total reduction in pesticide use. Many Ontario growers, concerned about atrazine's environmental persistence, eliminated fall applications. On many farms, newer, short-lived herbicides, sprayed at rates of grams per acre rather than kilograms per acre, have replaced atrazine, said Ken Hough of the Ontario Corn Producers Association. There is evidence of a similar trend in the United States, where reduced herbicide use accounts for over 60% of the total decline in pesticide use. In the early 1980s, the farming community's rising concern about escalating pesticide applications prompted the Ontario government to support lower pesticide use, said Jeff Wilson, chairman of AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the Environment), which represents 45,000 growers in Ontario. "It was an evolutionary process, beginning with initiatives from growers, said Wilson, "without a Big Brother or heavy-hand syndrome." Bruce Archibald, manager of OMAFRA's Environmental Health Program, concurs. "It was a win-win situation, with a shift in thinking on the part of the growers and the government providing resources." Archibald credits much of Ontario's reduced pesticide use to the certification program for purchasing pesticides. Initiated as a voluntary program in 1988, certification became mandatory throughout Ontario in 1991 at the growers' request. To become certified, growers attend a full-day course on proper label reading, mixing, and applying pesticides, and pass an exam every three years. Before this awareness-raising initiative, said Wilson, farmers applied up to 20% more pesticide to their crops than necessary because of poorly calibrated spraying equipment. In the United States, applying a "restricted use" pesticide requires a license. However, many commonly used pesticides are not restricted, and licensing requirements, developed by each state, vary throughout the country. Ontario's certification course also introduces the principles of integrated pest management (IPM), such as crop rotation, mechanical pest removal, use of natural pest predators, and targeted use of pesticides, to help Ontario farmers manage pests more efficiently. During the growing season, farmers using IPM monitor their crops for the appearance of pests or weeds. When pest infestation exceeds a threshold level, the farmer applies a pesticide specifically targeted for that pest. This approach contrasts with traditional methods of applying a broad-spectrum pesticide several times a year. Wilson, a potato and apple grower, pays $14 an acre to have scouts monitor his crops for pests. A pesticide specialist provided by OMAFRA sets threshold criteria and advises him on the timing of pesticide applications. Using this service has eliminated two pesticide sprayings per growing season, which, he said, saves money and protects the soil and water from excess toxic chemicals. In 1993, the Clinton administration set a goal of implementing IPM practices on 75% of U.S. cropland by the year 2000. By the end of the 1993 fiscal year, formal integrated crop management agreements (which integrate IPM with soil conservation and nutrient management) had been implemented between the USDA and 1092 farms, covering 176,000 acres. _ $ i at= c, 81 s g 8 | | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ic