We all want clean water to drink, clean streams and lakes to swim and fish in, and abundant wildlife. We all want an ample, high-quality, nutritious food supply. And we all want to be as free as possible to pursue our lives and earn a living. These are all reasons why environmental stewardship in agriculture is so important.
The more agriculture can do proactively to protect the environment:
This brochure focuses on environmental stewardship of crop protection products, including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. While some product-specific examples are presented, the dealer and grower stewardship practices described on these pages apply to all crop protection products - because keeping the environment as clean as possible is simply good for the business of agriculture.
"I'm interested in stewardship because I want to preserve our environment for myself and my children. I live on a lake, so water quality is especially important to me. That's the biggest reason for good policies and practices and stewardship - because we treasure a clean environment."
- Plant manager at a midwestern dealership
"The acetochlor products are some of the most effective corn herbicides we have. By practicing stewardship we can maintain these herbicides on the market. They give superior grass control and are also very effective on pigweed, lambsquarters and black nightshade - to the point where some farmers have asked if they really need a separate broadleaf herbicide.
"Acetochlor has added a new dimension to weed control in corn. It has allowed farmers to reduce their costs and the total amounts of herbicide used. Acetochlor has delivered on that promise."
- Agronomy manager at a midwestern dealership
When acetochlor herbicides were first registered for use in 1994, they set a higher standard for both weed control and environmental protection.
In the field, growers and dealers who used acetochlor-containing products immediately saw the benefits - better, more consistent grass control and excellent activity against small-seeded broadleaf weeds. Because of this higher level of performance and consistency, acetochlor usage on corn has since grown by millions of acres each year.
What's more, environmental protection was enhanced compared to older, similar products on the market. Acetochlor herbicide manufacturers formed the Acetochlor Registration Partnership (ARP) and agreed to cooperate with states, water utilities, growers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on several initiatives:
The stewardship program, through cooperation with growers and dealers, has been very successful in the four years acetochlor has been on the market. Growers have adopted stewardship practices and as a result, test wells in fields have shown no widespread movement to groundwater from normal agricultural use. Although trace levels in surface waters are sometimes detected during the herbicide use season, acetochlor levels have never exceeded stringent health standards for the product. Acetochlor is also on track to accomplish the overall herbicide use reductions required by EPA.
However, there have been some local, point-source detections of acetochlor that have required corrective actions. Proper handling and containment of herbicides are essential for preventing these point- source detections. The ARP encourages all who use acetochlor herbicides to exercise proactive environmental stewardship, and help keep these valuable weed-control tools available to U.S. corn producers.
Stewardship In The Field
The right stewardship practices in a crop production system will keep soil, fertilizers and crop protection products in the field where they can help produce a bumper crop - and out of lakes, streams, and rivers.
Stewardship starts with soil conservation practices. If eroding soil has an easy route to surface water - for example, a field farmed right up to the edge of a stream - then soil and valuable crop inputs can easily become contaminants. Filter strips, grass waterways, terraces and conservation tillage can all help prevent erosion into surface water. To help promote water quality, the USDA has recently become more flexible on allowing filter strips to qualify as paid CRP set-aside.
When applying herbicides and fertilizers, use common sense to avoid sensitive areas like sloughs, ditches, wells, sinkholes or nearby surface water while mixing, loading, spraying and washing down equipment.
In-Field Use Checklist
As Simple As 3-2-1...
To ensure a higher standard of environmental protection, the manufacturers of acetochlor- containing herbicides voluntarily restricted these products on coarse-textured, low-organic-matter soils where groundwater is within 30 feet of the surface.
Acetochlor products may not by applied to the following soils, if depth to groundwater is 30 feet or less:
Acetochlor herbicides may be applied to the above soils if depth to groundwater is more than 30 feet.
Consult field soil test results or NRCS soil maps to determine soil texture and organic matter. The Acetochlor Registration Partnership also has maps that are helpful for some areas - talk to a herbicide manufacturer's representative, or visit www.arpinfo.com. Some sources for groundwater depth information include local well drillers, land grant universities' records, United States Geological Service offices, and irrigation districts.
The Acetochlor Registration Partnership encourages all who use acetochlor herbicides to continue exercising proactive environmental stewardship, and help keep these valuable weed-control tools available to U.S. corn producers.
Working With Impregnated Dry Fertilizer
Impregnated dry fertilizer presents some special stewardship considerations:
Dust
Dust from fertilizer that's impregnated in a blender can carry herbicide with it into the air and the surrounding environment.
With a tower blender, you can cut way down on dust by using a downspout extension to minimize or eliminate fertilizer free-falling through the air. Some extensions "telescope" to adjust to different pieces of equipment. One dealership made an effective, low-cost extension by simply sewing poly tarp material into a flexible tube and attaching it to the tower outlet.
Some dealerships have combined downspout extensions with windscreens or full enclosures of the loading area to further reduce dust emissions.
Perhaps the best solution is onboard or "on-the-go" impregnation, using application equipment that does the impregnating in the field. Onboard impregnation eliminates blender dust as a herbicide stewardship issue and has additional advantages as well.
Small Spills
Small spills of dry fertilizer can result from a number of sources, including conveyors that move impregnated fertilizer from ground-level blenders, equipment that's positioned wrong or overfilled, wind, leaks, and open transport.
Remember, when working with impregnated fertilizer, these small spills are herbicide spills and should be dealt with as such at the retail site.
Always load impregnated fertilizer over a steel or concrete containment pad. It should slope to a collection point. If outdoors, make sure adequate provisions for rainwater are in place. Sweep up frequently, before spills can be tracked off the pad or blown around by the wind. Don't overfill spreaders or tenders, and always have tarps in place over the load before moving the equipment.
Cleaning Equipment
Finally, remember that tenders and spreaders will have herbicide on them after hauling impregnated blends. As with spray equipment, wash them out in a field at the end of the day, or over a containment pad. Don't park dirty equipment outside where rain can wash herbicide residue onto the ground.
Beyond The Basics
All responsible custom applicators follow the basics of stewardship. They have containment in place for bulk herbicide storage and mixing/loading facilities. Most of these facilities are indoors, minimizing potential effects of wind, rain, snow or vandalism. All employees are trained in basic stewardship practices.
But increasingly, custom applicators are deciding it's good business to go a step further. They're looking at all aspects of their operations with the goal of keeping crop inputs completely contained.
For example, one dealership has a program called, "Nothing Hits The Ground." Employees are recognized and rewarded for identifying potential problem areas and developing practical solutions.
It's a matter of thinking beyond the basics - an aggressive, proactive approach to identifying and preventing potential problems, even small ones.
Another dealer said, "It's like a dripping faucet. A drop or two here and there might not seem like much, but over time it can add up. We have to prevent those little drips, contain the products, and not allow them to build up in places where they don't belong."
Mixing & Loading Checklist
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This page was last updated on 13-Jan-03.
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Dave Gustafson
Monsanto Company
800 N. Lindbergh Blvd
St. Louis, MO 63167