Pesticide Safety for Farmer Assistants
Assistants who use Class B or C pesticides on farms must be trained.
Visit
the Ontario Pesticide Education Program’s website for information about Grower
Pesticide Safety Courses, and On-Farm Instructor Courses.
Assistants who use Class B or C pesticides on farms must be trained.
Certified
Farmers are responsible for all pesticide use and handling on their farms
including the use and handling of Class B or C pesticides by Farmer Assistants
supervised by Certified Farmers.
Assistants could be family members, farm employees or seasonal workers.
Farmer Assistants
must:
- · be 16 years of age or older
- · work on a farm under the supervision of a
Certified Farmer
- · be trained in pesticide safety
- · re-train every five years.
There
are two ways for assistants to get the pesticide safety training they need. They can:
- · participate in a Grower Pesticide Safety
Course (no written test), or
- · participate in Pesticide Safety for Farmer
Assistants training presented by a On-Farm Instructor.
On Farm Pesticide
Safety Instructors
An
On-Farm Pesticide Safety Instructor must have valid certificates from both the
On-Farm Instructor Course and the Grower Pesticide Safety Course. The On-Farm Instructor Course is a half-day
session (fee of $65). At the session,
each On Farm Instructor receives a kit of training supplies, and learns ways to
train Assistants in pesticide safety. The
On-Farm Instructor and the Supervising Certified Farmer complete a “Record of
Training” for each Assistant they train.
This verifies training and registers each Assistant with the Ontario
Pesticide Education Program (a $25 fee).