—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 24,1977 16 Pesticide (Continued from Page 1) significantly higher. About 80 per cent are now eligible for certification. Anyone who hasn’t taken steps yet to become certified is urged to do so soon, lest he be sent home from the store without his chemicals the next time he wants to control insectsorweeds. There’s still time to take the test, which leads to certification by the Department of Agriculture. Private applicators may take their tests at home. Commercial applicators receive a proctored examination and must pay at $3O license fee, as well as post evidence that they are prepared for personal liability and property damage claims to as high as $lOO,OOO each. Although the state and federal deadline for becoming a certified ap plicator of restricted chemicals is Oct. 21, no one is outside of that law unless he sells or makes use of restricted chemicals after that date without cer tification. In other words, if the farmer has no intention of using a product such as Paraquat until next Spring, he has until then to make sure he gets certified. Paraquat is one of 23 per sticides on restricted use, as ordered by the En vironmental Protection Agency of the U.S. Govern ment. Another 38 chemicals are up for comment on the matter Pennsylvania identifies its restricted use chemicals with a skull and crossbones and the word DANGEROUS on the label. Steps towards certification are easy, say officials who are involved with the program. The Extension Service of Penn State University has charge of educating the public on the matter, and will also provide testing materials. Along that line, meetings will be held on Oct. 13 and 27 at the Lan- BIG FALL SALE aaaaaaaaagaaaa BARGAINS IN ALL DEPARTMENTS Register your name on each store visit for November 12 drawing of 51 VALUABLE PRIZES. Sale on Johnson Bros. ENGLISH DINNERWARE i n the “ Neigh bors” pattern 45 pc boxed set (service for eight) Special Sqmjo Price Oi Also 15% off on "open stock" pieces of “Neighbors" pattern COUNTRY AUCTION Saturday afternoon October 1, W.L ZIMMERMAN &SONS Ph: 717-768-8291 Intercourse, Pa. deadline caster Farm and Home Center to offer commercial applicators the opportunity to take the test. Commercial pesticide applicators are those who do custom spraying or those who stpray outside the realm of actual agricultural production. Examples are handlers and millers, golf course operators, and fumigators. Dr. Jerry Florentine, pesticide operations coor dinator with the Penn sylvania Department of Agriculture, says his Department estimates that 20.000 to 25,000 people within the Commonwealth may find that private perticide cer tification is for them. Some 13.000 have taken steps towards that end. The remainder are either working on it or have thus far ignored the program. Florentine em phasizes, however, that these figures are just guesses. Extension offices at Penn State can’t be any more specific than that. A telephone survey con ducted by Lancaster Far ming on Thursday evening is Oct. 21 revealed that only about 30 per cent of potential private pesticide users have taken steps to become certified. Calls were made at random throughout southeastern and southcentral Pennsylvania. Some of the reasons cited for not having taken steps towards certification as of yet included: “didn’t get around to it... don’t know if I’m using anything which requires certification ... I don’t know where to go to be certified ... I don’t do any spraying, but have a custom applicator do it for us in stead ... I’m not too familiar with the law... I haven’t had time to take the test ... there’s no spraying to be done now anyway ... I didn’t hear too much about it... and I don’t know if it’s really necessary.” Certification is indeed necessary if an individual intends to use restricted chemicals after Oct. 21. Further information on how to go about getting cer tification can be found in latter portions of this article. Reaction to the cer tification program is divided uooul lialf favorable and half unfavorable, Lancaster Farming’s survey deter mined. One farmer said: “This is just one more control that the government is steppmg in on; it’s a bother but I guess it has its good points too. They’re trying to do good, but sometimes it destroys the private sector, I think.”. Another indicated he thought it was a “little foolish, farmers are educated enough to know what they’re doing. This is just something more for them to have to bother with ... -we have enough to do as it is. If these chemicals are so dangerous, they shouldn’t be on the market in the first place. We ERTH-RITE SOIL CONDITIONER MAXICROP LIQUID PLANT FEEDING FEED-RITE Vitamin & Mineral for livestock and poultry ZOOK & RANCK, INC. *Ol, Gap, PA 17527 Phone 717442-4171 can read the lable and follow instructions without the government telling us how.” A third farmer said “I’m against more government regulations, but I’ll live with this if I have to, although I rather wouldn’t see it that way.” Others questioned the necessity of the program, CALL YOUR LOCAL DEALER EQUIPMENT CO INC RQIE RTNIC President Lancaster, PA 717-394-9251 IEOfiPSHMM - Leesburg, VA 703-777-3567 R 1 Jersey Shore, PA 717-753-3196 JIMCHASE Dushore 717-924-3757 CAMPBELLS McAlisterville, PA 717-463-2191 GEORGE LAWTON Wellsboro, PA 717-724-3015 BILL HANSEL Knocksviile, PA 814-326-4586 RUSSSMELTZE Centre Hall, PA 814-364-9353 HUGHES BROS. RD Lajose or Newburg, PA Clearfield Co 814-277-6401 C & W EQUIPMENT CO 260 York Road Carlisle, PA 17017 717-243-4419 Alexandria, PA 16611 814-669-9015 HINES EQUIPMENT CO. Box 5, Rt 22 West Cresson, PA 16630 814-886-4183 Turbotville, PA 717 649-5430 Most, however, don’t complain and are resigned to “just complying with the law.” The new pesticide law, which has been in the works for several years, also covers those individuals who (Continued on Page 27) WILLIAM F-WHL RD Oxford, PA 717-529-2569 LESTHUfILL R.D.I Lititz, PA 17543 717-6266196 Elizabethtown, PA 17022 717-367-1221 ERB t HENRY EQUIPMENT 2226 Henry Avenue New Berlinville, PA 19545 215-845-7886 602 Mam Street Bally, PA 215-845-2261 MECKLEY DALMATIA Dalmatia, PA 17017 717-758-3021 O. A. NEWTON Bndgeville, Del 19933 302-337-8211 SWOPE &BASHORE R D 1 (Freystown) Myerstown, PA 17067 717-933-4138 INUPPERMAN RD 3 Chambersburg, PA 17201 717-264-6007 rEAVER RD 1 New Holland, PA 717-354-7889 ICE SAMUEL J. YODER RD 1 Box 150 Greenwood, Del 19950 302-422-5010 GEORGE BRUCHEY. JR, RD 1 Keymar, MD 301-662-6963
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers