Ontario pesticide safety certification takes to the Internet

Thursday, February 28, 2013

by DIANNE FETTERLY

For their convenience, Ontario farmers now have the option of completing their pesticide safety certification online.

“We’re trying to keep up-to-date,” said Susan Kelner, Ontario pesticide education program coordinator. “We’re still holding the one-day course. This way we are just providing another option for farmers.”

According to Kelner, growers can complete the entire certification online. The course is held over a five-day period, with two hours of instruction each day. Spreading it out over five days allows farmers the flexibility to be able to complete their chores at home and still get their certification, she added.

The online option may be particularly useful for producers in more remote regions of the province, such as areas of northern Ontario where the in-class sessions are held less often.

“We don’t get to these areas as frequently . . . only once or twice a year. And if farmers miss for any reason then it’s harder for them to get their certification,” Kelner explained.

There are hundreds of one-day pesticide certification seminars held across the province each year, mainly from November to April, although classes are held throughout the year in some areas. The program has about 25 instructors and courses run about six to seven hours in length, including an exam component, she added.

Over the past 25 years, the Ontario Pesticide Education Program has trained 21,000 farmers and over 1,000 vendors in safe handling and use of pesticides. Kelner attributes the program’s success to the instructors and participants who “have been very supportive over the years.”  

In 1991, it became mandatory for Ontario farmers to complete the pesticide safety certification. Most U.S. states as well as all Canadian provinces have similar legislation in place, except Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan, where the course is voluntary, Kelner said.

Ontario farmers must renew their pesticide certification every five years. Cost is $105 per certification, whether it is completed online or in-class. BF