Farm Safety

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...

Private applicators have a novel way to handle spray tank residues when cleaning agricultural machinery and spraying equipment that was presented at the 2025 Pesticide Stewardship Alliance annual conference recently. The following information was provided by Lee Huber, SR. Residue Manager with...

Do your pesticide applications fall under the scope of the EPA’s Worker Protection Standard (WPS)? If so, you should take a few minutes to review recent changes to the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) requirements. Let’s start by reviewing what the AEZ is and its purpose. The EPA introduced...

EPA release and described strategy         On July 25, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released its draft...

The Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) at the University of Illinois has recently expanded our team to include a new trainer. This new addition will be responsible for creating and delivering course content. Please help us in welcoming John...

At this time of year, when pesticides are commonly being used, it is important to take the time to properly clean and maintain Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The following is taken, with little revision, from the national Pesticide Applicator Core Manual first edition and was...

Do you have a pesticide applicator license? If so, how old were you when you first obtained your license? Is it safe to assume that your first applicator license wasn’t as memorable or exciting as getting your first driver’s license? Both licenses come with a significant responsibility and a...

The Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is a regulation intended to reduce the risks of illness or injury resulting from occupational exposures to pesticides used in the production of agricultural plants. WPS requires agricultural employers and commercial pesticide handler employers to provide...

In 2023, the Illinois Department of Agriculture along with the Illinois Department of Public Health conducted an agricultural/structural pesticide clean sweep program collection for the residents of Bond, Clinton, Fayette, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, and St. Clair...