By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

Curtis Bachman, a Red River County producer, checks the nozzle on his pesticide sprayer before heading into the field. He has held a Private Applicator License for over 20 years. Although there are chemicals on the market today that do not require a license to purchase or apply, Bachman relies on those which have worked for him before.  -- Staff photo by Kramer

April 20, 2006 - Experienced agricultural producers have become familiar with the Texas Private Applicator License, the license that allows for private use of restricted and state-limited-use pesticides and/or herbicides.

Though many of the chemicals used today are not restricted and require no license to purchase or apply, both Jackie Risner, Nacogdoches County Extension agent, and Curtis Bachman, a Red River County agriculture producer, feel that having the license is still beneficial.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said Risner, despite the fact that there are new unrestricted alternatives available.

Bachman said he still uses his license (which he has had for more than 20 years) on his Brangus cow-calf operation. “There are certain chemicals I’m used to and they’re restricted, so I continue to use them (with the license).”

Bachman reads over his application records, which are a big part of the license-holder requirements. -- Staff photo by Kramer

The license is designed for agriculture producers like Bachman. With the license, a holder can use the restricted and/or limited chemicals on their property, any rental property, property owned by their employer, property under their general control, and on other property without compensation, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). In addition, they can oversee the application process.

The Private Applicator program is overseen by TDA, who, along with Texas Cooperative Extension (TCE), provides testing and training. All tests are administered by TDA.

Randy Rivera, coordinator for education and outreach in the TDA Pesticide Programs Division, said TDA has been certifying private applicators since approximately 1977.

Under the original format, a lifetime license was granted after trainees sat through a presentation and passed a test. According to Risner, these people are grandfathered into the new system. They have to keep up on the education credits required by everyone else, but their license renewal is free. 

“In 1990, TDA, by rule, began requiring private pesticide applicators to take a three-hour training program, and take and make a passing score on an exam, to be able to purchase and apply restricted and state-limited use pesticides and regulated herbicides,” said Rivera.

Today, training is still three hours long. Training is currently provided by TDA or TCE. “TDA rules allow entities other than Texas Cooperative Extension to provide pesticide applicator training, but there are no other entities approved at this time,” Rivera explained.

Risner said that people seldom fail the test, but to decrease the chance of failure, he recommended those wanting to take a test prepare a head of time.

“There are study booklets you can get through Extension,” he said. Risner now requires people purchase these low-cost training manuals before they attend the training and testing session. He said it has cut down on the number of people who fail the test.

“The exam is based entirely on the contents of the training manual,” said Rivera.

Risner said the test is about 100 questions long and “usually takes between and hour and an hour-and-a-half.”

To pass and get their license, testers must score at least a 70 and then submit a license application, along with a $60 license fee. Once TDA issues the license, it is good for five years. 

License holders have two options for renewing their license. The first option is through Continuing Education Units (CEUs), or if they fail to collect enough CEUs, they can pay $50 and take a recertification exam, which, upon passage, provides them with the 15 credits needed to renew their license.

During the fives years that the license is good, license holders are expected to earn 15 CEUs to apply towards their license renewal. CEUs are given at several Extension events throughout the year.

Risner said TCE agents and programs can offer up to three CEUs without TDA approval. For larger programs (some give as many as five credits), approval of the agenda and content must be granted by TDA.

According to Rivera, activities offering CEUs must address one or more of the following pesticide-related topics: labeling, safety, environmental consequences, pests, integrated pest management, pesticide factors, equipment, application technique, laws and regulations, biotechnology, and/or business ethics.

“It’s a lot of useful information,” said Bachman, who owns and operates Bachman Equipment in Clarksville. He said he attends CEU events when he can but has no problem getting enough CEUs to renew his license every five years. “You’ve got five years to do it and if you go to the meetings, you can get them.”

In addition to providing for a means of license renewal, Rivera said the CEU events are a great way to keep license holders abreast on new changes.

“CEUs are important because they help our licensees keep informed of changing and emerging technologies in the application of pesticides,” he explained. “TDA also uses the CEU program to keep our licensees informed about the various changes in rules and regulations that affect their operations.”

Training, testing, and CEUs are not the only part of having a license. Bachman said there are several things he must do when applying applications that require a license. The hardest part, he said, is keeping the records properly.

Bachman said each time he applies an application of a restricted or limited-use chemical he has to record the date, time, chemical, the rate at which he used it, what he was spraying for, and wind and air characteristics.

“All of those things you’ve got to put down in these records,” he said, while thumbing through a stack of record pages at his shop in Clarksville. Bachman said he thinks the training, testing, and record-keeping are necessary and that the licensing system organized by TDA does a good job of meeting the needs of producers and the public.

“I think it works,” he said.

To keep the system working, Risner said he tries to offer training and testing sessions throughout the year, or anytime he has 15 people interested in obtaining their license. (He has to have someone from TDA come to the training site and offer the test.) In addition, he said he tries to offer at least 10 to 12 CEUs a year through events in his county. Those needing CEUs or wanting to take their license should contact their respective Extension office or TDA because, Risner said, “every county is different.”

Producers of all ages are eligible to test and receive their license, according to Rivera. “At present there is not a minimum age requirement for obtaining a license,” he said. “However, the Environmental Protection Agency is considering proposing a rule change that would institute a minimum age requirement for obtaining a license to apply restricted-use pesticides.”

Until then, any one who meets the other requirements is eligible to take the licensing test. No fee is required to take the test, but the $60 license fee is due at the time the license application is completed. In addition, tests are not given orally and all testers are required to read and comprehend the testing material in English.

More information about the license, testing, training and CEU sessions is available from county Extension offices. A Private Applicator Manual and details on pesticide laws and regulations are available for a small fee from Extension, 979-845-1099.