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2011 Preplant Meetings and Fumigation Resources
New changes to fumigant labels that went into effect in December 2010 will require growers who fumigate their crops to make significant changes to their practices. Chief among these are requirements to have a detailed "Fumigant Management Plan" (FMP) in place before fumigating, and for at least two people at the fumigation site to have an appropriate respirator and be fit-tested and medically cleared to use. Even growers who have their fumigation done by custom work will need an FMP specific to their farm. Becase of this, fumigation will be a main topic at most preplant meetings. Coming to one of these meetings will help you fill out your Fumigant Management Plan.
Many meetings will include the opportunity for respirator testing. You must call to make an appointment for this testing. You must also either bring information from a doctor saying that you are cleared to be tested for a respirator or must complete the online medical clearance questionaire by the date specified. Click here for more information.
Other opportunities for respirator testing: The NC Agromedicine Institute is also meeting informally with small groups of growers around the state; call 919-880-4225 to see if you can tag along with an existing appointment or set something up. You can also use private services: Providers of Medical Clearance and Fit-Testing
SCHEDULED MEETINGS
Tuesday, July 26 – Southeastern NC. Completed
Tuesday, August 2 – Sandhills, NC. At the Moore County Extension office, 707 Pinehurst Ave, Carthage. Starts at 6:00 pm with a sponsored meal. Program will include Preparing Your Fumigant Management Plans, and Pre-Plant Considerations for the 2011 Strawberry Season. Please call Taylor Williams at 910-947-3188 to register. For respirator testing at this meeting, call Robin Tutor at 919-880-4225 as soon as possible. Online medical questionnaires for this meeting must be accomplished by July 27th. Free CDs with Fumigant Management Plan templates and other resources will be available at this meeting.
Thursday, August 4 – Central Piedmont, NC. At the Messiah Too Banquet Hall, 10418 North Main Street, Suite D, Archdale, NC. Registration starts at 4:45 pm, dinner at 5:00, and program at 6:00. The program will include Preparing Your Fumigant Management Plan, Post-harvest handling, and Pre-Plant Considerations for the 2011 Strawberry Season. Contact Amy-Lynn Albertson at amy_albertson@ncsu.edu or 336-242-2091 to preregister for the dinner and/or request respirator testing at this meeting. Bring a laptop if you want to work on computer onyour FMP. Free CDs with Fumigant Management Plan templates and other resources will be available at this meeting.
Wednesday, August 10 – Nash, Edgecombe, Halifax, Wilson, and Franklin counties. Starts with dinner at 6:00 and program at 6:30 (correction of earlier info), at the Nash County Agriculture Center, 1006 Eastern Ave, Nashville NC. Includes Preparing Your Fumigant Management Plan, roundtable discussion of various topics. Call 252-459-9810 to register; call Robin Tutor at 919-880-4225 to request respirator testing. Online medical questionnaires for this meeting must be accomplished by August 3. Bring a laptop if you want to work on computer onyour FMP. Free CDs with Fumigant Management Plan templates and other resources will be available at this meeting.
Thursday, August 11 – Southeastern Virginia & Northeastern North Carolina. At the Creeds Ruritan Building, 1057 Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach, VA. Sponsored dinner at 6:15 pm, program starts at 7:00 pm. The program includes Pre-Plant Considerations for the 2011-12 Strawberry Season, Soil Fumigation Update, and Strawberry Disease Update. Please preregister for this meeting by calling the Chesapeake Extension Office, 757-382-6348, by Tuesday, August 9.
Thursday, August 18 – South Carolina. At USDA/Clemson Vegetable Laboratory, 2700 Savannah Hwy., Charleston, SC, 11:30 am - 3:30pm, sponsored lunch provided. Program includes Disease and Resistance Management, Soil Fumigation and Management Plan Requirements: What to Expect; Pre-Plant Considerations for the 2011 Strawberry Season; Insect Management and Resistance Management. RSVP by August 16 to Roger Francis, 843-722-5940 or rfrncs@clemson.edu.
RESOURCES
Respirator Testing at the Preplant Meetings - how to arrange for respirator medical clearance and fit testing at the meetings.
Details of Respirator Regulations, Costshares, and Testing- Explains what is required, what services are offered, and available costshares for respirator testing and purchase of respirators.
Providers of Medical Clearance and Fit-Testing is a list of companies and organizations across North Carolina and in Virginia that offer these services. If you are unable to get this done at a meeting sponsored by Extension, the NC Strawberry Association, or the NC Agrimedicine Institute, you can go directly to these companies.
Medical Clearance Questionnaire (designed for factories/workplaces, but for growers too). You can take this to your doctor if you do not use the online questionnaire.
New Fumigation Warning Signs are required to be posted at access points to your field. TriEst Ag, the major fumigant distributor in our area, has created and printed these signs. You should be able to get copies of these signs from your fumigant dealer or supplier or custom fumigator. Ask for them! NCDA has also developed an approved sign, but it is not yet printed in quantity. Here is a pdf file of the Fumigant Warning Sign developed by NCDA; you can download this file and take it to a local copy store and have copies printed. Signs must be in color (red and black) and be at least 14 x 16 inches in dimensions. It is a good idea to laminate your signs so they last longer. Follow label instructions about posting locations and the length of time signs must be left up.
EPA's Fumigant Toolbox contains templates for fumigant management plans, handler information sheets, product labels and much more. It is quite well organized.
A Fumigant Resources CD, containing those files from the EPA Toolbox that are relevant to the products used by most plasticulture strawberry producers in our region, plus additional resources (including many of the items above) will be available at most preplant meetings. You can also download a zipped file of everything that is on the CD. (This download link good until August 19, 2011; if it has expired, contact NCSA for a new download link.)