Agricultural Safety

As a result of an industry-led initiative, continuing education will soon be introduced as an optional method for the recertification of pesticide applicators and operators.  This new pathway will allow applicators to utilize approved Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in lieu of retaking the...

Jean Miles never liked any attention being placed on her, but she deserves some. She quietly retired this past March just as our busy clinic season was winding down. Jean first joined the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) as extra help in 1997...

The Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) at the University of Illinois has recently filled a much needed, vacant position. We are excited to announce that Jonathan Jackson is PSEP’s new program assistant. Jonathan will be responsible for...

As the spray season is winding down for many Illinois pesticide applicators, the training and testing season has also slowed way down for the University of Illinois Pesticide Safety Education Program and the Illinois Department of Agriculture. The month of September is the perfect time for us in...

The University of Illinois recently hosted the Youth Crop Scouting Competition at the Urbana-Champaign South Farm. Student teams of two to five high-school-aged youth with an adult coach rotated through 10 outdoor...

How well are you protecting your eyes while applying pesticides? Unprotected or inadequately protected eyes are at high risk of pesticide exposure, which can result in mild to severe irritation, eye injury, vision loss, or even permanent disability. Eye exposure also provides a route for the...

The USDA recently rescinded a rule that required all private applicators (those who apply pesticides to their own land) to keep records of their restricted-use applications. The rescinded requirement appeared in the ...

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has announced the single-day collection sites and dates for the 2025 Pesticide Container Recycling Program. Dates and locations are available on the Illinois Department of Agriculture website. ...

Illinois pesticide applicators and operators, if you have previously taken an Illinois Department of Agriculture online exam, you may already be familiar with ProctorU. All pesticide online exams are proctored by ProctorU (also known as Meazure Learning). You would have created a login and spoken...