Head: (Your organization's letterhead)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE:
CONTACT:
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PROTECT DRINKING WATER BY IMPROVING PESTICIDE USE
You are preparing for planting season by tuning up equipment and taking delivery of farm chemicals. Now is a good time to review your use of pesticides. You may find ways to save money. As you take stock, consider how you can reduce pesticide risks to drinking water consumed by your family and neighboring communities. Safe drinking water is everyone's responsibility, so learn how to take actions to protect this vital resource.
More farmers are adopting Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a system to control pests that focuses on alternatives to routine pesticide spraying. IPM encourages measures to prevent pest problems such as the planting of varieties that are resistant to disease. It relies on scouting to identify pest problems before any action is taken. Early identification and accurate information enable farmers to select from a menu for pest control options that may include cultivation and biological controls (e.g. introduction of predators). When pesticides are needed, IPM teaches farmers to select and apply pesticides in ways that protect the environment
No matter how you approach pesticide use, you are responsible for reading and following label directions. But your responsibilities include a range of activities from safe pesticide storage to proper disposal of pesticides and their containers.
Better pesticide management can protect groundwater supplies consumed by a neighboring community. Closer to home, it can help farmers protect their wells. Private wells have become polluted from nearby pesticide spills and back flow of pesticides from a sprayer tank into the groundwater. Pesticides should not be stored, mixed or applied within 100 feet of a well. Always use a check valve or back-siphoning device to prevent pesticides from being drawn into your well.
Ask yourself these questions to see if you are doing your part to protect everyone's drinking water.
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you are ready to learn about actions to avoid problems. Even if you answered "no" to each question, you may still have room for improvement. Are you paying attention to details such as an emergency plan that lists chemicals stored in different facilities, the average quantities stored, a floor plan for each storage facility and procedures for responding to a spill?
What can you do?
Farm*A*Syst can help you take action. Based on the concept of a home energy audit, Farm*A*Syst is a tool that non-experts can use to identify a range of environmental and health risks in and around the farm. In addition to pesticide use, Farm*A*Syst enables you to reduce a range of risks on the farmstead — livestock and manure management, petroleum storage, private well maintenance and septic systems care — and in the field — nutrient management, soil erosion and pasture management.
By using Farm*A*Syst, you can develop a plan filled with simple and low-cost actions that can go a long way in preventing problems. Most people who participate in Farm*A*Syst make voluntary changes.
For information about the Farm*A*Syst program in your state, you can locate a local program coordinator by visiting the Farm*A*Syst web site, http://www.uwex.edu/farmasyst. You may also contact the national Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst office at 303 Hiram Smith Hall, 1545 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706-1289, 608-262-0024, email: farmasyst@uwex.edu. These groups also may have program information: local county Extension office, Soil and Water Conservation District, Natural Resource Conservationist or state water quality agency.